04 Apr

Leaving Thimphu, on to Paro, Bhutan

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Paro is the most gorgeous city in the whole of Bhutan; and far more beautiful than Thimphu (wondering why the king does not stay here). It has the only International Airport in the country, and situated on the bank on Paro River, surrounded by hills. Before reaching to Paro city, we met Paro River on the way and fell in love with it. We immediately stopped the car, got down and went inside a downstream.

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विश्व विपासना पैगोडा, मुंबई की यात्रा

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सुरक्षा-जाँच वाले कमरे की छत से जो रौशनी की बल्ब्स लटक रहे थे, उनकी डिजाईन देखने योग्य थी. जाँच के पश्चात पैगोडा की निचली मंजिल पर पहुंचे, जहाँ देखने के लिए कई स्थल थे. सीढ़ी के दोनों तरफ कलात्मक चबूतरे थे. एक चबूतरे पर बड़ा-सा घंटा लिए हुए मनुष्यों की प्रतिमाएं थीं और दुसरे चबूतरे पर घरियाल लिए हुए मनुष्यों की प्रतिमाएं थीं. इसलिए पहले को Bell-tower और दुसरे को Gong-tower कहा जाता था. यह दोनों स्थल लोगों में बहुत प्रिय थे क्योंकि इन पर चढ़ना मना नहीं था. लोग इन पर चढ़ कर अपनी सेल्फी ले सकते थे और साथ ही इन्हें बजा भी सकते थे.

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A Triad in Time – Gharapuri, Ambarnath and Pataleshwar

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The most important sculpture here is the Trimutri, 3 faces of Mahadev which have found its space on Maharashtra tourism logo as well. Nearly full length of wall, the faces are very skilfully carved. Point to note that this is not a sculpture of Trimurti – Brahma , Vishnu and Mahesh but these are faces of Shiva only. There has been tradition to carve faces on Shivling as well. And based on number of faces, the shivling gets the name from Ekmukhi to Panchmukhi.
Although the common man thinks these are 3 faces, the experts have always more to add. Stella Kramrisch is one such expert in Indian iconography. She has proven that these are not 3 but 5 faces. There are distinct names to each of the face and it really represents the attribute of colorful character of Shiva. Five faces of Shiva represent five elements, Ishana (sky), Tatpurusha (wind), Aghora (fire), Vamadeva (water) and Sadjoyata (earth) and together this depiction is called as Sadashiv as per iconography. We see three faces and there is one assumed to be behind and one on top.

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To Thimphu, Bhutan by Road from India

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The international Boarder between India and Bhutan is shared by Jaigaon in India and Phuntsholing in Bhutan.

There is free access between these two places, however you are required to get permit to move beyond Phuntsholing. After an hour of journey, the view besides the road began to change and after crossing large fields, tea estates appeared. Total journey was about five hours and before we realized we reached Bhutan. It was a big gate, painted with colorful dragons and guarded by soldiers from Indian BSF and Royal Bhutan Army.

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Paradise on Earth- Part 4

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Pahalgam turned out to be very beautiful too, with the roaring Lidder and the rocky snow clad mountains complimenting each other. After finishing our breakfast, we headed for our first destination, Betaab Valley. It is so called as it was once the location for the filming of the film, “Betaab”. It was also the background in many scenes from the Ranbir Kapoor starrer, Rockstar. To reach the valley, a detour has to be taken from the road leading to Chandenwadi. It is located beside a much calmer portion of the Lidder, and with its artificially planted forest, does give the feel of being in the UK. Although Betaab valley is slightly commercialized, it has a very calming effect on the nerves.

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शान्तमय सुरमय निर्मल नीरव चम्बा, उत्तराखंड

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पूछने पर पता चला की वहां किसी और का कमरा बुक नहीं है और अगली तीन रातों के लिए हम लोग अकेले ही वहां रूकने वाले हैं | हम लोग रूम में पहुंचे और ‘मेरे द्वारा सरकारी होटल के चयन’ विषय पर पत्नी जी का भाषण सुना | एक बार फिर मामले को सँभालते हुए मैंने शीघ्र सोने का प्रस्ताव रखा जो कुछ संक्षिप्त टिपण्णीयों के बाद मंजूर हो गया |

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Monsoon trip to Kasauli – I

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Nestled in the Shivalik ranges of Lesser Himalayas, Kasauli is a popular destination among weekenders ex-Delhi (and of course, Chandigarh). At a relatively short distance, it offers bounties of a Himalayan destination – the curvedly drives, unpolluted environs, hill views and co-habitation with Pahari folks.

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हाजी अली दरगाह का बाज़ार , मुम्बई

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“बालू-शाही”, “गुड़पारा” तथा “बूंदी के लड्डू” भी दिखे. इनमें गुड़पारा ही विशेष था. बालूशाही और बूंदी के लड्डू तो अब तक जाने कितनी बार और कितने जगहों पर खा चुका था कि अब वहां चखने में तो कोई दिलचस्पी थी नहीं. दिमाग तो तब भी शकरपारा में ही दौड़ रहा था. आखिर इतना शक्कर और गुड़ इस प्रदेश में आता कहाँ से है? याद करने की कोशिश की तो याद आया शिर्डी से शनि सिग्नापुर का वो रास्ता, जिसके दोनों तरफ ईख के बड़े बड़े खेत देखे थे. गाँव वालों ने सडकों के दोनों तरफ ईख-के-रस की दुकानें लगायीं थीं. हर दुकान का नाम चाहे कुछ भी हो, पर टाइटल एक ही था..”रसवंती”.

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Visting Mirik, West Bengal

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almost fully broken road with a 20/25 degree continuous elevation, occasionally screeching of clutch and tyre enabled me to stop and offload heads. It succeeded for a while but finally around 6/7 kms before Rishi Road junction the vehicle was impossible to move up. The burning rubber smell and the sound of throwing pebble underneath by wheel”s thrust made me stop completely

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Badrinath Temple – One of the Holiest Dham in India

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Holy Badrinath Temple, one of the Char (four) Dham (pilgrimage centre) in India, is the temple of Lord Vishnu in Uttarakhand. Nestled in the lap of Himalayan mountain ranges, this colourful temple stands with the river Alakananda flowing on its front and the magnificent peak Neelkantha, also known as ‘Garhwal Queen’ on its back. Just imagine, there you are, at one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in India, the Badrinath Temple!

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To Chakrata, with my family and two dogs

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We , walked uphill and reached a lonely, newly built cottage which was uninhabited at that moment. We sat on the porch of the cottage and watched the color of the sky slowly changing as the sun started descending. The valley down below looked so beautiful. Smoke was coming out of the chimneys of some mud huts. The villagers have lit up the chulhas

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