10 Oct

Valparai Series – Part 2

By Gita AM

The estates brought prosperity for the new settlers but ‘development’ also meant massive deforestation of once pristine forests with the attendant depletion of indigenous fauna and flora. In those days
of abundant natural wealth, this was not a matter of concern.

In recent times, the Nature Conservation Foundation – an NGO, has engaged the estates in a successful conservation programme to maintain wildlife corridors and regenerate the forest. Consequently, you never quite know who you might meet in and around those Valparai tea gardens!

A Trip to Mewar – Jalandhar to Jaipur to Udaipur

By Rakesh

When I touched the Ajmer road on my way to Udaipur, I was just mesmerized by the highway. I had read a lot about this highway that this one is one of the best in India , on 31st of December I became witness to that. Till Udaipur I got four toll barriers on the way but it was worth. Normally I am slow traveler rarely peaking at 100 km/hour. but this highway tempted me. About 30 km before Ajmer there was a diversion towards left and I just took that following my gut feeling and I was on national highway 76 . I must mention here that on this way Chittorgarh and Bhilwara comes but remain on side so not quite a hurdle to travelers who want to reach Udaipur directly.

Kids were happy on this travel as we had experimented a long drive. Just before Chittorgarh felt hungry and stopped at a roadside dhaba offering garmagaram khana. A lot of trucks had been halting there bearing number plate mostly of Gujarat and Rajasthan. We had ordered saadi chapatis (tawe wali) and Karhi. The food was just delicious, to say. I had found in this trip that chapatis are brown in color not like Punjab where dhabas normally offer white chapatis indicating the use of maida instead of atta. After filling our tummies we proceeded further on our dream destination and it was at about 2.30 P. M we encountered a hoarding welcoming us to the city of lakes.

Ride to Rajasthan (Pune to Mount Abu) – Mount Abu Sight seeing

By Sarthak Chandra

The Day came to an End at the Mount Abu market … there is something so unique about these markets on Small hill stations … the Pop Corn, the Ice Cream Cone, The Corn … yeah … we loved it. The finally came to a close with everyone shopping, that was also amazing fun … Someone from our group had just changed his facebook status from single to committed … and he had to buy something for his girlfriend … and OH MY GOD … Everyone was giving him suggestions … and it was real fun … Ayush had to buy some gifts for his wife, and me too … after 6 days and 2400 kms, if we reach without a gift .. we will be killed. So we finished our shopping around 9:00 pm and headed back to our hotel … we were all hungry and decided to get some food delivered at our resort … where we had to discuss the plan to go back, which was not same as it was while coming … !!!

We had lots and lots of Dinner … and started the discussion in the Cold Night @ mount Abu … !!! here is where the real fun starts …

केदार यात्रा: ऋषिकेश – रुद्रप्रयाग – केदारनाथ

By Vipin

आज सुबह करीब 2 बजे अलार्म बजने से पहले ही मेरी आँख खुल गयी, लगता था जैसे हमारे मच्छर मित्र भी चाहते थे कि…

Valparai Series – Part 1: An Introduction

By Gita AM

Green Hills has a restaurant that is dingy and uninviting but their food is delicious. Some of the home stays provide meals, some do not have this facility. There are several restaurants, food stalls and messes along the one and only main road where you can enjoy a cheap and delicious meal. Besides this there are umpteen bakeries serving hot snacks, cakes and locally grown tea. The problem arises for strict vegetarians who will not eat vegetarian food in a non veg establishment, and as we all know there are many such good folk not just in Tamil Nadu but all over India. I have seen only one place near the Gandhi Bus Stand – the Sabari Mess – which proclaims itself to be “Veg Only“. No personal experience but you can not go too wrong with the local food. We dined at the Plaza on the main road opposite the Police Station. It was consistently good with excellent service and spotlessly clean. For us, once we are on to a good thing, we are reluctant to experiment with something new so as with the home stay, the staff at Plaza now also treat us as long lost friends. I did notice a Mary Matha Mess in the adjoining building on the first floor which seemed to be popular. Mess in these parts means restaurant or a place where meals are served.

Konark – The Heritage of Mankind

By Abhee K

On the three sides of Temple three forms of Sun god idols are placed. The southern side GOD called “Mitra” described as the rising Sun. It is 8’3” in height. The western side GOD is called “PUNSAN” and described as mid day Sun, it is 9’6” in height. The northern side GOD is called “ Haritasva” described as setting sun, it 3.58 meters in height which is approximately above 10’.

Chhatikara Maa Vaishno Devi छटीकरा माँ वैष्णोदेवी मन्दिर

By Sharma Shreeniwas

दाँई ओर छटीकरा मुड़ते ही कुछ फासले पर ही, दाँई तरफ क्रुद्ध शेर पर सौम्य देवी माँ की विशाल मूर्ति का दर्शन होता है, पास ही हाथ जोड़े ध्यानमग्न हनुमानजी बैठे हैं। यह माँ वैष्णोदेवी का नवनिर्मित विशाल मन्दिर हैं। मन्दिर की तरफ कुछ हटकर हलकी सी छाँह में गाड़ी पार्क की। चार बजे गेट खुलने में दसेक मिनट की देर थी और भीड़ खड़ी थी। बोर्ड पर जूतों को जमा करने के विषय में पढ हमने जूतों को कार में खोल दिया। गेट खुलने पर संगीता व खुशी महिला द्वार से अन्दर चले गये। पुरुष लाईन चेकिंग में बेल्ट पर ऐतराज होने से मैने उसे खोल दिया परंतु पर्स पर भी ऐतराज पाने पर मैं बेल्ट बाँधते हुये लौट पड़ा कि दर्शन तो हो ही गये हैं, वृन्दावन भी जाना है, संगीता के लौटते ही रवाना हो जायेंगें, विचार करते हुये ऑफिस-काउण्टरों के सामने खड़ा हो गया जहां दर्शनार्थियों के लिये कम्प्युटराइज्ड स्लिपें जारी की जा रही थीं। इनके आधार पर ही सामने स्थित लॉकरों पर सामान जमा किया जाता है। खाली काउंण्टर देख मैने अपने नाम से स्लिप ले ली। लॉकर काउण्टर पर सुझाव मिला कि मैं पर्स सामग्री को जेब में रख पर्स व बेल्ट जमा करवा दूँ। अनदेखी आज्ञावश जमा करने का कार्य किया। अन्दर हरियाली में कुछ उपर जाने पर सामने नीचे चौक में उतरने के लिये सीढियाँ थीं जहां एक तरफ गंगाजी की मूर्ति जिसके दोनों तरफ मगरमच्छों के मुँह से पानी की धार तथा दूसरी तरफ यमुनाजी जिनके दोनों तरफ कछुओं के मुँह से पानी की धार बह रही थी, वहाँ खुशी मेरा इंतजार कर रही थी और मुझे देखते ही खुशी से चिल्लाई कि नानू देखो… उसकी खुशी व उत्साह का कोई पारावार न था। बच्चों के लिये यह मन्दिर प्रांगण वास्तव में बहुत ही खुशी देनेवाला व उत्साहवर्धक है।

Ride to Rajasthan (Pune to Mount Abu) – Udaipur Sightseeing and ride to Abu

By Sarthak Chandra

To our surprises, our machines would not reach even 80 kmph ….

The First Goof-up
We stopped on the highway, and all of us looked at each other with pale faces … “My bike is not reaching 80 at full throttle … said Ayush. I seconded him and said…I am also not able to go above 80 with full throttle … we turned to the pulsars and they had the same problem …. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!

We realized that the workshops we had visited have shown all their Engineering on our bikes and probably changed the tuning of the bikes.

Now what to do at 8:30 am on the highway !!! Our savior was Ayush … the man and the machine aka Sabu !!! we parked the bikes on the highway and took out the toolkits … and we started to check the idling and the tuning … for the people who understand the bike basics … the tuning which normally should be 3-4 rounds in Royal Enfield and 5-7 rounds in Pulsar was way off the mark … and the idling was also changed. That’s why the Petrol oil ratio going into the engine was not good and hence the bikes not picking speed and acceleration was very poor.

Himachal Yatra – Palampur Tea Gardens

By SilentSoul

Snowline is the mark from where above, snow remains unmelted even during summers. Normally snowline starts from 4000 meters. I had seen Dhauladhar range in peak summer months of June and everytime I was baffled by its unparalleled beauty. But for the first time Dhauladhar disappointed us. There were barren peaks without any trace of snow. It seems the global warming has already killed Dhauladhar’s beauty.

माता वैष्णोदेवी यात्रा भाग -५ (धनसर बाबा, झज्जर कोटली, कोल कंडोली)

By Praveen Gupta

हम लोग करीब नो बजे कटरा से १७ किलोमीटर का सफर तय करके बाबा धनसर पहुँच जाते हैं. सड़क से करीब २०० मीटर पैदल उतराई करके हम लोग बाबा धनसर के धाम पहुँच जाते हैं. यह क्षेत्र बहुत ही सुरम्य स्थान पर पहाडियों के बीच जंगल से घिरा हुआ हैं. एक छोटी सी झील हैं जिसमे एक झरना लगातार गिरता रहता हैं. एक और एक गुफा बनी हुई हैं जिसमे शिव लिंगम के रूप में भगवान शिव विराजमान हैं. झील में कहा जाता हैं की साक्षात् शेषनाग वासुकी विराज मान हैं. यंही पर ही उनका एक मंदिर भी बना हुआ हैं.पौरौनिक विश्वास हैं की जब भगवान शिव, माता पार्वती के साथ, उन्हें अमर कथा सुनाने के लिए अमरनाथ जी की गुफा की और जा रहे थे, तब भगवान शिव ने अपने नागराज वासुकी को यंही पर छोड़ दिया था. नागराज वासुकी एक मनुष्य के रूप में यंही पर रहने लगे थे. उनका नाम वासुदेव था. बाबा धनसर इन्ही वासुदेव के पुत्र थे. कंही से एक राक्षस यंहा पर आ गया था. और इस क्षेत्र के लोगो को परेशान करने लगा था. तब बाबा धनसर ने भगवान शिव की तपस्या की थी. भगवान शिव ने उनकी तपस्या से प्रसन्न होकर यंहा पर उस राक्षस का संहार किया था. बाबा के आग्रह पर भगवान शिव यंही पर विराजमान हो गए थे. यंहा पर स्थित झील पवित्र मानी जाती हैं. एक झरना लगातार प्रवाहित होता रहता हैं. इस झील में नहाना शुभ नहीं माना जाता हैं. कभी कभी इस झील के स्वच्छ जल में नागों की आकृति भी दिखाई देती हैं. हर वर्ष यंहा पर, महाशिवरात्रि के अवसर पर भगवान शिव और धनसर बाबा की याद में एक वार्षिक महोत्सव व मेले का आयोजन होता हैं .

Shimla – Kufri – Jakhu Temple and Back Journey

By Sushant Singhal

Early morning at around 6 o’ clock, when rest of the family members were still asleep, I attended to daily routine and then decided (as usual) to wander and acquint myself a bit with the geography of Shimla. The first important thing I discovered was the fact that you didn’t need to go through the Victory tunnel to reach other side of the town. The tunnel is for automobiles only (but you won’t get fined if you do venture into it). Even if you walk towards the Bus Stand, you would find lanes at your left side with very stiff heights to scale, which promise to leave you at other side of the hill i.e. Mall Road side. However, without going to the Mall Road side, I walked roughly 1 km. in the opposite direction of the railway station and discovered that I had reached Bus Stand. Well, I was as happy at my discovery as Vasco-de-gama must have been after discovering Bharat Varsh aka India! Regarding it enough achievement for the time being, I made a U-turn and arrived at the hotel. Since I didn’t find any group of pahadi girls singing as I often see in Hindi movies, I had to hum a song myself and that too without any tabla or dholak (no it was not Abida Parveen this time but someone else which I don’t remember! ) First rays of the Sun peeped into the room and blessed us with very exhilerating and invigorating feeling. Technically, these were not first rays of the Sun because when the Sun ascended high enough in the sky to defeat the hills and throw its rays directly into our room, our watch was already showing 8 a.m.

केदार यात्रा: दिल्ली – ऋषिकेश

By Vipin

दोस्तों जैसा कि आपको ज्ञात है पिछली गढ़वाल यात्रा विपरीत परिस्थितियों के कारण अचानक ही समाप्त करनी पड़ी. केदार हमेशा से ही मुझे बद्रीनाथ…

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