The Nallur tamarind grove

Deccan Herald carried an article I wrote on the Nallur tamarind grove last week. There is something quite alluring about the grove of gigantic ent-like tamarind trees and the little Gopalaswamy temple that lies in their midst. As someone has commented on the article online, the carving of Krishna eating butter is enchanting. And though Dr Anuradha from Maharani College prefers the carvings on the Devanahalli Gopalaswamy temple, to my uneducated eye, the carvings at Nallur were truly remarkable. All in all, it makes for a quiet picnic spot...but watch out for the innumerable monkeys!

More than just an airport

Today's Deccan Herald carries a piece I wrote on Devanahalli fort, one of my favourite places in Bangalore.


"Mention Devanahalli and everyone thinks ‘International Airport’. But Devanahalli is also where one of Indian history’s most colourful personalities, Tipu Sultan, was born. Indeed, the town is quite a heritage hotspot, with a history stretching back several hundred years even before Tipu.

A fine fort famous for its association with Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali lies just off the national highway, about 10 km beyond the airport exit."


You can read the rest of the article here.


Incidentally, we (by which I mean Intach, not the royal we!) conducted a heritage walk at Devanahalli just two days before this article appeared. Sunday saw me and two colleagues from Intach talk to 48 (yes, 48!) children about Devanahalli. Of course, it wasn't just us; volunteers from SECA were there, too, to keep an eye on their flock and make sure all 48 came back!

We had a blast and I'd like to think at least some of the kids did too. A few of them came up to me at the end of the walk to tell me this wasn't like any history lesson they had ever attended. I'm certainly glad they thought so.