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An evening with River Narmada: Gwari Ghat, Jabalpur

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But deep down in my heart, I knew that I had chosen for that boat ride not because of my friend, but because of the Narmada. And, the Narmada never fails. It was she, who was nursing me while I sat heads down at the Gwari Ghat. It was she, who persuaded me to cross her so as to uplift me from a very deep guilt. If that being so, it was not possible that she would be letting me stand on the other side of the Ghat for the night. While, I was brooding over all that, suddenly we saw a boat crossing past us. We shouted for help, but he did not stop and went past sailing over the water. My friend lost his control and started cursing the boatman, both who had left us stranded and also who had sailed past us.
Half an hour or so more again passed with no means to go to the other side. The fear of being stranded on the dark ghats in the night was started as a test against the patience and the faith towards Narmada. Just in time, when the faith and the impatience started to rumble in the mind, we saw a boatman sailing towards us from the other bank. Gradually, the blurred image of the boatman became crystal clear. He was “our boatman”, with his boat.

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A train journey to Sanskardhani (Jabalpur)

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One of the doyens of Hindi Movies, Prem Nath, also belonged to the Sanskardhani. He had once built a cinema hall in the heart of the city, which was named as “Empire Theatre”. From outdoor screening of the film to cinema halls and now to multiplexes, there is a great history of the growth of Indian cinema. But I still carry a fascination with the old cinema halls. So, after coming out of the Jabalpur Station, I went to a crossing where the old building of that Empire Cinema was situated. It was completely in ruins. I felt much attached with the Empire cinema and climbed up the fallen bricks to see it from inside. I was astonished to find that the speakers were still clinging to those walls. In its heydays, that hall must be the cultural hub of the Sanskardhani, graced by the likes of Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Prem Nath.

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My day in Rashtrapati Bhawan

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This is the location where all the functions (India’s prestigious award given to its citizen) take place. This place is called the Darbar Hall, the celebration hall of the Rastrapati Bhawan. The hall was situated just below the Gombuz (Doom), which we see from the long distance.

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The mystic jungles of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam

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Further ahead, the scenery again changed. We were drawn more deep into the actual jungle. The forest cover got dense and our excitement jumped higher. Under the shade of the trees and some swamps, we found a herd of the world renowned one-horn Rhinos. It was not the first time in my life that I encountered them but still, they being the pride of my State, rakes up my pride too.

Our Gypsy driver suddenly had a rush of adrenaline and after few minutes of some sway-and-swanky driving, he brought us into this clearing, which was clearly bang in the middle of the forest. With a few words of prayers, we de-boarded our vehicle for a photo-shoot!!

Now, you must be wondering, why we were having a photo-shoot when we had prayers in our lips. Well, that’s because inspite of the heavy forest cover, the view and the vibes took our breath away.

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All about Bhangarh Fort, Rajasthan

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The Mughal connection is attributed to the relationship of Sawai Madho Singh, the ruler of Bhangarh in 16th Century with Raja Mansingh I, who was a general in Akbar’s army. These two chieftains were brother. Their father Bhagwant Singh was the ruler of Amber. This Mughal association is believed to be continued till the death of Aurangjeb. When the Mughal empire weakened, Bhangarh was attacked by Jaishingh II in 1720 AD. Later, a famine broke out in 1783 AD, which forced the inhabitants to abandon the city. However, history apart, the fort premises had the reputation of the haunted place till recent years. And, such reputation became the main reason for the tourist to flow in that sleepy village.

At the first sight, it seemed that the ruins of the fort and residential buildings were scattered all over the place, which makes it difficult to see the important places without any guide. Realising the same, the Archaeological Survey of India had put a reasonably good guide map there. I tried to decipher that map, but could not succeed in the first attempt. I started feeling that such maps could be used only after one visited all over the place and returned to the map only to understand what was what. Anyway, with the help of subsequent attempts at the map, we proceeded towards what was once the jewellery market.

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On the road, from Old Pushkar to Bhangarh, Rajasthan

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Approximately 10 kilometers before the Jaipur City, we had to take a turn towards the NH 11 C through Gopalpura Bypass. The journey from Pushkar to Gopalpura Bypass was so far good and pleasant. But, I was desperate to have a cup of tea. Suddenly, I saw a tea-shop, where tea was being prepared on the log-wood-stove. An old lady owner of the shop was preparing tea. I could not resist myself and stopped the car to have a cup of tea prepared on the flames of log-wood. I felt as if I were in rural Rajasthan. Sipping that tea from a disposable cup was a different experience altogether. Such tea-shops are a rare luxury these days. But, while standing there, I was also surprised to see the attire of that lady-owner of the eta shop. She was wearing the thick silver bangles, silver necklace and the silver nose-ring. Either she must be quite rich in her community or wearing such ornaments by a married lady must be a tradition here.

The tea had the desired effect on me. With the renewed energy, we came to the Toll plaza of the Jaipur-Agra Expressway. One of the Aravalli hills had been cut for makingthe way through a tunnel. Being a Sunday afternoon there was no rush there. My wife, however, pointed out that it was the same tunnel which was depicted as the most-accident prone area in the Amir Khan’s “SatyamevJayte” programme on the road safety. Anyway, we crossed that tunnel without any difficulty and proceeded ahead and continued to our third leg of the journey.

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All About Pushkar, Rajasthan

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Subsequently, we walked upto the “Top tea stall” in Pushkar. We just had poha before and now needed a cup of hot tea. So, we sat down on the bench there for some time till we sipped the best tea of the city. The top tea in the Pushkar market was served on disposable cups. The tray was a luxury given to the families. Otherwise, you pick up your cup from the stall itself. We had settled down on the bench and were admiring the market. The market was gradually opening to a pleasant morning. The rush was also gradually increasing. People from all walks of life were coming to pay a visit to the temple of Lord Brahma.
Many foreigners, who had stayed long, had taken motorcycles to roam around the city and its outskirts. Enfield Bullet was a general favourite. In the hippy style, these foreigners were driving their bikes on the road as if the road belonged to them. Suddenly, a Rajasthani Milkman came to the Tea stall. He was a tall, lean and handsome man in his fifties wearing Kurta and Dhoti and leather Jutis. His turban was of the same type that was worn by herdsmen which we had seen on the highways. The golden ear-rings and Silver bracelet on his wrist were indicating his economic status. His confident gait and the personality were reflecting his social status that he must be commanding in his community. He sat silently and sipped his tea. After finishing his tea, he got up, paid the amount and left. I could neither click his picture nor hear his rags to riches story. But the picture of the brass containers, used for carrying milk, on the delivery-motorcycle was telling the story of his financial success.

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Bhutan : The Land of Thunder Dragon!

Bhutan : The Land of Thunder Dragon!

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Perched on a cliff-top, Bhutan’s Taktshang monastery, also known as the Tiger’s Nest, is one of the most breathtaking temples in the world. The Buddhist place of worship is built on a rock around 3,000m (10,000ft) above sea level and stands above a beautiful forest of blue pine and rhododendrons. The main temple complex was built in 1692 and is considered to be one of the holiest for the Bhutanese people. There are no proper roads and visitors have to trek for hours to reach the temple. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche flew to this site on a tigress’ back to subdue a local demon. Thereafter, he meditated here for three months. It is blessed and sanctified as one of Bhutan’s most sacred religious sites.
Apart from monastry, we visited old fort of Paro and museum and then started for next destination, i.e. Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan Royal Kingdom and power centre of the country (around 50 K.m. away from Paro) taking with us wonderful memories of beautiful Paro. Again following the same pattern, we reached Thimphu in the evening and stayed in hotel to get ourselves recharged for next day’s tryst with the capital city.

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Kedarkantha – The Winter Trek

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This one sentence accurately defines the trekking experience 19 of us had in our recent trip to Kedarkantha. Kedarkantha peak at 12500 ft. seem to be too remarkable, but as the name says shaped like Shiva’s Neck, (Kedar means Lord Shiva and Kantha means Neck), actually one of the most scenic trek and offers great views to the Himalayan ranges, reason behind making it to one of the Top 10 treks in India by Conde Nast

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