Punjab

Punjab literally means the land of five rivers. This state is a fertile land stretching from the foot hills of the Himalayas to a semi arid region to its south-east. It is mostly an agricultural land and its people are known for their boisterous celebrations, colourful festivals, vibrant costumes, vigorous dances and never say die spirit. The Union Territory of Chandigarh serves as the capital. Besides Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana are cities with airports while the former two cities have railway services connected to major cities in the country. Driving into Punjab is the perhaps the best option as the national and state highways are well maintained and enroute are plenty of service stations, dhabas and highway motels or restaurants.
The famous Golden Temple Gurudwara is the main pilgrimage site for the Sikh community. Situated in Amritsar, it is thronged by thousands of devotees every day. The well planned modern city of Chandigarh has a unique rock garden, Rose garden, Sukhna Lake and many more. Places of historical interest include the fort of Razia Sultan in Bhatinda, the temples, gurudwaras and mosques at Faridkot, palaces in Patiala, Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar, the samadhi of Shahid Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in Ferozepur and Flag lowering ceremony at Wagah Border. Punjab experiences hot and dry summers and a cold sometimes freezing winter. The best time to visit the state would be during October to March.

श्री जटेश्वर महादेव मंदिर भाग २

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नई दिल्ली से ट्रेन ठीक टाइम पर चली और मैं सकुशल पंजाब पहुँच जाता हूँ . मित्र सम्बन्धी मेल मिलाप करने में दो दिन और निकल जाते हैं . आज चंडीगढ़ से शिव भोले की यात्रा शुरू करते हैं. जैसा आपने श्रीखण्ड महादेव यात्रा में संदीप जी के साथ शिव भोले के विशाल शिवलिंग के दर्शन किये . चंडीगढ़ से सीधे हाथ शिमला जाने पर श्रीखण्ड महादेव जी आते हैं पर उलटे हाथ जाने पर रोपड़ नाम का स्थान आता है. जहाँ से श्री जटेश्वर महादेव जी को बस मिलती है. अगर आप अपने वाहन पर हैं तो भी बहां रोपड़ से जाया जा सकता है.

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श्री जटेश्वरमहादेव मंदिर भाग १

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पायलट द्वारा घोषणा थी ” बाहर का तापमान 30 डिग्री सेल्सियस है, प्लीज़ अपने सेल फ़ोन बंद कर दें ……..” यह केथी पेसेफिक की हांगकांग से दिल्ली वाया बैंकॉक की उड़ान थी. इंदिरा गांधी अंतरराष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डे दिल्ली पर विमान धीरे धीरे नीचे आ गया था और इसे जमीन को छूने के बाद तेजी से यह चल रहा था . धीरे धीरे गति कम हु़ई और लोगों ने अपने सेल फोन शुरू कर दिए और सब व्यस्त थे. यह विमान 300 लोगों को दिल्ली ले कर आया था. कुछ मिनटों के बाद दरवाजे खोल दिए और लोग बाहर जाने शुरू हो गए .मुझे कोई जल्दी नहीं थी और मैं थोड़ा इंतजार के बाद अपना बैग ले कर बाहर की और चल पड़ा .

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घुमक्कड़ी – कुछ खट्टी…. कुछ मीठी (2)

घुमक्कड़ी – कुछ खट्टी…. कुछ मीठी (2)

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क्या है घुमक्कड़ी…
पढ़ो तो इक किताब है घुमक्कड़ी
देखो गर तो इक ख्वाब है घुमक्कड़ी
हंसो तो आसान बन जाती घुमक्कड़ी
सुनो तो ज्ञान बन जाती घुमक्कड़ी

Dear friends, in my previous post of the series, you saw how important the reminiscences are in our travelling. Many a times, we forget other details of our travellings and remember it by the sweet & sour memories of that travelling. Travelling is not simply going to some places or reaching the heights of Himalayas… when we rewind the films of our travels and see it frame by frame … we find that it has changed our life altogether. It has made us more confident, given us more tolerance, given us more strength and sometimes even changed our perspective towards life and its aim.

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Balle Balle To Amritsar!

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We got more proof of people’s devotion when we saw children happily mopping the marble steps as people left or entered the hall. Then there were volunteers who were continuously cleaning candle wax from the marble pavement, even as new visitors kept lighting more candles.

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5. Naggar (HP) and road back home via Chandigarh-Rothak-Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai

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Had it not been for the book, Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP), Naggar would not have happened. Books are still much much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an “occasional tip” and that too happens cause people speak about the content which is quite recent. Books need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008 and two years down the line nothing much had changed….

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