When in Manipal, you can have a relaxed cruise in the backwaters and witness the confluence of the Suvarna river joining the Arabial sea.
Or witness a mythological skit in action
But one must not miss the Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village Museum.
This is not an ordinary museum but are houses that have been transplanted from various parts of the country.
It is not only the houses but artefacts too have also been moved.
A guide will accompany you explaining each and every item with some interesting stories.
For example here is a stone on which history was written, but then it is interesting to know how the stone had a transformation in between. You can hear it from the guide himself in the video.
Here is a table with chairs for the zamindar and the praja. It is worth noticing that the zamindar's chair is higher than the praja's chair
A cradle designed for twins
One of the oldest Harmonium where pedals helped in pushing the wind. I noticed that it is a folding type where it will fit into that box.
When you enter the Mudhol Palace Durbar hall, don't miss the water trough to wash your feet before entering the durbar hall courtyard.
The Deccani Nawab Mahal had a cast iron spiral staircase too.
I noticed that there was music playing in each house, but it was not piped music centrally played and common for all. The Mangalore Christian house had English music, whereas some other houses had carnatic music.
The Kunjur Chowkimane was built in the architectural style of Kerala based from the 15th century.
The plan of the structure follows a Mandala. The basic house module is Nalukettu. (Nalu is 4 and kettu is Wings)
Noticed an old projector hanging on a wall in one of the houses, probably worked with a petromax.
Some houses had ergonomically designed seats that ventilate as well as ensure privacy on the first floor.
Trellis of windows were designed with a purpose
The dead body carrier for muslims is also preserved
We got a lot of information from our guide Mr Sushanth who was patient enough to explain everything in detail. I was also happy to see many school children visiting the place. This is the right time for them to learn history with the objects/houses in front of them.
This tree must have witnessed many changes that have happened in this museum during the course of time.
When watching the video, turn on the subtitles to understand better.
Our transit airport was Istanbul and it was just luck that we landed there on 23rd April as it happened to be the National sovereignty and children's day for Turkey.
There was a small group moving around the airport singing and waving the national flag.
I liked the way they were singing with full gusto.
The song was catchy and it took me some time to identify the song. It was Ismir marsi or Marsi Ismir, a song from the Turkish National movement group to create the country of Turkey. It didn't take long for the spectators to join in. Some of them were in uniform and were capturing small snippets on their mobile while waving the flag.
The special stalls put up for children's day did attract some children but most of them wanted to pose with the guy on stilts.
The juice poured out from this fancy jug did taste good and his style of pouring was unique (see video) Also his attire reminded me of the Arabian night stories I read during my school days.
The next time I visit this airport, I must make it a point to visit this museum.
The mannequin in the stalls were the silent spectators to all that was going on around them.
While being there, I overheard some of them speaking Turkish and found that some of the words they spoke did sound like Hindi. And then I saw this written on a waste bin. In Hindi the word for paper is kagaz.
Had a ride on this Fox River Trolley at South Elgin and it was a wonderful experience.
One can have a short ride upto Blackhawk station and back.The total ride time is about half an hour.
It was interesting to listen to the driver narrating the history of these coaches and how it started.
I was surprised when he said that these coaches could attain a speed of 85 miles per hour (on a straight stretch)
The driver was very sharp and alert, especially on the curves.
The controls are just an accelerator and a break, and it reminded me of the tram drive we had in Calcutta.
The clang clang clang you hear is from the bell operated by the foot.
The coach won't move unless the conductor rings the bell.
I liked the idea of stopping the train mid way with the announcement "the train will move further only after checking the whistle" This gave a chance for the kids to "check" the whistle.
On the way you see a Woodcliff station which is named after one of the land owners. Today it is a collection of signals.
Looking at the seat backs (on both sides) I think these are designed as multi directional seats.
Their upcoming rides/programs can be seen on their site.
If you are around this area it is worth a visit. I made a short video on the ride and it will give you an overall experience.
This was the next coach which went off on a similar ride (in another direction)
The tag says that it costs 550 Euros for the set.
A bit steep I must say but when you look at the effort that has gone into the
making of this pair, I think it is worth reconsidering.
Had been to the Delft Pottery in Netherlands about
six months ago. A visit to the factory is worth it if you are in
Netherlands.
They take you through a set of articles that are on
display with special mention about how it was made. For example “The Night
Watchman” is a collection of 480 tiles of 18x18cms.
The original painting of 1642 by Rembrandt was 13
ft x 16 ft. It took more than a year for two master painters to convert this on
to the tiles by individually painting them by hand.
The best part was that the tiles were sold even before
the painting was over. To this day the owner has loaned the set to the museum so
that the visitors can enjoy this unique piece.
Before you enter this section, there is an audio
visual display giving you a brief history of how Delft pottery came into
Netherlands.
Time stands still on this table with the Delft
pottery.
King Willem III has donated his collection with
the condition that it will be exhibited in a "dignified fashion"
Some of the other exhibits
I admire this model who agreed to wear all this
pottery and walk the ramp
The old drafting board that was used by them is
also one of the exhibits
Further down one can have a glimpse at their
factory where each piece is physically examined by a person and final touches
given with the help of a leg operated “pottery wheel”
In another corner one can see the artists painting
each piece. Don’t miss the transistor in the background. I observed these
transistors even in the factory where it was splashed by the paint and wet mud, but who
cares, music is more important.
Further down there is a display of the items that
are for sale.
All in all a good experience. Have made a 8 min video with more photographs:
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