Jaipur: Exploring Royal Marvels of the Pink City

As part of my study tour to Digantar, I happened to be in Jaipur, the famous pink city, and also it happened to be my first time in Rajasthan. I wasted no chance to explore as much I could! Even though I was there in the month of March, early summers, heat was still bearable and I loved being there. I could not see all of it and I have promised myself to comeback to see Rajasthan soon! You know- Jai Jai connection also works!

Welcome to Jaipur

The evening I reached Jaipur, I took an uber to Amer fort! It was such a delight to see the whole stretch of fort wall beautifully decorate the Aravali hills. A small climb up in the fort leads to spacious palace waranda. We bought tickets there and went further up to explore the Diwan-i-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-i-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience” and the Sheesh Mahal or the mirror palace. The view from any window of these palaces are just breathtaking- where you can sight most part of the city, lakes, roads and more importantly, the breeze that is hitting you soothes you immensely! Hammams or Turkish bathing tub definitely remains in your memory and so does the the maggi & chai you had while sitting in the park below!

Hawa Mahal

From Amer fort, I went to Chokhi Dhani for dinner. Village set up inside is quite fascinating and before we explored it, we treated ourselves with authentic Rajasthani thali- which consisted of signature dal bati churma to amazing kadi! It’s amazing to enjoy these folk arts and dance- once your tummy is full and there is rope beds to rest and there is open sky with twinkling stars to gaze… life is good!

Sheesh Mahal in Amer Fort

Next day, after work, we had a chance to visit Nahargarh fort, which is located next to Amer and also in good altitude. By chance, we visited beautiful amphitheater first, which happens to be the masti ki paathshala of Rang De Basanti (RDB) movie. As we walked ahead ignoring the wax museum, the royal Madhvendra palace standing tall with few tries with no leaves- made us skip some beats! Once you enter the palace, the sight is mesmerising. Of all the palaces I have seen, I would rate this one in top of my list. We spent next hour exploring the palace and climbing up the terrace for more breathtaking views of Jaipur! We spotted Jal Mahal or “Palace in the middle of a lake” from there and we did take a stroll at Jal Mahal in the evening. There are good number of autowallahs to take you down to city from Nahargarh fort and we hired one. He was courteous enough to show us the spot where Aamir Khan was film-shot drinking and falling to lake in RDB and also to stop at a chai point in middle of nowhere where you can sip the chai with hill breeze and galaxy view of Jaipur with Aravali!

Madhvendra Palace

Hawa Mahal, situated in the centre of pink city is the iconic place and most of us would have seen it’s structure looking like a crown in many advertisements. I used cloak room here to park my luggage before I took the stroll inside. It’s beautiful to catch glimpse of the busy streets, Jantar Mantar and rest of city palace complex from the Hawa Mahal, which is in the terrace of the whole structure. 

I missed being at Jaigarh fort and checking out Jantar Mantar in detail. Ofcourse, I missed a lot on catching up with light and sound shows at all the above locations I explored. And there were so many buildings with historical importance in every nook and corner- it caught my attention but could not get time. So there is always a next time!

Masti Ki Paathshala

While in Jaipur- I indeed had a good feast of food. It started with Chokhi Dhani to Rawat Mistan Bhandar to Khandwa Haveli to Falahaar in Bapu bazaar which offered sabudana specials to roadside poha to sugarcane juice to lot of nimbu paani- you know avoiding innumerable Cafe Coffee Days was a challenge and supporting local entrepreneurs to beat the heat was delightful!

This blog would be incomplete if you don't speak about the awesome internet wi-fi supported by Google at the Jaipur railway station! What speed! Experienced Digital India for sure here :)

Trip to Hampi: Magically sail to those Times of Glory

I am sure that many have written their travelogues on Hampi from time immemorial, err, I mean from times of Lord Ram and Hanuman till today, from times of Kishkinda of Dandakaranya with most sacred Pampa sarovara to Vijayanagara to modern day Hampi. I see this as never ending fable in praise of limitless and His love for this place. They say, you would return dejected as you would seep in the sorrow of seeing Hampi ruins, but I, have made up my mind to revisit since I am caught speechless by the imagination and infinite stories, by that of irrigation systems and structural engineering, by that of the glory and intelligence of our forefathers. Hampi- for sure is a place for those who love history, architecture and stories. It is limitless and of limitless!

I spent first 3 hours at Virupaksha temple. It is believed that this temple has been functioning uninterruptedly ever since its inception in the 7th century AD. Most of the temples here in Hampi have been damaged some way or other and not fit for Puja. If I am not wrong, there are only two functional temples in Hampi- Virupaksha and Malyavanta Raghunatha Temple, only place where Lord Ram is in sitting posture. Post Virupaksha temple, we walked the bazaar lane to reach monolithic Nandi. Another 15 min walk we were at Cave temples of Ram {kondandarama temple} and Yantroddaraka Anjaneya temple, Chakratheertha, established by Vysasatheerta in 15th century. Vyasatheerta used to often sight Anjaneya and wanted to capture him in “yantra” so that he could worship him. This is a very holy and sacred place of worship for saints {Udupi Pejavara Swamiji was initiated to Sanyasa here}. We took a coracle boat ride to Purandara Dasa mantapa, where renowned saint and poet, who gave up his wealth worth 9 crores and turned philosopher, Purandara Dasa meditated. This place is really magical. From there we walked to what is popular known as Hampi group of monuments, which consists of the Vitthala Temple with the Stone Chariot, and the musical Mandapas, and the King’s balance.

That evening I got lucky- it was last day of auspicious Karthika month of Hindu calendar and at Virupaksha temple, villagers had come over to spend their night. They lit up entire premises beautifully with diyas and there was a pallakki utsava of Shiv and Parvathi, led by elephant, Lakshmi. I was transported back in time! A Russian lady walked up to me, understood more on what was happening and left me with a sentence- “I have never experienced anything beautiful before!”

Next day, we started series of temple visits with Mustard & Groundnut Ganesha, followed by Sri Krishna Temple, Ugra Narasimha Vigraha and the Badavalinga, Veerabadra temple, Lotus Mahal, Elephant’ stable, underground Shiva temple, Queen’s bath, Hazara Rama Temple, Fort area, remains of official chambers, Mahanavami Dibba {modern day parliament}, Kamalapura museum, Pattabirama temple and Malyavanta Ragunatha temple, where Ram spent 4 months, chaturmasya. I would probably end up writing books if I start writing on each one of them. Every place is for sure treat to be and I suggest you don’t pack this in a day like I did!

Last day at Hampi, we crossed over Tungabhadra River on a 10rs ticket boat to reach the other side, Virupapur Gadde. Here we started off with visiting Pampa Sarovara {purana’s say this is one among 4 sacred sarovara’s of India- includes Manasa Sarovara as well} and Sabari Caves, where Sabari waited for Lord Ram. From there, we visited some cave sites to check out 14th century unexplored paintings. Next stop was at Anegundhi Gagan Mahal palace and Ranganthaswamy temple, on the way to Vaali Parvata which has Durga temple. Post this we visited Chintamani, from where Ram shot his arrow towards Vaali who was fighting Sugreeva in neighboring hill. You’ll be reassured of Ram’s archery skills here! We climbed up Anjanadri hill, the birthplace of the Monkey god, Hanuman and ended the day with visiting mesmerizing Sanapur lake reservoir. Magical end to my journey in the Times backtracked, unexpected and unexplored!

We took the overnight Hampi Express from Bangalore and reached Hospet. Hampi is 14kms aways from Hospet- accessible by bus and auto{don’t forget to bargain!}. I came back to catch overnight bus to Bangalore at the same place. Eating at Hampi is a delight. Every restaurant has similar menu. Must tries- oats, pastas, pizza, all sort of lassies, parota’s, paddu at Brahmin’s vatara and sunset at Hemakoota hills! I spent 3 days there. Got out from the shack by 8.30am and returned at sunset. Enjoyed every meal with those trance music and drank gallons of water. Hired guides {very senior Mallikarjuna and very junior Maruthi} and did innumerous attempts to capture the mesmerizing sights in my camera. I would revisit. This is my Hampi. You, discover your Hampi- your own ruined sandalwood castle, inverted gopura on your palms and meditating Hanuman in your hearts!

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Dec 12, 2015 at 7:17am PST

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Dec 13, 2015 at 5:50am PST 

[Special thanks to Vikas, Archi and Adyasha for making this trip memorable]

Trip to Kerala & Tamil Nadu: Discovering Mystery of the Time-Traveller...

Ganesh Chaturthi long weekend had an incredible tour in store for me where I got a chance to visit some temples, ethnic places and ethnic wedding! This journey took me from Bangalore to Trichy (350kms) to Trivandrum (6 hours from Trichy) to Kochi (3 hours from Trivandrum) and chance to travel in

Brihadeeswarar Temple

auto-rickshaw, local TN bus (8 km=4 INR), inter-state bus, car, train and finally, airplane! Listing down the places I visited, mostly in the order of visit-

#Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple had no roof! Tall Hanuman is the highlight here. Missed visiting ancient site, two cave temples, Adiyendra Visnugrha (Ranganatha swamy Temple) and Adiyanavaya Visnugrha (Narasimha swamy Temple) of 7th century. Falls in between Salem and Trichy.

#Brihadeeswarar Temple Thanjavur is the place that I visited twice in this trip and everytime I did, fell deeper in love. Built in 10th century by Cholas who ruled south-east Asia, the campus is covered by a canal of Kaveri river where crocodiles

Wedding Glitters

were bred to protect. Once you enter, you’ll see marvelous 2 gopuram’s marking victories of Rajaraja chola. Beautiful sculpture of Dwara palak(door keeper) curbing python that is eating elephant with one of his foot will remain in memory forever. First ever Capillary Barrier System and mysterious European man (time traveler?) with a hat in 10th century is the highlight of this temple. I strongly doubt that if 21st human beings can ever produce this kind of engineering and cultural marvel!

#Rock Fort is the highlight point of Trichy. Must must visit. 400 steps to climb inside the big rock and once you step out, you reach the top! Bird view of Trichy, beautiful Kaveri River, gopuram of Srirangam and mesmerizing winds that hit your

face are the best of part of this experience. Also, you’ll see tiny Ganesha temple at the top!

#Jumbukeshwara Temple, Trichy, is not so popular, not so crowded temple. It is one of Pancha Bhoota Stalam, meaning a Shiva place dedicated to one of 5 basic elements of nature, i.e., is water. You’ll see water oozing out continuously near the lord Shiva lingam that is inside a cave. Temple has a beautiful corridors and majestic rock pillars. Do visit!

#Srirangam temple, was over-crowded and 250 INR for fastest Darshan of 2 hours. Didn't work out. So was content looking around amazing build of this ancient temple. Avoiding weekends is the

Rock Fort Temple View

best thing to do here!

#Typical Tamil Wedding on a Sunday morning at 6am! Glitters and religious aspects marked the event of Vinci’s marriage to Ranjani! Happy married life guys!

#TNFood- Jigarthanda(amazing juice with some ice-cream like thing!), Veg Flow (Veg Pulav!), Spide Rice(Fired rice!), Gopi Manjurian (no price for guessing!), Cilli Barota (Chilli parota!), Bombal special Badam milk(Kebab main haddi!), Payasam with vada and pepper rasam! Full-filling!!

#Kanthari, Trivandrum, story will be up in KnowYourStar.com soon!

#NISH, Trivandrum, National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) run by govt. of Kerala, set up

Kanthari

in 1997, amazes you with its environment that is set up. Now I believe that govt.’s can also do wonders!

#Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Trivandrum, was almost closed when I reached. But took a walk in the corridors and got a sight of spell-bounding Kerala architecture.

#Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple, Trivandrum, got a chance to watch the maha mangalaarathi(final puja to mark end of day) and definitely is a blissful place with calm Ganesha as the main deity.

#Computer training centre, Kochi, run in collaboration with Rotary Club Cochin Global & SRVC (Society for Rehabilitation of the Visually Challenged), got a chance to interact with brain behind, Sunil Mathews, and meet his blind trainees, and listen to their ambitions. Sunil’s experience with

Onam Sadhya

blind soccer is worth notable, wishing them luck for upcoming Asiad games. Surely, Blindness is just another Imagination!

#Marine Drive, Kochi, strolled around since I landed up at Kochi on a Kerala Bandh day. Temples to churches to mosques to synagogues to jetty to port- Kochi has it all and no doubt, Dutch to Portuguese to French to English were here! Understood how the Kerala state transport operates inter-island boat service!

#KeralaFood- Pazhampuri, Onam Sadhya, Sharjah juice, Kerala porota in Arya Nivas and late night show of movie Raja Natwarlal at SL cinemas!

[Thanks to Sridhar Sundaram, Sharath, Chikkappa, Chikkamma, Vinci, Ranjani, Ashwin, Ambi, Ikku, Basya, Ragi, Kachappa,Akshay, Suhas and Cheeni for making this trip memorable!]

Hyderabad Trip: Pearl that Glitters with Majestic Elegance

I never knew that my first trip to land of Nizams, Pearl City, Hyderabad, would turn out to be such wonderful experience. Hyderabad was completely lit up and decorated (for my arrival?!), since there was ceremony to mark formation of India’s 29th state Telangana. Although, beating the heat was a nightmare, I made most of my time here at Hyderabad, thanks to my host Akash and his friends, who made me feel home!

Waterfront View

For the first time I had boarded Rajdhani Express to Secunderabad from namma Bengaluru. 9 year old birthday girl, Ayra and 4 year old Ayaan, with their grandmom were my cabin mates. It was lovely spending playing time with them and they made me enjoy train journey like never before! Quality food of the train also deserves credit!

Saturday morning when I reached Hyderabad, I partially buried my dream of exploring the city due to excessive heat. Sorry, it was not excessive heat, it was CRAZY! 40c feels like 60c! And I was coming from city that constantly enjoys 25c-30c! Will it stop me from exploring, NO!

#Birla Mandir, Necklace Road and Hussain Sagar lake- Having lost on the way and midst of confusion regarding picking up a friend and “etc”, I with 4 friends managed to arrive at Birla Mandir which had replica of Tirupathi Lord at 8pm. It was freakily overcrowded- some stories, good winds, nice backdrop of necklace road and sight of calm Buddha in the Hussain Sagar lake pacified me, helped me attain peace of mind!

One of Qutub Shahi Tombs

#Waterfront Restaurant, lakeside restaurant in necklace road is where you have to be next time you go Hyderabad. Amazing ambience with lovely food. I couldn’t resist penning down when I sat there-

When you sit on a lakeside with live music...
You can’t afford to relax…
Those lamps that shined were in a pattern…
Provoking me to explore…
I quietly sat and spent time in picking…
Those bits and pieces…
That I always thought I missed...
That I always thought I had...
Of those friendships that
Got newly made…
Of those friendships that
Got newly made again…
Friendship is never a relation…
It is the relaxation... It is the revelation…

#Qutub Shahi Tombs is set of 7 tombs where Nizams were laid to rest. Beautifully picture perfect with shades of big banyan trees. Unfinished tomb is the showstopper. Serene!

Chaarminar

#Charminar and Golconda Fort, didn’t catch much of my fascination but was kind of dream come true to stand next to it.

#Chowmahallah Palace is the best place I visited in this trip. Tells the story of Hyderabad and its shaping up since 1500s. Royally used armory, grocery items, accessories, photographs, clothing and cars- are the highlights here. Rolls Royce and Ford in vintage cars shed will put anyone in awe!

#Cream Stone serves deserts till midnight and I got my hands on Fruit Exotica & Willy Wonka with extra nuts. Awesome is the word! We had come here after our dinner at -The Pasta Bar Veneto, where IPL final was getting screened and ambience resonated- Abki Baar KKR! I also got a chance to visit -"The Chocolate Room" and "Karachi Bakery"!

Me as a Presenter!

#Friends, Thanks to Akash Budhia for hosting me. Thanks Umang Gupta for awesome selection of places and car rides, indebted! Thanks to Team CronJ, Monu, Aashish, Vijay, Aditi, Avneesh and Vineela for being around. Cheers to our new friendships!

My travelogue would be incomplete if I don’t mention Gopichand Academy which produces best of players. I also got a chance to play badminton and indoor games here at Hyderabad. Bdw, I forgot to mention the reason behind my trip, I came here to present my research work at an ACM conference held at spacious Hyderabad International Conference Center. This trip was indeed superfun and turned to be a great teacher!

Kodaikanal Summer Tour: The Cool Gift of the Forest

Recently, due to excessive urbanization, Bangalore also has started facing summers in March-April. Garden city where there was no need of fan, today, has become the house of air conditioners. To beat this heat, we set out to the "Princess of Hill stations"- Kodaikanal!

Established in 1845 by British as their summer homes, Kodaikanal is decorated with Meadows and grasslands that cover the hillsides. Gigantic Eucalyptus trees and shola forests flourish in the valleys. English countryside bungalows are very common. Honestly, this land of Kurunji flowers those which blossom once in 12 years, I never expected it to be this beautiful and cold(15-20 degree Celsius)!

From Bangalore it is overnight journey to the nearest railway station- Kodai Road. From there to Kodaikanal is 80kms. Dindigul junction is the previous station to Kodai Road(you can wake up at Dindigul station!). Since we were six of us- we travelled to and fro in a travera and an innova respectively. You’ll easily realize the difference in weather, flora & fauna when you travel to hill station from railway station! To put it in taxi drivers one word difference- “Chillness”.

#Kodaikanal Lake is what defines Kodaikanal. Interestingly this is an artificial, roughly star-shaped 60 acres lake built in 1863. We could sight couples spending their honeymoon in rowboats and pedalos at the Kodaikanal Boat Club located in this lake. Even we did boating in pedalos!

There are numerous shops and roadside eateries surrounding this lake. Early morning, we hired bicycles and rode in the 5 kilometres path that skirts the periphery of this lovely lake. The reflection of pines, clouds, drizzling rain, sun and moon in this spacious beautiful lake, can make anyone a poet!

#Coaker's Walk, 500 metres from the bus-stand, was constructed by Lt. Coaker in 1872, is a 1-kilometre paved pedestrian path running along the edge of steep slopes. We saw couple of telescope observatories and honestly, were a letdown. Apparently, you can see rainbow in the cloud if the

Sun is behind telescope. Anyways we were not that lucky enough. It was a very scenic walk. We did some shopping here since there were lot vendors selling earrings, eucalyptus oil, homemade chocolates and spices.

#Dolphin's Nose, 8 kilometres from the bus stand, is flat rock projecting over a breathtaking chasm 6,600 feet deep. To reach there, it takes a small trek of 2kms in a trail that steeply descends and might slip as well. You can spot ladies selling short snacks from their individual homes in this trail. Couple of viewpoints makes this small walk interesting- mid way to Dolphin’s nose, there is Mountain valley view and further down Dolphin’s nose, there is echo point. It rained a bit when we were there. Looking down at the symmetric Palani hills is in fact, pure bliss!

#Kodai- By The Lake by Sterling Holidays resort is situated on the banks of the picturesque Kodai Lake and styled on the lines of English countryside to compliment the English styled villages that dot Kodaikanal. In this beautiful resort, we had rented a duplex 2-bhk for a day which came with excellent service, excellent living room and breathtaking views. Nalla irukku!

#Food might be a topic of concern if you crave for spicy dishes. If you love having idly, dosa, rice, rasam and sambar- it won’t be much of problem! We had 2 meals, i.e., breakfast and dinner at the Hotel Eden Park, approximately 20kms from Kodai Road railway station. I can easily recommend this place. At Kodaikanal, previous day lunch at Woodlands hilltop restaurant made us turn to Dominos for the next day. The best part- having Moroccan mint tea while the sun starts to fade behind clouds and mercury touching around

15 degrees Celsius in April. Also, we didn’t miss to grab a bite of roadside bread toast, cuppa noodles, and sandwiches, masala teas with biscuits, vadai, sweet corn, peaches, tree tomatoes, passion fruits and baby carrots!

#Missed places- Pine forest where movie are shot, Pillar rocks, waterfalls due to lack of water and eating at Astoria hotel, highly rated local eatery!

[Thanks Pranita, Aditi, Rashmika, Supraj and Anudeep for making this trip memorable.]

Pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi: Jai Mata Di

Thanks to online flight offers and Ugadi long weekend, I along with my parents planned to do much awaited, always postponed- holy pilgrimage to Vaishno devi at Katra. We started off from Bangalore early on a Friday morning in flight and almost missed the train to Jammu from Delhi in the evening since I had misread the starting station as New Delhi instead of Old Delhi. Those tensed moments in auto to catch the train was a gripping start for a journey to remember!

View of Trikuta Mountains From Katra

Saturday morning, 18 degree Celsius, I had got down from Jammu Tawi station and boarded mini bus to Katra (they ply as soon as they get full).Ours was the first train on time and no train had arrived to Jammu in past 12 hours owing to terrorists firing near Pathankot (major station before Jammu)!

I was mesmerized by the Jammu- Srinagar highway. We arrived in Katra, freshened up, after a 46 kms ride through beautiful landscapes, some tunnels, engineering marvels, army personnel in every 2 kms guarding- I promised myself to visit J & K again and now I am convinced that J & K is the real Heaven on the Earth!

Vaishno devi pilgrimage is very well controlled by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The Holy

The Path to Bhavan

Cave of the Mother is situated at an altitude of 5200 ft. The Yatris (pilgrims) have to undertake a trek of nearly 12 km from the base camp at Katra. At the culmination of their pilgrimage, the yatries are blessed with the Darshan of the Mother Goddess inside the Sanctum Sanctorum- the Holy Cave. These Darshan are in the shape of three natural rock formations called the Pindies. There are no statues or idols inside the Cave.

One needs to buy ticket at the base camp and would go through at least 7-8 security checks. I suddenly made up my mind to go barefoot to the top. The first part of the trek (6kms), i.e, from Katra to Adi Kuwari Devi Temple, is believed to be very strenuous. Take my word, it’s an easy climb with inclination hardly reaching 30 degrees, lot of eateries, colorful shops, ponies and

Heading to Bhairon Nath Temple

other thousand people walking along side you chanting “Jai Mata Di”- you won’t realize the difficulty.

Adi Kuwari Devi Temple to Bhawan(the shrine) is again 6 kms and we chose to go via Himakot, comparatively easier stretch. Route is almost parallel, no major climb during the trek, but it is prone to frequent landslides and stone shootings from the hill. Breath-taking views, frequent helicopters that fly over your head, cool breeze, no sweating- journey is really enjoyable. We took 5 hrs from Katra to reach Bhawan. We deposited mobiles, cameras and baggage in a clock room and headed for Darshan of deity in the cave, which hardly took us 45 min.

It is believed that your Yatra to Mata Vaishno Devi is not complete unless you also visit the Temple of Bhairon Baba that requires a further trek of 2 kms on steep hills. We took pony to climb this stretch and headed down in the same- we took around 4 hours in total. While climbing back, the

Bahu Fort

Sun had turned red and was almost ready to set. Mercury had started falling and views were just awesome. I also spotted helicopter operations at the Sanjichhat Helipad.

After the trek, the feeling was just incredible. Heart was smiling with immense satisfaction. I didn’t have mobile connectivity since J & K has banned prepaid sim connection. It didn’t really bother me since this spiritual connection was with God and fellow trekkers who had come to discover themselves!

After a good night sleep, we headed towards Jammu to catch train back to Delhi. We had 8 hours to kill and we explored Jammu. Jammu resides on bank of Tawi River in the lap of nature. Jammu is also known as “The City of Temples”. I visited the following places-

#Raghu Nath Temple is the oldest/ most famous temple and boosts of incredible spiritual

Aquarium Entrance

ambience. Many chambers for different Gods, Goddess and Sants are the specialty here. Also, you’ll spot 11 lakh Lord Shiva Saligramas(similar to small stones).

#Bahu Fort is believed to be made by King Bahu Lochan, 3000 years ago. Much later, its extensive reconstruction was done by Dogra rulers of Jammu and they also built a mughal-styled garden. Majestic!

#Bawe Wali Mata Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Kali located within the Bahu fort. Goddess Kali is considered to be the presiding deity of Jammu and with whose blessings the town was established and prospered. This temple was constructed in 1822 during the reign of Maharaja Gulab Singh. The temple has few other shrines and idols also such as Ganesh, Narasimha, Radha Krishna, Ram-Lakshman-Sita-Hanuman, Panchmukh Hanuman, Shiv Linga and Vaishno Devi.

#Bagh-e-Bahu is the beautiful garden on the banks of Tawi River and just below the Bahu fort. You’ll spot series of beautiful flowers and small fountains on the other side of the walking path, once you have entered in the garden. Also, a small lake is like an icing on the cake!

Bagh-e-Bahu

#Aquarium museum sandwiched between Bahu Fort and Bagh-e-Bahu is the largest underground aquarium of India. The entrance is designed in the shape of the mouth of a fish and the exit in the shape of a fish tail. The aquarium houses a museum where 400 varieties of freshwater and marine fish are on display.

#Har ki Pauri mini Haridwar is fairly new temple built on the banks of river Tawi. Tall idols of Lord Ganesh and Lord Hanuman are the main attraction. Also, from here, we could get a sight of Bahu fort above our head and burnt palace of Raja Hari Singh across the river.

I continued my trip from here to Delhi and Agra. I have blogged it separately for better clarity. Do visit Agra with me by clicking here!

[Thanks to Supraj for booking tickets and to Sambit for helping with right information]

Trip to Taj Mahal: To Display Thereby The Creator's Glory

After successful pilgrimage to Vaishno devi and Jammu visit, I got 2 days in Delhi, which was surprisingly pleasant with mercury reading around 20-25 degree Celsius. Day one was spent in local site seeing and the day two was spent visiting Brindavan, Mathura and Agra. Note, places below are in the order I visited.

#Birla Mandir aka Laxminarayan Temple indeed boosts of incredible calmness. We visited this place in the morning and atmosphere was truly blissful. This year, i.e, 2014, this place is celebrating platinum jubilee. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi, was made built by B. R. Birla and Jugal Kishore Birla. Surrounded by beautiful garden, paintings, sculptors, Geetha mandir, tight security

Qutub Minar

and Metro (to travel conveniently) - definitely a must-visit place!

I revisited some of the places which I blogged last time, this time around with my parents- we visited Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Chandini Chowk, India Gate, Parliament House and travelled mostly in autos or metro trains.

#Ranganath Temple Brindavan was a disaster. Numerous “so-called” panditji’s in round-neck collarless tshirt with Krishna print and dhoti- try to pursued you to spend cash on them/on their temples! This place has no doubt lost its religious shine and has turned out to be a place where business is run on the name of Lord Krishna. Panditji also turns to guide here- vomiting out some random spiritual lines from no-where and explaining how much other people have spent in terms of cash/gold/diamonds (Paresh Rawal’s “Oh My God!” was running in mind)! Roads are poor, infrastructure sucks! You’ll see 500 odd temples on the way just like this. Taxi guys get commission paid if he gets a visitor to any of these temples. Panditiji’s loot- creating fear and proclaiming aloud what-happens-if-I-don’t-give ideologies. Krishna if at all descends down to earth, not shockingly will run back after seeing the hell His people have created using His name. My advice- forget visiting this place, let Krishna’s

Birla Mandir

original Brindavan(which we saw on televisions) hold it’s place in your imaginary, don’t kill it!

#Krishna Janma Bhoomi Mathura luckily under archeological dept. was really well kept. It didn’t look like a disputed land to me (you’ll see idgah- Muslim prayer hall structure- built by Aurangajeb next to Krishna Temple), since the white birds and kindergarten kids wearing white uniforms making their way inside temple premises. They really know no differences, no boundaries, no religions, no hatred! The beautiful charm of Radha Krishna idols in the temple on top of prison where Krishna is believed to be have born was clearly reflected on these young innocent faces. Elders were right; we can see God in children!

#Akbar Tomb, Sikandara is really beautiful with masterpiece Mughal architecture which was

India Gate

planned by Akbar himself and was finished by his son, Jahangir. Mughal Greatest emperor Akbar was laid to rest here. I spotted fearless squirrels, free-grazing flock of deer, broad-and-tall wall doors, marvelous windows, lavish gardens, wide spread area, good infrastructure by archeological dept. and last but not the least, at least 25 unmarried couples!

#Taj Mahal turned out to be the gem of this trip, 5 degree inclined symmetric pillars, gardens and fountains, incredible white marble paintings and architecture, river Yamuna romancing this serene heart-warming sensation, I am in loss of words to put the beauty and ended-up saying- WOW! Must must visit once in lifetime. I really wish that the planned black Taj Mahal on the other side of river would have also been completed by the Emperor. Hat’s off to Shah Jahan for constructing this for his wife Mumtaz and as I am still in awe; I am not going to write any lines of my own, instead will repaste Shah Jahan’s words through which he described

Sikandara

the Taj-

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

#Red Fort & Agra Fort, I caught the glance of it from outside. Red fort of Agra is supposed to be replica of Delhi’s historic Red fort. Since the day was hot and Sun seeping out our energy, we gave these two places a skip and were contented with it’s marvellous built from the

Taj Mahal

outside.

#Yamuna Expressway, I need to mention this. Had never ever seen such straight and planned roads. Glimpses of fertile land both the sides, extremely huge road, intelligent execution of planning, sight of farmers toiling, quick glance on Budd International Racing Circuit, restrooms and eateries- it was a delight to be on this highway! Who says India is not developed!

[Thanks to Archi for helping in planning and execution]

Bengaluru Diaries: a Hill and a Tree and a Dam in Half a Day...

After residing in Bengaluru (or Bangalore) for 2 years, I had tried exploring it as much I can. Since it is blessed to be in midst of hills on all 4 directions, it enjoys probably “the best” metro climate. And ofcourse, gives away lot of hills and rivers and viewpoints to explore. I have finally

Omkar Hills

decided to put down- “Places to visit in Bengaluru” and will start with the most recent visited ones from Bangalore Southà

#1. Omkar hills

This place is said to be the highest point in Bangalore. It is in RajaRajeshwari Nagar. When driving on Mysore Road from Bangalore, take the left at Uttarahalli Main Road, drive past the BGS Apollo hospital and then take the right next to JSS College. This road goes to the top of Omkar Hills. Omkar Hills has a dwadasha jyothirlinga (caution: elders are bound to get more & more devotional/emotional/sentimental!) temple and Ashram which was founded by Shri Shivapuri Mahaswamiji.

You’ll enjoy the strong breeze here and the panoramically view of the city is super awesome. Just behind the temple is world's second largest clock, said to be bigger than the Big Ben, the clock

Dodda Alada Mara

tower in London, and its making took two years.

Upon climbing a few steps you can see an old banyan tree surrounded by statues (Ramanujacharya, Shankaracharya, Madhwacharya, Jesus, Koran, Buddha, Mahaveera and the Guru Granth Sahib) representing various faiths/religions and singing aloud strong message of unity in equally strong blowing wind.

#2. Dodda Alada Mara or Big Banyan Tree

This tree is a giant 400 year old located in the village of Kettohalli. Before you google this village, it is really easy to access the place if you can identify a small road next to Rajarajeshwari Dental college (near Kumbalagod junction)! This single plant covers 3 acres.  In the 2000s, the main root

Manchinbele Dam

of the tree succumbed to natural disease, and thus the tree now looks like many different trees with over thousand aerial roots.

The tree has fenced boundaries, and benches for people to sit. There is a small shrine, many monkeys, some lays and soothing shades- good picnic place indeed!

#3. Manchinbele Dam

This beautiful dam is constructed by Sir M  Visvesvaraya which is around 9 km s further ahead from Big Banyan tree (don't miss the left at Chandrappa Circle). River Arkavathi forms the back waters of the Manchinbele Dam. You’ll find a couple or two government appointed watchman’s eating your head and money! This place suffers from govt.’s poor tourism showcasing- not much publicity, no maintenance, lack of connectivity, lack of proper security and lifeguards. Apart from that, really wonderful place to be!

On Top of Dam

#4. Ruppi’s Hotel & Resort

This is a place run and owned by Kannada film industries famous Real Star, Upendra. I visited this place for a short snack after visiting Dodda Alada Mara and Manchinbele Dam. This is just a km away from Dodda Alada Mara. Onion pakoda and onion rings that we ordered along with the chai were just delicious. Interiors, cottages, playgrounds and restaurants- all have looked good to me in my first impression. I have promised myself to visit this place again to explore!

Ruppi's Hotel & Resort

I recommend you to cover all 4 places mentioned above in the order- 2,3,4,1! Will take less than half a day and to be at Omkar hills at around 7.30pm will be the best thing to do! It’ll energize you for the rest of the coming week, guaranteed!

No greens,
Cloudy & Chirpy,
I set out to search,
White flowers... 

Bangalore had Blossomed,
Red flowers...
Green flowers...
Blue flowers...

[Photo Credit: Sharath P R, Thanks to Chikkappa [Ramesh], Chikkamma[Ratna], Doddappa[Karunakar] and Munna[Sharath] for being the part of this trip!]

Kumara Parvata Trek: Not For Faint Hearted...

Beating Valentine’s Day traffic I made my way to the pick-up point, Domlur, Bangalore. I had literally no time left for packing since it was a “working” Friday and we (Chandru and Abhishek) had decided only on Thursday to go for this trek. We made sure that we carried essentials like- 2 pair of clothes, torch, towel, soap, dry fruits and chocolates. I knew, scaling up 5600ft Kumara Parvata(a.k.a Pushpagiri or KP) will be a daunting task considering the fact that summer had already set in and humidity would take its toll!

Hiking Ethics!

Comfortable Temo Traveller was arranged by Bangalore Mountaineering Club for 12 of us (including our super-fit guide, Sam) and we left Bangalore by 10pm. Thanks to good road and excellent driving, we arrived at Subramanya, approx. 280kms from Bangalore, around 5am on 15th of Feb. Full moon was still on sight! We took an hour to freshen up in an “unknown” dorm and were all set by 7.30am with a quick breakfast (including Horlicks for extra power!) at Neo Mysore Café, located infront of the Kukke Subramanya Temple.

A lazy 1.2 km droll to base of Kumara Parvata was the most comfortable part of the complete trek! Once reaching the foothill, Sam gave us a briefing and lessons on trekking ethics. We introduced ourselves and soon after, we hit the trail of most challenging 13kms of my life!

Picture Perfect!

Definition of this trek was set as soon we finished a km, catching the breath on these 40-50 degree inclination was real test for both-mental and physical fitness. Luckily, the group was really fast and we didn't realize that we are gonna set a record time soon!

By 9.30am we had arrived at famous house of mid-aged Girigadde Mahalingeshwar Bhat, mostly known as Bhattramane, covering 4kms. This mud house built in 1974 had a cowshed and areca nut plantation, electricity coming from indigenous hydro power and solar power, constant water supply from a water channel of the hillside rocks. We were served simple and tasty lunch, dinner and next-day breakfast here. Also, we spent a blissful night here. Had there been no Bhattramane, I would confidently say that KP would be near to impossible!

No surprise, KP has it’s own mythological importance. KP was the place where Lord

Mantapa

Subramanya (a.k.a Kumara) fought and won the fierce battle against the demon, Tarakasur. Impressed Devendra got his daughter married to Kumara. Hence the hill got the name KP and river that flows- Kumaradhara,.

Post early lunch, we started at 11.15am to scale rest of the 9kms. 3 things kept improving exponentially- beauty, humidity and inclination! We crossed forest dept. check post and caught glimpse of Western Ghats- in 2 viewpoints located at a stretch of a km. Our aim was to reach Sheshagiri(The first main peak before KP) and damn it, we couldn't even sight it till we had trekked for close about 2 hours! We kept checking with Sam, pointing at series of false peaks that we encountered and asking if it was Sheshagiri. Silence and Smile was his constant answer!

I had almost lost my battle till I reached Mantapa, ancient stone structure. Abundant water and oranges we carried, gave me the boost. With high spirits we were back in trail and soon reached Sheshagiri. Views were just incredible and KP was only a km away now. Then started an unbelievable stretch with green shades and later, 70 degree inclination. We had made it to the top of KP by 2.20! Feeling on top was just priceless as I spotted Lord Shiva’s small stone shrine and flag flying high. Couldn't resist writing down-

Did we scale this?

Clouds had calmed,
Flags waving high…
Lying down on rocks,
Cold breeze hit my face… 

Like it had never hit me before!
Like the seasons that changed overnight!
Like these red flowers in green pastures!
Like this longed victory getting longingly closer!
Like the destiny’s invariant smile, that finally smiled!

We started the descent at 3.30pm, skidding most of the times. We were back by 6.30pm at Bhattramane. Some of us were nursing ankle or toe pain, and the tea which welcomed us, followed by an open-air cold water bath and tasty dinner refreshed us and paved way for a most satisfying sleep!

Next day morning, i.e. on 16th, we woke up at 6.30am, had quick breakfast and continued our descent. We reached the base by 10am and after a bath in public bathroom, we went inside the temple, took a round and tried to catch glimpse of the Lord and his blessings!

This trek looked like a philosophical story to me. Constant steep inclines pointed towards

Sunrise

hardships of life. Many false peaks reminded me of distraction one encounters before the ultimate goal of one’s life. Although views at Sheshagiri were the most beautiful, we still went to climb KP, since KP zenith was the main goal. It was a learning experience and burnt my false pride of achieving Hampta pass last year. I learnt to respect every trek and every trekkers!

Bidding goodbye to Subramanya, view of Sheshagiri behind temple gave me Goosebumps! We started at 11.10am, stopped for lunch at 12.45pm at Gandharva restaurant, Sakleshpur, and a Chai break in Bellur cross. After successfully crossing many toll plazas and bearing through some nonsense unheard music, we reached Bangalore by 6pm!

Team seen with Bhattru

Final Tips to make it to KP-->

1. Watch enough of Rafael Nadal’s games for mental fitness and hit gym before 2 weeks for physical fitness!
2. Trek with people who are extremely positive and who can push the team as a whole!
3. Do it at least once in your lifetime!

[Cheers to Chandrashekar, Abhishek, Sandeep, Sushanth, Amit, Joseph, Mathew, Anurag, Jitendra, Gyanesh, Sam and BMC for making the trek super awesome. Photo Credits: Chandrashekar & Amit.]

Trip to Lepakshi: Place where Jatayu fought Ravan

After living through serious back aches and period of illness, caused mainly due to my massive two week north India trip, I was back to what I insanely love doing, travelling! And what a way to start, the experience just couldn't get better. Here is my travelogue- visit to beautiful Lepakshi.

“Ley Pakshi” translates to “Rise bird” and is believed to be uttered by Lord Rama to the bird Jatayu, who had fought Ravan in order to release Seetha, in the process incurring life threatening injuries, losing his wings, counting his final moments at this very particular place and waiting for Lord to arrive. Jatayu was cremated here and Lord Ram established a “Shiva linga” on top of it, one among atleast 4 of Shiva linga’s I saw here(I recall- some of them are established by Hanuman, Sage Agastya and Constructor Virupanna). This place has a massive footstep of Seetha (Locals believe that Seetha was 25 feet tall) on a rock and is filled with water all-round the year!

Lepakshi is located at a distance of 120kms from Bangalore and driving becomes pleasure in this AH 47 once you cross new Bangalore Airport at Devanhalli. We started at 8am and stopped for breakfast at “Kamath Upachar”, 4 kms away from Chikballapur, at 9.45am. Route was pretty simple after that- cross Bagepalli, enter AP (it is till AP!), you’ll see a signboard to Lepakshi soon after Konikonda, and then, 15kms of drive in a state highway (that goes to Hindupur, which houses thousands of weavers and you get silk sari’s for half price!) to the destination.

The Veerabadhra Temple is built on a rocky hill called Kurmasailam and today is spread over 2 acres. India’s biggest monolithic “Nandi” is the prime attraction (2nd biggest is in Tanjore and 4th is in Basavangudi of Bengaluru). The temple has over 4000 designs, many sculptural illusions and 80 pillars, out of which one is the mysterious hanging pillar that actually balances the complete stone structure. Hire a guide and you’ll enjoy the architecture and no doubt, you will end up praising our 8 feet tall (again a local belief!) ancestors! You get a feeling of entering a cave and the calm and cool weather inside is very enjoyable.

Built in 1538, rooftop of which is painted with herbal colors- stories depicting Shiva’s marriage, Ganesh and Ravan’s “Athmalinga” encounter, pictures of nobles of Virupanna who built this temple is mesmerizing. There is incomplete portion of a “mantapam” dedicated to Shiva’s marriage to

Parvathi in Kailasa. Virupanna, constructor of this temple, was a cashier of this province ruled by Achyutaraya, brother of great Krishnadevaraya. Due to unstable government and dirty politics, Virupanna removed his eyes off before the King would order to do so, and our guide claimed/showed that there were blood stains in the wall (I still don’t digest this!).

“Mantapam” remained unfinished as great Vijayanagar empire fell off to Bahamani rulers, who also damaged some idols. The “Halagannada” (mother of modern Kannada) inscriptions are also notable. Here, every pillar tells a story, every idol is artistic, the way the stones are carved out is just astonishing, beautiful paintings are breath-taking (Painting of Veerabhadra on the ceiling before the main sanctum sanctorum is the largest in India of any single figure), architecture at it’s best, peace and serene, less

than 2 hours to tour entire place, beautiful folk tales those are associated, spiritual bells ringing in the heart, indeed, what a place to be!

Every truth becomes justice,
Before it’s not too late…
We turned them into morals,
Immortalized in our sculptures… 

Today, I am staring at them,
Waiting for a story to unfold…
Staring at the antic glory untold…
Before it’s not too late…

[Photo Credit: Sharath P R, Thanks to Chikkappa [Ramesh], Chikkamma[Ratna], Doddappa[Karunakar] and Munna[Sharath] for being the part of this trip!]

Himalayan Trek in My First Trip to North India...

I think it had rained an hour ago. Chill in the air and stagnant water at the roadside were clearly indicating this fact. After acclimatizing to temperatures ranging from 2 to 40 centigrades for over 2 weeks, I was back to the city that boasts a constant weather of around 20 centigrade, Bengaluru. I was walking towards home with a bagful of stories to tell- some adventurous, some philosophical, some controversial. Here it is- the travelogue of my first trip to North India!

This entire trip was very very well planned in paper with all hotel and travel bookings already done.Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani”. A week after watching the movie, with official nod from parents we had booked the complete itinerary while having an icecream, sitting in the Corner House of Kasturi Nagar, Bengaluru. Our trip had a disastrous start as the main trip planner, Manu met with an accident a day before our departure. We were given a royal send off by Vijay and Yashu, after a tasty dinner (Thank you, Aunty!) at Yashu’s place. Did I feel that I won’t return forever? Nah!

Hadimba Temple

I’ll traverse through the states of India that I visited in this trip. I have provided links for complete story. Enjoy, as much as I did!

#1. Himachal Pradesh, a romantic state that shares it’s borders with Tibet. I visited two districts- Kullu and Shimla. The charming skin tone and excellent physique of the citizens deserves special mention. I got down in Shimla with a 20kg luggage, looked around to find no auto rickshaws, instead plenty of man labor. I and my friend decided to walk to Hotel Chaman Palace. 5 min after we started, we realized that it was a mistake! 70 degree slopes and stairs took out all the energy as we reached the hotel located close to Mall road. Mall road is the busiest and the most happening with lot of eateries and shopping outlets. Veg momo’s and burgers of Krishna Traders are the best I have had till date. Street food- channa kulcha and chatpati chat- I recommend. This city was incredibly disciplined with no smoking and

Toy Train

no plastic policies followed till the last dot!

Kullu, on the other hand is more ethnic with localities wearing the vibrant “Himachal ki Shaan” topi and apple sellers everywhere. Base camp for our trek was in Manali. We visited a Tibetan architecture influenced Hadimba and Ghatodgakch temple, built atleast 500 years ago. Beas River flowing along the canopy of Pine trees gives this city an artistic look. We got to visit Nicholas Roerich’s museum in Naggar, 25kms away from Manali. His breathtaking paintings of Himalayan inexpressible beauty and the peace flag (harmony of religion, art and science) that he designed for “League of Nations” (current UN) is the highlight.

Remember Kareena in “Ye Ishq” song of “Jab We Met”, we were at this serene place- the Naggar Castle, built in 16th century. We had delicious snacks in the hillside view balcony of the hotel there, Cutlets, yummm!! We made sure to visit the famous Johnson’s café, and of course, had a great

With Bishi and Gursagar

evening with 11 buddies!

I have deliberately put the best part of Himachal in another blogpost. Trek Hampta pass (Click here) yourselves!

#2. We entered Punjab, land of 5 rivers, through the UNESCO heritage narrow gauge toy train from Shimla. Toy train to Kalka, running since 1902, brought us best of landscapes. We made our way to beautifully planned Chandigarh from Kalka via couple of auto rickshaws which run like public buses here. We visited my friend, Bishas and Gursagar (Thanks a ton guys, you rock!) for dinner and they redefined hospitality, we set off to explore Punjab the next day (Click here, yeah, story is long enough for another blogpost)!

Golden Temple

#3. The Delhi Honeymoon was a dream come true. As we keep hearing the daily happenings of Delhi, I was excited to see how it really lived, the capital of “The India”. My experience that changed “Delhi” to “Dilli” (city of heart) is indeed heartening, I suppose, why wait, read here The Delhi Honeymoon!

The trip plan was executed almost near to perfection, all thanks to the 3 hours delay in “Hirakund Express” from Amritsar to Agra, because of which we had to skip Agra since there would be little time left to explore Agra that Thursday evening and Taj Mahal shuts down every Friday. Dear Taj, will see you soon!

Whenever I achieved some small feats,

Hampta Pass

People blessed me that I’ll go places…
I sit and contemplate on what it meant,
Realizing answers are sole aim of our life… 

May be a different perspective of new place,
In the thick thread of cobbler’s spool…
Showing the life that I never lived,
In the kaleidoscope of a roadside kid… 

Today, I really want to achieve more feats…
Today, I really want to visit more places…
Today, I really want to find more answers…

[Heartfelt gratitude to Manu, Akhilesh, Bishas and Archi for planning this out. Cheers to Thomas, Tanja, Parijat, Naaga, Harsha, Sowmini, Spurthi, Chandrashekar V, Neerav, Niladri, Akshat, Bharath, Shushanth, Saranbir, Thakur Saheb and IndiaHikes for making the trek super awesome. Photo Credits: Akhilesh, Parijat, Chandru and Harsha.]