Traveling is good
Today was our 15th and second-last day in England. Our plan for the day was to be at the beach in the morning, then go to see the Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf Quay in the afternoon, and finally take our Coach back to London (we’re in Portsmouth, remember?)
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“I’m afraid of heights I mumbled. He gave me a WTF look.. Are you kidding? He probably wanted to ask. He was not wrong. Here I was going to jump off the cliff in few minutes. how the hell was he going to believe that I was actually scared of heights…it’s not the height. It’s the steep downhill slope.. I can go uphill and probably reach heaven like Juthisthir did.
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After visiting the Mahadev shrines near Kota and returning back to my friends house, where we unanimously voted for Gagron Fort in Jhalawar (a part of the Hadoti region of Rajasthan) to be our next. Gagron Fort is so obscure but at the same time it is such an outstanding embodiment of great architecture in terms of design,structure and strategy coupled with the bravery and chivalry of the erstwhile Rajput Rulers and warriors.
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So far i had traversed to places having familiarity with the social mass but this time i thought of cherishing and exploring the obscurity of the Chambal Gorge, created by the mighty and the pristine Chambal River ,who oblivious of my encroachment is busy streaming and gushing.
December was the month back then two years ago ,when i thought of going down to the South Eastern frontier of Rajasthan surrounding Kota and Jhalawar, from Delhi. The region is situated on a tableland being a part of the Malwa Plateau which encapsulates the whole Northern Madhya Pradesh along with the Vindhyan Ranges and enscrapments.
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Sambhar Lake is India’s larget inland salt lake. We keep moving on the road but dam was nowhere in picture. It should be around 5 km from the place we started and we have already crossed more than that. I check on map that we were moving far from lake so we decided to return. We realized that there was no connecting road to dam and we have to find a entry point. We found a dusty track which was going towards the lake. It must be used by tractors and other vehicles. Finally we were inside the lake and it was amazing to drive bike in the lake :).
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“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.†This quote by the great African-American botanist and humanitarian, George Washington Carver, never ceases to inspire me whenever I’m travelling. So much so that my one-month long trip to the US seemed incomplete without a visit to two of the most spectacular natural wonders – the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.
Even though they’re both completely different works of nature and are situated on opposite coasts of the country, they strike a common cord due to their sheer enormity, beauty and the overwhelming experience they provide to visitors. And being intrepid explorers, neither my husband nor I wanted to miss either of these attractions.
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The famous temple route of South Western Karnataka is Mangalore- Subhramanya-Dharmastala-Hornadu-Sringeri-Kollur-Udupi-back to Mangalore.Murdeshwar beach temple can be included too if one has more time.
Kukke Subramanya temple is one of the most revered pilgrimage destinations in Karnataka. Here Lord Subramanya is worshipped as the lord of all serpents. The devotees enter the courtyard of the temple from the main entrance at the back and walk around to go before the deity.
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Journey from Kolkata to Delhi through the awesome Durgapur Expressway, was something I had dreamt of since the time I went to Kolkata back in August 2007. I had my plans sorted out that I will be working in Kolkata not more than 2-3 years and then when I return back to Delhi, I will do that by road. It was January 1st week, when I got an offer in hand for a job back in Delhi, and I immediately had in mind, it’s now or never.
We were all set to start on the 4th of February 2011 for Delhi from Kolkata by road in my most loveable Santro.
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So with full gusto, I rev-ed the engine and started back amid beautiful landscapes, away from the thoughtful and calm gaze of Panchachuli, the peak which was in the back yard of our stay. The journey from Munsyari to Birthi was spent gazing at mountains, standing tall and quite, looking at the occasional habitat along side the road with Pahadi folk wearing black topis, half jacket over long shirts and pajamas and throwing infectious smiles as they go through with their daily chores. Because of rains, the road was not in its prime so we were a tad cautious; but there was an natural desire to drive a little faster and be able to reach Sattal, which as per our friends from Pahad was not a realistic goal.
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We were on a 8-10 feet mud track with the rock face on one side and a steep fall on the other side of the track. One of the kids in our group was playing. While running around the child fell and tumbled down the fall. The child’s landed onto bushes growing at the side of the mountain and the child was lying on the bushes. One of the instructors immediately went down with the help of a rope and carried the child back up. The child was in a state of shock and all of us were shaken up too. However the child was perfectly fine physically. We went over to a local doctor who examined the child and reconfirmed that the child was fine. All of us thanked almighty for the grace and agreed to be more cautious. Although shaken we wanted to move forward.
We were back in the camp by 5:30 and were raring to take up many other activities. There were a range of activities including Burma Bridge rope crossing, a ropes course, and a range of sports including football, cricket, volleyball, etc.
The urge to talk about Mehrauli Archaeological Park is literally irresistible now. After weeks of traveling and researching over the internet and books, I could not but wonder whether this is the most architecturally and historically rich places in the world. Turning the pages of history brings alive every alley and stone of Mehrauli area with a vigor which I had never ever imagined in wildest of my dreams as I passed through these streets over last several years I have been in Delhi.
Mehrauli is the site of plethora of monuments, so much so that a sense of history and legends pervade every lane and even stones, for here lived kings, sultans, generals, warriors, saints and monks. Prehistoric tales associate Mehrauli with the descendents of the Pandavas. Later it saw the building of Lal Kot, a bastion of the first real city of Delhi whose archaeological proof could be found. Then it became the dominion of legendary Rajput warrior prince Pritviraj indelibly ingrained in Hindu courtly love tradition. Qila Rai Pithora was witness to the glory of Prithviraj Chauhan who was later defeated in Second Battle of Tarain by Ghauri, whereupon the latter’s death, his slave Qutubdin Aibak made Mehrauli his capital and the Sultans and emperors who followed him ruled from there.
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Our 14th day in London was much more fun – for me. Our plan was to go to this town called Portsmouth. It is a waterfront city, with a lot of fun stuff to do, like arcades, amusement parks, and the most important of all, beachesJ. It is also the birthplace of Charles Dickens. Mausi Ji has a house there, and so we were going for an over-night trip.
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