Calicut = Paragon Restaurant

There were times when we had re-organized our travel plans to pass through Calicut during lunch hour to hop into this restaurant. Why? They serve the best Malabar Biriyani and Meals. 

The restaurant is always buzzing with hungry foodies and sometimes you have to wait for nearly one hour to get a table. Sadly there is no advance reservation. This the toughest part as the aroma of Biriyani keeps lingering and that elevates your hunger even more.

If you order rice, see that you got enough space on the table for side dishes. Try the Prawns Tawa fry and also the day’s special menu. Chicken Biriyani is my favourite and it tastes amazing.

So the next time you visit Kerala, make sure to indulge in the mouth-watering Malabar cuisine at Paragon. It is one of the “Top Things To Do” at Calicut (Kozhikode).

The Fisherman's Wharf

The Fisherman's Wharf as the name implies is a haven for the sea food lovers. Packed wth Buffets and ala carte of fresh sea food and more, even their ambience talks pure goan!!!



Chilli Squid !!!!.. Just one of the many yummy others!!!

From the Salad bar!!! 



From the Dessert Table

 Not only the sea food but the desserts are also heart warming:)

 Last but not the least is the spread of cokctails mocktails and other drinks, to compliment your platter !!


Cocktails to Taste!!!!

Enjoy At:
The Fisherman's Wharf
Next to Mandovi Motors,
Haralur Road,
Off Sarjapur Road,
Bangalore - 560102.

- Chalked by Megha Kuruvilla

 www.facebook.com/ColoredChalks

Backwaters Treat at Citrus Retreats Allepey

Citrus Retreats Allepey is situated on the banks of Pallathuruthy River with the other side facing the never ending paddy fields. The nature’s beauty doubles up the luxury here.  A 15 minute boat ride from the Pallathuruthy Bridge will take you to the resort. This ride will keep you busy clicking photos 360 degree. Kerala is known for its lush fresh greenery during the monsoon.

When you step down from the boat, you get a welcome that makes you feel like a royal blood. You just need to sit down and relax and the resort staff will take care of your check in and baggage. Then you are escorted to your room and on the way you get a narration on what’s available for you during your stay.

The reception staff was kind enough to upgrade our room from Paddy field view to Lake View. And Lo! I was so grateful for that after seeing the view from the room. Our accommodation was on the first floor and tucked in a corner from where we could enjoy both backwater and paddy fields. The room was really spacious and the balcony was pretty good.

Settling down and refreshing, we went for a walk around the resort to see the amenities. We made use of the complimentary foot massage on the day of arrival which was a real start to relaxation. The spa faces the paddy field and there is a good variety of options to indulge on.

The restaurant is called “Tamara” meaning Lotus. At the table, the Executive Chef came and introduced himself when we chose A la carte’. He had his own charm and way of talking and yes, a really good knowledge on food. By the time we were done with dinner, I knew about the chef and his family and his way of cooking. He was there all the time ensuring that we were well looked after. From then our theme at the resort changed from relaxation to food extravagance. He prepared good traditional Kerala cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we just went on eating. I forgot what hunger was during the stay as my stomach was always full J

The resort has facilities like swimming pool and spa, indoor games like Playstation, Chess, Carom Board, Pool table, outdoor activities like fishing and houseboat cruise, etc. These services are also available in towns and cities and part of our daily routine busy life (except the houseboat ride). So try something different and enjoy the real beauty of countryside. Hence I would recommend walking on the paddy field at the backyard. Lie on the hammock and watch the houseboats pass by. Or just dip your feet in the river and watch the rustic life. Once in a while you may get awakened from this beautiful dream but no worries; it’s just the small school of fish touching your legs. Calm, peaceful, quiet and you feel close to the nature…

Nights, you go to sleep with the sounds of crickets. Mornings, you wake up from the sounds of the water ripples or birds chirping and with the reflection of water on the ceiling. The monsoon rains are treat to your senses.

People say Kerala is God’s own country… I second that, absolutely...

 

How to do acrylic flower painting

Starting with flowers is definitely an interesting way to create your skill. This is a painting for a beginner to medium experienced painters. Each layer is fairly thin(a glaze) because the paint colour is mixed with a small bit of water to make it flow more evenly. If you would rather use flow medium, that is acceptable also. Each layer of glaze must dry before the next layer goes on. Have patience! It is worth the time to get this technique right. Stick to the painting tips during these steps and you will be in a position to paint flowers with acrylic paint.

1. Select how many flowers you will paint and how they will be organized. It doesn't need to be exact- just indicate general dimensions and placement.
2. Prepare the actual canvas. Arrange the paints and brushes exactly where they are handy for the reach. Set your canvas on an easel or even work desk to start your work.
3. Block in the background using the shades of your need. Let it dry; it won't take long.
4. Draw the rough outline of the picture with pencil or chalk onto the background of the canvas. Use light outlines. Using a chalk, you can draw and erase loads of times and as long as you don't over-wet the surface, it will not hurt the painting underneath.
5. Using a fine brush, paint the petals with Titanium White. Then paint a layer of the colour you need onto these white areas.
6. Each petal has a highlight and shadow areas. In shadows, just blend in a layer of Payne's Grey. Then layer thin colour of the petal on it keeping it smooth.Keep the brush strokes going in the directions that the lines of the petals flowing naturally. The areas which will be highlighted will have to be underpainted with Titanium White again.
7. Repeat actions for additional flowers. For those who have overlap to another layer associated with flowers, make sure to dry the first layer before adding to this.
8. Add leaves as well as stems. Using a green paint, add in lines associated with varying thickness with regard to stems. Use a broader brush for making the leaves.
9. Complete the painting. Let it dry. Apply varnish onto the painting and finish off the piece of art.

Chalked by Sobiya Sudeep

http://paintingillusion.blogspot.in

Roopkund - Adventurous Trek to Solitude

Roopkund Trek has got everything – forests, rivers, meadows, snow, all the ingredients of the nature. This glacier lake is famous due to more than 500 human skeletons that are found at the edge of the lake and that's the mystery  which remains unsolved till date.

Thanks Arun Skariah for sharing these amazing pics :) This is his second trip to the Himalayas.

 



Reaching Lohajung 

  





Near Gwaldam, through the pine forest...a scenic drive

 



                       

The camp @ Bedni - the beautiful meadow 



First sighting of Mt. Trishul

You can find these small religious structures the whole way. As you climb higher, the deities are replaced with just snow....

                          

Some say a pond, others say an arena of sorts...

Keep walking

                                   

I am the king of the world...

Camp @ Pathar Nachna, at a distance....

                              

Time stops here

 

                             

Heaven meets Earth

The last camp site at 14000 ft



                                           

Snow Point





Solitude





                           

Roopkund 





The much fabled bones around Roopkund. You get to hear interesting and vivid folklore about their existence... 





Magical Mists



Keeping Kerala's Art Alive

A sudden trip to hometown in Kerala gave me a chance to visit one of the surviving traditional
art schools. Spending my entire school life in Kerala, I never visited Malayala Kalagramam but
better late than never.

29kms from Kannur town, you need to take a left before the Mahe River Bridge and in minutes you will see the name board on the left. There are chances of missing the place as you may get distracted by the beauty of Mahe River alongside the road.

                                                                           

As you walk towards the old building, you ears will strain to hear the faint harmonium music with voices matching to it giving you the feel of traditional Kerala. Sponsored by the A.P.Kunhiraman Trust Chennai, the center started functioning in 1994 and has courses in painting, sculpture, music, dance and pottery. Besides these, sessions, seminars, lectures, in-service programmes and special projects in different fields of art and humanities are conducted by the Fraternity centre of the Kalagramam. It also offers Kalari (stage) for youngsters to rehearse and perform all forms of fine arts. Yoga and Sanskrit too are taught here.

Tourists are permitted to watch the classes with prior permission from the Director. The Malayala Kalagramam is closed on all Thursdays. It is a must go for all the art lovers and spend some time with the veterans of art and linger around in the campus interacting with like-minded people. The ambience is sure to give inspiration to your creativity.


Malayala Kalagramam
Cochin House New Mahe,
Calicut
Kerala
Phone number - 0495 - 2332961

-Chalked By Rashmi

Tuesdays with Morrie - a review

         “Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.”

All of us have thousands of complaints right? about the traffic, the food, the salary,the work, the politics,... on goes the never ending lists.

So amidst all these regrets and worries, there came by a book which left me thinking how silly i am !!

A professor counting his last days of life, shows us the true meaning of being alive! to not surrender to the disease is one part of whole book, but the most important part is the lessons he teaches us.

"Take any emotion-love for a woman, or grief for a loved one. If you hold back on the emotions- if you dont allow yourself to go all the way through them- you can never get to being detached, you’re too busy being afraid.  You’re afraid of the pain, you’re afraid of the grief. You’re afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails.

·         But by throwing yourself into these emotions , by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely, you know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, all right. I have experienced that emotion, I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment."

Many a times in life I've been through stages when the same had happened to me, an emotion is with me only till i go to the full extent with it! and it being not the norm, i have been questioned by many of my queers... all those questions remain answered with professor morrie's statement above.

"No matter where u live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be, we should be looking at our potential stretching ourselves into everything we can become. "

Through simple statements , Mitch albom, brings out the real essence of life.. of living and letting others live!!!

Thanks Mitch for this wonderful composition.

                                                                  -Chalked by Megha kuruvilla

Pot Painting

The transformation of a simple clay pot.....

- Chalked by Megha...

The Palace of Illusions - A review

  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is Mahabharata told by Draupadi. It attempts to give voice to the heroine (or the villainess?) of Mahabharata – her travails, her innermost feelings, her confusions, predicaments and her vulnerabilities.

My verdict: This is a good first book on Mahabharata for the uninitiated ones; nothing more than that. I had to labor through the book, to keep my commitment not to leave any book unfinished.

Chitra brings the woman alive in Draupadi. The prose is dragging at many places for people familiar with the context. Unnecessary details turn the reader off.

In order to keep the readers stay with the book, some relationships and incidents are brought to focus and fictionalized (deviating from the original text?). The lead character’s enigmatic relationship with Krishna, her fascination towards Karna (I sometimes felt that the author did not bring in the extra-marital angle for fear of criticisms from self proclaimed puritans), her discontentment with the mother-in-law and the jealousy when her husbands’ court other women.

The most common rendition of Draupadi in literature and TV serials is of a highly tolerant, loving wife. The book feebly tries to question this. There are many instances where we encounter the lead character’s realization that she had been the cause of the war, the destruction, death of thousands including her kids and brother. She is mostly shown as any other female, who gets upset when other women come into the lives of men she adores. The book gets a little bit ‘Bollywood’ when the heroine and the actual hero of this book (Karna) are shown as mutual bête-noire, but carefully nurturing an admiration for each other below the surface.

I think Chitra worked on weaving a novel out of a simple situation – What happens if Draupadi tells her story? Will she talk about her hidden desires? Her hatred? Her unresolved conundrums? I don’t think there is anything wrong here. But for a discerning reader with a good understanding of Mahabharata, the story becomes a thin thread of predicable incidents, which leaves him unsatisfied.

Hence, I will not recommend this book to people who are looking at building their foundation on knowledge about Mahabharata. It best suits a starter.

PS: Microsoft Word kept warning me against using the term ‘her husbands’. Looks like they did not think of that possibility

- Chalked by Sanjay Gopinath

http://vagabondmind.blogspot.in

Farm Stay at Avalanche, Ooty

Open your eyes early morning to the dew drops on the window. Grab a hot coffee. Feel the chillness under your bare feet. Step outside to embrace the cool breeze and fall in love again and again with the lovely blue hills and lush green valley. That’s how I would remember my holiday at the Destiny Farm Stay at Avalanche, a place 30kms from Ooty.

Let me tell you, all the good adjectives multiplied by 10 would still not be enough to express the scenic beauty of this place. This trip was special for me for two reasons. One it was the venue for our anniversary celebration and secondly for the first time my husband found a place and planned a trip. I must confess that after all the destinations we went with my planning, he overtook me in choosing the best place ever.

We started from Bangalore around 4.30am and took the State Highway 17 route via Mysore->Bandipur->Masinagudi->Ooty->Avalanche. We were lucky enough to get a glimpse of one or two elephants, deers, and peacocks while passing through Bandipur Forest Reserve.

We reached Ooty around 10 am. From Ooty railway station, our vacation spot was 30kms away and the resort had provided us with the route map. Just follow the road signs directing to Avalanche and then to Emerald Dam. Reaching the dam, the tarred road turns into a mud road and we can’t complain much as we were passing through forest area.

After a bumpy ride, we reached the parking lot of the Farm from where the resort’s transport is the only way to go beyond. The car park is secure and has a small cabin for refreshing and refreshments while waiting for the vehicle. You may be taken aback by the appearance of the van as it’s a four wheel military van completely enclosed and the next 15 minutes inside the van can be shaky and fun. Hold on tight!

Once you reach the resort, you have the hospitality that is worth the money paid. We were welcomed with a mocktail but we had no time to enjoy the drink as we were already flabbergasted with the view from the restaurant. I didn’t even realize when we completed the formalities of checking in and we were already inside our room hurrying to start our adventure. Each room is named after an explorer. Ours was Captain James Cook. No matter which room you occupy, you get a fabulous view.

By then it started drizzling but that brought in a different kind of attractiveness to the place which was even more stunning. From the balcony, we could see the ducks leisurely in the pond enjoying the rain. The cows were grazing in another hill. We thought of utilizing this moment for the orientation from the resort on farm and activities followed by a quiet lunch sitting next to a window watching the splendid sight. I could see once in a while the chef running down and plucking vegetables from the farm below. Hot Thai soup, steaming rice, yummy chicken gravy, butter melting on naan…Truly delightful!

The rain stopped and we went for a walk in the farm. We were told the farm was about 120 acres and surrounded by dense forests and hence there were electric fences to keep the wild animals away.

I laughed at one of the activities which were milking the cow but when I went to the cow shed I was actually excited to see the mechanical way of doing it. Then it was the tour to the horse stable and saw a cute little foal and the mighty horses. We kept the horse riding to the next day as it was still showery.

The spa is well positioned to face the lake. That was a good way of relaxing but I didn’t get a chance to enjoy the Swedish massage as we were running out of time. So it won’t be justice to readers talking about it without experiencing it.

I don’t know how much I walked. The distance didn’t matter as my focus was on capturing spectacular landscapes in my mind and camera.

There is no TV in the room but they screen important programmes at a common space. We went there to check the IPL cricket scores and took rest for some time.

By twilight, the farm attenders were busy preparing the barbecue and bonfire. The TV room was now converted to a small discothèque with flashing lights and a DJ. Cheering the small kids dancing to the tunes of Chamak Chalo, we headed back to the open lawn. Sitting on one of the benches enjoying the warmth, we relished the barbecue dishes.

The next day morning a short walk was arranged as part of the activities but we chose to stay back. The truth was we woke up late. While the other guests were busy trekking, we hurried to the riding ground and had a jolly good time taking a stroll around on the horsebacks.

Then it was breakfast time. The buffet breakfast had a good combination of English and Indian menu.  We then went to the pond and grabbed a fishing rod and started fishing. Be it an adult or a kid, when a fish is caught, the glee is same for all. I caught a fish too after a long wait. A small one but size didn't really matter.

This place has decent outdoor activities well planned for kids and adults. We couldn’t take up much of them as I had a fractured finger. The kids will love this place. Indoor activities include children movie screening in the afternoon, a library filled with comic books and board games and a play area. The list of outdoor activities is never ending. Complimentary ones include horse riding, dairy farm visit, fishing, short distance trek and agri tour. A team of activity coordinators will assist you with artificial rock climbing, rappelling, zipline, jumaring et al that are charged extra. The farm stay invites lots of school picnics and corporate outings.

I could hear only the words “beautiful, awesome, wonderful” in the conversations of the guests.  On a closing note, I would like to quote one of the school children’s autograph in a painting gifted to the farm that I came across which I felt is very apt for this heavenly place. "We never felt so alive and free…"





Points to remember

• Remember to fill fuel from Ooty as there are no fuel stations beyond
• The last few minutes to the resort is a bumpy ride. Don’t get discouraged by it
• Remember to contact resort as soon as you reach Ooty so that the transport will be ready by the time you reach parking lot
• Tipping policy at the resort requests you not to tip any staffs for their services other than driver, bell boys and security
• Wear casual clothes and trekking shoes
• Avoid monsoon if you prefer outdoor activities unless you intent to relax choosing mostly indoor activities
• No availability of liquor at resort so manage your very own hot drinks
• Smoking & drinking at public places is prohibited
• The whole perimeter is electric fenced. So be careful while promenading 
• Early reservation is a must as there are only 25 rooms and it’s always running full and a minimum of 2 days required to enjoy all facilities of the farm stay
• I would recommend stop overs at Avalanche & Emerald Lake while returning from resort for maximum utilization of time at farm
• The resort is isolated so have your entire first aid kits and the necessities brought along

-Chalked by Rashmi