We landed in the small Deoghar airport at 1.10 PM. Had been fasting since morning and had to continue the fast till we completed our darshan and puja at Baba Baidyanath Dham, one of the 12 jyotirlingas. As we walked across the tarmac to the airport building (no buses, no aerobridges), we were wondering how […]
This hidden jewel in Madhya Pradesh is not yet on the major tourist circuit. Had read about Dharmrajeshwar some time back and immediately added it to my bucket list. When we were in Mandsaur to have darshan at the Pashupatinath temple (Pashupatinath temple………….in India ), thought it the right time to extend our stay by
When one thinks of Lord Pashupatinath, what immediately comes to mind is the magnificent temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage site. I recall our darshan of Pashupatinath here, the sanctum sanctorum having 4 entrances and one can enter from either of these to worship the Linga. Stepping out into the courtyard, one can
The topmost item on our agenda was to have darshan of Kamakhya Devi Mata at Nilachal, Guwahati. The Kamrup-Kamakhya temple is among the oldest of the 51 Shaktipeeths, with the original temple dating back to the 8th century.Legend has it that, when an angry Shiva was carrying the body of his beloved Sati and roaming
We were all set to visit Shillong Peak and then move to the Elephant Falls, before starting the long drive to Guwahati. Have heard and read a lot about the Shillong Peak, the highest point in Shillong at around 6400 feet and from where on a clear day one could get a 360 degree
The Khasi & Jaintia tribes of Meghalaya live in thickly forested hills. When they have streams or rivers to cross, they do not build bridges but grow them. Yes, they grow bridges. The Living Root Bridges — Rubber fig trees are planted on either side of the stream or river. As the trees grow,
Our action plan for the day was to visit some clean places — a clean river and then the cleanest village in Asia. We set off from our hotel in Shillong by 8 AM after a sumptuous breakfast. Weather was good. We had to traverse around 80 kilometers south, near the Indo-Bangladesh border to Dawki,
Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage site and, home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, had been on my bucket list, since I was in school. It was to be ticked off, only when I was 60 plus. Better late than never, I thought. Time still played many tricks. Our flight landed an hour late at Guwahati
We were at the Jalakandeswarar Temple, in Vellore, around 140 kilometers from Chennai. Strange feeling. I was working in this part of the world in the late eighties and had passed the fort many a time but had never gone inside to the temple. The temple is situated inside Vellore Fort, which we entered after
