Culture | Ideapromoters

Take a road trip with ‘Tripling’

Chriselle Bayross April 16, 2019

One of the many road trips taken with friends over the years

Growing up I took many roadtrips with friends. Once I remember we visited Lonavla, during the monsoon. We ran into these gorgeous guys from the National Defence Academy (NDA), who sadly we never met again. We weren’t too disheartened as the weather was beautiful. But this trip is one we keep talking about. Because at that moment and many moments later on similar trips with nothing but the road and the radio our friendship was cemented. This shared experience continues to connect us many years later.

Indian stories have compelling content

There is no wonder then that one of my feel good shows for the summer is TVF’s ‘Tripling’. Set to the backdrop of a roadtrip the show follows the lives of 3 siblings, Chandan, Chanchal and Chitwan as they navigate life together and in the process, find themselves. They do this mostly while driving around in their car.

For some background, when streaming platforms came to India, they recognized that there was a market for regional language content. Good content was soon being developed by Indian writers. And my first introduction, was through ‘Tripling’. There is a reason why this is my first tryst with Indian writing for a web series.

Akarsh (The Tripling writer) has been expanding my cultural universe since a decade. I know him as the easy going fellow who always sees humor in situations, has cool friends and has married my Parsi bestie. I have a feeling though, going on a road trip with Akarsh would be a little like the series 😉

Why you need to watch Tripling

But the point is I would want a real-life road trip like this. Always some action, drama and romance. Also, who doesn’t love roadtrips that feature our gorgeous country? The second season of Tripling travels to Kolkata and Sikkim, just to name a few of the places. And don’t we all talk about taking roadtrips with family and friends. It’s stuff that dreams are made off.

While the first season had the siblings travelling together to meet their parents, with all possible madness ensuing. The second season that released this April is equally hilarious. The trio set out to find Chanchal’s husband who has mysteriously disappeared. Of course, it cannot be as simple as that. In the second season the characters get fleshed out and it is nice to see. I don’t want to give away too much information, but, go watch it. It’s an engaging, slice of life series with exaggerated twists and funny dialogues.

Kudos to the writer duo for tapping into the memories and magic that roadtrips evoke. Sometimes all it takes is the open road and your people for everything to make sense again.

Alluring Rann of Kutch

Chriselle Bayross April 11, 2019

Rann of Kutch salt pans — The great white desert

After travelling a lot more in India, I realised that my own country was not only affordable but one of the loveliest to explore. The Rann of Kutch is no exception. I remember photographs of friends taken there, quite a few years back. Since then I have always wanted to visit this place. In 2019, I finally got the opportunity.

Think twice before going

The Rann of Kutch is approximately 620kms flight away from Mumbai so it’s quite a trip. The climate is harsh. Since we visited in Feb we had better weather, winter was still around. While it was hot and sunny during the day, the nights were cold. However, we were assured that December was worse.

Given the distance there are two ways to travel to Kutch, from Ahmedabad or Bhuj. Direct flights to Bhuj are expensive though convenient. It is the district capital and close to Kutch. But with a little bit of stretch, you can take a train/flight to Ahmedabad and then a bus to Bhuj and onwards to Kutch. Just to give you an idea coming from Ahmedabad it is half the cost of the direct flight but easily double the time. We exercised the latter option.

Don’t think at all just go

Despite the inconvenience of getting there (especially if you use the scenic route) I realised that Gujarat culture is worth exploring:

Local Gujarat costume — We tried on the local costume

Gujarat Handicrafts:The one thing that should be on your list to buy is the handicrafts available in the region. They are not as expensive as in the metros. I will dedicate an entire blog to this because the handicrafts are so interesting and diverse.

The whole shopping experience:The best part is that you go to the village from where they are made and shop for the products. It’s a different experience to buy from the artisans directly. Since we lived in Hodka village we went next door and bought some pretty things. They were hospitable and many members of the village came to meet us and offered us tea. It became like shopping from your neighbours.

Bhungas at Vodka village — The Bhungas at Hodka village

Experience the Kutch culture:Most of the resorts are run by locals and they make sure you have an authentic experience. You get to live in Bhungas or circular houses made of mud, with thatched roofs. They are supposed to be structurally stable during earthquakes and climate responsive. The pure vegetarian food is what the locals eat. Here I must relate an anecdote :

Eating Non-Veg food in Gujarat

Our driver happened to be Muslim and we became friends. While complaining about the lack of non-veg food we requested him to take us to a good place for non-veg. He took us up on the offer.In a little non-descript place called Luckys (no relation to our bandra stalwart) we ate some great mutton biryani. The meat was actually falling of the bone as well as chicken and paratha that was lip smacking good. Hence this was the surprise element of the trip, our wish of getting a good non-veg meal fulfilled in a staunchly veg place like Gujarat. Talk about Indian jugaad (flexible approach to problem solving)!

Last but not least

Evening sets at the Rann of Kutch — Sunsets at the Rann of Kutch

The Landscape: The great Rann of Kutch is a landscape, I had neither seen nor experienced before. You see nothing but white plains (the salt pans) as far as the eye can see. Definitely visit during sunrise and sunset. As this is the time that you feel the impact of the vastness. Everything begins to make sense. The sun rises as if from the ground and it is the only thing you can focus on. You wonder if you walk upto it, can you touch it? No picture or video can do it justice. Watching this scene alone will make the trip worth it.

Love this shot from the Vijay Vilas Palace at Bhuj

Bhuj Attractions: There is not much to see around Kutch with the main attractions in Bhuj.So, the first day as we arrived we travelled back to Bhuj from where our friends were taking their plane. We did some sightseeing at the Vijay Vilas palace and the Mandvi beach. Both places were lovely. There is also a cultural centre at Bhujodi that was not far off where we shopped! More on that later.

Lastly don’t worry about the Rann Utsav(Festival) we missed most of it, but it looked like a big shopping mela. Exploring the villages like we did is something I would choose over that anytime. So as Amitabh Bachhan says hope you guys are encouraged to ‘Breathe in a bit of Gujarat’ with this article.

A night of the Blues – Mahindra Blues Festival

Chriselle Bayross March 26, 2019

My introduction to Blues music started with Beth Hart. If you’re like me, you probably never heard of her before this. Even though the festival was easily accessible to me, at Mehboob Studios, Blues was never a genre I was interested in. I can only say that by divine intervention, I attended the second day of the 9^th Mahindra Blues Festival.

I should have had a clue when a friend, stayed back in Mumbai from Pune, specially to see Beth Hart perform. While SugaRay Rayford was good (I had to google his name) I cannot forget Beth Hart. Her performance blew me away. I never thought Blues could be a genre that energized! When she performed it felt like gospel music to me.

Later friends expressed sadness at missing out on seeing Beth Hart singing. After viewing her live, I understand why. After doing a little research, I realized that I had heard blues rock royalty that day. For the uninitiated, Beth’s career spans 2 decades. She sings blues rock, jazz fusion and soul. She plays piano, guitar, bass guitar, cello and percussion. But beyond this as a performer she was outstanding. Her voice moved the room and increased the blood pumping through the veins.

She is the second woman I know this year, who struggles with Bi-polar disease. Both super creative beings, Beth says in one of her interviews ,”If you work hard at something, you’re going to find a way that you can live in this life, no matter what your handicaps are.” And it’s true once her music takes over you forget everything else.

She shines. We went away amazed at the lady’s story telling abilities, voice and stage presence. In short total ‘Paisa Vasool’ (Worth the price of the ticket).

It is nice to see platforms like these that are introducing a healthy dose of culture in our lives. Mahindra group is a known patron of the arts. While this would be a strategic move, let’s give them credit for expanding our universe.

As an aside the show attracts a little older crowd, I saw old men with jackets and hats. Adding to the feeling that we were listening to classy music. The show was well managed and zero waste! We experienced this when they handed out drinking water, in paper cups so as to avoid using plastic bottles.

Next year is the Blues festivals, 10^thanniversary and we look forward to what is in store!