Hoysala heritage

We visited Halebid and Belur a few weeks ago. Halebid has hardly changed in the decade or so since I last visited. The temple is still as breathtaking and the government-run hotel right opposite still as flea-bitten as I remembered it from all those years ago! My only quarrel is with the new lighting in the Hoysalesvara temple, which from a distance, looks like a whole bunch of pigeons roosting on the roof. My favourite place in Halebid still remains the Kedaresvara temple, where nary a soul goes. We spent a magical and very rainy two hours there. I ooh-ed and aah-ed at the sculpture, while the kids had a whale of a time in the little pools that formed as a result of the downpour.

Bennigudda Hill was a new discovery this time around - highly recommended too, for the views, for its serenity and for its rustic feel.

Today's Deccan Herald carries an article I wrote on the lesser-known monuments of Halebid.

Resorption efficiency

Something a little out of the ordinary...although a couple of years ago, this was what I used to live, breathe and think about, day in and day out!

Here's a journal article that began life as a paper I wrote for an ecology course some years ago. I'm quite pleased to see it has been well received and cited a fair bit too...

The dustiest place in the world!

I remember reading about dust inputs into the Amazon during my stint in Costa Rica. Then, as now, I couldn't help but be amazed at how inter-connected things in the natural world are. A couple of recent papers on the subject of dust in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences prompted this article in Deccan Herald this week on how climate change might affect the dustiest place in the world...No, it's not in India, it's in Chad.

World's dust bowl
We already know that climate change might drastically alter landscapes around the world. Interestingly, one of the prime agents of changing ecology might be dust from deserts, and often where you least expect it.
Several studies have shown that the Sahara desert is the world’s largest source of desert dust. A mind boggling 240 ± 80 million tons of dust is transported from the Sahara desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond every year.

You can read the rest of the article in Deccan Herald.

Personal change

Here's a very interesting read on why change at a personal level (e.g., switching off the lights when you leave a room) alone is not going to help us change our world for the better. Read the comments too.

Minister of State for External Affairs

Today's Deccan Herald carries a story on the Nilekanis and the MoS for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, releasing a book called Study in America: The Definitive Guide for Aspiring Students.

Doesn't this strike anyone else as odd? Shouldn't our esteemed MoS release books titled Studying in India: The Definitive Guide etc etc instead? Perhaps someone should tell Mr Tharoor that External Affairs does not mean working for other countries...

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.

Bribing the gods

Janardhan Reddy recently gave a diamond studded crown worth about Rs 45 crores to the god in Tirupati. Reddy is Karnataka's minister for tourism and also owns Brahmani steel plant and Obulapuram mines in Andhra Pradesh. I assume this gift is in return for the Lord having showered his blessings upon him, and to ensure more such showers in the future…In India, even the gods are open to bribes.