Its International Tiger Day and tigers are all over in the news for last few days. From missing of tiger Jai in Maharashtra's Umred Karhandla wildlife sanctuary to debate of inflated tiger count in India's tiger reserves... but for the tiger lovers, there is nothing like a good sighting of a tiger in the wild. But there are times when in wild you know that tiger is there around you but you are not able to see it. Those are the very thrilling but also very frustrating moments. A look at such moments, when tiger sighting ends in agonising wait or... extraordinary thrill. With a pug mark so fresh... you know you have missed the tiger just by... but then who know that. He or she might be still around, watching you! When, all you have to remain contented with is these marks on the ...
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We visited Borobudur temple in the third leg of our Indonesia trip, when we were stationed at Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is the biggest city close to this UNESCO world heritage site. Borobudur at Magelang in Central Java province of Indonesia is a Mahayana Buddhist Temple built in 8th and 9th centuries. It has been recorded as the largest Buddhist Temple in the world. But not just that... it is not just because of its size. It is considered to be one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world and for that matter, among the greatest monuments in the world. Complex is huge and very artistically and geometrically built. It wasn't possible for us to see it from the top, but this aerial image (below) taken from internet gives an idea of what this structure is like. In the image below yo...
Read More'रंगीलो म्हारो राजस्थान' (My colourful Rajasthan), that's what we say here. It is truly one of the most colourful, vibrant and tourist friendly states in India. It is distinctly known for its culture, history, forts, food, hospitality and lot more. Despite being a Rajasthani, I always found it very fascinating to travel to interiors of the state. Every time you will find something new and interesting. Here are some captures from one such visit- All images here are from a trip to Shekhawati region, precisely from Churu & Sikar districts. Bangles women here wear normally are made of lac or lakh (लाख). Lac bangles are although a big sector in the state, but a lot of work is also done in the household set-ups like this one. Very interesting to watch, and what a precision these hands...
Read MoreTokyo is one of those cities that gives you a real big city feeling, not just big but huge, just like Chicago or Shanghai. That has to be for the world's most populated city perhaps. Its altogether different feeling. And you need days or weeks to claim that you have seen the whole city. For that matter, any night stroll has to be essentially close to the place of stay, as was Nishi Shinjuku for me. It is always fascinating to watch a city skyline in night from a high-rise, so overwhelming- Well for a city like Tokyo, life doesn't stops at night, it seems like usual- on the roads- Umbrellas are really handy in Tokyo and actually everyone (all locals) carries a one. For the first time I saw almost all stores having umbrella stands at the entrance or a machine to cover yo...
Read MoreWell, India shares a lot of its history with Sri Lanka - since mythological times! Ditto with Buddhism, which spread from India to Sri Lanka. As a traveler Indians will often feel home there. Kandy is beautiful place to be for the tourists for elephant orphanage of Pinnawala near by and also for its Royal botanical garden. Kandy is in heart of Sri Lanka - virtually as well as actually. Geographically it is in the centre of the emerald island nation. Kandy is also famous for Dalada Maligawa temple known also as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha (image below). The temple is located in the royal palace complex (image below) of the former kingdom of Kandy. In the buddhist nation, this relic was held in such a high esteem that it w
Read MoreThis is the happier time after month of sorrowful fasting of Ramadan. Chand Raat brings joyful people to the market for shopping. It is also one of our favourite times to visit the Jama Masjid market to soak ourselves in the feeling of joy and compassion. A collection of images from this year's visit to the Jama Masjid market, though it was not so crowded when we reached, but numbers had started ballooning by the time we packed-off. केदार नाथ अग्रवाल आधुनिक हिंदी कविता के सिरमौर कवियों में से एक हैं। ईद पर उनकी एक प्यारी कविता। ईद मुबारक हमको, तुमको, एक-दूसरे की बाहों में बँध जाने की ईद मुबारक। बँधे-बँधे, रह एक वृंत पर, खोल-खोल कर प्रिय पंखुरियाँ कमल-कमल-सा खिल जाने की, रूप-रंग से मुसकाने की हमको, तुमको ईद मुबारक। और जगत के इस जीवन के खारे पानी के सागर म...
Read MoreOne of those places which one has to see to believe. In such a fragile ecosystem are preserved some miracles of the nature. Dhankar and its surrounding areas are one of them. On the left bank of the Spiti river at a distance of 32 kms downstream from Kaza, near Shichling at an altitude of 3870 m, nestles the citadel of Dhankar, the erstwhile official capital of Spiti. Needless to say that Spiti valley makes you speechless with its sheer beauty at every step. Dhankar has a fort and a monastery. The citadel is built on a spur which projects into the main valley and ends in a precipice. The location of this fort is strategic as Spiti always had to suffer innumerable aggressions by its neighbours. The location allowed the Spitian to keep vigil on the approaches and to submit ...
Read MoreWhile getting down from Mussoorie, just around the so-called Mussoorie Lake area the traffic jam was really scary. It was abnormal and the jam of vehicles going towards the 'Queen of Hills' stretched for more than two kilometre on that winding hilly road. I knew that scenes would have been almost similar or worse in the Kempty falls area in the other side of the city. Although, contributing to this chaos was the fact that summer holidays were about to end in the north and weekends are the favourite times for the north Indians to hit the hills, specially the nearby ones. But still, I was more than relieved on our decision to avoid Mussoorie for this brief sojourn. More so, that we witnessed this traffic chaos when we were coming downhill and luckily escaped that when we were going to Dhanau...
Read MoreIts always fascinating to capture a city from the sky while landing or taking off in a flight. More so when the city is new and the images give you a entirely new perspective of the city. Even if not that, it is still fun to have a top view. These images were my 'Hello' to capital Jakarta on my recent first ever visit to the Indonesia. And the results were certainly not disappointing - a warm welcome to a wonderful country - Wonderful Indonesia. Sitting pretty! Clouds on their pockets of the islands!! Lagoons and the beaches! Anticipation of nature's bounty!! A glimpse of the turquoise blue waters! These white spots are the indication of a harbour nearby! Truly enough, we close in to the port city! The sea, the land and the air... all in the nature's single frame! Somebo
Read MoreWell, just after the Summer solstice when on World Music Day, everybody was listening to the music of Yoga, we had chance to witness an excellent Bharatnatyam performance by Purva Dhanashree. Purva is known along with her accomplishments in Bharatnatyam, also for carrying forward the tradition of lesser known Vilasini Natyam from none other than the legendary Swapnasundari. Any dance has to do lot with the facial expressions. Along with body movement, its by there expressions that a dancer creates a perfect emotional contact with the viewers and takes them to a different world. Well, so here I have tried to capture some of the facial expressions from Purva Dhanashree during her performance last night (click the photos to see them in enlarged form and enjoy the real beauty of the exp...
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