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 .

Having driven 830kms from Bandra we reached Murdeshwar in the evening at around 5pm.

It was a very smooth drive on the NH4 upto Hubli and then onto NH63 upto Ankola to connect NH17 which has been resurfaced and a pleasure to drive on.

We checked in at Naveen Beach Resort which as the name suggests is bang on the beach. Absorbed the beautiful sunset from the beach along with hundreds of others who had come to spend their evening out there.

Murudeshwar has the tallest Shiva idol in the world . And now there is also the tallest gopuram in the world! Both are awe inspiring. The original Shiva temple also has an amazing story to tell.

The origin of the name “Murudeshwara” dates to the time of Ramayana. The Hindu gods attained immortality and invincibility by worshipping a divine lingam called the AtmaLinga. The King of Lanka, Ravana wanted to attain immortality by obtaining the AtmaLinga. Since the AtmaLinga belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with devotion. Pleased by his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him what he wanted.

Ravana asked for the AtmaLinga and Lord Shiva agreed to grant him his wish with a condition that the Atmalinga should never be placed on the ground. If it was, it would get embedded there. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka.
Sage Narada, fearing that Ravana may become invincible, approached Lord Vishnu to retrieve it.

Ravana used to perform his rituals religiously in the evening. Lord Vishnu and Ganesha decided to exploit his devotion. As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted the sun with his Sudarshana Chakra to make it look like evening. A Brahmin boy (Ganesha) approached Ravana, who requested him to hold the Aatmalinga until he performed his rituals.

Ravana returned to find the boy gone and the Aatmalinga on the ground. Lord Vishnu removed his Chakra, and it was daylight again. An angry Ravana tried to uproot the Aatmalinga. He threw away everything covering the Linga, including its cloth, to a placed called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill). Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwara.

This entire legend has been carved on the temple gopuram.

Murudeshwar also has an amazingly beautiful beach which has been developed as a resort with water sports.

Quite a lot can be said about this beautiful, quite and a calm place. We took off from Mumbai to Bangalore via an early morning flight. As we were going to stay in the Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley, Coorg property, we had our taxi pre-booked from them. It was a nice and beautiful drive all the way to Coorg. It would have been an approx of 280 odd kms. But the entire 4 hours of drive was fabulous and the rains made it more fantastic.

The Mahindra resort was so welcoming. Located amongst luscious greens. We were gonna be there for about 4 days. We reached around noon…had a fantastic lunch in one of their open air restaurants. We then checked in to our room…had taken their 1bhk room. It was just great..especially the back view from the room was wonderful.

The next morning we were welcomed with nice rains and temperature was down to just 14 Degc. We then had planned to visit the very famous Talacauvery which is around 50 kms from the resort. It is the original source of Cauvery river and is located in the Bhrahmagiri hill at 1200m aprx above the sea level. It is believed that taking bath in Talacauvery is very sacred and can relieve the man from all the sufferings.

There is a small hill which once walked up had amazing view..actually breathtaking..

We had a wonderful day out there…got back to the resort and let the day end. The next day we had something very exciting for us to look forward to. It was a trip to Dubare Elephant camp. A place where we can give bath, scrub and feed elephants. An amazing experience with the elephants which I have never had as yet.

I had a wonderful experience out there and thanks to the team of Club Mahindra to make it more memorable. The next day was another different kind of experience which again I had for the 1st time. We were headed to a Tibetan Monastery – Golden Temple, Bylakuppe. It houses over 250 monks as on date.

Stepping inside the temple feels like walking in to another world altogether. There are three beautiful golden Buddha statues each of 40 feet namely Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amityaus look down at visitors above the altar.

An absolutely stunning place. A place where I would feel like going back again and again. With a visit to this place our trip was almost at end. The next day we had a flight back home from Bangalore…The trip was wonderful and more over the Club Mahindra has a fantastic resort out there..

A must must visit for all…

In September, I gave a 30-minute presentation on Photographing mountainscapes at Club Mahindra Whispering Pines Resort at Mashobra near Shimla. The audience included the winners and jury of Club Mahindra My Trip of a Lifetime travelogue contest.

In this presentation, I took some images from my archives and spoke about a single feature in the image that made me take the picture, or a feature that stood out in the image. Below are the slides of the presentation.

Photographing Mountains

How many times have you come back from a vacation, after having seen some beautiful places and experienced something nice, but wish you had good images to keep memories forever? Good travel images can stretch the experiences of our journeys all the way back to our homes. Here are 10 tips to get the best from your camera while you are on a holiday.

1. Wake up early.

The golden light of early morning is the best time to take pictures. Many things work in favour of the photographer when the sun is just coming out. The warm light makes the landscape look pretty. Fog diffuses the light and adds a magical effect. The low lighting brings out the textures of the subject and adds depth into the photograph. A photograph shot in the harsh afternoon sun can look dull and flat, but the same shot in the morning may look magical. If not in the morning, the next best time of the day is evening. Avoid the times when the sun is high.

Pic : Arun Bhat

2. Keep the sun behind you.

This is the most important and most obvious thing to keep in mind when taking pictures. If the sun is facing the camera, your subject will be in shadow, forming dark areas without details. With the sun behind you, your subject will have proper lighting and turns out better.

3. Put people in pictures.

Picture of a man standing on the top of a tall mountain can say a lot about the scale of the mountain. A lonely couple walking on a wide beach can say how empty and tranquil the beach is. A man worshiping in a temple can bring life and character to the temple. Always look for a chance to place people in your pictures.

Pic : Arun Bhat

4. Lookout for background clutter.

Have you ever noticed in pictures of Taj Mahal, that Taj is the only building seen in every one of those typical images? Imagine a few tall high rise buildings in the background of Taj, a chimney of a factory sticking out, and all possible urban construction behind Taj posing at the viewer. Would the picture look the same? Obviously not. Taj is a specially thought out monument, which was built on a high platform to block views of everything else behind. But most other places and monuments we see are not so. Lookout for an angle where you can eliminate the background clutter.

5. Shoot children.

You know it already – they have so much life, they can bring life to your pictures too. When you see willing kids, just make friends with them and take their pictures. You would make them happy too.

Pic : Arun Bhat

6. Shoot local people.

You will often come across people dressed traditionally, or in a unique manner. Lookout for the elderly people who have not shed the clothes of the olden days for today’s globally uniform dressing. Smiling people, wrinkles on the face of an old man in chai shop, people at work – they all can add beautifully to your travel experiences and memories. Get up close and talk to them, it always helps in getting good images.

Pic : Arun Bhat

7. Emphasize the main subject.

This tip is about getting pictures of you and/or your family in front of the a monument or scenery. We all want one such image don’t we? But who gets prominence in the frame? Should it be the structure of Taj Mahal or your spouse? You know the answer well. Frame your family to be a part of the big picture; don’t make them the big picture!

8. Research before you go.

This tip is for people who want to get serious with their camera. You have limited time and want to get the best out of it. Instead of running through the place and trying to get images in a hurry, sit back at home before you leave and try to find out what matters to you in your destination. Plan to spend more time with the subjects you like, once you are at the location. But then, if you are on a vacation and the camera is just a supplementary gear, you should really not get into the headaches of research. Let a holiday be a holiday, not a time for some intense work.

9. Get out in winter.

It is the time of the year when mornings and evenings are most colourful and magical. I know it could be really cold at places, but the efforts will be rewarded. Even in daytime, the skies tend to be clearer and the light would be a great deal more conducive for photography than rest of the year.

Pic : Arun Bhat

10. Leave wildlife alone.

This is not really a tip, but an advice to exercise discretion. You would have seen many mind blowing images of wildlife on the internet, television or magazines. Shooting wildlife requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and years of experience. Do not go out of your way to get wildlife shots on your holidays. An unguided attempt may often result in disturbing the wildlife, inadvertently putting them in danger or even destruction of their dwellings. Attempt wildlife only if you are keen to go far in the field, and start with some expert help. Of course, no harm trying to capture an animal or bird that comes easy on your path.

Happy clicking and travelling!