India – Page 5 – VAGABOND IMAGES

GOING SOLO: More Indians now travelling alone!

Upendra SwamiDecember 23, 20191214 Views2

Each time, I went for three of my most ambitious trips in last seven years, I went alone. I not only enjoyed it but I also was aware that I was just the part of a growing trend. It only gets more and more confirmed now. 40% of travellers based in India intend to “go solo” when they travel, as compared to 25% of Asia Pacific travelers, reveals a recent study by Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest loyalty program of global travel and hospitality company Hilton. The research – surveying close to 1,120 avid travellers aged between 20-45 in India and segmented by life stage – explored the travel motivations, aspirations and expectations of the country’s most active travellers. The primary motivation for 66% of these intrepid travellers is to experience “life-changing moments” that pu...

IndiaPhotogallery

Bada Bagh: An oasis and cenotaphs side by side!

Upendra SwamiDecember 11, 20193846 Views4

It was an amazing sight- with Royal Cenotaphs of the Bada Bagh in the foreground and towering windmills in the background. A modern technology making a backdrop for a slice of history. Bada Bagh or Bara Bagh was the first wind power project in Rajasthan in private sector at the start of this century. Completing the view was a dense garden in the foreground, almost like an oasis in the desert. It actually was. Huge windmills, cenotaphs and a secluded garden all together gave a feeling of an eerie calmness. Entering the cenotaph complex It was astounding that there was no other tourist in the Bada Bagh cenotaph complex when we were there, and it was surprising also considering the fact, that whole complex looked too impressive to be missed by any tourist. A view from above ...

IndiaPhotogallery

Nanakmatta, place of Guru Nanak’s discourse

Upendra SwamiNovember 12, 20193596 Views2

Located between Sitarganj and Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, Gurudwara Nanakmatta Sahib is one of the historical shrines associated with Guru Nanak. On the occasion of 550th Prakash Parv (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion, lets go on a photo tour of the Gurudwara Nanakmatta Sahib. View of the Gurudwara from the main road It is said that Guru Nanak Dev visited this place during his third Udasi (Guru's travels) in 1514 AD. At that time this place was under spiritual control of Siddhas (Yogis, devotees os Guru Gorakhnath). People also say that, just because of this the place was earlier known as Gorkahmata. Main building of the Gurudwara Guru Nanak's way of spiritual awakening among people was entirely different from what was pr...

India

Shah Waliullah Library: A little effort with a rare, outstanding reach!

Upendra SwamiSeptember 9, 20193508 Views2

For book lovers around the world, libraries bring together a world of fascination. Libraries not just store the large, larger and largest volume of books, but big or small, they are also the treasure-trove of knowledge, culture and history. This time around, I am taking you all to a very small library situated in dark alleys of walled city in Old Delhi. Very small, but very unique. Libraries can be unique in their own ways- some in volume of books, some in sheer size of complex, some in collection, some in antiquity, some in architecture and many others in many other ways. Therefore, it won’ be fair to compare a library with 162 million items to a library with just over 21 thousand books. Libraries are dependent on resources, support and patronage and, also on their motives. Little spa...

IndiaNews

Snake boat races in Kerala get their own champions league

Upendra SwamiSeptember 1, 20192680 Views2

Kerala’s famed snake boat race lost most of their charm last year because of catastrophic floods. Heavy rains in first half of August threatened to repeat it again this year. But the God’s own country somehow escaped the nature’s fury this time and though delayed, the boat race season in now on its track, which normally kicks off every year with historical Champakulam Boat Race on the Moolam day. But there was lot more in store this year. Kerala’s all-famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race got an added feature this year when Champions Boat League (CBL) was flagged off at Alappuzha amid the star presence of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, gifting the country its first such water sport formatted on the lines of IPL cricket. Pallathuruthi Boat Club were the proud winners of the Nehru Boat Rac...

AdventureIndia

A panchpura and a legend of shepherd king at Raithal

Upendra SwamiAugust 12, 20193682 Views2

It’s the time of the year again, when Raithal village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand gets ready for a unique festival. A festival celebrated to welcome the cattle folk as well as shepherds back to village after months of rearing and grazing in higher meadows of Himalayas. It’s a Holi celebrated not with colours but with butter and curd milk. More about Butter Holi of Raithal, read: Get ready for a Holi with Butter at Dayara Temple at Raithal village Raithal is also popular as base for many treks originating from or concluding at Dayara Bugyal. Truly, Raithal is no ordinary village. Besides its locational value just on the footsteps of Dayara Bugyal and its unique Butter Holi, it is also a historical village. It has got some very old traditional Garhwali homes. Many o...

AdventureIndia

Get ready for the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek

Upendra SwamiJuly 29, 20192109 Views6

Its the time of the year when trekking lovers should be ready for the two of the most beautiful treks in mid-Himalayan region- the ever popular Valley of Flowers trek and the newly popularised Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. When the major trekking season in Himalayan region takes a monsoon break in August-September, these are the two most sought after treks. Camps alongside the stream Kashmir Great Lakes trek, read: Thajiwas is the perfect acclimatisation There is still big difference between the two. Valley of Flowers is largely a single day trek, as there is no camping allowed inside the Valley. So, one has to start early morning from Ghangaria, do as much of trek inside the national park as possible (depends on individual fitness and capability) and return back to Ghangaria in t...

IndiaPhotogallery

Nature’s poet and poet’s museum

Upendra SwamiJuly 19, 20192277 Views0

Pant museum at Kausani in Uttarakhand isn’t a touristy place as such. In my three visits to this place in the course of last few years, I have rarely seen any other tourist there. Despite, this place being in the heart of the Kausani town with just a few steps to walk upto the museum from the road head. I wonder, if even more than five percent of the tourists coming to Kausani would remember the name of Sumitranandan Pant, although surely most of us in Hindi heartland of India have read his poems in school text books. Ancestral house converted into museum Main entrance to the Sumitranandan Pant museum Actually, we don’t respect our literary persons. They are the ones who guide our intellectual discourse, many of them have been leading lights for various movements but we tend to...

IndiaPhotogallery

Lord with a might: Ranganathaswamy of Srirangam

Upendra SwamiJuly 9, 20193213 Views0

While going from Tiruchirapalli to Srirangam, the skyline dotted with gopurams is simply unmistakable. It immediately tells you about the enormity of the place we are visiting. Therefore, I now feel it very intriguing that Srirangam was not the among the first names that I heard whenever I read or listened to about prominent temples of South India. Only word closer to it that I heard was the Srirangapatna, the erstwhile capital of Tipu Sultan. I came to know it at a very later stage that both Srirangam as well as the Srirangapatna are famous for Ranganathaswamy temples along with an another temple of the same deity at Sivasamudram. Four storey gopuram at Ranganathswamy temple Hence, having heard of temples of Rameshwaram, Madurai, Chidambaram, Tirupathi, Guruvayoor, Thiruvananthapur...

IndiaPhotogallery

A palace that welcomes monsoon to Lake City

Upendra SwamiJuly 7, 20191465 Views2

Those who have been to Udaipur and would have gone out in the evening for a stroll along any of its lakes, they would have certainly noticed an illuminated castle looking like almost hanging in thin air towards the west of the city. Well, in daylight you can locate it very clearly, unless it is too misty. It’s Sajjan Garh. A view from Karni Mata temple- Doodh Talai, Pichola Lake and Sajjangarh atop the hill in the background. In comparison to other historical structures related to Mewar, Sajjan Garh Palace is comparatively recent one, still it is 135 years old. More interestingly, the construction of this palace took place when India had already become a British colony officially. Palace was built by Maharana Sajjan Singh who was at helm for ten years from 1874 to 1884. Hen...