‘MS Bolette’ cruise vessel with 704 tourists calls on New Mangalore Port
The Hindu
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines vessel “MS Bolette” arrived at New Mangalore Port on Thursday morning thus becoming the second cruise vessel calling on Mangaluru this cruise season.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines vessel “MS Bolette” arrived at New Mangalore Port on Thursday morning thus becoming the second cruise vessel calling on Mangaluru this cruise season.
The Bahamas-flagged ship, carrying 704 passengers and 645 crew members, docked alongside berth No. 4 in the port. The vessel’s last ports of call were Mumbai and Mormugao Port.
The cruise passengers were given a traditional welcome to the tunes of “Chende“ and “Tiger Dance” upon disembarking from the ship. Various arrangements were made to ensure comfortable and pleasant experience of cruise passengers, including medical screenings, multiple immigration and customs counters for swift movement, and buses and special taxis for transportation in and around the city, selfie stand by the Ministry of Tourism, Meditation Centre by Ministry of AYUSH, free WiFi and Virtual Reality Experience Zone by NMPA in the international cruise lounge.
Tourists visited different tourist destinations, including Karkala Gomateshwara, Moodbidri Thousand Pillar Basadi, Soans Farm, Achal Cashew Factory, Kadri Gokarnanatha Temple, St Alloysius Chapel, and the local markets.
The vessel departed at 5 p.m. for the Cochin port.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”
The festival in Bengaluru is happening at various locations, including ATREE in Jakkur, Bangalore Creative Circus in Yeshwantpur, Courtyard Koota in Kengeri, and Medai the Stage in Koramangala. The festival will also take place in various cities across Karnataka including Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davangere, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.