Jul 30, 2012

Forts of India- Maheshwar



Maheshwar is a small town in Madhya Pradesh popular for two things- an amazingly beautiful fort and stunningly beautiful hand-woven sarees. In fact, I visited Maheshwar by chance. I was looking for transportation from Mandu to Omkareshwar and happened to get off at Maheshwar per bus conductor's advice. I didn't regret, many thanks to him!

Jul 27, 2012

Colorful Skies- Sky, land and water

I took a boat ride from Gulf Course area to Ten Thousand Islands of Everglades National Park, Florida to see dolphins and other ocean wildlife. Yes, I happened to see dolphins and also those ten thousand islands! Not sure if they are really 10,000 in number but they are many. Small stripes of land covered with mangroves. Homes for plenty of birds and crocodiles.

Here is one of those islands, you see in the picture. The clouds were coming down to land on that tiny strip of land. The sky, the land and the water together make this world beautiful!
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Jul 25, 2012

Waterfalls- Alamere falls

Alamere Waterfalls ... One of the popular waterfalls in San Francisco Bay area. It flows in three cascades and empties into the ocean. How wonderful is that? The waterfalls can be reached by 10 miles (16 KM) round trip hike, part of it along the coast with beautiful views. One has to scramble down the cliffs with loose rocks to reach the bottom of the falls. It is a beach and hence it is a great picnic spot.

There are two lakes on the trailside and during springtime the whole place looks colorful with wildflowers blooming and the music of chirping birds soothes the soul!

In the picture is the first cascade during springtime!
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Jul 23, 2012

Heritage- Mandu, A Celebrartion in Stone


(Jahaaz Mahal)

Mandu is a sleepy remote big-village-or-small-town perched on the crest of Vindhya Range. Mandu is an old fortified city ruins, that dates back to 6th century. It was capital city of Rajputs, then invaded by afghans, Mughals called it a pleasure resort, then Marathas moved the capital to Dhar and the prosparity of Mandu started diminishing ... still the splendor of Mandu lives on ... I took a bus from Ujjain to Indore (71KM), then a bus to Dhar (66KM) and then to Mandu (35KM). Yeah ... long journey :) 

Jul 20, 2012

Colorful Skies- Sunrise over Mt Khangchendzonga Range

Himalayas are everyone's dream. I am not different. I envy people who live in those tiny villages cuddled in Himalayas, but they think otherwise. Even the short visits bring so much peace to the troubled-and-confused mind of city soul like me. During my a weeklong visit to Sikkim I slept early in the evening so that I could wake up early in the morning to see these magnificent mountains in the first rays of golden light! Mt Khangchendzonga, is not in the picture, which was hiding behind the thick dark blanket of clouds. It's neighbors in the range had mercy on me ... I could witness such sunrises everyday! 

Jul 18, 2012

Random Thougths- A Bridge to Unknown world

Today is 18th of July, Me the great was born on this day! God has blessed me with everything I would want ... Still, every year I make a lot of wishes and resolutions. Some wishes come true and some not. Some resolutions work and some not. I feel happy about the dreams that have come true and keep dreaming about those haven't come true yet :) I always wonder about the unseen world. How is it? what is it? always want to journey a path that leads to a completely unknown wonderful world! My dearest dream for now is Himalayas. Last year a glimpse of those magnificent peaks in Sikkim had kindled the fire which has become an obsession now!

Jul 16, 2012

Food Odyssey- Ganesh Darshan Dosa Camp, Bangalore

A few days ago (11th July) I read an article on Deccan Herald Weekly which says masala dosa is among ten dishes to try before you die! How true? I was tempted to have a post on dosas from my favorite eatery in Bangalore. Here it goes ...

Jul 13, 2012

Colorful Skies- Downpour at Denali, Alaska

Denali National Park in Alaska- is a mysterious place. Untamed and wild in every way. Weather is unpredictable! A moment of sunshine and then an hour or a day of gloom. Even in that gloom, every second there awaits a surprise! The early July sky pouring down couple of miles from where I was standing. 
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Jul 11, 2012

Back on Memory Lane- My first encounter with Sherkhan

When I say my 'first' encounter- it was few years ago. First time is always special! It was month of August and me with friends planned a trip to Kyatadevara Gudi Wilderness Camp- A unit of Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited, Karnataka. Located in the heart of Biligiri Rangaswamy Hills (BR Hills) wildlife sanctuary the resort arranges for different wildlife activities.

Seven Sacred Cities of India- Ujjain

Kashi, Kanchi, Maya, Ayodhya, Avantika
Mathura, Dwaravati chaiva saptaita mokshadayika

My Mother always talks about Seven Sacred Cities and four sacred teerthas (sacred places) of Hindu religion. So, I decided to visit those cities and places during my travel. These seven cities are Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Haridwar, Ayodhya, Ujjain, Mathura and Dwaraka. My travel to Madhya Pradesh presented me with an opportunity to visit Ujjain. I was thrilled.

Jul 9, 2012

Cities- Indore, The cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh


I was on my second adventure, touring Madhya Pradesh -solo as usual. My first destination was Indore. I took an overnight train from Vadodara and reached Indore early morning. January cold was unbearable.

Jul 6, 2012

Colorful Skies- Sunset at Pachmarhi

Pachmarhi is a very popular hill station of Madhya Pradesh. People on family vacation, newly wed honeymoon couples, bunch of college kids all of them were sitting or standing here, swatting mosquitoes, at sunset (or Forsyth) point to view this magnificent sunset of Pachmarhi.
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Jul 4, 2012

Initiatives- Save Tiger in India

Project Tiger is one of the successful wildlife conservation initiatives in India. This project was launched in the year 1973. The project formulated a plan with an ecological approach and constituted many Tiger Preserves in various bio-geographical areas all over India. These preserves have core areas where there is no human activity.

Jul 2, 2012

Food Odyssey- Madhya Pradesh

Food is one of my favorite topics! To write about and photograph :) In this Food Odyssey series I will write about some mouth watering state-wise vegetarian cuisine and street food of India. In this post it will be the food from Madhya Pradesh. Every place I have visited had something new to offer, be it a chat item, meal, sweet or just some junk snack. Everything has its own zing. It was a journey ... Every state has its own way of cooking based on the weather conditions, availability of water and vegetables, use of oil or ghee, sweets, dairy and so on ...

When in Madhya Pradesh on earlier evenings I ordered room service for dinner. Then realized I was eating the same restaurant food I could get anywhere in India. Then I started to go to nearby bhojanalayas (restaurants that serve simple local food). Most of them or I could say all of them had prefix- Shuddha Shakhahari (pure vegetarian), now that was an added bonus for me.