Going through the thousands of photographs we collect on our trips to India and deciding which ones to use in brochures or on the web is one of the pleasures of the job. We do it quite often! As well as pictures of hotels, places of interest, eye-catching events and the ones you can't resist taking there are others which go almost unnoticed in the excitement of looking at them all on returning home until some time later you realise that they encapsulate an aspect of the journey which has been part of the wallpaper until then. We will try to share these with you now and again.
This picture is one I hadn't looked at for some time, but it fascinates me now as typical of the way in which modern India works. The row of office services in Mysore contains all you need for business communication, copiers, faxes, STD telephones and workers typing on antique machines. These people would once have been writing by hand for illiterate passers by, and in some places you can still see the scribes taking down letters for illiterate villagers in town for the market.
As mobile phones become more and more common I wonder what will become of the men with their huge typewriters and myriad of busy staff.
Tamil Nadu is well known for its temples, but less so for its forts. Gingee, or Singi, makes up for the lack elsewhere in its sheer size and scale. Over the ages it has seen many
occupiers, or occupants:
"In the beginning, Gingee was the place of the Jains
but later due to rule of Pallava, Chola kings,
Pandya, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara kings. Muhammadans,
Mughals and the indifferent attitude of foreigners,
the Gingee fort, which was surrounded by the granite
walls, the mandapas, the temples inside the fort,
was gradually destroyed. The Britishers did not take
any steps to renovate the fort. Today Gingee fort is
placed as a memorial in the
pages of history and
also for the sake of its admirers." About Gingee
For the tourist it is as much of a challenge as the military attack! The town of Gingee itself, about 3Km from the fort is unremarkable, and does not have a hotel as such, so most visitors undertake the 2 - 3 hour drive from Pondi or the longer trip from Chennai. This can mean that you arrive during the heat of the day, and then need to climb the steep steps to the most interesting part of the forts. One of the most amazing things about the site is that it is usually deserted, apart from a few locals picnicking or meeting friends in the shade of the ruins at the top. There is nowhere to buy water at some of the entries, so take plenty with you. You will need it!
There are three large, granite hills covered with large boulders, capped with the ruins of the fort. The perimeter is 3 miles of double granite walls. A mosque and museum is at the foot of the largest hill, where there are the remains of the larger palaces and the magnificent granary.
The trek up the uneven steps to the top of the hills is well worth it for the spectacular view across the plains and the panorama of the forts themselves. The architecture of the temples and living quarters at the top are representative of many periods of architecture and the museum has examples of sculptures from the very early days of the site's occupation.
Like so many of the sights of India, Gingee surpasses expectation. A ruined fort, but what a fort. A massive site which can hardly be seen in a single day, encompassing so many periods of history and requiring persistance and a great deal of energy to experience, but so worthwhile.
Again, take plenty of water!
A brochure- online or print?
Every summer we have the same conversation about whether or not to produce a printed brochure. More and more of our customers use the internet to book their holidays and do everything online. This suits us better than having to cope with the delays of the post etc., but there are still some clients who prefer to have a printed brochure to look at as they compare trips and prices.
I must admit to being one of the latter. I can take out all the information and not only compare offerings, but gloat over the one I have chosen when I am not in reach of my computer. A phone doesn't cut it with me!
Making the combination of text and images on the page is a real pleasure, getting over the richness and beauty of the places we visit is a challenge when deciding which of our thousands of photographs to use, whether on the page or on the web.
Of course, we want the best of all worlds which is why we have decided this year to provide our page-turning brochure in a way in which clients can print the pages they are interested in quickly and effectively. You can still download the whole document, and, of course, we will send a print version if you need one. but we are pleased at the amount of paper we can save doing it this way too!