Tiny Travel Tales Entry by Ravi Kumar

They say you can rediscover love in the hills. Maybe that’s what happened with my wife and me. We had gone to visit my sis-in-law in Haridwar, and had learnt that Mussourie was just a few hours drive from the holy town. Also learnt that it was possible to go there and come back on the same day, after spending a few hours sight seeing and having lunch.

This short but very sweet sojourn took place quite a few years back, and therefore the details are pretty sketchy in my mind, but do remember visiting the Gun Hills and Camel’s Back

We started around 9 AM from Haridwar and reached Mussourie around 11 AM, a slow meandering ride, since we stopped for tea/bits/bites. The ride to Mussourie was pretty exciting and picturesque, what with waterfalls, narrow roads and steep turns, from where the valley views were particularly spectacular. Riding with us, were our disjointed thoughts, across between enjoying the lovely views and exploring our inner universes, where a churning of thoughts and emotions were riding along with us. Our tumultuous ties of the past few years and our collective inabilities to find a track that would bring us together was a hovering like a black cloud during the whole, physically delightful trip!

However, we finally managed to reach our destination, the Mall road, somewhat tired, both mentally and physically. We gathered our stuff, paid the driver for one-way, and  told him to wait for our return journey, adding that if he found someone else, he was welcome to undertake that journey, since return cabs were available a-plenty…!

We walked out aimlessly at first, since we had about 5/6 hours to kill, and then finally we walked towards our luncheon destination, Padmini Niwas Hotel, famous for its vegetarian stuff. We reached the Hotel around 1 PM. We had lunch at Padmini Niwas Hotel, a fantastic place with a huge lawn and big dining hall, serving piping hot and very tasty Veg Gujarati meals.

Next, accompanied by a guide and on foot, since cars are not allowed beyond a certain point, we walked along Camel’s Back and do remember reaching the most picturesque point after some walking and a horse ride.

Next on our agenda was the cable ride to Gun Hills, a fantastic yet somewhat scary ride. We stayed at the half-way point for about one hour, enjoying the sights and having a look around, while enjoying the chaats on offer…

Our visit to “Lal Tibba”, the highest point of Mussourie was the highest point of our visit too, where watching the panoramic Himalayan range bought out the ‘hidden’ romantic instincts as well as arousing the love of travel within both of us. It was almost late evening, I recollect, and time for us to undertake the return journey to Haridwar,

We reached Haridwar, late in the evening, hungry and pleasantly tired!

That trip probably was the starting point of our future travels…

Almost every hill station in India – be it Shimla  or Darjeeling tell the same story. Lush and plentiful in summer with snow kissed conifers carpeted on their slopes in winters, these towns have been plucked   out of nature by the British. The quaint names, a sleepy railway station, an ancient church , a club and the palatial bungalows are all reminiscent of the old world charm.

If you take a leisurely walk down the malls and markets of these towns, they still smack of the colonial legacy. These hill stations were dubbed the summer capitals of the Britishers who lorded over them for several  years. And yet, one little hill station stands apart from the rest, defying the colonial hangover . It owes its existence on the political and tourist maps to an Indian ruler who made it his summer capital. This is the story of Chail , a town barely 45 kms from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh .

Located at a higher altitude than Shimla, the story goes that the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala made Chail his summer capital when the British barred him from entering  Shimla. Although the conflict was not on military grounds, the story goes that the Maharaja was romancing a daughter of Lord Kitchener, who was then the Commander in Chief of the British army. The Maharaja decided to give the British a fitting reply and went on to create his own summer capital in Chail.  He first built a palace near Khandaghat  called Chail View Palace and then  built a road to Chail and finally his own summer retreat in this little town surrounded by deodar forests. Ironically Chail itself had been gifted to the Maharaja by the Britishers earlier .

The Maharaja was an avid cricketer and had captained many an Indian team besides playing several first class matches himself .  He left Chail a trophy – a cricket ground which has the highest ever pitch located at 2140 metres and it doubled up as a polo ground as well.

Like many Indian towns , Chail has its own share of myths and legends. We visited a temple dedicated to a saint, Sidh Baba built on a hillock by the king. The locals believe that the king had planned to build his palace here earlier , but the seer had visited him in his dream and asked him to choose another location.

Nevertheless, the Maharaja couldn’t have found a better place to create his summer capital. With the Himalayas in the background and the valley beneath,  the river flowing down and three dense hillocks covered with deodar forests, Chail looked every bit a royal capital. The lights of Shimla and Kasauli came up  as I stood there for awhile watching the sun went down. Chail had indeed come a long way from an idyllic hamlet to a royal seat and now a tourist resort .

This story was published in The Hindu , as part of the author’s column, Inside Story

Club Mahindra has a lovely resort in Mashobra , near Shimla and the author was invited to the property as part of a blogger’s trip

CLAY wishes all its readers, members, travel writers and bloggers a very happy and prosperous new year. Here is wishing all of you exciting travels in 2012.

We begin this new year with a  sunrise in The Himalayas , as seen from our resort in Mashobra, near Shimla .

Flowers have been part of humankind’s existence; I am sure, since time immemorial. In fact the myriad colors lift ones mood from morose to joyous in a moment. So much so that now-a-days there is a new branch of alternate medicine based just on that, called Flower Therapy.

I am sure now you want to know after all the jabberwocky above, what this is all about.

Well, this is what happens when after starting for the famous Valley of flowers, you are destined to quit the trip midway and come back empty handed. Thus ends the flower story that was not to be.

So if by any chance this happens with you as well, then here is a remedy. My type of flower therapy.

Visit plateau of flowers in Maharashtra instead! The distant cousin of valley of flowers.

Of course, you need to be a little fortunate here too, for, the flowers are as fickle minded as a toddler that they will show their faces only for a very short period and at times that suit them.

These wild flowers are clever too. To stop us fighting over whose photographs are better or more colorful, every week they take turns to bloom and display different colors.

Here, I present you through my photos what they offered me.

The journey over the winding roads on mountain sides, offering a view of huge blue lakes or mist covered hill tops and later roads on the ridge which eventually opens out to a plateau, takes ones breath away. One can easily say the journey is itself the destination!

To visit - Compared to valley of flowers which requires us to be physically fit enough to do at least a full day’s trekking after some journey on mountainous roads to reach the place; this place is totally reachable by road.

Schedule your trip to catch the wildflowers in this area which bloom only for a short period of 2-3 weeks every year just after the monsoon.

Distance - Kaas is 25 KMs from Satara town which in turn is 250 KM from Mumbai.

I had read somewhere about a place which has more than 2,000 peacocks in the entire vicinity. So, one fine morning this monsoon we found ourselves driving down to a small village called Morachi Chincholi in Maharashtra.

Throughout the journey I was visualizing myself surrounded by & dancing with those beautiful birds. The child in me wanted to do some more mischief, just like I used to when I was actually a child.

‘Morachi Chincholi‘, means ‘village of dancing peacocks’, and true to its name, it indeed has abundant of them! On reaching we were told that the best time to spot the peacocks in full grandeur is in the morning between 6 and 8 am and in the evening between 5 and 7 pm.

In this village only option of a stay is a homestay. Staying in a typical village house which has no compound wall but 3 water wells, swings and lots of fruit trees from which you can pluck the freshest of Guavas, mangoes, custard apples, has its own charm. Plenty of greenery, cows, bullocks, dogs, and last but not the least… the colourful peacocks & peahens strutting around us added to our zest.

Come evening, our host guided us in fields, set our boundaries so we do not go beyond lest peacocks fly away. He knew exactly where the peacocks had perched & the places where they dance at specific times.

“Peacocks are to appear near those trees”, he pointed towards trees at a faraway distance.

What? Won’t they come closer?

No. Then he left.

Armed with tripods we waited for peacocks to make an appearance. We could see farmers working in the fields at a distance. Soon the peafowl appeared. But they felt threatened every time one of us moved to capture a better photograph. Now we knew why our host had instructed us to sit down and not move at all. So we had to sit like fearful chicken in front of those birds.

I started wondering if they’d dance now. The peacocks were, however, comfortable around farmers. They hardly paid any attention to them and moving slowly, soon went about eating, wooing without any fear.

The sight of royal peacocks fanning their feathers, dancing in rhythm for their lady love was just too breathtaking. Then I noticed something unusual and it made me laugh every time I saw it. Impressed and somewhat wooed, whenever a peahen approached a dancing peacock, he’d just turn around excitedly and show her, his fluttering back.

Oh shucks! Would I have to content with capturing their derriere? Not to mention, majority of my photos have their equally beautiful derriere too!

I had seen pirouetting peacocks before, including ones with white feathers. But this experience of capturing them in camera while containing my excitement was something new ! Their hoarse calls sounded like songs to me. Oh! This was a very beautiful sight ! I was soon lost in their world.

Suddenly it struck; I reprimanded my husband “Have you ever sung or danced for me?”.

And there it was. My peacock dancing for me.

Plan your trip to Morachi Chincholi : The best time to go to Morachi Chincholi is during monsoon or just after that as this is breeding period for the peafowl.

Homestays are the only option. Even without any luxury, one can be assured of a warm hospitality of villagers and the authentic Maharashtrian village experience.

Road directions: It is situated on Ahmednagar-Pune Highway at a distance of around 220 Kms from Mumbai. It is reachable by NH4 or by Expressway by taking the Lonavla exit to take the NH4 to reach Talegaon. At Talegaon juncture take a left on Pune Nashik road. Travel till Khed (20 kms) and Pabal. After Pabal, take a left turn for another 10 kms to reach Morachi Chincholi.

Nisha is a traveller and blogs at Le Monde – A Poetic Travail

As we got out of the car, the metal sculptures on the gate was what greeted us. We were at the Garden of Five Senses. A park in Saidul Ajaib village, near the Mehrauli heritage area in Delhi. You cant really call it a park, its not a garden nor is it just a center for fun…

There are plenty of trees and plants scattered through the vast space, there are interesting sculptures around every corner. Once you enter the gates, all you see is open space, and plenty of it, stretching far beyond the eye can see..

The sculptures have are all a symbol of modern art, created by master craftsmen…  Amongst the innumerable marvelous pieces are a few in  terracotta and stainless steel ..

One of which reminded me of a pinwheel, one with bells around every tier and another that reminded me of the paper fan we get in the beaches….

The leaves and bells seem to flutters with every gush of wind and creates one in hearts too. They were beautiful.. The beauty is that all these are scattered and you will have to walk around the winding lanes, through quite a plethora of flora…

The other unique piece of art here is the row of children sitting for class. It is so life like, that we had to literally walk near the sculptures to make sure they were made of stone… Wow, it was fascinating….

Walking around the park, we spotted a row of stones arranged like stairs that led to an amphitheater… On the other side were a few colorful pieces that resembled children’s play area and we also discovered a cafe and a few boutique stores…

Spare yourself a couple of hours to wander the space and enjoy the sights and sounds… But watch your step, cos you never know if you are going up or down in the Garden of Five senses…
Its been about 3yrs since i was here.. wonder what kind of changes have happened… If you do visit, let me know how it is now

My first memory of Agumbe is from a school trip to the Western Ghats. I was in class 8 and the famous Agumbe sunset was to be the highlight of the trip. Heavy rains and a landslide played spoilsport that year and Agumbe was moved to the ‘visit someday’ list. 15 years later, my wish came true. Dilan Mandanna, popularly known as Mandy was going to organise a two day trip, with accommodation arrangements at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) I simply had to sign up. I could finally put my newly acquired macro lens to some good use. After a successful leopard-tiger-elephant-hornbill-falcon sighting in Kabini the same week, I was looking to achieve nirvana with a sighting of the King.
Agumbe is a beautiful little village that sits on a plateau on top of the Someshwara Ghat, 643 meters above sea level. Surrounded by luscious green rainforests, it is known as ‘Cherrapunji of the South’ for a reason, it gets an annual rainfall of up to 11,000 mm. Agumbe is home to all the Western Ghats rainforest species of trees, mammals, birds, insects, frogs and snakes. However, the regal King Cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake is the King of the jungle in these parts.
A mad dash across the Majestic bus stand and a rickety 10 hour bus drive took me to a very rainy and wet Agumbe early in the morning. It had rained there all night. Aching muscles were forgotten the second Mandy announced that he had seen a male King the previous evening and was quite sure we’d be able to see him again. After dumping our bags and donning leech socks, we headed out to find the King.
His Highness was resting there, by the side of the forest path, right outside the bushes – 10 feet long, a rich brown, his scales glistening with raindrops, body all curved up as if to camouflage the inimitable length. He had devoured a heavy meal the previous evening and didn’t seem too keen to move, he just kept a watchful eye on us, his admirers. In all my imagination, I had envisioned the King to be a spectacular snake, but nothing could have prepared me for this sighting. Goose bumps. Breathlessness. Loss of speech. Fear. Respect. I felt a mix of everything. I just stood there, gaping, with my mouth open. The beauty of the King is incomparable. The sound of a camera shutter next to me brought me back to reality, I had a camera in my hand to make an attempt to freeze this moment. Photographing the King is humbling, you are fully aware that you can do no justice in saving that intimidating stare for posterity, yet, you just go click-click-click.

The King Cobra has a striking distance of 2 m, around 7 feet, they are fast and agile. When threatened, the King raises its upper portion of the body, around 4-5 feet, so it basically looks at you straight in the eye and gives out a hiss that’s almost a growl, before doing its business. But, the King doesn’t like to bite. As much as possible, they avoid confrontation, they bite only when cornered or provoked. Before I forget, there is no antidote to a King Cobra bite.
ARRS was set up by Romulus Whitakerand has been operational since 2005. Many herpetologists, conservationists and researchers work on their projects based out of this research station. ARRS helps out in King Cobra rescues around the region. Though King Cobras are revered, they’re prone to some harm from humans when they venture into human settlements. Among many other projects, the King Cobra Radio Telemetry Project is currently operational here. With the help of telemetry, the researchers study snake movements. They record daily and seasonal activity patterns of King Cobras which helps in understanding their behaviour and eventually, in conserving this flagship species. The ARRS has a common dining area and common bathrooms. Serve your own food, wash your plates, don’t leave behind any plastic and give the staff their space to work is the way of life if you are a visitor.
It kept raining the entire day and we headed out to look for the King’s courtiers. A Green Vine Snake clung to a twig, completely camouflaged. Our presence brought out the black and white under its scales, a sign of aggravation.

A Malabar Pit Viper sat pretty in the bamboo, only a watchful eye can spot it, the shiny yellow scales give it away. It curls up into an S shape, defensive, its striking position.

A few steps ahead, an incredibly cute baby Nilgiri Keelback (Beddome’s Keelback) greeted us.

At every step we met wondrous new creatures – frogs, caterpillars, dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies.

The flora and fauna is so rich that you can spend an entire day photographing things at a single spot and you would still not be done with it.

A Malabar Trogon called for its partner, Yellow Browed Bulbuls zipped past our head. A Paris Peacock skimmed along, a Red Helen followed course. A Malabar Giant Squirrel dropped half eaten figs on our heads. A Crested Serpent Eagle called, gliding high up in the sky. I was in paradise.


White Bellied Treepies called out to us, so did Malabar Grey Hornbills. We went crawling across a huge field to shoot Malabar Larks and they took off before we got our best shots.

Posted by wildlife enthusiast and photographer Radha Rangarajan .Do read the Part 2 of her encounter with the king here.

We chose Coorg Club Mahindra for our 1^st Wedding Anniversary. We landed in Bangalore on a dry sultry evening and left for Coorg early morning by car and reached the resort by noon. While it was warm, the resort was cool with the greenery which we soaked in. Of the 4 days we stayed there, we walked around and explored every corner of the resort and it was not enough.

The most memorable time was at the organized trip to a waterfall close by. You had to go through a thicket and then follow a stream under a canopy of trees to a waterfall with a small scintillating pool. It was private with no one around and surrounded three sides by high ground. They also organize night camps close to the waterfall. We also went to a coffee plantation where we learnt about different types of coffee beans, trees and plants that are grown in the plantation and took some photographs.

We would recommend this trip to visitors as it is fun, well organized and very educational. We took up the trip to the elephant camp and the Tibetan Monastery and both were rewarding experiences. In all we spent quality time in the resort and there was ample to do outside as well.

The food at the resort was excellent. While we gorged on good food we also took out time to flex our muscles. We played Table Tennis and Badminton and walked a lot, all in all it was good fun.

On our wedding anniversary the resort organized a cake and did up the room with balloons and flowers and special designs using the towel – Swan’s and Hearts which was very touching. We tried the wonderful spa with massages which rejuvenated us before we left. It was the first visit to a Club Mahindra resort for my wife, I had been to others before, she was visibly impressed and till date after two years it remains as our most favorite place to visit again. The lush greenery, the waterfall, coffee plantations and excellent food beckons us again.

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ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH ASSORTED VEGGIES in a CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:
Angel hair pasta: ½ packet
Assorted veggies: (diced)
Zucchini- 1 No.
Onions- 5 Nos.
Garlic- 5 cloves
Broccoli- 1 small head
Baby Corn- 1 punit
Mushrooms- 1 punit
Sun dried tomatoes- ½ a jar
Olive oil- 3 tbsp
Cream- ½ liter
Chili flakes
Salt and pepper

Method:
In a pan sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil till golden brown.
Add mushrooms, sauté until they are cooked.
Deglaze with cream, add sun dried tomatoes and simmer.
Cook pasta in another pot. Cook till al dente. Just 2 minutes before you drain the pasta add broccoli to the pasta. Drain.
Sauté zucchini, baby corn add to the cream sauce.
Add the pasta, broccoli to the sauce and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Serve warm and garnish with parsley!

About the Author:
A pastry chef by profession and also a TED fellow, Kishi Arora, spends her day dreaming up ways to tickle surprise and indulge the taste buds of discerning foodies in Delhi.

Kishi started ‘Foodaholics’, a popular Dessert shop. Now Foodaholics extends consultancy services to organisations and enterprises involved in food business. For an exotic desert customized to your tastes place your order at www.foodaholics.in