Call of the wild in Thekkady
Jungle attracts both Jaishree and me. Even during our non-holiday times we hear Jungle calling us. The images of wild terrain float in our…
Read More02 Feb
The Elephanta Caves
When I wrote about the boat ride to Elephanta caves, I didn’t know it would take this long to actually get down from the…
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Weekend @ Yercaud
Yercaud needs no introduction, but for the benefit of all, here’s a small intro. Yercaud is a quaint little hill station in the district…
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Sawasdee, Thailand!
Thailand is the land of sun, sand ‘n sea! No wonder we were all so happy when the conference-cum-leisure getaway to Phuket and Bangkok…
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My Journey Through Yoga To Self-love & Self-sufficiency
My stay in Rishikesh gave me clarity of myself, my inhibitions, my fears and my strengths. All I perceived is that this city and this country is quite a charmer and not a land of snake charmers. And I can say this with certainty, that you cannot visit Rishikesh and India just once.
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By the lanes of Aminabad – Lucknow
A business trip for two days to the city of ‘Tehzeeb’, as Aditya said in his post on Lucknow, had to have some room…
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A Boat Ride to Elephanta Islands
Air, earth and water. Three most important basic necessities that mankind needs to survive. Besides, if in mood, these can give immense pleasure to…
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Freshly water colored landscape of Munnar – God’s own art
In Kerala, the colors we noticed in abundance were Green, Green, Green and occasional Blue. It is a keralite tradition not to build houses taller than the surrounding trees and hence wherever one lives the abundant greenery always surrounds him and even the pristine blue sky is visible only in glimpses.
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Vrindavan – Jai Shri Radhe
Despite the grandeur of ISKON Temple, the Banke Bihari Temple, built in 1864 is still the most revered and vibrant shrine in Vrindavan. The temple was originally established by Swami Haridas, a great Krishna devotee, known for his soulful devotional bhajans (was also the guru of the famous musician Tansen). He discovered the sacred deity of Banke Bihari (also popularly known as Thakur ji) at Nidhivana, where Banke Bihari was originally worshipped.
The deity was moved to Vrindavan on completion of the temple in 1864. The most interesting thing about this temple is that, unlike most of the other temples, the curtain is not left open. The curtain is put shut every few seconds and drawn back with a great chanting of Thakur ji. This is probably done with a view to shroud the icon for a moment. It is believed that the brilliance of eyes of Thakur ji can make a person unconscious, if seen for too long a stretch. Another notable feature is that the lotus feet of the deity can be seen only once a year, on Akshaya Tritiya, which falls sometimes in April / May.
Mahabaleshwar – WHEN no tourist has ever gone before
We had friends visiting us in Mumbai and it was an opportunity to explore places nearby. Mahabaleshwar was decided on and we headed for…
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Rendezvous with Delhi Metro
If I say I frequent Delhi 2-3 times a year and have not experienced the THE Metro till now, what do you say ?…
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Jaisalmer – The golden city
Not that this was my first trip to Rajasthan. Having traveled to Jaipur and Udaipur before, I was quite sure of what to expect when we decided to vacation in Jaisalmer. The flight from Mumbai to Jodhpur (the closest airport) took about an hour and thirty minutes. Indian Airlines of course lived up to its expectation of reaching late to any destination but we finally made it to the land of the staunch ‘Marwars’ – Jodhpur.
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