Shimla

In the early nineteenth century, the British in India found Shimlas climate and terrain akin to their homeland and sought to embalm their homesickness by developing this town like those in England. The echoes of this past history are evident in the Victorian architecture, the Mall, the Ridge and ambience of this hill resort.
Today it is one of the popular hill stations, due to easy accessibility and the variety of entertainment available. Shimla provides beautiful walks, day excursions, shopping avenues and ice skating too in winter. In short, Shimla has something for everyone. The capital of Himachal Pradesh has an airport and its nearest broad gauge railway station is at Kalka. Shimla is connected to other cities within the state and to Delhi by bus services.
Best time to visit: All the year round for scenic beauty and January, February for experiencing snowfall
Languages spoken: Hindi, English, Punjabi and Pahari
Climate: Pleasant summers, cold winters with snowfall
Heritage buildings: Christ Church, Tudor Library Building, Viceregal Lodge
Natural Wonders: Botanical gardens, Prospect Hill, Summer Hill, Potter Hill, Glenn, Elysium Hill, Annandale
Knowledge Centre: Himachal State Museum and Library

Blue sky country

Kinnaur-The land of apples (Part 1)

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On day 3, before starting off for Sangla, we were in a dilemma on whether to make the short trip to Hatu peak or not. As we had to reach Sangla before it was dark, we decided to skip Hatu peak, which is about 8 KMs from Narkanda. Thus, we hit the NH22 directly and road conditions being good, we reached the town of Rampur in about 2 hours. We refuelled the Ertiga here and noted a mileage of 15-16 KM/Litre in hilly road conditions.  After, Rampur, the highway, which was once known to the British as the Hindustan-Tibet road, leads you further on to Jeori before entering the district of Kinnaur at Chaura. After entering Kinnaur, the road, cut into sheer rock, rises steeply above the Satluj River. It follows the Satluj and is one of the most vertiginous roads in the whole country offering a spectacular view of rugged mountains.

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घुमक्कड़ी – कुछ खट्टी…कुछ मीठी (3)

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नारकण्डा में कुछ देर रुकने के बाद हम लोग वापिस चल दिये. चारों ओर बरफ पड़ी हुई थी, हम लोग धीरे-2 स्कूटर चलाते हुए, गाने सुनते हुए वापिस शिमला-दिल्ली की ओर चल रहे थे. ठियोग ठीक ठाक निकल गया और अब हम फागू वा कुफरी के बीच कहीं थे. प्रदीप आगे चेतक पर था और मैं पीछे अपने सुपर पर. अचानक देखा, प्रदीप लड़खड़ा कर नीचे गिरा… विजय सड़क पर पड़ा था और प्रदीप स्कूटर के साथ घिसट रहा था…मैने जोर से बोला – प्रदीप क्या हुआ, और ब्रेक लगाई… बस हमारा स्कूटर भी लड़खड़ाया और मैं और अवस्थी भी जमीन पर घिसटने लगे. किस्मत बड़ी अच्छी थी कि हम दोनों का स्कूटर ऐसे कोण पर गिरा था कि हम और हमारे स्कूटर खाई की ओर न जाकर पहाड़ की तरफ फिसले और साइड पर पड़े बर्फ के ढेर से टकरा कर. हम रुक गये…
कुछ समझ में नहीं आ रहा था कि हुआ क्या है..

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Dare to Dream

Dare to Dream

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My boss and my work environment are worst! A pretty common statement echoes everywhere, but no truth lies in this, because whosoever says so,…

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