Jaisalmer Travelogue

I have been itching to share my journey to Jaisalmer which I could not do during the travelling. Jaisalmer is one of the many beautiful cities in the culturally rich land of Rajasthan. Like other great cities in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer is magnificently known for its forts, Havelis, lakes, stones and last but not the least desert. So here is my itinerary in this beautiful city:

Day 1 : Sand dunes

I started my journey towards Jaisalmer on Thursday 09/01/2014 at 17:30 from Delhi on Delhi-Jaisalmer Express with friends. I enjoy travelling in indian railways despite not having the best of the amenities for you meet new people, play games and enjoy your sojourn in the commotion amongst passengers. We reached Jaisalmer at around 11:30 on Friday and thanks to the sagacity of my friend who contacted one of his acquaintance in Indian forest department, we got forest guest house to stay and a car to pick us from station. Guest house was 10-12 km away from railway station. After having our lunch in the guest house, we drove for desert safari which was pre-arranged by the forest department person. Desert Safari is one of the main attractions for the tourists visiting Jaisalmer. One has to start for the safari at most by 16:00 from the city so that he can reach in the dunes which is 50 km away from the city before the sunset. We reached in the dunes at around 17:15 before making a stop at the Jain temple in the city. Do not confuse this with the Jain temple within the main fort. Having reached in the dunes, we rode on our camels to move deeper in the desert. Cold breeze touching our face, sun rays penetrating the sand covered domes, crest of sands and infinite gaze - it was pure joy to say the least. We rode on the back of the camel for a good 45 mins before getting down and settling for sunset and some cool pics. We spent an hour or so enjoying the panorama then rode back to reach our camp for the cultural program and overnight stay. While riding back, our guide engaged us in camel race which was adventurous though it put a toll on the lower side of our body. Having reached at the camp side, we were served tea and poha while the cultural event was about to start. There was open air theatre where bone fire was lighted and singers were sitting over an elevated platform while the guests were sitting on the mats and cushions on the ground. The event was kick started by singing Rajasthani folk song by local singers. then one after another local folk songs were sung while female artists displayed traditional dance and skills e.g. balancing multiple mud pots over their head or picking a ring from their eyebrow etc.
Then guests were invited to have dance around the bone fire. Dinner was served immediately afterwards and then we proceeded towards our tent to rest ending an eventful day in the hope of an even better day to come.

Tip: Camel guides ask for extra money to extend camel ride. In my view, do not get lured by their offer because most of the spots in the desert which they sell as unique are no different from what you have in your camp package.



Day 2: City, Border and Tanot temple

Next day. we got up early to visit the dunes in sunrise. Red sun rays filled the desert and changed the colour and texture of the scene. We spent an hour in the dunes and returned back to the camp. After the breakfast, we checked out from the camp and decided to visit India-Pakistan border and the famous Tanot devi temple. On our way, we stopped at Kuldhara village which is considered to be haunted by the curse of villagers residing in it at 18th century. The village was completely deserted and abandoned for more than 200 years. Dilapidated houses were giving it a very mysterious and ghostly look. After an hour, we resumed our drive towards main city from where we had planned to move towards border which is 150 km away from city. As soon as we reached the city, we covered one more tourist spot - Gadisar lake. In Gadisar lake, People can do boating and enjoy the scenery and calmness of the scene. The fare was modest and we did boat for half an hour to be at peace: listening the sound of birds and splash of water. Before leaving city for the border, we had traditional Rajasthani food in our lunch esp. Bajre ki roti and jaggery. We started for border at 14:30 and reached Tanot village at 17:00 which was 120 km away from city. For border visit, tourists have to take permission from BSF and they allow permission till 16:00. We were disappointed to have missed the deadline. Arti in Tanot temple starts at 18:00 so we had full one hour to waste. We met one BSF soldier in nearby canteen and conversed with him about the border and the daily routine of BSF soldiers. He told us that Tanot temple is managed by the BSF. In the 1971 war when Pakistani shell and bombs were fired towards the temple, it escaped miraculously and since then BSF soldiers had great respect for Tanot Devi. We observed the arti inside the temple which was attended by a large cohort of soldiers. Inside the temple compound, shells and mortars fired by the enemy were displayed for the visitors. After attending 1 hour arti we drove back to the city to our guest house. The day did not go as planned but we had great time on the road while driving. Next day was reserved for the locations within the city.


Day 3: Forts, Havelis and fossil museum


After having good sleep, we enjoyed the morning in the forest guest house which was located 10 kms away from the city. There was lot of open space and greenery in it. Local labour was hired in it for horticultural work. After having breakfast, we moved to the city in car. Our first stopover was Jaisalmer fort. It was splendid as we entered in it from the main gate. It has its own stories but two stories which made me interesting in it was: It is the only fort in India where people live inside and it is called Sonar kella from the movie of the same name from the genius Satyajit Ray which brought international fame to it. Inside the fort the main attraction was King's Palace, Queen Palace, big cannon mounted at the highest point from where one can see the entire city and the most beautiful of them all: Jain Temple. There was museum inside the King's palace. There were different Rajasthani stones, predominantly yellow stone, which were used in its making. Fossil stone was also widespread inside Jain temple. The palace is built using interlocking of stone without cement or any other adhesive. Jain temple inside the fort is one of the key shrine for Jain community. It was built by the rich merchants from the community in 15th century. Stone work on the walls and roof of the temple is one of the highlights. One can find the stone image of all the 24 hermits of Jains in this temple. Inside the fort, one can also find local artisan shops where camel leather footwear and other local designs can be bought. After shopping from the fort, we went to visit Mandir palace. From mandir palace we went to visit Akal wood fossil park. In this park, fossilized woods were put under conservation which were millions of years old. From the park, we drove to railway station to catch our train.

Overall it was very enjoyable trip and we all had great time exploring this great city. 2-3 days is sufficient to enjoy the locations but our planning was bit faulty that is why we had to rush in the end. We could not cover Havelis for lack of available time hence there will be another trip to cover Jaisalmer along with Jodhpur... :)

I am sharing few pics for reference
Jaisalmer trip pics

Travel history : Lahaul-Spitti Valley

The month of June was full of unsettled desires but I am glad to fulfill at least one of them i.e. travelling to the remote areas of country's beautiful locations and talk to the locals there. So I journeyed to Himachal Pradesh with a friend of mine on 21st of June from Delhi in the afternoon. The heat was at its peak at day time. We only got slight reprieve in the evening. First, we reached at Chandigarh at night. There we settled to fill our empty stomach before moving forward. After much wandering, we founded the Dhabha. We replenished our stocks to our satisfaction and headed to Kullu in the night itself. So far so good. We reached Kullu in the morning and straightaway advanced futher to Keylong in Lahaul Valley. Keylong was 175 km away from Kullu. The route was Kullu->Manali->Rohtang Pass->Keylong. To tell you the truth I am not the sort of person to plan everything beforehand hence I had to rely largely on my friend's iPad and lonely planet guides. Our Idea was to take a stopover in keylong to move to UdaiPur for Triloknath Temple Visit. The bus journey took 7-8 hours. In the meantime my friend took as many snaps as he could and frankly speaking the view was so refreshing that one could not resist the temptation to capture every bit of imagery of that place. We reached Keylong at night on 22nd of June. After spending the night in a warm nice room, we got up in the morning to start our sight seeing. We visited local market in keylong. We went to the Keylong's Museum but that was closed due to bi-election. Meanwhile we were enjoying the climate, the scenery and the our conversations with local people. What I experienced at that place was stillness of nature: calm and serene atmosphere. I was occupied with idle thoughts, enjoying the whole set up and marveling at the beauty of mother earth.

We returned at the Keylong bus stand and revisited our plan there. We decided to move towards Gonda->Sissu->Gramphoo route. Our ideas was to move to Spiti valley from Gramphoo. So we took a stopover in Gonda village. In Gonda village, the attraction was the eight story building which was 600 years old. It was made from wood and stone by the then local king. The building is handed over to ASI for restoration and preservation by the king's descendants. There we met a villager who described to us villagers, their life, impact of climate on their life etc. We were pleasantly surprised to know that the whole route from Manali to Keylong is open only for 4-5 months in summers. After that inhabitants face severe winter when roads are closed and they are completely cut-off from the city. Snow is about 10-12 feet high so they have to clear it to move inside the village or to go to nearby villages. From Gonda village, We climbed back for 1.5 km to catch the main road. One more thing which I forgot to mention is the public transport. See in these parts, roads were cut from mountains so these are one way roads which generally allow only one vehicle to pass at a time. The buses are rare and once the roads are cleared during summers then only bus service is resumed that too once in a day. As we were dependent on the buses, it was imperative for us to plan our fixture with in the constraint of this simple fact. To go from Gonda to Sissu, we missed our bus and we had 2 options either to wait for the next bus or to travel for 15km by foot. Luckily to our rescue, there were 3 Buddhist monks who were going to Manali in Tata sumo. We requested them and got the lift till Sissu. Once we reached Sissu, we had lunch at the only hotel located there. In Sissu, the spot to visit was the hanging waterfall along side make shift camps. We reached in a primary school and the view from there caught our attention. We snapped pictures and soaked in the beauty of that place and decided to move further to our next destination. Fortunately, we were told the futility of our resolve as there was no place to stay in Gramphoo and we decided to stay in Sissu for the night. Now as we had 4-5 hours left in the day, we decided to go to that spot again but this time closer to the camps. I am glad that we did that. Let me tell you why: Brief description of the place and that moment - time was 6 P.M. one has to descend from the main road to reach the camps. At the camp side, there was a lake. The place was surrounded by two mountain ranges: upper Himalayan(Snow clad) and Middle Himalayan(Greener mountains). Near the camp to the east, the mighty Chandra river was flowing. Once we settled beside the chandra river on a rock. The view was exhilarating. There was the sound of wind, sound of river water splashing at the shores, magnificent view of hanging waterfall, scenery of the hills and mountains and to top it all the beautiful sunset between the mountains. We sat there for one and half hour soaking all we could. There was silence, nature and its myriad hues and colors. The whole experience was divine. After this sublime moment, we returned to our hotel, had dinner and slept to catch the early morning bus for Spiti valley.


Next day, we got up on time but still managed to miss the bus. Luckily, We got the shared cab to Gramphoo. At Gramphoo, there is a single Dhabha and an intersection route of two valleys- Lahaul and Spiti. We called up a person from Manali and booked 2 seats in a cab going to Spiti valley last night. So we had to wait around 3 hrs for the cab to arrive. Then we left for Kaza, the main town of Spiti valley. We started around 11 A.M. and reached Kaza at 5 P.M. with the 140km distance covered during this time. In the route, there were two important halts- Batal and Kunzum Pass. From Batal, the track to Chandrataal lake is planned which comes highly in the itinerary of travel enthusiasts. Second stop, Kunzum pass is at 4500m height and there is a temple which is considered pristine and divine by the locals. The view from Kunzum pass is another reason to stop there. Kaza was relatively better populated. Mid-way Kaza, batteries of our mobiles, camera and iPad were drained completely. There was no electricity in Kaza from past few days so we had to rush to the internet cafe where generator was available to power up our devices. I sat on a system to browse and check my email. As I opened my mail, there was one email from IIM Lucknow for admission confirmation in PGP-ABM program. I was shocked to know that to accept the offer I had to reach at the campus after 2 days otherwise my offer will be cancelled. Before that, I had left MDI PGPM after much contemplation but still the attraction of IIM Lucknow's brand was pulling me to consider doing MBA again. My friend, who was on this trip with me, had completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta. So I deliberated with him for an hour or so and decided to let go this offer. Finally, putting all the turbulence aside from my mind, I slept to start the next day with new excitement.

Next morning, we planned to visit the Keeh Gompa(Buddhist Monastery) but to our disadvantage there was no bus from Kaza to Keeh. We set out to reach for Keeh on foot rather than wasting 1000 Rs on cab. The distance to Gompa was 15km. I asked for lift from a car driver from petrol pump. He dropped us near bridge as he was going towards Rangreek then we took the lift from JCB to Keeh village. From Keeh we got the lift further for 3 km towards Gompa. Finally walking for a km or so, we reached at the Keeh Gompa. The Gompa was at an altitude of 4250m. We went to the tea room where we were comforted with herbal tea by the in charge of the Gompa. As we were sipping our tea, four college girls from England entered and sat. We all finished our tea and wrote good things in the visitors book. Then incharge took us over to the various halls and explained the history and culture behind each thing present in the Gompa. He was more than kind to let us ask as many questions from him. Near the Gompa, there was a hotel cum restaurant where we had veg manchurian and thupka. We then were planning to move to Kibber village. The hotel attendant suggested us to take a different route than we had thought earlier as the former one was shorter. We followed the road suggested to us and to our dismay we had to follow the footsteps on the mountain and reach at the top of it and then went downhill to reach Kibber. When we started, we were not aware that we would be climbing till the top. Gradually, we started to feel the altitude. The climb was steep and dangerous to the least. We made 15-20 stops to climb to the top. But once we reached at the top, we screamed our lungs out for that feeling was priceless. It was eureka moment for us literally. But our adventure did not end there for there was more in store for us. We stopped at the top for a brief moment and advanced further to reach earliest to Kibber. But as we were progressing, suddenly clouds started gathering, chilly winds were blowing and rain started. We had to take refuge in the nearby small temple, which was in the form of mud hut and completely deserted. As we were stranded there for 2-3 hours, we were making all sort of assumptions eg. what if we had to stay there till morning then how can we lit fire and sleep there or whether we should move to nearby village and ask for their assistance...
Finally, clouds moved further and we witnessed a rainbow. At 4500m altitude we were told that weather changes are sudden. We were feeling cold and hurried towards Kibber. We reached at Kibber in night at around 8 P.M. With some aggressive bargaining, we managed to get a nice room and stayed there till morning. We ordered veg soups at night to ameliorate our dwindling health condition due to exertion and cold. In the morning, we visited a temple in Kibber where all the Lamas (Buddhist monks) had arrived for four days prayer and procession. From there, we boarded a bus to Kaza but halfway through I realized that my ring was left at the hotel. I reached at Kaza and hired a cab for return trip from Kibber at 700/- Rs. Next day I left for Manali to end this memorable journey.

What to do if one plans to visit high altitude places -

1. Keep a BSNL SIM along with you because at such remote locations you will only find state run operator towers.
2. Keep Sun Cream with you for at high altitude, you will get sun burns easily.
3. Keep goggles to protect your eyes.
4. Keep warm clothes to avoid cold esp. at nights.
5. Plan your schedule according to the bus facilities or bring your own vehicle.
6. Keep medicine for AMS for it takes time to acclimatize in high altitudes.

Yeh Jawani hai Deewani

"You can not have everything in life so savor what you have right now." This line sums up the whole premise of YJHD for me. It is a movie that is predictable, confusing at times and does not give everything that you desire from a refreshing romantic take given the premise propagated by the makers. But surely you can enjoy the formula put forth by Yash Raj camp and established by the Karan Johar productions.

The plot is quite familiar. Group of friends go for adventure. A young girl joins them. She meets the charming boy. The boy is cool, confident and fun. The girl is simple, studious and boring. She gets the best time of her life, fall in love with the boy. He goes after his dreams.  They reunite at the friend's wedding and eventually fall in love. To give Ayan the credit, there are many subplots that delve deeper in to the friendship, father-son relationship and happiness in life.  

Despite its predictability YJHD is an enjoyable movie and believe me I have tried to not like this formulaic offering but once you are sitting inside the movie hall you somehow connect to the whole premise. Be it the acting or the dialogues. The strongest point in YJHD's favor is its cast. They all slips into this world so effortlessly that one starts believing into the fantasy. Ranbir Kapoor is gradually strengthening his position into the industry. He is a natural and spontaneous actor. But what truly remarkable is the act put forth by Deepika Padukone. She has startled me completely. Kalki, Aditya and Farookh sheikh brings the best out of characters. 

Sense of emptiness!!

First day out of job...well technically not the first day but the first day to have this realization that I have 24 hours a day all by myself. Scary experience for someone like me who constantly yearns for one thing or another. Seriously guys, Life has taken an unexpected turn in the past month. The decisions that I had to take  made me go all mad in the past month. Now an arduous journey awaits me and I am hoping that the sooner I put rest to my wandering mind and concentrate on the task at hand the better it will be for me. Reality is hard and often undesirable. I am more or less detached from many things but the memories and nostalgia of the life that I have left behind has not sunk in yet. From this point onward I have to change everything about my routine, lifestyle etc. May be things have not started yet but to sit idle and contemplate is not good for my health. You see, I am a day dreamer and I use to imagine weirdest things possible that can happen with me and the more I get lost in my imaginary world more difficult it becomes for me to face reality. Sometimes I wonder that what I truly want from life and I go on and on in my mind to do this and that but always fall short  in the end to sustain this dreamy bubble of mine. 

Child within us

Most of the time, among my friends, I behave like a child, careless, free, uninhibited and most importantly unapologetic. Sensible ones think that there is something wrong with me, try to dissuade me from being a child like or sometimes employ cuss words to display their frustration clad affection but frankly speaking, for me, being a child in the company of friends and people I care about is to unload all the heaviness of day to day life and be free, fun, curious and stubborn about trivial matters.

I believe that each one of us can keep alive the child within us. I like the adage-"Life is too short to be taken seriously."  Life is full of surprises and when things go out of control, it forces people to have a serious demeanour around everybody, try to create an impression of their being strong and serious. I feel it should be the other way around. Happiness and living in the moment have a unique impact on our way of thinking and what better way than to celebrate life like a child- pure and innocent, without any baggage of the past, always ready to try one more time despite falling again and again, never complaining always enjoying the process rather than the final result.

It is alright to be foolish and stupid for a while without thinking of what people around you will say. Try it once for your own sake...

Kingdom of dreams

Friends!! there are some days which brings greater excitement and joy to you. I had one of these days when I entered the packed auditorium in KOD for watching JHUMROO- a musical comedy and tribute to the legend we know as Mr. Kishore Kumar. Believe me it is one of the most exhilarating experience of play watching. I had been to a lot of plays before but none was as visually gratifying as this one. Every conceivable technology and VFX was used on stage whether it was the spirit of Kishore Kumar, projectors to show multiple view, lighting, rich colours etc. It was a full blown 150 min movie, the only difference was that it was happening on stage!!!

Stage management was such that the same space had been transformed into living room, cafeteria, office meeting room, market, bridge, singing competition studio, bus stand and everything. With the help of technology, audience were enthralled by one after another glittering visuals like the scene where main lead were driving in the car on the roads of Mumbai. In that scene background images were changed rapidly and the car on stage was turned on a moving podium to create the desired effect. Numerous such effects and imagery were employed and also there were sliders on the roof of the auditorium through which dancers and cameo characters were used in the mid-air with the chord attached to them. Dance and music were integral to the play so lot of aerobics, mid-air jumps and singing was shown and the most exciting part was the music. No doubt as I said, it was a tribute to Kishore Kumar, there was bound to be songs sang by him and such amazing effect it had on the whole proceedings that one will definitely re-visit the songs even after the KOD excursion.

Cultural gully was another beautifully designed feature in KOD. You have multiple state level junction in that with artificial roof of blue sky above it. All and all it was an wholesome experience. Really enjoyed my time there in KOD and also planning to go again but this time for another production named ZANGOORA.

Vicky Donor

Have any of you watched Vicky Donor yet? If not then I will recommend that do watch it. I will tell you why!

Having watched countless slapstick comedies, this one, despite dealing with a quirky subject, managed to get its humour right. Apart from that, well defined characters, supremely funny dialogues and an interesting premise make Vicky Donor worth the money. Each and every character has something unique to offer- be it Ashima(Vicky's love interest), Biji (Vicky's modern grandma), his mother Dolly, Dr. Chaddha, Chaman (Dr. Chaddha's assistant) or even Vicky's next door neighbour.The dialogues spoken by each character bring authenticity to the backdrop and situation of the movie. There are many scenes in the movie which bring laugh out loud moments e.g.  when Dr. Chaddha, the fertility doctor, chases Vicky at his home to donate his sperm, Vicky said to him,"Yaar aap bahut hi LAHSUN type ke aadmi ho!!!" or the scene where Vicky gifts his grandma a 16 GB IPhone, she said,"Mainnu to latest 32 GB wala chahiya tha". Also the romantic angle between Vicky and Ashima is fresh and enjoyable and their marriage scene, mixture of Punjabi and Bengali wedding, produces enough funny moments without being stereotypical.

STORY:
The story is about a guy, Vicky Arora, from Lajpat Nagar who lives with his mother Dolly and grandma Biji. Vicky is a typical Punju (Punjabi) who plays cricket, loves shopping and most importantly unemployed. On the other hand, Dr. Chaddha runs a fertility clinic and is in search of a fertile sperm donor. He coincidently found Vicky in his neighbourhood and from there on he chases Vicky to be the sperm donor for his clinic. After much nay say, finally Vicky agreed to donate his sperm which brings to him the money and comfort. At the same time he met the banker Ashima, a Bengali and a divorcee,  and gradually wins her over by his over the top punjabi acts. They both get married and things get settled for some time till Ashima finds out that Vicky is a sperm donor. She gets offended by his lie and leaves Vicky. In the end he gets Ashima back with the help of Dr. Chaddha.

ACTING:
All the actors have played their part with ease and have looked natural and effortless. Ayushman, the Roadies fame VJ, got the perfect debut and he cashed it brilliantly. Yami Gautam is beautiful and quite natural in acting. Annu Kapoor is a delight to watch in this movie as Dr. Chaddha. Dolly Ahluwalia and Kamlesh Gill both had some amazing scenes and dialogues and they both did full justice to them.

MUSIC:
Overall music is good. Out of all the songs, two tracks are worth mentioning, One is Paani da Rang...and the other one is Marjaiyaan.