World's Biggest Carnival- Brazil

Carnival of Rio


Just a few days more for the world’s biggest carnival! It is officially scheduled to start on the 12th of February this year and go on for four days. Well, it is not just a carnival. It is based on history, culture, music, dance, fun, glamour and most of all you can dress up to be a different person of liking. Communities come together with all differences kept aside. The rich, the poor, the gay, all celebrating together, something of this magnitude of celebration is not seen anywhere else in the world. This is the time of year the poor in Brazil gets to celebrate without any reservations. The entire city is non-stop partying till the beginning of lent which is Ash Wednesday. The fever of celebration starts from early January. The dance movements, the music, the costumes, the floats are all well designed and the preparations are done throughout the year. It is an experience to look forward to with around 500000 tourists pouring in to the city ready to be indulged on the festivity of partying and just to be embraced by this magnificent celebration which is considered to be the biggest artistic events in the world. However, I have to warn you if you don’t like crowds and noise it is definitely not the place to be as most of Brazil is celebrating during this time of year.

The well-known carnivals take place in Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Olinda (North of Brazil) and in Salvador. However, out of all these the most popular one is the one at Rio de Janeiro. It starts with the crowning of the King Momo who is also known as the Fat king. He is given a giant silver and gold key by the City Mayor.

There are dance schools in every neighborhood in Rio. They play a big role in the carnival. Celebrations are well organized and are carried out by these dance schools. If you like to participate you need to sign up with a dance school. Each dance school has dance movements, costumes, floats, bands, songs with lyrics unique to them. They practice well in advance as it is a competition among the dance schools. Rio carnival concentrates mainly on Samba music and dance movements. The main parades are on Sunday and Monday. The parade is been judged by 40 judges in ten categories and the winner is announced on Tuesday. Therefore, you are expected to give your best to the dance school you are with. You find people dancing to Samba music on the streets from the beginning of the year. As much as it is fun for tourist it is a pride and joy for the Brazilians. It is a feeling that they can’t put into words when they participate in the parade. It is their passion and it comes free to them and anyone and everyone is welcome to participate.

It is no longer a street carnival as the parade is held now at a place called the Sambodrome stadium which is built for this purpose and can accommodate the people that visit each year. Whereas in other cities like Salvador, the parade is held in the streets and sometimes it goes on for weeks.

Costumes are big part of the parade. It glamorizes the entire parade along with the dance and music. A lot of money is spent on these unique costumes. They are beautifully tailored with beads, sequins, mirrors, feathers, diamantes, and anything that shows off. Every day the costumes differ and each school can have more than twenty or thirty different outfits. You have to choose a costume and order your costumes well in advance with the dance school you are planning to participate with if you wish to take part in the parade. The costume is the ticket to participate in the parade and you have to be at the school meeting point two hours before and find the others that are in similar outfits. The meeting point is announced before hand and can be checked with the president of the relevant group. You have to be there well in advance before the gates for your school parade closes. The entire parade around the stadium takes about 45 minutes. It is breathtaking experience and something you will not experience anywhere else. So many people dressed in different costumes that are gorgeous next to you dancing away having fun. Just smile, shake your body to the rhythm, sing and go with the flow with a lot of energy and most importantly just enjoy the atmosphere around you! If you are a spectator you are promised to be awed by the entire event. Be ready to enjoy and have fun!!

The Gift of Land and Sea

Mont Saint Michel- FRANCE



Well now I am planning to travel to the very well known and much written destination Mont Saint Michel in France. One of my favorite destinations. With so much history written on this beautiful place which has chapels to ramparts to churches it is indeed a breathtaking place. The history goes back to 16th October 708 A.D. It stands gloriously in the middle of the ocean known to be the gift of land and sea. The Mont has served not only as a religious place, that served as a retreat to pilgrims and devotees, but also served as an very important role in many wars fought that dates back to William the Conqueror. Mont Saint Michel stood as a symbol of resistance during the One Hundred Years’ war. The guardrooms, the ramparts and the English bombards are evidence to the role the Mont played during the wars though out its history.
On entering the main street it leads to the Abbey on top of the rock. There are two main stairways. The great outer staircase, that leads from the village to the monastery, and the inner staircase which leads from the guardroom to a terrace known as Gautier’s Leap. Then there is the lace stairway that leads to the top of the chevet, from which there is a panoramic view of the entire bay. The Mont has gone through many architectural reforms like Romanesque to flamboyant Gothic. The Romanesque Church which was completed in 1084 said to have taken almost hundred years to construct. Then the crypt of Our Lady of Thirty Candles was built. Pillars and arches were introduced that gave birth to galleries and windows to give natural light. The entrance to the Romanesque abbey was on the northwest side of the island which as completed early years of the 12th century. The Mont’s height of fame was during the Abbacy of Robert de Thorigny 1154 to 1186. It was politically, materially, and intellectually thriving during his period. However, the end of this era also brought the end of the age of Romanesque architecture and the reign of the Dukes as Normandy was conquered by the French king Phillip Augustus.
Unlike the English Dukes, with the kings of France having very less to do with the election of Abbots or the life in the Mont, Abbots started to build more elaborate and flamboyant buildings towards the end of the 12th century. Three stories of chambers in the western and eastern sides with more space and light now known as the Marvel was built during the first forty years of the 13th century. Great change in architecture was taking place all over Europe and the Mont also did its part to the architectural style Gothic. It is a masterpiece with beautiful decorative features specially seen in the cloisters in the upper storey which were used by the monks for their recreation. Upper storey also has the refractory and the knights’ chamber where monks worked and studied and the scriptorium where the copyist and illuminators workshop are in the second level. Also on the second level is the guests’ room. This has elegant ribbed vaulting and columns that brings in the light to show of the beauty of the stylized foliage. This turns out to be one of the most elegant gothic piece of work done during the Middle Ages. The undercroft where the food was received and the almonry where the poorest pilgrims where accommodated are on the lowest level.
A walk down the rampart and the town is a must. The small village had inns, taverns where pilgrims could stay. There are yet some of the houses that exist from those days and some restored. With so much history to offer a visit to Mont St. Michel is something you will not regret!!

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The Lonely Rock

Sigiriya - SRI LANKA

This magnificent rock once a fortress and then a monastery is surrounded by a moat and beautiful water gardens with pathways and with a lot of history dating back to AD 477 – 495, is something worthwhile spending time to see. It is been canvassed to get the status of the 8th wonders of the world. You enter through the water gardens with fountain that work to date during rainy season has a complex underground water system that provide water to the royal pools. The 22 beautiful frescos of the damsels on the wall which are half way up the rock are a few left from the 500 frescos that was believed to have been painted are said to be the same style as the Ajantha caves in India. The mirror wall with graffiti mostly inscribed between the 7th and 11th Century AD. It is so beautiful and could be seen from the bottom of the rock. Further up, you land at the lions paw which is a part of a once a gigantic brick lion with the entrance through his mouth to the summit of the rock. The ruins of the foundation above show what beautiful buildings it would have once had. The pond scooped out of solid rock is overwhelming and the throne made of a solid rock faces the rising sun. The view from top of the rock is breathtaking. There are visitors from all over the world flock to this as it truly a place to visit.



Near Sigiriya are other places of interest that are worthwhile visiting. A beautiful temple with Buddha statues built inside a caves built in 1st century BC is known as the Dambulla cave temple is a not only historical it is also very pictures. A total of 153 Buddha statues and 3 statues of kings and 4 statues of gods are spread over 5 caves. The walls and the ceilings of the caves are covered with murals depicting Buddhist stories. The monastery is still functional and remains the best-preserved ancient edifice in Sri Lanka.