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Published: June 14th 2010
kerala gastronomia!
keralan fish dish par excellence. fish pollitchatu; fish wrapped in banana leaves and inundated with keralan spices unsparinglyAbit overdue. have been in Karnataka state, did Mysore and Bangalore. bangalore was nth short of cacophonous. jarring, slightly grating, touts aplenty, the miasmic bad air that is a necessary concomitant in all urban cities didnt sit too well esp. considering we sashayed indolently from kerala. We were at cochin, spent a good couple of days on the mainland ernakulam having left fort cochin. but we were inundated with malls and more malls. And figured Bangalore would prolly be in the same mould; only many times over. So we bailed from Bangalore, bussed down to Mysore instead. Was pretty wicked, cultural capital of the State proper. caught the Mysore palace; where vestiges of the antecedent Maharaja dynasty and their usual opulence (bordering on gaudy) was the jewel (literally) of the State. Then the Devaraja market as well. I think I’d let the peektures speak. Towering technicolored cones of kumkum powder used for the ubiquitous bindi dots that grace all Indian foreheads, refined sugarcane jaggery cubes that resemble Lego building blocks, and flower garlands that exhaust all of Faber Castells’ painting pallet, Mysore was a nice little jaunt and introduction into Karnataka. Oh! The rail museum was a gem!! It was a
b!
on our sleeper beds. more KTM malaysian train than darjeeling british raj saloons haha repository of old steam and pressure-gauge trains/ saloon carriages that were steeped palatial heritage; and is a massive reason why we travel in/to India; and by train, at that! I just wish they still assembled Indian trains like that today. Hopefully I get to catch one of them ‘toy trains’ in Darjeeling. Rats and ammonia-replete squat toilets aside, train travel is still my poison! Didn’t quite dig Bangalore and the much-heralded nightlife, its really a concrete jungle not unlike Singapore. Pretty pricey place for an extended stay too. The only merits? Being India’s IT capital par excellence and silicon valley of the east, there was wifi in my room and ESPN on the telly so world cup watching was the order of the day!
We just got to Goa. AM I STOKED OR WHAT!?!?? i sound really pumped. Portuguese-era decrepit buildings and gastronomy, old folks here still speaking Portugese, Anjuna beach where the celebrated weekly flea market that dates from the hippie era still endures, ramshackle beach shacks (for lodging) that adorn the beaches, and the SILENT PARTIES that are a remnant of the trance parties the beatniks, bohemians and flower children kickstarted (where you just plug into earphones
and rave away, albeit in silence, ‘cos of the curfew strictures India-wide); the list goes on…so watch this space while we’re gone going GOA-on!
On a more drab note, its now down to single-digits as the days left with b are grinding to a halt slowly but surely. She leaves for korea soon for summer school, and im really really gutted. I wldnt have had it any other way these 5 weeks. And it prolly wldnt have been such a riot (in the most kickass sense!) of a sojourn w/o her! Cue sad face.
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you nvr put your monkey picture on the train?? (: