Phalgham

En route to Phalgham in October is dotted with saffron fields, Apple orchards and at some location  shops  selling cricket bats made of Kashmiri willow. Most tourist prefer to make a same day return trip from Srinagar, Spending a day at Phalghan is and travelling up the slopes is however rewarding.

   Chandanwari- the first steps to the shrine of Amarnath. This must be one beautiful trek.

         The Beetab Valley So named after the Sunny Deol-Amritha Singh movie  shot here.

        A ride up on ponies riding through beautiful slopes with pine trees 

     Ends up in a surprisingly flat rich meadow. Called Kashmirs Switzerland, the meadows are extremely                      beautiful.

But the journey downhill on the ponies was quite frightening  with the horse slipping many a time. Again Kudos to Indian Tourist.

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.

Dal Lake

The first touch point on a visit to Kashmir Valley- The Dal Lake. Immortalised by the Melodious song from Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. Spread over a vast area and surrounded by many of the gardens crafted by the Mughals and the Himalayan range in the background all add to the aura of the lake.

Lined by house boats so much frequented by tourist. To discover the true beauty of Dal- One must not only stay at the house boat, but also take the Shikara ride twice, once in the morning and one after  sunset. 

The ride in the evening is marvelous  Floating idyllically on the lake with the boatman gently paddling  the waters. Watching the floating markets (shopping for visitors and  catering to the needs of the locals) laying back in  delight. Truly Wonderful!

Air Show Bangalore

A long time wish and finally, I was there. The high octane atmosphere, the booming sound of the jet engines, the perfect symphony of fluid motion, pushed the adrenalin level high.

Easily the star performers, the Russians in their Sukhoi , was a treat to watch.

This flying bull team led by the the gusty 64 years old lady Radka Machova, was heart stopping least to say. Some of theirmanoeuvres were definitely not for the weak hearted.

The Sarang Team from the Indian Airforce in colourful Dhruv Helicopters

Boeing C-17 Globemaster taking to skies

Vishwa Shant Stupa, New delhi

Whenever I drive past the many monuments  in Delhi, History floods  me, I long to spend a month or so, exploring the many unexplored monuments lying in almost the entire Delhi, research them, Photograph them. I hope to do this some time, at least in parts.

The Vishwa Shanti Stupa is the latest addition to the monument of Delhi. Located on the ring road on the way to Noida on a huge plot of land, the Viswa Shanti Stupa was inaugurated in the presence of the Dalai Lama in 2007 and house the relic of the Sakya Muni.

I have seen similar Stupa in Darjeeling and my research of Ladhak shows one in Leh too.  The landscaping of the  sprawling grounds is yet to be completed,  the adjacent millennium park with eateries around should make a good picnic place in the evenings.

Nagareshwara temple Bankapur

Bankapur would remind any Kannadiga worth his salt would recollect  Dr. Rajkumar  crooning the famous song  from Bahaddur Gandu . So it felt good to be finally in this small little town in Haveri District, about 50 kms from Hubli. Not only is the beautiful temple located here but  adjacent to the temple is the Peacock sanctuary, and hence the background music of the peacocks crooning.

The Nagareshwara temple with clear cut Kalyani Chalukayan imprints

                                                                                                                                                                                               

The temple  stands on beautifully crafted  lathe turned pillars with exquisite work on the ceiling

This structure is something I could not fathom  On the look of it does it not look like a structure in  mausoleum  ?. But  in the court yard of the temple?

Savanur

Savanur,  in Haveri District, Karnataka, albeit a small town has a rich history. Ruled by Nawabs and later bone of contention between the Maratha's and Tipu Sultan, The town ended up in the British suzerainty  All that remains today is this Fort wall and the Nawabs  residency, which houses the government offices.

Also famous for Savanur Khara or mixture as its popularly called, I spent an unbelievable 30 mins in a queue to buy 500 gms khara, its sure is delicious.

Savnur boast of three Baobabs trees with huge trunks and this could be the only location in whole of India. The biggest measure 18 m in girth and are purported to be 5000 years old.

hidden some where in the agricultural fields is this beautiful  Vishnu teertha

A gift from Susan Wise Bauer

Blogger's Block

Writer's block is a common phenomenon which we all have read some point of time. I wonder if anybody has faced a blogger's block. I am sure some  must have.

While lack of creativity seems to be the primary reason for the writers, I believe bloggers may attribute it to the today's fast paced life, professional and other challengers in life. This period was the longest I had to endure. Couple of months ago  PNS Sab (http://paliakara.blogspot.in/) was so kind to enquire about my absences from the blogging world, his enquiry moved me so much, inspired me to back and here  I am.

Susan Wise Bauer

I  received a request from Ms. Susan Wise Bauer, a American author  (http://www.susanwisebauer.com/), seeking to publish my photographs taken at the Gulbarga fort in her up coming book. I readily agreed and requested her  to send a copy of the published book. But guess what! Susan magnanimously sent me all six published books. For some one who loves history this is a treasure.

Reading the first two book pictured below, reminded me of reading Jawaharlal Nehru's Glimpses of World History in my teens. So beautiful researched and presented  are these books.

The books pictured  above, presents the whole gamut of world history  in four volumes. Written in a lucid manner for children in the all age group, these books  gives an   extraordinary foundation for children. I am glad my children love to read these books and are using in their school too.  Thanks Susan.

Mundgod Tibetan settlement

Mundgod is one of the three settlements of Tibetans in Karnataka and is situated about 50 kms from Hubli in Uttara Kannada District, A huge settlement with villages scattered in camps and many Monastery dotted  all along, this place is a mini Tibet all along

We were lucky to be visiting on a auspicious day to see the monks in their regal attire saying their prayers.

Kolkata-The City of Joy

What can one see in half a day in this wonderful City of Joy -The sprawling grounds of Ramakrishna Ashram and the Kali Temple along the Ganga,


 some time at the Victoria memorial 

And the best of all see the place where the great Man  of India Gurudev Rabindarnath Tagore lived. Its a delight to see all paintings of many great artists here.