A travel blogger from Kolkata, India
Hi, my name is Moon. I am a content developer by profession and a travel blogger by passion. As a traveler, I want to explore every nook and corner of my beloved country India and beyond and share my travel stories on my blog. I have written for Hipmunk. You can check out more of my Hipmunk Hotels and Destinations posts here: https://footlooseforever.com/category/travel/usa-hotels/
Varanasi is a place where you will see them anywhere and everywhere – on the Ghats, in the alleys, at the temples. Some maintain the attire in which they came on this earth, some wear saffron clothes. Some are completely absorbed in their own world, some are very conscious about the surroundings – whether passersby pay attention to them or not (I hope you understand why 🙂 ). Some draw tika on their forehead while some smear ashes on the skin. Many of them wear matted hair coiled up on their crown. Yes, they are the Sadhus (hermits) – they belong to Varanasi’s culture.
While I was taking a stroll along the Daswaswamedh Ghat in one fine morning I spotted him. He came down the stairs, spread his rug on the floor, arranged his belongings in order, then sat down and looked at me curiously. As I approached him he wore a pleasant smile.
“Kya mai ek photo le sakti hun apki?”, I requested. (Can I take a photo of yours?)
He instantly gave his approval, “han, zaroor…le lo”. (Yes, of course, go ahead)
And there he goes – our smiling Sadhu Baba.
P.S.: I took this photo with my old SONY Cyber Shot W190.
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden popularly known as Shibpur Botanical Garden
It was a warm morning in the month of March. I bought my Nikon Coolpix P500 the previous night and thought to go out on a photowalk to test the new camera. It was a bridge camera with powerful zoom (34x) …ideal for shooting birds. Two of my friends also wanted to join me. They suggested we go to the Botanical Garden in Kolkata’s twin city Howrah on the other side of the Ganges. That was also my first visit to Shibpur Botanical Garden which is officially named as Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden. We reached there at around 7:30 am, a little before the ticket counter opened. Looking through the main gate I could see some people were already returning from their everyday morning walk session in the garden.
Morning walkers in the Botanical Garden
Founded in 1787 on the western bank of the River Ganges the Botanical Garden is about 30-40 minutes ride from the heart of Kolkata. Built on an area of 273 acres the garden is home to 12,000 perennial plants and a variety of plant species cultivated for scientific research. The garden has become a popular tourist attraction over the years, especially because of The Great Banyan tree. It is a huge 250 years old Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) forming world’s second largest natural canopy spreading over an area of 14,500 square meters.
The Great Banyan Tree in the Botanical Garden, Kolkata – Photo: Wikipedia
Apart from banyan and various types of trees there are manicured gardens, lakes and ponds where rare water lilies (such as Victoria Amazonica) bloom and a variety of birds come in search of food and shelter amidst the greenery.
As we explored deeper in the garden, it became obvious that I did not have the patience to shoot birds neither the eye for it and ended up shooting trees, flowers and ponds in the garden. 🙂 While my friends were busy in clicking birds I took a few shots of the surrounding.
My friends busy in photographing birds.
Whether you are a photographer, or a fitness freak, or just a visitor you’ll love the place full of greenery and quietness away from the din of city life as you breathe in fresh air which immediately relaxes your mind. So, don’t forget to include the Botanical Garden in your must-see list of Kolkata Tour.
Here are a few glimpses of the Indian Botanic Garden through my lenses.
We walked down the nature trails
Went past the bamboo groves
Along the canals flowing across the garden
To reach a pond where trees contemplate upon their reflections
Where red water lilies bloom all around
Where dead trees were lying beside the track
But the green foliages of spring shone bright in the morning sun
I looked through the leafy frame
To find this Bronze-winged Jacana wading through the water
Suddenly my eyes fell on this dragon fly resting on the branch of a tree
We sat down under the tree to relax in its cool shade
And watched bright cosmoses flooded the garden yonder
And red poppies swaying their heads in breeze
To welcome the little bee that sucked nectar until its stomach was full
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,200 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.
First of all I must apologize to Svetlana for being so late in thanking her for nominating me for the ‘Very Inspiring Blogger Award’. But then I had a plan to come up with this acknowledgement post on the last day of this year, 2014 which has helped me concentrate on blogging, take blogging seriously. It was an overwhelming moment to find ‘Maverickbird’ Svetlana’s comment that she has nominated me for this award – a very pleasant surprise – a great honour for me. Most importantly, it feels great to be chosen by one of my most favorite bloggers, the ‘maverickbird’, Svetlana.
Thanks to IndiBlogger that I found her blog maverickbird.com and instantly started following it. Actually the name ‘maverick bird’ caught my eyes – an unusual but self-explanatory (as you read the tagline “Flights of a flight attendant”) blog name which attracted me initially. I explored her blog to find that Svetlana is a wonderful blogger. I believe very passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated to blogging, rather sharing her amazing travel experiences through words and amazing pictures. I often wonder how she manages to write frequently after having a busy professional schedule and mothering a child. This is also an inspiration for lazy bloggers like me. The unique facet of Svetlana’s blog is the way she organizes her posts blog posts. First comes the story – uninterrupted, then a series of vivid images with interesting captions. Once you visit her blog you’ll no way but keep visiting maverickbird.com.
Thank you Svetlana for nominating me for this award. It’s an honour and inspiration for me.
My second ‘Very Inspiring Blogger Award’ came from a very young and enthusiastic blogger Tenywho celebrates his love for tea in his wonderful blogThe Tea Celebrations. Teny has mastered the art of blogging and I think he is successful in his “attempt to find something out of anything”. 🙂 I wish I had the dedication as you have for blogging.
Thank you Teny for choosing me for this award. I feel honoured!
7 Things About Myself
Now the next part – stating seven things about myself, which I find a difficult task. 😛
I was not a serious blogger until recently. I started blogging way back in 2009. When Tweitter Festival took place in Saltlake, Kolkata followed by a bloggers’ meet. One of my friends, Deblina insisted me to create a blog to take part in the meet as she created hers. That’s how it started. But I rarely updated my blog until recently when I upgraded it with a custom domain name. Now I think blogging is good for (mental) health. 🙂
I am lazy like a cat. I can spend a whole day watching the world go by sitting in a beach resort. Thank God that I don’t get that chance often … 😉
I am very emotional person and can easily get hurt. But the good thing is that I have realized this (in the beginning of 2014) and practicing control over my emotions.
I am introvert but friendly by nature. I do not open up to people quickly and mingle with them. For me, it is a matter of time. Give me time and I can become a very good friend.
I am an avid reader. I have an eternal attraction towards detective, mysteries and suspense thrillers. Dan Brown and Frederick Forsyth are my favorite in this genre. But I also like to read short stories and novels on human nature and relationships. When it comes to literature can’t think of anyone before Tagore (may be because I am a Bong). Wuthering Height is my favorite English novel.
I love watching movies. It could be Hollywood or Bollywood or Bengali or Irani or Spanish or Indonesian. In short, I watch any good movie that touches my heart. Language is not a barrier, but English subtitles always helps. J My sister and I download movies all through the week and watch them together every weekend. Kevin Costner, Tom Hanks, Leonardo Dicaprio and Sharon Stone are some of my favorite actors. And Sound of Music, Dances with Wolves, The Untouchables and The Book Thief are some of my all time favorite movies.
My New Year resolution is to exercise regularly. Well, I am not fat or flabby kind. But I want to indulge in fitness activities to ensure a healthy body and mind which I think is most important for a traveler.
15 Blogs I Follow
Travel Tales from India – Mridula Dwivedi is an iconic travel blogger and an inspiration for me.
My Yatra Diary – Arti, a wonderful writer, an experienced blogger and a spiritual traveller, blogs about her spiritual journeys and travel destinations in India and other countries.
Voyager For Life – Renuka, a smart, enthusiastic young girl – a solo woman traveller and blogger who is always an inspiration.
i Share – Ms Indrani Ghose has an eye to see simple things differently. Her wonderful blog can be the inspiration for any blogger. She shares her travel stories combined with beautiful pictures. I love her ‘Faces of India’ series.
Inspire99– Vinay and Vidyashree come up with a range of topics on social issues, and well being. As the name reveals the blog inspires you to think and think better.
INewsIndia– SEO and digital marketing specialist Alok Vats shares his views and useful tips on blogging and online promotion of websites.
A Traveller’s Odysseys – My favorite blogger ‘wandering Jatin’ an IT guy but a traveler at heart blogs on his travel experiences, sometimes in a humorous note which I like very much.
Rangan Dutta – Mr. Rangan Dutta is passionate traveler, photographer and writer. His blog is full of photos of historical architecture and edifices from around the world.
Nature & Travel Photography – I found this blog from wordpress suggestions. Being a nature lover I am fascinated by the beautiful landscape photographs in Mr. Anil C. Mandal’s blog.
Murali Aithal Photography Blog – Murali is a wonderful Nature Photographer. I follow his blog for beautiful landscape and nature photos and photography tips and tricks.
Sunshine and Zephyr by Shweta – Shweta Dave is a management consultant and a wonderful poet and short story writer. Her blog is a refreshing read.
Travel Defined – Ms. Vasudha Aggarwal loves exploring new places and shares her adventure stories and beautiful pictures in her blog.
Eat Sleep Shoot Travel Blog – The founder of this blog Ms. Natasha is a photographer, writer and a globetrotter who already have travelled 99 cities across the world.
No Where to Go But Everywhere – Miss Tessa is a globetrotter who have travelled the world at a very young age and shares her wonderful stores in her blog.
The rules for Very inspiring Blogger Award
Display the award on your blog
Link back to the blogger who nominated you
State 7 things about yourself
Nominate 15 bloggers, link to their blog and notify them about the nomination
Keep travelling. Keep blogging. Happy New Year 2015 !!
Amer Fort or Amber Fort, located only 11 kilometers from the Pink City – Jaipur, is one of the most fascinating tourist hotspots in the state of Rajasthan. The main gate of the fort called Suraj Pol or ‘Sun Gate’ (‘suraj’ meaning sun and ‘pol’ meaning gate) leads to the main courtyard of the fort, Jaleb Chowk, where the army used to parade in front of the king and his courtiers.
The women of royal family also observed the activities on the courtyard from behind the ornate stone lattices decorating the place balconies.
Amer Fort is full of historical saga and spectacular instances of mediaeval architecture. Overlooking Maota Lake this Rajput stronghold was built on Aravalli Hills range in time of Raja Man Singh (around 1592). Some expansions were made later by the king Sawai Jai Singh.
The palace architecture is a wonderful blend of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles. The king’s palace, the frescoes on marble walls, the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), the garden, the temple (Shila Devi Temple) where Rajput Kings offered worship everything is so fascinating that I can simply keep talking about it … 🙂
However, the most memorable moment of my Amer Fort visit was when our guide led us to Sheesh Mahal and explained why it was built that way. He lit up his torch and focused it on the ceiling of Sheesh Mahal. It was like thousands stars twinkling under the roof – AMAZING!
Sheesh Mahal in Amer Palace
We were lucky to get a veteran guide whose bag was full of interesting stories about the royal lifestyle inside the fort and its palaces in time of Rajput kings.
The story of the royal family goes like this (as told by our guide). The king had 12 queens. There were separate sections (‘Mahal’) in the palace for each of them. The king maintained a highly confidential schedule about when to spend time with which queen. When he was with one wife no other queens would know about it. The king never wanted all of his queens to meet in one place and have chitchat. At a time only four of the queens were allowed to meet at the central pavilion (Baradhari Pavilion) at the palace square or inner courtyard. The Habshi (Abyssinian Eunuch) guards used to keep watch on the queens’ meeting from the minarets erected on all corners of the square. Imagine the sense of ‘insecurity’ of the king! 😛
I was so absorbed in the beauty of the place that I did not notice when we have returned to the outer courtyard – Jaleb Chowk. Time flies so quickly. The fort closes at 5:30 pm and it was already 5 pm. We were running short of time. Otherwise, I think we would get to listen more of such queer stories of royal families if we could explore every nook and corner of the palace.
Please note that apart from taking a tour of the fort and palaces and offering worship in the temple you can also shop from the boutiques and antique stores located inside the fort premises and enjoy elephant ride in the main courtyard.
Enjoy elephant ride at Amer Fort
Take a virtual tour of this amazing fortified town and its palace through my lenses. 🙂
View from Amer Fort:
Diwan-e-aam (the Hall of Public Audience):
Shila Devi Temple:
Chandra Pol or Moon Gate (Chandra is Moon and Pol meaning gate) on the other side of the courtyard:
Old cannons are still on display at Moon Gate:
The gorgeous, mesmerizing Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace):
Jaipur – the first time I heard about the ‘Pink City’ I was only eight or nine. My tender mind instantly drew a vivid picture of a city where everything from the houses to walls to streets – is tinged pink, which is also my favorite shade. I cherished that picture deep in my heart and dreamt of seeing it all someday in my life. I cherished that picture until I visited Jaipur in November 2013. To my surprise, I hardly found any trace of pink in the city. The City Palace area is left with antique stone edifices which looked more orange than pink. And it is not just my perception; my co-travelers also expressed the same opinion.
Jaipur City Palace – Is it pink or orange? What do you say?
A few hours later that morning, when we entered Jaipur City Palace with a guide accompanying our group I came to know that in time of Rajput monarchs it was a strict order from the administration that all houses in the city have to be painted in pink, hence the name ‘Pink City’. There is another story I found on the web on why Jaipur is called the Pink City. Later the government lifted the restriction and now citizens paint their houses as they wish. That’s why we didn’t see much of pink that will do justice to the city’s popular name.
We boarded Howrah-Ajmer Express from Kolkata on November 22 at 11:20pm and reached Jaipur on 24th at around 3:30 am. Our travel agent arranged a bus for transportation of the group. It was a short and convenient drive from the station to the hotel through the neighborhoods still in their predawn deep sleep. The bus dropped us at Hotel Mangal, a budget hotel with clean rooms and attached bathroom with hot and cold water. Though I was not very hopeful about this hotel from its TripAdvisor reviews, but I found it is quite okay if you are looking for a moderate accommodation at cheaper rate for one or two nights.
Early morning in Jaipur. The city was yet to wake up when we entered.
Things to See in Jaipur
The capital city of the state of Rajasthan, has many things to offer even the most discerning traveler. On one hand, it is a modern, organized and clean city and on the other hand it exudes a quaint charm with old city palace and classic edifices dotting the cityscape.
We started for Jaipur sightseeing early in the morning. Our first stop was Jaipur Birla Temple.
Birla Temple
Birla Temple is situated at the foot of Moti Dungri Fort in Jaipur. Just as any other Birla Temples found in different cities across the country Jaipur Birla Temple, built with white marbles, is a treat to the eye from architectural point of view.
Jaipur City Palace
Built around 1732 by the then king Sawai Jai Singh Jaipur City Palace is a magnificent construction located at the heart of the city. The most interesting point about the palace architecture is that it is a wonderful blend of Hindu (Rajput), Christian (European) and Islamic (Mughal) architectural genres.
The stone detailing on the columns accentuated with touch of colours, the frescos, the painted ceilings, ornate doors and windows will blow your mind with their artistic appeal.
While Chandra Mahal is still the residents of the royal family a large portion of the palace is open for public visit.
The palace houses three galleries. One is for display of weapons used by the Rajput kings and fighters. Another gallery is for the robes and garments of the kings and queens. The third one is Sabha Niwas still maintaining its regal air with its interior decor set as it was in time of the royal dynasty.
There are four gates in the inner courtyard the most notable being the Peacock Gate. Our guide told us that each gate represents a climatic season. The Peacock Gate represents monsoon, the Lotus Gate relates to summer, the Green Gate is meant for spring and the Rose Gate symbolizes winter.
Hawa Mahal
On our way to City Palace we saw Jaipur’s iconic Hawa Mahal or the “Palace of Winds”. The structure was built so that the royal women, whose world was limited within the enclosure of the palace, could watch the festive activities on the streets. The sight of the Hawa Mahal, designed in the shape of Lord Krishna’s crown, swept me off my feet. It was one of the most beautiful instances of architecture I have ever seen. While appreciating its artistic and architectural beauty I was also thinking of the life of those women in the palace around 400 years ago… Was it like living in a golden cage?
Image: Wikipedia
Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar is an enclosed area with a collection of huge sundials and various other astronomical instruments. Located at a few minutes walk from the City Palace, Jantar Mantar, also built by the king Sawai Jai Singh, is an architectural wonder. These instruments were used to measure the exact time of the day and to observe celestial phenomena such as the position of the stars and planets at a given point of time. The words Jantar and Mantar are derived from Sanskrit ‘Yantra’ meaning instrument and ‘Mantra’ meaning magical. ‘Magical instruments’ … they really are.
Kanak Vrindavan
Our next destination was Kanak Vrindavan located on the way to Amber Fort.
It’s a beautiful, well-manicured, landscaped garden with classic structures and fountains dotting its sprawling green lawns. Paved walkways are lined with thick red bougainvilleas. Occasional trees amidst the garden offer cool shades for tired travelers (as we were). Kanak Vrindavan was once a favorite shooting spot for Hindi movies. Many film song sequences had been shot here in old days. Now it is a popular picnic spot for locals as well as tourists.
It was already 1:30 in the afternoon – time for lunch. So, we choose a quiet corner and sat down on the grass and ate our meals. It was a wonderful experience sitting right on the ground under a tree and having lunch – it reminded me of good old school days when we used to go for picnics in winter with our teachers and classmates!
This is the first time I have ever visited a fort. I was pretty excited about this exploration and Amber Fort did not disappoint me. In fact, if I try to write everything I saw, heard and liked about Amber Fort it will not fit into one post. Amber Fort, also called Amer Fort, has fascinated me with its royal heritage, its mesmerizing Sheesh Mahal (palace of mirrors), intricate stone carvings on the columns and walls and its intriguing stories about ancient kings and queens. It is a massive stronghold from outside. But inside, it awaits you with wide-open courtyards surrounded with temples, minarets and palaces.
We were lucky this time to get a veteran guide who was knowledgeable and considerate enough to depict the stories of each ‘Mahal’ (palace) slowly and in detail and gave us enough time to explore every section at our own pace, unlike our City Palace guide, who was always in a hurry and demonstrated with the speed of Rajdhani Express! 😉
The guide told us about some intriguing stories about the kings and queens and the royal lifestyle which I am going to share with you in my post on Amer Fort.
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal (meaning – ‘palace on water’) is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in the backdrop on Aravalli Hills. Enjoy a boat ride to the palace and explore its ornate foyers and decorated compartments and terrace garden. The credit for the present beauty of Jal Mahal goes to Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amer who renovated the palace in the 18th century. When we reached Jal Mahal it was already dark and the palace looked amazing at night. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take good shots with my Nikon Coolpix P500, so borrowed an image from Wikipedia. 😦
Lub dub lub dub…I could hear my own heartbeat. I got a lump in my throat and butterflies in my stomach.
Five…four…three…two…one…GO…O…O…O…O…O…O.
Oh my GOD! I am literally losing ground under my feet! We jumped off the cliff. We are F-L-Y-ING! The houses, the trees, the rice terraces and the lake were becoming smaller and smaller. The horizon looked perfectly round in shape.
“We are over 1000 feet above the earth”, shouted my paragliding instructor from behind. “How does it feel?” I kept mum. I was awestruck. I really did not know how to describe my feeling at that moment. I was paragliding over Lake Bhimtal, in Uttarakhand. Finally, I did overcome my biggest fear – Acrophobia, the fear of height.
Image source: skybirdadventures.com
Until that moment I was a poor girl terribly scared of height.
“Stop, stop, please stop the wheel… I want to get down.” Now, as I think of that moment I can imagine myself how silly I looked while crying like a child. Everyone on the ground was looking at me. Some were laughing too. I could hear my sister saying, “Didi, what’s the matter? What’s happened to you?”
It was a fairground. I was riding a huge Ferris wheel with my sister sitting next to me. As the wheel started turning I felt my palms sweating. Just when our chair reached the top I started shouting. God knows why I felt I was falling down. I felt weightless. I felt like vomiting. The operator had to stop the wheel in the middle so that I could get down. He was grumbling. So was everyone else on the ride, perhaps. I was ashamed of being such a nuisance. And that’s when I realized I had a fear of altitude. It happened around 20 years back. I was in school then.
When I was younger we used to pay visits to my father’s uncle almost every fortnight. On the way to his home we had to cross a long, narrow footbridge by a rail yard. There was a canal flowing below, may be 80-100 feet down. Unfortunately, it was the shortcut to my grand uncle’s house; hence my father preferred that route. Every time we walked on the bridge I would hold my father’s hand tight and look straight in front, walk fast, very conscious about not to look down by mistake. Every time a train passed the bridge would shake and I would think this time the bridge is going to collapse and we are going to fall. But nothing like that ever happened. Pretty soon my grand uncle shifted to another house. I thanked God that we won’t have to walk that ‘deadly’ path any more.
So, that was I – a poor, timid creature lacking self-confidence until I saw this ad of Mountain Dew.
‘Kyunki Darr ke aage jeet hai!’ – this simple six-word tag line of Mountain Dew India rocked my mind. It touched my soul. In short, it taught me to think differently. Then I followed their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia to find a series of posts on sensational adventures. It inspires everyone to rise above fears and take the leap of faith. But how can I overcome my fear and taste victory? I kept asking myself.
Last October we had a trip to Nainital. One day while boating in Bhimtal something caught my eyes. A few paragliders, looked almost as the size of a tiny bird, flying high above the sky. I got my ANSWER.
While returning to hotel our car was running past the diving spot. I asked the driver to stop the car and got down with one of my friends accompanying me. It was nearly half an hour tandem flight that changed me as a human being – happier, stronger and more confident. But first, I could not believe I was literally in the air, flying like a bird. It felt so light, like a feather. Was it because I was airborne or was it because I could finally get rid of a burden called ‘fear’? I still can’t figure out. But now I know victory lies beyond fear and I have risen above my worst fear – ‘Acrophobia’, the fear of height. It feels great!
Diwan-e-aam (the Hall of Public Audience):
Footloose Forever 