Delhi

Visiting Kaluk in West Sikkim

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If you are an aficionado of history, then Rabdentse is a place not to be missed if you are on a trip to West Sikkim. Located on a ridge near Upper Pelling, Rabdentse was the ancient capital of the kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. It was destroyed by the Gurkha invasion and now only the ruins of the palace remain. The remains of the palace have been declared as of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. The ruins offer panoramic views of Mt. Kanchendzonga.

Vikram dropped us at the point from where we were to trek about 1.5 km through forest to reach the ruins. A huge decorated gate leads to the trekking path. We started our journey through a stone-cobbled path through the forest. The path was narrow and dark. The forest was deep. There was not a person to be seen anywhere. It was super-thrilling!!

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Kareri Lake ~ a poetic trail

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Gaddis are basically a nomadic tribe who mainly lead a pastoral life depending on their cattle for their livelihood and wander in the high altitude alpine meadows for green and protein rich grass for their cattle and the nectar like pure water. These gaddis seem to be the happiest souls in the world without any worry cheering and living life happily in the lap of mother nature enjoying her eternal and purest beauty to the fullest. You envy at their life for a moment and then wish if you were born a gaddi, maybe in your next life…:)

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A Road Trip to Enchanting Mukteshwar

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With all the theoretical knowledge collected through blogs, we had few recommended names for our stay. We started having a look on hotels. First and the very pleasing one was MT- Mountain Trail. Ambiance/view here was awesome. After discussing about the tariffs we moved on to other hotels. We were more concerned for a captivating view rather than the tariffs. We went ahead to few more lodges along with PWD Guest house. But, we had already lost our hearts to MT. So we called back the manager and asked him to book 2 rooms for us.

We parked our car near the entrance of Mukteshwar temple and started taking a walk towards the main tourist attraction point “Chauli ki jali”. After putting in few efforts in climbing the rocks we finally reached on the top of the cliff. The cliff gave a splendid panoramic view of snow-white Himalayan ranges. Captured the “Orange- setting Sun”, did some archery. As it was getting late and the temperature started dropping with Sun, instead of going for Rock climbing we opted to just give a pose :)

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गढ़वाल घुमक्कड़ी: तपोवन – रुद्रप्रयाग – दिल्ली

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रास्ते में हम लोग लोग थोड़ी देर रुद्रप्रयाग में रुके और फिर चल दिए श्रीनगर की ओर. श्रीनगर पहुँचते पहुँचते हमें काफी देर हो चुकी थी और आज रात इससे आगे जाने का कोई साधन नहीं दिख रहा था. कोई जीप या बस मिलने की तो संभावना बिलकुल भी नहीं थी क्योंकि यहाँ हिमाचल की तरह रात को बसें नहीं चलती. ऐसे में हमारे चालक साब ने हमें रात श्रीनगर में ही बिताने का सुझाव दिया और हमें रात गुजारने का एक ठिकाना भी दिखाया. हमने ठिकाना तो देख लिया पर अब किसी का भी यहाँ रुकने का मन नहीं था और सब जल्द से जल्द घर पहुँचना चाहते थे. उत्तरांचल में वैसे तो रात को कोई वाहन नहीं चलते पर सब्ज़ी फल आदि रसद पहुँचाने वाले ट्रकों की आवाजाही रात भर चालू रहती है, सोचा क्यों ना इसे ही आजमाया जाए. आज शायद किस्मत हम पर मेहरबान थी, थोडा पूछ्तात करने पर ही हमें एक ट्रक मिल गया जो हरिद्वार तक जा रहा था. ट्रक चलने में अभी लगभग आधा घंटा बाकी था और सुबह सिर्फ आश्रम में ही भोजन किया था इसलिए एक ढाबे पर जाकर थोड़ी पेट पूजा की गई.

ट्रक पर वापस लौटे तो देखा की चालक के साथ वाली सीट पर पहले ही दो लोग बैठे हुए थे. ऐसे में वहाँ हम तीनों का एक साथ बैठना संभव और सुरक्षित नहीं था. इसलिए दोनों की बुरी हालत देखकर मैं ट्रक के पीछे चला गया जहाँ कुछ अन्य लोग पहले से ही लेटे थे. इस ट्रक के ऊपर एक बरसातीनुमा दरी थी जो शायद सब्जियों को धूल और बारिश से बचाने के लिए डाली गयी थी और नीचे खाली प्लास्टिक के डब्बे रखे हुए थे जिनमे सब्जियाँ रखी जाती हैं. इन्ही हिलते डुलते प्लास्टिक के डब्बों के ऊपर हम सभी मुसाफ़िर लेटे हुए थे. ट्रक चलने पर कुछ समय तो बड़ा मजा आया पर जैसे जैसे रात गहराती गयी और नींद आने लगी तो इन हिलते हुए डब्बों पर सोना बड़ा दुखदायी लग रहा था क्योंकि एक तो ये डब्बे आपस में टकराकर हिल रहे थे और टेढ़े मेढ़े होने की वजह से चुभ भी रहे थे. खैर मेरे लिए तो ये सब रोमांच था, लेकिन रोमांच धीरे धीरे बढ़ने लगा जब इन्द्रदेव अर्धरात्रि में जागे और हम पर जमकर मेहरबान हुए. तिरछी पड़ती हुई मोटी मोटी बारिश की बूँदे हमारे ऊपर एक शॉवर की तरह पड़ रही थी जो एक मंद मंद शीतल रात को एक बर्फ़ीली सी महसूस होने वाली रात में बदलने के लिए काफी थी. ऐसे में ऊपर रखी हुई दरी ने ठण्ड से तो नहीं पर भीगने से तो बचा ही लिया. ठण्ड में किटकिटाते हुए, बिना सोये जैसे तैसे करीब चार बजे के आस पास ट्रक चालक ने हमें हरिद्वार में एक सुनसान मोड़ पर उतार दिया. जितना दर्द मेरे शरीर में उस ट्रक में सवारी करते हुए हुआ उतना पूरी यात्रा कहीं नहीं हुआ, शरीर इतना अकड़ गया था कि ट्रक से बाहर निकलने के लिए भी हिम्मत जुटानी पड़ रही थी. ठण्ड के मारे बुरा हाल था, सुनसान गलियों से होकर गुजरते हुए हम लोग बस स्टेशन की ओर बढ़ने लगे. ऐसे में रास्ते में एक चाय का ठेला देखकर चेहरे पर कुछ ख़ुशी आयी, भाईसाब के हाथ की गर्मागरम चाय और बंद खाकर शरीर में कुछ ऊर्जा आई. फिर तो बस जल्दी जल्दी कदम बढ़ाते हुए हरिद्वार बस स्टेशन पहुँचकर, दिल्ली की बस पकड़ी तो लगभग दस या ग्यारह बजे तक दिल्ली पहुँच कर ही राहत की साँस ली. यात्रा समाप्त!

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Kinnaur-The land of apples (Part 2)

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After about two and a half hours we reached Reckong Peo,or Peo, as it is popularly known. Peo is situated at an altitude of around 2200 metres above sea level and is at the base of the Kinner Kailash massif. From here, Kalpa was a short 20 minute drive and by lunch time we reached Kalpa. Our plan was to halt at the PWD rest house, which turned out to be a cottage with an excellent view of the mountains. Staying in Kalpa can be compared to living in the lap of nature. Overlooking the Kinner Kailash range, this is one of the most picturesque  hill stations one can ever visit. This quaint town was once the headquarters of Kinnaur district before it was replaced  by Reckong Peo. The collector’s office has now been taken over by the HP Irrigation Department while the old SP office is now a small police outpost. The old building of the District Hospital is visible behind the new building of a recently constructed Primary Health Centre.  From Kalpa, one can spot the famous Shiva Linga, nestled in the middle of the Kinner Kailash massif. It is a 2 day trek from Kalpa for the strong and sturdy.

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Kolkata to Delhi drive : Part 1

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Journey from Kolkata to Delhi through the awesome Durgapur Expressway, was something I had dreamt of since the time I went to Kolkata back in August 2007. I had my plans sorted out that I will be working in Kolkata not more than 2-3 years and then when I return back to Delhi, I will do that by road. It was January 1st week, when I got an offer in hand for a job back in Delhi, and I immediately had in mind, it’s now or never.

We were all set to start on the 4th of February 2011 for Delhi from Kolkata by road in my most loveable Santro.

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A Little peace and quiet…

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If one is resides in any of the blooming cities in India, one would realize the importance of peace and quiet. Whether it is the constant buzzing of the phone or of the doorbell, there is hardly any time in one’s existence which is peaceful and quiet.

I am a frequent traveler but my travels are generally part of the business tourism category, always rushing from the hotel to the conference Center and back. It is generally a day or two that I get to spend in the city that I am in. But this time I was hell bent to get a decent holiday even if I had to drive close to 600 KM for it.
A small village, by the name of Chafi is the Center stage of this travel. It is close to 10 km from Bhimtal, which is close to Kathgodam, the nearest rail head and also the pretty much, the starting point of Real Mountains, the Himalayas.

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Of Seven Capitals and New Delhi: Chapter II – Hauz Khas Village Complex

Of Seven Capitals and New Delhi: Chapter II – Hauz Khas Village Complex

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Walking down the alleys of history, the road – Delhi Metro to be more precise – led me to Hauz Khas on an unbelievable Sunday. I say unbelievable because of the stunning clear blue sky which is a rare sight in Delhi especially during winter. Hauz Khas Village is part of many capitals but is best known as important site for: Siri and Firuzabad, with Siri being the third capital city and Firuzabad the fifth official capital and last of the Sultanate of Delhi.

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Of Seven Capitals and New Delhi: Chapter I – Rai Pithora & Mehrauli

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Qutub Minar of yore was entered through its four monumental gates of which only the Southern one renowned as Alai Darwaza remains standing till date. Along the western periphery of the precinct runs a giant wall with pointed archways, creating a ‘Qibla’ or the decorated prayer wall. There are several buildings in the complex most of which lay in ruins except for the exquisitely carved tomb of Iltutmish which is still in fairly good state. The structure of note inside the complex includes the magnificent Qutub Minar, Ala al-Din Khalji’s madrasa and the Imam Zamin Mosque.

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Paradise on Earth-Jammu and Kashmir (Part 2)

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These floating pieces of land are used by the landowners to do some kitchen gardening and are bound to the floor of the lake through a long pole. The boatman informed us that often these floating pieces of land are stolen in the stealth of the night and the police are left with no alternative but to register a case of ‘stolen land’!

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