travelogue

Memories of Mewar (III): Udaipur, City of Lakes and Palaces.

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After visiting the Kumbhalgarh Fort, Ranakpur, the Krishna Temples at Kankroli and Nathdwara, and the Sajjan Garh Palace, we were now on the last leg of our trip to Mewar, Rajasthan, and had two full days to take in the beauty of Udaipur, the City of Lakes and Palaces. This beautiful city is also sometimes referred to as the ‘Venice of the East’, ‘Most Romantic City of India’ and ‘The Kashmir of Rajasthan’.

Udaipur was the capital of the kingdom of Mewar, ruled by the Sisodia clan of Rajputs. The founder of Udaipur was Maharana Udai Singh II, father of Maharana Pratap. Udaipur was founded in 1559, when a hermit blessed the king and asked him to build has palace at a spot on the east ridge of the Pichola Lake. In 1568, the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Chittaurgarh, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his new residence, which became the city of Udaipur. As the Mughal empire weakened over the years, the Sisodia Maharanas recaptured most of Mewar district. Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818.

After India’s independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Udaipur acceded to the Government of India, and Mewar was integrated into India’s Rajasthan state.

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Memories of Mewar (II): Kankroli, Nathdwara, and Sajjan Garh (Udaipur).

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The temple of Shrinathji at Nathdwara is among the most sacred places of worship for the followers of Lord Krishna. The idol is made of black stone and is said to have been brought here from Mathura in 1669 to protect it from the marauding Moguls under Aurangzeb’s rule.

The temple opens its doors to the public for worship seven times a day for just about half an hour each, and there is a huge crowd always waiting to rush in. Inevitably there is some pushing and jostling and you barely get a minute for darshan before you are pushed out to the exit, just like in a Mumbai local train. This makes the whole experience quite unpleasant, and the temple authorities should take the initiative to organise it in a better way. Some touts promise to get you in through the VIP channels, but they only serve as paid guides, and can do nothing when the push becomes a shove.

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Memories of Mewar (I): Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur.

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The fort is built on a hill at a height of 1100 metres and requires a considerable effort to climb to the top. But once you are in the palace at the top of the fort, also known as ‘Badal Mahal’, you are rewarded with awesome views of the forested Aravalli hills, with the Mewar region on the eastern side and Marwar region on the west. The forests surrounding the fort comprise the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary which is home to leopard, sloth bear, monkeys, wolf, jackal, sambar, peacock, jungle fowl and a host of other birds and animal species.
[caption id="attachment_94003" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Badal Mahal. Badal Mahal.[/caption]

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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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Chandigarh

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“Try the pancakes, with honey – they are good” She suggests.

I nod and add a masala tea to the order. Her phone rings while she is scanning the menu. “An omelet for me…” she rushes out of the café to talk.

I find a corner table and start scanning my mobile for morning news. The café rings with laughter suddenly and I pull my face to see some young girls giggling their way in. She’s still talking on the phone outside the door, shifting herself from one leg to other.

There’s cassia blooming outside on a tree behind her. Surprised at its own fertility his young flower laden branches are struggling against the bitter January wind. Perhaps, the nature wants to have spring early this year.

My eyes focus back to her slightly troubled face. I wonder…

The tea arrives and while I soak in its aroma, the pancakes too. They are good – these guys at Nik’s – they won’t serve the omelet until she’s here.

She comes back in pulling her warm coat closer; her face is back to her usual blank-happiness state.

“How is it?”

“Ummm… pancakes are good, masala tea is better at CCD!”

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Self-drive in Central Europe/ Alps – II (Itinerary & Car rental)

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The rule says that Schengen Visa should be sought from the country which you visit for the main business. Rule of thumb is, the country where you plan to stay for maximum period of time should be the one to issue you the Schengen. Maximum number of days rule, however, may not hold good in some cases, e.g. if you intent to spend max time in the country which is not of your main business.

In our case, we approached Czech Embassy for the visa, since we were to spend maximum period (about 6 days) there.

Schengen Visa regime has also altered the procedure for entry into EU zone. For instance, since we took a FINNAIR flight, we changed flight at Helsinki. Now, after landing at Helsinki Airport, we shifted into ‘EU Zone’ part of the terminal. So, it was here in Helsinki that we underwent immigration/custom checks. Thereafter, once in EU part, all flights within EU were like domestic flights, despite flying from one country to the next.

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The retreat of the tide

The Emerald Islands of Andaman and Nicobar-II

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Our plan was to take a government ferry to Havelock and halt there for two days. For our return journey we planned to take the Makruzz back to Port Blair. We had to wake up at 5 in the morning to catch the ferry which leaves at  6:30 am. The harbour at Port Blair is lively even at these early hours as it caters to to the goods coming in from the mainland, as well as from nearby countries like Thailand. The ferry which we were to travel on, was operated by the Shipping Corporation of India. Our reserved seats in the first class compartment akin to the Indian Railways chair car coaches made our travel comfortable. During the journey to Havelock, you are free to go on deck. Travelers can hear the soothing sound of the waves hitting the craft and enjoy the vast expanse of the ocean. The blue sea, and the green emeralds dotting them, complement each other, and add to the experience. After standing on deck for 15 minutes, we decided to get a quick nap. When we woke up, the ferry was docking at the Havelock Jetty. After getting off the ship, we were picked up by a taxi our friends had arranged.  We were dropped at our hotel, a government enterprise called the “Dolphin Hotel”. There are various grades of rooms available and it is important to reserve the rooms early.You may reserve the rooms through online payment on the website. Make sure to get a sea facing cottage. The drawback about Dolphin Hotel was  that though it was set in a nice sea-facing location, it did not have a beach.There are a multitude of options to stay at in at Havelock, which suit all budgets.

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हेरिटेज मेला

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इस फोटो में आप कैनेडा  के मूल बाशिंदों को देख सकते हैं, यह इनका पारम्परिक घर है. कुछ लकड़ी के डंडे खड़े किये और उसके इर्दगिर्द एक कपड़ा लपेटा और घर त्यार. यह अपने आप को नेटिव या ऐबओर्जिनल कहलाना पसंद करते हैं. सब से पहले यह लोग ही कैनेडा आये थे.

इस स्टाल पर घाना का नाच चल रहा है, यह जोड़ी देख कर नहीं लगता नाचना इनके बस का है शायद गीत संगीत बजा कर लोगों का मनोरंजन कर रहे हैं, नीचे वाली फोटो में मार्शल आर्ट दिखाया जा रहा है, काफी बहादुरी से मुकाबला चल रहा है,  यह लेडी आसानी से परुष को पटक देती है.

यह रशिया की स्टेज है, यह नाच का कौन सा स्टेप है, काफी प्रेक्टिस के बाद ही इसे किया जा सकता है, रशिया के लोगों को काफी महारत हासिल है  पर बाद में दूसरे नर्तक दल ने आसान न्रत्य पेश किया काफी अच्छा लग रहा है .

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Hundred in Gangtok – Part 5 (Final)

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But me and my camera was not having any desire of sleeping as I wanted to capture the beautiful Teesta river in my eyes as well in the camera lens. The views from the bus window were amazing. Early morning, cloudy weather, green high mountains and flowing Teesta; I could not ask more from the Nature. I clicked endless photographs. After some time it started raining which made the surrounding more beautiful. Around 7.30 we stopped in the middle near a small tea shop just near the banks of the Teesta. It was a great experience to have tea on the banks of Teesta while is was raining outside.

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Hundred in Gangtok – Part 4

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The very first place to visit was Tashi View Point. It was around a distance of 7 km from our hotel. It is an observation point at an altitude of 6000 ft developed be erstwhile king of Sikkim, Tashi Namgyal. On clear days in early morning, this is the best place in Gangtok to view the mighty Mount Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. One final destination still remained to visit and it was Ban Jhakhri Falls. It is a theme park surrounded by lush green forest on the outskirts of Gangtok.

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Hundred in Gangtok – Part 3

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Vehicles are not allowed on MG Marg like in most Mall Roads in any hill station. A large sign board welcomed us at MG Marg. We were completely stunned after witnessing MG Marg, the feeling was kind of a European city. Gangtok administration has developed and maintained it in very good manner. It has been divided into two lanes, one lane for one side walking. And the divider is not a typical road divider. A large number of beautiful plants with flowers give the feeling of a green belt to the divider. On both sides of divider, benches have been placed so that people can sit and enjoy their time with no hurry. I didn’t have an experience of this kind of setup before.

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Hundred in Gangtok – Part 2

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Very soon we hit the Sevoke town and surroundings change dramatically. For first time we saw mighty Teesta river as it was flowing on right side of the road. On left side of the road were hills. The view was very beautiful and everybody in the bus was astonished. It was hard to believe the change of surroundings so sudden. As the bus was moving towards Gangtok on scenic NH 31A, we were enjoying the green hills, Teesta river running side by side and also the beautiful rainy weather.

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