Historical

Rays of Light

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We started our walk and soon saw the first of the Sarnath monument, the Chaukhandi Stupa. A beautiful, well kept garden surrounding the Stupa welcomes you with dancing butterflies and chirping birds. Chaukhandi Stupa has a square base. This stupa was built during Gupta times. And later during Islamic rule, it got the peculiar head with edges. Built in red bricks, it was an impressive site, standing tall under a blue sky, silently remembering the era by gone.
This main road of Sarnath is lined with some beautiful Buddhist temples donated and built by several east Asian Buddhist nations. It really shows their affection and devotion towards Gautam Buddha and it’s land.

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Of Seven Capitals and New Delhi: Chapter I – Rai Pithora & Mehrauli

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Qutub Minar of yore was entered through its four monumental gates of which only the Southern one renowned as Alai Darwaza remains standing till date. Along the western periphery of the precinct runs a giant wall with pointed archways, creating a ‘Qibla’ or the decorated prayer wall. There are several buildings in the complex most of which lay in ruins except for the exquisitely carved tomb of Iltutmish which is still in fairly good state. The structure of note inside the complex includes the magnificent Qutub Minar, Ala al-Din Khalji’s madrasa and the Imam Zamin Mosque.

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The River and the City

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The airport is located in Babatpur, a slightly funny name but when you see the airport name displayed in bold letters as Lal Bahadur Shastri aiport, suddenly it gains stature and you feel a connection, a long lost memory jogged. And you remember a story of young Lal bahadur swimming across the Ganga for his studies.

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An Egyptian Diary: Post script

An Egyptian Diary: Post script

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India and Egypt shave a lot in common. Both are ancient civilisations and have emerged from centuries of foreign rule. Though the population is only 80 million, there is a lot of ethnic diversity with some who can pass off for Europeans, some who look like Africans and the rest of them look North African or Arab. Not surprising, if one takes into account its history and its geographic location, which is at the intersection of Asia, Africa and Europe…

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Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean

Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean

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Alexandria was home to Egypt’s second wonder of the Ancient World: the famous Lighthouse built by the Ptolemies in the 3rd Century AD. Soaring to a height of 140 metres, its beacon was visible to seamen over 50 km away. It was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world for centuries till a powerful earthquake destroyed it in the 14th century.

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Tynemouth: Sand, Sea, Castle & More

Tynemouth: Sand, Sea, Castle & More

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Just two or three stations before Tynemouth, through the metro window itself, I got the first glance of the sea, the great North sea, blue as sapphire. And when a person, who has spent most of his life in Delhi, which is 1100 km away from the nearest sea, gets a glance of the sea – He has every right to open his eyes wide.

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Trip to Harrods

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It being a Sunday, the place was kinda full, but the fullness of it did not take away the splendour, grace, elegance & overall beauty of the place. There were beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, antique looking furniture was scattered everywhere and there were, of course, beautiful mannequins in windows. The décor of the place somewhat varied from section to section. The toys section was done in tones of cheer, with streams of holly adding to the gaiety, while the fragrance section was done up in subtle tones, so that the focus was totally on the brands displayed.

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A Memorable Tour to Kutch – Part 1

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Meanwhile there came two foreigner tourists and they asked me about bus for Bhuj, The same bus in which I had to board was going up to Bhuj so I informed them about the bus. They also had a long time to wait for bus so in order to pass the time they started talking me regarding the India, its culture, tourist places etc. Though they had a very good hand book containing complete information on India tourism destination but still they were very enthusiastic about India. They were from USA and one of them was Kevin who later became my friend as we had to travel together for next 7-8 hours.

It was 11:00 O’ clock and I was feeling hungry, I saw a small shop having garmagaram Jalebi and Fafda, I along with Kevin went there to taste this delicious Gujarati breakfast. It was really tasty and Kevin also liked it, Jalebi was a miraculous dish for him.

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Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets

Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets

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ghumakkar loves serendipitous moments, when one comes across something remarkable but totally unexpected. I had such an experience a few minutes after landing in Cairo. The drive to the hotel from the airport was rather uninteresting as the architecture was pretty drab, just row after boring row of grey, rectangular concrete blocks . All of a sudden, I saw a building which looked like a Hindu temple…

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Ghumakkar Insights – What is on your mind and what goes into your bag?

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But surely, there is one thing in common in all our expeditions. It is the seed of thought on our mind which grows and matures into a fully well planned and executed trip. A thought about where to go next is the seed I am talking about. While some of us get inspired by learning about places from friends, the new trend I see is the trend to explore the unexplored virgin places. Not bad at all, isnt it?

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