Anjali Gopan’s eye for colour, light and shadow and composition is evident when she lists her favourite hangouts in the city. On top of the list is the vast, leafy grounds of the Napier Museum, the museum itself and Sree Chitra Thirunal Art Gallery.
Therapeutic walk
“I often find that a walk in the ground at dusk is therapeutic and uplifting. The trees inside are not the usual avenue trees that one finds in the city and I look forward to my solitary walk on the grounds. The play of light and shadow among the trees, glimpses of the sky through the foliage of the trees... it is picturesque. The ambience makes me nostalgic because this is a place I used to frequent right from my childhood. So it is a comfort space. But the strange aspect about the place is that no matter how many times one might visit the place, there is always something new to be discovered,” she explains.
The radio being played aloud in the bandstand also makes her nostalgic and invites her to sit and take in the sights around her on balmy evenings when families sit on the benches, kids play in the sand around the bandstand and senior citizens take a break from their walk to listen to the radio or chat quietly among themselves.
Anjali Gopan | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Anjali likes visiting the museum and the art gallery too because she gets inspired by the paintings, especially those of Roerich’s. “There are days when I need inspiration and the works there never fail to enthuse me,” she adds.
The much-in-demand freelance shutter bug and fashion photographer finds it peaceful to watch the sunset from the green, landscaped grounds of Kanakakunnu Palace and also watch the world go by on the busy road that leads to Vellayambalam. And when she wants to hang out with friends, they make a beeline for bustling Kuravankonam where there are two tea shops in close proximity. “We go there for chaya and kadi (eats) and sit and chat with friends,” she says.
However, when she wants to spend time with herself, she heads to Kaffeehaus on M.P. Appan road, where she reads a book, snacks on something or sips a drink.
When she is in a mood for a long drive, Anjali and her friends hit the road for a trip to the hilly climes of Ponmudi and its tea estates or to the woods of Meenmutti waterfalls on the same route.
A weekly series on people and their favourite places in the city and its suburbs