StatesOfIndia

Indolent weekend in the Charismatic Chokhi Dhani

By Snig Bhaumik

How can a Jaipur trip be concluded without some shopping? We grabbed a local cab (can be booked from the resort reception only) and requested him to get to a single good place where most of the things are available. Unlike many of the Indian tourist places, drivers and guides in Rajasthan are still unbiased and reliable. He took us to a factory outlet, where they produce staff at the two levels of basement and have three floors of retail and wholesale shop. Got a good bargain of various stuff there. Some of the materials are also available in the resort itself, but as you can imagine those are unreasonably costly and very small collections as compared to the outside outlets.

चोखी-ढाणी, पुलिया और राम-राम सा का देस: जयपुर

By Avtar Singh

बात जब सड़क की हो रही है तो ट्रेफ्फिक और पुलिस की भी कर लें, यूँ लगता है जैसे जयपुर का सारा पुलिस अमला केवल परिवहन की व्यवस्था के लिए ही जिम्मेदार हो ! और ऐसे में यदि आपकी गाडी की नम्बर-प्लेट हरियाणा की है तो सावधान रहिये ! सीट-बेल्ट, मोबाइल पर बात करना, रेड लाइट पार कर जाना… भले ही आपके आस-पास से राजस्थान की अनेक गाड़ियाँ निकल जाएँ पर रोका केवल आपको ही जाएगा ! जयपुर में ऐसे बहुत से खट्टे-मीठे अनुभव हुए और कई बार तो ना चाहते हुए कुछ समझौते भी करने पड़े, एक तो पराया शहर, ऊपर से गाड़ी किसी और की… अपना शहर हो तो झेल भी लें पर यहाँ… समय की भी बंदिश है, परिवार भी साथ है, और इस कमज़ोर नस को हमारे भाई लोग भी बखूबी पहचानते हैं… एक बार तो थक हार कर एक हवलदार से तंज़ भी करना पड़ा, यूँ तो कहते हो ‘पधारो म्हारे देस’ और जब कोई सचमुच पधार ही जाये तो सारे मिलकर उसे लूटने में ही लग जाते हो…. बहरहाल ये बातें तो देश के हर हिस्से में हर किसी के साथ घटती ही रहती हैं, तो आइये अब आगे बढ़ते हैं…

चलिए ऐसा करते हैं, ज़रा शुरू से शुरुआत करते हैं, सोमेश एक छोटे भाई के अलावा एक बेहतरीन मेहमान नवाज़ भी निकला और साफ़ कह दिया कि बिना नाश्ते के नही जाना, दो-दो भाभियाँ हैं मिलकर बना लेंगी बाकी दिन भर आप जो मर्जी खाते रहना और फिर उसने हमे एक कागज़ पर घूमने की जगहों के अलावा उन सभी मशहूर जगहों और खान-पान के ठिकानों का पता भी दे दिया जो जयपुर में अपनी विशिष्टता रखते हैं ! इनमे से सबसे बेहतरीन था ‘स्टेचू सर्कल’ पर रात को क़ाफ़ी पीते हुये ‘हैंग आउट’ करना, जिसे आप जयपुर का मिनी इंडिया-गेट भी कह सकते हैं | सवाई जय सिंह का बुत लगा यह चौक स्थानीय तथा पर्यटकों के लिये एक प्रमुख आकर्षण का केंद्र है |

Summer Road Trip – Kakdagaad Haridwar

By Naturebuff

Dinner is at a small Rajasthani Dhaba with really yummy food. One thing we have experienced throughout the trip is that the food has been consistently good in the small places and not once have we had any tummy upsets. It just reinforces my belief that one must have what the locals have in the places that they patronise… one really can’t go wrong then.

Heaven on Earth: Leh-the Himalayan Kingdom

By Anjan

A long day trip starting with visiting Thikshey monastery and Shey palace, roads were the worst effect of Ladakh fresh flood (Ladakh cloud burst, 2010). On the way we crossed the school, which is so much famous for Amir Khan starrier Hindi movie “3 idiots”. School is totally renovated by Amir Khan and 3 idiot’s donation after destroying on the flood. After visiting that location, we back to another monastery Hemis and after that we reached an excellent location of Leigh, Sangam, where two rivers meet up, Indus and Xansar

Water of both rivers has a different color and up to a long distance you can see the difference of color flowing together. The road towards Sangam and Hemis is amazingly beautiful, where you can get two beautiful landmarks of the journey, 1st is Pather Sahib Gurudwara,

We had our one of excellent food of Ladakh on there (even it was good then Bangla sahib or golden temple- I can bet). Gurudwara is managed and maintain by Indian Army and 2nd is Magnetic Hill, where earth magnet attracts your metal toward a specific distance, specially you can try with your car, you don’t need to do anything, and your car or any materials automatically started moving to a specific distance

भगवान एकलिंग जी दर्शन

By Mukesh Bhalse

लालबाग, श्रीनाथ जी मंदिर ट्रस्ट के द्वारा बनवाया एक सुन्दर उद्यान है जहां कई तरह के फ़ुलों के पौधे, बच्चों के लिये झुले तथा मनोरंजन के अन्य साधन हैं, यानी सुकुन के कुछ पल बिताने के लिये इस उद्यान में सब कुछ है और छायाचित्रकारी के लिये तो यह उद्यान अति उत्तम है। जब हम यहां पहुंचे तो उस समय यहां हमारे अलावा और कोइ नहीं था, क्योंकि यह बाग दोपहर के बाद ही खुलता है। इस उद्यान में जी भर कर फोटोग्राफी करने के बाद हम अपने ऑटो में सवार होकर अपने अगले पड़ाव यानी गौशाला की ओर बढे।

The Spell of Bundi – Exploring Heritage

By Nandan Jha

It has a big entrance and you land up into a courtyard flanked on all sides by large, tall halls with stairs going up to the next level. You catch a breath to take a good view of overall topology and head towards the stairs. The initial bat-poo-smell is familiar but gradually the stench begins to get the better of you. The palace has seen good times and that is apparent from those murals (and more when we would visit Chitrashala), persian glass-ware and all things which are signature of forts. The jharokhas (Bay windows?) give an impressive view of the town and the Baoli. In December, the haze was thic but I would guess that in a better weather the view would take you few ages behind. The old, stunted-appearing, town almost feels like a scene from the film ‘Rudaali’. We walked around, with the help of a local guide/care-taker who patiently opened the locked doors so that we could appreciate the once-royal palace. The overgrowing stench, bad upkeep was now winning so I got into a conversation with the caretaker. He told me that the place is undergoing a litigation. There is a very thin layer of support staff to take care of the place but all they try to do is to keep the hooligans off and wait for well-meaning travellers. I didn’t want to make it more difficult for the caretaker and wished him luck and we proceed to 2nd floor/3rd level. Large rooms, supported with crafted pillars and brackets. The usual Torans (welcoming motif at the entrance) with elephants proudly protruding their long trunks.

Summer Road Trip – Devariyatal (Deoriatal), Uttarakhand

By Naturebuff

Dusk is a beautiful time… especially in the mountains. The mandatory snaps are taken and Oooh and Ahhh over! We wonder what to do with ourselves without any light since candles are out of the question in tents when our guide comes with an LED lamp. It is really bright and good enough to play cards by. An engrossing evening indeed! In a while he gets dinner for us near the tent. We are very touched by this gesture. We see everyone else has had to go to the shop nearby for food but the ambience just outside our tents, near the water with an almost full moon shining is magical. He has even got the prickly nettle vegetable made which I had asked him about. This unpretentious yet delicious dinner and the exquisite atmosphere of this place will rank right up there as one of the most cherished moments of my life.

We are up before dawn in the hope that some of the misty shrouds have lifted enough to allow us at least a faint glimpse of the famed Chaukhamba. No such luck. To make up for it though, we hear numerous bird calls. Following them we head off towards the forest rest house. An enormous tree on the eastern bank of the lake with some of its branches hanging low over the water seems to be attracting a variety of birds. Many of them are taking turns in splashing around and having a quick bath right at the edge of the lake under the tree. We stand there mesmerised at the sight!

Gateway of South East Asia – IMPHAL

By Mahesh Semwal

The old Fort is damaged but a lot of new construction has come up in the Fort. ‘Kangla’ was the ancient capital of Manipur from the ancient times down to the year 1891 AD.

Inside the fort there is an old Govindji temple, temple was closed & it seems that now no body offers prayer there.

After that we went to visit new Govindji temple which is not very far from the fort.The famous temple of Shree Govindaji is one of the prime attractions of Imphal. This Hindu temple has the deities of Hindu gods, Radha and Krishna Govinda.

Summer in Kashmir

By BB

Doodhpathri is a beautiful place with carpet like meadows. You will find cattle grazing and shepherd boys. It is called the valley of milk because it produces rich milk in large quantity. I truly loved this place and also managed to click some pictures with the shepherd boy and his sheep. Check out the mud huts where the Gujjar live. Lazing around the meadows is a must.

श्रीनाथ जी की हवेली ………….नाथद्वारा.

By Mukesh Bhalse

दोस्तों, एक लम्बे अंतराल के बाद आज फिर उपस्थित हुं आप लोगों के सामने। आप सभी जानते ही हैं की मेरी घुमक्कड़ी का केन्द्र…

लैंसडाउन : मिट्टी की सौंधी खुशबू समेटे गाँव का तीर्थाटन

By Avtar Singh

मेरे पिताजी ने अपनी CPWD की नौकरी के दौरान कुछ समय जोशीमठ से आगे ओली में गुजारा था और वो वहाँ ITBP के कैम्प में रुकते थे, दरअसल उन्हें वहाँ कुछ सरकारी भवनों के निर्माण से सम्बन्धित कार्य करवाने होते थे और उनकी मदद के लिये स्थानीय मजदूर, खलासी और बेलदार का काम करते थे जो उनका सामान इत्यादि लेकर चलते थे तथा अन्य कार्यों में भी मदद करते थे, उनसे अपनी बातचीत को वो अक्सर हमसे साझा करते थे, कुछेक जुमले जो स्थानीय लोग सुनाते थे, और आज भी मुझे याद हैं, वो कुछ इस प्रकार से थे कि “पहाड़ का वासा, कुल का नासा”, और, “जो नदी के किनारे बसते हैं, नदी उन्हें बसने नही देती” और यदि उन बातों को फिलहाल में केदारनाथ में हुई भयंकर आपदा के परिपेक्ष्य में देखें तो ये मानना ही पड़ेगा कि अपने क्षेत्रों की जटिल परिस्थतियों को वो ही बेहतर ढंग से जानते-समझते है |

मैं अपने इस आलेख में ऐसा कोई दावा नही करने जा रहा कि मुझे इन गाँवों के बारे में कोई जानकारी है या मै उनकी रोजमर्रा की दुश्वारियों को दूसरों की अपेक्षा अच्छी तरह समझता हूँ | अपितु मेरा तो ये आलेख ही स्वयम अपने आप पर ही तंज़ (व्यंग्य,कटाक्ष) है कि एक बार की चढ़ाई-उतराई ने ही हमारी ये हालत कर दी कि उसके बाद काफ़ी समय तक रुक कर आराम करना पड़ा | वस्तुतः मै इस आलेख के माध्यम से उन क्षेत्रों के वासियों और खास तौर पर महिलायों के जज्बे और उनकी हिम्मत को अपना नमन करता हूँ जो कि अपनी घर-ग्रहस्थी के अलावा बाज़ार के कामों और अपने जानवरों को भी सम्भालती हैं, जिन रास्तों पर चलते ही हमारी सांस फूल जाती है, वहाँ वो अपने सर पर घास के गटठर या जलावन के लिए लकड़ियाँ उठाये, बिना किसी शिकायत के चलती रहती हैं, वो बच्चे भी दाद के हकदार हैं जो अपने स्कूल तक पहुंचने के लिए कई-कई किलोमीटर इन कच्चे-पक्के रास्तों से गुजरते है, जिनमे कई पहाड़ी नदियाँ भी आती है और जंगली जानवरों का खतरा भी हरदम बना रहता है, पर वो अपने अदम्य साहस और मजबूत जिजीविषा के बलबूते सारी विपरीत परिस्थतियों के बावजूद अपने हौसले को बनाये रखते हैं |

Single Day Trip Near Bangalore: Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve and Madhugiri Fort

By Ashu Saxena

Well, hope is a wonderful thing and is a must grab tool too, be it come from any source, come on any moment, come from anywhere. There He walked down where we sat down with a fickle mind whether to proceed or not. He looked like an ordinary man, carrying a backpack with a 1 litre bottle, head shining like a aura in sun, spects crowning like a jewel on Him, and a determination to climb any fort in vision. And as expected He rides on a THUNDERBIRD. We asked Him how far is it going up from here, and He replied in simple words, “2 hours of continuous walk up and 1 hour of a smiling walk down”. We just kept listening to His stories, He kept on sharing his experiences, and within few minutes of interaction He was a hero. Trekking alone just to make sure He climbs every fort He knows exist. He motivated us to the brim of our taking and we were all set to see what’s there on the top. We were short on water and with every level up we tasted water pretty slowly. There we saw the mighty walls of the fort, standing tall through times and weather, without APEX ULTIMA :p.

1 Vayable Trip Dalhousie – how we made the most before the onward journey

Really enjoyed reading this Dalhousie journey. The way you described the last moments there and the return journey made it feel like I was travelling along with you. Beautiful memories.
2 Rajeev saini A Day trip to Fatehpur Sikri from Delhi

Hi Nitesh I m planning to trip to Agra ,fathe pur ,Sikri AND I WILL BE GUIDED BY UR ABOVE INPUT.
3 ucmini My trip to H.A.L Museum in Bangalore

I am wondering how I might be notified when a new post has been made.
4 hire himachal cab गढ़वाल घुमक्कडी: कर्णप्रयाग – विष्णुप्रयाग – बद्रीनाथ

great article keep it guys
5 Ahmed Top 10 fun things to do in Dubai

Fun things about explained nicely, must read it article.
6 Rambahadur Pranami Orchha, A precious ‘Gem’ of Bundelkhand.

Bundelkhand avashya hi bharatvarsh ka hriday
7 Bharathi Solo Visit to Stoners’ Paradise- Kasol

I enjoyed reading about your solo trip to Kasol. The way you shared your experiences, travel tips, and beautiful moments makes this article both interesting and inspiring for anyone planning…
8 sdivyashree Khajuraho – Beyond Temples

Thank you for sharing such an insightful perspective on exploring Khajuraho beyond its famous temples. I particularly appreciated how the article highlights the region's broader cultural, historical, and natural attractions,…