Faith moves mountains and faith loaded with lots of determination and perseverance builds a road on the mountain. This is the story of Dashrath Manjhi- the Mountain Man. He is the man who built a road across the ridge... In order to connect his otherwise inaccessible village with a lot of essential services. I had...
Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh of North-East India. Beautiful, peaceful, alluring... Remember Hemingway's novel "The Old man and the Sea"? Well this is "The Old Man and the Bowl" in a small monastery there. For me, he was the highlight of my trip to Mechuka. Here’s the story of the trip… The Old Man and the Bowl - Mechuka...
Quite some time back, I was in Orchha Madhya Pradesh, capital of erstwhile Bundelkhand kingdom. Bundelkhand was kind of etched in my memory because of a poem from my high school text book. “Bundele har bolon ke munh hamne suni kahani thi, Khoob Ladi Mardani woh to Jhaansi waali Rani thi”. This means I have...
Assam's cultural landscape can be looked at as pre and post Srimanta Sankardeva. In the ancient time, Assam was a country known as Pragjyotishpur. The name is mentioned in the Indian Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The literal meaning of this word is “astrology of the east” or “jewel of the east”. However, in the medieval period...
Travel musings Solo travel has a great way of clearing the mind. It allows one to think and delve into the self in relative anonymity. Paradoxically, the constant movement of travel induces a strange stillness of the mind - Samatha and hence Vipassana, as the Buddhists would have it... These are some of my travel musings...
Chambal Valley – Protected by Infamy, Curses and Crimes The Chambal Valley is a cursed land as per mythology. It boasts of a barren and ravaged landscape, ravines, gorges and jungles. Bandits and dacoits. Outlaws and lawlessness. The setting for many iconic movies and the backdrop for many legendary Indian Robin Hoods… It remains pristine and untouched...
Few tourists visit the not so well known Isalo National Park in South Central Madagascar. The emblematic attractions of Madagascar i.e. the lemurs are present here but not as much in number as the more popular parks like Ranomafana or Andasibe. In addition, the relatively long time taken to travel here makes it less appealing! However,...
Ever since the devastating earthquake caused destruction to the heritage sites in Kathmandu in 2015, I had made up my mind to visit the UNESCO Heritage city of Hampi - famous for its temples and ruins. In 2016, I decided to visit the capital city of the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire - Hampi. Thanks to Go Heritage...
We call it India’s Great Wall ! It is 36 kilometres long and 15 feet wide, and two cars can run side by side on the wall. Welcome to the Kumbhalgarh fort , Rajasthan. This fort is about beauty, architectural majesty and yes stories around it. Kumbhalgarh Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan,...
Malana, The Magic - Of ancient Sages, Myths, Alexander and Malana Cream. This is a strange story and a real place. It involves ancient sages, kings, mythology, legends, history and drugs. To understand this, you have to get to know the ancient sage, Jamadagni, and a bit of Hindu mythology. Let me start with ancient times...
