Journeys and Jottings
Issue 49- Word of the Day, Meet the Fameliars, Kempegowda's watch towers and a dead prince comes alive in Orchha at weddings
Word of the Day - Saudade, A word borrowed from Brazilian cultures, actually Portuguese to express a sense of longing, nostalgia, and probably even melancholy that comes from a feeling of missing something or someone.
That is exactly how I am feeling now. I am missing being on the road but I hope the next few months will change that. A couple of trips are on the cards and I hope they materialise. And on that note, welcome to this issue of Journeys and Jottings after a hiatus. There is nothing much to write about the last few months except that I had a bit of a health scare, but all is well now, and am back to travelling and writing.
In this issue, we get to meet Ibiza’s elusive elves or fameliars and listen to the story of a dead prince in Orchha who attends weddings. And while we complain about Bangalore’s traffic and never-ending suburbs, we explore the boundaries of the city established by the founders centuries ago.
Kempegowda’s watch towers of Bangalore
Bangalore is bursting at its seams and everyone is complaining of its never-ending traffic. But in the days of the founders, Kempegowda and his successors, around the 16th century, it was relatively small. There were many Kempegowdas, but the two important rulers were Kempegowda 1 who founded Bengaluru, and Kempegowda 11 who built four watch towers to mark the boundaries of the city.
My tryst with Kempegowda’s Bangalore took me to four different corners of the city which are around the cardinal points - Gavipuram, Lalbagh, Ulsoor, and Mekhri Circle near Sadashivanagar, where these four watch towers were built 500 years ago. One tower marking the Southern boundary stands on a hillock near a temple and a dried lake, the other in the North is in a park.
While the tower in Ulsoor is now amidst army premises, the famous Lalbagh houses another tower as well. I was recently at Gavipuram and went to the Bande Mahakali temple and I spent some time at the watch tower here. The city today has grown like a wild concrete jungle beyond Kempegowda’s Bangalore, but it will be a miracle if you can brave the traffic and visit all four in a day.
Meet the fameliars or the elusive elves of Ibiza
I have been vicariously living my travels to Ibiza and other parts of Spain by writing stories about my experiences in publications. Ibiza especially was a recent trip and I was so fascinated not just by the party culture but by the myths and legends of Ibiza, especially the elusive elves that they call “fameliars”. Looking straight out of a Harry Potter film, these elusive elves look like gnomes with big heads and must be caught before you can make them work for you, explains Carlos as we walk towards the fortified 16th-century Santa Eulalia Church known locally as Puig de Missa, dedicated to the 3rd-century saint, Saint Eulalia. “They emerge from a magical flower of a mysterious herb that grows from here just once in a year,” says Carlos, my guide adding that no one really knows what the flower looks like either.
Looking down from the hillock, Carlos points to an old Roman Bridge where the Santa Eulària River once flowed. According to the legend, a beautiful flower blooms on the night of St Juan’s Feast on June 23 below the bridge. “Take a black bottle and put the flower inside and in a moment, it will transform into a spirit, which will stay inside until you open it,” Carlos adds that the goblin is like a supernatural farmhand that can accomplish even the most difficult of tasks in a jiffy. “But the moment it is idle, it will ransack and ruin everything in sight, including you,” he adds with a laugh.
Carlos promises to give us a glimpse of the infamous fameliars as he takes us on a tour around the town, along River Route. And right in the heart of Santa Eulalia town, along the boulevard called Passeig de s’ Alamera, I see the island’s fantastical creatures at Els Fameliars. Although they are mere metallic versions with their big faces and round eyes and pointed chin, for a moment it looks like they are staring back at me with an impish grin and an amused expression. And I couldn’t have asked for a better sight to end my introduction to the mystical side of Ibiza.
My article on the myths and legends of Ibiza in Spain published in Travel and Leisure
A dead prince still lives in Orchha and blesses couples at their weddings
Yes, you heard that right. I love legends and this one is about a dead prince who apparently “lives” in a melancholic yellow palace which is now morphed into a bazaar. This was the palace of Dinman Hardol, the brother of one of the kings, Raja Jhujjar. Next to the derelict palace is a small temple. I peer inside the shrine and realize that the locals worship Hardol, the prince who they believe is very much alive.
Hardol, the popular prince was resented by Jhujjar who further suspected his wife of having an illicit relationship with him. Fuelled by rumours by Emperor Shah Jahan, Jhujjar ordered his wife to poison Hardol to prove her innocence and Hardol willingly accepted it. The story doesn’t end here. When Jhujjar’s niece was getting married, his sister asked the king to help; who sarcastically asked her to seek the dead Hardol. The dead prince apparently attended the wedding and served the guests as well. The local exclaimed that even today it is believed that Lala Hardol attends weddings he is invited to and most locals leave an invitation card for him and seek his blessings as well. “Woh Kabhi Bhi Zinda aayega, “ ( he can come alive anytime ) said the lady with a grim look, almost chastising me for not believing them.
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Great stuff, Lakshmi. So happy that you are fully recovered
Glad you are feeling well and passed the health scare.
Great travel and leisure article! I had never heard of the fameliars - Dobie-looking indeed! And the dead prince- love that as well!
I am sharing this with some myth friends 🔆