A Wandering Aesthete

Rajasthan--- the land of the Royals--- a trip much anticipated…

2012-01-03T13:24:00.000+05:30

Endof December- winter this year has been very mild so far. A trip to Rajasthan has been long in theplanning and it finally looks like its happening..!!

24^thdec- we leave for Rajasthan—5 cities in 6 days. Its going to be kinda tiring.But what the heck- atleast I get to see a very beautiful state of India J

Dayone- Ajmer and Pushkar- driving out of Delhi early in the morning- a short stopat a road side Dhaba for breakfast (Yumm--- aaloo parathas). Ajmer is a 6 hourdrive from Delhi and we are there by 3 pm. I have been to the Ajmer SharifDargah of the Khwaja Garib Nawaz before, but looking forward to being there onemore time. As earlier, there is a huge rush within the Dargah- we are told thatthis is due to the call for prayers (Azaan for the last prayer of the day)-there is a shocking scuffle inside with a Khadim- though the others apologized-one wonders how often this happens here (Considering the complete lack of anysupervision at the entry point)- the place can have a stampede and it couldresult in fatalities. Anyways, we did not face any further mishaps, and reachPushkar a little after dark. Night stay at Pushkar-In the morning, we take ashort drive into Pushkar town (previously I have walked thru the town-a betterform of seeing Pushkar J)- the Brahma Kund looks slightly depleted,perhaps due to lack of rains this past season. It’s a pretty temple town, andyou don’t take over an hour or so to walk around the Brahma lake-

Thatdone, we drive out towards Chittorgarh J

Chittorgarh-of the stunningly beautiful Rani Padmini fame. Alluddin Khilji (Khilji Dynasty)was besotted by her and waged a terrible battle on Chittorgarh just to win heras part of war booty. Being unable to defeat the Chittorgarh army, he laidsiege to the fort of Chittorgarh- Rawal Ratan Singh tried to reason with Khiljito leave. Allauddin Khilji agreed to leave Chittorgarh and go away if only hecould have one glimpse of Rani Padmini. Ratan Singh agreed, despite the factthat Rajput women never appeared before stangers, especially males. One look atPadmini and Alauddin Khilji convinced Ratan Singh that he was leaving the fort.Ratan Singh escorted Khilji to the main entrance, that is where Allauddin Khiljistabbed Ratan Singh in the back and killed him. Not willing to give in to thedishonor, Rani Padmini leapt into aflaming pyre with all her ladies in waiting, making it the single largest“Sati”(self-immolation) observed anywhere in India. Chittorgarh was also hometo Meera bai- wife of BhojRaj. Meera Baiand her total obsessive love for Lord Krishna. The small temple where sheworshipped the Lord stands today, resonating with bhajans written by Meera bai.Stories of Panna Dai is legendary-the maid who sacrificed her own son to savethe heir to the throne.

Comingcloser to the present day, watching the Vijay Stambh you can almost visualizeWaheeda Rehman dancing around singing “aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai” J (thesong was picturised here). Returning back, a casual glance towards the forttook my breath away--- the fort looks STUNNING al lit up for the night…. AHHHthis is one memory I shall treasure for a long, long time to come…!!!

FromChittorgarh, we drive to Udaipur- will be here for the next 2 days. Udaipur-the Lake City of India- a very pretty town with narrow alleys and oldhavelis..:) The Lake looks gorgeous by day and night. The City palace is wellmaintained, though very crowded. Tourists from across the world converge ontoRajasthan in winters, and Udaipur is one of the prime destinations- withreason, I must add..! A boat ride to the famous Lake Palace, lunch at a smallrestaurant (Ker-sangri, gatte ki sabji, kadhi, lal maas and bajre kiroti)..food in Rajsathan is RICH and ghee soaked…Ahh well—I will think of thewaistline later--- let me now gorge on the dal-bati-churma….!!! The Fateh Sagarlake looks beautiful, a short visit to a few local artisans…. And the nightcapon the rooftop restaurant with a brilliant view of the lake….:)

FromUdaipur it’s a short drive to Eklingjee Temple- stunning in its carvings- TheMewar dynasty is said to have been blessed by Eklingjee- the story goes thatthis is the reason why despite regular attacks, the Mewar dynasty/region wasnever enslaved and stayed under the same ruler till the princely states weredissolved after Indian Independence.

FromEklingjee on to Nathdwara- this is one place I have heard so much about- butthe crowds there left a LOT to be desired—total lack of crowd management, and acomplete chaotic situation…. Takes away from the visit.. L Beprepared to get jostled if you decide to visit.

Nextstop Haldi Ghati—This is serious business. The venue of the great battlebetween Akbar and Maharana Pratap. Maharana Pratap fought with matchless courage with the mighty moghul army andescaped from the battlefield along when his horse (Chetak) was mortally wounded.The brave horse carried the Hugely built Rana (said to be over 6’7” tall-)withhis 25 kg armour to safety before collapsing. To date the name “Chetak” issynonymous with courage. Despite all this the battle of Haldighati is supposedto have lasted for just four hours…..

Onto Jodhpur now- suddenly the famedRajasthan Roads have disappeared…L a bumpy road—uncomfortable drive, reach Jodhpur well afterdark---desperately need a s-t-r-o-n-g drink now….!!! In the morning we go tosee the Meherangarh fort, which is all decked up with buntings, flags tocelebrate the birthday of the present day Maharaja GajSinghji. The MeherangarhFort is situated very strategically overlooking the city of Jodhpur- It wasbuilt in the 15^th century by Rao Jodha. The foundation of the fort was laid in 1459 by Rao Jodha on a rocky hill. Another beautiful fort, with stunning latticework-Good to see the forts being well preserved- the erstwhile royalty of Rajsathanrealized the potential of tourism in the state at a very early date and haveconverted most of the palaces into hotels and the Forts into wellcurated/preserved tourist destinations. The latticework/jaali work in mostforts and palaces are to be seen to be believed.

Next stop Jaisalmer- stopped over atPokhran for lunch- Pokhran of the nuclear test fame, though we missed out onseeing the actual blast site. As far as I am concerned, Jaisalmer is the mostimportant part of this trip. This small town has been turned into an iconic“must visit once in a life time” destination for most bengalis by Satyajit Rayand his brilliant film “Sonar Kella”. A fantasy film for children, this hasmanaged to turn this sleepy town in Rajasthan into one of the prime attractionsfor tourists from across the globe. The Fort, made of the local sand stone,actually dazzles like burnished gold in the early morning sun’s rays…It wasbuilt in 1156 AD by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, from where it derivesits name-Jaisalmer. Absolutely beautiful… though sadly, this is not too wellpreserved. But the walk within the fort premise with small shops selling localstone ware/patchwork fabrics--- very prey and colorful…J When it was built, the fort housed thelocals within its ramparts- the families still living there claim to be thedescendents of the same old families.

The havelis of the town of Jaisalmer-outside the fort give the “Sonar Kella” a stiff competition where tourists ifconcerned… No words to describe these--- stunning stone work in the local sandstone-one can see why the place seems to glow. The Havelis were owned by thelocal money lenders, who loaned the King money and also ran a very lucrativeopium business on the side till the 17^th/18^th century.(Opium is still widely used on all occasions)- When the King got to know of theopium business and the locals getting addicted to the stuff, he objected. Thisresulted in the families vacating the Havelis overnight and moving elsewhere.The Havelis now provide the town with huge revenues from tourists. :)

To the Samm next---the great Thar desert—endless sand dunes, dun colored landscape dotted withthorn bushes, camels and their riders, camels being the preferred mode oftransport. The vivid colored clothing of the locals is such a wonderful sight.Sunset at the dunes is a vision that is to be seen… startling colors of thesetting sun, the dunes changing colors every minute and the temperaturesdipping ---- Kalberiyas (snake charmers of Rajasthan) dancing, a fire eater..all dancing to Rajasthani folk music- “Kesariya balam aavo nee—padharo mharedes”…..AAhhhh…. !!!

A short trip into townthe next morning and its time to leave this gorgeous place. This is a trip Ishall treasure forever. And for all those interested, this is a highlyrecommended trip. Go and visit Rajasthan, enjoy the Rajput hospitality, thedelicious food and the beautiful land….till you can take a trip on your own,enjoy some pics I took on my trip J

Rajasthan is truly aLand of the Royals….!!!!

Orchcha~Khajuraho Evocative legends, erotic sculptures..

2011-11-03T15:40:00.001+05:30

Time for a break..!! Havnt had a break since April. Delhi feels stifling and I desperately need to get out of here to get the cobwebs cleared from my mind. Orchccha/Khajuraho seems to be just what the doctor ordered. J

End of October is a wonderful time to travel. Summer is over and winter has not yet settled in. This very brief Indian Autumn is such a wonderful time to travel in the plains. Orchcha, 455 kms away from Delhi is a drivable distance, Khajuraho is another 160 kms from Orchcha. A 5 day trip seems like a good break to take.

We leave Delhi by 7.30 am (slightly later than was originally planned)after having checked on the driving routes. Expect to reach Orchcha around 4 pm. Holiday begins…J

Reached Orchcha a little before 4 pm after having gone through some of the worst roads that I have ever driven on. Very surprising since Gwalior, Khajuraho, Orchcha, Panna are among the most visited Tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho is probably the single largest pull for foreign tourists in India. Terrible terrible roads. But once at Orchcha, the Betwa retreat, where we would be staying the night, more than made up for the discomfort of the journey. Beautiful property on the banks of the Betwa river, a tributary of the Yamuna. A MP govt run hotel, the Betwa Retreat is beautifully situated, and offers wonderful service at very pocket friendly prices. Highly recommended for a stay while in Orchcha.

A quick cup of tea and freshening up and we go out into the town. The hotel suggested we visit the Raja Ram Temple, which is the only place in India (Or anywhere else) where Lord Rama is worshipped as a king in a palace. Perhaps taking this concept further there is an intriguing custom prior to the evening Aarti, which I have never seen nor heard of before- an Armed Guard offers salute to the deity just before the Aarti commences, and salutes again post the Aarti. Only after this devotees are allowed to offer their prayers/offerings etc. Next stop is a sound and light show at the Orchcha Fort.

Orchcha fort is perhaps amongst the better preserved Forts in India, built in the very early 16^th century by Raja Rudra Pratap Singh, who established the Chandela dynasty. Stories of the rise and fall of the Chandela dynasty are legendary. Akbars infatuation with the royal courtesan Rai Parveen- a paramour of Indra Jeet Singh- Rai Parveen defied Akbar when Akbar wanted her to come and grace the Moghul court at Agra. She was then returned to Orchcha with dignity and upon her return the Raja of Orchcha built a palace for her- The close friendship with the Mughal Emperor Jehangir which led to the Jehangir Mahal being built where the Mughal emperor could come and stay as and when he desired (Jehangir only ever visited the palace once)- the sad story of King Veer Singh’s son Hardaul’s poisoning by his sister in law on his siblings’ suspicion- Aurangzeb’s daughter, Badr-un-nisa’s relationship with Jhujjhar Singh and her defying the Mughal general when he was sent to destroy the fort and the Chatur Bhuj Temple…. Numerous tales of valour, chivalry, friendship, devotion---The Sound and light show was enlightening and now I am looking forward to visiting the fort during the day and looking around the various palaces within the fort.

An early morning walk on the banks of the Betwa river leaves you dumbstruck at the sheer beauty of the morning sun’s rays on the river and the reflections of the 1000 year old chattris. The Fort and palaces are very well preserved. Absolutely gorgeous murals, with colors that look like they have been applied recently and not a 1000 years ago J One thing that hits you almost immediately is that the murals are scratched with names of people/lovers etched deep into the paintings. The Indian tourist does not much respect nor care for antiquity or heritage. The exquisite wall paintings and murals are scratched and graffiti on the walls and the scratched murals leave you feeling numb at the sheer indiscipline of the tourists that come here. There should be heavy penalty for rampant vandalism like this.

The Chatur Bhuj temple (was originally meant to be the temple for Raja Ram), the Laxmi Narayan temple which has a unique triangular shape, the chattris all make for a fabulous experience. For some weird reason Orchcha does not seem to be very high on the Tourist’s wish list in Madhya Pradesh. This is such a beautiful place, should be on the ‘must-do’ list of any tourist. Time to leave for Khajuraho, but this is a place I would have happily spent one more day atleast.

It’s a 170 km drive to Khajuraho. I have been here as a 5 year old, and have some hazy images in mind about temple spires and wild bushes all over. Don’t remember much about the sculptures, which have subsequently become the single biggest tourist draw in the country J A single lane road takes us from Orchcha to Khajuraho. The road has more potholes than tar. Shocking, and shameful. This in a state that probably has a majority of its revenue coming from Tourism. It took us 4 hours to reach Khajuraho…..!!!! My bones still hurt.

The sound and light show in the evening was brilliant enough for us to forget all the jostles and bumps of the drive. ETHEREAL is the word that comes to mind when you see the Son et Lumiere in Khajuraho…!!! Khajuraho of the erotic temple sculptures…the 1000 year old clusters of temples that was accidentally found by a British gentleman sent to map the territory. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO world heritage site. The temples are in 3 separate clusters, with the western group of temples being the best restored and most visited. The eastern group is a cluster of Jain temples and the southern group is the smallest cluster where the damage has been intense and the restoration work not very effective. Lately another cluster of around 18 temples have been located. One can see the domes where the excavation has begun. Hopefully this will be another cluster of stunningly beautiful sculptures that is the hallmark of this place.

People/tourists have wondered why the erotica in structures/buildings that is very clearly a place for worship. No proper answers to queries here. The sculptures themselves are so very beautiful that you don’t really want to ask questions-just enjoy the poetry carved in stone that makes up Khajuraho.

Firstly to clear one misconception- Khajuraho is not ONLY erotic sculptures. The erotica is only part of the sculptures found in some of the temples in the western group of temples and a few in the southern group. The Eastern Group (Jain temples) have no erotic sculptures. Most of the temples are distinctly divided into 4 separate parts; each part representing one aspect of an individual’s life: Childhood/innocence, adolocense/gurukul, adulthood/family life, old age/ spirituality. It is in the adult stage where you see the erotica in the sculptures. Having said that, I still do not understand the concept behind the explicit multi partner/homosexual/bestial depiction of sex on the walls of the temples. But one thing is for sure, sex was not a taboo subject in the Indian cultural scenario. Beyond the erotica on temples, the sculptures are to be seen to be believed. The intricately carved figurines, the drape of a saree, water droplets dripping down a woman’s body, pleasure or pain on the faces--- absolutely unbelievable…!! One figure in stone showed a girls arm being twisted playfully by her friends- you can see the wrinkles on the shoulder..! a dancer with her toes curled inwards as she tries to balance herself on one foot—a dancer undoing her anklets..a girl dropping her palla (Saree) to shake off a scorpion… aahhh---- what amazing grace , absolute poetry etched in stone. All this is with some stone tools and a vivid imagination…. Brilliant…!! Seriously short of words to describe the sculptures/architecture here..!!

The next day we took a short trip to Pandav Falls- this is another place I remember, but unlike Khajuraho, my memories of Pandav Falls is quite vivid (Or is it..??) The Pandavs are supposed to have spent the last year of their exile in anonymity here. Don’t know about the facts or fiction here, but the place remains as beautiful and pristine as I seem to remember J the tiny low caves, the falls, the fish in the pond all look so beautiful.

The return turned out to be a nightmare. A 12 hour journey through some of the worst roads ever built (don’t think they have done up the roads since the artisans built Khajuraho…L) The agony was aggravated by a couple of wrong turns and a flat tyre enroute…. !!!

A trip to Orchcha and Khajuraho is not only highly recommended- but should be on any travelers MUST-DO list. But one word of caution- DO NOT DRIVE DOWN.

Some pics here for you to enjoy. Plenty more on Face Book…. J Share my trip here, and feel free to comment.

Time Warp—a trip into the past !! Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, Thane

2011-09-18T11:39:00.001+05:30

It was an official meeting in Mumbai. Being a Friday, it was a convenient time to make an overnight trip to an old friends place, and get a break-however short- from the mundane daily grind— the few short hours managed to take me back 4 decades—fabulous memories of wonderful days spent in what were small sleepy, though prosperous towns ….!!! Come, I’ll take you for a short trip into my childhood...!!

Driving down from Worli to Ambernath in the evening J overcast skies, threatening to start pouring any time. It was beautiful. What was definitely NOT beautiful was trying to get through the Mumbai traffic. And it was not even peak traffic hours… ggggrrrrrrr…!!!

It was over an hour and a half before we reached Thane (I had to drop a colleague off at Thane before I could proceed to Ambernath)- Thane was a shock- though a pleasant one .J Gone was the small satellite township- the only claim to fame for this town in the 60’s thru 70’s was that this is where Mumbai island was connected to the mainland. What I saw now was a swanky town, no different from its more glamorous neighbor in any manner- tall, multistoried residences, shopping malls, branded goods in show windows- and the traffic.. !! Space constrained Mumbai has spread – and the smaller towns have become bustling cities, offering perhaps better living conditions than Mumbai. Driving past Thane it started to turn dark, and try as I would, I was unable to take in much more of the suburbs, till the driver told me “Madam- we have reached Kalyan” (I had instructed him to)—Ah well---- another town with tall buildings, bustling streets, heavy traffic… where was the place I spent so many years in…???!!! Just the occasional old building, which seemed to be vaguely familiar (or was I just trying to convince myself- give myself a feeling of home coming..???)—the only thing that was really familiar was the BAD roads--- ooofffff--- I suddenly was transported to 40 yrs ago, driving down to various places in dads ambassador, and the bumps and jolts felt then- was normal part of driving—I mean Roads are meant to have potholes- right…??!!! Well- for Kalyan this obviously stands true still—wonder if these are the same potholes or new ones…:-p ??

I did try to look around, desperately looking for some sign of familiarity- no such luck…!! It was another half hour of bumpy drive before I reach Ambernath----- YYYEEAAAAAAAA-------!!!!

Great evening—fun—laughter—chatting non stop—suddenly it was yesterday once more…!! Chatting till late into the night- rather wee hours of the morning J We decide to take a short drive in the morning to see all the old haunts in the vicinity before I had to leave for the airport-- J

Ahhh.. memories…!! Most of my childhood and teenage spent here— looking forward to the morning!!

A late start to the day… hhmmm… why does it not surprise me..? considering we went to bed well after 1 am—and then we’d had a drop too many of some tipple or the other--- aawwwww… my head HURTS….!! Anyways, gotta do what I gotta do—so, despite the late-ish start, I decide to do a little bit of looking around J It took me back over a quarter of a century, and left me feeling wonderful, a bit sad, a little confused, and very very determined to go back one more time and re-visit the place.

Ambernath was not really a place I frequented, so apart from the pleasure of meeting my friend, the town itself has no special memories. The place was always a quaint place, and despite the tall buildings that have come up, the place has managed to retain its sleepy nature, which is quite attractive. The roads are a different story completely--- my back still hurts.. L

After Ambernath comes Ulhasnagar- of the “Made in USA” fame J In the 60’s, the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association stated with a lot of pride that they could copy/duplicate ANYTHING except a human being J Don’t know if that still holds true. Must say it was a brilliant strategy- great entrepreneurship- and offered cheap goods to a market that was hungry for ‘foreign’ goods. This approach also gave the locals, originally refugees from Pakistan, who had come away to India in 1947, prosperity. They never had sob stories about the partition taking away every thing. Instead they were living proofs of human diligence. They had risen like the proverbial phoenix. So, laugh if you must, but the Sindhi’s of Ulhasnagar had what it took to succeed. They had the spunk which would be difficult to come by today. Having sung my paeans to the Sindhi community, I must say that the prosperity has not automatically brought about much civic sense. The place is squalid… Tall multi storied buildings standing on the filthiest of roads that has more potholes than tar… aaarrrggghhhhhh!!!!!

Needless to say not much is recognizable now. So apart from getting jostled and bruised, it did not leave me with much of an impression (My back disagrees though)

After Ulhasnagar comes Kalyan/Shahad- and that was the focal point this day. We came to Kalyan when I was 8 years old, and left the place after I finished my graduation. A long long time, most of my impressionable years, and some fantastic, beautiful and fun-filled days of school and college----Century Rayon factory has not changed one bit—the entrance looks exactly the same as it did all those years ago. The roads, the colony itself, the hospital, the small market all looking much better maintained, but still are the same. A very warm familiar feeling. Saw my old school, looking the same as it did, except that it has one more floor than it did then J the play ground at the back looks exactly like it did when I had first joined the school. All those games of basket ball, throw ball—and all those times when we were made to stand outside the class as punishment, and we slipped out into the play ground to avoid questions from other teachers ;-) Ahhhh---- beautiful beautiful childhood..great many memories, and such a beautiful warm feeling inside me..!!

I turned back make a short visit to Herman Mohata –the place where we lived..!!! I recognized the small temple which would lead me to Herman Mohata. I took the turn, and drove for a while before I realized that I had to have over shot the place. I tried to enquire from the locals, but to my utter shock, nobody seemed to have heard of the Factory. One person said there used to be a factory, but it has closed down about 20 years ago, and that there is nothing there anymore. So, okay- the factory has shut down- the place must have some buildings, or businesses running there, or SOMETHING there. Guess what….??!! There is NOTHING there- The entire area (and it was a massive area) is over grown with weeds/grass/trees even. There is a wall on the periphery, which is crumbling in most places. That is all there is-where there used be a massive Iron and Steel factory-huge corrugated iron sheds holding the foundry- 24x7 noises of 100’s of workers toiling through the day to produce iron rods, smelted iron, pig iron- I get this weird feeling that I can hear the noises still- though I see absolutely nothing. I have spent some of my most beautiful years- and it just does not exist anymore L Feels empty, to say the least. Almost as if somebody has taken nearly a decade of my life and made it disappear. Its going to take me a while before I am able to accept this. Wonder how my brother would react if he ever comes here. This is where he grew up.

The Ulhas river now has a bridge over it, and a short flyover takes me to my old college, where I did my graduation J Birla College. Happy to see my old college with student teeming all over the place (I actually spent more time OUTSIDE the classes than inside :-p) The College was built in the midst of acres and acres of rice fields, and we could see for miles around open fields--- well well well--- news !!!—there are no rice fields anymore. Instead the college is surrounded by buildings/commercial complexes and a multitude of small and medium shops. Unless one is looking for it, one could easily miss seeing the entrance to the college.

The sleepy towns have turned into prosperous cities with extremely bad roads. This is surprising since Ambernath/Kalyan are to Mumbai what Faridabad/Gaziabad are to Delhi. Shocking to see the conditions of the roads in such places, notwithstanding the fact that rains still haven’t stopped, and a lot of the potholes are probably due to the rains.

Thane next-and well- the roads are as bad here. This is even more shocking. Because Thane is a large city which is the immediate neighbor to Mumbai. Nevertheless, a short drive through Naupada was nice. The lake looks good and brings back nostalgic memories. The flyovers in Thane make it a bit difficult to recognize the old land marks, but St John the Baptist School, where my brother studied, is all so prominent. I did try to look for the building where my folks lived for a few years, but the roads are diverted and I was unable to locate the place. I have a feeling a few hours walking here would be a good idea J maybe someday my brother and I can come and walk around this place J J J

I have a flight to catch and I need to start for the airport. This trip has been very strange. Am happy about having met friends, seeing my old school and college, seeing Thane look so nice and prosperous. But somewhere there is this weird feeling that something is amiss. Nearly a decade of my life is missing.

I need to have some answers. Another trip ??

I did not carry my camera for this trip, and most of the pictures are taken from a moving car. But this was a large bit of my brother’s and my growing up years, and the pics will give you a peek into our childhood and adolescence J

Enjoy….!!!

Haywards Heath, West Sussex- Happy times...!!!

2011-04-27T18:38:00.003+05:30

A long long overdue trip….!! Have been wanting/meaning to visit my bro and his family in the UK… just never happened…. Till one day I just decided..what the heck… I gotta do what I gotta do…. Well…I got my tickets… and off I go..on a 2 week jaunt to the UK… especially welcome just now coz I hvnt had a break in the past year and a half..and am slowly going loony with boredom….. !!!!
An afternoon flight on a Saturday and I was at Heathrow abt 7.30 local time.. I had ALL of 2 weeks in hand…..YYYIIIPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE……… !!!
Landed at the airport to find my bro, his wife and son at the arrival lounge…. J finally we meet….!!!
Chatted late into the night, by the time we went to sleep, it was a good 36 hours since I had been up….!! I safely assumed that I would sleep late into the day and wake up with no jet lag….!!!! Surprise… I was up at 4 am… the long n short of it being it took me one more day overcome the jet lag….!!!
The first thing that hit me was the QUIET surroundings…. A bit too quiet at times… But nice nevertheless….!! A short drive into Burgess Hill, then a drive down to Ditchling Beacon the ... beautiful panorama of the countryside.. back home, a few drinks and bed…. Crawley, Tilgate park…. Pretty and tranquil….. I am enjoying it here…..!!
Brighton pier.. it was overcast and COLD… bliss…!!! Thinking of all in Delhi…J sweating it out in the 40 degrees heat…. Hhhmmmm……!!!! The narrow alleys of Brighton are so pretty… the shops so quaint… !!! Fish n Chips at the pier…J sea gulls… Connor at the games parlour… !!! on our way back we go to the Devils Dyke ( John Constable, the 19th century English painter called this the most beautiful place on earth)…. Not too far off the mark, I must say.. very very beautiful…. A stunning panorama.. all of this helped by a beautiful crisp clear day in West Sussex.... a walk through Lind Field was just what was needed—a quaint English village, the ancient church, going back to 1098--- the old old pub “ The Bent Arms”…. So very pretty.
Portsmouth harbor: HMS Victory, HMS Warrior…. English history replete in every nook and corner….
Con’s 13th b’day: into his terrible teens now… his special b’day gift from Mummy and Daddy was a half hour flying lesson on a Piper Warrior- 2 seater plane… thrilled to bits… the look on his face was a picture… !!!
The whole 2 weeks was a blur of activity—endless drives ( my poor brother—not once did he complain)—Hever castle (Anne Bolyn’s childhood home)- New haven and the 600 yr old fort, which was used till the 2nd world war to guard the coast…. Trips to London—museum hopping in London--- and ofcourse the pubs….. J I tell myself what really took me to the pubs was their antiquity…. My brother begs to differ…. J hhhmmmm… wonder why…..!!!! He does insist there was not a drop of ale or beer to be found in any of the pubs after I returned….. !!!! wonder why..!!!!
Am still trying to figure that one out--- U go check some of my pics from the trip…. J

Across centuries in New Delhi--

2011-02-19T19:43:00.004+05:30

This year it finally can be said to have WINTERS in Delhi….. It has been cold, and also for the most part, beautifully bright and sunny…. Alas, I have been unable to do my usual Dilli Darshan this year due to various reasons….
What a waste of 3 full months---- hhhmmmm..
It was heaven sent when a friend called up ask if I would join up for breakfast at Karims on a beautiful, sunny cold morning…. Ofcourse I said I would.. !!!
Karim’s, as it is now, was started in 1913. It was started by the grandson of the personal “Khansama” (Chef) of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last moghul emperor. They still follow the timings that the Emperor kept. And since the Emperor had Nihari for breakfast (It is a mutton dish, slow cooked for over 12 hrs thru the night and served early in the morning with Khamiri [dough made with butter milk and yeast] Rotis) this dish is only available between 7.30 am and 10 am each day. The place is jam-packed with tourists, esp American and Europeans, at any time you may choose to go there. But breakfasts are specially crowded--- Karim’s Nihari has found followers across oceans, and they all come here early to eat this absolutely delicious dish which is also scarily overloaded with cholesterol….
A wonderful breakfast of Nihari (yummmmmmm) and Khamiri Rotis… and we decided to walk down towards Jama Masjid to walk off some of the excess food we had just stuffed our faces with…. :-p
Probably one of the most famous and largest Mosques in India, the Jama Masjid was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th Century. This is also arguably the most beautiful building commissioned by Shah Jahan. The massive area within the mosque can accommodate upto 25000 people for their namaaz…. What a beautiful structure, and what a wonderful way to spend a sunny morning at the fag end of the winters.
My apologies for the picture quality here. Bright days don’t make for good picture taking… :-) but for all the are worth, some pics here for you to enjoy….

As always, comments and critique welcome....

Ranthambhore-- Rendezvous with T-17

2010-10-11T16:51:00.006+05:30

The trip came about a bit strangely. I had made plans to go to Khajuraho/Orccha—the Supreme Courts’ decision to release the judgement on Ayodhya and the expected disturbance especially across UP and Mp had my plans go awry….. next on the list was the desert trail---Jaisalmer/Barmer/Jodhpur…. Aahhhhh…. Cancellation again….!!!! I now seriously need to start travelling alone again…this travel with friends/family aint working….!!!
Plans for a couple of days at Ranthambhore came about over a casual lunch…!!! A trip to Ranthambhore means a jungle Safari.. J and that is just what we did …. And had a HIGH time doing that… J
One word of caution b4 I begin….. DO NOT DRIVE DOWN TO RANTHAMBHORE….!!!! The roads are pathetic… a 440 km journey took us over 10 hrs, almost breaking our backs in the process….!!! I could almost hear my bones rattling ..UHHHH….. disgraceful roads… esp since this road leads to the most important Tiger Reserve in this country…. !!!
Reached Sawai Madhopur around 3.30 pm, I had been looking forward to taking the afternoon safari as soon as we reached, but obviously that was not to be. The 2nd one of the 2 safaris on any given day starts at 3 pm…. Nothing to be done but take a trip into town. Not that it was something one would regret. It’s a quaint town with very few private houses. The single main road through town is lined with tourist resorts to fit various budgets. ( we managed to lose our way even in the single road town…hehehehe) It was easy to find a place that would give us tent accommodation for the duration of our stay…. And also arrange for canters to pick us up early in the morning to take us into the Jungle. Well begun…. Now to end the day just a couple of drinks (kinda largish drinks I must admit…)…
Early morning, almost before daylight, the canter had arrived, a slight nip in the air made the drive so much more pleasant…J I am looking forward to the trip and hopefully my first ever sighting of a Tiger in its natural habitat.. (I hate going to zoo’s--- hate the idea of seeing animals in cages….) The drive in the canter was a bit of rattle-bone … but what the heck, after the previous days rattling, our bones were used to the jarrs and bumps now…. Crocs, wild boars, deers, varieties of birds, monitor lizards---- they were all there…. But what about Tigers…??? AAAHHHHH…. None so far…. L Special mention must go to the ancient Banyan trees inside the sanctuary…. I am certain James Cameron got his inspiration for the movie AVATAR seeing the trees and their inhabitants at Ranthambhore….. (see my pics and you will know what I mean…)
3 hrs and numerous pics later we returned…. ready for breakfast…and a 2nd safari later in the day…!!! Once we were back we got to know that the Old Fort is open on all days between sunrise and sunset.. !! Nothing to stop us from taking a trip into the fort. J so off we go…. !!!
Awinspiring--- is one word that comes to mind when u first see the fort from a distance… as you approach the fort the real feat of architecture hits you…!!! Built on top of the Aravali hills, the amazing use of local stone for building allows the fort to blend in completely with the surrounding landscape.
Ranthambhore is considered to be the oldest Fort in all of Rajasthan…. 5th century AD… Construction was started by the Chauhans of Rajputana . The Ranthambore Fort had its golden moments during the reign of the king Rao Hammir, the last ruler of the Chauhan dynasty (1282 - 1301 AD). Alauddin Khilji, the ruler of Delhi sent his army to capture the Fort in 1300. After many unsuccessful attempts, his army finally conquered the Ranthambhore Fort in 1301 and ended the Chauhan Dynasty rule over Ranthambhore. Akbar, the Mughal emperor, took over the Fort in 1558. The fort stayed in the possession of the Mughal rulers till the mid 18th century.
The mid 18th century saw the Maratha rulers of Western India gradually increasing their influence in this region. In 1763, Sawai Madho Singh strengthened the nearby village of Sherpur (so called due to the presence of Sher’s [Tigers] in the surrounding Jungles, and renamed it Sawai Madhopur. The town lies in a valley between the Aravalli ranges and the Vindhya ranges. A few years later, the Mughals handed over the fort to the Jaipur state.
For the Jaipur Royal family this was their hunting lodge. Going there, you can see why. The area is surrounded by dense forests, and till just a couple of decades ago the Ranthambhore forest had the largest tiger population in India. Sadly now the Tiger is facing extinction, with a scant 50+ tigers in Ranthambhore, and just over a 1400 tigers across India. These magnificient creatures have been hunted and poached to near extinction. Project Tiger is the Govt of India’s last ditch effort to save this absolutely beautiful creation of nature.
An ancient Jain temple (locals say it is over 2065 years old) and a Ganesh Temple situated within the fort are well worth visiting. A couple of hours within the fort and we were ready to go back to the hotel.
The 2nd safari into the jungle started on time, all of us very hopeful of sighting a tiger this time atleast…!!! One more time it was a whole lot of species, but NO tiger….!!! Disappointment…!!!
The drama began just about 25 mins b4 closing time. Our guide suddenly claimed to hear “calls” that denote a Tigers presence a short distance away… the driver sprang into action by stepping on the gas…. The Canters (seating capacity of 18 persons) don’t look like they can do any speed over 10 kms/hr… to suddenly feel one of these mammoth suddenly accelerate to over 60 km/hr under you is an un nerving experience to say the least…!! I do admit to feeling guilty at this totally undignified rush to pursue a creature in its own habitat… I mean, we were the intruders, it is the Tigers Domain..!! Having said that I had gone to Ranthambhore with the express purpose of seeing a Tiger in its natural habitat and however undignified, having a chance to see a tiger I wasn’t about to blow it by getting all uppity and righteous about the human behavior in jungle--though there is much to be desired in that aspect—especially the Indian tourists—very bad travelers I must say, very little respect for the jungle and absolutely no thought to nor concern for nature!!!! Anyways, it was a good 20~25 mins of to-ing and fro-ing and getting jostled in the canter, without even being able to let off steam by way of yelling--- the guide had told us to SHUT UP....!! We finally reached a spot in the middle of nowhere and the guide tells the driver to stop here, and wait.... all we cud see around us was tall grass and huge ancient trees in a distance....!!! How the hell does this guide know that this is where we shall get our Darshan...??.. well--- nothing to do but wait.... and try and get the knocked-about bones back in place.....!!!!
They don’t call the Tiger “ROYAL” for nothing…!!! after a wait of just about 5 minutes, T17 comes out of the bushes with a regal air, one contemptuous look at the ape like creatures in the silly looking vehicles, and she continues her leisurely walk into the bushes at the other end of the grassy plain…!!! The sighting lasted less than 30 seconds.. but you are left with a blessed feeling!!!!
I was shocked into immobility, and was unable to take even one single pic..… !!! But believe me… I saw T 17, the daughter of the legendary Tigeress of Ranthambhore --Machli, also called the Lady of the Lake.
Enjoy some pics of the Jungle and the Fort…. None of T-17, but I will hold her picture within me forever….!!!!

I saw a green desert... :-)

2010-09-15T17:54:00.008+05:30

It was just another trip to Jaipur. A school friend lives there and that is a huge attraction to make a dash for the place every time one needs a break….
The idea behind the trip was to just catch up with old friends…fun n frolic…gossip…catch up…. We did all of that, and a lot more..
An early morning start from Delhi. The idea was to reach Jaipur by 11 am…. Well well well… so much for intentions and plans… one single wrong turn took us way out and we ended up getting there past 1 pm… half our day gone….!!
A quick lunch and chat and we decided to take a drive into the city (the weather was beautiful.. raining intermittently…it made for great walking )… Bapu Bazaar in all its colorful glory is always a sight for sore eyes… from there we continued to drive till the Jal Mahal. For a change this lake was brimming with water… the shrubs and bushes all washed by the recent rains a brilliant green…!!! It was getting dark and the lights coming on inside the Jal mahal… twinkling lights made it look like a dolls house being lit up by a child… “Pretty” is the only word that comes to mind….
Driving further up, we reach the Nahargarh Fort…Built in the 18th century by Maharaja Sawai Mansinghji as the hunting lodge for the Jaipur Royals, the fort is mainly in ruins. It was dark by the time we reached up to the fort and the lights had started coming on in Jaipur city… what an awesome sight that was…!!! Twinkling lights in the city down below…slight drizzling rains… cool breeze atop the fort ramparts…. Aaaahhhhhhhh…. This is the stuff dream holidays are made of…..!!!.. Soon it was time to return… drive back home, a couple of drinks sitting out on the lawn, then dinner n bedtime….!!!
Next morning we decided to go to Pushkar… one has been reading in the papers about the Pushkar lake having dried up and that was cause for heart break… I have visited that place before and hold beautiful memories of that trip…. Now after the recent rains the lake was rumored to have filled up again, and that was a certain attraction to drive down.
The very name “Rajasthan” brings to mind beautiful images of sandscapes, the endless horizon of golden sands and the splendid tales and legends surrounding this desert land. Jaipur is over 300 kms from the desert, but nevertheless the drive from Jaipur to Pushkar takes you through a sand colored landscape, one that is stunningly beautiful and yet a drab beige color at the same time.
This time however we were in for a surprise… !!! As result of the rains again…. The landscape was a lush GREEN….. the thorn bushes are bright green, clean washed looked very beautiful !!! Sandy terrain covered in grass… !! the camels are going to get into serious depression around this region …!!!!
We reach Pushkar to find huge crowds… :-p there is some fair in Jodhpur and an overflow has come to Pushkar…. This very old town, that finds mention in the Rig Veda (this makes it atleast 5000 years old…) has over 5000 temples. Though Auragzeb is reputed to have destroyed most of them, and the temples were subsequently rebuilt. The most famous temple in Pushkar is the Brahma Temple built in the 14th century. Pushkar has the distinction of having the only Brahma temple in existence. This small town is famous for its annual Camel fair. Increasing tourist footfalls, subsequent facilities to accomodate them and mindless deforestation has resulted in extreme degradation of this beautiful lake over the past few decades. In fact this ancient lake had dried up completely in the past 2 years. Thank God for the rains this year- the Pushkar lake is once again filled with water, the 52 ghats where pilgrims to the town bathe in the sacred waters that is reputed to have healing powers are once again teeming with locals offering prayers. The silt from the Aravallis have turned the water into a bright rust/orange.... the aravallis. normally a drab sand colored range is a bright green with vegetation..... the orange of the waters against this green backdrop makes a magnificient sight....!!!!
I had earlier visited Pushkar and was charmed by the beautiful landscape… a small lake in the midst of a semi arid land…. Camel being the preferred mode of transport of the local population… and the locals in their bright attire lending color to a landscape designed by nature to be devoid of any color… the sand dunes outside Pushkar were any romantics dream….!! It seems that nature is having a rethink about its color scheme….

Check out the colors in my pictures of this “desert” landscape…..!!!!
As always- comments/critique is welcome…!!

Guwahati-my first ever trip to the North East

2010-05-30T15:05:00.006+05:30

An official trip to Guwahati. Why would I complain? It’s always great to travel…. Work or pleasure.. Travel always provides a break, esp when it is a place that I have never been to before…!! In any case Guwahati is one of Indias ancient cities. Antiquity in India being measured in millenia vis-a-vis centuries elsewhere, it makes Guwahati very very old indeed...!!
The first impression of Guwahati-as the aircraft starts descending- is one of lush greenery….!!! The announcement that it is 27 degrees is another pleasant break from Delhi’s searing 46 degrees…. :-) Check in to the hotel, a walk in the local market place, and I call it a day…

The conference the next morning is at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashoka- a stunningly located river front property and absolutely decrepit hotel.. What a waste of prime real estate…!!!

I have wanted to see the Kamakhya temple for a while now: Though the actual antiquity of the temple is unknown, it was rebuilt in 1665, after being destroyed by muslim marauders. Guwahati’s famous landmark is a Shakti Peeth (Sati, Shiva’s consort overheard her father speak insultingly of her husband and feeling humiliated she hurls herself into flames… Shiva was striken with grief and rage at the loss of his wife. He put Sati's body over his shoulder and began his dance of cosmic destruction (Tandava) throughout the heavens, and vowed not to stop until the Prithvi (earth) was completely destroyed. The other Gods, afraid of their annihilation, implored Vishnu (The preserver of Humanity, and part of the Hindu Holy Trinity)to pacify Shiva. Wherever Shiva wandered while dancing, Vishnu followed. Eventually he sent his Chakra (The Holy Discus-Sudarshan)to destroy the corpse of Sati. Parts of sati's body fell until Shiva was left without a body to carry. The parts of her body fall in various places- 52 different parts fell in as many places; each one is considered to be a Shakti Peeth. Taking the mythology further, Sati’s Yoni (vagina) fell at Kamakhya: hence it is called the YONI Peeth) Hindu mythology has a lot of gore in it.. and it takes a strong stomach to digest a lot of it… This is also the only temple in India that still actively practices animal sacrifice- and this is apparent even as one is approaching the temple: the distinctly unpleasant smell of livestock brought here for sacrifice is the single most overpowering smell at this temple.
On the positive side, this isn’t as crowded a temple as I had expected and despite having to wait in a queue to buy a ticket for the ‘darshan’, I was able to go into the sanctum sanctorum within a reasonable amount of time. The actual deity [actually just a largish rock covered with floral offerings] is deep in a cavernous pit, that you reach by walking down very dark and extremely slippery stone stairs. Still, it felt good to have visited this very ‘jagroto’ temple. Worship of Kamakhya grants the ultimate spiritual liberation. Despite the slightly 'bloody' myth behind the temple, it has a curious effect of calm, closest that I have come to this feeling has been at the Vivekananda rock at Kanya Kumari... just a feeling of being one with some greater being. I know I am unable to really explain, but then it is something that one needs to FEEL, no amount of reading or talking about it can really explain the feeling of being "Elevated". I am glad I did go there. A trip to Guwahati would be incomplete without visiting this Temple.
Kalakhetra, not far from Kamakhya temple, is a nice place to while away a couple of hours. It is the Guwahati version of Dilli Haat, though a much larger version…. great to spend a couple of hours.. It had started getting a bit cloudy and even as I walked thru the gates, the cluds had started getting an ominous look... :-) Itw as gonna rain somethign serious soon.... pleasant walks through moderately forested areas... it was nice till it started raining and I had to rush back to the car.
It was return time the next morning, so a short early morning walk to Dighly Pukhur ( a small park surrounding a natural pond) and a longish walk on the river front ( Rivers in India are generally considered as females-Brahmaputra is the only ‘male’ river)… I must mention the food here…..
Guwhatai=Brahmaputra=Fish=AAAAHHHHHmmaazziinnggggggg….. yyuuuummmmmmmmm….. all I ate there was FISH…. And it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S..!! Puts to shame the stuff that passes in Delhi as FISH…!!!
One thing one keeps hearing and reading about in papers is the need for a change of time zones for the eastern part of India… I have gone to Kolkata and never really thought much abt this… here it suddenly struck me- 5am is bright and sunny outside… I was roaming around on empty streets at 9 am.. ..Shops yet to open for the dayand the sun was almost overhead...!!! It felt like 11 am in Delhi. Whilst 6 pm is pitch dark.. a definite loss of daylight working hours…!! In all likely hood a certain pitch for a change of time zones.
Guwahati doesn’t really lend itself to much photography, except for the Brahmaputra and the Kamakhya temple, though I did take some pics. One thing puzzled me though- an eatery called “SOUTH COAST RESTAURANT.. Serving authentic Assamese cuisine, and “ETHNIC BEACHWEAR”- a store in an up market store in land locked Guwahati….:-p
Let me figure that one out while you enjoy some pics from my trip to Guwahati….

Paradise on earth-Kashmir

2010-05-18T15:50:00.010+05:30

Gar Firdous Bar-Rooh-E Zameen Ast, Hameen Ast-O, Hameen Ast-O, Hameen Ast.. ... ( If there is Paradise on earth.... It is here... it is here... it is here....)

Shah Jahan said this when he first visited the Kashmir valley perhaps sometime in the 17th century.... it remains true today... all these centuries later it does not sound one bit any exhageration....!!! What a place this is... unparalled beauty...!!

Before I start to sing peans to the beauty of Kashmir, let me give you a back ground to my trip to kashmir..

This honestly was not a trip that I was looking forward to.... dont get me wrong...!!! who does not want to visit Kashmir...?? I did too... but I have always travelled either all by myself or with just a couple of very close friends.... and certainly never never with a whole group of people.....!! this was a group tour and I was frankly apprehensive...

Anyways... Kashmir was too strong an attraction and I did go... and I am still thanking my stars that I did....

Srinagar to Pehelgam - the drive was beautiful... most of the drive was along the Lidder river.. and the cool breeze made it a very agreeable drive... :-) Stopped over at the Avantipura riuns (855 AD), and the 7th century Martand dev Temple before reaching pehelgam by late eve and after a short walk and a quick dinner it was bed time....

Chandanwari the next day was brilliant.... I have never walked on a glacier before.. it was so wonderful ( though very slippery...hehehehe).. u gotta be careful if you decide to do that.... the foggy day made the entire duration seem one like a fairytale day... clouds laying hide and seek...covering the whole scenery one moment the very next it is clear.... I wish I could have gone on till Shesh Nag... but the place is under army control and opens up only for 2 months in a year for the Amarnath Yatra...(hhhmmmm....maybe I should try and take a trip to Amarnath...) the small village of Aru was as pretty... stunning scenic view..wish i could have stayed there longer... but then in a group, the majority decides.... so back we went to Pehelgam...

The 2 day stay in Pehelgam was nice.... long walks thru the day.... the town of Pehelgam is pretty as a picture..... and honestly a picture with no nits... :-)

Srinagar was the next stop..... Shankaracharya and Hazrat Bal... names that evoke extremely passionate responses and give goose flesh to all those who read history.... the various gardens... ( wonder why they bothered with making gardens specially... the entire state looks like one big beautiful garden...)... the famous dal lake, shikaras, Pari Mahal, Ksheer Bhawani temple at Tullamulla, Gulmarg, the peak at Apharwat, Khilanmarg, the 8th century ruins at Avantipura, Manas Bal Lake, Martand dev Mandir at Mattan..... the list is endless.

How does one see any place within 5 days..? an impossible chore, especially when it is some place as beautiful as Kashmir...

To think this beautiful valley has been strikken by terrorism for the past quarter of a century... the one very prominent sight on any street is the presence of heavily armed Military personnel... not just a scattered few... but bullet proof jacketted/armed and alert.... standing just 10 feet apart, covering the entire landscape.... the most common vehicle to be seen on the roads is army vehicles... armoured trucks... army convoys !!! and obviously the most jarring aspect is the complete lack of tourists... this in a state whose largest revenue stream is supposed to be Tourism.... !!!! Security obviously is top of the mind for anybody.. and the tourists and cars being checked every few hundred yards is common place.... !!! Not all is black here.. there were a few tourists despite all this.. and Gulmarg was quite crowded...!! (though all the tourists were of Indian origin... not a SINGLE foreigner to be seen.... )

I do have one grouse though.... I had expected the food to be exquisite.... Kashmiri cuisine being famous for its Meat dishes and their use of saffron... I was disappointed..!!!! food was indifferent at best.... perhaps the lack of tourists have taken away the better talents to greener pastures...!!!

It was a pleasant nippy morning at 13 degrees celcius when we left Srinagar.... the flight to delhi is of one hour and ten minute duration..... we landed in Delhi to 44 degrees celcius......

AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH......... LEMMME OFFFFF.... I WANNA GO BACKKKKKK.....

will leave you to see a few pics from Kashmir while I console myself with some plans for another trip..... hehehehe....

Trek to Triund & Bhagsu Nag

2010-05-04T14:29:00.007+05:30

This was my first ever trip into the Himalayas.... and thats a while ago.... !!! A conference at Palampur and the Dalai Lama's visit there prompted this trip.... Leaving for McLeod Ganj post the conference in a Bus.... :-) I remember the pelting hail storm enroute and the sudden drop in temperature...:-) and me not even carrying any woolens.... that taught me a lesson-- never ever travel in the himalayas without carrying some form of woolens... U never know when the weather takes a turn...!!!

Palampur is a pretty town, nestled in the foothills of the mighty Dhauladhar Ranges.... Tea estates being its claim to fame, apart from the Kangra school of Arts... gentle weather, and nippy evenings made it a very pleasant stay..

A couple of short bus rides to Chamunda Devi and Jwalamukhi, and I was hungry to take a trip to McLeod Ganj... a 40 minute bus ride from Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj was my stop for the next 3 days... what a wonderful stay that was.... Staying at a pretty guest house, that offered abs nothing apart from a Room with a stunning view and a clean loo.... had to go out even for a cup of tea in the morning.... nevertheless, this is something that I have been used to... so I dump my bags in the room and McLeod Ganj, here I come...!!! a pleasant walk down the only road in town, an early dinner at a local dhaba serving Tibetan food, where I seemed to be the only Indian.... and I was ready to hit the bed... in anticipation of the morning and a trek to triund....which I heard from the locals was an 'easy' trek...... :-)

It is quite a while since I made this trip and I dont remember too clearly ( those were my pre-blog days, and hence never really bothered keeping a proper account of heights/distances/special features etc...). but one thing that is still vivid in my mind is the sheer beauty of the slate mountains... the dense pine forests.... almost painful glare from the rocks once the tree line ends..... and the P-A-I-N in my legs while climbing....

The first day trekked up to Triund.... the oldest migratory route taken by shepards on the Kangra valley and later by the British.....a good 5 hour trek.. reached there by 2 pm.. and after a short break had to start the walk back to be able to reach McLeodganj before dark..... It was only after i got back that I got to know that I could hv stayed the night at the small chai shop in triund and the next morning another 3 hours of trekking would have taken me to the snow line.... :-( anyways... no point in crying over spilt milk... decided I would take a short trek to the Bhagsu Nag Temple on the next day....

As with most temples in this region, Bhagsu Nag temple too claims to have a history going back to the Pandav era... in other words it means atleast 4000 years old... :-) the trek route was slightly easier than Triund ( Thank God- else would never have made it... my legs felt like logs after the previous days trek to Triund)... the temple was pretty ( as expected) and the tiny hamlet with its narrow road and a few shops selling local produce was charming.... all in all a day well spent......

All too soon the trip was done and I was back in Delhi..... actually I am writing this now since I am feeling really really upset about having to drop my plans for a trip to Gaumukh.... :-( and this is my way of pepping myself up... :-) keeping my fingers crossed for a trip into the mountains S-O-O-O-O-N........

some pics from my trip to McLeod Ganj/Triund/Bhagsu Nag....

Chakrata... truely the land of gods.....

2009-12-28T12:49:00.009+05:30

Its been 6 months... almost to the day... since my last trip t the mountains... and all the symptoms of GVM syndrome (gotta visit mountians)were resurfacing....Chakrata seemed like just the right remedy for my ailment... hehehehe....

An overnight halt at Hardwar, and a short visit to wipros soap making facilities at Hardwar... and we were on our way to Chakrata, via Dehradun.....have heard so much about this place... am quite eager to visit this... we had booked ourselves at the forest rest house in Chakrata. Originally built in the 1886, this was part of the cantonment built by the British, and it is still used as a training ground for Commandoes of the Indian Army...most of the area is out of bounds.. and entry for foreign nationals is strictly prohibited..... we reached Chakrata at around 7.30 to face a bitterly cold and pitch dark evening. Only to be told that our bookings had been cancelled the previous evening.... well well well..... certainly not a good begining to a much anticipated holiday..... hhhaaaaarrrruuuummmmpppphhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... there was another family who had just driven in that very evening, and had one extra room.... they were gracious enough to let us have that... else we would perhaps hv had to drive back the very same evening..... and that would certainly have NOT been funny.... :-(

An uncomfortable begining.... especially considering we also had to do our own cooking.... the chowkidar managed to get a chicken frm the village below, and we cooked the chicken and finally had our dinner at 11 pm... The next morning... wake up to a freezing day... washing up was a chore that was very happily ignored..... hehehehe.... A hot glass of chai and I leave for my walk..... AAAHHHHHH..... u can see why this place is called DEV BHOOMI..... this is truely the place Gods live in.... beautiful... pristine forests...Locals tell you that the forests are teeming with the Great Himalayan Bear and Leopards... Langurs are a plenty..... one strange part is the lack of birds sounds.... ( does this signify the presence of some large cat...?? )...the view was spectacular...and all feeling of discomfort and irritation of the previous evening vanished into thin air.... aaahhhhhhhh... this is what makes the himalayas so special... crisp...cold...clear...... what more does one want..??? I knew I was to enjoy this trip.. :-)

A short walk to chakrata town.... the word "Quaint" was coined by smeone who had visited Chakrata....the town is pretty as a picture... neat and clean.... and the walk offered some absolutely breath taking view of the greater himalayas.... one interesting story about this place... Draupadi, the wife of the Pandava princes and daughter of King Draupad belonged to this place... Chakrata is the erstwhile Panchal desh.... Lakhamandal, 70 kms from Chakrata is where the infamous Lakshagrah ( Lacquer Palace, where the Pandavas stayed and the Palace was burnt down. The Pandavas escaped and the story of Mahabharat continued....) was supposed to have been built....!!!

The weather was ccccoooooollllllldddddddd.... and the walk was made that much more pleasureable.... lunch in chakrata was a simple fare at the only restaurant in town... Dal/Mutton curry and subzi with hot rotis..... delicious....on our return a young girl made us some hot adrak ki chai.... and it ws just the right end to a lovely meal....

Back in the rest house... the prospect of cooking fish in that freezing temperature was not really sme thing one looks forward to..... but what the heck... we had been fore warned...so no point cribbing about it.... :-) so.... a light meal cooked... some hot soup to fortify ourselves.... we sat down with some brandy..... it was a nice ending to a lovely day....

Deo Ban the next morning..... I had absolutely NO IDEA of what to expect except for the fact that it is a pretty place.... reached there only to find the largest pine forest in Asia... :-) zillions of pine trees.... stretched for as far as your eyes can see... crowned by snow capped peaks of the greater himalayas....bliss suddenly has a new meaning...

One can actually see why the place is called "DEO BAN" (forest of the Gods)....one needs very little imagination to visualise Gods and Goddesses prancing and cavorting around in these pristine surroundings.... the Bugiyal at DeoBan could well be the spot where the Gods sit sun bathing.... and the tall pine trees the ideal cover offering privacy.... :-) absolutely beautiful.... I thought this was the most beautiful sight one could ever look upon, till we came on to a small lake.... that was frozen over... the sunlight throwing shadows of the tall pines of the lake was a sight that few can imagine..... it is a sight that I am severly short on wordss to describe... shall let my picture do that talking... :-)

The roads to Deo Ban was far from inviting though... "Palla" or frost having frozen in places... driving could not have been a pleasurable activity..... more so since the roads are pretty bad up here and also very narrow..... quite a hair raising experience....:-) especially since the drive from Chakrata (2230 feet above sea level) to Deo Ban (9500 ft above mean sea level) is a short 16 kms..... ooooffffffff..... what a somersault...... hahahaha.... frm 2230 ft to 9500 ft in 16 kms.. gives the word HAIR PIN BENDS a new meaning completely..... best to take a 4 wheel drive unless u want to end up feeling dizzy..... ;-)...

Our return came far too soon... and an early morning start frm Chakrata saw us drivng into Sahiya Town around 9 am... ( one hours drive)... a quick breakfast and we were on our way to Kalsi to see the rock edict by the Mauryan King Ashoka.. this was found in 1912 by a British officer and rests in a small shelter built and mainted well by ASI... the road till Kalsi was dotted by frozen spots from the previous nights "Palla".... and the surrounding panoramic view still in my minds eye.... I leave you with a few pics from Chakrata and Deo Ban....

Enjoy... and a trip to Chakrata is HIGHLY recommended....

To reach Chakrata, from Dehradun drive 27 kms to Herbertpur then turn right towards Vikaspur. 5 kms frm Vikas pur is Kalsi (Cantonment). from Kalsi the road is a single lane straight to Chakrata. Well maintained road till Chakrata. After Chakrata the road deteriorates into a narrow muddy/rocky lane that would challenge your driving prowess, but also give you the most stunning sights.... best to go in a 4WD and Ennnnjjjooooyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.............

Kolkata...family time....

2009-12-22T15:16:00.006+05:30

Its always nice to visit the family... and it has been so long since i visited them in any case.....:-) I was looking forward to this trip, even though it was basically work tht took me to Kolkata this time...

Reached on a saturday eve, and the next day being sunday, it was purely family time. Plenty of catching up to do.... and E-A-T....... ggggrrrrrrrr.... the amount I ate during the week... i should be off food for a week atleast....FISH... the varieties !!!..... yyuuummmmmmm....... sluurrrppppp...

Adhya Peeth ( Kali Temple ) is a place I have been wanting to visit, one reason being my family has a long association with this temple... and ofcourse for every body who goes to Kolkata, Dakshineshwar is a MUST VISIT.... DaKshineshwar kali bari has a long history... Rani Rashmoni (a devotee of Krishna) after losing her husband was being harrassed by the family members and was in the real danger of losing all land/wealth left to her by her late husband. She dreamt one night that building a temple to Kali on a land that resembled the back of a turtle would help over come these troubles. She donated this land on the banks of the Ganga.... and what a stunning place this is... the tall spires of the temple look so stately... the old statue of Ma Kali is mersmerising... Rani Rashmoni stayed with her daughter and son-in-law in Kuthi Bari ( a small house built close to the Temple) whenever she visited Dakshineshwar. Sri Ram Krishna Paramhans, a devotee of Kali,used to reside at the ground floor of the residence between the years 1855 to 1870. In the temple premises, is the room of Sri Ramkrishna where he stayed for the last 14 years of his life. Various articles used by Sri Ramkrishna are now exhibited. The pitcher that held Ganga water in his room is still found in its place. I only wish they allowed photography within the temple precincts... alas.. they do not...and hence I do not have any pictures of this beautiful place to share here....

The work bit was also very interesting. I had gone as part of our SAFE SURFING Campaign so visiting schools, meeting and interacting with the children, aged 12 to 16 yrs....all those bright eyes, and inquisitive minds.. hardly felt like work....The campaign is about practising safety while surfing the net.. a matter of such vital importance in these days of terrorism.. false papers/identities being provided to gain access to information... as somebody mentioned.. the single most important factor for anti national and other crimnal elements is INFORMATION.... and knowingly or unknowlingly... we provide that in the careless manner that we access the internet.... this campaign is all about telling the school children how to safe guard them selves and their family and friends to a large extent...

One of the schools, in 24 paraganas...Sherpur Model School is certainly something straight out of story books.... Rural Bengal at its best.... the people were friendly and welcoming....the school very small.... with a 90% muslim population in Sherpur most of the children were also muslims... it was hearteing to see a lot of girls coming to school and not only attending our campaign, but asking questions....Great sign...!! not to miss mentioning the FOOD offered to us... :-) wwwwwooooooooooooo..... sluurrpppp..... the chicken curry was to die for.... :-p

just a few pictures for you to see just how beautiful a small village in Bengal can be....

enjoyyyyyyy.....

The Pink City.... Jaipur

2009-11-26T16:29:00.006+05:30

Winters coming up fast.... strangely early this year.. :-) its still november and woolens have already surfaced.... the weather is so beautiful.... a nip in the air during the day... not cold but so very plesant..making walking a pleasure, and sight seeing just the thing to do...!!! A short weekend trip to Jaipur was the ideal way to break monotony and also meet up with an old school friend... :-) bliss has a new meaning these days...

An early start from Delhi ( 7.30 am) it was cold... a short stop over for breakfast at Neemrana, and I reached Jaipur at noon. Lunch over it was time for some roaming around in the city. I didnt want to do the usual touristy stuff in Jaipur, since this wasnt my first trip to this very pretty city.... so a trip to Bapu bazaar...more to be able to spend time with my friend than any serious shopping. BTW... Jaipur is a shoppers haven.... beautiful Jewellery ( Kundan), Blue Pottery, Bandhej and Lehriya prints, Sanganeri prints, Jaipur Quilts, Camel skin Mojris.... u name it... this place is beyond comparison.... !! This is before one starts talking about the FOOD here..... YUMMMMMM... the pyaaz ki kachoris, meve ki kachoris.... the typical Rajasthani Thali meal... ( esp mention must go to Singri ki sabji)... and the all time favorite Laal Maas.... truly food for royalty...

Royalty is somethign that exists in Jaipur still, atleast in the local peoples' minds.... they still rever the erstwhile royal family.. Talking about the Royal family, how can one NOT mention the Amer Fort...??!!!

beautifully located at the foot of the Aravali mountains, having the Jaigarh fort as a stunning back drop.... this place straight out of a fairy tale... built in the 17th century, this was the residence of the jaipur Royal family till the 19th century when the City Palace was built and the Family moved there. Amer fort is still stunning... the wall detailing is absolutely amazing.... the colors.. mainly done with vegetable dyes and locally mined semi precious stones. One can see the desire for color in this drab landscape on their wall murals... :-) The Sheesh mahal is un describable... I can only post some pictures here for you to see..... The Jal mahal ( u arnt allowed to go inside) but knowing the place is 2ce as deep as it is on the surface.... u can see why this was the summer retreat in a place where peak summer temperatures can go up to 50 degrees celcius..

All in all, a wonderful visit.... plenty more to see in Jaipur, but then that is always a good reason to go back..... :-)

enjoy the pictures...

वृन्दावन का कृष्ण कन्हैया....

2009-09-29T16:19:00.011+05:30

It is soooo hot .. Durga Puja in mid-september.. honestly... not something to be looked forward to..... !!! But then.. does one have a chice...??? gggrrrrr... On dashehra day, decided to get out of Delhi.... even if I could go out for just the day... anything was good enough...just as long as it was away from Delhi.....!! so Vrindavan it was.... as hot... but atleast I was getting away from this city...

An early morning start, a short halt midway fr a hot paratha and chai and we were in Mathura by 9 am. The Krishna Janma Bhumi was first on the agenda.. the strinking thing about this place is..apart from the mythological interest this place evokes... the mosque built by Aurangzeb where a temple stood.. the original temple, dedicated to the birth place of krishna was demolished quite a few times by various muslim rulers over the past centuries.... Today the temple and the Mosque share a common wall.... stairs leading to the "Garbha Griha".. The cell where Sri krishna was reportedly born, and the prison cells where Devaki and Vasudev were kept prisoners. The place is swarming with security personel, and one gets the feeling of being in a glass cage at all times... it was almost 11 by the time we left the place and we were told that all temples would be closed for a siesta( Gods needs their siesta too...) and would only open around 4 pm.... nothing much to do except go to Vrindavan straight away... though we did stop for a few minutes at " Potra Kunda" just outside the Janma Bhumi... local legend says this si the lace where Krishna's diapers were washed..( Potra - Diaper).. what a lot of crap.... !!! no pun intended....A short half hour drive saw us at Vrindavan... this is a different world completely... steeped in both history and mythology.. ne has to come here to see/feel the place... the unbelievably narrow lanes..lovingly called the Kunj Galiyan by the locals..(kunj-small) can be quite unnerving..we started with the Banke Bihari temple... the crowds... UNBELIEVABLE..... and honestly..UNBEARABLE.... I just about managed to get myself extricated from the crowds.. wonder of wonders..I still have all my limbs intact... ooooffffffff....!!!

The next stop was Shringar Vat... the family that has owned the temple since the year 1536 is distantly related to us... so it was possible to go and take pics and roam around to my hearts content... the place looks dilapidated from outside... but the sense of history is amazing.!! the deity Radha~Krishna flanked by Gaur and Nitayee ( the two devotees that started the Hare Krishna movement...) legend has it that the place is called Shringar Vat because Sri Krishna used to meet Radha on the sly here and lovingly styled her tresses under these trees... :-) whether or not one believes in the legends.. the place is replete with the romance of hindu mythology and that is what makes it so very special..... the Yamuna that once flowed right next to the ancient house is now a good half a mile away... but one still feels the old legends here...

Next on the agenda was a short trip to the Govardhan Parbat.. Sri Krishna is supposed to have lifted the hillock on his little finger to shelter the people of Gokul from the wrath of Indra ( God of rain).. the Giriraj temple there is a pretty attraction and the parikrama for the Govardhan Parvat begins just across the road. Its a 21 km stretch..and there is NO WAY on earth would have undertaken to walk that stretch... so it was a drive... and that pretty much wound up our day in Mathura and Vrindavan...

it was a 3 hour drive back to Delhi... and now i want to go out into the mountains.....SOON......!!

a few pics here from Mathura and Vrindavan.... :-)

enjoy.....

crafts museum... new delhi

2009-07-30T12:34:00.005+05:30

it had rained fit to drown battleships in Delhi. 5 hours of torrential rains..unheard of hereabouts..:-) the entire seasons deficit rainfall overcome in a single day..... !!!!

needless to say the entire city was in complete chaos...the civic infrastructure collapsed.... roads jammed fr hours..traffic snarls that could send any riot squads scuttling to hide away.. the day after the rains it was so beautiful.. slightly overcast sky and cool breeze..and the people going about their normal routines as if the nightmarish traffic jams of the previous day had never happened.... took a trip to the Delhi crafts museum... Situated in the heart of the city,opposite the Purana Quilla, adjacent to Pragati Maidan which hosts most of the International Trade fairs, I am amazed that not too many local Delhiites even know of this place...

I know it sounds uninteresting..but its a place I enjoy going to, especially on a pleasant afternoon its a beautiful place to spend a while....take a look at the pics... do still think this was an uninteresting trip.... ???

a long overdue holiday..... Dev Prayag/Rudra Prayag.....

2009-06-12T12:30:00.012+05:30

It has been a year...to the date since I went out of Delhi for a holiday..... Well.... one can’t really count a 2 day trip to Amritsar....!!The plan was to go to Chopta (Uttarakhand) and the entire drive would be along the Ganges... crossing Dev Prayag and Rudra Prayag.....Finally I was going to see the Prayags too...
Day 1... Reaching Rishikesh was such an event.... 9 hours to drive 200+ kms.... ggggggrrrrrrrrr..... It turns out that it was Ganga Dushera on that very day.... trust me to choose a crowded time to travel.... L
Anyways... Rishikesh was nice, especially the beach of the Ganges... clear silver sands and gushing waters made the 9 hour trip more than worth the while... next morning ( Day 2) we left for Chandrapuri...
June certainly isn’t a month to travel... even into the Himalayas... it was unbelievable HOT.... Thank God the roads were good and the drive wasn’t bumpy.... reached Chandrapuri around 9 pm... What a stunningly beautiful place it was.... the GMVN guest house was located on the river front...and the sound of the river gushing by and the cool breeze on the full moon night was a sight and sound that would make even the most tired of travellers relax, and forget the heat and dust of the road...
Day 3...Early morning... Chandrapuri..... Such a stunning sight... The Ganges not yet in her mighty avatar..... Gushing downwards towards the parched plains... the chilled waters over the boulders, clearer than a mirror.... very obviously a magnet...Drawing one towards its banks. The morning goes in cavorting in the waters oblivious of the strong sun beating down upon you, not to mention the time to check out of the hotel and go on till Ukhimath, where we were to spend the 3rd night, going forward to Chopta and Tungnath the following day. Freshly caught fish from the river was a further incentive to stay back till lunch time before leaving for Ukhimath.
Ukhimath was a short 40 minute drive from Chandrapuri and we reached by 2 pm. Why would anybody want to spend time in the hotel room...??? So off we go to Chopta... none of us had any clue about where Chopta was and what it had to offer... all we did know was that the trek to Tungnath started there. What none of us had expected was the beautiful pristine meadows enroute. How beautiful it looked... after crossing a dense forested patch with a running stream we come across acres of grassy meadows and gently rolling landscape... J the gentleness of the landscape dissipated the minute one looked over the edge and faced a sheer drop of a few thousand feet..... Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrr..... All the way to Chopta the landscape continued. The trek to Tungnath...HHHaaaaahhhhhhhhh.... all the way from Delhi thru Chopta, we had been travelling through heat.... despite a pleasant morning at Chandrapuri, the day was very hot.... suddenly reaching Chopta the breeze was cool...( bordering on the COLD...)... as one climbed, instead of the effort making us sweat, we were actually shivering...by the time we reached the top..... The shiver had turned into a serious shake.... the top of the mountain houses the Tungnath temple complex... supposedly going back 6000 years... At 12500 ft above sea level, Tungnath is the highest temple in India and also one of the Panch Kedar. Tall snow covered peaks all around made for stunning visual. All too soon it was time to start descending.... The descent was much faster than the ascent, and much less stress on the lungs... by the time we reached down, it was dark. A quick cup of tea and a plate of hot Maggie Noodles proved to be life savers..... on this trip I finally discovered the pleasures of Maggie Noodles.. and I swear will never again turn my nose up at these brilliant quick meals....
Back to the hotel in Ukhimath for the night. Dinner after a couple of drinks and we were ready to crash. The plan was to try and climb up to Devriya tal. Just a two and a half km climb, but with Tungnath just covered and Devriya Tal much steeper than Tungnath it took some contemplating.... But try we must.... and we did...!!!
Day 4 started with a magnificent view of the Kedarnath peak... standing tall and towering above all other peaks nearby, it made an imposing sight. The only sad bit was that we would not be able to go to Kedarnath, at least not on this trip, despite it being a mere 40 km drive from Ukhimath.... but perhaps this meant I would make another trip to this area in the very near future.... Now that is a thought worth holding... !! A short drive to Devriya Tal village to start the ascent on to the peak..... Oh my god.... the place was swarming with monitor lizards........ {{{{ I almost died with fright.... did all I could to rush through the area without having a coronary..... bbbbrrrrrrrr
having reached the summit all thought of all Monitor Lizards dissapeared..... !! No words to describe this place... I am seriously short on vocabulary here.... all I could do was stand in stunned silence and curse myself for my lack of foresight at not planning a night stay here....
I shall let my pictures do the talking here....
Day 5 was the return journey to Rishikesh and back to Delhi the next day....
Looking forward to another trip.... perhaps Gangotri/gaumukh this time.... :-)

Atari/Amritsar/Jallianwalla Bagh

2009-03-30T12:44:00.008+05:30

A friday afternoon conversation over a cup of coffee led to a short weekend trip.... to Atari, where India and Pakistan share a border. Being about 20 kms from Amritsar, it was natural to visit the Golden Temple ( Harmandir Saheb) and Jallianwalla Bagh. I didnt realise how deep this visit would effect me...
An early start from Delhi saw us driving out of Delhi on an overcast day, which also meant that it would be a pleasant drive through beautiful flat fields of Haryana and Punjab. The roads are great and the drive was a pleasure.

Reaching Atari/Wagah around 5 pm, we walked in through the multi layered security, manned by tall BSF personnel ( they are chosen for their height :-) 6' and above) It was something one has to see to feel. The crowds, the noise, the children waving the tricolor and above all the impressive retreat by the BSF. Suddenly being an Indian is the single most important factor in ones life. The retreat on the other side of the border is as amazing, more so because they do not ever practise together... every move is a mirror image of that on the Indian side, amazing precision and symetry. The noise was unimaginable, with the loud speakers blaring respective patriotic songs of both sides of the border, crowds along with children shouting patriotic slogans and a huge effort on each side to drown out the sounds coming from the opposite side, despite the fact that the Gates of the two sides are a scant few feet apart and one can not only see but also hear every thing going on there.... An amazing time spent there, one is left with a renewed patriotic fervour and a huge adrenalin rush that makes you shout louder than your neighbour

" Bharat Mata Ki Jai"

The road leading to Atari is lined on both sides with trucks. Literally thousands of them. All loaded with farm produce, esp potatoes and onions, being exported to Pakistan/Afghanistan etc. The trucks would be emptied at the border and the goods loaded on to trucks on the Pakistan side. Smuggling has to be a huge business here... despite the entire border being fenced with electric poles and barbed wire, charged with 440 volts and manned 24x7 by armed personnel.....

Returning from Atari, checked into a hotel and after dumping my bags, drove down to the Golden Temple. Afterall, one doesnt come to Amritsar and NOT visit Harmandir Saheb.... As expected, it was a beautiful sight... The Golden temple lit up at night sent shimmering shadows into the Sarovar and the Soft strains of Gurbani dissipated any fatigue one felt after a day long journey from Delhi. A golden palanquin carrying the Granth sahab is brought out after 10 pm, so the faithful (regardless of the religion they follow) may make their offerings. Just a short walk round the temple and it was all I could do to drag my self away and crash into bed for the night.

An early morning cup of Tea ( eeekkkssss.. why oh why do they add SOOOOOO much sugar to tea... it was instant diabetes....) and I was back in the Temple. It was all that was expected. Serene ambeience and the faithful doing the 'Parikrama' along the sarovar. It was a 2 hour long wait before I could actually enter the sanctum sanctorum, but it was worth the wait. The Golden Temple was all and more than what I had thought it would be. To think this beautiful place was shelled down by the Army just over a decade ago. The Akal takht, standing tall and stately was turned into rubble.

Will the scars ever heal...???

Next stop was Jallianwala Bagh. This is where one suddenly realises that the Scars never do heal. The Well where scores of inocents jumped to avoid the gun fire, the walls with Bullet marks from the fateful day ( Baisakhi 1917) and a sound and light show make sure that no body forgets....

This wasnt a trip where I can make irreverent or frivolous remarks. Will leave you with a few pictures to share with you in some small manner, my trip to Atari/Amritsar......

Another summer in Naukuchiyatal

2009-03-24T11:43:00.002+05:30

Naukuchiyatal has been a regular haunt these past few years. Nimmi's house being there it is so very convenient. It helps that its just a short 7 hours drive away. What a difference these 7 hours make..going from the chaos that is Delhi, driving through the utterly dilapidated roads of UP... once you reach the state of Uttarakhand it s almost another world.... driving past the Corbett National park, beyond the fertile gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh.

Haldwani heralds the begining of the mountains, and the bustling town brings about a sense of pleasure despite the heat and crowds. You know you are just another couple of hours from bliss. Haldwani has traditionally been the lunch stop... and lunch at Nanak's restaurant is almost part of a ritual... ( their Bal Mithai is scrumptious...)

Stay at Naukuchiyatal is always relaxed... walks in the morning, relax in the afternoons..... a walk around the Naukuchiyatal Lake in the evening before a couple of drinks under the star lit sky is the high point of the stay,followed by an early bed time pretty much sums up the entire days activity.... some days a trip to Nainital or SatTal kind of breaks the routine.

It is routine one has come to look forward to... a few days of doing NOTHING... much needed when one lives amidst chaos...

Just a few pictures from one of my trips to Naukuchiyatal......

Suraj Kund...crafts mela.

2009-02-09T12:15:00.000+05:30

Its that time of the year again... and Suraj Kund Mela has been a favorite place to visit for the past 8 years...

The place was bright and sunny and pleasantly warm this year... ( whatever happend to the winters...???) and as usual the crowds had surged to this annual crafts mela that is held every year during the 1st 2 weeks of february. Weekends as always are crowded... :-) But strangely and for a change the crowds do not bother you here.... the children playing and the adults enjoying a day out in the open... the colorful stalls selling their wares from the different states of India.... One walks and walks and walks..till one if fit to drop dead with sheer exhaustion.... a nice kind of exhaustion......

The place was thick with armed security personel, the security began at the entrance. 3 tiered security checks... It is a sign of our times to see not a single person objecting to this.... Sad but a true reflection of the times we live in..... where even a child wanting to peep through a 'bioscope' has to first show the security guards the bag and the water bottle she is carrying. Also a sign of these troubled times.... neither the parents nor the child objected, despite having gone through the security checks at the entrance.....

Some pics... these are as colorful as the Mela itself.......

a very foggy day in Sultanpur.....

2009-01-05T12:31:00.000+05:30

It has been very cold this winter...( hahhhh...finally a winter worthy of being called WINTERS)... but when it gets foggy in winters...it kinda doesnt feel so nice... :-( I have been wanting to go to the Prayags for so very long now..something or the other keeps coming in the way.. Prayag is still pending... !!!!

However, a couple of friends and I decided that we would just go out this last saturday and spend the day out...anywhere...just as long as it is away from Delhi..and far from the maddening crowds.... We got our first wish... Sultanpur is aways from Delhi.. ( so what if it is only 16 kms away...) but the 2nd wish.... peace and quiet... things that should be the norm in a bird sanctuary.. were sadly lacking..... lots of people..who have come down to "SEE" birds... yelling everytime they sight a crow or a kite.... resulting in the migratory birds keeping well away from sight... this is not to say that feathered friends stayed quiet....!!!!! The cacophony was unbelievable..... :-)

We set out saturday morning... very foggy... visibility a mere few yards... on reaching Sultanpur we got to know the temperature was 0 degrees..... bbbbrrrrrrrrrrr..... till I heard of the temperature... i wasnt feeling the cold... Honest....!!!!

Just b4 we reached the sanctuary... we had to stop at a level crossing... ( those non-existent contraption of yore...) to allow a goods train to chug past.... it looked almost ghostly.. an entire train disappearing into the fog.....

The marshes had an eery feeling... one cud see the dense fog settled like a blanket on the tall elephant grass... and the few odd ducks braving the bitter cold waters, in search of food.... a few storks, and pelicans..and WOW...Neel Gai.....!!!!

Needless to say...all that fog cannot make for very good pictures..... still a few pics to give you a general idea of 'A FOGGY DAY IN SULTANPUR' ......

enjoy

A short trip to Hyderabad...

2008-12-08T14:31:00.000+05:30

The trip to Hyderabad was on the anvil. The only sore note was that even though this was to be my first ever trip to this beautiful city, I was to have no chance to explore the city and to go sight seeing... the visit was to attend the IGF 2008.... not a sight seeing trip...!!!

But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way..... I did manage to fit in a lil bit of sight seeing... :-) not enough, but still... I can say I visited Hyderabad....

Charminar : the beautiful 4 pillared structure... despite being in the middle of an extremely busy street, transports you to a bygone era.... the exquisite carvings, the the awsome view of the old city from the top of the minar.... not to mention the 100s of pearl and bangle shop all around... need less to say..I splurged.....

Golconda Fort: the fort was constructed on a hill in the 12th century.. and initially was a small mud structure, subsequently built as this mighty fort by Raja Rudra Pratap Dev in the 14th century. The area was ruled between the 14th and 16th century by the Bahmani Kings, whos seat was the Golconda Fort. It was an unstable kingdom, and as a result 5 of its governors soon declared themselves as independant rulers... Bidar, Berar, Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda.

Hussain Sagar lake: by the sunset.....so very serene.. a short boat ride, seeing the bajras all around. The massive Buddha statue in the middle of the lake... one can feel the stress draining away....

Salarjung Museum: I almost thought I would have to miss seeing this very famous museum... almost a sacriledge... Nobody visits Hyderabad and NOT visit Salarjung Museum. It was a hurried trip, since I had to reach the airport to catch my flight back to Delhi.... but I did get to see some portions of it. the Eastern Block, the Chinese Room, the Jade Room, the Japanese Room, the tapesteries, the paintings.... I could go on and on... all I can say here is that every single blink of the eye offers a new treasure... The famed Jewels of the erstwhile Nizam are no longer kept in the museum....they are in safe keeping at the RBI.

The single most beautiful piece of sculpture in the entire place was the "Veiled Rebecca".... I can almost visualise this every time I close my eyes... the stunningly beautiful face carved in marble, covered with a translucent marble veil..... unbelievable.... and unforgettable.... !!!!

unfortunately, like any other museum the world over, this one does not allow any photography inside..... hence I am unable to show you teh Veiled Rebecca... but I still havew some pics of Hyderabad...

enjoy.....

Durga Puja 2008

2008-10-22T16:31:00.000+05:30

Durga puja once more..... all those memories of childhood come back, as they do every year during this period.....

the charm of Pujo has always been the new clothes, the roaming around pandals, and most of all - The FOOD...... my friends in Chennai and Delhi have always been slightly shocked at this blatant, shameless gluttony...and the total lack of BHAKTI on my part.... but then... there you are.... For me Pujo has always been about Food... and Clothes.. and generally enjoying myself, without feeling any kind of guilt at the excesses and the very visible effect it has on my waistline.... :-p

Some pics here... enjoyyyyyyy......

Ah Taj....!!!!!!

2008-08-07T15:41:00.000+05:30

Delhi has been unusually pleasant for this time of the year, it rained heavily this past week, as a result, it is just lovely now.. not the stiflingly hot august one would generally expect.

Took advantage of the weather and went off to Agra over the week end. Nimmi called on Saturday morning, abt 10 am, and asked if I was doing anything over the week end, I told her “nothing extraordinary”.... so she sez 'Ok get ready we're going out... I asked 'where..?' the reply: “ 'Agra for 2 days..”...just like that... I was given a 1/2 hour notice, and she threatened to come over and shove me into the car if I wasn’t ready by then. Just about managed to throw in some night clothes n some toiletries into a bag, and she was there..(I had even managed to bathe by then..) and we were off... I had all of Rs.250/- in my bag, this was going to be one hell of a trip..... probably give new meaning to the word “ shoe string budget”... Reaching Agra late afternoon, we went straight to the Cantonment, where we would be staying for the duration of our stay... (it was beautiful.) The first thing we did after lacing our bags in the room was to rush back into the car and drive out to see the TAJ......!!!

Taj was absolutely ethereal.... almost thought it would vanish before my eyes... would never have thought any man made structure could be so beautiful... amazing symmetry, visually stunning piece of architecture. The murals and carvings on the walls and the pillars, and most of all the brilliant WHITE marble....!!!! I am at a loss for words here... a very unoriginal description, though the only one that probably comes close to describing this monument is..... STUNNING.....!!!!! The gardens are beautifully maintained, and the fountains throwing up water also brought about a feeling of pleasant calm to the surroundings. Though the famed Yamuna, flowing behind the Taj leaves much to be desired.... The once mighty river is now just a slow, sluggish drain....Sad, but true...!! One can only visualise the time when the Yamuna would have been the strong gushing river of the legends, and Shah Jahan took his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal on boat rides on this river on a moonlit night....!!!!
I absolutely hated getting out of that place. Such a beautiful place... but if legends/stories are to be believed.... also an example of just how cruel Human Beings can be....!!!! Legend has it that the 20,000 workers, who worked to build this monument of Love, spending over 20 year of their lives, all had their fingers chopped off.... on orders by the Emperor.... !!! Explanation/ rationale behind this atrocity....?? They should never be able to duplicate the work....!!!

But there was more to see. In the evening, we just took a walk within the cantonment area, towards the airfield. They were having some night exercises’, and we saw fighter jets taking off, in formation.... the screeching jets almost shattered my eardrums, but what a brilliant sight.... though I must admit the sight send your stomach somewhere in the vicinity of your knees.....!!!

Next morning, Sunday, we first went to the Agra fort, better maintained than the Red Fort in Delhi. Larger scale, grander and better maintained. The quarters where Shah Jahan was kept prisoner for 8 years before he died... I'd easily spend all my days there...!!..But those cheapskate Mughal Badshahs made such puny quarters for their women folk...almost claustrophobic, none of the massive rooms that our Hindi film makers show....!!! and what a sad life those princesses led.... not allowed to marry or have children..( the idea behind this weird law being that a married daughter would have children and the husband and children would set claim on the Mughal Throne/property/wealth..) It must have been traumatic... (though history is replete with stories of the princess’s multiple love affairs....nobody said the Princesses could not have affairs.. did they....??? !!!!)

Next was Fatehpur Sikri.... AAAAHHHHHH.... the architecture... the planning... the execution of plans....I really don’t have words to describe the feeling as you go through the lives of those who lived and breathed there 5oo years ago....wish I could find myself a Time Warp....I'd give up my hope of heaven..(hell..!!! ) to be able to experience that..even for one day....and to think all the architects/masons/workers who put this in place were near un-educated (by our standards..) and all they had was their imagination and some few hand held crude tools to work with... how much more effective we could be today, with all that science and technology had to offer us.....all we need is the resolve....!!

There was more to see, and Nimmi had 4 days off from work, but I had to get back to work.... so back we are... in Delhi... !!

Rishikesh/Tehri.. History in the making

2008-07-08T16:00:00.001+05:30

AAAAhhhhhhhhh............Another summer..... Another holiday... !!!
This time it was a bit different. A trip to Rishikesh wasn’t really my idea of a holiday in the mountains... but nevertheless... a trip away from the city is always something to look forward to.
Left Delhi on a Friday afternoon. The idea was to reach Rishikesh by evening ( its a 6 hr drive from Delhi) and spend the entire weekend in Rishikesh/Haridwar. Very honestly, my big attraction in this trip was white water rafting. I wanted to do this at least one time, and Rishikesh offers some of the best rafting.. J
The drive from Delhi was uneventful; we reached Rishikesh in a little over 6 hours and went straight to the Forest Guest House, where we had booked rooms for the weekend. It was a lovely old structure, on a small incline, surrounded by forests. Despite being so close to the city, one hardly heard the traffic noise. In fact the only sound one did hear was the Ganges running very close by.. in the dark we could not see the river, but the lights from the temples across the river was so beautiful, and the sound of the bells in the temples announcing the evening aarti ( prayers) made for a perfectly enchanted evening.
The next morning we set out towards Shivpuri, expecting to jump into the rafts and spend the next few hours on massive adrenalin high. Surprise.... on reaching the beach, we were told the flash floods of the previous few days had made rafting impossible during this time... L No rafting.... !!!!
Not wanting to ruin what could be a perfectly nice weekend, we looked for options.... and BOY..... Did we get it....!!!
Neergarh... Just a few kilometres above Rishikesh, is a small village, not on any tourist map still ( the roads were being developed) The area has over 21 water falls within a radius of 5 kilometres...Spent the entire day there, and it was with great reluctance that we broke away from there and returned to the guest house.
We were planning to go to Tehri the next day. The Tehri dam has been in the news for over a decade. Seeing it in front of one’s eyes was a very different feeling. MASSIVE...is one word that comes to mind immediately. The river Bhagirathi flows thru the Himalayas and a bowl created over millennia has provided the perfect spot for the dam. The politics behind the dam and the resettlement issues of the old Tehri town are a different story. What we could see in front of us was facts that would probably give goose pimples to anyone, even those unaware of the dynamics of the issue. New Tehri Town was bustling with activity, with people going about business as usual. Just a few kilometres below lay the old Tehri Township, which has a history of over 250 years. The old Tehri town was inundated by floods the previous week, and what we saw of the town was part submerged, the old college, with the roof and doors cannibalised for other constructions, the old clock tower sans the clock. (The clock had been replaced on a brand new clock tower built in New Tehri) It was an eerie feeling. Almost like watching history being created. A 250 year old town being slowly swallowed by a massive man-made structure, aided by a legendary river. Words don’t really help here to conjure up the sight offered there. ‘Poignant’ would probably come closest. The return journey was curiously quiet. I don’t think any of us really knew what to say or how to react to what we had just seen.
Maybe, a trip to the various Prayags would be a good idea next....

Kaza...a dream visited

2008-06-03T10:55:00.001+05:30

KAZA/TABO.. Had been on the anvil for the past few months. Somehow it kept getting postponed..!! Almost some kind of a jinx on this trip.
Finally, it happened last week. We decided that we just had to make it to this place which was almost becoming a distant dream.
We left Delhi when it was raining and it was beautiful in Delhi.. Whoever I spoke to said ‘Why bother going into the mountains…. Delhi is so lovely now..and its going to be raining in the mountains in any case..’ “You would not be able to make it to Kaza..” I mean… if we cannot cross Rohtang Pass then we cannot reach Kaza….simple…!!!!
We decide to at least try…
We left Delhi on Saturday. The plan was to spend a couple of days at Naggar (near Manali, Himachal Pradesh) then go on to Kaza, God willing and weather & road conditions permitting…
Naggar was just beautiful… snow capped peaks in the distance, a peaceful small town and the famed Roerich Museum nestled in the mountains. Days were spent walking up and down the lanes, eating at some nice German eateries and generally relaxing. The locals told us that going to Kaza at this point in time was a BAD idea… suicidal to be polite…. Idiotic to be precise…!! :-p
We decided to try and go at least till the Rohtang Pass and see if the roads were drive able…one thing we were very clear about by now was the fact that there was no way we would be able to go without a 4 wheel drive, so we hired one from Manali.
Left Manali very early in the morning, since we were told that generally Kaza (120 kms from Manali) would be an 8 hour drive.
Rohtang pass was jammed with traffic… bad start to our journey...!! It took us over 2 hours just to cross Rohtang.. it was blanketed in snow and the tourists were generally enjoying themselves without giving any thought to the parking norms.
Crossing Rohtang was slightly nervy... The roads... (Or whatever it was that we were driving on) were bad to say the least. The two sides covered in 6~8 feet piles of snow, and between the two walls were potholes more than two feet across.... hhhmmmm... now was the time to turn around... But......
We carried on.. hoping it would get better in a while.... we went on till Gramphoo, and then decided we would go just a bit further down...
The drive never did get any better. But the landscape.. Well now ...that’s a different story.... it was stunningly beautiful..!!! Tall mountains covered in snow... the Spiti River frozen in places, gushing strong currents in others and green where ever the snow had spared the grass/trees... in places we had to drive between ice walls... Folks.. I have never ever done anything remotely like this before... needless to say wild horses could not have made me turn back by then....
Crossing the Kunzum Pass (14,500 ft above sea level) was ethereal to the eyes... more so since it had started snowing by then... we were driving more by instinct than any real sight of the way.. Beyond Kunzum the landscape changed drastically. Now it was more like what I had seen in Ladakh...stark barren landscape almost startling in its majesty, and its sheer contrast to what we had just crossed. Almost a different world altogether.
We reached Kaza (13000 ft above sea level) at around 7 pm. It was bone numbing cold, and with the altitude and the thin oxygen level, all we could do was gulp down some hot food and crawl into bed under piles of quilts to keep from freezing completely.
Next morning the view from my room made the entire journey worthwhile.. I stood at my window facing tall mountains, white with snow, topped with the bluest of skies, a few birds floating in the distance, and silence where all I could hear was the sound of me breathing....
We decide to go till Tabo, the oldest functioning monastery in India. The drive to Tabo was an experience by itself... there is a saying in Hindi...." Phati padi hai..."... without going into a literal translation, loosely translated it means..."scared shitless".... its the only way I can describe this drive... large rocks ..loosely suspended, just waiting for a stiff gust of wind to come crashing down on your heads...!!!!.. Despite telling oneself that it does not happen...one somehow gets the feeling that the gust of wind is waiting for you to cross underneath, so it can throw the rock/mountain down on you......!!!! We did manage to cross safely though...as have people for thousands of years before us....!!!!

Tabo monastery was founded in 996 AD... made of Mud, it makes you wonder how and why anybody would want to build here... the little village surrounding the monastery still lives a life that is probably unchanged since the monastery first came up... though one can see signs of modernization...in the form of cable TV dishes, a few restaurants boasting of continental and even Israeli food. On our way back we went to the Dhankar Monastery (1400 ft above sea). Again very old and even the Llamas there did not know how old it really was. The nearest guess was 1050 years. Dhankar monastery is in such a dilapidated condition that it can collapse any time. It would be sad, since though a new structure is being built very close to the old one, it does not have the same character as the original building, standing tall over a peak, overlooking the entire valley.
The next day was the trip to Kye monastery.
Kye/Ki/Kih... I don’t know what to say about this place. I have been to high altitudes, seen very beautiful places & visited ancient monasteries. I also know about human endurance, will power, passion. Going to Kye the one thing that strikes you is that there has to be something bigger than all these put together to create this. It isn’t that it is a fabulous structure, or even the most beautiful of places. But there is something about the place that strikes a cord deep within you. The general peace and tranquility of the place, the friendly nature of the Llamas, the surroundings is such a relaxing effect on ones person, you feel one with nature.
The Llama at the Kye monastery said one has to be blessed to come to Kye.... He was right.
I feel truly blessed...!!!

Kausani/Baijnath/Bageshwar ( Uttarakhand)

2008-05-11T11:25:00.000+05:30

The trip to Kausani ( Uttarakhand) was almost 2 years ago. The month of may in Delhi was as usual a killer... with temperatures going up tp 47 degrees celcius.... we just decided to pack out bags and head for the mountains.... one of the advantages of living in Delhi is that you are within 6 hours drive from the mountains.....!! Once you are in the mountains...then it does not bother you to drive further looking for new places ( and there are plenty..) or just going to some place which offers a stunning view of the snow clad mountains even in this searing time of the year....not to mention the peace and quiet of the mountains....

So, Kausani it was... and what a wonderful decision it turned out to be. It took about 10 hours to reach Kausani.. since we had taken it easy after we drove into Uttarakhand. A leisurely lunch... a stroll along the lake at Nainital... we started for Kausani at around 4 pm from Nainital...

After Delhi's 47 degrees ..Kausani's chilly evening was a very pleasasnt surprise indeed... we actually had to use room heaters at night... :-)

We stayed at the army's guest house in Kausani, and were told that the sunrise in Kausani is breath taking...and we do not want to miss that for anything....!!!

Sunrise...?? whew.... i have never been a morning person.... that is to say that I have never witnessed a sun rising ever... and to see the sun rise at an unearthly hour of 4.45 am... was really not my idea of a holiday/.... I would be very happy to see Kausani by the day...... Thank you...!!

The others were very keen to see the sun rise... so with great difficulty and a lot of complaints/moans/groans I dragged myself out of my nice warm/cozy bed and walked out into the freezing cold of the Kausani morning...( it was pitch dark..looked more like midnight than early morning...) a short walk and we reached a point where we decided to sit and await the arrival of the sun...

The arrival was heralded with a lot of fanfare... the pre dawn colors are just amazing... it is almost like an artist had gone berserk and splashed a palette full of colors ... different hues and shades... onto the sky.... !!! each second was a different spectacle... till finally the Sun God burst onto the horizon...!!! folks... I was left breathless....!!! One does not get to see sights like this often... all my moans and groans forgotten I sat there speachless watching this amazing sight that can only be created by that someone who is fittingly called "GOD".... trust me, the sight is enough to turn any aethist into a believer....

The 2 days at Kausani were as expected... quiet, charming and very very relaxing.

On our way back we stopped over at Baijnath, a small town with a cluster of temples dating back to the 6th century... nestled amongst the mountains on one side and the Sarayu river on the other... this place is straight out of a folk tale, where you expect and get to see village folks going about their daily routines and maybe bursting into some folk song just because they want to hear something other than the birds chirping or the river surging ahead.... beautiful..is all I can say... Bageshwar is another small town on the way to Almora from Kausani... we stopped over for lunch there... the place boasts of a 12th century temple and legend has it that Lord Vishnu ( the protector) roamed here in the guise of a tiger ( Bagh) hence the name... this is also where you see the confluence of the Gomti and Sarayu rivers.

Unfortunately most of my pictures from this trip were spoilt... still I do have some which I am posting her.

Highly recommend a trip to Kausani... :-)

In and around Delhi....

2008-05-06T15:30:00.002+05:30

Living in Delhi, it is strange that I never thought of going around town just looking at the monuments that are scattered all over the place.... As a child I remember going to all the normal places .. Red Fort.. Humayun's Tomb.. Qutub Minar... etc. But later on, there never was the 'time' to go around this beautiful city and look at all that it offers to a tourist/history buff or just something to do on a lovely winter afternoon....

It was my mother who actually reminded me that one need not have to go out of town and into the mountains to spend a relaxed weekend...

The Purana Quilla ( Old Fort) built by Sher Shah Suri and subsequently used by the Mughals in the begining of their reign in India... Legend says that this was built on the ruins of Indraprastha.. the seat of the Pandava Kings....!!!

The very beautiful Lodi Gardens... built by the Lodi's as a summer retreat... the Hauz Khas ... originally built as a water reservoir.....

The Qutub Minar, started by Iltutmish in the 11th century... and its surroundings... so very beautiful.. the various monuments in the Mehrauli archeological area... Jamali ~Kamali, Balban's tomb, Quli Khan's tomb; The tomb of Iltutmish the Slave King...

The Red Fort ( built in the 15th century) with its Rich history..... Humayuns Tomb, the monument that was an inspiration behind the design of the Taj Mahal.... the 11th~12th century ruins at the Tughlaquabad Fort...The Humayuns tomb, commissioned by his wife Hamida banu...

Chandni Chowk, the area still gives you goose flesh when you think of the history behind the place... and ofcourse Balli Maran.. the house where Mirza Ghalib lived the last few years of his life...

Nizamuddin is such a treasure house..... Hazrat Nizamuddins Dargah.... and very close to it Amir Khusru's tomb.... Jahanara ( the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan) lies here... as does Mirza Ghalib, the 18th century shayar ( poet)... and who's name still evokes such reverence by all those who love good poetry.... Chaunsath Khamba with its exquisitely carved tomb stones.... Urs Mahal..... How does one begin on a list of what Delhi has to offer a tourist....????

Notwithstanding the tourist attractions...the food at Karims is unbelievable... :-)

All this last winter I took off during the weekends and scouted around Delhi looking at these monuments.... I will probably have to spend quite a few more winters doing this, if I am to see even a part of what this beautiful city has to show.

Although I am able to post very few pictures on this blog.... I do hope that this will give you some idea of what Delhi has to offer... !!!!

Alwar.... a nostalgic trip

2008-05-01T16:42:00.000+05:30

It had been over 20 years since I last visited Alwar ( Rajasthan) .... it was then a quaint town, like any other that one would see in Rajasthan. Beautiful yet harsh... Rich heritage... gentle people... and above all - a feeling of peace and calm.....!!

I revisited Alwar recently. Much has changed ... most of it for the worse. Though Alwar still retains its quiet regal dignity, despite the degradation piled on by the thoughtless construction in the name of progress.......

The City Palace is no longer the beautiful massive structure I had seen all those years ago.... instead the Govt has brought in legal offices into the palace and built within the palace small cubicles to seat advocates and their staff.... the facade of the palace is unappealing, to say the least. The top floor has retained some of its old charm, though the museum needs a coat of paint and the old royal armoury perhaps needs polishing. Behind the palace is the "Moosi Rani ki Chhatri", which was the bathing ghats for the Royal ladies. It still is beautiful, though the green waters make you feel someone, somewhere takes it in their minds to do a thorough clean up job here too...... Notwithstanding the general air of decay the Chattri looks stunning, with the Aravali Mountains giving it a fittingly Royal backdrop.....

Bala Quila, the original Fort of the Alwar Royals, was built in the 12th century ( some say it is 9th century) ... one drives for about 30 minutes from the city palace to reach this place... The drive was beautiful.. makes you wish you had walked the stretch instead of taking a car... the forest on both sides of the road ... the occassional deer or peacock and above all the still air and all pervading silence.... You can actually hear your self think here.... !!!!

Bala Quilla has been turned into the Police Wireless centre for the state...!!!! Though we did manage to get the permission to go inside and see the Quilla..... the entire journey seemed worthwhile once we reached the 3rd floor of the Fort..... one can see the entire city of Alwar from top.. and far beyond the majestic Aravallis make the picture complete.... Absolutely beautiful....!!!

Next stop was Siliserh ( The summer resort of the Alawar Royal family).. the Siliserh Lake, which was made to supply water to the entire Alwar town is now a haven for holiday makers, who come to Siliserh and enjoy the boat rides on the lake, the surrounding mountains still giving silent salute to the bygone era....

Going to Alwar, Sariska is a MUST VISIT.... though on this particular trip we were not able to make it to Sariska... I still remember the weekends spent in the Hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Alwar, which is now a forest resort !!! Sadly.. with the Indian Tiger in such dire state...not too many people can lay claim to having seen one of these beautiful creatures in Sariska.... but I still hallucinate about going there once again, spending the weekend in the Sariska resort and hopefully seeing one of these big cats stroll freely in its own domain....

:-)

Me... in the land of the Llamas.....

2008-05-01T16:00:00.001+05:30

Haaaaahhhh...... finally... after waiting...wondering..dreaming for 4 long years.... LADAKH (Jammu and Kashmir)..... Had been wanting to do this for 4 years now.. and at times had actually felt that maybe this wasnt for me.... But as they say... where there is a will..there is a way....!!!!

I was going to Leh.. driving down...from Delhi...all of 1273 kms... Left Delhi on the 15th of Sept... the first night at Kumarhatti...a small village near Simla ( Himachal Pradesh) then to Manali the next day...

sunday morning we started for Rohtang Pass.... for me this was the begining of my Holiday...since this meant that I was actually on way to Ladakh... The road to Rohtang ( 10500 ft above sea ) was bad to say the least... " pagal nalas" galore ... Pagal Nalas are those water bodies that suddenly come over the road... and the roads would be covered with running water for abt 20~30 metres... strong gushing current... and boulders for roads... it would be a driving feat for anyone... more so for someone not used to driving on roads like this... the entire area is prone to land slides.....!!! We reached Keylong late afternoon.. ( pretty as a picture...quiet... serene.. and picturesque..)...after a 7 hour drive... and decided to take a driver for the rest of the way to Leh... Keylong to Leh is only 300 kms... but it was to be a 15 hr drive...!!! through the most treacherous...and breathtakingly beautiful landscape....words cannot explain the sheer majestic beauty of the place... nor is the human mind capable of imagining the sights offered...... only way to experience this is to GO THERE and see it with ones own eyes.. Places with exotic names like... Jispa ( similar elevation as Keylong) Darcha...( 15 000 ft )..Sarchu...( 15900 ft ) Pang.. ( 13000 ft) .Tang Lang La...( 17 900 ft ) and the scenery... !!!! bald mountains..... dry landscape.. thats what strike you first... not a scrap of vegetation..for as long as ones eyes can see...and each mountain has a different character.. and a diff color... you have never seen such a fusion of colors... purple..green... pink...magenta..brown...!!!

Water..( and there are plenty of water bodies...snow melting from the mountains... falling into the plains to merge with the great rivers... Beas...Chandrabhaga...Indus...Zanskar... The entire region is over 12500 ft above sea level, which translates into this air, low oxygen and extreme lack of moisture in the air.....We had been told to drink plenty of water all thru the way.. to prevent dehydration..and to stock up on Disprin...( it has a blood thinning agent.. which helps coagulation of blood in high altitudes..).. so we started glugging water... and this resulted in a very very natural phenomena....one needs to relieve oneself after a while... so.. where does a lady genteelly relieve herself ???? no bushes...remember this is a bald landscape.... so after a while.. and a considerable amount of discomfort... you drop all inhibitions together with your pants... and GO..... !!! :-)

The drive to Leh was breathtaking... reached late at night... after our car broke down twice.. :-) Leh itself was beautiful.. the monasteries... Thiksey.. Spituk.. the gurudwara Paththar Sahab... the confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers... was so wonderful...simply put... I had never ever seen any thing like this before.. and I honestly doubt if any lace as beautiful exists on earth... We stayed at the Army's base camp at the leh cantonement..... with the room overlooking the air base... seeing all those military helicopters and fixed winged aircraft taking off was in itself thrilling....esp the helicopter excercises... evecuation process etc...the mornings were crisp and cold.... And the sky... CLEAR...CLEAR blue...the evenings were even more beautiful... never seen such a clear sky...( by night or day..) at nights you could almost see every single star in the universe.... almost like some crazy idiot has scattered bucketsful of diamonds....in all sizes...

We were not able to go to Pangong lake... which is 1/3 in India..and 2/3 in Tibet....or to Nubra valley... lack of time is the very lame excuse I can offer.....!!!! but maybe this will make me go back.. to see all that I have missed out on this trip....

The return journey was eventful...to say the least... !! We left the army base at 4 am....reached Pang at 11 only to be told that we could not go any further. Since a bridge had collapsed further down.. and the army personnel were trying to repair it.. and that it would take a couple of hours....After about 4 hours we were told the bridge was damaged beyond repair and would need to be replaced... and for now all vehicles would have to be towed across the river... Well... so be it... we got off the car and into a bus and got towed across the river... the driver would bring the car till Keylong.... all passengers had to get off the bus...and wade across .... shoes in hand... toes freezing.... Anyways..we thought that we would still make it to Keylong by late evening... but,,, that was not to be... an hour away from Pang... we were at 13500 ft above sea level.. when suddenly one of the tyres of our bus flew off..... Honest...!!! it actually did tht... we cud see the darn thing rolling down the ravine.... It was scary..to say the least... !!!!! The driver would not listen to anybody and insisted on sending one of the boys down hill to look for the tyre... easier said than done.. coz it took the boy more than two hours to find it, and bringing it up, at that height must have been murderous...!!!! and then it turned cold.. boyoboyoboy... was it cold....!!! Freezing would be putting it mildly....finally..when the bus started... we could only go till sarchu..since it was pitch dark and the driver was driving just on instinct.... We stayed in a Tent.. with about 30 other passengers from the bus....the food served was abs piping hot Dal~Chawal... and boiling hot Chai... and that tasted like Manna from heaven.... Early next morning we left for Keylong... then on to Swar Ghat... and Delhi.... Honestly.. I am having trouble getting acclimatized to the Delhi climate now.... The eyes have seen such unparralled beauty... it touches your soul...deep within you... and a part of you stays back there... ( maybe..I'll find myself a handsome Lama... and elope with him to Ladakh....and live there happily ever after....)..

A very old Town in Rajasthan.. Ajmer~Pushkar.. a journey into the past.

2008-04-30T11:04:00.003+05:30

Ajmer had been on my "MUST DO's" for very long... finally achieved it last weekend...

Early morning..Shatabdi to Ajmer in Rajasthan...and on to our journey...

Usha and I had never travelled together before, and with us was Shubhangi... who's plan this was... !!! It turned out to be a great trip.... and heres looking forward to more such trips... Reached Ajmer around 1.20 pm...the train was late by an hour.. and it was pretty warm in Ajmer. We had to take a 3 wheeler auto rickshaw to the AJMER SHARIF DARGAH... narrow lanes and massive crowds did not really make a very pretty picture.. but nevertheless.. the 3 of us geared up for a rickshaw ride to the Dargah, which is only 2nd in importance in the Muslim world, after Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The ride was nerve racking, to say the least. The rickshaw almost toppling into the filthy gutters running periliously close to the wheels, and Shubhangi trying to hold on to me for all she was worth....!!!At one point a FAT, BLACK overfed Cow came so close, I almost thought she wanted to sit on my lap...!!!!! Laugh all you want, folks....but I tell you..it wasnt one bit funny.

We reached the Dargah without any real mishaps. It was nice... and the sense of History was amazing.. The Dargah goes back to the 12th century . Ajmer was ruled by Prithvi Raj Chauhan then and he offered stiff resistance to the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti when he arrived in Ajmer. From the Dargah, we went to Adhai Din ka Jhonpra.. this is a monument built for Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, also known as Garib Nawaz - when he initially reached Ajmer. History says that it was the Khwaja who laid the roots of Islam in India. Legend has it the structure was built within a period of two and a half days..hence the name. The locals told us tha the structure came up so quickly since the workmen used the remenants of an old sanskrit school there, and the stone slabs and murals made for the schools were just picked up and put together to create this monument. Next stop was the Jain temple... it was beautiful...though too ornate.!!! but very interesting paintings and murals made it a good place to visit. Ana Sagar Lake was on the way to Taragarh Fort.... the lake was built by Maharaj Anaji ( grand father to Prithvi Raj Chauhan)in 1135. Taragarh Fort was next on our list before we started for Pushkar, where we had booked hotel rooms for the night.

Aaaahhhhhh...... the romance of the Chauhan Dynasty... the glorious tales of bravery and chivalery... and the still vibrant love story of Prithviraj Chauhan and Sanjukta. The handsome warrior King gallopping into the fort of his arch rival Raja Jaichand to snatch his Lady Love Sanjukta from under her fathers nose and a whole galley full of hopefuls who had come for the Swayamvar ( Sanjukta had to choose her Groom).. the tale is a legend and still evokes strong passionate feelings amongst history buffs ( and young lovers...???) This is the fort where Prithviraj Chauhan brought his lady love and they lived happily ever after.....!!!!

An awe inspiring sight of the outer walls... the view is stunning.. and one gets an almost surrealistic feeling of being infalliable... you see why the fort was built here.... on top of a hill... the flat landscape around would have made it an almost impossible task to invade this fort.

BUT... once we drove further in.... Where was the fort... nothing remains of the fort besides the outer walls... and a mosque ( Miran Sahab Ki Dargah) was built inside.. somewhere in the 14th century... beautiful...but I think we were too disappointed to not being able to see the fort... On to Pushkar.... the room was beautiful..and had a nice clean LOO.... ( thank god)... all night a sadhu outside our room kept hacking and coughing..( he was smoking copiously through a chillum.... though all that POT obviously didnt help in keeping him quiet...)

The next morning... Pushkar looked beautiful from the room.... a long walk through the mandering lanes...( there is just one single lane... and the entire town is 5 kms in circumfarence)..the various temples... esp Brahma the Creator... ( I am sure if Brahma had even the faintest inkling what his creation is going to degenerate into.. he would have had 2nd thoughts before creating HUMANS) The Brahma Kund.. a small puja.. and then walk again through the lanes... the market place crowded, as expected of any Holy town, world over.. but we were a bit surprised to see shops with signs written in HEBREW.... wow...!!

The drive back to Ajmer was uneventful.... a quick trip to the Akbars fort..and we wanted lunch before we took the train back to DELHI.... Lunch was a D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R... rather not speak of it...!!!!folks..one suggestion... trips to Ajmer~Pushkar is highly recommended... but please... Drive down.. the 7 hour journey is just a pain in the butt.... literally.... for a day after we returned my butt felt like its made of wood... Back to Delhi now, and already trying to make plans for another trip to SOMEWHERE.......ANYWHERE..... !!! more when I get lucky..and travel again...

:-)

A Stunning landscape... Chindy ( Himachal Pradesh)

2008-04-29T15:56:00.000+05:30

Its been so very Hot & Humid in Delhi. Barely fit for human habitation. :-( Sitting over lunch with friends one afternoon, we suddenly decided that we need to get out of this heat, even if it was for just a couple of days. Independence day was coming up on wednesday, so it was decided that instead of just a weekend, we could probably take 5 full days away from Delhi. Someone suggested Chindy in Himachal, and we agreed.
Left Delhi on saturday 6 am, expecting to be in Chindy by 6 pm. Chandigarh was raining fit to drown battle ships. The drive had to slow down and it was only by 5 pm that we reached Simla. It was still raining, and with another 4 hour drive ahead of us, and the roads in the mountains beyond Naldhera quite narrow, we decided to stop over at Simla and leave for Chindy the next morning. All evening we watched the clouds alternately cover and clear Simla. It was beautiful, one moment it was pitch dark, and the very next Simla was twinkling with the night lights. It kept on all night, and we gazed mesmerized at the off again/on again lights of Simla till about midnight.
It was still raining the next morning, and we kept postponing our departure from Simla, hoping the clouds would clear. They didnt, and we decided around 1pm, that we would try and drive out to Chindy despite the rains. Thats where the drama began.
Within about 20 mins of leaving Simla, we were hit by dense clouds making the roads ahead almost invisible. The incessant rains of the previous 24 hours had already made the roads slushy, added to this the mist and clouds. It was like driving on a bed of cottonwool, against a solid wall of cotton wool. Folks, it was un-nerving, to say the least. Reached Naldhera ( 20 kms from Simla)around 2.30 pm. Had our lunch and started out forward journey to Chindy, fully expecting to reach by 6 pm...latest. :-) Little knowing that the weather Gods had different plans for us.
Tattapani ( 50 kms from Naldhera) was stunning. From far we could hear the Sutluj roaring, and when we reached we saw it was inundated with flood waters, almost broken its banks. The steam rising from the hot springs almost touched the low cloud cover. The effect was ethereal. Hung around there for a while and decided that we would return the next day, since Chindy had to be reached and it was 5pm already with another 40 kms to go. We needed to hurry.
Driving out of Tattapani the scenery was mind blowing. Lush green jungles all around. And the greenery came from Pear and Pomegranate trees, in full bloom, growing wild. The fruits weighed the tres down to almost ground level, and needless to say, going from Delhi, we went kinda berserk on the fruits... plucking them from the trees and eating them . I dont think I have tasted better fruit.
Just about 20 kms from Chindy, crossing Mahota, we suddenly hear thunder... a rumbling sound, almost heralding a huge downpour. W prayed that the rains would hold for just a little while more, atleast till we reach Chindy. The roads had narrowed to a single lane, and the ascent was quite steep. We had been warned that it would remain this way till Chindy and beyond. Another hairpin bend, and what we saw litterally took our breaths away. And it wasnt the sheer majesty of the surroundings. Ahead of us the entire mountain had collapsed. The thunder we heard was the mountain coming down, and not thunder preceding rains. With almost comical hurry we reversed our car, and started driving the hell out of the place, hoping against hope that the mountain would hold atleast till we had reached safety. Drove right till Tattapani where we had noticed a Forest Guest House. We were sure we'd get accomodation there for the night. Some of us had decided by then that it wasnt worth the while to try and go towards Chindy, and we would return to Simla/Delhi the next day.
Tattapani/Guest House.. it was almost a scene straight out of a haunting Hindi film. Even though we could see lights inside, and laundry drying on balconies, there was no signs of any human presence. We kept 'Yoohoo ing'.. Tried to knock on the doors. Finaly decided that we would call the Resort at Naldhera and try and have them call Tattapani. Called Naldhera only to be told by the manager that we needed to get out of Tattapani ASAP... sinch there had been news of flash floods on the sutluj, and the town was in danger of getting washed out any minute now.... Boyoboyoboy.... I can tell you that we RUSHED....into the car and on towards Naldhera, where we had to spend the night. A beautiful place, no doubt, but not a patch to what we had already decided Chindy was going to be.
Needless to say, the next morning, the call of the mountains was a siren song.. and throwing all caution to winds we decided we would go on to Chindy after all. After having checked that the roads to Chindy had been cleared of the previous nights land slides, we went forward, and this time reached Chindy. A beautiful pristine village. Population of les than 250. Clean air to breath in... jaw dropping scenary to gaze at... and ofcourse.. apples/pears fresh from the tree. Fruits that has not been genetically modified to look good, but was as nature meant fruit to be... sweet..crisp...juicy... and absolutely delicious..... !!!
Karsog valley, 15 kms from Chindy was again a picture perfect town. The twin rivers of Imla and Bimla confluencing ... and a couple of Millenium old temples, and the surrounding mountains replete with sounds of birds, made the romance complete. We were told the jungles were full of leopards. We returned late in the evening.
Morning was spent in walking around the mountain side, small muddy lanes, and a 11th century Temle of Chandi, after which the town is named. Started our journey back to Simla in the afternoon.
On way back we stopped at Saror, which has some caves full of stallactites and stalagmites, and the caves can be reached by climbing 400 steps. It was at the banks of the Sutluj, which was over flowing. I knew it was a foolish thing to do, to try and climb the steps..but I dont regret it. My asthamatic lungs objected vociforously.... I suppose it was a bit of torture....but I did it... call me a fool... but I dont regret it.... :-) ...it took 2 full days after returning for the lead in my legs to dissipate.
On to Simla, once again through dense clouds and near zero visibility... but we made it.. safe and sound.. and without any further mishaps.
The return journey was harrowing. Left Simla around 1.30 pm... expecting to be in Delhi around 9 pm... Solan on till Kalka, there were land slides every 100 mts... and the 8 hour journey took over 13 hours.. reached home at 2am... and crashed....!!!!
Looking forward to the next trip... :-)