Conjeevaram - More than a movie!

Last week, I happened to watch this movie in one of the Tamil Satellite channels "STAR Vijay". It's really a nice experience watching this movie. The movie is setback in the period of 1940's. Personally I am excited when i see movies which are of unusual genre and this is one. You get to know lot of information about the past. May be its true or not, its told and we see it.

Conjeevaram, as Kanchipuram is originally spelled before independence is famous for its silk sarees. Saree is a traditional costume wore by married woman in our parts of the state. And Silk sarees are so special and are considered to be of a superior value, which is usually wore by Indian women on any important occasion or festivals. The other fact is this silk saree is hand woven by the people who have been in this place for centuries.


This movie talks about one such person, who weaves one of the finest Silk sarees. Though he weaves silk sarees, he could not own one such saree or even see a person wearing it. And this is the case for all the weavers in the place. After all they are just labours and the zamindars take credit and do the business. In this movie, the weaver dreams and promises a silk saree for his daughter at the time of her wedding. The movie takes through his journey on how he manages to weave and own a silk saree and was he able to succeed?

There are other aspects which is shown in this movie. It shows how communism had its roots in Indian soil and how it emerged. It shows how important a government job was when a constable feels restless when he finds his hat missing the government emblem. It shows how the present Co-operative society for the weavers in Kanchipuram had formed. It shows how the English were fascinated with hand woven silk sarees. It shows how the labours were charged in return for their marvellous work. It shows the Zamindari system that prevailed then. And there are more! I just watched and admired!

Admired the way it is filmed by Priyadharshan with Prakashraj in the lead role. Its not a movie and its more than that, may be awareness or education!

The Road Now Taken - Madikeri to Bangalore!

This is a continuation of my previous post "Exploring Coorg!"

Now it’s that we have spent one day in visiting places in and around Madikeri. Our plan was to cover some places during the return journey and reach Bangalore before 9 pm, so that we could have a good sleep and avoid the tiredness on Monday while going to office. I mean we can be in office without working but cannot be restless in office.. he he!

July 19th Sunday 10:30 am, we vacated the home. We had our breakfast in one of the hotels on the way and then headed to Dubare Elephant camp which is around 20 kms from Kushal Nagar. We had to cross Cauvery River, using the boat service to reach the Dubare camp. Unfortunately, due to heavy rains, the river had higher water levels and the boat service was cancelled. So we could not visit this place. We then headed to Cauvery Nisargadhama which is also on the way.

Cauvery Nisargadhama is also located on the banks of the river. We had to reach the place by walking over a hanging bridge. This place is more or less like a park. It had tall bamboo trees all over. It also had a deer park. After spending some time over there, we then headed towards Bylakuppe.

Before starting this trip, I had just browsed and found that there is a Tibetan monastery. I was startled. Why would a Tibetan monastery be in Karnataka? I got the answer when I reached there. It seems the Indian government has given land for the Tibetan people who had come to India some time back. They have their own way of living, culture and tradition. The whole place looked like somewhere else. I could see monks or students with their unique maroon colored cloth or uniform. There is not only a monastery, but other facilities like hospital, petrol bulk, school, college etc. They have their language printed on all the hoardings, boards, public addressing etc. About the monastery, it’s amazing. I mean, it’s really different for me. This is the first time; I have been to a pilgrim center other than a temple, church or a mosque. The prayer hall is totally colorful. It has three tall statues comprising Lord Buddha at the center. The walls have the pictures of the different disciples of Lord Buddha. They have their own preaching and they are explained in the walls as well. It was more like a meditation hall, where we can sit and meditate for some time and of course, I did close my eyes for some time.

July 19th Sunday 03:00 pm, we started our journey back to Bangalore. We had our lunch on the way. We had literally been worn out and all unknowingly went in to deep sleep as we started our return journey. It was before Mysore, we all woke up. We didn’t want to visit any place and were keen to return. We stopped at Maddur in the evening to have a taste of its well known famous snack – Maddur Vada! We had Maddur Vadas in “Maddur Tiffany” which was on the highway. Of course it was different from the conventional Vadas we eat in Tamil nadu.

July 19th Sunday 08:30 pm, we reached Bangalore and our journey ended with last longing memories of this trip!