Thursday, September 3, 2009

Amazing trip to Gangotiri





Real life experience to Gangotri &Gaumukh

This is no end to holiness in Uttaranchal and which has Char Dham
-Kedarnath;
Badhri-Vishal( Badrinath)
-Yumnotri
-Gangotri.


About Gangotri: This is the perfect place for people who have a desire for adventure or to a wish to appease the Gods above. The Originator of the sacred Ganges is here at an altitude of 3042mts approx above sea level. The main attraction is surely temple town & trekking trails to reveal the natural beauty. The natural rock Shivling, the is submerged in the river is an amazing attractions. Tourists cannot miss visiting the shrine of Gangotri dedicated to the Goddess. The peak season for pilgrims to visit is during May & June. Gangotri is one holiest temple in India.

Famous places Submerged Shivling – Unique Attraction, Shrine of Gangotri – Religious Importance.

Route for trekking Gangotri- Kedarnath Trek.

Gangotri- Nandavan-Tapovan Trek.
Gangotri – Kedar Tal.
Gangotri – Gaumukh.
Places Around Uttarakashi – 97 kms, Gaumukh – 19 kms, Kedar Tal – 18 kms, Nachiketa Tal – 131 kms, Dayara Bugyal – 93 kms.



Thanks to my lovely husband who introduced this place in to our trip list. Not too much of planning took place…but we were ready with our travel bag packs for the trip.

We started our trip on 14th August 2009 at 5:30 AM in the morning. My husband (Vijesh) took lead on the driver seat & one of our best friend Yogi.. who is one of the members of our VMY-Roadies( i.e. the name I have given to my group( Vijesh; Mini &Yogi Roadies).

I was fasting that day since it was Janamashtami Lord Krishna’s B’day ..kept this fasting till we reached one of the local Dhaba in Uttaranchal around 2:30 PM of the same day(14th Aug).

I was too hungry to keep my fast ON hence indulged on Khadi-Chawal….it was Yumm.

Immediately after Lunch we took off to our targeted destination of the day…
”Harsil” apples in Harsil are one of the best qualities found ..that’s what I heard from local people in Harsil. We reached this place around 9:30 PM and found a hotel called Skylark beautiful clean hotel…but was kindaaa MID night for them.

People who have the habit of just staying in star hotels ..for them I might say beware you might get disappointed. I didn’t happened to see 3* or 5* hotel however one should feel happy & lucky if he/she gets decent clean place to lodge-in.

As soon as we reached Harsil it was an achievement for 3 of us especially for my Pilot who was driving the Plane (Maruti Zen) all throughout the day till Harsil.

Myself & Yogi are the supervisors to fix the rate & do instant booking for Hotel and arrange food for further thought…we try and keep it to the Local best food available throughout the journey.

So Skylark Hotel was the place we had finalized to spent our night in..it was real lovely feeling and we were away from the crowded sound of vehicles; less people around;no electronic gadgets …the mighty & mysterious sound of “Great Ganges”

We had been following Ganga since we entered Haridhwar..and had wished to see the Starting point of Great Ganga.:) that indeed is Gaumukh..

Then on 15th Augest we got up around 9:00 AM in the morning and started getting ready for our mission. ( Gangotri & Ghomukh). Hmm I took a walk in Harsil and found a small apple orchid..shooted some pictures. Weather was COLD..so all 3 of us had finally decided to wear Jackets..

Then took breakfast which included cup of Milk tea; Chow-min; Bun Butter…and at around 10:30 AM we took off our Plane (Car) to Gangotri.

By 2:00 PM we approached our Gangotri.. which was wow…the plan in our mind was to start trekking the same day to Gaumukh, unfortunately we came to know of interesting fact which we didn’t guidance on was one needs to get permission from National Park of Gangotiri Forest department ..We thought that’s fine we shall get it and at the sametime learned from local people we might not get it since its too late for current day trek permission. We were really furious and cribbing what the hell is this permission all about we can’t waste a day in Gangotri in a hotel.

Eventually decided to push off to the forest department office which is local town Gangotiri very much near to the Bus Stand. All 3 of us were brave to say no no.. we need the permission and them our tone mellowed down when we heard there is a quota of only 150 people in one day to be permitted for trek. Ultimately we failed to get the permission and were asked to visit by 5:30 Pm for tomorrow’s permit.

On further enquiry we learned the Gate will be open at 6:00 in the morning..There are 15 Horses in total which are permitted…but we thought of trekking by foot to Ghomukh.

Hmm now the next things required was food and next plan to visit local places in Gangotri….Will write back in my next post on how the trekking was till then stay tuned…….

Thanks for your valuable time. And comments are welcome.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Sour relationship turns sweet...

A true story about one of my common friends..have been asked not to dis-close their real name…hence I will be using Imaginary names to represent couple(Avni & Joseph) . Felt like putting it on paper and intend that it might help some of my friends who are suffering from similar issues..
Secondly I am their common friend and get it hear honest feelings.
Avni & Joseph were in a strong courtship period of 3yrs and finally decided to get married…now married for last 6-7months…somehow both of them seemed to be unhappy due to the pressures in work & had no time to convey how they feel about their life after marriage.
All this started when both Avni & Joseph started expected each-other to react in a expected pattern…Avni had left her zone( mother’s place) behind after marriage and had fantasized that her world will be different all together…She had very simple expectation but counted a lot for her..
Like: A Kiss & a hug before leaving for office from Joseph; Nice curdly behavior when she is around;
A feeling that she is been wanted or needed…Alas Joseph did really opposite majorly he didn’t know about these small feeling…He would feel nice if she was around but didn’t felt the necessity of conveying it..
With Joseph he didn’t feel good Avni being upset and unreasonable on most of the times…and of course wasn’t aware of the cause either..
They just forgot to understand & respect that difference that lies between Men & Women and all this blame game took place.
Joseph started feeling low because whenever he took the initiative to talk to Avni to get personal life on track.. She tried to avoid the conversation..…..He failed after 5-9 such attempts and this gentleman got into the EGO mode..Saying I can manage without her and I don’t want to beg…
Avni’s part of story was that Joseph doesn’t need her anymore…he is always busy in himself..I was kinda oh my GOD what happened with this beautiful couple…And then thought Let me get them together and forced them to speak up everything that’s in their mind..& asked them to stay calm & compose while conveying what’s in their MIND for each-other ; WHAT they Expect; Their reactions etc.
I made them stay in a room for at least 5 odd hrs..it started with strong emotion’s; cry’s & scream’s..but eventually something went funny & then what was all fun..
This way Avni & Joseph found a key to stay happy. This twist so far has been a good lesson for both & I wish them all the best.
Not everyone would get a chance to make it alright so soon. Unfortunately seen misunderstanding & communication gap leading people to dissolve their marriages …Bad I don’t like it personally.
It is important to be a good communicator using EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE to avoid conflicts in a beautiful life….it doesn’t matter how many years you live life however I believe what matters most is, how happy ;content & courageous you have been while sailing through each day of your life.
Good bye for now…

Monday, February 9, 2009

Recession

Sorry for being away for few days. Thanks folks for visiting my blog and nice comments.

Recession-Depressing term
this is not for one country this is across globe; every day hearing lay-offs somehow leaves us all speechless.

The market is so unpredictable so guys piece of advice stay were you are; be a high performer; learn new skills which can add value to your work.

Keep up your savings;do some cost cutting;

That's it for today

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Public Holiday-26th Jan ( Republic Day)

Dear Visitors,

This time Republic day made a long weekend that was nice for all working people who especially reside in Metro's. People have no-time for self to rejenuvate.Thus any holiday's that makes a longweek end feels like a treasure Found.

The first thing i did on this "60th Republic Day" was sat infornt of TV putting DD-National Channel "ON" which showed up live telecast of Parade happening in India Gate with 18 different tableau.

All the 18 tableaux presented different aspects of India. For instance, Jammu and Kashmir tableau had been made with a focus on tourism, portraying Ladakh monastery, a group of mask dancers, a plush houseboat and dancers performing the Kud dance of Jammu's mountain ranges. While Bihar tableau was based around the folk culture of Mithila, the one from Tripura provided us a glimpse of the bamboo handicrafts made there. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), participating in the parade for the first time, had various aspects of disaster management and ways of handling them, in its tableau.

I really enjoyed the time it was reminding of my school days and was trying to identify myself in the dancing groups and sometimes in March Pass.. saying Left Right Left.:-)

Republic Day of India, which is celebrated on 26th January every year and is marked as the day on which the 'Constitution of India' was adopted

in 1950 on 26th Jan, on this very day, the country made its transition from a 'British Dominion' to a 'Republic'. I feel very Proud we see that India has come a long way from being a 'newly independent nation' to 'one of the fastest-growing economies of the world'. In the past sixty years, the country has grown by leaps and bounds, be it in technology, transport and communication or industrial advancement.

Friday, January 23, 2009

LINK EXCHANGE

 


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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Places not to miss if you are in Kerala


"picture of Backwaters"...Photographed by my hubby:)

Famous Places to Visit in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram
This is the political gateway to Kerala and capital of “God’s Own Country”. Trivandrum is particularly known for Padmanabha Swamy Temple, located in its heart displaying an impeccable blend of Kerala and the Dravidian styles of art

Kochi

Attractive Mermaid of Malabar. The fascinating and breathtaking Queen of Arabian Sea. You will find a cool style of huge Chinese fishing nets with their huge haul and collection of fresh sea food.

Alappuzha

Spend your holiday in Houseboats which will take you in a drive for 3 hours for side seeing in backwater’s. You will amazed to see land attracts hundreds of migratory birds. This is the place were one could see gigantic snake boat races happening every year during “ONAM”.

Munnar

Just roll upon a lush green hills covered with tea plantations, This falls in the western Ghats is not only an idyllic hill station getaway but an adventure tourism destination too, where you can go rock climbing, rappelling and camping.

Thekkady tiger trail

Man belongs to Nature so see real nature by visiting Tiger trail Thekkady

A real adventure trek into the dense forests of Periyar with expert guides. Cook in the jungle. Sleep in tents. Wake up to the sounds of the wilderness. With your cool eye spot Tiger.Find out if you can face the king while on the Indian elephant

Obama sworn in as 44th US Prez

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

History of Kerala

History of Kerala or "land of spices" or "God;s own country":



I learnt and read Christopher Columbus found out America accidentally when he sailed in the year 1491 to find out a sea-route to Kerala, the land of spices( God’s Own Country). In Kerala varieties of spices grow abundantly. The Western world bought the spices from Kerala, that gave flavor to the foods of the west and is also famous for “Black Gold” i.e black pepper.

Kerala is one of the 28 States comprising the Indian Union, which is the largest Democratic Republic in the world. This is the southernmost state which is on the shores of the Arabian Sea. It has an area of 15,005 sq. miles or 38,863 sq. kms. with 30 million people, and it is divided into 14 districts.



The language of Kerala is Malayalam, which had originated from Sanskrit and Tamil.
There is no unanimous opinion among the scholars as regards the origin of the name "Kerala". The earliest name known of the tract was Chera associating with the kingdom of the Chera king who was known as "Keralaputra" at the time of the edicts of Asoka (257 B.C.). Malayalam, another name of the state, which is also the name of the language, is probably derived from mala (hill) and alam (dale) corresponding to the undulating physical feature of Kerala, the land of hills and valleys.



Kerala has three Malayalam speaking states (Cochin; Travancore and Malabar)

"Malabar" is a partially Arabicized form of the same word. The northern area of Kerala is still known as Malabar. The word Malabar corresponds to the vernacular "Malayalam". Keram in vernacular means coconut tree. Coconut trees grow here in abundance. So some scholars think that the word Kerala is derived from keram, meaning land of coconut trees. It was only in November of 1956 that the three Malayalam speaking states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar were integrated into one political unit and given the name Kerala as one of the states of the Republic of India. The name more often used by the European writers was "Malabar."



Extensive trade relations existed between Malabar and the Mediterranean countries even before the Christian Era. The numerous golden coins of the Roman Empire which have been found all over the south, as well as many recent discoveries, offer abundant proof that Roman trade centers existed along the southern coasts of India. While King Solomon was ruling over the Israelites (B.C. 970-930), his warships brought back to his country valuable merchandise supposed to be from Muziris (Cranganore), a defunct international port of Malabar. While discussing the dealings of the Phoenicians with Muziris, the Roman historian Pliny (77 B.C.) complained that every year they were sending large sum of money to India for silk, pearls, gems and spices. He also remarked that the Malabar ships were visiting the Persian Gulf, Aden, the Red Sea and Egypt. Pliny (A.D. 23-79), Ptolemy (A.D. 100-160) and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea give much detailed information about the trading centers of Malabar. Diplomatic relations between Malabar and Roman Empire existed even before the Christian era.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Welcome to my blog.


Dear Visitors, With New Year wishes...
I want to share my Kerala trip experience with you...
My first visit to "GOD's OWN COUNTRY" Kerala.It was one of the best trip's in my life after Shivalik's (Mighty Himalay's).
I started Kerala trip with my husband on 22nd Dec 2009 from Delhi-India and took a special train till Ernakulam town.
It was little hot in Erankulam however a pleasant climate as campared to North India.We both were gald to see our uncle waiting for us at Eranakulam Station on 24rth Dec. Our staying arrangements were made at Uncle's place in "Eddapelly" in Eranakulam.
I was very excited and amazed to see clean back water's and area covered with Coconut trees.
In the next page let me intoduce you to the history of Kerala which I learnt from Uncle;Aunty and google.