Allô Chatrath

Remaining indoors because of scare of Covid, I have been clearing bundles of papers and photographs that I collected during service. And suddenly I came across this photo taken in 1967. A little backgrounder would be in order. I joined the IAS in 1967 and was allotted the Orissa Cadre. One year training at Mussoorie Academy used to include a two month 'Bharat Darshan'. All of us were divided into Groups and sent to Groups of two states each. One was not to be sent to (i)the state to which one belonged , and (ii) the state which had been allotted. The idea was to see the field situation in new states and compare its good and weak points in the allotted state subsequently. I was allotted Orissa cadre and was put in the Bharat Darshan Group which was to cover Madhaya Pradesh and Madras. Travel from Mussoorie to these states and internal travel therein was by buses and train. In fact third class sleeper coaches were what we travelled by. About half way through the Bharat Dars...

Wiki Photo by Shri Harvinder Singh One understands that ashes of the over rated architect Le Corbusier's cousin Pierre Jeanneret were immersed in the Sukhna Lake in 1970. Yes, it was done because he wanted it to be done! https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/pierre-jeanneret-the-other-lesser-sung-swiss-french-architect-of-chandigarh/articleshow/57741698.cms I wonder if the Chandigarh Administration would allow the ashes of the lesser mortals like you and me to be immersed in Sukhna Lake when we die!

The Lakshmi Narasimha statue is one of the most imposing sculptures found in the ruined town of Hampi. The speciality of the sculpture is that it is the largest monolith statue in Hampi. The statue is located on the southern side of the Hemakuta group of temples that stand on the Hemakuta Hill. The unique feature of the statue is the bulging eyes of Narasimha.It is really amazing to note that such a huge sculpture was crafted from a single boulder of granite. The original sculpture had a small figure of Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Narasimha, sitting on his lap. The gigantic statue was vandalized and mutilated in 1565 A.D. during the raid by the Mughals that led to the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire. Now the damaged statue of Lakshmi resides at the Archaeological Museum at Kamalapura. According to Hindu mythology, Narasimha is the fourth incarnation of Vishnu and appeared on earth in the form of half human (nara) and half lion (simha). Narasimha is believed to have the face a...

Fuente de la India ("Fountain of the Indian woman") is a fountain by Giuseppe Gaggini in Havana, Cuba, at the south extreme of Paseo del Prado, about 100 m south of El Capitolio, between Monte and Dragones Streets. The figure represents the Indian woman "Habana" in whose honor Havana was named. Photo taken in 2009 by K J S Chatrath.

A detailed write up and photos would follow on this blog soon......

Yes, that's the best way to commute in Vietnam- pillion riding...photo dated December 2019. Btw I had duly tied the buckle of the helmet before we went swoosh.......😃

Between the 4th and 13th centuries a unique culture which owed its spiritual origins to Indian Hinduism developed on the coast of contemporary Viet Nam. This is graphically illustrated by the remains of a series of impressive tower-temples located in a dramatic site that was the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence. I was lucky to visit in December 2019. This area is now situated in My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam. This Sanctuary has been declared to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I would be sharing scores of photos taken by me in this Sanctuary on this blog. You are invited to subscribe to my blog to get email intimation whenever a fresh blog is posted. This service, as well as access to the blog, is free and one can unsubscribe any moment one wants to.

A detailed write up with a dozen photographs coming soon on this blog.......

I visited the Chettinad area of Tamil Nadu in January earlier this year. I stayed in Kandukathan village (population 4814) for two nights and visited various mansions and enjoyed Chettinad cuisine. I took a train from Chennai and reached at 4 am. There was no transport available at the railway station except for those who had booked taxis and private vehicles. The hotel where I stayed had offered to get me picked up from the railway station- two kms away, for Rs.500. I thought it to be too steep and did not accept the offer. Anyway while all the vehicles had left except one SUV, I stood dejected at 4.15 am. And then God arrived in the form of the owner of the SUV, who came to me and started talking in impeccable English. I will drop you in your hotel as I am going that way only. My house is in the same lane as your hotel, he said. I offered some tip to the driver but the SUV owner wouldn’t have any of it. Kanadukathan is a Town Panchayat in the Karaikudi taluk of the Indian state...

More photos and a write up coming soon on this blog.

Bhopal is culturally a very rich place with old buildings, museums and history of music and paintings. While visiting Bhopal in 2016, I came across an intriguing statue at the local Museum. No description of the statue was available. Two aspects of the statue especially caught my attention. One was obviously the depiction of 7 additional faces in different parts of the body. The second which was not immediately obvious, was that the statue was depicting an erect penis and testicles. I wonder if it portrays an alien? I do hope that some expert would throw light on these characteristics and explain what are these meant to portray.

Thats our very own wordsmith. What is in a name, had mused the Bard centuries ago, adding that a rose would, by any other name smell as sweet. Perhaps the learned Shakespeare had not thought about names with negative connotations. I have came across the interesting news that Mukatsar's 'Kuttianwali' village (meaning village of the bitches) has been re-christened as 'Sheranwali' (meaning the village of the lions). The people of the village are reportedly thrilled at this name change. However I wish that the village been re-named as 'Shernianwali', meaning the village of the lionesses. Incidentally this news item also shows how 'Federal' is our structure. For changing the name of the village reportedly the consent of the Central Government had to be obtained. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Muktsars-Kuttianwali-village-will-now-be-Sheranwali/articleshow/28856954....

Thats me (sitting) at Har Ki Doon with a young trekker- about 15 years back. Har Ki Doon Trek: Region :- Uttarakhand Duration :- 08 Days Grade :- Tough to Moderate Max Altitude :- 11,675 Ft. Approx Trekking Km :- 77 Kms.

The museum has been installed since 1982 in the " Palacio de la Real Audiencia ", also called " Palacio de la Independencia ", on the north side of the Plaza de Armas in Santiago , dating from 1808 . It is one of the three museums in the city that has the national rank , along with the Fine Arts and Natural History museums. Colonial furniture, weapons, paintings, historical objects and models chart Chile's colonial and republican history at the Museo Histórico Nacional. After a perfunctory nod to pre-Columbian culture, the ground floor covers the conquest and colony. Upstairs goes from independence through Chile's industrial revolution and right up to the 1973 military coup – Allende's broken glasses are the chilling final exhibit. It is said that the oldest mummies in the world are found in this museum, being 7400 years old. It makes than 2000 years older thean the Egyptian mummies. Fifteen of these were put into CAT scan in late 2016. Scientists hop...