Namma Bengaluru Aralithu

Namma Bengaluru Aralithu- The City which we love to hate and hate to love is  full bloom. Spent some time  in the erstwhile  Anglo-Indian Areas  of Bangalore -the Richmond Town, Benson Town, Richards town, Pottery Town Cox Town etc. Wow! The bloom on the roads is so unbelievably fantastic and more so is the carpet of flowers s on the roads which make in even more beautiful. The Purples, the Yellows, the pinks, The whites and many other hues.

If this is Bengaluru today, I imagine how  beautiful it  would have been just two decades back. not for nothing was it a Pensioners Paradise

Sonmarg-Meadow of Gold

To think of it I almost missed it. Thanks to PNS sab, whose travelogue is par excellence (http://paliakara.blogspot.in) and whose travel to Kashmir  formed a good basis for my trip insisted I include Sonmarg, . It surely would have been a costly miss. 'cos I felt this is the most beautiful of all the splendors of Kashmir.

The Journey itself was so beautiful, about 90 kms from Srinagar, for most of the journey the river Sindh flow on with us with the snow clad mountains in background.

Truly Meadow of Gold, a little away from the hustle of the tourist centre are some beautiful picnic spots-  reminded me of the Von Trapp  children picnicking and singing  tune of Do re me in the movie Sound of Music

This being on the ancient silk route, the Zojila Pass is only a little away and the the decent starts into another paradise-Ladhak via Kargil. About 5 kms away is the Thajiwas Glaciers, one need to hire ponies to see the snow clad glaciers-I for that matter choose to stay on in these pristine environment.

Mugal Gardens of Srinagar

Kashmir is projected as a all season tourist location. Winters are beautiful, Summers are in full bloom each season  having its own charm. But if its for the beauty of gardens, then summer is the best time. At the start of winter - gardens are not at their best, yet the beauty is for to see. Among the best gardens built by the Mugals on the banks if the Dal are the Nishat, Shalimar and the Chasma Shahi

The smallest of the gardens is the Chasma Shahi- Built by Shah Jahan for his Son Dara Shiko. The central attraction of this garden is a small spring, around which the garden is planned

Shalimar Garden- The biggest of all built for Nur Jahan by Jahangir

To me the best is the Nishat Gardens. Built right on the banks of the Dal Lake on one side and the snow clad Mountain ranges on the other, this is a the most beautiful ! Probably the beauty would be multifold in summer with water gushing through the many pools and all the fountains spewing up water.