Weekend getaway to the K land...

After a long hiatus, am off on a weekend trip... Ever since Dec showed its face, I have been itching to get on the road and explore a new destination. I had a place in mind, but alas was unable to plan and now the flight rates have hit the skies and beyond.

Consoling myself, I had decided to hit this town that has been on my "Must visit" list for quite a while now. I have had conversations with friends who visited here, some recommended it highly while others said "Cha, nothing there but empty houses, no point". But the heart wants what it wants right? And so, I am off to this town, not so far away from Chennai to explore and see what it holds for me...

Started as a solo trip, but then plans changed and a friend is coming along.. The 1st time we are travelling together.. Excited and anxious!!

All I am dreaming off are long endless corridors, beautiful pillars, colourful walls, the palace, the temple, the church all tucked into a quaint little town. I have seen enough photographs and videos of the place, so now am ready to go say hello...

Any guesses where am headed to?

Oppana dance at Dakshin Chitra, Chennai

For those who are visiting Chennai and always asking the one big question – so what else is there to do or see around here? I have quite a few things on my “list of places to see and things to do’”. One of them is to visit Dakshin Chitra. I have been here numerous times, with family and friends, for family functions [yes an uncle had his 60^th Birthday celebrations here] and other times for a photo shoot a friend was doing. The most recent of them was on 12^th Jan with a bunch of friends. There were a few in this gang who were here the 1^st time, so we spent a leisurely 2 hours strolling around, checking out the various houses, the activities and few even did some shopping at the store in the reception area.

As we were completing our tour of the place, we noticed the area near the entrance all set and ready with chairs. There was going be a Kerala dance performance called Oppana. This is a dance specific to the Muslim community of Kerala. A bridal group dance, it is typically performed the day before the wedding day.  The bride dressed in all finery and covered with the finest jewellery sits in the center while all her friends and family dance around her in a circle.  Here we noticed one girl decked up more than the others, and she sat in a chair in the center while the others danced around her. There were 2 women singing on the side. It was quite a beautiful dance. Oh and the best part about this dance is that it is often made up of words used to tease the bride and the theme is around innuendoes about the bride's anticipated nuptial bliss. The songs are composed in a mix of Arabic & Malayalam. Apparently, there have been times when this dance was performed by men for the bridegroom, just before he leaves to bring his bride over.  

We watched this dance for a few minutes and then bid adieu to the beautiful place, making our way towards Mahabalipuram.