old tiger's Blog

I like you peeps to listen to this beautiful clip..
it's India's national anthem..sung by various artists..
on my trips..I heard this song many times..
go to any school in India..in the mornings..
they pay tribute to their flag...and sing..
school kids..in uniform..very disciplined,you know..
*jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka-jaya he...*etc...
jaya means *joy* in Hindi..

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458

Tiger

so..from Mangalore..there's a train towards Ernakulam-Cochin..
twin cities in Kerala..very beautiful experience for me..
Kerala is wonderful..I will tell you later on..I got a bit of a taste..
how Kerala state looks on the train ride Mangalore-Calicut..
the people..I loved them..Kerala was the most educated state
they scored very high..in educational services..
in these days already..Kerala had a tendency towards communism..
Kerala nurses...are famous all over India..I'll try to find a link..
about Arundhati Roy..a lady writer..who won some prize?pulitzer??
so..the nature in Kerala..is something to be experienced really..
Calicut..was also known as Khozikode..it was known for spices..
and also that famous *kalarippayat*let's call it Kerala karate..ahah..
I'll come back to this martial art form in a later posting about Kerala..
I don't exactly recall..how I got from Calicut to Ooty??
complicated connection..some funny bus rides..
guess what..I stayed 2 nights in the youth hostel of Ootacamund..
never miss this spot in South India..if it's on your itinerary..
the train ride=Blue Mountain railway..is a must for train buffs..
there's a dude in this forum called Themnax..he loves trains...
so did I..but..I made that crazy ride between Ooty-Mettupalayam..
I'll let you know..in a later posting..an unforgettable experience..
Tiger..

wawww..I remember this busride..scenery was damn green and lush..
on that bus..somebody told me to go to see Ooty..so..I changed
my itinerary again a bit..instead of going straight down to Cochin..
I was gonna take a side road around Calicut...to Ootacamund..
Indians call it Ooty...real name is bit longer=Udhagamandalam..
it's a cool hillstation..more then 2200m altitude..hey..hey..
this nice Indian tamil gentleman..on that bus towards Mangalore..
told me about a toy train ride..I'll tell you later on..it was magic..
so..Mangalore..funny streets there..bit bumpy ride trough this regio
called Coorg..sleepy little lush villages..coffee culture over there..
Mangalore was not that interesting as a place..
I stayed in some tourist bungalow..very few guests..
I recall that the owner had put a special mosquito net..
around the bed..I slept in...malaria lurks??but..I took my pills..ahah..
I got myself some hot curry dish there as well..they really put the
heavy dose of chillies in their dishes in South India..
but..most important..I did not get the shits....bwaahah..
will tell you peeps about Calicut and Ooty and that train ride...
tiger

Just an extra posting+link today..
indian music..got lots of variety..
classical..like Manna Dey...Lata's ghazals
or Bollywood music..it's all music..
I never forget the standing ovation..Ravi Shankar received..
in Woodstock or Monterrey pop festivals..
during my travells through the Indian subcontinent..
I was daily confronted..with Indian music..
the link for this music..is from much later on..


Hindi language..Hindi movies..Hindi songs..
try to listen to these songs from a movie
called 1942 a love story..
great music during my stay in 1999 in India..
you can best mark all songs at once..
there is a advertising about Citibank..after that music starts..
Leading actor was Anil Kapoor..
Leading actress Manisha Koirala..
The song Kuchh na Kaho goes in 3 versions..
Kumar Sanu,Chorus version,Lata Mangeskar..
Lata is called the nightingale of India..
ask any Indian about Lata..they will know..
I like the song Yeh Safar by Shivaji Chattopadyaya..
The music director was R.D.Burman..well known in India..

http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H000001.html


Let me know whether you like the songs...

Tiger

Bangalore-Mysore by train was about bit more then 3hours..
first I wanted to visit Halebid/Belur and Sravanabelgola..
due to some reason..I did not..wanted to reach Kerala sooner..
Sravanabelgola is again a pilgrimage place for Jains..
there's a huge statue of more then 16m heigh..dedicated..
to Bahubali(Gomatheswara)every morning..there's a puja..
it's about 100kms.from Mysore..I think..I got a link somewhere??
Belur/Halebid is known for temples..signs of a very ancient dynasty..
all of these places are around 100 to 120kms.from Mysore..
pity..but..I did not see these temples...you can't see everything??
so..Mysore..known for *agarbatti*=incense..but also for the palace
of the Maharajah..now..wonderful palace...aww..the architecture..
I went to see the inside..it's luxury at the top..Durbar hall etc..
no shoes allowed..no cameras inside as well..it's a huge place..
just go and see this palace..it's wonderful..unbelieveable..
Mysore got a good flower and vegetable market...colourful..
http://www.mysore.org.uk/index.html
I stayed in the railway retiring rooms..very cheap..
in India..one can also very often sleep or rest..
into the rest rooms first class..shower,reclining chairs etc..
usually there was a *chowkidar*=guard..
I never bought a 1st class ticket..mostly..
these guards let tourists get into the first class waiting room..
it was like that in the 70's..I bet the rules are changed now??
I was gonna travell into Kerala via Mangalore..by bus this time..
i heard that ride..got some nature..to dream about..
it proved out..to be the truth..very green..
it's the Coorg regio..more about that trip later on..
Tiger