Over the last two days, I visited three of Rajasthan’s most revered temples—Seth Sanwaliya Ji, Ekling Mahadev, and Srinathji. All are near and around Udaipur. At Sanwaliya Seth, thousands stood patiently in a queue. Despite the heat and the crowd, it took us nearly an hour to reach the sanctum for darshan. At Ekling Mahadev, … Read more
Last month I went to Kanatal with my friends from the Ghumakkad Delhi group. We had a nice time. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip but I felt that the hills were not happy, they were ailing! Decades ago, I remember vividly, that the weather changed whenever we reachedRishikesh. The cool, fresh air of the hills … Read more
What made me go to Humayun’s tomb? At a first glance the view mesmerizes. It brings Taj Mahal to memory. Later I came to know that the architecture of Taj Mahal indeed was inspired by the architecture of Humayun’s tomb. Taj Mahal came about 90 years or so after Humayun’s tomb. I was astounded on … Read more
The best thing about walking is that you can move at a leisurely pace, and observe and feel what is happening around you with details. You can walk fast, slow, or take a pause, matching your rhythm with the rhythm of your surroundings. Chandni Chowk is a potpourri of history, literature, business, and cuisine. It … Read more
For centuries Delhi has been the Centre of struggle for power. People believed that to rule India, one must conquer Delhi. Delhi has seen it all. There are almost 174 monuments in Delhi which narrate tales of romance, literature, betrayal, blood bath, valor and war. Some monuments are well known while there are others who … Read more
Chandni chowk never ceases to amaze me. Whenever there is a chance to go to that part of Delhi, I try to take a walk in the lanes and side lanes of Chandni chowk. The place is so packed with narrow lanes, tiny shops, living quarters that every time I see something new. Everytime eye … Read more
These days we take food either for nutrition or for taste. Ancient ayurvedic wisdom treated food as a medicine. Different spices were to be used in different seasons. Even food was based on seasons. People had the wisdom of consuming local produce and what grew in that season. So every season saw new varieties of … Read more
Decades ago when there no electronic distractions, life revolved around food. For us as children, all occassions like birthdays or festivals or weekends or holidays meant special food and everything was cooked at home. Hours before the food time, aroma would waft out from kitchen and spread in the whole house and we would start … Read more
Describe your dream chocolate bar. A Chocolate bar has two roles. One as a sweet or confectionery eaten for taste and another for conveying emotions. As children, in those days, choices of sweets were limited and the brands were very few. We would wait for occasions like birthdays etc or when some guest or relative … Read more
When in Varanasi do plan a visit to Ramnagar fort, not because of its historical importance, but because of its magnificence specially when seen from the river front Ramnagar Fort is situated at a road distance of 14 kms from varanasi. By boat it doesn’t seem far from the ghats.In fact, it is very near … Read more