ADHVAGATI

Preamble- Ramble It is difficult to pinpoint  when Curiosity became Desire and when Desire turned into  Obsession . But, that it was brewing for  quite a while is true.  Our Mysore being in close proximity to North Kerala ( Malabar -Wayanad), one  grew up with the "general knowledge" that  that part of God's Own Country  also had a lively , thriving culture of  its own Spirits, Shamans and Vamachara rituals ("black magic "type), all of  which went back to the Beginning  of Time.  One also knew that they  called their Spirits  "Theyyams" ( derived from  "Deivam" meaning Supernatural Being  or God ) who made an appearance between October and April to drive away diseases , ensure good crop and give other blessings.  Sometime in late 1990s , the very early days of Web Logging, a blogpost  by an European lady had caught attention. She had documented everything about  a Theyyam ritual : selection of the candidate, his rigorous preparatory penance

 The Trip was primarily to see Ajanta and Ellora caves, a long time agenda. The base had to be Aurangabad - a town that seems to exist solely to serve that singular purpose ! For,  right from the shiny Airport ( "Domestic and Seasonally International"), The Ajanta-Ellora  theme could be seen splashed around almost everywhere as murals, posters, name-boards .   But after Ajanta-Ellora-ing to heart's content , at the fag end of the trip, while seeing around Aurangabad , it was made apparent  that other than being a proud host to visitors from all over the world coming to gawk at the two World Heritage Sites , The City  has its own colourful life story to tell .  Remnants of which are strewn around in the shade of the hill ranges. Though officially renamed " Chatrapati-Sambajinagar " , Aurangabad happily continues to be Aurangabad on people's tongues as well as on  signboards ! The  name always brings memories of  beautiful fabrics. Cotton fields along highway

The 133Km drive from Raipur Airport to a  village called Chhapri in Kabirdham district  (earlier : Kawardha) is pleasant enough as , for the most part , the road runs through lush wooded regions. For kilometers together , no human settlement is seen. 41% of Chhattisgarh is , reportedly,  forestland .  This part of Chhattisgarh State , bordering Madhya Pradesh, lies within the Maikal  Hillrange , a part of  The Satpuras which , along with The Vindhyas , slashes the geography of the subcontinent into The Indo Gangetic Plain and The Deccan Plateau.  Chhapri turns out to be a sight for sore urban eyes . A small , quiet  Village nestling 325Meters above sea level , twenty kilometers away from the City of Kawardha. Though noon , it is cool and breezy , the occasional strong gusts  aerosol-ing the heady perfume of Saptaparni flowers all over the premises of the Resort , which is to be base for two days.  The Resort is Native to the core. Adobe walls, open courtyard , rope strung swings ,  jut

  UTTIRAMERUR , near Kanchipuram , is a busy small town now , with all features of a typical Tamilnadu mofussil layout- full of  shops, dust, loud voices, floral and frying aromas , white heat , sweaty brows , ox carts, forests of  Dish Antennae, flex-posters announcing weddings/ deaths and  kuthupaattu beats throbbing from public transport vehicles as well as multicolored little shrines....in short, full of life.   It might very well have been just as lively a millenium ago too. For starters, it was a good enough sized settlement for Pallava Nandivarman II to have built  a three tiered shrine to Vishnu in His three poses - standing , seated and reclining. Just like the grand one in Kanchipuram. The SundaraVarada Perumal Temple spread across two acres has undergone additions and alterations in succeeding centuries , making it a magnificent monument . Not content with the three main Vishnu alters , there are additional alters to Vishnu  giving anugraha to Arjuna , Nakula and Sahadeva a

   Cham-Champa-Charmed !    One of the first things we see upon entering “The Valley of Divinity and Art” is a small low signboard that says “Bomb Crater” . A few steps away from it lies a rubble of reddish brown bricks   overgrown   with weeds. It is vaguely unsettling. But our Guide , a cheerful man, merely shrugs and points ahead enthusiastically : “Here we are ! In the heart of ancient Champapura !” Champa ! The mystical name of a forgotten empire ! Was it really named for the Champaka flower ? Or was it just the sanskritised name used in Indian writing of the time ? For record, not one Champaka tree was seen anywhere in the region, for all the four days we were there .  Most people would have first encountered the name Champa /Cham    at   Angkor,   in Cambodia . The men   in conical headgear fighting the armies of Jayavarman on the wall panels of The Bayon   are pointed out as The Chams , people of Champa . While, in general , the Angkorian and Thai Kingdoms elicit more rea