Ruins Of Alamparai Fort on East Coast Highway

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We were not ready for the pathetic state the Alamparai fort was in.  As per Archaeological survey of India board it was built some time in 17th century and was a trading post during the Mughal period and changed hands many times between various powers till India got independence. What appears is that after independence the fort totally lost its significance as a trading outpost as more modern Chennai and other ports in South India gained prominence.

The fort though in a very scenic location, near a natural lagoon and the adjoining village is inhabited by fishermen.  But the fort is an example of the pathetic attitude we have towards our historical monuments.  Full of sand in a very bad shape the fort is more of ruins and a source of bricks for the locals than anything else. There was not a single guard or tourist beside us, though we saw some bikes parked near the entrance which instead of a magnificent gate like most forts was just a big gaping hole in the wall. The parapet was broken at many places and one portion of the wall was lying on the ground. The whole wall had hundreds of bushes growing on it and at many places bricks were missing. It appeared they were being regularly removed by locals to construct their homes.

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The Waghdoh Male: The largest male tiger in India

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We clicked her at a short distance while she oblivious to the attention she was getting continued with her innocent play.  Then we heard some grunts form the bushes behind her and the cub vanished behind them, probably her mother was hiding in the bushes and called her back. Next visit we saw the mother and cubs again from a short distance and the cub entered the waters to cool down in the April heat while the mother lurked from the bushes behind her.

All this while I was longing to see the ruler of this kingdom, the Wagdoh male who  is considered the largest male tiger in India. Though I wonder who would have dared to go and measure his size or of other tigers to compare them ? When I enquired with Mangesh our guide for all the safaris, if we will get a chance to see the Wagdhoh male he simply said, “Sir, he is the king of this jungle he holds durbar only once in a week, so you can see him only if he wants you to see him”. On further query we learned that the elusive king was last seen almost 8 days ago, so we had a good chance to see him.

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Life in the backwaters of Kerala

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Indeed a lot of people like to call Alleppey (official name Alappuzha) as the Venice of India. I was in Alleppey last month and was fortunate enough to experience the unique life that people in the area lead.  As there is water ways everywhere of all sizes, people have adapted to the same just like fish to water. We took a few houseboats as well as small boat rides in the backwater and the experience was an eye-opener. Nowhere in India are people so much adapted to a life of using canals and boats in their day to day life as in backwaters of Kerala, which is also the home of famous snake boat race.

Just like you and I will have a bike or a car, almost every house hold in the area will have a small canoe or boat that is used for all day to day activities. Our day started on a small boat and we went to some villages situated on both side of the internal canals. It was a very interesting experience to watch the day to day life in the backwaters of Kerala. Most of the internal canals are not very wide and only small boats can go into them, leaving the bigger houseboats only on the main water ways. As it is difficult to reach these small villages quickly by road transport, people use boats to carry their produce to the main canals, from where trucks come and carry the rice to the wholesaler. This is not only cost effective but also quicker.

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A Day Trip OF Philly

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Philadelphia has lots of statues in the parks and roads most of them of historical figures like Presidents and war heroes  specially popular being President Lincoln’s statue on Kelly Drive, I could not take its picture as the bus was moving too fast. But I was able to take picture of the statue of chief justice John Marshall outside the west gate of Franklin Institute. Ever heard of a Judge’s statue in India? If yes please inform me.  There is also a controversial statue of the Italian Stallion Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa a must for movie buffs as the story of Rocky series is in Philly. The guides in the buses were very knowledgeable and were telling a lot of stories about not only the city but also some of the controversies going in the city. The controversy around Ricky’s statue was another one.

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Qutub Shahi Tombs-An Empire Rests Here

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The Qutub Shahi tombs have a unique place in the history of Deccan and India as buried here are the rulers of Deccan from 1518, till Aurangzeb captured the Golconda fort by deceit and took the last emperor prisoner and shifted him to Daulatabad. So except for the seventh king Tana Shah (Abdul Hasan Qutub Shah), the previous 6 rulers and other members of the royal family are resting here. F

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