A few days at kozhikode opened up a myriad of reasons in our heart to say that it is one of the best places we have been, so far. The varied cultural/historical/architectural diversities which it still preserves, the astounding friendliness rendered by the people, the geographical beauty along with the beaches, all made kozhikode a place close to our heart.

Kozhikode was supposed to be only a ’stop by’ during our kerala trip. It ended up as one of our  major destinations. One reason could be the contrast in the regions within kerala. Though we belong to the pala (specifically bharananganam) nazrani achayan clan, boasting a  rich cultural and traditional backup, much of it is on the fading route. This could be one of the reasons that kozhikode, less influenced by westernization and still preserving a lot of its unique culture, came up as a heaven on earth for us.

Kuttichira community
The city centre itself is filled with a lot of smaller localities surrounding mosques and temples. One of our first venture was the Kuttichira community, specifically the Mishkal Mosque, Kuttichira Tank and the Juma Masjid. Though we started off as enthusiastic tourists, we ended up researching the history, culture, architecture and the community of the area. The local community were a lot enthusiastic to provide information, which showed their friendliness.

Mishkal Mosque at Kuttichira, Kozhikode, was built by Nakhuda Mishkal in the 14th century. Nakhuda Mishkal was a renowned trader and ship owner from Yemen. As you can see, the mosque was designed in the traditional kerala architecture of that period.

The Mishkal Mosque at Kuttichira stands as a symbol of communal harmony. In 1510 AD, the Portuguese had attacked the mosque and partially destroyed it. Supposedly, their mission was to divide and rule, breaking the harmony between hindus and muslims. The Samoothiri (Zamorin), the local ruler at that time, didn’t fall for this and helped in defending and repairing the mosque. 

The mosque was 5 storeyed, but after the destruction, it remained as a 4 storeyed structure. The walls of the mosque, except the ground floor are made of wood. Remnants of the portuguese destruction can still be seen on the upmost floor.

Do you know that the burka/purdah came to Kerala as part of the fashion and modernity, which was Arab influenced?

The kids in the locality actively involved in performing before our video/still cameras too.

As per the local residents: the area surronding this vast pool is a place akin to the Piazzas (Squares) of Italy, where the locals meet and the day/nightlife activities are carried out.

Shoal of fishes at the Kuttichira Tank…

Thanks to all Kuttichira residents for opening up a new world for us! We will surely visit you again.

More photographs on the Kuttichira Mishkal area are available at http://www.rocksea.org/images/kerala/

Geographical Location of the Kuttichira Mishkal Mosque is given below. Switch to the Hybrid or Satellite mode of the map, Zoom In, and you can see a tiny blue-white mosque and a large rectangular tank! Easily accessible by road from the Beach Road.

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Tags: achayan, beach road, bharananganam, calicut, communal harmony, culture, hindus and muslims, italy, juma masjid, kerala, kozhikode, kuttichira, Kuttichira tank, mishkal, mishkal mosque, mosque, nakhuda mishkal, nazrani, pala, piazza, portuguese, religion, samoothiri, temple, tradition, westernization, zamorin

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“There was a time when children used to fill the grounds and their laughters used to echo through the evenings. Now when I get up early morning, I see them leaving at 6 am. They are going to tuitions. I don’t get to see them until they return by 6 or 7pm. At least the teachers could have mercy and leave them a little early. The church grounds (where children usually play) are now empty. Even when they return home, they have no time for the family. All are studying quietly inside their rooms.”

A few lines taken from in between a conversation I had with a 76 year old lady. She had come from Kerala to stay with her son in Secunderabad for 3 months in 2007. Her own grandson likes staying indoors and rarely ventures out.

She says, ” The contrasts of times”

In memory of her…
Born : 30 Dec 1930
Died : 20 Sept 2007

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Tags: children, kerala, life, memory, secunderabad

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Our ettukaliyude onappookkalam.. a spider’s web design (!!) evoking memories of the long lost Onam days I used to celebrate at home in Kerala. Photograph taken while I was at home during last Onam. Species: argiope. juvenile. These orb weaver (Family: araniedae) spiders decorate their webs with stabilimenta. They usually rest in a head down position on the web. As one approaches the web, they hold their position until the last moment before slipping round in a flash to hide on the other side of the stabilimentum.

Onathumbi. Species: Rhyothemis variegata variegata (male). Normally they are seen in the month of August till December and hence called Onathumbi. Attractive colors and their presence tells you Onam is here!

Species: Rhyothemis variegata variegata (female)

adding to the nostalgia of Onam season.. onathumbis hovering over..

Onam / Thiru Onam: Festival of Kerala, celebrated in the Chingam (Aug-Sep), the first month of Malayalam Calendar. In memory of a mythical King MahaBali (Maveli) who ruled Kerala eons back. Legend is that Kerala reached the zenith of its glory under his rule and he was so famous that gods became jealous and send God Vishnu to send him down to the netherworld. Anyways, before sending him down, Vishnu gave King Maha Bali a boon to visit his people once in a year. This day we celebrate as Onam, to welcome Mahabali. One of the most attractive aspects of thiruvonam is the pookkalam or the floral designs we make.

Sarah, celebrate this onam at home for me!

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Tags: araneae, argiope, athappookkalam, dragonflies, kerala, mahabali, maveli, odonata, onam, onappookkalam, onathumbi, rhyothemis variegata, spider web, spiders, thiru onam, thiruvonam

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It takes millions of years for a species to evolve. It takes just a few moments for that species to disappear forever from the globe. The only reason.. The only reason being human beings. The only reason being I. The only reason being YOU.

I pity myself for my inability to cover my arms around the globe and protect it
My arms are not so wide
But  could do one thing
I could use your arms as well
No, it’s still not wide enough
Will you call someone else too?
Yes, if more and more join, we could do something!
We could cover the globe so that no green grass falls off it

Mother Earth held us to her breasts till now. Now she is weak and old. It’s our turn to show gratitude. It’s your turn.. Will you?

Somehow I feel bugged. There’re very few (is it so?) who take time for, or love, nature. Is it that they don’t have time to? Where’re you all heading to? Are you so much obsessed with your career and pride and money that you can’t stop a while to think of nature? Or do you think there’re some nature lovers, they’ll do it all? No yaar! It takes efforts from all to preserve every species we have now, every shade of green you’ve seen.

Actually, only a little time is left to repair. So what can we do? Hmm.. Let me think. With this single article, you won’t go out and stand for Kyoto Protocol¹ or raise your voice to defend global warming, will you? You won’t go out and see whether your local government is giving out pesticides and poisons which go up the food chain and damage life on earth, would you? Yet I’ve to get something from you through this article. Otherwise it’s a waste of time for me and you. So what I think is to go into the basics. Know what, as I go up (or down, whatever the case may be) in my studies, one thing I get reminded of is to go to the basics. Hence here the best thing is to cultivate some memory or love for nature. Thatz why you see more nature photographs on this website than any other kind of photographs. All these birds, insects, butterflies are amazing to see! You just’ve to open your eyes. Life is not just you and dogs and cats. All these creatures you can see in your own environment. Even if you’re in a city, there’re zillions of creatures, other than you, thriving somewhere around.

Once you see them, once you see how beautiful it can be, I am damn sure you don’t need any more advise, you don’t need a lecture on the Kyoto Protocol. You’ll do your share of conserving nature. Well thatz all I mean. I hope you see it?

¹_{The Kyoto Protocol is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations for the “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system”.}

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hmm..uhhh..ohh?? this guy seems to be interesting. but simi ¹, look, look at those photos, those poems.. all circumnavigate around one central theme, mating! seems hez not researching in oceanography. he must be researching in mating!! This was what simi’s friend told her when she showed this website to him.

So is it? I think so.

Is there any better theme to talk about? The very existence of life thrives on mating. Though human beings assign a lot of terms like love, passion, blah blah (me don’t mean itz all blah blah, me mean etc etc, ok?) to sex we can’t deny the role of hormones, those animal part in us which determines (though not solely ²) this love and passion to a great extent. Ok, letz not stray away. Just thought of sharing some warm pixels emphasizing the theme, mating and here we go:

Bugmates. My aunty asked me “eda, athu thala-kuthane aano?!!” (have you put it upside-down?). Nah, itz as you see it.. defying gravity. This was taken from the Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens, while the sun was shining at Sapporo. Yet to identify these bugs.

Dragonflies mating. These are male (red) and female (orange) from the same species Orthetrum chrysis (Family: Libellulidae). So what are these guys doing? The acrobatic mating formation ³, sometimes assumed in mid-flight, is commonly known as the wheel formation. The position of the male’s rear end is how the male caught the female at the tandem position. Then the female arches her abdomen around to transfer the sperm in a pouch in the male’s 2nd abdominal segment into a special pouch of her own, completing the wheel formation. By the pond at my home in Kerala.

Houseflies mating! Though this one isn’t as colorful as those above, I feel an affinity towards it as may be because it was one of my first shots on mating or may be because it is just small and simple. Foothills of Usu mountains, 4-5 kms drive from Sapporo.

Damselflies mating at a pond at Noboribetsu, on the way to Usu.

^{1 names and other details provided in this website are not fictitious and they can be traced back to living characters.
2 social/political/cultural influences apply (see how neutral i can be!!)
3 the author, in no ways will be responsible for any casualties resulting from taking these posts into practice. the characters performing in these photographs are specially trained}

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Tags: bugs, damselflies, defying gravity, dragonflies, entomology, hokkaido, houseflies, human sexuality, insect photomacrography, kerala, macro lens, mating, noboribetsu

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