Prologue Last summer while returning from Kalpa we were going through one of the translations from Rabindranath Tagore on the beauty of the mountains…. “In the mountain, stillness surges up to explore its own height in the lake, movement stands still to contemplate its own depth.” The aura of the mountains was so daunting it … More Leh – The Land of Brown Mountains
Prologue We were mesmerized by the sheer brilliance of the great red sandstone mausoleum. The aura of the sunset was amazing. The cacophony of the parrots, the chants of the evening prayers from a nearby mosque and the cool breeze dancing around the tomb garden were soothing our spirits after a days’ tour in and around … More An evening in Humayun’s Tomb
Bhagsunag Temple Bhagsunag Temple is located on the upper ridges of Mcleodganj. It took us hardly fifteen minutes from the monastery parking space to reach our destination. We were surprised to see the parking space allotted for tourists to be already full. Bhagsunag Temple entrance, Mcleodganj The place was buzzing with tourists, guides, vendors, and … More Spiritually Delightful Dharamshala II
The serene beauty of the mighty Kinnaur Kailash..early in the morning… Prologue The snow clad peaks of the mighty Kinnaur Kailash bloomed with its divine glory with the morning Sun bathing the entire valley. We stood mesmerized, frozen in the morning chill. The mighty Kinnaur Kailash Range The growing early morning daylight spread over the … More A serene morning in Kalpa
Prologue It was the wedding night of Ram Kumar Negi and Jyothi. Ram’s green Kinnauri topi was hanging beside the closed wooden dwarang (door) of their humble two storied hut in the village of Rakchham in Kinnaur. Their beautiful wooden hut was today neatly decorated with Bijli lamps. It was also the wedding day of Ram’s … More Polyandry, Alienation, Religion and Land: Many Shades of Kinnaur
Traveling to Kalpa: The Adrenaline Rush Prologue Milton had immortalized the flavor of paradise in his illustrious creations Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. People had quite often compared the valleys of Kashmir as being the true Jannat (Paradise) on Earth. There is no doubt about that! But how many of us are aware that, beyond … More Traveling to Kalpa: The Adrenaline Rush
Prologue Melancholy was grabbing our spirits very fast while we were on our way back from Chitkul, passing the Godly valleys looking so ever mysterious in the growing cloud cover. The sun rays were playing hide and seek with the clouds, the mountain tops were looking darker and shaded than before and there was growing … More A memorable evening at Fort Kamru
Prologue We were excited like anything when Mr. Mukesh Negi our tour guide explained us the details of the Sangla-Chitkul trip at the lawn of the Hotel Kinnaur Kailash Kalpa (Altitude: 2960m i.e. 9710 ft) . We were literally amazed by the depth of his information and knowledge about the place. There was hardly a … More Sangla Unplugged: A Paradise in Kinnaur
Prologue We had been excited like anything from the moment we had read about the Kinnaur village Chitkul last winter. As our trip to Kinnaur shaped out during this year’s summer vacation, we could hardly hide our elation and excitement about this amazing place. Our journey from Kalpa to Chitkul We had already booked a … More Chitkul the last Inhabited Himachali village near Indo-Tibet Border
Prologue Dinning in a place of tourist interest is always interesting. I have not expressed myself much in my earlier blogs anything about dinning. But the last trip to Dehradun was something amazing, which I thought I should bring to my readers at mytravelnama.com. The experience at Kalsang Friends’ Corner was truly amazing. And I … More Kalsang Friends’ Corner..appetizing and outstanding
PROLOGUE Ever since my childhood days, I had been enthralled by the stories of the hideous mysteries of caves. The fear factor started from the stories of Tom Sawyer, Ali Baba and Forty Thieves, Aladdin. The adventure of Tom Sawyer in that mysterious cave scared a hell out of me. I had enjoyed cave exploration to my … More Robber’s Cave Dehradun: Admiring the beauty of Nature
THE AMAZING SHAH JAHANI MAHALS, AGRA FORT Emperor Shah Jahan was one of the finest admirers of white marble architecture. It is said that he might have had demolished many of the Akbari mahals to modify them into his white marble palaces. While moving out of the Akbari mahals, our guide directed us towards the … More Amazing Shah Jahani Mahals, Agra Fort
THE MAJESTIC AKBARI MAHALS The Akbari Mahals are perhaps one of the oldest mansions in the Agra fort lying in the South-eastern part of the fort complex. These mansions are in ruins and very few could be seen in their original form. Yet we did have a nice time around them. As indicated by our guide, … More Exploring the Akbari Mahals, Red Fort, Agra
PROLOGUE The Red Fort Agra: Symbol of the Mughal Grandeur and Pride The morning chill of Agra was literally shaking our roots. It was misty and cold at 6 am in the morning. Although it was 6am, but believe us it looked as if it was 4am in the morning. Hardly could we find anybody … More Exploring the Jahangir Mahals, Red Fort, Agra
PROLOGUE Agra had been known for ages for the Taj, Fatehpur Sikri, the Red Fort and Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra. How many of us are aware of some of the other monuments in and around Agra forgotten by people. Inspite of restoration initiatives taken by the ASI, these monuments had remained away from the focus … More Forgotten Monuments in Agra
PROLOGUE In earlier issues of mytravelnama, we had presented you some amazing facts and figures including pictures of Fatehpur Sikri depicting the pinnacle of administrative and spiritual glory of the Mughal empire during the reign of Akbar the Great. Well, in the new year, let us have a long journey to the great emperor’s Royal … More Fatehpur Sikri: Exploring the Royal Court
Prologue The ship was miserably carried away by the furious tornado and the sailors knew well they were well away from their route to Rangoon. Captain James Stewart was not dejected like the others who had lost all the hope. Suddenly one of the crew came running in to his cabin, shouting that a huge … More The Amazing Sun Temple of Konark
Prologue …..The brave teenager with dark complexion was beating a furious multi headed gigantic venomous serpent to its doom. His parents and neighbours were crying for help and God’s mercy on the banks of the Yamuna. The water and the air around the river were bitterly poisoned by the venom spitted by the evil serpent … More Incredible Vrindavan
Prologue We had a long cherished dream of having a rendezvous with Akbar’s Tomb…one of our country’s precious architectural marvels. The opportunity came during our prized winter vacation in Agra. We were returning from the Mariam’s Tomb towards Agra city taking the Agra Delhi Highway (NH2). Our journey was fairly quick, we had to turn around and … More Akbar’s Tomb: One among India’s prized Architectural Marvels
Prologue The shadows of the tall pine woods loom large, The mists keep caressing the distant hills, With their tender softness, The breeze howls loudly across the vale so serene, The brooks rush down to meet their destiny- The green meadows keep waiting, To haunt many a soul, With the wilderness blooming all over you … More The Paradise Vale: Khajiyyar
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