Beauty,fear,love,courage and a whole lot more.....

This picture has been my wallpaper for about three weeks now. I cannot help but imagine the things that this picture portrays to me. I had heard from my childhood that a picture is equivalent to thousand words but I questioned the veracity of the statement. But this picture made me realise that the saying might be true, the picture conveys new things to me every time I delve deeper into it. This picture depicts natural beauty,vastness, love, courage, fear and above all my photography skills. The most obvious feature of the shot is the scenic beauty of the place. I think its worth mentioning that I took this pic while I was in Pari Mahal, Srinagar which in my books is the most beautiful place in Kashmir, the paradise on earth. The greenery all around. the vastness of the visible land and the scenic beauty make me realise how benevolent and creative god is. A couple sitting in a secluded place so that they could have a private moment portrays the feelings love generates. Inspite of the place and the view being so spectacular its empty with no people around. Well this is the fate of all the world famous sites in and around Kashmir, due to the fear psychosis in the minds of the people because of the decade of terrorism in the valley. The couple inspite of that show are courageous enough, thats another dimension of the pic.

I could go on n on but one of the feedbacks that I recieved is, i need to be brief...so that I ll be.

Thanks for reading!!!!!!

Orcha-Abandoned but not forgotten

This travelogue was written a long time back but I had not published it for some reasons. Now its for everybody to have a look....provided they want to, otherwise thanks for reading all this.

Last weekend I decided that now its time to go on a sojourn. The time was appropriate as there were no classes and exams scheduled for the next week. Earlier I had decided to go to Mathura but there was a change of plans and the place which came up after much delibration was Orcha.

The night before the trip, the preparations started with searching the internet for the places worth looking for in and around Orcha. So at about 2 in the night all the plans were chalked out and I decided to start the journey at 8.

At 6.30 I got up and got ready for what was going to be an exciting day. I went to the mess and picked up a packet of bread and butter but the mess manager warned that the road is dangerous and recently an ASI was kidnapped from there. Instantaneously I decided to return before it gets dark. So around 8.15 I started my 125 km drive from Gwalior to Orcha.
On way to Orcha
The road was not as smooth as expected , the scenery not as picturesque but the journey from Gwalior to Orcha was enlightening with a number of tombs, forts and temples to be seen all along the road.

I stopped to have breakfast, for short photo sessions and after traversing the labyrinth of roads I entered into the town of Orcha at about 10.30. The one thing which catches the eye the moment you reach there is the architectural splendor of the buildings be it the temples or the fort. The historical monuments, temples and forts of Orcha still hold their pure charm and tell tales of war and peace, of love and devastation.

Among the temples I decided to visit the Ram Raja temple. Inside the temples hordes of pilgrims can be seen worshipping Rama, it is the only temple in the world where Rama is worshipped as a king. Even temples of Maa Kali and Hanuman are present in the temple. The temple is spread in a huge compound with big open spaces. An ancient tree inside the temple believed to be about 500 years is also worshipped and highly revered by the devotees.

After the Ram Raja Temple I visited the Laxmi Narayana Temple which blends a perfect mix of fort and temple architecture and the interiors contain exquisite wall paintings. On the walls and ceilings of three halls of the Lakshmi Narayana Temple murals are vibrant compositions and cover a variety of spiritual and secular subjects.

Then I visited Phool bagh which is laid out as a formal garden thus testifying to the refined aesthetic qualities of Bundelas. A central row of fountains in the garden culminates into an eight-pillared palace-pavilion. It is believed that the garden acted as a summer retreat of Orcha Kings.

About 2 kms from Phool Bagh is the Chaturbhuj temple, a temple built on such a massive stone platform that it can be seen from a distance appearing as an ostrich. The temple has been built at the summit of a hill so I had to ascend about 500 feet inorder to reach the main entrance of the temple. The wall carvings, long tomb, huge staircases are built to perfection thus portraying the architectural bent of mind of the Bundela rulers. The temple consists of three floors and commands a panoramic view of the whole city of Orcha.

With the digital camera the trip was more or less like a photo session with pictures being clicked every second irrespective to the place I was near to. After visiting the temples I along with a group of friends I made while visiting the temples decided to have a bath in Betwa, the river which flows through Orcha. For me it was the most enjoyable part of the trip as the water was flowing really fast and we had to hold each other hands to avoid being pushed by the water. So after the ablution I decided its time to visit the forts that Orcha has on offer for the tourists. Orcha houses forts built by the Bundela rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries. The fort complex comprises of three palaces viz. Jehangir Mahal, Raj Mahal and the Rai Praveen Mahal. The palaces still retain their pristine perfection inspite of utter neglect of the present government and archaeology department. The palaces are a depiction of exquisite craftsmanship but the winds of time coupled with the government behavior have reduced them to ruins.



The museum inside the Rai Praveen Mahal has ancient artefacts, pictures depicting centuries old traditions of Orcha and its nearby places. The view of Lakshmi Narayana temple from the Parveen Mahal left me awestruck. I could barely imagine how majestic the view would have been in olden days when the fort and the temple were mighty beautiful.

I had gone to Orcha during the monsoons so the river Betwa was at its mighty best. The river amazingly encircles Orcha and its waters can be seen from every place but no avenue can boast of a better view of Betwa than the Raj Mahal. The river Betwa flowing ferociously over stones as small as a pebble to as big as huge boulders produced a thundering sound that could be heard from a distance. Inspite of the dangerous flow teams of adventurous and risk taking rafters were enjoying river rafting along the river. The brown coloured water flowing inbetween the green forests felt as if a huge snake was crawling along the herbs and shrubs inorder to avoid being caught.

Orcha has plethora of hotels, private guest houses having room for tourist of all budgets. So after visiting and checking hotels to suit my needs and budget, I decided to spend my night at Sheesh Mahal, a heritage hotel under the administration of MP tourism department. The hotel presents the view of ancient Orcha, its culture, its heritage, its art and great past is depicted to perfection by the ambience in the room, evenings dances, dresses of the attendees and the fort which has been turned into Sheesh Mahal makes the whole setting complete.

So after a tiring day and a comfortable night's sleep at Sheesh Mahal I got up at 5 am to get ready in time for the morning Aarti at the Ram Raja Temple. Inside the temple there were about 500 devotees chanting the bhajans of Lord Rama. The morning aarti left and indelible mark on me and left me in a state of tranquillity and calmness. The morning aarti ended at 8.30 am and I returned to the hotel. Then I had my breakfast, packed my bags and started my journey back home.

The legend surrounding Orcha has it that the king abandoned it but the reason of its forsake by the government remains unanswered. The place presents contrasting pictures of hunger, of prosperity, of poor localities to affluent foreigners in search something that has been reduced to ruins due to the utter neglect of the concerned departments. Orcha was abandoned by its king, is being neglected and overlooked by the government but has not been forgotten. Inspite of the ruined forts, dilapidated roads, ill maintained temples Orcha still remains a place to be seen to experience the splendor and the architectural might of the ancient Indian rulers. The temples and the mythology related with them make it a place suitable for god seekers as well.

All along the journey these thoughts reverberated in my mind and I thought that Orcha as a place offers Indian religious tourist a place to worship, adventure seekers a place to enjoy, history lovers a place to ponder upon and foreigners a nice cheap destination to come to.

Hope you are one among those.

Orcha Factfile

Air : Nearest airport is - Gwalior 125Kms.
Rail : Nearest Rail Head is Jhansi (25Kms) which is connected to all major rail head of India
Road : Orcha lies on the Jhansi - Khajuraho road. Regular bus services, taxis and auto rickshaws connect Orchha with Jhansi.

A day in Srinagar

The moment I sat in the car for a trip around the Srinagar city I had a sense of excitement but thoughts of trepidation also lay inside. Kashmir known as the land of eternal beauty, romance and blessed with glorious climate has in the recent past been affected with violence and gruesome militant attacks. So the moment I landed in Srinagar one part of me realized the beauty of the place but the other could also sense the uneasy calm prevailing in the city. The people looked tense, tourists threatened and the police was on constant vigil and it seemed that a militant attack was just around the corner.















But inspite of all this I decided to visit and experience the so called "paradise on earth". The boulevard road which lines the famous Dal lake like an encircling ring of silver was taken and the first view of the Dal lake from my car was enlightening giving me an idea of the immense natural beauty that lay ahead. The taxi driver parked near a shikara stand at the Dal and instantaneously a tall, fair kurta wearing man approached me and in typical kashmiri fashion wished me "aadab arz" and requested me to board his shikara. These shikara waalas are really friendly, as every kashmiri is and one can easily fall into their trap to pay them the money they are not entitled for the shikara ride. There are no fixed rates set for these shikara rides, so one has to be shrewd in bargaining so that the shikara ride isn't too heavy on your pockets. After much deliberation I decided to board a shikara. The shikaras are really comfortable and I lied down and relaxed to enjoy the immaculate beauty on offer. The moment I started the Shikara ride hordes of dim-nav(small shikaras that are less luxurious and often used as shops) surrounded me and the people started displaying the indigenously made jewelries, shawls, home decoration items like table cloth, pen stand etc. I was amazed to see that even a post office has been created on the Dal lake to enable the tourists to write their letters and post them while enjoying the shikara ride. So after the initial hullabaloo of about 15 minutes, the Shikara waala led my shikara to a secluded place where I could realize the degree and the extent of beauty around me. The scene while in Shikara was majestic with the mighty Pir Panjal Range totally surrounding the lake and the house boats lining the lake as beads in a necklace. The sound of oar creaming through the waters of Dal lake sounded as music to my ears. The cold wind fizzing past scented as fragrance of a flower and the faces of other tourist awestruck by wonderful air and lovely scenery and made me realize how special this Shikara ride was. The shikara waala told me that Dal Lake in Kashmir sustains the livelihood of more than 1 lakh people because of its tourists and the vegetables which grow in the floating gardens over it. The Nehru Park, Char Chinar, The Centaur Hotel over the Dal Lake add flair, beauty to the Dal.
















So after an hour on the Dal Lake inside a comfortable shikara the historical Shankaracharya temple where Lord Shankaracharya is believed to have meditated was next in our itinerary. The Shankaracharya temple is situated on the summit of the Shankaracharya hill adjacent to the Dal lake. Inorder to reach the temple one has to cross about 200 steps which left me gasping for my breath when I reached the temple. The temple has a conical structure and is made with stones with no cement being used for building it. A stark contrast among the temples in valley is that even the priests in temples are security personnel. As a result all the temples in the valley resemble a fortress as they are at the constant target of militants. The religious sanctity and the scenic beauty of the place totally tranquilized me and filled in a sense of calmness. Digital Cameras are not allowed inside the temple premises but the picture of the temple as well as one of the finest views of Srinagar and its environs including the Dal lake, serpentine bed of river Jhelum and the amphitheatre of mountains has been forever etched in my mind.















After the spiritual outing, it was time to visit the famous gardens starting with the Chashma Shahi which has been described as architecturally the most charming of the gardens near Srinagar. The spring of Chashma Shahi is regarded as being able to cure digestive troubles of every kind. This place is the most common picnic spot of the locals and I saw everyone carrying a bottle for taking that spring water. The spring water is sweet and is no doubt blessed by gods as postulated by the locals. The garden also commands a lovely view of the lotus stretches on the Dal lake and Hari Parbat in the background. The grand patterns of the picturesque scenery mirrored on the surface of the Dal lake left me gasping for more. After that just along the way, about 4 kms from Chashma Shahi is Pari Mahal which houses an ancient school of astronomy. I found it to be the most picturesque place in Srinagar. At Pari Mahal I even stood on that same pavement where Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta stood to shoot a song sequence in Mission Kashmir. Pari Mahal overlooks the Dal lake, the golf course, Mughal gardens rendering it the title of the "throne of paradise" i.e. Kashmir.















Then winding across the roads for 15 minutes led us to the parking stand of the Nishat garden. Nishat is a garden of numerous terraces, beautiful lawns, myriad of flowers and fountains. The 10 terraces in the garden present a beautiful view of the Dal lake and diverse flora makes it a place for plant lovers too. The giant chinar trees, beauty of the flower beds enhanced by fountain jets renders it a very unique look. The Shalimar garden is a little smaller in size but I found it to be more beautiful than Nishat. The magnificent black stone pavilion in Shalimar is said to be used as a banqueting hall in the palmy days of the Mughals. While Nishat made me sense the joy and buoyancy of nature, Shalimar left me awestruck by the majestic beauty of the scenery around. Similar still uniquely different architecture and topography of these gardens made me realize the talent, conviction and love the Mughal emperors had for the valley. The driver also made me cognizant of the fact that Akbar found Kashmir resembling his original home in Turkistan and so set about laying out gardens in these green alluvial hill slopes which presented themselves as an ideal locale due to their natural charm and unrivalled beauty.

A trip around the Srinagar city could not be complete unless I visited one of the mosques. So I had asked my driver to include Hazratbal mosque in the itinerary. Many terror sagas are associated with Hazratbal but luckily this time around the place was quiet and calm. At Hazratbal the public parking stand is quite far away from the main entrance of the mosque so the long lonely walk from the parking to the entrance full of barricades and myriad of soldiers pointing their guns towards me was frightening, but the very thought of being among lucky few to visit the shrine carried me on. So after extensive security checks I entered the mosque built on the western bank of the Dal lake and offering an interesting blend of Kashmir and Mughal architecture. The brink masonry, designs on the walls and the unique architecture is remarkable. The mosque is believed to have Prophets hair brought from Medina and so is highly revered by the Kashmiris. After visiting the Ziarat(mosque) we had to start our journey towards Kheer Bhawani Temple which is the most worshipped shrine in the valley. Along the way to Kheer Bhawani Temple we passed through Ganderbal which my driver told is the constituency of Dr. Farooq Abdullah. The road passed through rice fields, long chinar trees and small ponds filled with water because of the innumerable springs in the area. The sight of young boys and girls waving their hands as if welcoming me in their homeland cannot be forgotten by me. So after an hour long journey I reached Kheer Bhawani Temple which was also heavily guarded and I had to write down my name and address as well as prove my identity. I would like to request every visitor to carry an identity card when in Kashmir for security reasons. When I entered the Kheer Bhawani Temple I realized that it is situated in the center of a small tank around which there is a platform under a few large shady trees. It is held by the people that whenever a calamity befalls on the state of Kashmir the water of the tank changes color to black. The hindus have great reverence for the shrine and come in huge numbers particularly on the asthmis of Jeth and Ashar. The CRPF personnel guarding the temple were also offering Kheer to the devotees which I also ate. During the feast I started a conversation with a CRPF personnel who told me that inspite of the militancy, the pilgrimage has not declined partly due to the great reverence hindus have for the shrine and partly due to the local people who inspite of being muslims respect the sanctity of the place. Now by the time I returned to the car it was getting dark and the tax driver suggested me to start the journey back to the hotel as traveling in the night can be dangerous and so we returned.

After visiting Kashmir I realized that a visit to the valley of Kashmir can be memorable for the scenic beauty as it can be an experience to see the extent of fool proof security cover in Kashmir. But what I understood is that, if one has a penchant for adventure, loves excitement and admires the natural beauty the other side of Kashmir can be totally overlooked just as I did.

Hope same happens with you…………