09 Sep

ताज़महल : सिसकती आहों की आख़िरी पनाहगार

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मेट्रो शहरों में बढ़ते ट्रेफिक के दबाव, सडकों की बदतरीन हालत, महंगाई, सरकारी नियमों और बेतरतीब फैलते शहरों ने इसे हम से छीन कर अतीत के गर्त में पहुंचा दिया है, मगर यहाँ इसे फिर से जीने का एक मौका मिला है, एक-एक कर सारे उस पर सवार हो जाते हैं और फिर बच्चों द्वारा समवेत स्वर से “ चल मेरी धन्नो !” के कालजयी उद्गोश के साथ तांगे वाला चल पड़ता है और मै मसूद रांणा के उस गीत को याद कर रहा हूँ

“तांगे वाला नित खैर मंगदा, तांगा लहौर दा होवे पांवे चंग‌्ग दा”

(वैसे लाहौर और झंग वर्तमान में पाकिस्तान में हैं) और इस गाने में तांगे वालों की मेहनत, जानवर और सवारी के लिए उनका प्यार, और उनकी मुफलिसी (तंगहाली) को बहुत अच्छी जुबान दी गयी है | जीवन का कोई भी क्षण क्यूँ ना हो, हमारे फिल्म संगीत ने हर अवसर के लिए बेहतरीन गीत दिए हैं और अब इंटरनेट ने ऐसे दुर्लभ गीतों को एक बार फिर से सुनने का मौका ! खैर, तांगे की सवारी में सब इतना मग्न हो गये हैं कि जब तांगे वाला आवाज लगता है, “लो जी पहुंच गये…” तो एक निराशा सी होती है अरे इतनी जल्दी, कोई और लम्बा रास्ता नही था…? एक पल को तो जैसे भूल ही गये कि हम तांगे की सवारी करने नही, ताज़महल देखने आये हैं !

ताज़महल के प्रवेश द्वार के आगे लोगों की लम्बी कतारें लगी हुई हैं, जिन्हें देख कर लगता है कि अंदर प्रवेश पाने में ही कम से कम एक घंटा लग जायेगा, पर हमारा गाईड हमारा तारनहार बन कर सामने आता है, “मेरे पीछे आइये, जल्दी से …” और ना जाने किन-किन गलियों और रिहाईशी इलाकों से हमे गुजारता हुआ पांच- सात मिनट में ही एक ऐसे गेट के आगे ले जाता है, जहाँ अपेक्षाकृत बहुत ही कम लोग हैं, पास ही कई ऐसी छोटी-छोटी सी दुकानें हैं, जो रंग-बिरंगी टोपियों से लेकर ताज़ के प्रतिरूप और आगरे का मशहूर पेठा तक बेच रहें है | हमारा गाईड हमे कहता है कि शू कवर जरूर ले लें, दस रुपैये प्रति जोड़े के हिसाब से सबके लिए कवर और कुछ टोपियों भी ले ली जाती हैं, ताज़महल के अंदर जाने के लिए प्रवेश टिकट 20 रू की है, और जब तक हमारी ये छोटी सी खरीदारी पूरी हो, हमारा गाईड खुद ही टिकटें ले आता है | आँतक के इस दौर में, मुख्य प्रवेश द्वार से कुछ पहले ही सबकी सामान सहित तलाशी ली जाती है, और फिर सिक्योरिटी वालों के पूरी तरह संतुष्ट हो जाने पर, आपको हवाले कर दिया जाता है उन लम्हों के, जिन्हें देखने, सुनने, और महसूस करने का अनुभव, अब से केवल आपका और केवल आपका ही होगा !

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Summer Road Trip – Auli, Tapovan and Kanchula Kharak

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Kanchula was a forest dept. Musk Deer breeding centre which is now non-operational. This is a very remote place with no habitation around but there exists a very nice bamboo cottage with two bedrooms and a common dining-drawing area for eco-tourists. [The cost per double-bedroom is Rs 650/-, making the cottage worth Rs 1300/-] This can be booked through the DFO, Kedarnath range, Gopeshwar. Definitely worth it!
On reaching we realize that there is no provision for meals and one has to drive to Chopta about 8 kms further away for food. We drive there and have lunch at a dhaba which is quite good. Situated on the Gopeshwar-Ukhimath road, Chopta is a beautiful little hamlet situated at the highest point on this road (2900 m). This route to Chopta offers a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains and deep wooded valleys. This area gets copious rainfall annually and also sustains very high humidity levels giving a distinct character to its vegetation. The trees are moss laden and support good varieties of moist temperate plant life.

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Summer Road Trip – Badrinath Bound

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The first glimpse of Badrinath is mesmerising!! It is nestled between the Nar and Narayan ranges. The towering Neelkanth lies just behind the Narayan Parvat on which the Badrinath shrine has been built. In the pristine morning sunlight and the crystal clear visibility of this place, this brilliant megalith has a strange magnetism. I think everyone who visits this place must be a little bit under its spell. [Pic: Neelkanth] The little settlement haphazardly built around the temple is but a random patchwork of colours in a vast magnificent landscape meant to command… dominate… enthral… hypnotise… inspire… all at once!

The lofty snow capped peaks in the backdrop of the gurgling Alaknanda far below … this is the place which has so much spirituality that you can almost reach out and touch it. Nothing is godlier than nature itself!
It really puts things into perspective. One senses how small, insignificant and petty are human egos, wants and conflicts in a scale this extravagant. It is at once uplifting and calming… a place I felt at peace with myself and the world at large. The Himalayas in their splendorous beauty! I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

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Summer Road Trip – Birding in Lansdowne

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The next two days are packed with bird watching. The commonest of the birds around command our attention for they are new to us plains dwellers. The ubiquitous Himalayan Bulbul, Blue Whistling Thrush and the Russet Sparrows are everywhere. In fact, we do not see any house sparrows there at all! The Streaked Laughing thrush is trying to catch our attention by peaking at us from just beyond the tree trunk. The Black headed Jay is wandering around as common as the Rock Pigeon in the plains!

Meanwhile, two green birds fly up to a nearby tree. There is a distinct yellow on them and the flight indicates woodpeckers. We hurry and try to get in position for at least a record shot to identify the specie. The Lesser Yellownape it is! Hard on the heels of this pair is another pair, this one of the Brown fronted Woodpecker… birds are raining down on us hard and fast! The Himalayan Woodpeckers are also plentiful. The Grey headed Woodpecker makes an appearance… I am very happy. The bird count for the trip is increasing rapidly.

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Taksang Gompa: A Holy Trek in Bhutan

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Some more local families overtook us and surged forward at a fast pace, almost a routine walk for them. I wanted to keep my own steady pace using the umbrella as walking stick. At the age of 68, one needs to listen to one’s body and not rush to compete with others. We pushed every step, slow and steady and continued climbing. My thigh and calf muscles started aching demanding rest. As we kept climbing my breathing became harder and started roaring into my ears. We trudged on. The mountain breeze, when it came, helped me like a breath of fresh air. A crow hovered upwind in search of a prey perhaps. The climb became grimmer as we continued to angle towards the top. My shirt, which had been soaked with sweat, now felt stiff and uncomfortable. I wiped the perspiration from my forehead that was trickling into my eyes. I glanced at the rock face towards my right and saw the holy Gompa across that looked like toy houses stuck together on the rock face with glue. It became bigger as we climbed further up and reduced the distance with the rock face. We pushed slowly with no sense of hurry. The aroma of the jungle was printed on every whiff of breeze that I savored. The mist rose from the valley below and started blotting out the tumbled slopes of the rocky cliff below the Gompa.
After about an hour and a half we reached a midpoint, rested and sipped water. It would be unwise to rest for too long as once the body gets cold it will be difficult to climb up, better keep the body warm and maintain the rhythm of the climb.

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Trip to Bhutan – Thimpu, Paro and Phuntsoling

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We met our guide who took us to our destination, Galling Resort, about 3 kms away from town along a graveled road. Located on the banks of Paro chu; the property was tastefully constructed and painted in unique mud color ethnic Bhutanese style. The view from the balcony was breathtaking with Paro Chu rumbling right in front across the road, part of Paro beyond and finally the valley rising to meet the misty mountains that made the distant horizon. Anyone with an eye for the nature or a plain nature lover is bound to be enchanted by the natural beauty, landscape that would make not spending couple of days almost impossible. We did just that. The resort was warm, comfortable with a cozy lounge, wood paneled bedroom and comfortable attached bath. Our rooms had the same view as balcony and decided to keep the curtains drawn and windows opened so as to be part of the beautiful view.

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Talakadu – Town of Lost Temples

Talakadu – Town of Lost Temples

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A town with an atmosphere rich in history, mythology, religion, belief and faith with the river Cauvery quietly flowing agelessly, a witness to the rise and fall of several kingdoms, to the fervent prayers and resonant chants of devotees, to the happiness and sadness in their hearts and to the progress of human civilization over time.

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Trip to Bhutan – Road trip from Siliguri to Thimpu

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It was getting dark so without wasting time, just after a cup of tea, we set off to experiment the capital street with a look-see walk. The street was clean and lined by weeping willow trees that looked very nice. The buildings were Bhutanese style architecture that had four to five storey. We walked through light drizzle along the stone paved sidewalk. Surprisingly a melodious and rhythmic Western music filled the air; the source of the melody was a small open air stand that was extension of the main street. It looked quite unusual to see Bhutanese boys in traditional dress playing and crooning Western Tuned Bhutanese songs. A group of about 100 young men and women, gathered around the band stand were gyrating with the melody and rhythm of the music. All were wearing Bhutanese traditional dress, no jeans, pants and skirts. The dress code is strict; men wear “Gho” a kimono like knee length gown type of dress, tied by a long kamarbandh with long shocks and shoes. Women’s dress is called, “Kira”, an elegant wrapped around skirt like with a check or brocade jacket for the top. Both Tibetan and Bhutanese dress is alike except for few variations. There is also the marked difference in the material used in Bhutan. Whereas Tibetan men and women fancy any type of clothing materials for their “Bakkhu”, Bhutanese use only the traditional and colorful Bhutan made check cloth material for their “Gho” and “Kira”.

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Toronto – Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)

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In the visitors guide we can find special mention of “ICONIC must see treasures of the ROM” of each level. Thus one can not miss the special display. We took almost 01 hour to complete level 1 itself. As usual we got tired and hungry so we went to Café at ROM.We were sure that we will not get anything vegetarian to eat and may be we have to returned with just eating French fries.

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Burha luit tumi Burha luit buwa kiyo?

Summer Vacation: A beautiful river and a few Necklaces – IV

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These are some of the places of Kolkata, which you may like to visit if you travel to the city. There are good and there will be bad things in any city. There are plenty of examples or perception to believe the city is not worth a visit or a second look. Whatever I find attractive, may not be as attractive to you. Everyone has their own rights to judge things differently. However, there are so many places around in any city, not in Kolkata alone, to come and explore.

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Amarnath Yatra : Panchtarni – Holy Cave (Part 7)

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Searched lights were switched off and we went towards check post, one CRPF man came and asked me to stay with them and allowed only Naresh Saroha to go towards Dispensary. I waited there for his return. After 10-15 minutes Naresh cane and we returned to our tent. Due to medicines, Naresh slept soon but I could not sleep after that. In the morning all wake up early and after completing our daily routines, we get ready to start the last day tracking. We took hot tea and Rusk/biscuits in breakfast and started the journey.

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