Shatrunjaya Hill is one of the holiest of places for the 'Swetambara' Jains. The others being Girnar, Mt. Abu and Chandragiri. This hill is located at Palitana town in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. It is a hill where most of the tirthankaras also called jina's attained nirvana. Atop Shatrunjaya Hill, one gets a great view...
Varanasi and the onion! Strange connection huh? The reason I say that is because you can keep peeling off layers of this city, like an onion. To reveal a whole new city. Just like the onion. It is a city that lives in layers. Peeling off one by one. Like the seven veils of...
As I kid I remember playing table tennis with my friends (Balaji and Govinda) who were twins. It was quite baffling and irritating to face an identical opponent after defeating one of them. To make it worse, apart from looking similar they wore the same outfit which added to the confusion. I have grown up watching...
My flight was about to land at Leh airport, and my first feeling was, where is this flight landing … I am not trying to hint at turbulence, rather trying to divert your attention towards the scenic beauty. Leh airport is one of the highest airports in the world and the experience of touching down...
During my last trip of Rajasthan many a years back, i happened to visit Ajmer Sharif. I was aware that it was a popular shrine that of Moinuddin Chisti. Khwaja Garib Nawaz (patron of the poor) is the namesake for Moinuddin Chisti. This dargah is located on a busy street with shops on either side...
Rajasthan is known for its forts, palaces sand dunes, colourful art and folk music. This is a short introduction to the spiritual side of Rajasthan. Welcome to Pushkar, the scared pilgrimage site for Hindus and Sikhs. When you enter this town, you will find yourself surrounded by the humming tune of chants, devotional songs, temple...
I had been to Badami close to four years back. We drove down from Bengaluru to participate in the Go Heritage Run there. I had heard a lot about the Rock Cut Cave Temples of Badami but never visited it. To make best use of our trip, we visited Bijapur and Pattadakal too. Badami is located...
Diego Suarez can be the base for two amazing day trips to the surrounding areas. First is the tropical forest of Amber National park – where you can see crater lakes, waterfalls, diverse flora, lemurs and yes, one of the smallest chameleons in the world (barely more than 1 cm). The second is the beautiful...
Every time I happen to visit Chennai, I make it a point to cover the ancient temples. A few years back I covered a few namely Kapaleeswarar temple, Parthasarathy temple and Santhome Cathedral Basilica. The Kapaleeswarar temple is a massive temple and an ancient one too. The belief is that the goddess of this...