From the Stringbook

From The Stringbook: Some travel and travel-related published work

Jan, 2011

A few days ago, as I was keying in the post about the Chain Tree in Lakkidi, Wayanad, and came to the part of the tribesman (whose disturbed soul is said to have been bound to that tree there), I got reminded of the Kurichya tribe and a story (In journalism, `a story’ is a piece of writing for a newspaper /mag.) about them that I had written some years ago when I was doing my masters-degree course.

I probably wouldn’t have written about it, if not for a lecturer of mine. I remember the day he came to our classroom and excitedly spoke about a piece of information he had just got. He had heard that in Wayanad there thrived a tribe that still used the bow and arrow and that these people were often employed by plantation owners to help guard estates during the coffee season. When he shared that with the class I looked at him with an expression that meant, ‘Sir, that’s not news to me.’ That was when he asked who in the class hailed from Wayanad and I had several hands pointing at me. 

What came next was an assignment for me. I was asked to do a feature on Kurichyas and send it to one of the newspapers there. So there I was… doing my homework about their history and trying to find some people to talk to.

I soon had a story, another byline and better-informed me. I am so thankful to Mr. Vanalli for that eye-opening assignment and an opportunity to visit a Kurichya Tharavad (colony) in a remote part of the district. 

( A couple of days later as I put up on my blog, those pictures of the ruins of the Jain temple near Panamaram, I said it was for `posterity,’ and just as I put that down I thought I should put up this piece about the Kurichyas too. The story appeared in the DECCAN HERALD, April 2003:

Published works
(from multiple publications):

As I surfed through my string book, I also found this feature on Kalaripayettu, an ancient martial art form that is still practised in Kerala (a South-Indian state). I’d say that every visitor to this part of the world must witness for themselves, a demonstration of this marvelous art form. I had the opportunity to see one and I must say it gave me goose bumps.

 

 

This one( the Kalaripayettu story) appeared in Mysore Mail, in March 2004.

 

Below is another story travel-related story I found in my string book. This one is about a guided walk through Bangalore’s Lalbagh. I’d been on a Green Heritage Walk in April 2006 and did this story while I worked at The New Indian Express in Bangalore.

Munnar, 2007
Published in The New Indian Express

Thekkady, 2007
Published in The New Indian Express

Chandigarh,
Published: Voyager’s World

Sharing soon: more published work.
Back to Blogger Bio