Bangalore Chronicle

Its been 6 months since we moved to Bangalore. Visits from in-laws and parents resulted in a lot of sight-seeing in and around Bangalore. It is impossible to cover all the places in one day in Bangalore due to traffic and distance. This post is about all the places we have visited in Bangalore and an attempt to act as a sight-seeing/ tourism guide for any visitor. There are still lot of places yet to be seen.

1. Bull Temple – It is situated in Basavanagudi ( Basava means bull in Kannada). It is the oldest temple built in the Dravidian style by Kempe Gowda, founder of Bangalore and has a monolithic Nandi, the bull (vahana or vehicle of Lord Shiva). Karnataka Tourism website tells me the imposing sculpture of Nandi measures 4.57 meters in height in height and 6.10 meters in length. There is a legend associated with the temple. You can also see the famous Dodda Ganesh temple next to the Bull temple. Apparently there is a huge monolithic statue of Lord Ganapathi about 18 ft in height and 16 ft in width, coated with kilos of butter. We didn’t have time to visit that temple so no photos. Timings of Bull Temple : 6 am to 8 pm.

2. Lalbagh – Well, anyone who wants to travel to Bangalore or knows people who live here, know about Lalbagh So I will just quote introduction from their official website. Timings: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, open all days. No charge for camera.

The Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore is of royal origin and was started initially as a private garden in an area of 40 acres by Hyder Ali and later developed by Tippu Sultan. Lalbagh was given the status of a Government Botanical Garden in 1856, and since then, it has been an internationally renowned centre for scientific study of plants and botanical artwork and conservation of plants. Today, the garden is a lush green paradise with an area of 240 acres in the heart of the city. The main gate is at the North facing towards Subbaiah circle, the West gate is towards Basavanagudi, the South gate is towards Jayanagar and the East gate is towards the Double Road. Today, nearly 673 genera and 1,854 species of plants are found in Lalbagh.

There are tour vehicles available at the North Gate which give you a tour of the 18 notable places of the huge garden. The charge is Rs 100 person but it is good for the elderly and disabled and for those who are on a sightseeing tour of the city. Of the 18 tourist places, here is a description of few of them.

Above is the Glass House constructed in the year 1890 on the model of Crystal Palace of London. It is the most famous structure in Lalbagh.  The glass house is the venue for holding the famous biannual flower shows of Lalbagh.

The lake is the main reason for the establishment of the garden. This 30 acre lake serves as a source of water for watering the garden plants. Below is a tower known as Kempegowda Tower that stands on a wide stretch of rock called peninsular gneiss, constructed in 1597 AD. The tower offers a partial view of the Bangalore city.

3. Kote Venkataramana Temple – It is located at the junction of Albert Victor Road and K R Road at Chamrajpet. It was constructed in 1695 during the time of Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, one of the Mysore rulers. This famous Vishnu temple has a huge “gopuram” built in typical Dravidian style. Parking can be a problem as it is at a very busy traffic junction. Timings: 08:00 am – 12:00 pm 06:00 pm – 08:30 pm, all days.

4. Tippu Sultan’s Summer Palace – It is located next to the Kote Venkataramana temple. The palace’s construction was started by Hyder Ali and completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791. This was one of Tipu Sultan’s summer retreats hence the name. It is a two storied palace built of teak wood completely and has ornate pillars, arches and balconies. There are floral motifs painted on the walls and ceilings of the palace. There is a huge well-maintained garden leading from the entrance to the palace. Again, parking can be a problem as it is a very busy market area. Timings: 9:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday closed. There is a nominal entrance fee.

5. Government Museum – This is situated on Kasturba road. The museum, constructed in 1876, is one of the oldest in India and has a beautiful well maintained building with two exhibition floors. The museum has a wonderful collection of coins, weaponry, sculptures, inscriptions, old paintings and excavated items including those from Mohenjodaro! Timing : 10 am to 5 pm. Wednesdays closed. Entry fees : Rs 5. Photography prohibited.

6. Venkatappa Art Gallery - The Venkatappa Art Gallery is located next to the Museum and is named after Late K Venkatappa (1887–1962), court painter to the Wodeyars. There is no separate ticket for this gallery..the one to museum is valid for both places. The gallery showcases a selection of Venkatappa’s famous paintings, plaster of paris works and wooden sculptures. Also on view are works of various contemporary artists. Timing: 10 am – 5 pm. Wednesdays closed.

7. Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum -  It is situated on Kasturba Road on the other side of the Government Musuem. It was established in 1962 and is one of the units of National Council of Science Museums. The wonderful and impressive musuem is a tribute to the eminent engineer and scholar Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The museum has seven permanent exhibition halls (Engine Hall, Electrotechnic, Fun Science, Space, Biotechnological Revolution, BEL-Hall of Electronics and Science for Children and two special exhibits(Dinosaur Corner and Wright brothers aeroplan). The place is a must visit for all the people interested in science and engineering. Also a number of shows are held for the visitors – Taramandal Show, Science Demonstration Show and 3D film show. Timings: 10 am – 6pm. Open on all days except for Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepawali.

8. Government Aquarium -  It is located right at the entrance of Cubbon Park from KG road side. It is the second largest aquarium in India and has a diamond shaped building comprising of three floors. The ground floor has the office and the laboratory. First floor has 14 big tanks of cultivable fish. Second floor has both large and small fishes kept in separate tanks exhibiting their habitat. Timings : 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on Thursdays. Entry fees : Rs 5.

9. Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium – It is situated at T. Chowdiah Road but no one seems to recognize the road’s name so it is better to tell Raj Bhavan road. Also it is better to take auto from Kasturba Gandhi road / Cubbon park area as they know the place. Others don’t know “planetarium” and hard to make them understand if you don’t know Kannada. The planetarium was founded in 1989 and has a dome with 15 m diameter upon which the show is projected. There are exhibition halls which offer more information on astronomy. There is a weighing scale which shows one’s weight on all the planets and gives a print-out. Also there is a Science Park outside the Planetarium. Though the show was good, the crowd spoiled it by doing flash photography; even though cameras were prohibited. The show timings are : 12.30, 3:00, 4.30 and 5.15 pm for English shows. Monday closed.

10. Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain and Park – It is situated right opposite to the Planetarium. The landscaped park, maintained by the Department of Horticulture, is spread over 17 hectares of land and includes a play area for children. At the entrance to the park, there is a railway engine placed in honor of the then Central Railway Minister, C K Jaffer Sharief, who presented the musical fountain in 1995. The musical show consists of synchronized rhythmic dancing of the fountains based on multimedia technology along with both Hindi and Kannada songs and lights which makes it a visual and audio delight. Timings: Two shows are held daily at 7 pm and 8 pm. Mondays and second Tuesdays of the month are holidays.

11. Shiva Temple – It is located behind Total Mall on Old Airport Road. Although it is a must visit for religious people, it makes a good tourist place for non-believers too. The concept of the place is worth seeing. One has to buy tickets at some places and there is extra charge for camera. Upholding the tradition of worshipping Lord Ganesh before all endeavors, there is a 32-feet-tall Vignaharan Ganesh statue at the start of the tour.

Along the tour you will come across 108 Om Namah Shivaya Yatra  (where you can drop coins one by one in the 108 bowls chanting Om Namah Shivaya – beware each coins cost rs 10), Pahadi Shiv Dham Yatra (where you can experience the illusion of being at the pilgrimages of Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Amarnath – complete with an exact replica of the famous frozen shrine!!), Barah Jyotir Ling Yatra (where you can see exact replicas of the 12 sacred lingams along with animatronics!), a replica of Mansarovar Lake, Pratyaksh Ling, Healing Stone and Navagraha Temple.

The temple is abode to the 65-feet-tall Shiva statue seated in a Yogic (Lotus) posture with the scenic backdrop of Mount Kailash, Himalayas and the Ganges flowing from the Lord’s matted locks. Timings: Open 24 hours, all days

12. Ulsoor Lake – It is located near M.G.Road. Though there are timings to visit the lake, a tip of rs 10 will get you inside during off timings. The lake is one of the biggest lakes of the city and is dotted with islands. There is a boat club at the lake (whose gate is on the other side) where you can hire a boat to go boating around the beautiful lake. Boating club timings : 9 am to 6 pm with holiday on Wednesday. Apparently, there is also a gurdwara near the Ulsoor lake, considered to be the largest Sikh shrine in the Bangalore city of India but we didn’t visit that.

13. Bangalore Palace – It is situated in the Palace Gardens, near Jayamahal. The beautiful palace was built by a Wodeyar King in 1887 on the 400 acre space. It is built in the Tudor style, complete with Gothic windows, foiled windows, battlements and turrets; apparently inspired by the Windsor castle in London. The palace is constructed largely of wood and is famous for its carvings, paintings, historical photos, furniture, trophies from hunts and traditional dresses. There are audio tour guides available for tourists which are quite useful to understand and enjoy the palace. Also the audio guide is available in English, Kannada, Hindi, French, Spanish, German, Italian and the tour lasts about an hour. But the entrance fees is very costly. For Indians it is Rs 200 (inclusive of audio guide) and camera charge is Rs 600!!! The grounds are now used for hosting various events. We visited the palace on 31st Dec so there were lot of preparations going on for some New Year bash. So we didn’t get to capture any nice photos of the impressive palace. Timings : 10 am to 6 pm (Sunday Holiday)

14. ISKCON Temple – The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in Bangalore city is situated near Chord Road on a hillock called “Hare Krishna Hill”. The huge cultural complex is quite wonderful and has all the facilities. But one has to give all belongings (except purses) including camera. But people still take snaps using mobiles! Anyway so there are some direct darshan passes ( don’t know the cost) available to bypass the “buffer” system; which is quite tedious to be frank and especially when you fall behind someone who traverses the path actually stepping on stone tiles one at a time while chanting the mantra. And after all that one gets to see the idols and pray for just two seconds and is forced to move along!! But that will make a separate blog post in itself, so moving on..there are three temples mainly, one higher than the earlier. The construction of the place, the interiors, the gold-plated dwajastambha (flag post) at 17m high and the gold plated kalash shikara at 8.5m high are pretty impressive. On the return path, there are all sort of shops selling various mementos, dress materials, stationery items, idols and even tasty food items and sweets. One does get hungry after all that walking! There is free distribution of prasadam too. The place can get very very crowded during evening so beware! Timings for darshana: 4.15 am to 5 am, 7.15 am to 12.50 pm and 4 pm to 8.20 pm everyday.

There are still so many places left to visit – Bannerghatta National Park, HAL Aerospace Museum, Cubbon Park [by the time we visited all the places on KG road it was closing time for the park somehow every time ], St. Marks Cathedral etc. So there will be a second part of this post! Hence to be continued……

Kolkata Chronicle

In August 2009 I visited Kolkata along with my parents. Our schedule was just full of meeting friends and relatives. We had just one day to do sightseeing around Kolkata. So here is an account of my trip.

Day 1 – 13th Aug 2009:- Mumbai Howrah Mail reaches Howrah at 5.50 am as per Indian Railways. But the moment it entered Howrah’s  nearby region, there was no line clearance and the train started moving at snail’s pace. We reached at 8.30 am!!

Then there was the long queue at the prepaid taxi booth. (If you don’t go by prepaid, the taxi drivers will fleece you).

That is a view of the red building of Howrah Station and The Howrah Bridge

Day 2 and 3 were spent with relatives doing nothing fruitful.

# Day 4, 16th August 2009 :- At last Dad took me sightseeing around Kolkata..but due to rains we couldn’t stick to our time schedule. First we went to Science City.

Science City, the largest science centre in the sub-continent, under the National Council of Science Museums consists of two facilities, the Science Centre and the Convention Centre. The Science Centre complex comprises Space Odyssey, Dynamotion, Evolution Theme Park, Maritime Centre and a Science Park. The Space Odyssey houses India’s first Large Format Film Theatre, Time Machine, 3-D Vision Theatre, Mirror Magic and exhibits on space science, motion, electricity and virtual reality. The Dynamotion Hall has a Butterfly Corner, Aquaria, an exposition on giant robotic insects and host of interactive exhibits on science & technology for both education and entertainment of the visitors.

It was an awesome place for people interested in science. There was a small scientific show on dry ice where I got applauded for my correct answers. The Time Machine was cool too but my mom got very scared. A 70 mm documentary called “The Living Sea” was telecasted in the Space Theatre. It was simply awesome!! Though photography was prohibited people were taking pictures inside the theatre. I decided not to in the best interests of my camera. In the collage below you can see the science city building, mom walking on the musical piano, the “see your voice” equipment and “The Powers of Ten”.

Due to rain, we were unable to visit rest of science city and take more snaps. Then we went to visit one of my Dad’s friends in South Kolkata and had lunch there. I was able to take a snap of the famous “Tram”. Kolkata is the only city in India to have a tram network. Kolkata tram is the oldest operating electric tram of Asia, running since 1902. Trams are under the administration of the Calcutta Tramways Company, popularly called CTC.

From there we went to the Millennium Park located along the Strand Road. The most wonderful thing about this park is that its on the bank of river Hooghly. A nice place to sit and relax. But there are some bad areas of the park where one can see the pollution of the river. One can see both the Vidyasagar Setu and the Howrah Bridge from the park. Check out my photoblog for more photos of the park and its activities.

It was already dusk by the time we reached the famous Victoria Memorial. So all the snaps did not come out that well as my camera is not suited for night photography.

Dead tired after roaming about all day, we came back home.

# Day 5, 17th August 2009 :- Afternoon was spent in packing and we left for station by 6 pm, 2 hours before the train’s departure time. Kolkata traffic and roads are unpredictable!!

Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani Chronicle

This is the final post in the series of posts I have posted about my trip during the summer. In the first post I had described Aurangabad and Ellora Caves. In the second post I had described Pune, Khandala and Lonavala. From Pune we left for a 3 day stay at Mahabaleshwar.

6th Day :- Checked out of hotel at Pune early morning as our Volvo bus to Mahabaleshwar was to leave at 7.00 am. Bus left at 8.00 am!! Checked into pre-booked rooms of the MTDC holiday resort. I had inquired at 16 hotels including this one for their rates and MTDC resort was the cheapest one which had a restaurant too. After seeing the place I was satisfied with my choice. Awesome surroundings with a small playground, nice rooms and good room service with wonderful food. There are a lot of monkeys there and can create a lot of ruckus. And bookings are tough to get here especially during the tourist season. This is MTDC resort.

7th Day :- After a lot of rest on the previous day, we went sightseeing. There are several “points”, temples and a lake (Venna lake) to see in Mahabaleshwar. Thankfully it didn’t rain and we were able to see lots of places. Venna lake is enjoyable more in the evening due to all the stalls including video games parlors! but the boat rides are very costly! The place where Marjorie point, Arthur’s seat etc are there requires a fit body and a pair of good legs. I was amazed at so many old people climbing so many steps!

There were a lot of horses too but I didn’t have the courage to ride them. Dad and I paid Rs 10 each to just sit on a horse and take photos We ate strawberries too but didn’t like the taste. And there is a nice market place too!

8th Day :- We left for Panchgani early morning . There are not many sights to see in Panchgani. To increase the business of the taangas (which charge 300 rs for a 10 min ride around the table land) vehicles don’t go into the tableland whereas its perfectly accessible. And if you can walk, you can traverse the area on foot. One can see many gliders para sailing in Panchgani. There is a picture of one in the collage. I have only 5x Optical zoom

There was a place where the Pandavas had lived while on exile. Seriously why on earth would anyone climb so high to live during exile? Then we went to Mala’s farm and bought a lot of jams of different flavors. I found a strange figurine etched on a tree trunk there. Then we had snacks and wonderful ice cream at Mapro farm. After lunch and rest at MTDC resort, we went to Venna lake in the evening. The weather with clouds and slight drizzle was awesome! It can get quite cold in Mahabaleshwar so its better to have warm clothes with oneself.

9th Day :- Though our bus for Pune was to leave at 11.30 am, we had to checkout at 9.00 am from the resort as per their rule. We just waited at the hotel which was the pick up point for those going to Pune. After sometime someone shouted from the back of the bus “Stop the bus! Everyone get down soon. Something is burning!” We all got down hurriedly. The fan belt had burnt out. The driver took the bus to a nearby restaurant and called for a replacement bus. It took 3 hrs and those 3 hrs was full of heat and sweat. We all missed Mahabaleshwar and we were facing the harsh reality of weather in June in India. We reached Pune totally exhausted.

10th Day :- Some more shopping in Laxmi road market in Pune and loads of rest and sleep.

11th Day :- Headed back home.

Thus ended my wonderful summer vacation trip!! Looking forward to next vacation

Pune and Khandala Chronicle

This is the second post about my 12 day vacation trip. In the earlier post I had described the trip to Aurangabad and Ellora. From Ellora we left for Manmad where we had the night train to Pune. Trains usually leave late from Manmad. God knows why! Next morning we arrived in Pune and after a lot of hotel search (Hotels are usually full during June – July in Pune due to admission time.) checked into one with available rooms and reasonable price (considering Pune prices). It had wonderful surroundings..peaceful and green. And the hotel rooms were good too. 3rd day was spent resting.

4th Day :- We hired a vehicle to take us to Khandala and Lonavala and back. The driver turned out to be a mobile phone addict!! Thank god we had a safe trip. We stopped at a little restaurant “Shiv Sagar” just outside Aundh. The food was tasty and reasonably priced. After filling our stomachs we moved on. The Pune – Mumbai Expressway was beautiful and the long tunnel awesome!

As it hadn’t started raining yet, all the waterfalls and greenery were dry in Khandala and Lonavala. So we didn’t get to enjoy much in the hot sun. We found Lonavala to be better than Khandala though. We bought several packets of the famous Lonavala Chikki and came back to Pune by evening.

5th Day :- Again we hired a vehicle from the same guy to take us around Pune. And ended up with the same driver. First of all we went to Aga Khan Palace in Pune. It was a wonderful place with such green surroundings and peaceful atmosphere.

The Aga Khan Palace Pune is a national monument of India’s freedom movement. Following the launch of Quit India movement in 1942, Gandhiji, his wife Kasturba, his secretary Mahadevbhai Desai were interned at the palace from August 9, 1942 to May 6, 1944. Mahadevbhai and Kasturba passed away while in captivity at the Agakhan palace and their samadhis are located in the campus.Situated near the River Mula, the palace is a simple memorial to Gandhi and his life. The famous movie ‘Gandhi’ was shot here.

Then we went onto see Pataleshwar Caves and the adjoining Shri Jangli Maharaj Mandir. I was surprised to find so many office goers ( from their attire and bags) lounging around with newspaper or some book in that mandir and caves area on a late weekday morning.

From there we went to visit Shaniwarvada, a palace fort built by the Peshwas.

Then we went to see the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum. It was awesome but camera was charged at Rs 150 extra!! It was too much! But yes it is indeed a place to take snaps. Such wonderful artifacts. Maybe I will take photos when I go to Pune next time. From there we went to Nivant Garden Restaurant on Paud Road. There were three sections at that place – one ac section full of agarbatti smoke, one hot garden considering there was no wind and one inside with very less fans. We were all sweaty by the time we finished eating. I won’t recommend the place in summer. The chilly chicken dish in Pune restaurants (I ate at 2 of them) is quite different from other places. It is served as long slices!

After lunch we skipped a few places and went to Khadakwasla Dam which didn’t turn out to be much enjoyable at afternoon.

Then we came to back to hotel. On way the driver stopped the vehicle and went to attend some personal work. He was gone for around 45 mins! Atleast this time he didn’t play bad songs like he had done on our Khandala trip.

Aurangabad and Ellora Caves Chronicle

A long 12 day trip was planned during the 2009 summer vacation. The places on itinerary were Aurangabad, Ellora Caves, Pune, Khandala, Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. This post is about the visit to Aurangabad and Ellora caves. Rest of the places will follow soon.

1st Day :- Hometown to Manmad. Had to get off at 3.30 am! Train to Aurangabad (2 hrs journey) was at 5 am. Though it started from Manmad itself, it came and left at 7.30 am. It was a passenger train and that meant seat for the quickest Thankfully we got seats. Both Manmad and Aurangabad stations are lacking in coolies (porters). Checked in a hotel at Aurangabad and went sightseeing in evening. Hotel experience was not good due to power cuts and bad food. But the evening was well spent at Bibi ka Maqbara and Panchakki (water mill). I realized that photography is very difficult in India as people don’t move out of frame even on request!!

The Bibi-Ka-Maqbara is a beautiful mausoleum of Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb, constructed by her son Prince Azam Shah. The mausoleum was intended to rival the Taj Mahal, but, the decline in architecture and proportions of the structure had resulted in a poor copy of the latter.

2nd Day :- Checked out of hotel at Aurangabad and left for Ellora Caves (30 kms from Aurangabad) in a hired car. We stopped at Daulatabad fort on way to Ellora but didn’t have the energy to climb it.

There I found guava sellers coloring their guavas to decorate their baskets. They too had a sense of color and style!! I took a snap with a seller’s permission.

Then we went to see Aurangzeb’s Tomb. It was a simple building and the tomb was nothing special. Apparently Aurangzeb lead a very modest lifestyle.

Then we reached Ellora. We were awestruck to see the monumental caves and sculptures made by cutting the rocks and faces of the hills. Ellora, a World Heritage Site, is something that needs to be seen to be believed. The most famous cave of Ellora was the Kailash Temple. Such intricate and difficult work after cutting stones and faces of the hills is unthinkable.

Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 “caves” – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain caves (caves 30–34), built in proximity, show the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

Ellora has a lot of shops and restaurants nearby. After a nice lunch we visited the Ghrishneshwar Temple that enshrines one of the 12 jyotirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva.

From there we left for Manmad where we had to catch the night train to Pune.

To be continued….

Lucknow Chronicle

In 2007 I and my parents spent the Diwali vacation at a relatives place in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. The scenery of rural Uttar Pradesh is beautiful. One can see lush green and yellow fields, mango orchards, wells, cattle, eucalyptus tress and even peacocks roaming freely! But one can also see the lack of electric transmission towers, the darkness at most of the areas, the lack of any traffic rule and the density of population.

I didn’t get a chance to go out much in that town. We made plans of  a one day trip to Lucknow (the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India) to do some sightseeing, shopping and eating – my favorite combination So here is an account of that one day trip.

Located in what was historically known as the Awadh region, Lucknow has always been a multicultural city. Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine patronized by the Persian-loving Shia Nawabs of the city are well known among Indians and students of South Asian culture and history. Lucknow is popularly known as the The City of Nawabs. It is also known as the Golden City of the East, Shiraz-i-Hind and The Constantinople of India.

We left for Lucknow early morning in a hired car. Because of the Golden Quadrilateral project, the highways of U.P. have become quite good. As we entered Lucknow from the west side, the first place we visited was the Hussainabad Imambara or the Chota Imambara.

The Hussainabad Imambara is a major tourist attraction of Lucknow. The monument was built by Muhammed Ali Shah in the year 1837 under ‘Food for Work’ program initiated by him to bring respite for the city populace when the region was hit by a famine.  The walls of the monument are decorated with Arabic verses that have been carved beautifully by efficient craftsmen. The structure has an imposing white colored dome and many pillars or minarets.  There are small miniatures of the Taj Mahal on either side of the monument.

This is the Chota Imambara

And these are the two Taj Replicas on either side of the Imambara

The tombs of Muhammad Ali Shah and his mother are inside the Imambara. Also a number of tazias ,mirrors with gold frames and beautiful chandeliers are kept in the hall. From there we went to see the Rumi Darwaza.

The Rumi Darwaza of Lucknow is one of the most impressive architectural structures in India. It was constructed in the year 1784 by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula. The Rumi Darwaza goes upto a height of 60 feet. The uppermost part of Rumi Darwaza comprises of an octagonal Chatri (Umbrella) carved beautifully that can be accessed by a staircase. On top of the Rumi Darwaza was kept a huge lantern that would light up the structure at night making it look absolutely fabulous. Little jets of water would rush out of the sides of the arch from beautifully carved flower buds thus making it look like a gateway to Paradise. The beautifully carved flowers and designs speak volumes about the unique architectural style and eye for detail.

This is the back side of Rumi Darwaza

Next to Rumi Darwaza is the Asafi Imambara or the Bada Imambara.

Bada Imambara complex was commissioned by the then Nawab of Awadh, Asaf -ud-Daula in the year 1784. The complex also includes the large Asfi mosque, the Bhul-Bhulayah (the labyrinth) and a summer palace with running water. Bada Imambara was also built under the ‘Food For Work’ program. The Bada Imambara is built at the end of a spectacular courtyard approached through two magnificent triple-arched gateways. The central hall of the Imambara is almost 50 metres long and 16 metres wide. The ceiling of this column-less hall is more than 15 metres high. The hall is one of the largest of its kind in the world without any external support of wood, iron, or stone beams. The roof has been put together with interlocking bricks without using a beam or a girder.

This is one of the gateways

And this is the Bada Imambara and the next image is the central hall.

But the monument is not well maintained. The elaborate chandeliers were dusty. Lighting was tacky. There were cobwebs, paint peeling off walls, names scratched on wall by people and above all the mark of U.P. – red paan stains.  In fact it was the only tourist place  of all the places I have ever visited where I saw a large steel dustbin totally red with paan stains!!Here is a sample of the wall.

Outside in the courtyard, there is a man who sits under an umbrella and sells tiny versions of  shoes worn by the Nawab and some Begum. There is no bargaining. But the shoes were so cute that I bought many of them. Thats what I call entrepreneurship.

From there we went to Aminabad, a quaint bazaar like Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, is situated in the heart of the city. It is a large shopping centre area that has all kinds of shops for all kinds of customers. Due to Diwali, there was too much congestion. Its better to leave the car in the parking area and shop while walking. First we had lunch in one of the restaurants. The service was slow but the food was tasty and reasonable priced. This is the non veg thali I had ordered.

After lunch we went for shopping. Take care of your purses, mobiles, sunglasses,jewelery and pockets while roaming in Lucknow markets!! A very suspicious looking and shabbily dressed man tried to sell a single Ray Ban goggles to me…evidently a stolen item. Shopping in Lucknow is incomplete without buying Lucknow Chikankari clothes.

Chikankari is actually a very complex and delicate form of embroidery that primarily uses muslin clothes. This kind of embroidery is only confined to the city of Lucknow. The design motifs in Chikankari are predominantly influenced by Mughal art. There are various stitches used in Chikankari. The most often used stitch is the satin stitch. Apart from that there are others like stem stitch and chain stitch etc. Chikan has very light, gossamer like quality that makes it fit for the extreme climate.

Needless to say Chikan material is costly too depending on the quality and measure of embroidery done on the cloth. These are the two dress materials I bought.How could I resist?

After 3 hours of shopping, we went to eat Tunday’s Kebabs – a must-eat advised by many people on Twitter. Not a place for vegetarians of course. And if there are women in your group then its better to get them parceled and eat outside. The mutton kebabs were as delicious as I had been told.

After spending such a wonderful day at the city of Nawabs and Kebabs, we headed back home. Hopefully, I will get a chance to go there again someday to visit the rest of the tourist places and to explore the markets and restaurants fully

Goa Chronicle Part 2

Continued from first part here…

# 6th Nov Day 3 :- Next day, we hired a car. Cars are easily available for hire. One can also rent a car and drive oneself.  It costs 1400 rs for South Goa trip. South Goa trip is for one day and North Goa trip takes another day. We didn’t have time to visit North Goa this time.

First of all we went to  Shantadurga temple at Ponda.

From there one can go to Mangueshi temple but we skipped it as the weather was too hot and in mood to walk. Then we went to Old Goa area which is well-known for its churches. We visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and holds the remains of St.Francis Xavier. Just in front of this church is the Se Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Asia.

By the time we left for Panaji, weather had changed drastically and it was awesome. In Panaji, we had lunch at Casa Moderna on our driver’s suggestion. Rates were quite reasonable and the food was excellent. Service was prompt too even though it was crawling with people. I had ordered a Goan thali…the fried fish covered with rava was simply awesome.

After lunch we headed to Miramar Beach in Panaji. It is actually the shore of Mandovi river.

From there we headed back to Colva. As it was raining we didn’t stop at the Marine Aquarium on the highway. In the evening I did a bit of shopping in the market. Souvenirs and other stuff are over priced in Goa…I guess due to all the foreign tourists. One needs to bargain well A typical Goan shop…

#7th Nov Day4: After enjoying the morning in beach, we boarded the train to Pune in afternoon. The train route from Madgaon to Pune is really beautiful. One can also get a gorgeous view of the Dudhsagar Falls as the train passes just in front of it.

Thus my first trip to Goa ended. Looking forward to the next trip to Goa

Goa Chronicle Part 1

So I spent my Diwali vacation in Goa in 2010. It was my first trip to Goa and the people to go on the trip were my parents, hubby and I. This time, in my travel post, I have watermarked my photos due to increasing number of photo thefts without proper credit on Internet. Will be doing so in future too. The watermark is the url of my original blog.

# 4th Nov 2010 day 1 :- Arrived at Madgaon early morning from Pune. The feeling of being in Goa starts from Madgaon station itself because of all the cartoon drawings of Mario Miranda on the walls of Madgoan station Colva beach is only 10 kms from Madgaon so it is no use staying at Madgaon. So we hired a pre paid taxi to Colva beach. Checked in to Star Beach Resort – a good medium priced family resort just 100 m away from beach. Nice place but bad service and rude staff.

The afternoon and evening of that day was spent at beach only. Colva beach is the best beach of Goa! The sand was so soft and the beach is well maintained, not too crowded like Calanguate or Baga beach and the water is not that deep so less number of lifeguards. People are people ..throwing packets and bottles on beach.. It used to get cloudy after 3 pm in Goa and that weather was awesome. It was lovely taking a long stroll on the beach and discovering starfishes, crabs and molluscs on the beach trying to crawl back to sea.

There are good places to eat at Colva beach. There is a Subway outlet and a Cafe Coffee Day place at Colva market area. So I was happy There is a Bengali outlet even which serves typical Bong food. So Dad and Mom were quite happy!!

# 5th Nov 2010 Day 2 :- The system of renting two wheelers in Goa is good. One just needs to have a license and another ID proof. The rates are quite cheap (petrol cost not included) The only strange thing in Goa is the lack of petrol pumps..Colva doesn’t have a single one!! People sell petrol in shops!

Anyway,so D and I hired a Honda Activa for 200 Rs for 8 hrs and went to Panaji which is around 40 kms from Colva. Google Maps app on D’s phone was most helpful..I was backseat driving legally!! It was quite thrilling going on unknown roads. The roadways of Goa are well maintained thankfully. After seeing the number of churches one comes across in Goa, I have named Goa as the land of Churches! One of the Churches on way to Panaji at Utorda -

One of the bridges on Mandovi river on the way to Panaji

It takes 1 hr 15 mins to reach Panaji from Colva on Activa. While we were stretching our legs at a road side bus stop bench, a woman sitting beside us said hello on her own accord. I started thinking how friendly Goan people are! But after sometime when she started to leave, she gave us a brochure of some church/society. I found that bit strange. After having lunch at an outlet called Edu’s Restaurant, we went to Donapaula, a bay where Mandovi river meets the Arabian Sea.

The clothes market at Donapaula

The famous statues at Donapaula

The view of the bay from Donapaula view-point

Then on our way back, we entered Panaji’s narrow lanes and by-lanes..the city has such a wonderful quaint Spanish sort of look just like in movies. But we didn’t have much time to explore as dark clouds had started gathering. We just visited the famous church at Panaji town square – Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception built-in 1540.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was already dark. Driving in dark in South Goa is risky as it gets quite deserted and there are no streetlights even on highway!!

Ended the day with a wonderful dinner of prawns at one of the outlets at beach (did not have the guts to try squid or shark fin ) and a stroll on the beach at night.

To be continued….

Kihim – Alibaug Chronicle

During my summer vacation stay at Pune in 2010, I went on a short trip to Kihim and Alibaug over a weekend. Kihim is a beach at south of Mumbai. By road Mumbai to Kihim is 120 km and takes approx 3 hrs. Pune to Kihim is 150 km and takes 4 hrs. So we decided to go to Mumbai by train and then by ferry to Mandwa port which takes 1 hr only.

Our train was to reach CST at 4 am or so. The first ferry for Mandwa port leaves Apollo Bandar at 6 am. After having tea and sandwich, we decided to go and sit at Gateway of India to enjoy the open space and oceanic breeze at least. It was wonderful seeing the dawn break at Gateway of India. Lot of people had gathered there by 6 am…I guess Alibaug is a popular weekend getaway for Mumbai folks. Our ferry left at 6.15 am and thus began my first boat ride.

The boat ride can be a torture for those who suffer from motion sickness. After a bit of hotel searching, we decided to stay at Nandanvan holiday home at Kihim Beach. All hotels at Kihim/Mandwa are private homes actually built for such purposes and the rent is too high. I guess the residents think of Mumbaikars as very rich people. Our a.c. room’s rent was Rs 2200 per day!! No tax. No in-house food facility. The room or shall I say the flat was very big…it had one living room, a bathroom and a big bedroom with dining table. Only tea was available at this place. Food had to be ordered from a neighboring holiday home. But it was tasty,not expensive and normal like typical home cooked Marathi food. Both non-veg and veg food were available. The Kihim beach was hardly 3 mins from the hotel on foot. One important thing about Kihim is that Airtel network, the so- called “Atoot Network”, gets broken there. Reception is available only at beach..not inside homes.

In the evening, we went out for a stroll on the beach. Kihim beach is a rocky type of beach with rocks covered with sea shells and some sort of algae/coral growth. Kihim is described on travel websites in these words :-

The place is famous for variety of woods which serves as a cover. Nature lovers will be thrilled to visit the place for it provides sight of rare butterflies, birds and flowers. The most attractive part of the Kihim beach is that the place is not entirely discovered and unpolluted.

We didn’t spot any rare butterflies or birds. We did see a very different kind of flower though. As for the “unpolluted” part, Kihim beach does have its share of plastic waste and rotting garbage. There is a jeep service at Kihim which gives parasailing facility. (No, we didn’t do it..too scared )

Next day,we went to Alibaug. Thankfully our hotel was near an auto stand so we didn’t have to walk much in the hot sun. Alibaug is quite well-developed commercially. But the only shopping we did there was to buy “hapoos” mangoes at cheaper price and of better quality than Pune. There is a fort called Colaba Fort surrounded by sea water at a little distance from the shore. When tide is low one can go there on foot. Otherwise there are speed boats for tourists to go there. These boats also take tourists on short rides on sea, just near the shore.

We came back to Kihim by lunch time. In the evening we went out to the beach for one last time. Next day, we went back to Mandwa port by auto and then back to Bombay by boat. As it was noon by the time we reached Mandwa, the crowd waiting for the boat was quite big. One has to grab a place soon in the queue for the boat else all the good seats are taken. Spent the afternoon and evening at a relative’s place. Reached Pune at midnight by train.

Digha Chronicle Part 2

Continued from here.

After lunch and a little afternoon shut-eye, we decided to go sightseeing around Digha. Our first destination was the Science Center established by the National Council of Science Museums at New Digha. The Centre offers a variety of mechanisms to make science an enjoyable learning experience. There is a biology section with few animals, a physics section, a planetarium which holds evening shows and a park. Had fun time exploring all the mechanisms.

As we had other places to see we did not stay to watch a show at the planetarium. From there we went to the Udaypur beach. One should bargain hard with the rickshaw pullers there as they over charge tourists. Rickshaw pullers don’t take passengers right to the beach. One has to walk a bit to get to the beach.

At Udaypur beach bikes are available for rent to go roaming around the beach and to Talsari beach at low tide. It had got dark by the time we left the beach to go to Old Digha. Old Digha is a bustling part of the town. It would be cheaper to stay at the hotels there but there would be no peace. There is a much bigger and cheaper market at Old Digha. Also ATMs are located at Old Digha only. We made our way to the beach. As expected it was very crowded, especially because the tide was high and only few people had ventured into the water. Spent the rest of the evening sitting on the stone tables there, sipping hot tea and chatting. Then we went back to New Digha. Did some window shopping, had dinner at the hotel restaurant and retired to our rooms.

11th Dec 2010: We were due to checkout in the afternoon. So all of us went souvenir shopping at the market after breakfast at an outlet at the market. Do not try Aaloo Paratha at Digha!!  Curios made of sea-shell, shell jewellery, moderate varieties of reputed Madur of Midnapore (hand-woven mat made of weeds) in colourful designs, cottage crafts of Digha and Midnapur are available. Rates are not that high and good bargaining skills can get you lesser rates.

This is the best curio shop of the market at New Digha

After lots of shopping, we returned to our hotel for lunch. Checked out from our rooms, kept the luggage at the hotel lobby and had lunch. Post lunch, all of us went to the beach for one last time. It was so wonderful to see the shimmering waters of the Bay of Bengal.

After spending some time on the beach and drinking coconut water, we came back to our hotel. Picked up our luggage and left for the station. Hope to visit Digha again with more time on my hands and to visit places like Shankarpur, Mandarmoni, Junput etc too.

Previous parts:

Part 1