Historical

Sardhana – A piece of Vatican in a dusty UP town

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Move to the right where the front of the building is and you get the imposing view of the church. Magnificent Doric columns adorn the verandah; the Roman domes – large one in the middle over the main altar and the smaller ones over the wings – are similar to the domes of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The massive steeples on both sides pierces the sky; the one on the left holds two bells whereas the other used to have a clock.

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River Saraswati (Ghaggar, Haryana) – The Lost Valley of time, culture and civilization

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Now why were we in Haryana of all the places? We need to get some background on Indus Valley culture over here to appreciate our destination. We all know about Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro as principle sites of Indus culture. Now Indus or Harappan culture refers to archeological finds pertaining to time period of 2500-1900 BC having specific similarities. The distinguishing characteristic of this culture is presence of town planning evident in spacious perpendicular roads, sewerage system, fortified townships and large houses with courtyard and brick walls. Findings of seals, weights, beads, gold ornaments indicate flourished trade.

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Yuksom – a peaceful abode in the laps of Eastern Himalayas

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Yuksom is still regarded as the base camp of Kanchenjungha, although ascent from Sikkim side has stopped over a decade ago. The mountains are revered as God by localites and stepping foot on the sacred slopes amounts to desecration of the divine forces. Kanchenjungha is abode of the Gods. We came across camps of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. Their basic and advanced mountaineering courses are conducted at Rathong Glacier, the starting point of which also happens to be Yuksom.

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