Great civilizations and dynasties do not have a fairy tale beginning, for they are all founded on streams of blood . While Indian folklore is rich in heroic legends , a birth of a dynasty is replete with battles fought and won .

It is the same with the Vijaynagar empire , except there are several stories here with various versions. But the location remains the same. A river bed with a fortification on one bank . This was the principality of Anegundi, ruled then by a Hoysala chieftain. When the Delhi Sultans laid siege to the Hoysalas and Kakatiyas, the latter fell, leaving South India vulnerable to their attacks. Our story begins here in the 14th century.

Sitting in a coracle and enjoying the ride around the Tungabhadra I heard a guide narrate the story of Vijaynagar to a group of tourists .”When the Delhi Sultans had invaded Warangal, two brothers called Hakka or Harihara and Bukka escaped and landed here in Anegundi,” he says , pointing to the town on the other side of the river.

The brothers who were under the Kakatiyas then started serving the local chief here . Meanwhile the chief gave refuge to Bahauddin, a rebel nephew of the Delhi Sultan , Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

“The Sultan plundered Anegundi and the brothers escaped again, and this is when they met Vidyaranya , a seer from the Sringeri Shankaracharya Mutt who asked them to build a city on the other bank of the river .He called it Vijaynagar or the city of victory though we also call it Vidyanagar after the seer, “ the guide said. The story however does not end here. The brothers raised a small army and revolted against the Sultan, who returned the kingdom to them. The seeds of the Vijayanagar empire which went on to rule all of South India for over 350 years had just been sown.

And yet everything about Hampi is not about Vijaynagar. Gazing at the waters of the Tungabhadra, I was looking forward to going towards the Pampa Sarovar on the other side. After all, Pampa is older than Hampi or Hampe as it was called and this was the Kishkinta of Ramayana where Rama gets the support of Sugriva and Hanuman and even kills Vaali. It is no wonder that Jambhavan , the lone sloth bear in Sugriva’s army comes alive in Daroji, the sloth bear sanctuary located close to Hampi.

As dusk dawned in Vittala temple , I was lost in the silence , when a familiar voice greeted me. It was the guide and his lot of tourists. As I walked away , I could hear him say, “ This is the greatest empire of all times, people compare it with Rome , but let me tell you that Vijaynagar is even more majestic than Rome .” I thought this is probably where civilizations and empires meet – on battlefields. And yet there is a similarity in the stories – one river and two brothers…

This was featured in my column , Inside Story in the Metro Plus. For more stories of Hampi, visit my blog

Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and has a wide variety of flora and fauna. The critically endangered Royal Bengal Tiger rules the jungle here and that has converted this national park into a popular ecotourism destination. However, the park has over 580 species of birds alone. Here are some of the birds I photographed in my recent visit to the park.

Indian Roller or Blue Jay (Coracias benghalensis) is a beautiful, bright bird and is the state bird of 4 states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. The Roller gets its name from the aerobatic display the male puts up with its twists and turns during the breeding season. The birds have an assortment of colors like bright blue, turquoise, indigo and white on their wings and are a visual treat in flight. They are commonly seen in open grasslands, scrub forests and are often perched on dead trees and electric lines. They are easily one of the most photogenic birds around.

Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica) is a member of the Starling family of birds. A sub species exists in the Western Ghats which has a white head. These Starlings are omnivorous and feed on insects, nectar and fruits. Like most Starlings, these birds fly in a tight flock and have the ability to change directions rapidly with perfect synchrony.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a bird of prey that is found widely across many different habitats in India. In comparison to other large raptors, the bird is fairly medium-sized. They hunt for snakes and lizards by flying over the forest canopy. They usually make nests close to a water body. These eagles have a prominent yellow eye and are a treat to watch and photograph.

White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) was earlier known as the Shama Thrush. The bird is a melodious singer and has a rich, clear voice. It is also known to mimic other birds often. While photographing this bird, I recall how it kept singing. When other birds joined in, the Shama began to mimic songs and calls, including that of the Common Hawk Cuckoo, or the Brain-Fever bird! They are mainly insectivorous birds. During the breeding season, the female builds the nest in the hollow of a tree, while the male stands guard.

Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) is a common bird and can be found in various habitats like grasslands, scrub jungles and even away from water. They have vibrant colors and when perched together, they make a colorful sight. As the name suggests, Bee-eaters mainly feed on bees, wasps, ants and dragonflies. A Bee-eater repeatedly thrashes the prey on a branch to remove the sting from its prey before feeding on it.

For more pictures visit here

Germany is one land that knows its beer right. And especially if you visit Bavaria, you will be all the more convinced. Every beer brewery has a garden in the back yard. These beer houses are almost restaurants serving varieties of cheese with the varieties of beer they brew in-house. There are several beer breweries in Bavaria or South Germany though a handful of them are really big and brand market their beer.

In the North of Munich, my local friend took me to a local beer house. This one had a very old school charm around it and around 5 in the evening in early May, the crowd had gathered up for their first round of drinks. Though the crowd was a mixture of young and hep population from the nearby university campus, most others were grumpy old men playing card and sipping beer from their liter large mugs.

Yes, the small size beer in these beer houses is 500 ml. And an average German wouldn’t touch any less than a 1 liter mug. By the way, as an average Indian woman, I couldn’t lift the 1 liter mug with one hand to toast ?

Towards the South of Munich, the garden culture becomes more common as the graveled roads lead up to the square which houses famous breweries. Haufbrauhas is one such famous beer house. I loved the real atmosphere of Haufbrauhaus on a weekday evening with an old school band performing and good old men sitting in tables around us and chatting away their lives.

Tasting most things on house is a hobby I have. So there came Raddler beer, brown in color and tasting more of Barley and Cola; Weiss Bier, looking white and tasting like corn and the normal liter that was anyway ordered, after which I can’t remember much…

To me, this is the flavor of Bavaria you can savor than the Auto Museums, which Germany has always been famous for. By all means, visit the museums. But I would say, don’t miss out on the local life.

Spituk Monastery, like all monasteries in Ladakh, is located on a hill overlooking the village. River Indus flows behind the monastery, beyond which are the tall mountains capped with ice.

On the other side of Spituk is a very different landscape where the wide valley of Indus is used in constructing the Leh Airport and the army installations. At less than 10km from Leh, Spituk it is almost ready to be consumed by the expanding town.

The colourfully painted doors of dukhang (prayer hall) in Spituk Monastery

A mural of Virupaksha (also called Chanme-Zang), the lord of the west direction. The front wall of the prayer hall in every monastery is usually painted with images of guardians dieties of four directions.

Colourful decorations in the prayer hall of Spituk Monastery.

A monk wearing the traditional yellow hat of the gelug pa lineage at Spituk Monastery.

A statue of Tara (also called Dolma), a female Bodhisattva. Spituk Monastery has a room dedicated to images of Tara, called Dolma Lhakhang or the Temple of Tara

I read about Eran in two books, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture by James Fergusson and Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India vol 1 Buddhist, Jain, Hindu by George Michell. Both the books appraised the place for its marvelous and grand architectural temples and exquisite images. However, this Eran is nowhere seen on tourism circuit of Madhya Pradesh. Even I did not find any mention of this place in the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) monuments list. This was very intriguing that the place which was talked by most famous historians and archaeologist, then why it’s nowhere mentioned.

When you don’t get the information from concerned circles, it’s the best way to get this information from local people. I knew that this place Eran was somewhere near Sanchi only so when I was in Sanchi, I did some local enquiry about it. I got the results. I came to know that Eran is nearby Mandi Bamora railway station. I planned for a day trip to Eran immediately.

Eran is one of the oldest town in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. It was referred as Airikina in the inscriptions found here and nearby places. It might be the capital of of Airikina Pradesha or Airkina Vishaya, an administrative division of the Gupta empire.

Monuments – George Michell has given a map of Eran in his guide book. As per the map, there are two locations of historical importance; one where a pillar is standing and another where ruins of three temples are located. However when I visited Eran, I found that the pillar and the three temple ruins are in the same complex protected monument under ASI. It might be that when George visited the site, the ruins and the pillar were at different locations and later on ruins are brought at the location where pillar was so that it’s convenient for tourists to see all the monuments at one place, however this is just a guess work from me.

I met Mr. Rajendra Pratap Rajput, one of the caretaker of this complex at Eran. He told me that this complex is not receiving proper care from the concerned authorities. He was very enthusiastic about making this complex a better tourist place if concerned authorities give little more attention towards this.

Pillar (484 AD) – This is a sandstone pillar of more than 13m height. This contains an inscription which states that this pillar was erected during the reign of the ruler Buddhagupta in 484 AD. Above the capital is a block with seated lions on all corners. Above this block is a pair of back-to-back standing statues of Vishnu and Garuda. There is a wheel between the heads of these two statues.

Varah (5th century) – This Varah (boar) is similar as the famous Varah of Khajuraho. This is a 5m long sculpture which is completely covered with miniature figures of gods and goddesses. The goddess Bhu is shown near one of the tusk. There is an inscription of rule Buddhagupta on the neck of the animal.

Narasimha (5th century) – A damaged statue of Narasimha is put on a platform. This statute is in two pieces, foot and body separate. Several columns and doorway fragments of this sanctuary are still lying around the complex.

Vishnu Temple (9th century) – This is most complete temple in this complex with intact doorway and flat roof. In the sanctuary is put a 5th century large status of Vishnu which has halo behind its head.

Food and Accommodation – Eran is a small village, you will not find any place to stay and eat. Mandi Bamora is the nearest big town, however that also does not offer good staying options. Best would be that you stay at Sanchi and visit Eran as a day trip from there. Mandi Bamora railway station and nearby area gives some options for food.

How to reach – Mandi Bamora is a railway station on Bhopal-Bina railway line. Many trains stop at this station including Chattishgarh Express (8237), Vindhyachal Express (1272) and Amritsar Express (1057) among others. Eran is about 15 km far from here on eastern side. You can either ask some auto rickshaw or take lift from people going towards that village. There is no direct bus to Eran, buses going to Khurai will drop you at the crossing to Eran, from where it is about 5 kms.

In the mood for a Quark Cheese-Cake Cup Cake – here is a recipe for the same ..

Ingredients

Quark cheese – 2 cups
Sugar – 3/4 cup
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Cornstarch – 2 1/2 Tbsps
Sour cream – 1 cup
Lemon Zest/Orange Zest- 1
Red Colour- Few Drops

For Base
Biscuit crumbs – 1 1/2 cups
Melted butter – 6 tbsps
Sugar – 1/4 cup

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180 C

2.Combine biscuit crumbs, melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar together and press the mixture onto the bottom 10 Cup cake liners.

3. Refrigerate in freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Mix 3/4 cup of the sugar with Quark cheese until smooth.

5. beat in eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch until just mixed. Stir in sour cream until blended. Scoop equal amount batter into the cup cake liners.

6. In a small container take out few spoons and add red colour and pipe small hearts on top and any other designs.

6. Bake in a water bath for 30 to 35 mins until set.

7. Turn oven off and leave cup cakes in oven with the door ajar for 3 hours.

8 Once cool put in fridge for few hour and enjoy with your loved one!

At first glance it hardly looks like a palace. But on a second glance it does not seem like a saw mill either. To me , it looks like an exquisitely designed home , carved in rosewood, replete with a Mangalore tiled roof with wooden pillars, an open courtyard, two narrow staircases leading to a hall flanked by rooms and a balcony .

It is well past noon and I am in the Shivappa Nayaka palace in Shimoga or Shivamogga, a town located on the banks of the river Tunga in the Malenadu heartland . We happen to be the only tourists in this sprawling palace. The staircase leads us upstairs and we enter the main durbar or the balcony of the palace . Looking out into the vast expanse , we see that the well manicured lawns have turned into a veritable art gallery with ancient sculptures scattered around them.
We wait patiently for the watchman to finish his lunch and take us on a guided tour.

The original palace he says was built by Hiriya Venkatappa Nayak of the Keladi Dynasty in the 16th century. The Vijaynagar empire was declining and the Keladi Nayaks, who were ruling as chieftains under them , had slowly emerged emerging on their own. A local battle fought here between the Nayaks and the Palegars resulted in the former’s victory and hence a fort and a palace were built here.

The victory was however shortlived. Soon, Adil Shah of the Bijapur Sultanate destroyed it after a bitter battle and it was later rebuilt by Shivappa Nayak in the Indo sarcenic style. The story however does not end here. When the British took over from the Nayak, they converted the palace into a saw mill to store logs..Finally the monument assumed its current form , after it was restored by the ASI.

Legends say that the Maratha ruler, Rajaram, the son of Chatrapthi Shivaji was hidden in this palace when he was pursued by the Mughal ruler Aurangazeb. The story dates to the later 16th century when the dynasty was ruled by Rani Chennamma, wife of Somashekara Nayaka . Rajaram, along with his confidants apparently entered her court dressed as a monk , seeking alms. They were passing through her kingdom and they sought refuge . The queen , against the advice of her officials, hid Rajaram in this palace for a few days until he carried on with his journey. While Rajaram escaped, an infuriated Aurangazeb sent his army to defeat the queen, but in the battle that followed, the queen’s forces defeated the Mughals, forcing them to sign a treaty with the Nayaks.
As the watchman finished the story, the parakeets screeched , announcing their displeasure at our prolonged presence. Looking up , we saw a tree that was filled with bats, who were probably enjoying their afternoon siesta. Fascinated , we watched them for a while and then continued on our quest to see more places and hear more stories.

Melkote was a trip decided very quickly over an evening chat. 4 bikes and 8 people; we met near Bangalore University at 5:45 AM on 19th of January 2008, a Saturday. I enjoyed the back seat watching the sunrise, as we rode to Mandya. We stopped for breakfast at Mandya. A rightward Deviation to Melkote is about 2KM after Mandya. On our way we took several stops to interact with farmers who shared their stories with interest.

At Melkote, we first went to Cheluvanarayana swamy temple. In front of the temple was an Iyengar, who was marketing his food stall and asked us to have lunch. Melkote is known for the Iyengar Pulivogre. He also told us about the places we could visit. Cheluva narayana swamy idol is very beautiful indeed. One would not want to take the eyes off such a pleasant looking idol of lord Vishnu. Badrinarayana temple is another small temple opposite the main temple.
Yoganarasimha temple is on top of a hill. About 1000 steps would lead you up there. Both these temples are 900 years old and are extremely beautiful with lot of stone carvings depicting stories of Vishnu.

The view of the entire village from top is truly mesmerizing. The lake Kalyani at the base of the hill is a good relaxing place.

We rode back and had tasty Pulivogre, Sweet Pongal and Curd rice at the iyengar’s place. The food is cooked at home and sold here. He also gave us some back ground of the temples. It seems, a jain king who ruled here had two daughters, one of whom was terribly ill. Ramanujachar was requested to arrive and cure her. He took her to Tannur lake and there cured her out of the disease. In turn the king offered him gold, but ramanjachar asked him to follow his vaishnava principles and convert to a Vaishnava king. The king was renamed to Vishnuvardhana. Ramanujachar stayed there for several years and preached his new followers.
Another famous story about the temple is of the utsav idol which was stolen and then found in Delhi, in sultan’s house being worshipped by his daughter. Lord Vishnu himself came in dreams of Ramanujachar and informed the idols location.
This is a major difference I have seen in traveling in India or anywhere else; every place has stories to say, villagers have interesting information about their ancestors and I think this is what makes it so good to be in these places and to be part of history.
We next rode to Danush koti. A cutout in a rock, in which the natural spring keeps water filled, is believed to have been created by Lord Rama’s arrow. While we were there millions of honey bee from nowhere flew in to cover the entire place with black spots. We had to hide behind a rock to save ourselves.
The next stop was Akka-Thangi Kere. Water in one of these is salty and other sweet. Next stop was Raya Dwara – A grand entrance that never got completed. Myth is that the King wanted a grand entrance built within a night. But as the sun’s first ray fell on the incomplete masterpiece, the time was up and till date it remains so.

I recalled the song from film Guru – Barso Re, shot here. The Sanskrit academy was closed. The library has a wide collection of oldest scriptures.
We took a narrow back route from Melkote to Tannur Lake. It’s a neat place to hang around. We took a boat ride.We watched the sunset and returned through Pandavpur-Mandya-Bangalore route.

We stopped at Mandya again for food. Reached Bangalore University at 9:30 PM. Dispersed from there to our homes.
It appeared to me like I had lived 2 days in one. What a long day it was; lovely places; interesting history; enthusiastic villagers. Few back routes that we took have not seen buses yet. Few paths are only meant for bikes and they pass through the real village life.

As usual the time period between two posts is very long. So, I start writing again,promising myself that this time this will not be the case anymore.

As you must have already guessed by the title of the post I intend to talk about food, and since you can also see ” Part 1″ written alongside, there will be more stuff on similar lines.Anyone who knows me even remotely knows that I love to eat. I am not one of those who are very adventurous and will try out anything and everything that is served in front of them.I like to keep it safe and eat stuff that at least has something which I have tasted in the past or have some sort of confidence in.That ways I am always in a position to compare what I have eaten to some previous gastronomical experience of the same kind.The Best that I Have Tasted series will have my thoughts on what I think is the tastiest of that particular kind of dish. Although I am a non-vegetarian, I do have some all-time vegetarian favourites, so I think we should have an equitable distribution between the categories and to prove my case I will start with an all time favourite of a lot of people , The Samosa.

Courtesy : Flickr : DraconianRain

Now as most of us know, the Samosa is a deep fried, triangular patty shell which has a savory filling which might consist of potatoes, peas, onions , cottage cheese, chicken or in some cases even ground beef. Needless to say, for people who like eating fried food and who are okay with stuff dripping with oil, the aforementioned concept can only mean taste heaven. And the best part it is made well at quite a few places. So, the way it is cooked and the ingredients put vary from place to place. However, there is one particular place which makes it better than anywhere else.

It is a small shack , located in the heart of Heavy Engineering Corporation township Ranchi. For quite some time now, HEC has been declared a failed proposition, making huge losses consistently, outdated production techniques which have no hope of being revamped and absolutely no development in infrastructure. The general level of dilapidation lends a very subtle undertone of gloom to your mood when you get there. All in all, not a very inviting place to go to. However, right in front of the community hall Sector 2, there is one place which always has some bustle around it, ” Devanti Chat” and it makes the best samosas I have ever tasted and I am pretty confident that once you try that out , you will agree as well.
The first time I ever heard about it was in class Vll , when a few of my friends who used to stay in HEC said that there was this new place which makes better samosa than any other they have eaten before. Curious, I persuaded my Dad to come with me and buy some. It took some pestering , but finally managed to get him there. He bought me two and then….
I couldn’t have agreed with my friends more!! That was actually the tastiest samosa that I had ever eaten..or should I rephrase it and say that it is the best that I HAVE ever eaten. The patty is fried just right, and the filling inside is an amazing blend of mashed potatoes and spices, served with red “chutney”, it is a kaleidoscope of tastes as soon as you put it in your mouth. And it just doesn’t end there, if you want them to make it even better, they will serve it with chhola and onions, thus transforming it into an awesome snack. And I am surely not the only one who has had this feeling after tasting this delectable bit of fried heaven, people form traditional “samosa strongholds” like Allahabad and Banaras have also been astounded by the brilliance of Devanti. I have been a regular there since Class VII, and the best part is that the taste has remained the same. Many a times we see cases where eateries start to do really well and then they decide to expand and ruin everything. Fortunately that has not been the case and it still is the same place in front of the community hall serving unbelievable stuff. At times, the entire lot is finished off in less than an hour. This consistent excellence has also had a positive impact on the competition as they have had to improve their standards just to stay in contention. Ah!! What a sublime example of “Culinary Economics”!!
So , if you ever want to go to Ranchi , and if you are even remotely interested in eating fried stuff, Devanti Chat , Sector 2 HEC is the place to go. One bite of that majestic creation and I am sure you will keep coming back!! All this is making me hungry, where’ my food??

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH ASSORTED VEGGIES in a CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:
Angel hair pasta: ½ packet
Assorted veggies: (diced)
Zucchini- 1 No.
Onions- 5 Nos.
Garlic- 5 cloves
Broccoli- 1 small head
Baby Corn- 1 punit
Mushrooms- 1 punit
Sun dried tomatoes- ½ a jar
Olive oil- 3 tbsp
Cream- ½ liter
Chili flakes
Salt and pepper

Method:
In a pan sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil till golden brown.
Add mushrooms, sauté until they are cooked.
Deglaze with cream, add sun dried tomatoes and simmer.
Cook pasta in another pot. Cook till al dente. Just 2 minutes before you drain the pasta add broccoli to the pasta. Drain.
Sauté zucchini, baby corn add to the cream sauce.
Add the pasta, broccoli to the sauce and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Serve warm and garnish with parsley!

About the Author:
A pastry chef by profession and also a TED fellow, Kishi Arora, spends her day dreaming up ways to tickle surprise and indulge the taste buds of discerning foodies in Delhi.

Kishi started ‘Foodaholics’, a popular Dessert shop. Now Foodaholics extends consultancy services to organisations and enterprises involved in food business. For an exotic desert customized to your tastes place your order at www.foodaholics.in