05 May

Ranthambore – My Machaan???

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We broomed the place under the tomb with a make shift Jhadoo and sat down; it gave us fantastic view of partly dried lake with deer grazing in the marsh. Amazingly there was no Machaan, to tell you the truth we forgot that it was a must at all the locations. Hours passed and we documented the deer and small carnivorous animals. At sunset, the wind direction changed and I could smell very strong tiger urine as and when the wind blew. It began to worry me a bit due to my experience in jungles watching and spotting tigers; I knew we were in the tiger territory for sure.

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Himalyan Voyage in Kaleidoscopic Kumaon

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One of my fond childhood memories is a visit to a small town with breathtaking view of Himalayan range. The picture of Snow clad Himalayan peaks rising to caress the sky, clouds hovering over the valley below, changing colours of the sky is still fresh in my mind. I was quite excited to visit Kausani after around 25 years. Has the place been able to preserve the beauty I witnessed then, has it changed its colours with changing world… there were many such questions lingering in my mind.
We were a group of five driving an Alto. Cutting through the dense fog enjoying the fullness of nature we drove through Hapur, Joya, Rampur, Haldawani, Kathgodam and Bheemtal.

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Lebanon – Casino, Cedars and Caves !!

Lebanon – Casino, Cedars and Caves !!

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The statue is made of bronze with its hands spread. There are spiral stairs reaching the top of the statue. It is said that the face of the idol, changed direction turning from Beirut towards the christian side, after the civil war where many christians were killed by muslim extremists. Not going into religious faiths, I may still believe it because it is possible due to movement of tectonic plates.

Before, the main statue there is this famous replica of Michelangelo’s celebrated masterpiece, the Pieta sculpture of Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus.

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यमुनोत्री में ट्रेकिंग

यमुनोत्री में ट्रेकिंग

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वो मेरी पहली ट्रेकिंग थी। पहली बार समुद्र तल से 3000 मीटर की ऊंचाई पार की थी। पहली बार इतने बडे-बडे पत्थरों को लांघता हुआ चल रहा था। जिन्दगी में यह सब पहली बार देख रहा था मैं। मुझे इन सब चीजों और बातों का कोई आइडिया नहीं था।

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हरिद्वार एक दिन एक रात

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दिल्ली से हरिद्वार एक दिन और एक रात , एक एक्सप्रेस प्रोग्राम था घूमने का। जिसमे हर की पौड़ी ,मनसा देवी और चंडी देवी के दर्शन सम्भव हो पाये ।

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क्रिसमस @ कमरुनाग

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रोहांडा पहुँचकर सबसे पहला काम था, खाली टंकर (पेट) में पेट्रोल (खाना) भरना ताकि लगभग 12 से 13 किलोमीटर का सफ़र बिना किसी अवरोध के पूरा किया जा सके. हालाँकि बाली के मन में शंका थी की कँही पेट्रोल (खाना) ख़त्म न हो जाये, इसलिए थोडा साथ रखकर भी ले चले. यहाँ से शुरू होता है पैदल यात्रा का असली रोमांच. शुरुआती सफ़र थोडा थकाने वाला जरुर था, जिसकी पहली वजह थी रोहांडा में खाया गया भरपेट भोजन और दूसरा कारण थी अप्रत्याशित खड़ी चढाई. खैर जैसे – जैसे आगे बढते गए, प्रकृति का घूँघट उठता गया और कुदरत के कुछ शानदार नज़ारों नें थकान को छूमंतर कर दिया. इस पर बीच में कहीं – कहीं पर हल्की – फुल्की बिखरी बर्फ के निशान इस बात की पुष्टि करते प्रतीत हो रहे थे कि हो ना हो झील पर थोड़ी बहुत बर्फ तो देखने को जरुर मिलेगी, जिससे हमारा उत्साह और जोश दोगुना हो गया. बीच – बीच में दूर कहीं चोटियों पर पड़ी ताज़ा बर्फ और वो हसीं वादियाँ हमारी कल्पनाओं को पँख दे रही थी, ऐसे में किस तरह हमने आधे से ज्यादा दूरी मजे – मजे में तय कर ली थी, पता ही नहीं चला. ऐसे में एक बात अचंभित करने वाली यह थी कि अभी तक के पूरे रास्ते में हमें किसी आदमजात के दर्शन नहीं हुए थे, जबकि देव कमरुनाग को पूरे मंडी जिले का एक प्रमुख आराध्य देव माना जाता है. ऐसी चर्चा करते हुए हम चले ही जा रहे थे के अचानक, शांत घने जंगले के बीचों – बीच किसी जानवर के दौड़ने कि आवाज़ ने पलभर के लिए रोंगटे खड़े कर दिए

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Mussoorie..Queen of hills.

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This story is about Mussoorie, and the destination on it way like Crystal World water park, Har ki Poudi, Malsi Deer Park Dehradun. It covers Company garden and Mall Road of Mussoorie. I hope it will win your heart.

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यमुनोत्री में ग्लेशियर

यमुनोत्री में ग्लेशियर

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यमुनोत्री में उस शाम केवल मैं ही अकेला पर्यटक था, समुद्र तल से 3200 मीटर से भी ऊपर। मेरे अलावा वहां कुछ मरम्मत का काम करने वाले मजदूर, एक चौकीदार और एक महाराज जी थे।महाराज जी के साथ दो-तीन चेले-चपाटे भी थे। मैने रात में ठहरने के लिये चौकीदार के यहां जुगाड कर लिया। चौकीदार के साथ दो जने और भी रहते थे, एक उसका लडका और एक नेपाली मजदूर।

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Ranthambore

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Ranthambore tiger reserve was organizing its annual animal census in the nation park and was looking for volunteers. Initially we thought that it would be just like a jeep safari in Jim Corbett National Park and would be fun to count the wild animals for a national level census.

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Rediscovering Mussoorie

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Being the nature lover’s that we are, we first went for a walk on Camel’s Back road. Camel’s Back road is a long winding road frequented by nature lovers who visit this place for their morning and evening walks. Unlike the Mall road, this was a much better place. It was calm and the views of the Himalayas were breathtaking. As the skies were clear, the snow-capped peaks could be seen clearly. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are some of the peaks that are visible from Camel’s Back road.

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AN ANNUAL DATE WITH OOTY

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We stuck to our usual route of  Tiruppur-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route for the onward journey to Ooty  and the Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalayam-Tiruppur route for the return journey. The Kotagiri route has very little traffic, even in peak season and hence a much more enjoyable drive.

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From Kolkata to Mandarmoni Beach (December 2009) – Road Review and Trip Report

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Kolkata has a lot of places within the proximity of 4-5 hours that could be considered as ideal places, for thoroughly enjoying weekends with total peace of mind far away from the hustle and bustle of the crowded city. One of them is the Mandarmoni beach which is around 180 KM from Howrah and is arguably the longest drivable beach in India. Located very near (within 30 KM) to the famous Digha beach, Mandarmoni is very easily accessible and reachable from Kolkata.

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