I woke up bleary eyed, took out my toothbrush and casually pulled the curtains before heading to the bathroom. One look outside the window, I threw away the toothbrush and rushed down with my tripod and camera. The view of the orange skies and sun surfacing over jagged ridges was something I did not want to miss. Toothbrush could wait.

I can go on to explain how the sky changed colour, how the ridges were stacked up below a brilliant sky and how I felt exalted after witnessing the drama. But words can make the whole affair dull and stilted.

Birds arrived soon after sunrise. A small bunch of black throated tits took fancy to a tree next to me, where they hopped on from branch to branch, probably looking for breakfast. A pine tree hosted a brown thrush-like bird, which glittered on a shaft of sun rays that penetrated through the leaves. I don’t know the names of much of Himalayas bird species, but sometimes names do not matter. It can be like watching a little girl run around and giggle in a nice quiet place; it doesn’t matter what she is called.

Waking up early in the morning has its good effects on you. But on this particular day, goodness did not last beyond breakfast. I was spending my days at Mashorba, a village near Shimla on invitation from Club Mahindra. Holidaying with a small bunch of travel writing fraternity, I had four good days spent amidst the mountains. The holiday had a few dull moments too, and it was one such day of dullness. A filling breakfast later, we spent a good hour waiting to be rescued from a traffic jam in Shimla and drove further on a seemingly never ending highway past hundreds of vehicles, ugly towns, a terrible accident before finally reaching Kasauli in the middle of the day.

Kasauli was recommended as a great place to go by one of our fellow travellers who himself decided to go elsewhere that day. “It’s a nice place, go to Kasauli,” he had told us, and we had immediately finalized our plans for the day. One of us asked our driver as we approached the town, “what is there to see in Kasauli,” for which he had casually replied, “market hai, mandir hai, sunset point hai” – ‘there is a market, there is a temple, there is a sunset point’. We had arrived there on mid-day and were planning to be back in Shimla by the hour of sunset. I understood why our man who recommended Kasauli to us decided to go somewhere else himself. But not to undermine the beauty of the place, it is a quiet and nice cantonment area – a great location provided you are an army major and have a cozy house to live there. Not otherwise.

After a quick walk around Kasauli, we were back to what we were doing before – driving through a highway past hundreds of vehicles, ugly towns and waiting to be rescued from a traffic jam in Shimla.

They say you have to go through some pain to be able to appreciate all good things in life. Indeed, remaining days in Shimla were spent appreciating those good things. In the small town of Chail where we went next day, I appreciated the beauty of deodar trees growing tall on the slopes carpeted with lush grass. I watched grey wagtails hop skip and jump on the road doing what they are best at – wagging their tails! I eyed on a Eurasian Jay in the thick woods and felt happy seeing them for the first time. I argued with people for calling a magpie something else, and cursed myself later for not bothering to accept a bet and missing out on some fortune. I happily shot pictures of ridge lines, knowing fully well that some of my friends will accuse me of coming back with stereotype images. It turned out later that my friends were very predictable!

Chail was a place I looked forward to seeing again. I had fallen in love with its thick cedar forests when I was there three years ago (Read: my previous visit to Chail). When I first saw the market in the center of the town, it had given me an impression that there could be a large sprawl of shops out there. But I was taken by surprise to see the buildings vanish on a bend making way to another expanse of cedars. With a blanket ban on construction activity here, the quiet woods, the tall trees, the idle village had remained unchanged and unaffected by the rush of tourists since my last visit. Except for a minor addition. Someone had added an addition zero to the entry fee to Chail Palace, which then used to cost Rs.10/- Now, a fading sign at the gates said 100/- and helpfully mentioned that it can be reimbursed against accommodation charges. I reminded myself not to forget the reimbursements the next time I come here to stay at the Maharaja Suite. Just for the record, it costs about 15,000.

I was still thinking about Chail when we went camping in the middle of cedar trees next evening. It was a tad luxurious for a camp, but was a cozy place for a good conversation around the warmth of the fire. Much food was consumed as the well read and well travelled folks prattled on William Dalrymple, Amitav Ghosh, Gerald Durrell, Che Guevara, Twain and Dickens and more. A smattering of that night’s conversation is documented here. I am told that the chatter progressed into a raucous cacophony till small hours of the morning, but I slept peacefully in my tent dreaming of cedar trees.

Next morning, strengthened by a breakfast of best ever Aloo Parathas I have ever had, we walked through a stretch of one such cedar forest to get back to the resort, loosing our way briefly before getting back on track and resisting insistences of one of us to try and chalk out a straight line path to the resort through the steep slopes. The rewards of the walk came in the form of a few encounters, like the one with a congenial elderly shepherd who conversed fondly with his dog, a few birds and a waterfall. Not to forget is the ‘feel good’ of the deodar forests.

Later in the day, we did what the tourists must do in Shimla – make a visit to the Viceregal Lodge and a walk up and down the mall (Read more: Walks in Shimla Mall Road, spending a day at Shimla Mall). While mall was a familiar territory, Viceregal lodge impressed and surprised me by its efficient construction and tastefully built exteriors. Raj Verma, the guide at the lodge showed us the furnishing and woodwork, electrical wiring and switches and decoratives that have survived the 121 years since the lodge was built. The foresighted architects of the lodge had implemented rainwater harvesting and had made provisions for electric wiring in the walls at a time when Shimla had no electricity at all. No wonder that the lodge is still used with very little modifications.

At the end of the touristy venture to Shimla, we were enslaved in the evening by the preparations of sous chef Vikas. I wonder what addictives he puts into his appetizers. I came to the restaurant every night with a resolve to eat very little, but never manage to stop before I could take no more. And when it comes to saying ‘thank you,’ I must not forget the tireless resort manager Mohnish.

The visit to Shimla and Mashobra ended just the way it started. We journeyed through the highway that seemed never-ending on a day that is easily the most boring one in the entire trip, even surpassing that uninspiring day when we waded past Shimla’s traffic towards Kasauli.

Great civilizations and dynasties do not have a fairy tale beginning, for they are all founded on streams of blood . While Indian folklore is rich in heroic legends , a birth of a dynasty is replete with battles fought and won .

It is the same with the Vijaynagar empire , except there are several stories here with various versions. But the location remains the same. A river bed with a fortification on one bank . This was the principality of Anegundi, ruled then by a Hoysala chieftain. When the Delhi Sultans laid siege to the Hoysalas and Kakatiyas, the latter fell, leaving South India vulnerable to their attacks. Our story begins here in the 14th century.

Sitting in a coracle and enjoying the ride around the Tungabhadra I heard a guide narrate the story of Vijaynagar to a group of tourists .”When the Delhi Sultans had invaded Warangal, two brothers called Hakka or Harihara and Bukka escaped and landed here in Anegundi,” he says , pointing to the town on the other side of the river.

The brothers who were under the Kakatiyas then started serving the local chief here . Meanwhile the chief gave refuge to Bahauddin, a rebel nephew of the Delhi Sultan , Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

“The Sultan plundered Anegundi and the brothers escaped again, and this is when they met Vidyaranya , a seer from the Sringeri Shankaracharya Mutt who asked them to build a city on the other bank of the river .He called it Vijaynagar or the city of victory though we also call it Vidyanagar after the seer, “ the guide said. The story however does not end here. The brothers raised a small army and revolted against the Sultan, who returned the kingdom to them. The seeds of the Vijayanagar empire which went on to rule all of South India for over 350 years had just been sown.

And yet everything about Hampi is not about Vijaynagar. Gazing at the waters of the Tungabhadra, I was looking forward to going towards the Pampa Sarovar on the other side. After all, Pampa is older than Hampi or Hampe as it was called and this was the Kishkinta of Ramayana where Rama gets the support of Sugriva and Hanuman and even kills Vaali. It is no wonder that Jambhavan , the lone sloth bear in Sugriva’s army comes alive in Daroji, the sloth bear sanctuary located close to Hampi.

As dusk dawned in Vittala temple , I was lost in the silence , when a familiar voice greeted me. It was the guide and his lot of tourists. As I walked away , I could hear him say, “ This is the greatest empire of all times, people compare it with Rome , but let me tell you that Vijaynagar is even more majestic than Rome .” I thought this is probably where civilizations and empires meet – on battlefields. And yet there is a similarity in the stories – one river and two brothers…

This was featured in my column , Inside Story in the Metro Plus. For more stories of Hampi, visit my blog

Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and has a wide variety of flora and fauna. The critically endangered Royal Bengal Tiger rules the jungle here and that has converted this national park into a popular ecotourism destination. However, the park has over 580 species of birds alone. Here are some of the birds I photographed in my recent visit to the park.

Indian Roller or Blue Jay (Coracias benghalensis) is a beautiful, bright bird and is the state bird of 4 states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. The Roller gets its name from the aerobatic display the male puts up with its twists and turns during the breeding season. The birds have an assortment of colors like bright blue, turquoise, indigo and white on their wings and are a visual treat in flight. They are commonly seen in open grasslands, scrub forests and are often perched on dead trees and electric lines. They are easily one of the most photogenic birds around.

Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica) is a member of the Starling family of birds. A sub species exists in the Western Ghats which has a white head. These Starlings are omnivorous and feed on insects, nectar and fruits. Like most Starlings, these birds fly in a tight flock and have the ability to change directions rapidly with perfect synchrony.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a bird of prey that is found widely across many different habitats in India. In comparison to other large raptors, the bird is fairly medium-sized. They hunt for snakes and lizards by flying over the forest canopy. They usually make nests close to a water body. These eagles have a prominent yellow eye and are a treat to watch and photograph.

White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) was earlier known as the Shama Thrush. The bird is a melodious singer and has a rich, clear voice. It is also known to mimic other birds often. While photographing this bird, I recall how it kept singing. When other birds joined in, the Shama began to mimic songs and calls, including that of the Common Hawk Cuckoo, or the Brain-Fever bird! They are mainly insectivorous birds. During the breeding season, the female builds the nest in the hollow of a tree, while the male stands guard.

Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) is a common bird and can be found in various habitats like grasslands, scrub jungles and even away from water. They have vibrant colors and when perched together, they make a colorful sight. As the name suggests, Bee-eaters mainly feed on bees, wasps, ants and dragonflies. A Bee-eater repeatedly thrashes the prey on a branch to remove the sting from its prey before feeding on it.

For more pictures visit here

Germany is one land that knows its beer right. And especially if you visit Bavaria, you will be all the more convinced. Every beer brewery has a garden in the back yard. These beer houses are almost restaurants serving varieties of cheese with the varieties of beer they brew in-house. There are several beer breweries in Bavaria or South Germany though a handful of them are really big and brand market their beer.

In the North of Munich, my local friend took me to a local beer house. This one had a very old school charm around it and around 5 in the evening in early May, the crowd had gathered up for their first round of drinks. Though the crowd was a mixture of young and hep population from the nearby university campus, most others were grumpy old men playing card and sipping beer from their liter large mugs.

Yes, the small size beer in these beer houses is 500 ml. And an average German wouldn’t touch any less than a 1 liter mug. By the way, as an average Indian woman, I couldn’t lift the 1 liter mug with one hand to toast ?

Towards the South of Munich, the garden culture becomes more common as the graveled roads lead up to the square which houses famous breweries. Haufbrauhas is one such famous beer house. I loved the real atmosphere of Haufbrauhaus on a weekday evening with an old school band performing and good old men sitting in tables around us and chatting away their lives.

Tasting most things on house is a hobby I have. So there came Raddler beer, brown in color and tasting more of Barley and Cola; Weiss Bier, looking white and tasting like corn and the normal liter that was anyway ordered, after which I can’t remember much…

To me, this is the flavor of Bavaria you can savor than the Auto Museums, which Germany has always been famous for. By all means, visit the museums. But I would say, don’t miss out on the local life.

Spituk Monastery, like all monasteries in Ladakh, is located on a hill overlooking the village. River Indus flows behind the monastery, beyond which are the tall mountains capped with ice.

On the other side of Spituk is a very different landscape where the wide valley of Indus is used in constructing the Leh Airport and the army installations. At less than 10km from Leh, Spituk it is almost ready to be consumed by the expanding town.

The colourfully painted doors of dukhang (prayer hall) in Spituk Monastery

A mural of Virupaksha (also called Chanme-Zang), the lord of the west direction. The front wall of the prayer hall in every monastery is usually painted with images of guardians dieties of four directions.

Colourful decorations in the prayer hall of Spituk Monastery.

A monk wearing the traditional yellow hat of the gelug pa lineage at Spituk Monastery.

A statue of Tara (also called Dolma), a female Bodhisattva. Spituk Monastery has a room dedicated to images of Tara, called Dolma Lhakhang or the Temple of Tara

I read about Eran in two books, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture by James Fergusson and Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India vol 1 Buddhist, Jain, Hindu by George Michell. Both the books appraised the place for its marvelous and grand architectural temples and exquisite images. However, this Eran is nowhere seen on tourism circuit of Madhya Pradesh. Even I did not find any mention of this place in the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) monuments list. This was very intriguing that the place which was talked by most famous historians and archaeologist, then why it’s nowhere mentioned.

When you don’t get the information from concerned circles, it’s the best way to get this information from local people. I knew that this place Eran was somewhere near Sanchi only so when I was in Sanchi, I did some local enquiry about it. I got the results. I came to know that Eran is nearby Mandi Bamora railway station. I planned for a day trip to Eran immediately.

Eran is one of the oldest town in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. It was referred as Airikina in the inscriptions found here and nearby places. It might be the capital of of Airikina Pradesha or Airkina Vishaya, an administrative division of the Gupta empire.

Monuments – George Michell has given a map of Eran in his guide book. As per the map, there are two locations of historical importance; one where a pillar is standing and another where ruins of three temples are located. However when I visited Eran, I found that the pillar and the three temple ruins are in the same complex protected monument under ASI. It might be that when George visited the site, the ruins and the pillar were at different locations and later on ruins are brought at the location where pillar was so that it’s convenient for tourists to see all the monuments at one place, however this is just a guess work from me.

I met Mr. Rajendra Pratap Rajput, one of the caretaker of this complex at Eran. He told me that this complex is not receiving proper care from the concerned authorities. He was very enthusiastic about making this complex a better tourist place if concerned authorities give little more attention towards this.

Pillar (484 AD) – This is a sandstone pillar of more than 13m height. This contains an inscription which states that this pillar was erected during the reign of the ruler Buddhagupta in 484 AD. Above the capital is a block with seated lions on all corners. Above this block is a pair of back-to-back standing statues of Vishnu and Garuda. There is a wheel between the heads of these two statues.

Varah (5th century) – This Varah (boar) is similar as the famous Varah of Khajuraho. This is a 5m long sculpture which is completely covered with miniature figures of gods and goddesses. The goddess Bhu is shown near one of the tusk. There is an inscription of rule Buddhagupta on the neck of the animal.

Narasimha (5th century) – A damaged statue of Narasimha is put on a platform. This statute is in two pieces, foot and body separate. Several columns and doorway fragments of this sanctuary are still lying around the complex.

Vishnu Temple (9th century) – This is most complete temple in this complex with intact doorway and flat roof. In the sanctuary is put a 5th century large status of Vishnu which has halo behind its head.

Food and Accommodation – Eran is a small village, you will not find any place to stay and eat. Mandi Bamora is the nearest big town, however that also does not offer good staying options. Best would be that you stay at Sanchi and visit Eran as a day trip from there. Mandi Bamora railway station and nearby area gives some options for food.

How to reach – Mandi Bamora is a railway station on Bhopal-Bina railway line. Many trains stop at this station including Chattishgarh Express (8237), Vindhyachal Express (1272) and Amritsar Express (1057) among others. Eran is about 15 km far from here on eastern side. You can either ask some auto rickshaw or take lift from people going towards that village. There is no direct bus to Eran, buses going to Khurai will drop you at the crossing to Eran, from where it is about 5 kms.

In the mood for a Quark Cheese-Cake Cup Cake – here is a recipe for the same ..

Ingredients

Quark cheese – 2 cups
Sugar – 3/4 cup
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Cornstarch – 2 1/2 Tbsps
Sour cream – 1 cup
Lemon Zest/Orange Zest- 1
Red Colour- Few Drops

For Base
Biscuit crumbs – 1 1/2 cups
Melted butter – 6 tbsps
Sugar – 1/4 cup

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180 C

2.Combine biscuit crumbs, melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar together and press the mixture onto the bottom 10 Cup cake liners.

3. Refrigerate in freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Mix 3/4 cup of the sugar with Quark cheese until smooth.

5. beat in eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch until just mixed. Stir in sour cream until blended. Scoop equal amount batter into the cup cake liners.

6. In a small container take out few spoons and add red colour and pipe small hearts on top and any other designs.

6. Bake in a water bath for 30 to 35 mins until set.

7. Turn oven off and leave cup cakes in oven with the door ajar for 3 hours.

8 Once cool put in fridge for few hour and enjoy with your loved one!

At first glance it hardly looks like a palace. But on a second glance it does not seem like a saw mill either. To me , it looks like an exquisitely designed home , carved in rosewood, replete with a Mangalore tiled roof with wooden pillars, an open courtyard, two narrow staircases leading to a hall flanked by rooms and a balcony .

It is well past noon and I am in the Shivappa Nayaka palace in Shimoga or Shivamogga, a town located on the banks of the river Tunga in the Malenadu heartland . We happen to be the only tourists in this sprawling palace. The staircase leads us upstairs and we enter the main durbar or the balcony of the palace . Looking out into the vast expanse , we see that the well manicured lawns have turned into a veritable art gallery with ancient sculptures scattered around them.
We wait patiently for the watchman to finish his lunch and take us on a guided tour.

The original palace he says was built by Hiriya Venkatappa Nayak of the Keladi Dynasty in the 16th century. The Vijaynagar empire was declining and the Keladi Nayaks, who were ruling as chieftains under them , had slowly emerged emerging on their own. A local battle fought here between the Nayaks and the Palegars resulted in the former’s victory and hence a fort and a palace were built here.

The victory was however shortlived. Soon, Adil Shah of the Bijapur Sultanate destroyed it after a bitter battle and it was later rebuilt by Shivappa Nayak in the Indo sarcenic style. The story however does not end here. When the British took over from the Nayak, they converted the palace into a saw mill to store logs..Finally the monument assumed its current form , after it was restored by the ASI.

Legends say that the Maratha ruler, Rajaram, the son of Chatrapthi Shivaji was hidden in this palace when he was pursued by the Mughal ruler Aurangazeb. The story dates to the later 16th century when the dynasty was ruled by Rani Chennamma, wife of Somashekara Nayaka . Rajaram, along with his confidants apparently entered her court dressed as a monk , seeking alms. They were passing through her kingdom and they sought refuge . The queen , against the advice of her officials, hid Rajaram in this palace for a few days until he carried on with his journey. While Rajaram escaped, an infuriated Aurangazeb sent his army to defeat the queen, but in the battle that followed, the queen’s forces defeated the Mughals, forcing them to sign a treaty with the Nayaks.
As the watchman finished the story, the parakeets screeched , announcing their displeasure at our prolonged presence. Looking up , we saw a tree that was filled with bats, who were probably enjoying their afternoon siesta. Fascinated , we watched them for a while and then continued on our quest to see more places and hear more stories.

This was an idea which was not encouraged by many!

Vacation in South in summer? Bangalore to Ooty to Pondicherry?? By Road??? In MAY????

Those who love us, generously termed it an adventurous plan….while other, thought of it as an asinine one, but out of politeness and finding me stubborn, actually did not use the word.

To be honest, I had my doubts too. Travelling in May anywhere in India generally is quite an arduous task. Travelling in south India, largely Tamilnadu, in what is called the month of Agninakshatram, can be worse. That’s why I was quite content with going to Bangalore & Ooty. But, soon at the request (~ nay, command) of the Missus, it first became Ooty – Pondicherry & then Ooty – Yercaud – Pondicherry.

And that’s how it all began, when an early morning in May, we embarked from Bangalore on a road journey of about 1500 kms, which in next few days was to take us right upto Chennai, through a route on which we were to cross over dense reserved forests, pass through the ever-twisting roads of Nilgiri mountains – well matched by the tongue-twisting names of most of the places on the entire route, steep climbs of Sheveroy Hills and plains of Tamilnadu graced with the presence of Indian rollers before seeing the sun rising from beyond the Bay of Bengal at the eastern coast of India. But all that was yet to be experienced.

A journey through road always has an advantage – it allows the detours & stoppages as one would desire. Our journey too, while keeping to the originally planned destinations, had its own unplanned & sudden stoppages & detours, the first one being to admire the wooden toys that are churned out in numbers at Chennapatna – a town on Bangalore – Mysore highway, also called the toy-town of Karnataka. Originated as an industry in the times of Tipu Sultan, the wooden toys of this town are made from variety of woods. What makes these toys different is the superb colours, provided through vegetable dyes, and fine glossy finish brought to it with lacquer.

Another detour meanwhile was on our way. As we reached closer to Srirangapatnam, we noticed a small road turning towards Somnathpur, that houses a 13th century Hoysala temple dedicated to Kesava or Krishna. Having visited it a few years earlier, we had fallen in love with the Krishna idol inside the temple and this was just the perfect opportunity, which we would not have missed. The road to the temple, bumpy in patches, passes through the paddy fields & sugarcane fields, with more than occasional Gulmohurs in full bloom providing the shade as well as adding that perfect red hue.

The temple itself, despite being almost 750 years old, is still in quite a good condition. Another thing which immediately differentiates it – and may be most of the other heritage temple structures like Mahabalipuram – from more popular temples, is sprawling open areas and absence of religious fervour amongst the visitors. As a result, one can actually be in commune with the god unlike the more popular temples, one of which we visited later at Thiruvannamalai characterized by an ever present ongoing tussle between the devotees – each one of them wanting to spend more time with the deity and pujaris with their attitude bordering on arrogance ensuring the denial of this desire.

Leaving Somnathpur behind, we were on our way to Ooty. The approach to Ooty, as one enters the forests of Bandipur followed by Mudu-malai, and start climbing the Nilgiris, fills up one with lots of expectations and all senses are at alert The freshness in the air, a drop in the temperature, dense green colour in variety of shades all around, Gulmohur trees in full bloom slowly giving way to the tall Eucalyptus trees as road climbs up, clouds, sun and the trees creating their own shadow-play, occasional sightings of mammals like elephants, gaurs and monkeys, all looked like good omen for our stay at Ooty – till we reached Ooty. One look at the landscape of concrete jungle and all pervading noise and we wanted to escape from the reign of this queen of hill stations.

We still managed to stay in Ooty for next 4 days was largely due to the excellent location of Derby Green Resort – which despite being in the heart of the city, due to its elevated location overlooking the sprawling racecourse, allows one to still find some solitude and breathe freely in this otherwise crowded city.

Added to that were some sudden surprises as well as delightful moments –finding a not so visited trail around the lake towards the south-end, experiencing a variety of flowers in all kind of colours at surprisingly crowd-less Arboretum, checking out the tea factory on the way to Dodda Betta Peak, being explained the difference between Dosai & Roast at one of the restaurants, strolling amidst Botanical Garden peeping at unheard of and unseen flowers, watching a large flock of Oriental White-eyes near Lamb’s Rock at Coonoor, taking a drive into Wellington, experiencing, though apprehensively, our first ever moment of a train maneuvering itself in reverse gear as our heritage toy train reached Coonoor station.

The moments were many which kept us hooked on till, we were again on the road, this time travelling towards Yercaud via Mettupalayam & Salem.
Yercaud – meaning lake (yeri) and forest (kaadu), at Shevaroy hills near Salem is at a height of about 4500 ft. The road from Salem rises suddenly in last few kilometers to reach this height and hence has a number of hair-pin bends that makes the climb interesting as well as challenging. Yercaud itself – more of a sleepy town, as compared to the hustle-bustle at Ooty, was a welcome change.

For a Mumbaikar, Yercaud is Panchghani, Mahabaleshwar & Matheran, all rolled into one – steep climbs, a lake centric town and a table-top that gets busy over the weekend. However, what make it different are the dense forests and the coffee and spice plantations all around that can be explored through treks for birding.

Even our stay in an old estate and situate amidst spice & coffee plantation, was truly soul-refreshing. Dense green all around, small bungalows like of structure for boarding, and lots of avifauna including robins, barbets, bulbuls, flycatchers, minivets, swallows and woodpeckers to keep you company. The only thing that could have made us move from there was our already planned itinerary and we again hit the road on our way to Pondicherry.
This time, the road journey, was more interesting, as rather than catching up the national highway through Salem, we climbed down through the forests towards Uthangarai, where we had one of the best dosa/roast breakfasts, and then moved towards Pondi through a country-side that was full of Indian rollers & kingfisher. Finding rollers perched on wires and trees almost every few hundred metres was too much of a temptation and ultimately we got down to chasing one of them with our camera, till we captured one of the few good shots of the bird. We were not lucky enough though in Thiruvanamalai, a temple town with towering Gopurams, where our surreptitious attempts to take pictures of deities failed miserably.

Another interesting sight on the way to Pondi, which we dared not visit due to scorching heat of the mid noon, was the forts of Gingee –one of the most impregnable citadels of south India. The forts has had an interesting history of rulers ranging from Cholas to Bijapur Sultan to Marathas under Shivaji followed by Moghuls, French, Hyder Ali & finally British. Since the forts would have required a good climb, leaving it for a winter trip, we finally reached Pondi – our last boarding halt of the trip. Our wishlist included a visit to the Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, experiencing the French flavour of the town & capturing the sunrise from the eastern coast of the country. However, to some extent it remained unfulfilled.

A very small area around the Aurobindo Ashram truly resembles a small French town.
But that’s all that was French about this town. India has reached almost to the Ashram gates leaving nothing that distinguishes the remaining part of the town from any other noisy and crowded towns of the country. A real let down from our expectations.

However, what still makes us look forward to re-visit Pondi was our experience at the Ashram and Auroville – serene, peaceful and in case of Auroville, also superb display of the entire idea of unity and peace through modern architecture. The volunteers – coming to the Ashram from various parts of the world and serving with their calm yet firm demeanor contrasts so well with the rudeness which most of the pujaris & volunteers exhibit in their interaction with the devotees in most of the temples in the country.

The sunrise that we saw from the beach at the Zest resort of Club Mahindra, both the mornings were different and beautiful. The early morning mist over the Bay of Bengal, roaring waves of the high tide, the clouds playing a cameo, the fishing boats out in the sea like early birds, all provided a lovely character to the mornings. The resort itself was a good experience – well laid out, spacious with zen style of minimally furnished rooms.

And then came the finishing touches to the entire trip.

First, a last moment change of plan due to our yayawari attitude made us decide to take the Eastern Coast Road, one of the best highways that I have travelled on, so that we could visit Mahabalipuram shore temples – a heritage site with mind-blowing carvings of various deities that have survived the centuries of history and ravaging of weather, including even a tsunami.

And finally, as our flight took to the sky towards Mumbai and broke through the dense cloud cover with sun about to say goodbye to the evening, the colours that lit across were similar to our experience in this trip –dark and bland on the surface till we broke through the routine and found ourselves enjoying the unexplored colours of the country. And yes, travelling in the hot summer in south India actually turned out to be quite a good idea. As a Greek poet had written –
the road was long but full of adventure, the summer mornings were many that allowed us so much pleasure & joy to enter the ports seen for the first time.

Having finished with the natural wonders of Binsar, we decided to explore some of the places around.

The first of these was the temple complex at Jageshwar . The complex has over 200 temples, small and big, and the main temple is considered by some to be one of the Jyotirlings. However, what is fascinating about this place are the Deodhars – these huge trees cover every part of the mountain and the valleys around this temple. What is interesting is that the Deodhar forest exists only in the area around the temple…. all other parts of the mountains abound in pines, with the occasional Deodhar and oaks. But here, you can barely see any other types of trees!

The temples are all beautiful, and have wonderful sculptures, taking us back to the era when they were built by the hardy residents of this area. Some of the more beautiful ones excavated here have been kept in the ASI museum.

If Jageshwar was fascinating for the beauty of its man made creations, our next destination was a triumph of nature, and to the imagination of man! Patal Bhuvaneshwar is an ancient cave with natural formations of stalactites and stalagmites. However, what is fascinating here is that our imagination has converted the natural miracle into a religious destination! So, while one outcrop becomes a snake, another becomes Ganesha and yet another becomes Lord Shiva. What’s so wonderful about it? You may ask, but it is interesting to see where the imagination stems from – the sight of a small, jet black rock might make us think of a Shiva Lingam, but when you see pure white stalactite dripping water right onto the rock at the base, the water collecting in a pit nearby, not overflowing, but not stagnating either, it becomes much, much more easier to imagine that is indeed Lord Shiva there, with the Ganga emanating from his tresses! Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the cave.

A relatively less known place near Almora is Lakhudiyar, the site of prehistoric cave paintings. Under a rocky outcrop are a few remaining prehistoric paintings, which will soon disappear if care is not taken.

One of the most famous temples in the area is the temple of Golu Devta, a local deity, where devotees tie bells in the belief that their prayers will be answered. The temple is filled with bells of all sizes – thousands of them! people come to this temple not just to pray, but also to see the ‘bell temple’ as it is now popularly known!

The sight of a swift sitting in its nest, and its baby peeping out for food made my day…..

…while the sight of a river bed full of stones and another river full of hungry fishes thrilled my son!

Towards the end of our trip, the sight of a forest fire made us aware of the problems caused by sheer carelessness.

We rounded off our trip with a visit to Nainital, and boating on the famous lake…

We have returned with some wonderful memories to treasure….. And a desire to go back sometime!

LOCATION: Binsar is about 30 Kms from Almora and 383 Kms from Delhi.
The nearest railway station is Kathgodam, and the journey takes about 3 ½ hours by car. Plenty of taxis are available for hire outside the station, and the typical cost is about Rs.1000-1200/-
There are plenty of buses available from Haldwani, just 4kms before Kathgodam.

The KMVN guest house is located within the sanctuary. It is most conveniently located for treks and exploring the jungle, and a large number of birds can be seen from the resort itself. Bookings can be made online through the KMVN website.
Another option within the sanctuary is Khali Estate, which is slightly on the expensive side, but offers some great sights as well as experiences.
The best options outside the sanctuary are Club Mahindra Binsar Valley resort, and The Binsar retreat.