05 May

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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Along the old silk route – East Sikkim

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The entire zigzag road was blocked with snow. We were the only souls from far off plain lands stuck in the midst of old silk route, completely disconnected from the outside world and covered in a thick blanket of snow. Our journey to Gnathang Valley was cancelled. But what we witnessed was much more than what we had wanted and could ask for no more.

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Mesmerising Melbourne

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Though Melbourne doesn’t have any iconic claim to fame, its ‘liveability’ is one of its greatest attractions. It’s a laid-back city with an endearing mix of old and new-world charm… an easy-going, yet sophisticated style. It’s not a place where you need to do something to feel you’re experiencing the city. So you needn’t wander around Melbourne just to tick off ‘must-see’ items on your list!

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Landing in Lansdowne

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Bulla Lake or Bhulla Tal is a well maintained serene lake just 1Km from Lansdowne. It is a perfect picnic spot and very popular amongst children as it also offers boating. Boating facilities at Bhulla lake are good with few ducks swimming around as well in the lake water. One can also find a small souvenir shop, an eating joint, herbal plant nursery

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सिक्किम, गंगटोक part-1

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सिक्किम में प्रवेश करते ही हमारे दोनों तरफ ही पांच – छह मंजिलो के मकानों की कतारे नजर आने लगी। ऐसा लग ही नहीं रहा था कि हम हिल स्टेशन पर हैं। सुन्दर साफ – सुथरा क़स्बा था। पहाड़ो के घुमावदार रास्तो से होते हुए लगभग 4.30 बजे हम गंगटोक पहुँच गए।
अब हमें शहर के अन्दर होटल डेन्जोंग जाना था पर पता लगा कि यह बड़ी टैक्सी शहर के अन्दर नहीं जा सकती। वहां पर जाने के लिए छोटी टैक्सी से ही जाना होगा और उसमे भी 4 लोगो से ज्यादा नहीं बैठ सकते। हाँ सुबह आठ बजे से पहले अवश्य यह टैक्सी वहां जा सकती हैं। शहर की परिवहन व्यवस्था इन छोटी टैक्सी पर ही टिकी हुई है। लोग या तो अपने वाहन से चलते है अन्यथा इन टैक्सी पर ही निर्भर रहते हैं। यहाँ पर ऑटो , टेम्पो , ग्रामीण सेवा आदि नहीं चलते हैं। सिर्फ छोटी कार वाली टैक्सी। इन छोटी टैक्सी का किराया भी ज्यादा नहीं है। पंद्रह रूपये सवारी के हिसाब से लोग सफर करते हैं।

हमें लाल बाजार, डेन्जोंग सिनेमा के साथ लगे हुए डेन्जोंग होटल जाना था , टूरिस्ट समझ कर हम लोगो से वहां पर टैक्सी वाले 150/- रूपये प्रति टैक्सी मांगने लगे। मैंने होटल फोन कर जानकारी ले लेना उचित समझा कि यह लोग ज्यादा पैसे तो नहीं मांग रहे हैं। होटल वाले ने बताया कि 90 – 100 रूपये से ज्यादा नहीं लगता है। आप लोग टैक्सी स्टैंड से बाहर आकर टैक्सी कर लो। टैक्सी स्टैंड से बाहर सड़क पर आये तो एक ने 100/- रूपये मांगे तो हमें लगा सही भाडा मांग रहा है उससे 4 लोग होटल रवाना हो गए दुसरे ने 80/- मांगे उसके बाद दो टैक्सी वाले 60/- रूपये में ही चल दिए। मतलब यह कि अगर आप मोल -भाव करना नहीं जानते या स्थानीय लोगो से नहीं पूछेंगे तो आपकी जेब ज्यादा हल्की हो जाएगी।

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Himachal – Kalpa, Shimla

Himachal – Kalpa, Shimla

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I have lived in Shimla long back in early 90s when my father was posted here. I used to come in summers for 2 months for 3 years, so I was keen on visiting places where I had lived and visited during that time. We lived in a suburb of Shimla there called Kelti. The route to it is from Ridge to Longwood and then towards Kelston and then bifurcate at one point towards Kelti. It was nostalgic to walk on the same road which I used to frequent 20 years back as child. To my surprise, road was just like what it used to be. Same road barriers painted green and white, the rain shelters where I took refuge many times in rains, the ascent, descent. The final leg to Kelti was still unpaved like it was at that time. Though this time saw more people crossing me with phones in their hands, hoardings and presence of vehicles.

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Kolkata-Sikkim-Darjeeling trip

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After all this, the last thing on our list was a visit to some tea estate in Darjeeling. To go there was one part of the pleasure and the next best part was to sip a hot n nice cup of tea there! It was really a divine experience and I had about 3-4 cups of tea- each of a different variety!

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Amid nature in Camp Corbett, Kaladhungi – Uttrakhand

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very much a bird-watcher’s paradise . Purple sunbirds, orange bee-eaters, humming birds, pintails, wagtails, minivets, flycatchers, jays, bronze green doves, golden orioles, baya weaver birds, hoopoes, woodpeckers, kingfishers, whistling thrushes, drongos, cuckoos and the green coppersmith barbet calling “k-tong ! k-tong ! “ were all out there . A family of transiting langurs were busy shaking trees

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Exploring East Coast – A road trip to Southern states

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I tried to negotiate, suddenly an ambulance came from back, at the same time there was a government vehicle came and took a left turn to our right side road of the T Junction. While I was thinking that I should tail the ambulance, all the villagers ran toward the ambulance to agitate, the government vehicle took left, and in the middle of the chaos, I heard my wife, “Pronil Bhaag yahan se”, and I watched that right is clean and without wasting seconds I took right to tail the government vehicle.

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