the Wayfarers

Neemrana

2010-08-06T16:44:00.009+05:30

A rather ideal weekend getaway from Delhi, Neemrana is known for its fifteenth century charm. Approximately a two-and-a-half hour drive from Delhi, on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, it doesn't seem as though it's two states away! Delhi bid us goodbye with a pleasant shower after days of scorching heat, and the only eventful occurrence on the road was my first sight of a line of orange-clad people carrying glittery puja stuff on the pilgrimage to Haridwar. KFC burgers took care of any hunger pangs, and I barely had time to settle in and do something productive during the drive before it was over.

The Neemrana Palace Hotel/ Neemrana Fort Palace is the major attraction of the place. As the name suggests, it's a fort from 1464 AD that has been converted into a heritage hotel. The Neemrana Group (Neemrana "non hotel" Hotels is what they call themselves) has, in fact, taken on several such projects across the country and have several successes to their name, from the glass structure near the Ganga to villas in Kerala.

After a bumpy drive up a dilapidated lane leading to the fort-palace (which we missed the first time) came a very steep climb uphill to the reception area, where we stopped to catch our breath. Our rooms were called Kailash and Ambar Burj, very quaint in a tower-like structure with a verandah, narrow staircases and a "terrace"! Me and bro took a fancy to the top room (we have a thing for stairs) and he couldn't stop talking about how this was such a "feel place". Ha. I kind of expected that, having done my research as with every trip :) And the view from the terraces was glorious. In the evenings, the whole place is lit up with tiny lights that make me think of Diwali, and there's a cultural Rajasthani folk performance for the guests at the Hawa Mahal. A more special one on Saturday evenings. Before beginning, they poured rose petals on our heads. Strange, but not disagreeable! The performance was quite engrossing though I freaked out when he started grabbing audience members to dance with.

The palace has much to explore, and is being re-done in many parts with new rooms and things being constructed. I'm not sure how I feel about that - kind of takes away from the historicity, but I guess they know what they're doing. The decor is quite nice overall with antique furniture and paintings, but of course many parts have the converging of the ancient and the modern, what with a swimming pool, loungers, jacuzzi, a spa, conference rooms, a gym, and so on. There's also a beautiful amphitheater, and endless passages, staircases, and surprises. We got lost before breakfast, and they thought it'd be fun to change the dining area with every meal, every day. So kind of a treasure hunt every time you want to eat. Not fun. The food at the end of it was good, though. Especially the non veg dishes and desserts. I sampled pasta, salads, baked veggies, potato gratin, cheese rolls, mutton do piaza, omelettes, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, three kinds of ice cream, cherry gratin, almond pie, khara, chocolate pie and I forget what else. This is over six meals, of course. I love buffets.

As far as entertainment goes, exploring is the major activity around here. I finally had a chance to use my rusting camera, after days of un-inspiration. (Please don't steal the photos in this post. I will sue you.) There is also a step-well or "baori" nearby which we couldn't find. Trekking is another option. You can also borrow books and movies from the reception, and there's an LCD in the TV lounge (Nazara Mahal). Till a few years ago, hot air balloon rides would've been an option. Boo. There's also zipping with Flying Fox, for Rs 1600 per person (on the spot booking) - five zip trails - an aerial tour.

As for us, we just watched movies, talked, read, explored and set aside leisure time to roll around in the springy beds. Much needed.

Another Note

2010-07-22T01:11:00.003+05:30

Nothing, nothing seems to be able to prevent this blog from lapsing into a comatose state. Well, other than the utter lack of interest and travel, of course. Today I found an article - well, a page from an article - torn from Cosmopolitan which I've had for years. It's the story of a woman who sold all of her possessions barring the basics, and set off on a globetrotting extravaganza starting with a one-way ticket to Frankfurt. My dad said I would never get a Visa if I decided to purchase a one-way ticket to any place. Ideas?

In any case, I believe this was the very article that first gave me the travel itch. Or at least made it a lot stronger. Now that I'm finally taking the awaited year-long break, travel was supposed to be on the agenda. Nothing fancy, of course...money makes the world go round. But hopefully I'll get around a bit somehow. Until then, maybe blog posts on a few other places - student and university towns, perhaps - wouldn't be a bad idea.

Have a look at this article by Paulo Coelho - I believe it's from Like a Flowing River - and I particularly find the first point interesting. Definitely not something I would have thought of.

A Note

2009-02-19T16:13:00.003+05:30

I realise that "Lose Yourself in Lansdowne Part II" never happened. But I did write a compact account here, so do check it out. More soon, photos if nothing else, as soon as the current workload decreases. :|

Ciao!

Italian Fantasies : Part 2

2009-01-04T14:48:00.005+05:30

Continued from here

After witnessing the amazingly beautiful Piazzale Michelangelo, we had dinner at the International Ashoka Restaurant and retired for the night at Hotel Nuovo Londra in Montecatini Terme E Tettuccio. We reached the hotel at around 10:15 PM, and were almost immediately tucked into our beds after the tiring but equally wonderful day.

The next morning, we got up early at 5:00 AM, and after a delightful and refreshing one hour walk, we got ready, had breakfast and left for Rome. En route, we stopped over for a bite at AutoGrill. My mouth waters even now when I think of the undescribable pasta. Somehow we managed to convince ourselves to not devour the complete joint and moved on.

We reached Vatican City at 4:00 PM and saw the St.Peter's Basilica, boasting of the biggest dome of the world and home to Pope (then John Paul II). The dome was also designed by Michelangelo. Funnily enough, even our bus driver was named John Paul, so we ended up calling him Pope. The tour of the Basilica was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had, yet. You simply couldn't ignore anything, especially St. Peter's 'Mummy', a Bronze statue whose feet are touched to wash away one's sins, the Holy Door, which only opened for great celebrations, and Pietà, Michelangelo's famous sculpture showing Virgin Mary sitting peacefully with Christ's dead body in her lap.

The Bronze Statue

Amusing was the uniform of the Swiss Guards. You just couldn't resist smiling at the fresh and colorful dresses that they wore. Exitting the Vatican, we had a panoromic tour of the city of Rome - went around Victoria Memorial, Mussolini's Palace, the Colosseum, the Opera, Constantine's Arch and Trevi Fountain, where we finally halted, to admire it's beauty, and of course, to toss a coin and make a wish :D. From there, we had a walking tour of the Spanish-square-steps, and later went on to the Fashion Street.

Trevi Fountain

Swiss Guards

Finally, after having dinner, we drove to Hotel Ibis Accor (Roma Tor Vergata) and checked in by 11:00 PM. From the balcony of our room, we witnessed an amazing group dance event in a nearby ground where, youngsters and oldies alike, danced with absolute coordination, as a local band played. We tried, but in vain, to keep pace with the troupe in our balcony itself. A little later, we were already asleep.

Dabbas, Alibaug and Blogposts

2008-09-14T18:49:00.003+05:30

My friend Sporadicblogger has very benevolently taken pity on the comatose state of this blog and permitted me to borrow this post. The original post is from here.

***

I just came back from a trip to Alibag (the ‘u’ was just for style) and I’m struggling to stop the words. From a drought to a flood (in my head, atleast…) and I’m lovin’ it :)

Last Saturday, some of us from class sat around in the basketball court, well fed from a nearly canteen, talking about work. And obviously the topic strayed to things un-work and we came up with the bright idea of making a class trip of Alibag. Actually, it went like this: “I’ve heard Alibag is a nice place-” “We should go there some time-” “How about next saturday?” (Yep. With the dashes.)

So fifteen of us made the journey-but only six came back.

*Dramatic pause*

Tee hee. The rest pushed off early because they wanted to take the 4.15 ferry back to Mumbai. We, on the other hand, decided to chance the MSRTC.

Ah, the MSRTC. It is THE way to travel. The very act of entering one exposes you to potential damage, in multiple ways, multiple times. They are the triple D- dirty, dangerous dabbas-and I love them.

Indian buses come personalised. Every journeyman* considers it a bounden duty to leave behind a mark to commemorate the journey. And comes suitably equipped with multi-coloured sketch pens. Creative.

I have always had bad luck with crank calls. Neither have I ever been able to make a successful one, nor have I ever had the opportunity of giving any interesting replies. Some people, on the other hand, hit the jackpot. Imagine having an STD crank caller ask you where you are…and being able to say- in the middle of the sea, on a tonga. I mean, if I were the crank caller, I would hang up my boots. You can’t better that. Especially when it is the truth.

The sea, once, very famously parted for Moses. So what, right? The sea parts twice, daily, for all visitors to the Colaba Fort. (Obviously I’m taking some poetic liberties here. But hey, so were they.)

The Fort houses a small community of pujaris who maintain a temple on the the premises-the only structure still left standing-or made to remain standing-and the journey is unforgettable. When you’re on the horse drawn cart (which almost seems to double as a ferry!) and can see the sea ahead of you and behind you, it can be-quite unique. It is one of those things that ought to fill the pages of Things-To-Do-Before-One-Dies kind of books. Unless ofcourse I’m completely unaware of other such structures around. Ooh, quite close to the Colaba fort lie the-ruins?- of another fort which has a temple dedicated to Betaal- the king of ghosts, if I’m not mistaken. Now THAT I want to visit!!:D:D

Anyway, simply put, or rather, simbly put-the day was marrvellouz.

Random, uninformed wandering in the galis of a strange town.

Drinking a cola (after ages, and as an exception. I’m still off those things) and watching lawyers at a nearby courthouse. Dressed in black suits in the scorching heat, while I was in shorts. (Poor things. Can’t they rebel against the ridiculous and asinine dress code??)

Splicing open various parts of my feet and hand on underwater rocks (Ok, I just wanted to use the word. But yeah, those underwater rocks can be mean! I have a few nasty-ish cuts on the sole of my foot and on a finger.) in a bid to see a crab (which scuttled away and remained unseen).
Getting a real glimpse of underwater life for the first time. Tiny shells…with creatures in them. Tiny holes, and pretty patterns on the beach. Made presumably by baby crabs?

Watching a moth explode out of the head of the person sitting in front of me. (Allow me the dramatic inaccuracies.) And feeling like a King because I pretended that the man had a thought which the moth caught and flew away with(it sounds better in hindi). I haven’t had an idiotic thought like that in quite a while now- so I know I haven’t completely lost It.

Feeling the beginnings of a blogpost(I can stretch the term a little…) in my head and getting all pukey because of typing it out on the cell, on a moving MSRTC DDD.

Reaching home, tired and dirty, tentatively hoping to have turned a corner. In life, and otherwise.

I love Alibaug.

*used gender-neutrally

Italian Fantasies : Part 1

2008-06-05T16:36:00.003+05:30

Italy holds a special place in my heart. And its not limited to the idolization of Italian Mafia and Omerta. Its not limited to Carlo Gambino. Its not limited to Mario Puzo. Its not limited to Michelangelo. Not to Rome, Julius Caesar or the Vatican City.

Somehow, Italy has always been the place for me. Everything about the country is fantastic. No offence to Mahabharata, but even the myths. That's why learning Italy would be one of the destinations of our europe tour of 2003 almost made me ecstatic.

We entered Italy at Como on 3rd June 2003 from the Switzerland border and, despite the luring landscapes, continued on to reach Pisa at 3:30 PM. The place with the leaning tower, if you don't know already, that is. The best part about Italy is- the architecture is simply amazing. The cathedral and the tower were stunning. We strayed beside the marvelous structures for almost two hours while the guide kept blabbering about how the foundation on one side gave way partially leading to this famous mistake.

After getting the usual "I'm holding Pisa Tower" photo clicked, we left at around 5:30 pm and reached Piazzale Michelangelo (More commonly known as Michelangelo Point to us foreigners. Video Tour) at 7:00 PM. This place is a magnificent square atop a small hill near Florence, from where you can view the complete city. It was designed in 1869 by Giuseppe Poggi as a tribute to the great artist Michelangelo and showcases a copy of one of Michelangelo's greatest works, the bronze (nude) David, in the centre. That, and the view, makes just the perfect landscape.

Here are some pics courtesy Google Image Search. I'll try to find some pics from the actual trip and post them soon.

Continued Here

Lose Yourself in Lansdowne - Part 1

2008-06-03T15:28:00.005+05:30

"Preparing" for our trip to Lansdowne was anyhting but easy, simply because of the scarcity of information. It's got to be the first time the internet hasn't overloaded me with unwanted (or wanted, for that matter) details. So, for a family that likes its vacations as organised as possible, we didn't have much to start off with. We knew (roughly) the route to be followed, and the approximate duration (6 hours supposedly, but don't let them fool you). Fortunately there were enough indicators to prompt us to book a place to stay before we left, so we reserved a room in the hotel Fairydale (what a quaint name!). A good decision, since there are hardly any facilities for tourists in this small town that serves as the headquarters for the Garhwal Rifles.

So anyway, we left on the 26th of May at 4.30 pm (a grave, grave mistake, as it turned out), following the route Delhi-Meerut (bypass)-Mawana-Bijnor-Najibabad-Kotdwar-Lansdowne. Not as easy as it looks. We stopped for a bite at Big Bite (sheesh), a really nice eatery on the Delhi-Meerut bypass, (though there's also a Natthu's (!) and a CCD up ahead, which we obviously discovered only after we were well stuffed). In any case, the journey was pretty uneventful despite the dark, and warnings of dacoits along the way (I wish we'd met some, it would've been so exciting! Don't worry, I was well prepared. I planned to hit them hard on the nose with an umbrella). Uttar Pradesh is pretty infamous for its (lack of) road signs, because of which we lost our way several times. And the people we asked for directions were equally confusing; we got convoluted explanations like "go straight ahead till you reach the end of the road, then keep going straight (how do you go straight when you've reached the end of the road?) till you come to a fork with two roads inclined at 45 degrees to each other..." Bleh.

The hills started after Kotdwar, and so did the bumpy ride uphill. The roads were enough to make anyone roadsick, they were probably worse than usual because of the recent storms and rains. And worse, they didn't have any markers or directions. Dangerous when you're climbing in the inky darkness, like ~~fools~~ we were. Anyway, we feasted on the sight of the flaming orange half-moon that hung in the sky slightly below us, and lost our way several times, went through the (dead) "city" (a fancy name for what I would call the marketplace), and finally reached our destination at 1.30 (six hours, my foot). Whew, relief! The chilly night air jogged our senses as we were shown to our (quaint) room and went off into a blissful slumber.

To be continued...

Passion for Learning on a Winter's Day

2008-03-07T09:04:00.012+05:30

On 19 January 2008, my friends and I visited Boston for a day. We fought our way through the chilly winds to Harvard and MIT, hoping to soak up the passion in the air. The climate did not particularly make for sparkling photos, but these will remind me of a memorable day, full of bravery and inspiration.

MIT buildings in their charming aura....

A special hug for the architect... Aren't these buildings adorable, leaning away from their rigid self to reach out to us?
I wish this place was my playground...

MIT in the backgruond... in my background.

Picower Institute of learning and memory... a hallowed place to me.

Male energy.

No, I don't have horns or light-bulbs sticking out of my head.

As we entered Harvard, there was someone special to welcome us with dynamic energy.
Library @ harvard

The road to Boston.

We are in a starbucks, relishing the delicious smell of fresh coffee and the enchanting energy.

"The deeper the roots, the higher the reach."@starbucks ... Now I know where to look for a wellspring of wisdom.

A Letter from Sweden

2007-12-28T20:48:00.003+05:30

Here's a letter to me from my sis when she was vacationing in Sweden.

June 2005, Sweden

Hey!! Finally laid my hands on a computer... Well, I've been having fun so far in Firangland, sort of a rollercoaster ride as it is my first trip abroad and that too.. alone! So I'm basically exploring on my own.

It's been a week since I got here and it feels like just a day. Where do I start from..there are so many things..to begin with, when I was about to land at the Stockholm airport, I found it very odd that there were hardly any signs of people living there...there were a few clusters of homes I could see, and roads but very few vehicles. It was mostly forest and alot of lakes. Finally reached my destintion and what do I see?…no people! The airport was empty except for a few people working there and the passengers from my flight. Sweden is a country with a total population of 8 million people! That explains the scantily populated capital city.

To start with, what one really thinks as soon as one comes to the city is that it is simply beautiful.. the natural beauty..all simple things like trees, animals, flowers... the air i so clean... you can drink water stright from the tap...so many small things which make this city great. I am really in awe of the beauty around me.. Sweden is called the City on Water because there are so many lakes. People have their boats for sailing and in winter, the lakes freeze and are used for ice skating and other sports. What I really took time to adapt to was the daylight...yea, daylight. Its light till 9.30 in the evening! Its nice but I wonder if its time to sleep or not as I'm so used to the normal getting dark back in motherland..if it was the same in India, the phrase 'be back before dark' would be taken in a better sense..!!

In the town area, there are various big shops which are nice to see. There are also many museums and even more coffee shops...I really wonder how they all survive. There's literally one leaving 2-3 shops and in all streets. In the town you finally see more people (!). Street food here is French hotdog. Well its good but I do miss my dose of vada paö.. whereever Indians go, I guess they cannot live without the masala food. Talking of food, I really am liking it. Its very different and I thought I would get sick of it...but, so far so good.

The day before I went to the opera...I saw the real thing finally to curb my habit of imitating those opera singers. People say it is a very powerful experience and I certainly agree. I saw it in Italian.."Adina's Diner"...didn't understand a word of what they were singing...luckily I had a booklet which explained it all! The Swedish Royal Opera House is quite famous. The interior is extremely beautiful with royal furnishings, sculptures, paintings on the walls...one would feel out of place if not dressed appropriately. The crowd there...very few youngsters..mostly there were the real appreciating, old, elegantly dressed couples...and several similar single old women..it was a memorable visit.

In the past week I've been dining with relatives and friends, and time has just flown. Language is a major problem as most instructions, be it booklets, t.v, etc are all in Swedish. People don't speak in English unless spoken to. (This problem was huge for me in Paris, too, where I had a couple of hours for sight seeing...) . Am going for a party tomorrow, so will get a taste of the night life for the first time. Another thing I'm looking forward to seeing is the graduation party...its a huge celebration here when kids graduate from school. Everyone in the family participates, preparations are done on a large scale...

Flying away...

2007-09-30T01:33:00.000+05:30

The realization did not set in even WHILE we drove to my aunt’s place near the International airport. I was unruffled as we lost our way to the airport into a dark, narrow and semi-broken lane, led by a policeman with an uncanny smile… and decided that the drunken rickshaw-walah who forbade us to take this route, was indeed right. I sat through the journey, oblivious of the imminent separation… The conscious awareness of any such event seemed to glide through my thoughts easily, like sand over silk… the silk shirt that my mother had me stitched with such love. Thinking we were dangerously lost, my brother started panicking, giving me a glimpse of his usually (properly) veiled concern and care for me. We got back on the highway and did reach the airport.

I walked with the baggage into the gate, lubricated with the certainty that my parents had a pass. After some hassle over the few extra kilos in my bags, I passed through the customs. An officer explained the next procedure.

I said, “Right. You watch over my luggage and I will be right back.”

“Wait Surabhi, You need to take the luggage with you”, said my father.

Even though the humid night air of August 31^st was warm, I froze. I stared at them, a funny sight I believe.

“There is a whole hour left for the flight”, I said, with a self-assured, but quivering voice.

“That’s right. She won’t go now!” added my mother.

“I think its time to go,” said my father.

I agreed, even thought no part of me did.

I picked up my bag and walked on, concentrating on my steps, simultaneously unmindful of walking. The lump in my throat tightened. Now my family was behind a glass wall through which they called me back to give the last-minute-advice and goodbyes. What do you expect? I would enter into rib-breaking hugs and overwhelming kisses? I would say words that would etch my love in their minds? Throughout the flight I thought that I should tell those people who thought that I was brave to fly across seven seas, all alone in pursuit of my dreams, that I did not have the courage to part with my family. And, I didn’t. I saw images of rushing to my family and stubbornly refusing to leave. I wiped away these visuals. I gulped down the looming tears that threatened to devour me and walked on, not allowing myself the just-one-more glimpses of my smiling family. Even the compassionately curious tears of the old, overweight man at the ticket counter couldn’t spill me over. Even though my eyes acquired a crimson hue and my face was ungracefully puffed up, I did not shed a tear. [I am punching the air Brett Lee style]

I was fascinated with the grand planes waiting to take off. I can never cease to marvel at the power of human creation and innovation. I was on a flight after a long hiatus and as the plane ambled towards the runaway, I thought that there was no way it could lift into the air. Then the engines revved and I swept into the take-off, feeling immensely empowered… imagining my pursuits rise with equal energy… When the plane would make a turn mid-air, I could see my country laden with jewels like a bride, twinkling in silent ecstasy. The sight was breathtaking. [I did see you Nidhi, amidst the string of lights]. We quickly gained altitude and lost temperature. I admired, yet again, that beyond the comfortable space that we had built for our protection, it was -67degrees.

I sat between two aging gentlemen. One of them helped me stack my oversized handbag into the luggage rack. However, he did not show much courtesy when he ignored the presence of a lady, drank red wine at 3am. I hardly cared as I went to sleep soon with the headphones lying on my lap. In the morning, I saw “Salaam Namaste” as I had my breakfast.

Before I left India, my mother had showed necklaces to choose from. I had chosen one with a locket depicting a symbol of God.

I was wearing a somewhat high-necked T-shirt, which often concealed my locket. Interestingly, Peer closely to find that this symbol is exactly the opposite of the swastika such that it may be converted to the other only by erasing or breaking its structure. This reaffirms the sanctity of this symbol that is often used in Rangolis during festivals.

Interestingly, I was going to America via Frankfurt. However, at that time, I had absolutely no clue what the “(d)evil” swastika was. All's well that ends well... I did not get arrested.The world is growing up!

My impression of the sheer vastness of the Frankfurt Intl Airport is enhanced by the fact that it was largely deserted at 7:00 am in the morn (except the New York terminal). I had a coffee for $5. I calculated that one could buy a meal for two for an equivalent amount ~~back~~ ~~home.~~ [These two words incite uncontrolled impulses.] Well, I was thirsty and decided not to subject my brain to the menace of comparison.An insignificant yet amusing incident happened. A female airport official said to me, “Hello, sir, after which she apologized profusely, “OH! That was a big mistake!”.

A 3-hour wait churned out a poem and a writing piece. I saw a man wearing tight, red pants, strip[ed red shirt and a red hat. His additional rosy complexion convinced me that he was the brother of Little Red Riding Hood.

I boarded a gigantic plane of the US Airways. I had a range of movies, documentaries and songs to choose from. For the first few hours of the 8.5 hour flight, I watched the pure-white clouds float leisurely, forming a tender carpet underneath the background of a serene blue sky. In the sacred heights, I sensed the power of purity, the delight in lightheartedness and the extent of abundance of love.

Chicken Soup

2007-07-13T17:46:00.000+05:30

An important part of being a traveller is reading about travel, be it brochures describing the place, travel magazines, or about experiences of fellow travellers. This book is a truly heartwarming collection of stories from the world over, from Cuba to China to USA, describing the experiences of travellers, what led to their decisions, the risks they took and the bonds they formed with people from the other end of the globe.
Read it, it's worth it!

New7Wonders

2007-07-10T15:33:00.000+05:30

So the New Seven Wonders of the World were announced on 7th July 2007 in a star-studded ceremony at Lisbon. Although debatably not the "best", the decision's made. As for me, well, I'd only ever heard of three of them, so here's more: (Source: Wikipedia)

Taj Mahal, India: A mausoleum of white marble located in Agra, India. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. In 1983 the Taj became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." For more information, see Wikipedia.

The Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. That wall was much further north than the current wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.
The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more information, see Wikipedia.

Machu Picchu, Peru: Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu Old Peak; sometimes called the "Lost City") is a pre-Columbian city created by the Inca Empire. It is located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) on a mountain ridge. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", since 1983 the site has been designated as a World Heritage Site. For more information, see Wikipedia.

Ruins of Petra, Jordan: Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. Burgon had not actually visited Petra, which remained accessible only to Europeans accompanied by local guides with armed escorts until after World War I. The site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 when it was described as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." For more information, see Wikipedia.

Statue of Christ Redeemer, Brazil: Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 38 m (105 feet) tall, weighs 700 tons and is located at the peak of the 700-m (2296-foot) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park. As well as being a potent symbol of the Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. For more information, see Wikipedia.

Chichen Itza, Mexico: Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Archaeological data, such as evidence of burning at a number of important structures and architectural complexes, suggest that Chichen Itza's collapse was violent. According to the American Anthropological Association, the actual ruins of Chich'en Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately-owned by the Barbachano family. For more information, see Wikipedia.

The Colosseum, Italy: The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre is a giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.

The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century — well after the traditional date of the fall of Rome in 476. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building eventually ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such varied purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.
Although it is now in a severely ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is one of the finest surviving examples of Roman architecture. It is one of modern Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession to the amphitheatre each Good Friday. For more information, see Wikipedia.

Chasing Tigers

2007-07-02T18:52:00.000+05:30

In November 2005 I visited Ranthambore, a wildlife-sanctuary or natural park or nature reserve whatever. We stayed in the delightfully quaint Leopard Suite (had hooks on the wall (for lanterns?) and low small windows and tiny barred openings high up to poke guns through (obviously not these days. India isn't the hunter's paradise anymore)) at Jhoomar Baori. It's a brick fort kinda thing, named so because there's supposed to be a baori (step-well) nearby, which, try as we might, we couldn't find.

We went for the safari at 6.30 a.m the next day (it was c-o-o-old) but the safari itself was kinda bumpy fun. A canterfull (canter: open vehicle seating about 20) of Gujaratis and three firangs and us, half of the Gujaratis screaming and the other half still sleeping. We saw langurs, deer (spotted cheetal and plain sambhar), peacocks and peahens, parrots, and something that was either a fox, wolf, jackal or hyena (no one knows which). We wished the other animals were more like the deer; they weren't running from us, they were actually posing for the camera. Show offs.

So anyway, a tigress and her cubs had been sighted the previous day so by early afternoon we arrived at the spot. Under the flaming (literally) sun, we waited for ages, and then finally begged the Gujaratis to move on (tigers very obviously don't come to show off for nasty loud cree-turs), but they were adamant. "Why should we move? We won't move. We've come all the way from our beloved Gujarat just to see a tiger. Why should we move? We won't move." Fine then.

After awhile, though, they decided the tigers didn't wanna come out (duh) and vented their frustration on passing canters by telling them the tiger was up ahead. Half got excited and moved on to see the non-existant thing. The other half tried to fool us by saying they'd seen a tiger's tail. I wonder where the rest of it was.

In the evening, we got special permission to go see Jogi Mahal (visitors are normally not allowed there. I wonder why....hmm...) . From the parking of Ranthambore Fort, we were escorted up to Jogi Mahal by an armed guard. It's just got four rooms for forest officers to rest in, and a very very old, huge banyan tree (India's largest), and a very pretty lake view. But why all the hype? We had only wanted to go there to visit the library that my dad told me about, but we learned upon arrival that it doesn't exist anymore.

Then up to Ranthambore Fort (they closed the gate at 5 p.m. so we had to squeeze through a dog-flap kinda thing. Well, almost.) and we were out by 5.30 sharp because they threatened to close the dog flap then and we really didn't want to stay there all night. I didn't think it was very great anyway; just loads of pointless climbing that succeeded in utterly exhausting me.

So that's that. All in all, I think they were pretty fun three days.

Thankas

2007-07-01T14:59:00.000+05:30

Nestled in the streets of Bhaktapur, a kingdom in Nepal, is the Lama Thanka Painting School. It was by a lucky chance that we got to see it, for the guide we hired was a student of the school himself.

Small yet cosy, we were greeted by students and treated to a choice of these wonderfully colorful Tibetian paintings that make Nepal famous the world-over. Made with natural colors, by crushing stones with yak skin, and 24-carat gold, these fine, detailed and pretty works come in three types: Mandala, Wheel of Life and Life of Buddha. Personally, the Wheel of Life is my favorite (extremely entertaining). But be forewarned, these paintings are astonishingly expensive, even direct from the manufacturers. Being the able bargainer that he is, my dad managed to get three for a total of Rs. 2000.

1. Kalachakra Mandala: (Statutory warning: If you don't understand the contents of the following, which you probably won't, check out http://www.thangkapainting.com/) This is basically a Tantra repersenting five chapters dealing with 3 kalachakras-the external, internal and alternative. The figure stretched out in the mandala is the symbol of the cosmic universe through which humans pass after being delivered from suffering of psychic pain (and attain nirvana).
2. Life of Buddha: This depicts the story of his life (duh) from his birth in Lumbini (southern Nepal) 2500 years ago, through his life of isolated royal splendour and awakening to suffering , meditation, nirvana (internal peace) to finally his leaving of this world aged 81, having exhausted his human body for the sake of all sentient beings.
3. The Wheel of Life: It is the wheel of existence-- the endless life cycle of humans, believed to have been drawn by the Buddha himself. A demon identified as Yama (God of Death) clutches the whole wheel. In the centre are a pig, snake and cock(sins of ignorance, anger, lust). The rest is too complicated (basically about lower and higher levels of existence), demigods at the top (happy realms) and wretched realms at the bottom (blah) and the outer rim has 12 scenes depicting chain of cause and effect. But all forms of existence, even gods, are shown as transient and that's why the wheel is held in the claws of death (pleasant, huh??).

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

2007-06-19T19:11:00.000+05:30

There are three things about Darjeeling : the view, the view and the view. The majestic Kanchenjunga can be seen from all parts of the town........ and somehow you never get enough of it...... they appear to be somewhere in the sky, and their sheer size is enhanced by the fact that they are so close, you could almost reach out and touch them.

The best months to visit Darjeeling( derived from the word Dorje means the land of the lightning) are the months of October and November. In April, the monsoon is just beginning to set in, and a mist drifts into the valley during the later part of the day. So the best time for viewing the mountains are the early hours of the morning. That said and more importantly, seen, there are many other places in Darjeeling to visit too.

1) Johr Pokhri : This lake was once the source of all water to the city of Darjeeling. Now it serves no practical purpose, except as a tourist spot also ideal for viewing mountains. An Adishesha like figure has also been erected in the remnants of the reservoir.

2) Tea gardens : Tea gardens can be seen all around Darjeeling. They are like little dunes, except that they are covered with tea trees rather than made of sand !!! Mound after mound appear to the eye, and they prayer flags fluttering in the wind add to the scenic beauty.

3) Buddhist monasteries : Even though Darjeeling is situated in West Bengal, rather than a Bengali influence, the Tibetan and Nepal culture dominates here. Indeed, the favourite gemstones for jewelery are coral and turquoise, and more people worship the Buddha rather than the Hindu gods. Thus, there are a number of monasteries in and around Darjeeling such as the Ghoom monastery, the monastery near Mirik lake and so on. The symbols most commonly found in these monasteries are the chakra and the deer.

4) Himalayan mountaineering Institute and Zoo : About 2kms from the city of Darjeeling ( 3 hills about, to be precise; since the only way to access the 2 places is to walk) are these 2 beautiful attractions. the mountaineering institute records a history of all the expeditions ever undertaken to conquer Everest and other mountains, maps the mountain ranges all over the world, and also offers courses at beginner,intermediate,and expert levels in mountaineering. The zoo aims at not just displaying, but also at the conservation and preservation of some endangered species like the red panda, the snow leopard, the white tiger,etc. Cut into the hill side, and thereby preserving the natural habitat, this zoo is a delight to visit !!!!!

5) Rock garden : This beautiful garden is an imitation Japanese garden built over a waterfall which one of the many streams that later joins the Ganges. When we arrived there, it was pouring rain, but that made the experience all the more fun, especially while crossing each of the 5 bridges built over each level of the waterfall !!! And don't forget the view of the Ties ta river along the way !!!

6) Kalimpong is famous for : ITS ORCHIDS !!! Yes, its orchids....... though that not might be the most appropriate term to use; but that's how the locals call it. These orchids are in fact exotic varieties of cacti, which flourish in the weather of kalimpong. Stored in numerous greenhouses, these cacti are grown here throughout the year. I went into raptures of delight on seeing them, for who ever heard of flowering cacti ???!!!!!

Well, i ceratinly had a great time in darjeeling ! So if you're looking for a good holiday, head for darjeeling........... And if I know Kriti well, here's where she'll be going next !!!!!!!...........

Kerela Days

2007-06-19T17:13:00.001+05:30

I went to Kerela after the tenth boards and posted all about that trip in our ex-blog Bloggerinas!!! But its here now, too, becuase thats no longer a public blog. Note the weak style of writing but don't comment on it, as i was only(!) fifteen then.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Mission Kerela

I’m doing an inspection of Kerela to see if it’s Menon-friendly, genius-compatible, superb-English-tolerable, laughter-saturated enough for her friendliness Rajitha or not. I’ll be gauging its HPD (happiness per day) & SPM (special poetic moments) levels.
I’ll also measure the JF (Jokes Frequency) and PTQ (Peace& Tranquility Quotient).
I’m leaving tomorrow and will be back on Sunday afternoon.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Green

Is all I can see. Starting from the moment our plane broke through the cloud cover over Kochi, on way to Ernakulam, then to Munnar and finally in Madupetty. Its proper communication with nature. Forests are as dense as they should be. Trees are as full of leaves as they should be. And leaves as green and fresh as they should be. I’ve heard green is relaxing for the mind and eyes and I shall be surprised if I see anyone with spectacles here. Little wonder, its called God’s own country.
Yes, I’ve been to Ernakulam, the town to be bestowed with the honour of having HF Rajitha live there, and aloes the town where we had to pay the rent for our taxi.
Ernakulam is to Kochi what Gandhinagar is to Ahmedabad, Guwahati is to Dispur and Rome is to Vatican City. They are twin/neighbouring cities. Of whatever I was able to see, it’s the loveliest place ever.
But Kerela better beware. I don’t form conjectures easily.
One piece of advice, if you intend traveling by Indian Airlines, carry your own blankets. The IA blankets are so thin; you’re warmer without them
I’ve also been reading Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, which I chose over Deception Point (which I’m hoping someone would lend me) in the airport bookshop.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

T

T for tremendous
T for tranquility
T for terrific
T for tea!
Obviously! Tea gardens are to Munnar what dust is to Delhi; they’re all over, on each and every hill low enough. Believe me, row after row of small, sturdy 100-year-old tea shrubs make exceedingly pretty site. And every time you pass a tea factory, the delicious aroma of freshly prepared tealeaves overwhelms your senses. All the gardens here are owned by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company Private Limited (whew!) (It was Tata tea till during our boards)
We went to a tea museum after spending the morning in the market at Munnar (which so reminded me of Shillong. Apart from photos and stuff from Britishers’ times and a burial pot from the Iron Ages (not nice; they buried corpses in pots), there was a mini tea factory, which was really interesting. Then we went to Rajamala (king of mountains); an national park, to see, don’t laugh, bakrian! No, really! These goats are actually called Nilgiri Tahr and this was one of only two populations in the country. Here’s a rare and endangered species. We saw a herd-a group of pretty blue things. Apart from that, the drive was pretty good (the driver speeding across blind turns so reminded me of a particular roller-coaster ride involving seven complete 360 degree inversions)

Friday, June 03, 2005

Chinnar

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is on the border of Kerela and Tamil Nadu. The tea gardens got monotonous only too soon on the long but interesting drive. Then happily enough, we entered sandalwood forests—lovely smell! There came this kilometer-long stretch, where pretty little yellow butterflies flew abundantly in the atmosphere. It was a joyful scene, to say the least
At Chinnar (where are car was attacked by a group of endeavouring monkeys), we climbed a 4-storey-high watch-tower (mom didn’t). The view was formidable (no not French, Rashie); several hundred acres of forestland surrounded by jagged mountains at one glance is a bit overwhelming. Unfortunately we didn’t spot any animals except deer (we had been promised cheetah and elephant). However, we weren’t disappointed for understandable reasons.
On the way back we visited a sandalwood depot. That’s a place where all the smuggled sandalwood, which has been seized by the police, is stored. There, we were enlightened about the 101 ways sandalwood can be smuggled.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Ernakulam

Today we came back to Ernakulam in a five hour-long drive. We were supposed to return tomorrow, but a little accident yesterday made us doubt our driver’s skills, so we decided to take our time coming down. The high point was in the evening when we were given a free ride in a patrol boat on the ocean. We saw all the major landmarks (that could be seen from on a boat) of Kochi, Ernakulam and Mattancherry (yes, I finally found out which palace this place is famous for—it’s a seventeenth century Dutch palace. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see it). It rained most of the time, but it was one ride I’ll remember my whole life (another one being the 7-turn roller-coaster). Rajitha is living in one beautiful place. Then it was time to go shopping, but all the shops on MG road were closed, so we just ate in a restaurant (from where I called up Rajitha). Now, this MG road (Mahatma Gandhi) is a curious phenomenon. It’s found in most of the towns and cities in India, and also, I’ve heard, in a few random spots like Moscow and infamously, in New York. Even in Delhi there is the Ring Road now known as MG Marg. And most of the time it’s the most significant road in the concerned city. Good for him!
Tomorrow it’s back to Delhi.

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Back with a storm

Back in Delhi, and fought with the airport book-shopkeeper for eating up pages 51-83 of my copy of State of Fear. Not only are the blankets thin, they are too small and in short supply. Don’t travel in Indian Airlines if you can’t stand cold temperatures.

Casino Nepal

2007-06-17T19:12:00.000+05:30

So, last May saw me on a family summer holiday to Kathmandu, Nepal. We stayed at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, a part of which was the Metro Mall and the Casino Nepal. And I still say, the best part about Nepal were the casinos. Having been bestowed with free casino coupons with our travel package, we naturally attempted to use them. (Some aunties wanted assurances from my mum that she, like them, didn't allow her husband to gamble. To which they got the pleasant (?) reply that even her "little" children had. I could read their scandalised looks word for word.)

So anyway, the Casino Nepal is this huge casino with an adjacent dining...umm...hall, and bar (obviously), and though the dining hall is huge, in the evenings you are doomed to a standing dinner if you don't arrive by 8.30. Just about every person in the vicinity comes here, especially on Friday nights (Saturday is the standard holiday there) from every income group. Yes, there are 'entertainers'--scantily clad dancers who dance to the Indian film item numbers, much to the disgust of my mum. And you will also find random guys training cameras at you. Hmph.

The slot machines are nasty. They eat up all your money and occasinally (very occasionally) belch out a few coins. They're for kids. We gambled at the "adult" tables. Baccarat. And Roulette. And they were much more profitable, I tell you. We managed, every day, to win back all the money we spent on shopping and/or entertainment. Sweet, strange satisfaction.

Shopping

2007-06-10T05:52:00.000+05:30

read from bottom up. i mean from the last post to this.

Saturn is ill

2007-06-08T21:23:00.000+05:30

Er, no. I am ill, and we saw Saturn.

Ill Again

Same thing but different reason. This time I think it was the fruits yesterday, and all the exhaustion. Dumb kind of a day. Spent in bed, eating khichri, wishing that the lake was not so far away.

Saturn

Thanks to one Kriti Bajaj’s persistence over long distance phone calls, about nine assorted people got to see Saturn through the telescope (the big one) at the observatory at Nainital. Kriti saw Jupiter, so we thought we’d see Saturn just for the variety. Ha-ha! No, actually, that was the only planet (thankfully) visible over the cloudy skies of Nainital. It was great fun, since I’ve done nothing of the sort before, but the observatory itself was decidedly primitive. Let me not get into the details, but it was built in 1952 by the USA to track their Moon missions. Now it’s just used by dumb students to do their doctoral research. Tch.

We visited the Hanuman Gadi temple before that. Now these hilly temples are something really nice. Its one thing to build huge, sprawling marble ISCONS and Akshardhams in the plains, but its these tiny, neat and clean, built along the slope temples, which have all the character. Loved it. Excellent atmosphere, great flowers, I don’t mind ringing bells so much in the hills.

We leave tomorrow night. Half the people have already left. *sniff*

Community mobilisation and Participation

2007-06-08T08:11:00.001+05:30

Today I decided to take active part in dad’s course of community moblisation and participation by accompanying him on a trek up a steep hill, to see a drum roll tank.

the tank. thats dadaji in bottom right corner.

The good part was the trek itself, me being the hilly kind, like living on the edge (and also showing off a bit…ha-ha…I helped quite a few aunties), also very few kids who generally stuck to their fathers and mothers, and I got to speak to my neighbor auntie, who is Really very nice. After the tank up we had to see the tank down (which sent the water up, only to send it back down to the villagers, sounds so much like the govt. no?). En route, we came across a village comprising approximately four huts, but the villagers were very nice, had fruits and lassi ready for us, neat, clean huts, sweet and pretty folks. The uncles and aunties entertained themselves by arguing if a peach was called an aru or kheru, and other stuff on those lines, but me and dad found a nice congenial baby we could lift up and play with. I also found a cute little kitten that the accompanying kids found very exciting, so I obliged them by lifting it up and handing it to them to pose with. Tch, to think some people can actually be scared of a kitten, such fear should not exist in kids.
Anyway, the tank below was as exciting (!) as the tank above, but I found some nice fruits on trees that I could pick and eat. More kids and mom accompanied us below, and some rather funny incidents took place which basically can be summed as-the kids see me as a bully! Hahah! No, seriously.

After that we ate lunch at the PWD guest house of Village Ladhpora, Padampuri. Nothing to write home about, great chicken biryani, though. Visited the Polyhouses, a rather innovative concept to grow lettuces and Chinese cabbage for McDonald’s all the year round.

The bus driver played some rather interesting music. Old Hindi songs remixed in the voices of villagers, with robot sounds and March past drums in the background. The woman sounded like a bit of a female Himesh Reshmaiyya and the man sounded like he had sore throat. Brought tears to my eyes.

Bhimtal and Naukuchiatal

They say that if you get a glimpse of all the nine corners of Naukuchiatal, you get nirvana. My dad pointed out that he really did not want the boat to sink in the middle of a lake deeper than the Nainital. Point in place. But try as I did, I could not count all the nine corners. Hmph. Well, die another day. We ate corn-on-the-cob, mom’s favorites from last year, drank Sprite, and argued with neighbor auntie on tennis (she supports Nadal, can u believe it???). But she’s really very nice(have I mentioned this already?). She offered to play tennis with me on the weekends, and borrow her books.

We didn’t stop at Bhimtal, but came straight back to the Academy at Nainital. Good Night.

Ramgarh trails

2007-06-07T08:09:00.000+05:30

aaaaaaaaaahhhh!
A nice, peaceful, relaxing kind of a day up here in Ramgarh hills. Woke up late. Walked dad to his bus, and waved goodbye only to have the remainder of the bus wave back and wish they had kids like me who’d walk down with them. Had random aunties come up to me and thank me for yesterday’s babysitting, and also point out stuff like their kids’ missing binoculars(oh don’t you know, your Calvin dumped them in the lake after he ran out of potato chips wrappers to throw?) (sheesh, some gratitude, I ought to have been paid).
Then about at eleven o’clock, we went up trekking, but this time with a slightly different bunch of kids (two Susie Derkins!), and thankfully, dadaji, a couple of drivers, one big kid who I didn’t speak to get to avoid all that oh-you-passed-school-I’m-in-college-how-much-did-you-score etc, and a few more random male adults. The slope was gentle, view good, no animals, no shouting tourists. Kids got tired easily and we turned back after an hour. Mom, as usual, had deserted me to see some random museum which used to be some random person’s home in the 15th century or something like that. She said she enjoyed it greatly but I think it hardly possible, considering it had something to do with Hindi Sahitya.

Spent the rest of the day playing table tennis and snooker, reading The Inimitable Jeeves, and chewing gum. Life is good.

At the zoo and Ramgarh ho!

2007-06-06T08:01:00.001+05:30

Nainital zoo

Although my muscles had declared a total bandh, I decided to go the whole way to the famous Nainital zoo. I guess it would have been fun but for the fact that I went with nine kids aged 1 ½-11, I was the tenth, but since I’m not yet 18….
Well, you can guess…
There were three moms, including mine and the young mother of the 1 ½-year-old girl (the only kid who did not make a fuss).
There was one Dadaji (thankfully as fast as the kids, but sans the lower teeth) and one Raju bhaiya for the (uf) 1 ½-year-old girl.
But I was left with Kamla auntie, Dadaji and Raju bhaiya to look after the 9 kids. My mom, of course, deserted me after the tigers. Nine kids. Aged 1 ½-11. Nine frolicking, hyperactive kids. Sanskriti school kids. The sort who can’t see an owl without shouting उल्लू का पत्ता। (uulu ka pattha)(owl's .....) All together. On top of their voices.

The zoo, for your information, is not like the miles after miles of pretty, manicured vistas of the Delhi zoo. It is miles after miles of pretty 60 degree (to the horizontal) slopes. Want to torture your enemies? Set a tiger after them up the slopes of Nainital zoo.

The worst part was that I missed the white peacock, their best offer apart from the tigers, while looking for some dumb six-year-old. And have to hear about half the kids (the other half I was chasing) and Kamla auntie talk about how magnificent it looked. I felt like a lone Rosalyn with nine Calvins. Okay, eight calvins. Okay, seven Calvins, one Susie Derkins, and one Pebbles Flintstone. In one long Tom and Jerry show.

They say that you have something to learn from every experience, no matter how bad. I learnt a lot from the kids; and as I have no little brothers or sisters, it was a new experience for me. And as the day progressed, it did turn out that it was all for the better. There was one point in the zoo, where I really appreciated the innocence and pure-heartedness, and all that, of the youth. It was next to the tiger enclosure- there was this bunch of really rowdy, uncouth, but stinking rich (what an oxymoron) tourists. The tigers were asleep in their den and to get a nice shot of them from their brand new digicam, the tourists were shouting together on top of their voices. Like “One, two, three, SHOUT”. And my young friends, on witnessing this spectacle, patiently waited till the tourists were done shouting, and then added their own bit --“CHEAP”. I was the most surprised, but overcame my shock quickly enough to add my own “cheap” and a few well-directed dirty looks. Touched. I truly was. The tigers did wake, the bears woke up, too, and I was just left hoping that they’d jump over the fence (which WAS rather low) and eat the filthy illiterates up, or that the filthy illiterates would be woken up in their sleep the same way. But to see such mischievous kids to have so much of kindness for animals! I must be getting old; I’ve forgotten what it was like to be an eight-year-old.

Apart from that, there were several useful things I learnt from my bunch of Calvins and co.
1) If you drop a pair of binoculars on a pavement, they break, and can no longer be used for viewing.
2) Binoculars are also rendered useless if you spit repeatedly on them and/or take out their lens.
3) Its fun running up slopes, funner making a fat, bespectacled didi run after you, but you might feel dizzy seeing the height above.
4) Didis also carry all the water, so although it’s tempting to irritate them, it’s best not to. Didis also shout, slap, pull your ears. They do not hesitate to lift you up and bring you down in the most embarrassing and uncomfortable manner.
5) You can squeeze through the bars of most animal enclosures, but then, there are animals inside.
6) Owls are big.
7) Didis have read Harry Potter and they know the use of the Evanesco spell.
8) Then there was this kid who stumped me with his uncomplicated way of thinking. He was the one who was running in the front of all the kids and finally I was begging him to stop and wait for the “mummies”. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “But my mummy is not here. I will not wait.” Heheh, wish all people thought as straight as that, there would be no formalities in life then.
9) Dadaji may not have any lower teeth, but he can run a damn lot harder than most six year olds, or fat didis.
10) Dadaji is also very sweet, never scolds or hits, but he has this tiresome habit of going and complaining to your father.
11) Raju bhaiya is dumb, and he burps.
12) Haldiram chips have free planes inside them.
13) Gameboy is not to be confused with Playboy. Repeat. NOT. If an eight-year old kid is called a Gameboy freak, he is in all likelihood, obsessed with a hand-held variety of video games, he’s not precocious.
14) If you want to gat your parents to buy you something, the quickest way is to sit on the road and shout “Gandi”.

Ramgarh ho!

They are taking Dad and his class for a study tour of a few villages and other random places for a couple of days and thought it best to have the families accompany them. So we set of in a nice luxury bus, me having taking all precautions in form of Domstall, at about 4 o’clock. The journey was nice, uneventful as a welcome change from the morning’s (nightmare).

We reached Ramgarh in about 1 ½ hrs, a nice quite hill station, higher and cooler than Nainital, but less exciting. The plus point is that we got the best room in the resort The Himalayan Heights (nothing particularly Himalayan or Heighty about it but reasonably pretty and comfortable)!

The shock came when I climbed about forty steps to reach the cottage of the 4 kids and their dadaji. I was having a nice, pleasant chat with dadaji about his family (a rather interesting one) when he dropped his bombshell. Two of these Calvins live in Bapu Dham. My neighbors!!! AAAAAAAAA. AAA. AA.
*Sigh* such is life.

I’m signing off for now, I hear there’s a bonfire. Thanks for bearing with me.

2007-06-04T09:32:00.000+05:30

So i reached here at 8 sharpish, the Uttaranchal Academy of Administration(or ATI in short, don't ask how, its a long, sad story) by the Ranikhet Express till Kathgodam, and till Nainital by the Institute's car. Took 45 mins or so, but i was sick on the way.Dunno how it happened, I'm not generally the squeamish sorts and i was ( FOR CHRISSAKE) brought up in Meghalaya, and the last time i was motion-sick, i was 8 yrs old. In fact, it was a childhood dream to learn to drive on the GS road, the link between Guwahati and Shillong, one of the most beautiful mountain roads( i think so) in the country. But this road, very nicely maintained notwithstanding, was full of hair-pin bends, blind corners, ups-downs, and what not.

So what? I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. I hate Kumaon roads. so much so, that i puked on them. Ho!

ATI and exploring Nainital

ATI is beautiful. Simply. It has great sports facilities. The tennis court is a bit stupid, neither clay, nor grass, nor cement, but gravel. GRAVEL. But the indoor badminton court is great, tabletennis is great, the billiards table and gym. But we were too late eating breakfast and stuff, for the morning timings, so we simply bunged off to see the city.

Nainital is a lake. A lake is where there's plenty of water. You boat wherever there's plenty of water. So we boated. No, not the swan ones, we took a rower. after boating we explored the quaint little tibetan market. That was fun. I really like this concept of Tibetan markets, which are a feature in almost every hill station in the country. It consists of Tibetan refugees talking in accented hindi, sitting in closely placed tiny stalls. Very colorful. Very vibrant. We didn't actually buy anything, we just drifted around. Then we took a taxi back in time to have lunch. After that we simply waited till the sports facilities opened up, and had absolutely GREAT fun trying our hand at evrything except tennis. That we'll do tomorrow when we feel braver.
Oh! and the food is smashing over here.

Nainital Ho!

2007-06-03T06:38:00.000+05:30

My 52 Weekend Breaks from Delhi lists Nainital as capital of Kumaon’s ‘lake district’, and close to Corbett National Park. About 35 km from Kathgodam, the nearest railhead, and 6,538 ft above sea level. It was Jim Corbett’s home for many years, and the surrounding forest once teemed with bears and tigers.
Well, there certainly no bears or tigers anymore, plenty of horses up in the hills, though, as I discovered when I went there last year for about 4 hrs, en route Ranikhet-Kathgodam.
I'm going to Nainital for a week this year, as my dad has some training, and I'm just going for, like they say, my health.
Here’s a list of stuff I plan to do there, big plans I have, as I've already been there last year.
1) Paddle boat in the lake (they say "it’s your Guarantee, not ours"!!!)
2) Walk around the lake the whole way (if I have the strength).
3) Go to Tiffin Time/Lunch Box peak, ride the rope way, Snowview and other such touristy stuff (didn’t get time last year).
4) Visit all the temples around the lake (have visited only one).
5) Visit the churches and the mosques (they are supposed to be good).
6) Tea party at the Rajbhavan (lovely place, like a castle).
7) Ride horses (did that last year, can do it every day).
8) Dive into the lake (brrrrrrrrrrr).
9) Eat the local dishes (Have already eaten at the Machan, their best restaurant).
10) Visit the 4 cemeteries (well, they say you just have to).

Apart from all that, I’m looking forward to our train ride. I just love traveling by trains! And this time we’ve managed to get the First AC tickets on the Ranikhet Express from Old Delhi Railway Station to Kathgodam Station, one of north India’s finest stations. Sounds all so good!

The India Post

2007-06-01T21:14:00.006+05:30

This is an alphabetical link list of the places in India, accounts of which you will find on this blog.

Alibag/ Alibaug

Chinnar

Darjeeling

Ernakulam

Lansdowne

Munnar

Nainital

Naukuchiatal

Neemrana

Ramgarh

Ranthambore