Quirky Traveller's Tales

Around the corner of late January and early February every year, Mumbai starts to resonate at a different octave. Performing arts, cinema, music, cultural shows, theatre, literature, workshops, heritage walks, events specially organized for kids & youths, and above all a vibrant street mood engulfs the mind for most of the tourists and residents alike. Since recent years the entire area transforms into a street mela, with entrepreneurs & artists selling their innovation & creations, food stalls to offer great Indian food from across the nation.

Kala Ghoda (a hindi phrase for ‘black horse’), a small precinct in South Mumbai, is popular for its annual art festival in the beginning of every year. More importantly, it is gaining prominence among freelancers and professional startups within India and across the globe.

Being a Saturday, I just picked up my D70 and decided to experience the vibrancy of the maximum city - Mumbai. The thought of being among the crowd, cheering and shouting and clapping brings an adrenaline rush and goose bumps to the photographer in me. Besides offering a great photo-op, the festival makes me more philosophical to look beyond the focal length and the pixels.

Sitting there made me realize that art is such a leveler; the taxi wala and those ladies who just got down from the sedan were jostling equally for some foot-hold or rather, butt-hold on the beautiful Asiatic Library stairs. The scantily dressed and the burqa clads enjoying the same ragas and traveling as co-sailors on the same musical wave (though not the same wavelength).  A festival like this gives an opportunity to the common man to experience legendary performers and also the unknown talented groups who put on their best for those few minutes of spot light, all completely free.

That evening Hindustani classical music was applauded with the same hysteria as was that for the next performance that followed. It was interesting to see how a pure western dance form had mesmerized the eastern population.  I never knew what Paul Taylor stood for till that morning when my friend Googled it for me. I am sure most of the audience did not have a clue as well, but the magic of the performers with sculpted bodies and lightening agility bowled over everyone. No wonder the movement of art is immaterial of per capita income or, for that matter, the GDP of any nation. Yes, I agree with the gentlemen who said ‘the world is flat’.

Refuelling my beer belly for precisely 20 minutes after watching dance troop Adonis look alikes, I decided to move on to the theatre street. The colorful artists and painters literally paint the town red; the positivity made me smile. Fully enlightened once again, I decided to gulp that huge sizzler at a traditional old Mumbai joint. Who cares about flat abs, especially after a pint of beer?

Going back relaxed and thoughtful I wondered; do I really need to go to a guru when fundamental joy is right here in my back yard?  A good question to ponder…

Ankur Shrivastava is a corporate citizen who works with one of the largest business houses of India. Being a technocrat, he enjoys experimenting with new gadgets. He is passionate about photography and traveling. As a freelancer and free-willed photographer he currently contributes mostlyto charitable causes and all that his heart desires and lens permit.

Follow him on Twitter @AnkurHums and get connected with him on LinkedIn http://in.linkedin.com/pub/ankur-shrivastava/0/644/850

Living abroad for almost 10 years some of my most memorable Christmas celebrations have been very far from my UK home. Here are 3 that were quirkily different …

Aswan, Egypt

In the early 80s a group of us spent one Christmas and New Year in Egypt.  On Christmas Day so we left our VERY basic hostel to find a cheap restaurant open which served festive fare and a drink. As you can imagine, in a predominantly Muslim country on a Saturday, that was not so easy … Eventually we found a little place by the Camel Market (not on that day), with a big table outside.  We were offered Roast chicken and chips with local beer… Perfect.

Whilst we waited (for hours) for the chicken, we drank warm beer and relished the hot sun, safe in the knowledge that back home in the UK it was probably raining and definitely cold.  The chicken was the toughest, ropiest old bird you could imagine – but we enjoyed it anyway as we reminisced about our favourite Christmas holidays, exchanged REALLY cheap and fun gifts, toasted absent friends and congratulated ourselves on having a very unChristmassy Christmas Day.

 Pattaya, Thailand

In 1990, a friend and I escaped from Hong Kong to stay at a luxury hotel in Pattaya, which looked absolutely dreamy. What we didn’t know was that during the Vietnam War, Pattaya had been a favourite place for soldiers to chill out and ‘relax’ – and their legacy lived on …

 Having arrived on Christmas Eve we decided to eat out in Pattaya the next day, so after a relaxing day by the pool we wandered into the town.  What a shock that was.  It was late afternoon and still daylight but all the bars were busy and it was obvious what delights were on offer for Christmas here… We wandered up and down Soi 6 barely able to contain our amazement. Some of the bars and clubs had festive decorations amidst the neon – I’ll never forget one sign which read ‘A Merry Christmas to all our Customers’ above a lap-dancing club offering some very exotic acts …

 Eventually we found a vaguely respectable bar where we had Pad Thai noodles and fended off the attentions of some very drunk Australian guys who’d clearly partaken of a fair bit of Christmas cheer.  As their propositions got more extreme we decided return to our hotel and leave Pattaya red light district to its own unique Christmas festivities!

 Queenstown, South Africa

“We’re having a Braai on Christmas Day – just family and a few mates …” thus was I introduced to Christmas Dinner, South African style. I was staying with my boyfriend’s family on their farm just outside Queenstown. The weather was fantastic; warm, sunny and fresh. On Christmas morning we exchanged presents, drank sparkling wine and opened cards showing Santas and snow-covered carol singers outside typical English churches; all very incongruous with the African veldt outside the back door.

 A Braai is a BBQ, SA style. On the biggest grill I’ve ever seen, was every kind of meat imaginable, including ostrich and Boerewors, a spicy sausage.  Huge buckets were filled with ice and beer, boxes of red wine stood outside the kitchen door next to a tall fridge full of white wine, soft drinks & mixers.  Two trestle tables were loaded up with all manner of salads, dips, breads and fruit, with a smaller table for the kids – and not a turkey or Brussel sprout in sight.

 By 4pm the party was in full swing and it was time for carols and the Christmas pudding. The farm workers joined us and as ‘Hark The Herald Angels Sing’ rang out into the African sky from over 50 voices, it seemed the best way ever to celebrate this wonderful season.

Whatever you do, wherever you are and whoever you are with, may your Christmas be quirky and bright

I’ve always wanted to visit India, especially The Golden Triangle, Rajasthan. One day I will get there, but in the meantime I am reading up all I can and planning my journey from my armchair!

As a lover of the Alastair Sawday books, I was delighted to discoverSawday’s India & Sri Lanka Special Places To Stay, and I spent a magical time looking through the book and dreaming of the trip. There are loads of wonderful choices – from palaces and luxury hotels to homely B&Bs, tree houses and tents – to suit every budget, including a fairly limited one like mine. All the places are chosen with Sawday’s unique approach to accommodation – “We look for comfort, originality, authenticity and reject the insincere, anonymous and the banal.”

I fell in love with exotic locations like Neemrana Fort-Palace built over 6 centuries and spread over 11 levels, Devra Udaipur with its organic farm and views across Lake Pichola, Savista Retreat and its musical preformances on the amphitheatre steps and Dev Villas with 7 ‘stylish safari tents’ and India’s most famous tiger reserve nearby.

Having indulged in a myriad of fab places to stay, I then spent a while wandering around the websites giving info about the region, including Rajasthan Tourism site which gives loads of helpful info and ideas for travel. What a fascinating place to visit – I can’t wait.

If you have any hints or tips for India travel, do let me know …

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