Goa.... finally!

Yes. I finally made it to Goa. Yes. This was my first visit to Goa. Really!
And it was amazing. It was everything I had built it up in my head to be. 8 lovely lazy days in the sun and sand and sea but also in the shade, and on a scooter scooting around, taking in the sights.
Lots of lovely people to meet, a mini-reunion of college friends. A very happy new year!
I managed to sketch quite a bit. Bliss! I inaugurated my first japanese fold Moleskine at Majorda beach. Majorda has a backwater formation and you can swim in the sea or wade in the back-water. The seafood and pancakes from "Blue-Waves", the beach shack we adopted were quite delicious.

And our entire stay was made all the more special thanks to our wonderful hosts - Garima and Roy who live in an old house in Moira. Obviously, having never done the tourist-hotel side of Goa, I'm not qualified to compare but something tells me I'm really lucky to have stayed here. Its a large house with a wide verandah. The two chair like seats that flank the entrance are typical of a lot of old houses in the area. The verandah is locally called a "Balcao" and has longer bench seats at the end too. We pretty much lived out here - breakfast, lazy afternoons and sundowners. The rest of the trip will come in blog installments as there is a LOT happening in my sketching life now :-)

And if anyone knows a better way of showcasing sketches done in the accordian fold format [any tool available on the web where I can scan it so you can flip through it online] please do let me know.

Happy new year everybody!

Gowri Nivas - A home in Madikeri

I'm just back from a delightful and relaxing holiday in Coorg. As I wade through the piled up work I thought I'd better put down some nice memories before the stress of city living swallows me up completely.

After much pondering and googling we chose to stay at a house called Gowri Nivas which has 3 rooms on offer as a homestay. Looking back, I think we chose really well. The family that runs this cosy place are warm and welcoming hosts. Our rooms were in a cottage beside the main house and sitting on the verandah of our cottage the view towards the main house is the sketch you see above.

Gowri Nivas is a far more personal experience than anything you can get at a fancy hotel. For meals we walked up to the main house and chatted with our hosts. We felt a part of the family really, and yet, the rooms are beautifully done and every comfort attended to.

Another reason for choosing this place was because it was in Madikeri and would allow for leisurely walks exploring the town. Five minutes away is the Raja's Seat - a historical site where the king of Coorg used to watch the sunset. The spot really has fantastic views across the valley and I managed a quick colour sketch on a clear afternoon.

Another five minutes and you reach the city centre where, tucked behind the town hall is a cosy restaurant come coffee house called The Raintree. Decent food and a fantastic variety of coffee kept us going back there several times. The view out of the Raintree window encapsulates the general view you get all over the town - green slopes dotted with tiled roofs. Lot of concrete structures creeping up but at the moment the tiles still dominate - not sure for how long though.

Madikeri has a small fort at the centre of the town which is in a similar state of repair to the one here, or maybe slightly worse... if thats possible. As soon as you enter there's a church which houses the government museum! Display cases and panels are everywhere including the altar. The floor which might even have old memorial stones, is covered in a hideously patterned linoleum tile. After a quick walk around I couldn't stand it and was about to leave when the view going out the church door looked really interesting!

I went back after finishing the sketch to ask the lady inside what the name of the Church was... and she didn't know.