10 Oct

Sonamarg, Golden Meadow of Kashmir

By Anupam Chakraborty

We enjoyed the morning amidst the splendour around the hotel and decided to see the view points in the afternoon. Here, all the viewpoints come on the way to its main attraction ‘Thajiwas Glacier’. To reach the glacier, one may go either by riding pony from Sonamarg town or by a cab which drops near the spot “Ram Teri Ganga Maile”. A nice motorable road is available upto this spot and thereafter one has to hire pony or walk down to the base of Thajiwas Glacier. Walking from there is much preferable to riding pony because it is only a short distance to cover and walking is mainly through the plain roads.

Like most tourists places, pony rides as well as the cab rates are overpriced here and one has no other option but to accept an unreasonable price after much bargaining. How tough it was to agree with a price of Rs.2100/- for a ride of 6kms, to and fro! But did we have any option?

We started the journey and soon saw the beautiful Sonamarg Club, a popular staying option for the bollywood stars when they are here for shooting. Surrounded by the giant conifers and beautiful mountains it locates on a hillock by the side of the road to Thajwas Glacier.

Rambha and Barkul – The flavours of Chilka

By Sumit Chowdhury

A few were really very nice. Having spent our time at Kalijai we hopped back into the boat and returned to panthanivas. After lunch we took a Tata Iris van and moved on to take a llok at some local places of interest. First we went to Nirmaljhar temple 11 kms away. Inside the small gate there is a small pond in the centre, a small temple on the left and the main temple on the right. A stream flowing from the Easter Ghats has been directed here into a small kund, The sweet sound of flowing water was the only one that could be heard. There was no other living being inside. At the rear, there are small deities of ‘Dashabatara’. Though the temple has immense significance we hardly saw any signs of maintenance. We moved on to Narayani Mata temple 10 kms away. This temple is situated atop Valerry hill. After ascending the loopy road our car came to an abrupt halt. There were several cars and busses ahead of us caught in a fierce jam. Each was having its free run with restless crowd of people don’t know from where created a ruckus. The lone traffic police stood helplessly. After failed attempts by our driver to make a way through, he asked us to make the rest of the journey on foot and parked the car. We started walking past the vehicles and crowd and made our way up the steep road.

I could not understand what we so many people doing here. The area was surrounded by jungle with ‘saal’ and other trees. As we climbed further up the road we saw groups of people cooking food on giant pots. That’s it! These local people are having a picnic, and what a place to choose – a jungle. Never before I had seen so many people (thousands) picnicking in a forest. After walking further we came into a clearing with several steps. There were few shops selling puja items. Manu devotees were buying these for offering to the goddess. After climbing one more flight of stairs we reached the temple sitting amidst the forest with trees and boulders hanging over it. There were lots of monkeys prancing around and I had to be very careful with my cameras. My son was however very amused. The temple complex had a small ‘kund’ and one side there were a few fallen tree trunks (courtesy phailin).

Delhi – Sangla … journey through the verdant valleys of Himachal

By Naturebuff

As we go further, this road climbs higher till it reaches sheer cliffs of stark, unadorned rock where the road is but a scooped out C-shaped tunnel embedded in the vertical cliff side. While we enjoy the drive along the banks of the Sutlej in all its moods, I am almost willing the road to start climbing to this, one of the most celebrated and recognised sections of this route. And when we do hit that stretch, we are all spellbound! Such is the precarious nature of the road that there are precipitous drops on the only open side and encased in solid rock on the other three sides.

Chiller Chilling Summer Trip- Dharamsala & Dalhousie, Khajjiar

By Pamela

The route was full of Danger & natural beauty. It is the most exotic and scenic beauty place around 22 Km from Dalhousie. Khajjiar is officially proclaimed the mini-Switzerland of India. At an altitude of 6450 ft, this saucer shaped green meadow, ringed by Devadar Trees has a lake in the middle complete with floating island. I liked horseback riding and strolling. It’s the best place to spend more time as compare to the other places. We spent around 2 hrs & enjoyed Horse riding there. We saw something that interested us. People were getting inside a big plastic ball, and being rolled till the lake. That was very interesting, something we haven’t seen before. We left in the late afternoon bidding goodbye to the charming glade of Khajjiar and our next destination was the town of Dalhousie.

शिव और सावन – एक मनोरम स्मृति।

By Arun Singh

सावन के महीने का आगमन दिल्ली में हो गया था किन्तु बारिश की बूंदो का इंतजार अब भी बाकि था, लग ही नहीं रहा था की इस बार दिल्ली में बारिश होगी भी या नहीं। आख़िरकार है तो यह दिल्ली ही न, रोजाना यहाँ वहां की खबरों को सुनते हुए यह पता चल जाता था की सलमान की एक-एक फिल्म 100 करोड़ कमा रही है किन्तु पूरी दिल्ली में 100 लीटर भी पानी बरस जाये तो गनीमत होगी।

हिमाचल डायरी : दो पल के जीवन से… (Sirmour, Camp Rox)

By Avtar Singh

कुछ क्षण पहले तक जिस स्थान पर हमारे बीच मौन का साम्राज्य था वहाँ अब चुहलबाजी शुरू हो गयी है | जल में डूबे और उभरे पत्थरों पर बड़े ध्यान से पाँव जमा जमा कर, जगह बनाते बनाते तीनो इधर से उधर जा रहे है | नदी का ठंडा पानी, सुबह की शाँत, नीरव और पवित्र शान्ति और इस सबके बीच जिन्दगी की ख़ुशी और किलकारियाँ, शायद इससे बेहतर एक नये दिन की शुरुआत की परिकल्पना आप नही कर सकते !
कैम्प में लोग जाग रहे हैं, सुबह की चाय बन चुकी है, चाय की चुस्कियों के बीच टीवी पर समाचार चल रहे है कि यहाँ वहाँ पहाड़ो पर भारी बरसात जारी है और भूस्खलन से 50 से ज्यादा जाने जा चुकी हैं, तो उधर मैदानी क्षेत्रों में यही पानी बाढ़ का प्रकोप धारण कर तबाही मचा रहा है | इधर, इस हाल में जितने लोग हैं उनकी बातचीत का केंद्र भी यही परिस्थितीयां हैं | एक समूह इस बात से चिंतित है कि उन्हें आगे नारकंडा जाना था और कहीं अगर बीच राह में इस भूस्खलन की वजह से मार्ग ठप्प मिले तो ? बहरहाल, चाय के बाद अब समय है नहां धोकर तैयार होने का, जिससे दस बजे तक सब नाश्ते के लिये तैयार हो जायें | आज नाश्ते में आलू के परांठे, ब्रेड-जैम, उबले अंडे और चाय है | नाश्ते के बाद का समय एक्टिविटीज के लिए नियत है | ग्यारह बजे के लगभग, जो भी गेस्ट इसमे रुचि रखते हैं, एक नियत स्थान पर एकत्रित होना शुरू हो जाते हैं | जहाँ पहले सबको सुरक्षा उपकरणों पर एक डेमो दिया जाता है, और फिर एक के बाद एक पाँच ऐसी एक्टिविटीज हैं जिन से सभी प्रतिभागी गुजरते हैं, दो एक्टिविटीज शाम को चार बजे करवाई जायेंगी | एक्टिविटीज पूरी होने पर जलजीरा का पेय हाजिर है, जिसकी एक एनर्जी ड्रिंक के तौर पर सभी को बहुत आवश्यकता भी थी |

Weekend Drive to “The City Beautiful” Chandigarh

By Mala Raman

The Rock Garden in itself is a maze of tunnels, arches, narrow passages and galleries. At one point of time one would feel there is no further way ahead and suddenly a narrow walkway will open out of nowhere.

With astute sculptures of men, women, Gods and animals, the garden is indeed a delight. Not only vivid sculptures, the garden houses multiple waterfalls, fish aquariums and swings or jhulas that we all have loved swinging on during our childhood days.
Men, women and children of all ages without any tinge of hesitation swing their way through these swings, happily remising the good old childhood days!

हिमाचल डायरी : दो पल के जीवन से… (Sirmour सिरमौर – भाग 2)

By Avtar Singh

शाम के छह साढ़े छह बजे का समय चाय का नियत है, कुछ मेहमानों के पास अपनी निजी, और कुछ कैम्प वालों के पास, कुल मिलकर इतनी छतरियां है कि सभी एक एक करके हाल में पहुँचते है | इस तरह के आयोजन का सबसे बड़ा लाभ यह है कि आप केवल अपने खोल में ही सिमटे नही रहते बल्कि अजनबी लोगो से मुलाकात होती है, कुछ नए दोस्त बनते है मोबाइल नम्बर भी लिए दिए जाते है और फिर एक दुसरे के सम्पर्क में रहने के वादे इरादे भी! यूँ तो ज्यादातर लोग गुडगाँव और दिल्ली के ही है, शायद इन्ही जगहों पर सबसे अधिक रोजगार के साधनों का सृजन भी हुआ है जिसकी वजह से देश विदेश से हजारो लोग अपने परिवेश को छोड़ कर इन शहरों में आये है, जिसकी वजह से एक नवधनाढ्य मध्यम वर्ग का उदय हुआ है, जो 1990 से पहले की भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था में अनुपस्थित था | और, फिर ऐसे छुट्टी के अवसर पर दो चार दिन अपने PG में पड़े रहने से, या माल में घूमने से बेहतर है कि इस तरह का पर्यटन ही कर लिया जाये | एक बड़ा सा ग्रुप ऐसे ही लडके लडकियों का है, मगर वो अपनी ही दुनया में मगन है, उन सब की काटेज आस पास ही है, सो उनका अड्डा वहीं जमा रहता है | अपने ही म्यूजिक सिस्टम पर वो गाने लगा लेते है और नाचते रहते है | अपनी गिटार भी है, कभी कभी उस पर भी खुद ही गुनगुनाते रहते हैं, लडके हों या लडकियाँ, सिगरेट और शराब के शौक़ीन है और कैम्प के सहयोग से उनकी अनवरत सप्लाई उनके लिए चालू है | एक दूसरा ग्रुप दस लोगों का, दिल्ली से है, जो एक ही स्कूल से सन नब्बे के पास आउट है, और अब सभी अलग अलग कार्य क्षेत्रों में सलिंप्त है | मगर उल्लेखनीय बात है कि वो आज भी एक दूसरे के सम्पर्क में है | और, कभी कभी उन साथ बिताये गये अपने उन गुजरे लम्हों को याद करने के लिए, अपने परिवारों से अलग ऐसे प्रोग्राम बनाते रहते है | दिल्ली से हैं, और अधिकतर पंजाबी हैं, सो शुरूआती संकोच के बाद जब खुलते हैं तो फिर इतना खुल जाते हैं कि आप उनकी शाम की महफ़िल में ही अपने आप को जाम उठाये पाते है |

Sheer drive to Rajasthan: Jodhpur,Udaipur & Jaisalmer in 4 days

By Ramta Jogi

Still we had enough time so gave a thought for Udaipur now in evening. Everyone suggested for planning during food intake. Ultimately this was saving some time for us.
we wasted 20-25 mins in search of a good restaurant in city than decided that we will have food on the way .Just 10 mins later found a restaurant luckily. We were having our lunch cum dinner @ 6:30 PM. We hadn’t booked our hotel anywhere in the trip so tried to book hotel in Udaipur. Another 5-6hrs journey was still pending & it was a big risk to search hotel in midnight with family. When inquired in 5-6 hotels none of a single room was available. Local contacts tried but all went in vain.
Oh God….left the luck behind!! was everyone celebrating independence day in Udaipur or everyone was utilizing this weekend with another holiday of 15th Aug. By the way it was 8 ‘o clock & we were still in Jodhpur.

Avoiding risk of late night journey & no hotel availability in Udaipur we decided to stay in Jodhpur & depart for Udaipur in early morning. It was a hotel’s restaurant, got 2 rooms easily .We had enough spare time now, so utilized for our party.

A trip to Amritsar

By Anjan

We crossed the short stretch of paved no-man’s land, dividing 140 million Pakistanis from more than one billion Indians . We enjoyed every bit and tried to capture our emotions: – A proud Indian. Citizens of both the countries were just walking in and crossing the borders (of course after thorough security check). It had an amazing experience for us, though we missed the main ceremony. But never mind what we had experienced few minutes back was just beyond our dreams as we saw something which otherwise was not possible for us a common man/visitors. That day we felt, power gives priority. After greeting and giving vote of thanks to our Major Saab, we headed back towards the Golden Temple .

A very busy and rush Sunday, we saw a big queue for entry to main Hari Mandir Sahib Ji. Our other accompanied denied to stand in a queue and ready to back, because it would take more time. But we said we came here and without bow down our head, we will not back. So, we stand in a queue. A Sardar Ji came and advised us that Deepti, my wife and child can seat there until I reached near the entrance of the Sahib ji.

An Ode to Radhanagar Beach

By Naman

I had just arrived and a mere look at the beach is what made me fall with it! Let me describe what Radhanagar beach was like. The place was super clean and had a handful of tourists. Radhanagar beach was guarded by police officials who were also responsible for the safety of the tourists. Next to the beach was a famous hotel chain which provided accommodation in beautiful huts made of bamboos and natural products. The place was serene and calm.

The view of the blue sees was amazing and I had never seen such a beautiful shade of water. The sand was perfect and was near to white. Radhanagar beach also had tourist huts made completely of bamboos. Radhanagar beach is not for the ones who are looking for some action. The beach doesn’t have any facilities for snorkelling, scuba diving or boating.

Hello Havelock!

By Naman

The Phoenix Bay Jetty is situated in the city and is home to all merchant vessels which are responsible for trade and commerce. The Jetty is the boarding point for the ones who want to visit Neil or Havelock Islands. We had our tickets in hand which were booked prior by Mr. Ravi (Tour Manager, Contact: 09434261219). The tickets for Havelock Islands are sold out within minutes. It is advisable to ask your agent/tour manger to get the same booked as soon as you land up in the city. There are private as well as government ship operators which provide connections to Neil and Havelock. Being the off season (August) the private operator (called as Makcruzz) was closed down and the only available option a government run ship.

The tag ‘Government’ automatically lowers the standards and gives me a bad impression of what so ever even before I see it. Anyways, the ship that we had to board was called ‘M.V Jollybuoy’. We were booked in the only available option of seating lounge. One needs to spot his vessel and then proceed for boarding. As we stepped inside the ship, we were greeted by the Chief Officer of the ship who also checked our tickets. He later on transferred us to the seating hall. The so called seating hall had three rows and seats faced opposite to each other. It also had a television set which was cleverly hidden in one of the compartments. The hall seemed more like my seamanship class room with lots of safety boards and demonstrative visuals. Good enough! The ship departed right on time at 06³⁰ and that is when I got to know that we can go on the bridge.

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