Poonam Parihar Travel & Photography Blog

The Appalachian Trail : Section Hiking the NY-NJ Stretch

2013-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

And here I am talking about my plans to section-hike one of the longest and most famous trail in the world. Its something I never ever dreamt about before, so of course hadn't had any plans to hike until this may. Yes it is The Iconic Appalachian Trail, America's most storied footpath. .

My readers who, haven't heard about this trail before, let me briefly introduce you to this over 2100 miles or 3500kms trail that runs through 14 states in the eastern United States, stretching from Georgia in south to north most in Maine, running via many state parks and national parks most notably Great Smokies and Shenandoah, and ending all the way in to Canada.

The map image on the left is actually this trail in its entirety. depending on your strength and stamina, it usually takes around 5 to 6 months if your through-hiking also called thru-hiking the trail. through-hiking is doing the entire stretch of the trail in one journey, something not very easy to do, but one can take off a week or two or for that matter weekends and do certain selective stretches either as part of National Park hiking or otherwise. and that is exactly what I am planning to do this upcoming long-weekend.

Since I am in Jersey currently and very close to much happening New York, I was looking for some hiking options somewhere close-by in my very favorite way of doing it, Google'ing that is, and wont you agree it was the best way, it ended up giving me the Appalachian Trail. So I studied the trail from Harper's Ferry near Washington DC to Delaware water Gap and all the way to Hudson Highlands. Harper's Ferry, obviously was very far-fetched but I had absolutely no idea about the distance, so I called up the Appalachian trail conservancy office in the Virginia, and asked em about the distance, I had by then figured out one end up in NY and that was Pawling.

Now here is the funny thing, the trail is not circular, good for me, I wasn't really looking forward to go to the peak and come back or sort, which i have been doing all this time. the trail has parking spots every 10 miles for so I believe, so that you can start a trek at certain point, do a distance, get down and get a ride someway or the other to your car, if you have one. Now what I was looking for was public transports and this is how I found Pawling and harper's ferry,
the only two train stations on the trail itself. So first i thought I'd do DC to NY but when I learned that its about 400 miles, I was laughing out loud on myself. anyways, at-least I could finalise on one end-up, so all i needed was to find one more end-up well with in the 3 days hike, and thats when I found Peekskill on the map. ( see below the connection map)

Turned out I was not the only one craving for public transports and long-weekend hike on the famous trail. this blog assured me the plan I was making, was doable and thats when I put my final stamp on it.

View Larger Map

I looked through the pictures on google and most of the nice ones I found, are from down south. so I have absolutely no idea how the trail is going to look like next week when I hike. but east coast is fresh green and beautiful right now, and with changing weather, sometime its very sunny and misty the other times. this is what explains why I picked up the picture I posted in the beginning of this post. I am thinking it'll even better in fall specially the stretch I am attempting, but I cant wait till then and for falls I have other plans. Another thing to mention, this area is not much touched, I am not sure why, and that perhaps also explains why there aren't many pictures of NY-NJ part of the trail on the internet. I am also not sure about how many people going to be on the trail over this long weekend. it could be crowded or not. There are some specifics about hiking in this area too, like educating yourself and preping for bacteria infections or hunting for example, I think I can only imagine for now how its going to be. but I am sure it'll be interesting. fingers crossed.

Useful Links:

1. AT Distance calculator

If you are planning to section-hike and trying to find the distance between any two points of the trail.
for example, The distance on the Appalachian Trail between High Point Shelter, NJ and County 20-Pawling, NY is 108.4 miles.

Good Part, its also give you the idea of entire trail, where all its runs from and along. very educating.

2. Maps of Shelters along the trail.

As the title says, this has the details and locations of the shelters along the trail, no matter what your start or end point is. there are approximately 260 trail shelters on the Appalachian Trail. so this map is pretty useful for you to determine where you want to start and end your trek, in case your doing a weekend hike only, I must say. You can also download the GPS data from here for your trek.

3 - Thru-Hikers Resources

I did not yet go through any of links listed in this site, since I wasn't looking for that long hike anyway. but if you are doing a 100 miles for more stretch, you might find useful things in there.

4- NPS Appalachian Directives

Another good resources point to start with for thru-hikers. You can buy brochures, guides books etc.

5- Lyme Disease or Deer Ticks

A good Article to explain you about the bacteria infection you can risk exposing yourself to while on Appalachian trail. also the details about the repellant etc. tell you this almost made me drop my plans, to do this hike. Leeches never did that to me in Western Ghats of India. but then one who's willing to try will try right, with precautions but. so Thank you for educating me about this in advance, I'll be carrying Permethrin, DEET, antibiotics and of course I'd blouse my pants and wear long-sleeves.

6- NYNJHiking

The local portal on hiking, something I'll be going back to many times in coming months. It has very good details about the treks in near by area and I found it very helpful figuring out which stretch I would want to attempt first.

7- WikiTravel

And finally the wiki travel, my first knowledge source.

Well, wish me luck and hopefully I'd come out with some interesting story and pictures from my first long hike in the east coast USA. :)

( Above photo courtesy - clickbooq.com & http://www.appalachiantrail.org/ )

5Ws & H of Travel & Photography Blogging

2013-05-14T01:19:00.002-07:00

I bought my first DSLR in the month of march 2009. I had been micro-blogging, for 2 years then, writing whatsoever came to my mind. the first generation twitter, only it wasn't limited to 140 characters. I never maintained a diary offline. it was too much of a cliche. emotional outbursts, those you write about, the ones those look incredibly stupid when you come to your senses few hours or days later. the ones you dont want anyone to read about, ever. the pieces of pages, that end up in ashes. I always wanted to write, something, that i could let others, read.

In January 2011 I had my first article published in one of the travel magazines in India. It was my first piece of writing on paper. It was different. more exhilarating yet fulfilling, then what I felt when I had my first photograph published. The readers response mails that the editor sent, somehow appeared to be more precious and satisfying, then the collectives of the comments on flickr, facebook and the blog. I was excited. This was what I always wanted to do. I went back to searching for my horoscope, I downloaded from a website long ago, and emailed myself on some hotmail or yahoo account I used to use years back. It talked briefly about me being a writer. May be this was my break, I thought. In the month of February, I had another article published in the same magazine. I sent multiple mails, I couldn't see the pdf of the published article, let alone the hard copy of the magazine. my little heart was hurt. the world doesn't understand my enthusiasm. For the next story I had to edit so much, I didn't bother to send it. I had no time to keep sending pitches and wait for editors approvals on what I had to say and how I had to say. In no time I was busy with hundreds of other things going on in my life. My writing career was soon over.

After two years of roller coasters, I returned and I wondered, why.

Why:

Keeping knowledge erodes power. Sharing is the fuel to your growth engine.

There is no question why one shouldn't share certain piece of knowledge. It is evident. It isn't just for personal growth. It is the growth engine for the society we live in. As a human, we love sharing, doesn't matter, how big our sharing circle is. there are certain things we would share only with family, and few others with friends and perhaps some other things with strangers. It isnt entirely wrong to say that its our need to share, It is the way we express ourself, as humans.

“I know what I have given you... I do not know what you have received.” ― Antonio Porchia

Regardless of what I have to say, and where and how I choose my audience, the important thing is that, I want to say something, and I am in the right mindset to do so.

I vaguely remember a story from school. It was of a trader, he used to write his logbooks everyday. Every evening, he would go for a long walk to the water, carrying his logbooks along with him. he would throw away those books in the ocean, telling the ocean, its his now, everything he did today, and that he'd start his tomorrow a fresh, and he wouldn't have carry forward anything of the past.

More philosophical and less practical you would say, this story is? I know not. My objective when I started blogging was to give my mind a juicy cleanse. Whenever I'd write something, my thoughts would become clearer. I could think better and a fresh. i.e. my mind was open for new thought, imaginations.

Soon I wanted to write about my experiences, my new adventures. It was easy. it was surreal, throwing away your experiences in the sea of Internet. But I ended up getting caught in the web of comments, likes and favorites and followers. I ended up looking at what other people were doing and making out of it. I ended up wishing for the more name and fame, How many photographs I shot, and have had published. What experiences were worthy enough to be published in the magazines and newspapers, what vocabulary will make me sound like an expert in literature. I forgot what I wanted to say, and all I remembered was what others wanted me to. I had lost of my only objective which I begin writing for/with.

The only source of knowledge is experience. - Albert Einstein

There is nothing wrong in craving for acceptance, building a name. But lets have our objectives clear.

why do you want to blog?

is it to start a career in writing or it is express yourself, share your happiness and sorrows, share your experiences, helping others while helping yourself?

Why do you want to photograph? to document your journey? to tell a story?
Why do you want a DSLR? to tell a story better? or impress your friends and colleagues with the quality of your honeymoon shot? what drives you to travel or blog or photograph?

Blogging is a full time project but Its not a CONTEST. taking photographs is even more cumbersome a project. these aren't merely hobbies, not just passion. Traveling can take a toll on you. your habit of observing and taking time shooting things on your travel , can kill the entire holiday experience of your fellow-travelers. When you express yourself out in the open, good, or bad, you invite criticism. your experience can become your opinion. which others might agree or not agree to. you might end up being a victim of self-critic. for example, "I write better, no one reads my blog. I click better picture, I dont get these many likes on my picture, He has such poor quality pictures and they are published everywhere, and so on and forth"

One needs to set her/his priority straight. You want to start a career in photography or writing, or want to make a name for yourself, or make money out of it. A blog can be a very effective tool to do all that, but only once you know what you ultimately want out of it.

Where & What:

There is a reason, the post is titled "My 5Ws & H of Travel & Photography Blogging". There is no limits to reasons why one wants to start a blog or click, and I can certainly generalize it. but I have to limit myself when I give you a "where" or I'd be in trouble.

Before you know blogging can be become a broad-brush. but once you have a solid "W" with you. the next W is easy.

You are a celebrity you want to share your moments with your fans - Go to Tumblr
You are a business and you need to promote your products - Go to Pinterest.
You are a creative professional, just jumping on the bandwagon - Go everywhere.
If you want to merely rant about life - Go Anywhere.

All these are a form of blogging. But we'll skip out the usual facebooks and twitters and tumblrs for now and only talk about serious platform which are more appropriate a showcase to what you want to do.

There i said it. If you are serious that is.
The above mentioned platform are only for promoting and staying connected. not that your actual content can reside there. Yes the photographs can be stored and seen on facebook or google pages but if that is all where your audience is. if you want to go to stock photography, would you think Getty will look into facebook pages and find your photographs and invite it?

You need to select a platform depending on who your audience is.

Travel blogging and Travel Photo Blogging are two different things. The former is for the travel writers. You want to focus on your stories. here photos are just the visual adds. you can post yours or borrow from others. either way, your content is whats important, you want to present it properly.

Most people or should i say writers generally make a mistake putting up the stories as "their stories". however the focus of the travel stories is not you but the place of travel. its your experience that introduce that certain place to readers. You and your reader can discover you more, via your style of presenting it, but that just limits to you cook well, what you cooked is what to be eaten right? But its your recipe remember, so dont just be a guide.

My advice, let the journey be yours but not about you, unless, you are a celebrity of course. and people are just interested in what your eating and wearing. many of I's and a reader can never put him/herself in your shoes or see things through your eyes. anyone reading should feel like they are the one virtually traveling to that place.

Yes, You can/should share your research data, and how you're working or worked on implementing your travel plans.

A Travel blog needs to have practical information about your travel. What mode you choose to travel, where did you decide to stay and what options you had for food. yes food the main necessity. most of the times, blogs turn in to dreamland, where everything is beautiful and rosy. their writers do not want to share their bad experiences, the tiny details those were important, but not fancy and extra boring. Let me tell you, not each place you go is deemed heaven. are you realistic? its not all the time, that you feel excited, you might get lonely, your travel might end up as a disaster, would it be worth publishing if you didn't come out victorious? thats the question you ask yourself and prohibit such posts , however important. Not a good practice.

Travel blogging needs courage and time. ask me, and I'd say No story is a work of fiction..no writing ever was. Everything is experience. imagination. something that happened to you or what you are imagining. You can choose the language and style you think is best to tell your story, that'd be perfect.

Its easy to write about experiences. You know what you want to tell. multiple stories yet connected and best you know the flow. start your blogging with a short trip experience. read the post multiple times. see if the dots are connected if not, modify it. write it again. and go on.

If you are writing about a place you have never been, thats when it becomes difficult, knowing not what to tell and what not. Plenty of articles and recommendations in magazines and newspapers are written by people that never been to the places they suggest, and yet they will sell em to you and make you book your tickets. You can research good, and let your imaginations run wild, get a strong story cooked up in your own way and serve it hot. the difference, you are actually pulling up other people's experiences and wrapping them up in your own words. i.e. you are creative and already a professional writer and hence you dont need my advice.

It is a good idea to stick to one category and be an expert then failing while dealing w/ multiple trades. But there is nothing wrong being an all rounders. for blogs you do need a category however. if you can focus more on certain type of travel, its easy for readers, they know what they can expect from you.

Blogger vs. Wordpress

You know html-xml. You like the flexibility and want all control of your page - Go blogger.
You want options of free themes, you like your blog to look like a professional website - Go Wordpress.

There are other advantages and disadvantages of choosing one from these two or host of other websites like posterous which I believe is closed now, tumblr, typepad etc. I find the widgets much better on Wordpress, not able to change the width of my main column or changing how my photo looks kills me.
having said that, Its totally up to you if can like thousand of free wordpress themes that are available. I always like only those NOT FREE. Plus, my blog being old I wouldnt' want to shift platform screwing up my google rank. weigh your options.

Flickr vs. Smugmug

SO far I have said nothing about the Travel Photo blogging. Here is my say. Individual photos, with their stories, tags, geotags, and metadata are best stored on flickr. Each photo is an individual post, has its own page ( ranking) and the interface and quality is the best out of whatever is available. flickr also provides maximum ways to share, embed your photographs while giving you option of being in a community of "photographers" and focus only on photography.

500px also provide a excellent way to showcase your gallery, but its important to understand where you want to go with your photography, if you want to ultimately sell your photographs Smugmug is the way to go.

However if its the photo stories that you want to produce, you can always use above blogging platforms. Behance is another good platform for creating visually strong photo essays and also sharing other creative work. where its always available for creative professional in the similar industry to see.
If you are a true Travel photographer who wants to share your own stories with your photographs in it. I suggest blogger w/ flickr is the best. ( I am partial to google you can say)

When & How one can start travel blogging:

Now is time for everything. isn't it? for me blogging is nothing less than a Ph.D. every article is important, and a research it itself and it needs lots of time and focus. having said that its not my bread and butter. so my objective here is different. if you want to be a professional travel blogger and want your stories to land in publications, your blog is your portfolio and you have to be extra active about keeping your blog up to date and produce regular and interesting content and interact with your readers, engage in conversation on multiple platform and perhaps market it as well. i.e. saying a things about it every now n then can also be mandatory but I am not sure how effective that would be though.

DO your homework in that case. Your blog can not mint money from the first day onwards. You want to sell stories, or you want free travel in exchange of stories and photographs ( if you have that skill ) You can not just publish your work on blog and wait for google to do the rank magic, make your page appear on top and bring editors and sponsors to you. It does not happen overnight.

You do need to learn PR perhaps and be good at it. Its strict business right? How loud can you speak? You want more people to hear you? Get loudspeakers, amplifiers and repeaters. those are your facebook and twitter followers, your fellow travelers and bloggers who are already in business and know the nitty-gritty. you need to build contacts and use them for your good, if you can.

Right, all that is important, but Do you need to get obsessed about the numbers? No. People have this tendency to fall for followers, number of likes, Ranking and other website scores. I couldn't post for a month, and my alexa dropped so did one other rating that I have had added in. Can you trust such ranking for the evaluation? Those are for you not for PR. You can pay 5 dollars and buy ten thousand fake facebook/twitter followers, if you need to show that off that is. Or you can actually spend some bucks and advertise your page to get more likes and attention. Forming a community, or being a part of one, can also help in giving you initial exposure, but that can not be true reflection of what you will eventually get in return.

Who:

So who do you think you want to be? You started with fun and it began to turn in to a regular headache for you where you have to constantly keep your facebook page updated, and stay active on twitter, keep sending stories to editors and dealing with rejections?

Blogging is lot of effort. but its a great medium to learn all this and much more and It all depends on where you want to take it. just hold on to that pole that your objective is, and do your dance. I am sure you'd have fun.

First Month in New Jersey : Hotel Hopping & The Grub Crawl

2013-05-05T17:22:00.001-07:00

"New Jersey has got a bad reputation." was the first statement I heard, as soon as I landed in east coast of america for the very first time, and it was quoted by none other than a jersey resident himself. a collective of initial experiences together with constantly comparing it to the bay area of san francisco, and I couldnt help but hate this place. While I tried to adjust, winter decided to stay a bit longer than usual and Trees remained barren with no signs of spring. The Dry, dormant yet sizable forests added more misery, and I just overlooked the beautiful country houses and the close proximity to the ocean and anything else that was positive about the Garden State of USA.

Pass the hurdles, Jersey shore now is getting greener, and I am comfortably settling down and beginning to explore what this state and east coast overall has to offer to a nomad like me. Finding a place to stay in quiet neighborhood was my first priority and now when that is done, I can look forward to seeking some wanderlust in my daily life, i.e. you can expect posts about adventure options here. but before that, Let me jot down few quick reviews of local businesses here in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties of Central New Jersey. All views are my own.

Stay:

The Palace hotel, Fords

The tragedy of Jersey, most of the hotels have bad to scary reviews, as the prices go high, the reviews get bit better. The palace hotel is no exception. The grandeur of a palace from Rajasthan, does not add much to the reputation, as the basic services such as wifi, vending machines are poor and reception staff not very friendly ( some of 'em ) rooms are clean and spacious. weird however that they increase the rate every friday and just for the day, hence bringing average expenses up.

The Hotel also has a restaurant, and though you might not see many people there, they do make good food. I wouldn't talk much about the interior. its too dark for my taste.

South Amboy Motel

The second hotel we tried for just the weekend as nothing was available, is one on the route-35, about 1.5 miles from South Amboy train station and the broadway street. Rte-35 in that area is deserted to walk out and find something to eat. rooms and staff are okay. but security, and food could be a problem for a longer stay. We ended up ordering Pizza via Eat24, for both days and it was one of the best we had in jersey.

Best Western Inn Hazlet

Walkable from Hazlet NJ transit station, and also in close proximity to food joint like TGIF, friendly, iHOP and few chinese restaurants, and food market, Best Western is situated well on rte-35. The food delivery options are however limited. Breakfast is complementary, rooms have nice interior, and staff is friendly. It is recommended, not for a very long stay unless you have a car.

Taxi:
Here comes my favorite part, or the part I hate the most. If you' read my previous post, You know that transportation in New Jersey is a big issue. specially within Woodbridge, Monmouth and Middlesex counties. the Taxis do not have meters. they charge based on if you're traveling within or outside the town no matter the distance. The Buses and trains are limited or should I say the interconnection is very poor specially in some of the areas like old bridge township and Sayreville. I have had mixed experiences with taxi services.

Masood Taxi - Three drivers and three different stories. they usually arrive on time. but make sure you ask them the charges in advance.

Bollywood Taxi - Yeah you read it right. a friendly saudi arabian, but he'll make you wait for hours.

South Amboy Taxi - Recommended

Kelly Car Services - Not recommended, call only if you have no other choice.

Hazlet Taxi - Highly recommended. had no issue with them at all.

Food:

The Palace hotel Restaurant, fords:

Cuisine - Indian Veg/Nonveg
Food - Good
Ambience - 1 Star.
Expensive - Yes
Delivery- No, You can order by phone and pick up later.

Rasoi, Iselin

Cuisine - Indian Veg/Nonveg
Food - Good
Ambience - 3 Star.
Expensive - Yes
Delivery- No Idea.

Neelam, Middletown

Cuisine - Indian Veg/Nonveg
Food - Not Good. Its more on to the sweeter side, catering to international crowd I suppose. Daal was like water and Biryani was worst than a Pulao.
Ambience - I dint give much attention to the ambience as I just sat in one corner waiting for food.
Expensive - Yes
Delivery- No Idea.

Tower of India, Parlin

One of my favorite so far. The Ambiance is all right but the food is Great. They have buffet for lunch which is delicious. We have been there multiple times and pretty much tasted all what their menu has to offer, and there is nothing that we dint like so far.

iHop, Friendly, Scotts Pizza and King Vok Chinese restaurant are few more that I have tried so far. iHop is my all time favorite. Friendly is more non-veg friendly, but they make good tomato soup. Scott's Pizza Matawan was the only other choice except King Vok, their larger than life pizza can fill your apetite twice, however won't satisfy your taste-buds. King Vok makes really good fried rice and soup.

Shopping in New Jersey, not to mention is another nightmare. I do miss Papaya, Ross and Fry's, if there's few to name. Let just say, apart from the laid-back lifestyle, everything here is about New York, or so I feel.

until I discover more...

10 things I love about New York City

2013-04-09T17:58:00.002-07:00

:) Now, did you not see it coming? of course you did, but not this sooner right? I am still two visit old, technically three, including the landing part and I am yet to see the night life, yet to spend at least 24 hours straight in here and guess what, I already am in love with NYC and here's why...

1. Every time I walk out of the Penn Station in 7th ave, I have this huge ear-to-ear smile on my face, and my ears wont stop ringing "New York New York" ( only this time its Ray Quinn and not Sinatra) Well, I never thought a city with Skyscrapers would ever do this to me. Its always been mountains, beaches, forests and rainbows, so how on earth it could be New York? Is it the people power or sheer energy that draws me in? or are these the New Jersey Blues? well I have been here just over 2 weeks so... What do you think?

2. Its an Advertisement Disneyland - and who doesn't love disney. Its so colorful with all the shining lights, billboards. Well Why wouldn't one love it if its just yesterday one made it up to the most expensive ad-space in the world for more than 40 seconds and labeled #SoRad, with out even waving my hands once. tell you I am awesome. ( wink wink)

3. From Mid town to Central Park, its the longest Ramp to walk on in the whole entire world. hold on I haven't seen Paris yet, but I am sure it wouldn't be 2 miles or I have to be there right now. It amazes me to see how much effort people make to dress up so fashionably and perfectly and just walk on the streets. Alright they might be out for work, partying, just shopping or hangin out, but some of us dont go beyond casuals ever, until or unless we are forced by the circumstances and its the need of the hour. perhaps staying in NYC for a while can fuse some sense in me to try beyond the casual and comfortable. fingers crossed. ( winks again)

4. Each one of us is an Elite here. No matter which country you are from, what language you speak, you're a top shot businessman or celebrity or just the ordinary-extraordinary the place makes you feel special, honor you welcomes you with a smile. and that exactly why...

5. People are just themselves. Expressing yourself in the way you choose, is the true language of freedom. You can bring out the fashionista in you, or you could be as comfortable an old shoe in your old shoes actually. People wont judge you. or they would but who cares. well mostly no one does and thats the beauty. I walk in a boho maxi with my all-star sneakers and I feel bloody good.

6. For a change, pedestrians are the king. need I say more?

and there is another. There are rickshaws. Can you believe it? people from all backgrounds riding pedicabs for their respective reasons be it their contribution to the pollution free environment, money, exercise, or plain fun, well the mere sight of these manhattan rickshaws reminds me of India, and oh hold on... think I forgot to mention khokas for the first time, no not those mafia money bank.. the street side wooden tea and snacks stalls remember? (edited Apr 27th)

7. The history just appears and disappears as you walk. you take a turn and you'd find some historical spot, famous building, right in the corner. One minute you're least intimidated by the tall structures, just other minute, you go oh what is that.

8. With so much going around, you can still find your own quite corner to sit and meditate, or if you are not in to meditation you are free to do your own thing to do, which by the way are many to choose from.

9.I finally feel like I am pretty close to my favorite cartoon character. I can actually imagine him flying around left to right on the Time Square, well guess who. yup Spiderman Spiderman ;) Oh Yes I am singing the song/jingle/whatever.

10. New York makes me appreciate California even more. No, its actually the entire East Coast that does, and that is, for few very simple reasons. the reasons that I talked about it one of my recent post. Oh dont throw bricks on me yet. I am warming up to jersey shore. but truth is truth, and here comes the shocker!!! Hey....There is NO FRY'S, can you even believe it?

Here comes the second... "The nearest Apple store is 16 miles away, and the public transport takes more than 3 hours to take me there" Okay may be second is bit invalid for NYC but NJ, but 29 bucks for a SD card reader is pretty unbelievable, specially if I am used to of paying 2 dollars for it. Lets just say, I'll quit being careless and probably take care of my electronics more. I'd appreciate and not mock the east coast folks who, whenever, they visit california, subsequently, pay a visit each time, to the nearest fry's store. folks I understand your needs. I seriously do.

I haven't yet set foot in the cool, granite foyer of the Empire State Building. I am yet to see the upper Manhattan, walk on brooklyn bridge, get involved in the art and life. I am yet to see New York, but let me just say once again here, Oh New York, you did it. I already love you.

Images shot using iPhone, the DSLR shots coming up soon....

2013 First Quarter Roundup

2013-03-30T18:28:00.003-07:00

Before they all get diluted in my mind, here's the quick recap of places I 've been, things I 'd been up to for past 3 months, the individual posts will follow. *hopefully.

Delhi -

The year starts in a record breaking cold delhi, coldest since 1972 and me planning my next destination, Prayag, Allahabad that is. I have finally convinced my parents to visit Maha Kumbh Mela, but I am still unsure about the travel date. Most of the websites mention January 25/27th as the start date however, traditionally its Makar Sankranti Jan 14th, when the Kumbh must begin. The most auspicious and biggest day i.e. Mauni Amavasya falls on Feb 10th and is totally impossible to make. its better to do it any day rather than not doing it at all so I finally settle down with a 20 hours visit to Maha Kumbh Mela, shortest anyone would have ever done.

Kumbh Mela 2013 -

The Mahakumbh Mela is long over and posting a few images on flickr, is all I have been able to do. I neither had time nor I was in the right state of mind to write what I really wanted to say about it. the web has been overloaded with articles and images, of almost all kind. the experience is surreal, yet different for everyone, I' too have something unique to write about, and I'd make sure I post it before next kumbh mela. :)

London - and not the one opposite Cleveland ;)

Here comes the next. With all that was going around, I couldn't get time to apply for a UK visa. I had to rework on my plans and that included only a 17 hours halt in london with a leap of faith. I wouldn't call my Heathrow Immigration experience hilarious but it was nothing less. with my bro living there, my first time in London, just got easier. I explored most of the popular areas in London by tube, buses and train with in that night, while it kept snowing in the city. quite an adventure it was.

Elephant Foot Glacier, Greenland -

This is NOT a sight i'd like to forget so easily. what if it was a little hazy from 30 thousand feet above. the glimpse of the greenland was nothing less than breathtaking. Yes I took the DSLR images but only later, i came to know that I have lost my SD card reader somewhere during my travels. So photos hopefully soon.

San Francisco -

I've been here n number of times, but this city always look refreshingly new. This time I went about exploring some lesser known areas and also did some trekking and beach hopping around San Fran and I cant wait to tell you about all those small places.

Chinese New Year Parade -

It was fun but not my favorite of course. the Two hour parade was good fun, Kids were the real savior for the photographer ( You'd understand what I meant by that in my full post). I brought back some images and they are waiting to be downloaded and processed.

Beach Hopping, Trekking, and long driving Pacific Coast -

Should be my favorite this. explored few more places on the CA1 and around. lots of driving and little hiking. weather god has been happy lately. and I had excellent views to soothe both my eyes and soul.

Hunting Live Music -

punk rock @ Santa cruz downtown

Hotel Hopping in New Jersey -

Oh Let me see if I still have something (read bad) to say about New Jersey. Its been a week, and lets just say, I am trying to understand the Jersey Way. The Place is deserted, and exactly a 180 degree turn from what I am used to, and that has be shocked and surprised. Give it to my love for google maps and company of some good people, I havent freaked out yet. for now I am looking forward to a day trip to NYC and see if that makes me feel a little better.

New York City -

And thats tomorrow, the last day of the quarter and of the Long Easter weekend. Letsee whats in store for me. Fingers all crossed.

What I've missed -

Alaska - Almost, almost made it. found a lovely friend right there in fairbanks to help me out and show me around as well, but I had to come to east coast. I haven't lost hope yet. Summer is not my favorite time to visit Alaska so I hope to visit the place later this year and hope to catch some spectacular northern lights.

Holi - was never part of the plan. but I still wish I could play no matter where I am. and It still a wish.

Chadar Trek - Another one from the wish list, its good to see so many friends have done it this year. and they had great experience. My time next year perhaps. :)

All photographs shot using iPhone4S native and other camera apps. noise reduction using adobe photoshop CS5.

10 things you should know before you hit The Jersey Shore Nightmare

2013-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

If you've been following my tweets, past one week, you know its been a hard one on me, ever since I landed in NYC on Sunday night, its been CRAZY. I am a west coast baby and worst thing, I here for work, so you see I am not allowed to use my time freely and make it bit easier on me. anyways, this travel experience is technically the toughest I have ever had, and going by the lessons that I have learned in my first ever one week in the east coast, north new jersey, here are ten things that I'd like you to know before you even think of visiting this place.

Taxi is a bit*** - yes you read it right. If you are relying on taking taxis for you daily commute. you are screwed. No Meters. No Bills. No commitment you'd wait forever for the taxi to arrive. and it WONT.
Rudeness Personified - as a traveler, the people you interact with are the ones, who define the place for you. and I am NOT calling everyone rude here. but its the majority of people in the hospitality industry. from Hotel staff to Taxi cab, absolutely unhelpful.
If its business, you're in for a toss up. - a local with no business with you whatsoever, is the only people you can rely on.
Its Indian, Pakistantis, Middle Easterns, and AfroAmericans, who' are putting New Jersey to shame. and I am not sorry to put anyone' up here in the list including indians. they are absolutely horrible to deal with and all thy care about is how much money they can mint from you. they'd spit right on your face and wont be sorry for doing so.
Transportation - Amtrak, North Jersey Coast Line, Northeast Corridor and Many more transit services to name, and you might think the commuting in public transport is so easy? It NOT. all they are worried about is how to reach New York. there is very poor to no interconnection between train stations of different transit lines and services. You'd hardly see buses on the roads. if it wasn't transportation and accessibility, Frequency sucks, even on the weekdays. dont expect anything like a VTA light rail in silicon valley and London Tube. oh you're wise you weren't comparing.
Hotels- wouldnt I come to it or you thought so. Better not read the reviews or you'd faint immediately. there are absolutely no budget hotel for less than $100 with a good review written about it, on any booking site be it expedia or trip-advisor or booking.com. and most of the reviews are unfortunately true.
Food - Even the holiday Inn can provide you boiled macaroni topped with raw spinach in the name of pasta. so you know you cant rely on hotels to get you good food. the place in all, doesnt have plenty of food options specially in monmouth county.
Very few apartments in case you're looking for a long/short stay here. most of the people buy houses, rent individual rooms including basements to different groups/family/singles and get the mortgage out of the rent.
Car Rental is the only way to go. that is if you can drive here. the place is accident prone. no signals at busy places. anybody turns anywhere, with people walking in the middle. Never seen the highway exits like here anywhere before and with GPS fooling you around, all the best to the driver you.
The Place is a Jungle. there I said it. and oh Not the kind of Jungles that I'd Love to explore, not even in the day, forget the evening/night time.

One week, I can go on and on...and yes I dont have anything good to say about this place yet. If I change my mind, I will let you know. wish me luck.

13 photography projects ideas for 2013

2013-01-12T02:34:00.005-08:00

New year, new resolutions, and one of the most common photography resolution is to do a 365 days project. I know you can start in any day in the year, and you can even do a 52 week project, which in my opinion is more do-able, ( i.e. if you're serious about producing things extra-ordinare, you"can" build entire frame in mind and later implement and execute it with in a week. ) but beginning a project on 1st of january has its own charm right. just like on your birthday or anniversary. But here is the thing, If you've not yet started a #Project365, or you've started and left in a week, (its 12th day of the year) did not like what you created ( it wasn't incredible, or up to your standard. trust me it happens) i.e you're one like me who's been miserable at it, you must know, world will never run out of ideas. or if it does, and you' dont want to think much, there's inspiration flowing everywhere you look, all you have to do is to "google".

As I mentioned in my year end post, I had been jotting down a few creative photography ideas that I am looking forward to do in future. there are already many posts on internet full of classic ideas, what matters however is how you execute them. here I have 13 of my favorites lined up and ready to be shared with you all. which can not only improve you photography by many levels, but can also tickle your creative bones for good.

1- iPhone Creativity - App Art

"an iPhone is enough to awake the artist in you"

photo courtesy - http://www.iphoneart.com/ by DraMan

With thousands of art and photography applications available on it, iPhone undoubtedly is my very first choice when it comes to searching for a new project ideas. forget Instagram or any other filtered photo-sharing app, grungy backgrounds and distorted photos, the photo processing applications on iPhone can take your photograph up ten levels. You can almost create anything. All you have to do is be a kid, be open to learn some cool apps and get going. look for inspiration on iphoneart.com ( no they aren't sponsoring me, I love the website)

2- Minimalistic

Minimalistic is best project to do if you want to product photography in future. With the arrival of Mobile photography, we have begin to notice tiny little things around us and shoot and share them. you can extend that habit, get creative and shoot your small/singular subject in a minimalistic way. the idea is not to crowd the frame. You can make a canvas out of anything, your face, body, a simple wall, an empty photo frame, or anything with sober surreal background, and create a story around it.

3- PhotoShop | Double Exposure | Merge | Silhouettes

photo courtesy-http://www.mymodernmet.com/

Learning new PhotoShop techniques or improving your processing skills is always a good option to choose as a new year project. When it comes to photography skills, there are many projects that you can do. Pick-up One new technique, let say merging two or more shots, and bring your project around it. You can create frame from one of the photograph and fill it with words, verses, things that you love or anything. Double exposure, Motion Blur, Silhouettes are few more techniques that you can put your project around.

4- Miniature / Small World Project

"I'd like to remember the time, when I had handful of toys, miniatures, playing house-house''

photo courtesy - http://www.orerofotografia.com/

Well, You'can still buy a few, or get your own miniature done as well, and take it along with you wherever you go and photograph it at each place you'd feel like taking a self-portrait.

A very simple project this, but have vast options. you can create your own miniature world or set of world and shoot them with all your creativity.

5- Then & Now (Past Meets Present)

photo courtesy - http://verybadfrog.com/

After much search I found the exact photograph I was looking for. "Past and Present" can be of various kind. most of the projects you'll see online are the frames with a hand holding a old photograph positioned well on the new frame. Thats not what I am talking about.

Most of the project I've laid down here need you to be more engaging. more engaging with the subject, and surrounding and seeking information from it. the photo above fits the bill. The best part, You'd dont have to find and shoot only your now and then photographs. You can shoot your siblings, friends, and even the people you meet. Now dont tell me, you've never met someone who showed you his/her family albums to create more conversations. ;)

6- Memories ( Expats)

Alright, this wont suit you if, you've been living at once place your entire life. this is for people like me, even when I was not a nomad or expat, My family has been perfect fit for "movers & Shakers". We have moved to several houses with in the city. One of these days, I want to visit all those houses and see how they look like now. then came the wish to see all those places I've stayed in for days/week/years. Well, it might be difficult to photograph all of them, from the past at-least, but a project is always about what you can really do. your efforts are what matters the most. so if not in the past, the traveler you, may as well line this up for a future project.

7- Volunteer / Social Cause Documentary Project

If you already volunteer for a social cause, or if there’s a social issue you feel very strongly about, and want to explore, get engaged in it, a photo project centering on it is not only a good documentation subject but can also be very fulfilling personally. You can plan it as per your volunteering schedule so its not extra overhead, also incase you dont have that many days in the year to get involve in long projects there are always photography projects like "Help-Portrait" which you can take part in.

8- Complete your family Tree

photo courtesy - kickstarter.com

Yes, Keep geni or any other service out of discussion for a while, what we are talking about is a photography project. I mean what better way to meet you Cousins, Your aunt, you met where you' were little, your relatives settled across the city or country, one marriage you miss and you 've miss the perfect gathering of generations. Remember one of the wish in my Letter to Santa was to find my ancestors history and heritage? Its not gonna be easy, Its india, I mean how old am i, and my passport DOB is incorrect, I have no photo of my childhood. wont accomplish it by just browsing through a library or two, or traveling to Mandore or Osian in Rajasthan, and I'd know it all Its India with vast history and small stories are burned levels down, you cant dig. But above project can definitely help, or rather I'd say one of the first few steps to learn about your Ancestors.

9- Know your city

photo courtesy - http://www.historytoday.com/

I always, always, wanted to shoot Delhi, the capital of India and my birth place, explore it, know its history. I think each and everyone of us, have certain attachment with our roots. So bring out the hidden, unique and true frames from your city. the techniques, can be any. the result should be the character. your photos can tell the world what the city is all about. good or bad, its the interpretation and it's in your own language.

10- Follow your favorite Artist/Band/s

And by that I dint mean, being a Rock Band photographer, I mean that would be awesome, no? but that depends on the opportunity, you can always follow a local favorite band of yours, which your friends are involved in/ are part of. Pop/Rock Artist/Band photography is happening, but incase you are not one of those lucky ones, What you can still do is to take up their future Song/Album subject and shoot it in your full creativity. Know about The Maroon 5 Album Hand's all over? and the cover shot by Rosie Hardy which the band picked up on flickr search ) who know's your photograph will be on you're favorite Artist Next CD cover.

11- Shoot your possessions, things you love ( and not of others)

photo courtesy - chinasmack.com

You must 've heard about this historical project by, When I learned about this project first, the very first thing that came in my mind was, how much trouble it could be for these people to pull all the belongings, small or big, everything out of the house and get it all back inside and set it up again. but trouble was what make these project great perhaps.

My idea is a bit different. its more personal, an exploration of your surroundings. things those you love, and those you need. things those you have forgotten you ever had. things you might not need any more they are just lying there because you never noticed them. Shooting your possessions can be creative. it can be minimalistic, you can combine multiple items together and shoot. the atmosphere in the photograph is totally up to you. You can also include your loved ones in the project.

Not only that you are documenting the life around you, you can also collect the unused items and perhaps give them away to someone in indeed. there, you've done your social service too.

12- Shoot your favorite Book

if you are no short of resources, you can stage an entire book, best way to bring you imagination on print. take up one of your favorite book, you can initiate the project with a short story, small one, begin with characters, imagine who around you can best fit those characters. bring in the atmosphere, arrange the set up and shoot. :)

13- Photo of everyone YOU MEET

Here comes the toughest one. Can you really do this? Every interaction? Its a project for a lifetime. Its a project that'll have you on alert 24X7. perhaps that would be too much? I know I have missed those cylinder delivery guys and auto and sabji walas to immigration officers.

what however is easier to do document it for each travel. Just keep a reminder at first. once you're used to of doing it. it'll be simpler. a portrait photo book of 50/100 people you met on your xyz expedition, sounds great isn't it?

2013 Whats in store for you..!

2012-12-28T13:00:00.002-08:00

This isn't about me, this is about this blog.

photo courtesy - http://www.minuto30.com/

So Yes i went with the flow. you cant blame me. Everyone was writing a letter to Santa, sending their wish lists to that someone sitting in heaven or north pole, and I thought why not me too? I dont know it made me look like a fool, did it? I mean you can make certain plans ( travel or anything) yes, indulge in lazy dreamy sequences of how you wish to live those future moments but at the end of the day, planning a whole enitre 12 month long year? is pretty much next to impossible specially for someone like me, who and I quote, is someone who takes it as it comes.

Well, No matter how flashy, exotic, secretive ( yes there are few I haven't told you about yet) and somehow inattentive and preposterous my travel plans look, and how I continue to dissolve and evolve through times, places and spaces, there are certain things about this blog that i can promise to follow this new year.

No more template change-

If you are new to this space, you wouldnt know, but if you're a regular reader of mine, the blog has been suffered by the "Adolescent Boredom" in me . trust me I have over thousand templates in my archives, about every template that i liked, I downloaded and tried, is still there, though I couldn't say how long it stayed active on the blog. always looked too mechanical and ecom'ish to me.

or is it perhaps, that i know a bit of xml, and dont want to give away all the control and be happy with the outlook, anyways, this is the final one, and I am not changing it. there'll be minor widgets additions, over the year, and perhaps i'll use all my boredom on the banner photograph.. which mind you, will remain static. No flashy recent post banner for me. nope.

At least 1 post per week -

Not only I resolve to post more regularly and not abandon the blog no more, but also you can expect more timely posts from me. Yes, I am going to read more magazines and stay bit trendy too, i promise.

12 new articles on ladakh -

Honestly I dont know when the book on my solo expedition will happen, I feel, I'd better start write before I forget the tiny-miny details, I have already forgotten many names by now. So to begin with, I am already working on my first post from Turtuk Ladakh, I hope to publish it in January. by the time, I shall be done processing photos. fingers all crossed.

P.S. Its better to start making resolutions in movember, november i mean, and bringing them to practice in december itself. somehow it does make you stick around to, a few and no fall flat on your face by January end.

More trekking & Adventure sports tales :-

I love writing about treks, there is something about them.thinking back those moments, that adrenaline rush, the lost thoughts, popping up in between the blank noise, making way with you, walking on a path unknown. I am hoping to

finish publishing, the chapter 1 of my trekking life, i.e. the western ghats of India.
start a new one, which hopefully will feature more himalayan plus international treks and trails.

Revisit old posts & Experiences unwritten :-

One of the thing I need to keep doing regularly is to go through old posts, and keep evolving them. my blogs are more my thought process then extensive writing work, edited to suit the need of certain publication. I' like to text to flow in the direction of my emotions, and thats how I can always go back and connect with them. perhaps its always a good idea to refine them, or not I do not know, I shall sure find out this new year.

Research based / pre-travel posts :-

Yes, you'll actually see lots of planning posts from me this year, "backpacking in iceland" for example to name one.

Well, I am a dreamer, and long before i take on a trip, I start doing mind traveling, and my life in that span of time, revolves around google. ( not that it doesnt always, otherwise) I prefer to thoroughly research about the place, I am going to, so not to miss, something important that I might regret missing later on. these findings are definitely inclined towards my likes and dislikes (often not many ) in general, but it always good to come back to these notes, with your new observations and worldliness and see how the whole process or the journey that started long before you actually boarded the plane or bus or train, has been so far.

At least 10 how to's :-

No I wont be writing, how to use your new DSLR or play with new filter or lens. I think manuals tells you enough how to do so, and there are millions of tutorials already, I'd however write about the experiences, and lessons that i learned from my experiences from my travel shoots, or anything in relation with travel and photography.

This blog is something i write as much for myself as I write for all, and I feel there is no better place to add the learnings of that sort as well, anywhere but here. the first of the series, let me announce right away, will be about shooting carnivals or processions. and though I will not be shooting Mahakumbh Naga Procession in 2013 anymore, I' feel it'd be much helpful for anyone who'd be taking part as a photographer and want to shoot certain kind of shots in that procession, because its the same sort of rules that apply almost everywhere no matter the place or kind of shots.

More Photo books to be released :-

With the continuous inflow of images on internet, one might not give much importance to certain images he shoots or sees of others, and since its been so easy to "click and delete"these days thanks to digital cameras. But I still strongly believe, that if one doesnt respect his/her own photograph enough, he cant expect the same from others. in other words, if you dont think your image is print worthy, you' cant expect people to buy it and put it on their home walls.

There is another reason too. If you see, there is lot of serious effort that goes on to shooting travel photography, they aren't mere postcards from xyz places, and a travel/social photographer if you are, you dont just visit a place and happen to take pictures, and bring them back as memorabilia. Trust me I have' been scolded too many times for carrying extra weight of SLRs, lenses and tripods that most of the times I am unable to carry on my own. ( Yes, I am not very physically strong and all, take it) In addition to that, there are places you travel just to shoot photos, for example in the above case, I traveled to two different area in kerala, just to shoot the processions.

I feel that your work documented, says a lot about you as a photographer. for me its important that I log the entire process, entire journey, including the photos of course and hence comes the photobooks along with the blogs. I have so far produced four books in last year, ( JOTSR i published in Dec 2011) and I am continuing to document more as I do more projects. two of my upcoming projects will be "The Western Ghats of India" and "Kerala Personified", and unlike my previous four books where I kept text to the minimal because of being in hurry or lazy or any other reason, both of these will feature lot of text including the photographs chosen from what I have shot in past few years. thats exactly why the two are taking their own sweet time.

Creative Photography :-

I have to admit. I cant do a 365 project. I tried last year, twice, and failed miserably both the times. I mean you dont expect me to post what i cook everyday right? I am very experimenting when it comes to shooting anything, but I am not someone who do much with the photoshops except just enhancing the images. I however do want to learn more about creating a space and shooting it. I wouldn't mind borrowing the idea from someone and recreating it, if I cant cook up something soon, but I'd love to do something, and try to be good at it and when I do it, You'd read those chronicles in here for sure.

Stick around on twitter-

How that is connected to this blog you' might think. by saying that, I want to wish to be connected to the blogging community. I have been on my own, coming and going as I like. so far I havent' been able to stick around on facebook page, havent attended a single blogger meet, and haven't been really been bothered about whats going on in the travel or photography world. I am not ignorant, no. I am way too lost in my world.

Honestly I do not believe in following passion and running around doing trendy things, making and finishing certain list of 10 things, and even "been there done that" either. for me, its some thing I just do when i feel like doing, No one can force me, No one can inspire me. No one can drop that dream in my head and say go ahead and make it come true. No. because its not about me. its about the life around me, its about whats going on. its a process.

No matter where I go, what i see, what story I tell, The story is always going to take over my dreams, my existence, my happiness, and hardship. So I do not know if I am discovering myself or the world or the world is discovering me in return. either way I like the confusion and I continue to stay that way, just be a little less ignorant. alright i said it.

Expect the unexpected :-

You know me, You'd say I am predictable or I am not. but as I said. I love the world of certainty in uncertainty, so yes, since I run the blog, there'll always be surprises, and those I look forward to, along with you. and from with-in that world of happy surprises, here is wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year. I hope I have managed to end the year going by on perfect lines. even if I haven't there is always a new year waiting on the other side. so till then...cheers to life! ;)

An Ode to the old world, that I once lived in... (Why the World should've had ended today / on December 21st, 2012)

2012-12-21T00:03:00.001-08:00

silly how artistic and beautiful this end of the world looks

Its 12:12 on Dec 21, 2012 and here I am trying to quickly jot down my parting thoughts, ( you or i, cant help it, I am a writer, cant go with out leaving a note right? )

I have heard this somewhere, when a person is about to die, his/her whole life plays in front of his eyes in motion pictures, yes! ... good or bad, his karmas wrap him up and he for once, if not before, becomes one with himself, accepting it all, happiness and sorrows, lovers and haters, life and death. he becomes one with, who he had been, and who he is now.

Well, I might have been more true to my words at about 12 hours before, (I am in IST zone right now, GMT+5:30 so) but such a let down this. seriously..., I was least bothered about the Y2K, did not even remember it well, until, i saw it mentioned in one of the tweets, ( so grateful for the knowledge this small twitter window spreads) what more can you expect from a kid? oh wait a minute the same window tells me this is 7th in a row, that universe has failed to impress me. huh.

Now that the CST clock too has ticked past 1, I think we all have to get over our sorrow and go back to our mundane life of "eat, pray, love" added with travel and photographs. monday is gonna come, you all have to go to work, pay your credit card bills, plan for new year's parties, treat your husband/wife/GF/BF, buy gifts for them, and live your own miserable life too in between. but thank god its weekend, so you all have time to relax. and perhaps think of something new to do, resolutions to make, dreams to follow and get rid of few things from the past!

The other day as part of introspection ( yes its been going on for a while) I found my own answer to a question i think everyone in this world has struggled at least once in his/her life. the reason to live, why are we here, what we are suppose to do in life, whats our purpose and so on. it becomes more evident, this inner struggle, with the negativity we have snuggled up, that we choose to ignore most of the times, and which just suddenly just pops out and makes us somehow question, is the world really bad, why doesn't it just end damn it.

I'd like to think the world really ends when you want it to end. just imagine yourself in the centre of a venn diagram, hundreds and thousands of circles your nested in, that is your world.up to you how big or small that is, and how much you can take inside it. You can live in your nest and act like nothing else ever existed or you can just create another circle and invite more in. your choice.

perhaps it makes sense to feel, to want the ownership, to rule your world, to control it ( for good, I presume), to keep it safe, to keep it happy and let it flourish. I like the idea of pressing the button to save the world. ( refer ABC TV Series LOST) anyone could do it, no special skills required, still it makes you feel responsible, special, unique with every button pressed, you did actually, really saved the world and fulfilled your responsibility, used your existence for good, found your purpose in life, did good.

There is a saying in hindi. "paap ka ghadaa jab bharta hai, to foot-ta jaroor hai." treat this world like a pitcher in which every good or bad deed goes in, and put a simple algorithm to it. for if the pitcher has one good deed in it, the pitcher would not break. as simple as that. doesn't matter who's dropping in that good deed, all what matters is one good deed no matter big or small, inside the pitcher to really save it. its a continuous process. just like Desmond pressing a button. It might not convince everyone, but thats logic for you.

For me to find a purpose in life, and feel special, I dont really have to cross seven seas and climb mountains. I can do anything good that i am capable of at that certain time. and I can proudly say that oh yes I am Neo and I saved the world. who cares I was God or certain incarnation of it? do they?

Well, all this fiasco about mayan's calendar and end of the world. I'd like to think there is surely someone who's prank it is, and he' sitting there, perhaps collecting all these stats right now, from twitter, FB, internet in all, newspapers or wherever. and willingly or not, we just contributed to his silly experiments. I did too.. and entire post. huh!

Now that I am in my new world, which I have to live, I'll go ahead and write my resolutions, things i want to do, ( of course apart from that travel wish list), I think I am doing a few already.
Let me tell you that in the next post. till then Welcome to the New World. ;)

2012 in Photos

2012-12-12T12:01:00.001-08:00

So its 12.12.12 yes, the final one of its kind, and I cant honestly recall if I even remember the dates from 01.01.01 through 10.10.10, though after seeing some 11.11.11 updates on flickr last year, I pledged to do something special this year, but I really couldn't find anything exceptional to do to celebrate it. Think I am not very creative when it comes to digits. So finally I thought why not blog another post on this date, and what better to blog in December than relishing the year saying goodbye, in photos.

Well, to accept it the n'th time, I haven't been much or at all active in photography, travel or blogging for past 2 years. 2011 went on studying and 12 I had other plans. what did happen this year, was, I picked up an iPhone4S and began clicking everything around me.

I think that quick accessibility of a camera phone kinda does this to you. But anyways, why I bought it was that I wanted to create some iPhone Art, and get experimental with the infinite number of apps available on it. though not one hundred percent, but I did explore the iPhoneography world about 2% ;)

Santa Cruz California

One of the first weekend I bought the iPhone, we day drived to Santa cruz beach flats. the above image is from Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the amusement park on the beack. Took this shot upside down, and instantly loved it. there were few details i the bottom I gently pushed away when converting it to black and white. I believe I processed it in Camera+.

The Second favorite of mine is also from Santa Cruz, but little close to the shore. the lighthouse against the sun, curvaceous railing and its shadow in parallel lines reaching up to the light house, I feel its one of the best composition I made this year.

Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir India

My third favorite shot, is from Jammu and Kashmir India, I shot in July this year. This is on the way to a famous hindu pilgrimage to "Vaishno Devi", arguably the second most visited in India. It rained a bit, and got pretty misty, when we descended. a boy looking down to the valley, on this empty route, gave my iphone native camera a perfect setting for a dreamy black and white frame.

As I mentioned above, Vaishno devi is most visited pilgrimage in India, second only to Tirupati in Andhra pradesh. every day thousands of pilgrim climb 14 kms to reach the temple of the goddess situated on a mountain named trikuta, using the same route, as mules and palkis ( 4 men carrying a iron chair ). this here in above photo is the entrance, the starting point of yatra. It was raining heavily that day, ( I heard its sort of usual) and these white raincoats made of very thin, poor quality plastic were the only saviors. well, saved or not, the scene left a calming effect on me.

This is a frame from the train ( the ever famous indian railways) I find very engaging. so many things happening, yet simple, and self explanatory. I think I have used classic toy app for iPhone to shoot this photograph.

I absolutely adore how brilliantly this image captures the mood of the time. the pilgrimage can be tough on you sometimes, but think my parents are enjoy the strenuous walk up hill, with short breaks every other mile. the juice corner /shop behind, and bottles all identical and racked up make for a very interesting background.

Nantucket Island Atlantic

Nantucket island, a surprise find on a Lufthansa flight from Washington DC to Frankfurt, looks so much like a little boat. with golden sunlight falling right on the island, and blue green sky and ocean, I do like the color version more, putting up a monochrome here just to keep the flow going.

Delhi India

Every year, this part of the indian capital Delhi, called Tatarpur, gets busy making Ravana's effigies much before the festival Dussehra on which day, they are burned down marking the victory of good over evil. these kids, I believe, are well used to of photographing since many photographer visit this area, to shoot artists making effigies, still wanted to play around with camera or strange camera woman, got all set with posing around the finished effigies lined up on the road. I just obliged.

Haryana, India

earlier this November I read about this village town near Delhi, with turbulent history and age old ruins of once a centre of salt trade, in north india and capital of Mughal ruler Farrukh Siyer.

The shot is from Sheesh Mahal belonged to his queen once, now left with nothing but ruins, and under the care of state govt. i though shot, many images here, this one shot by iPhone and processed in Pin-hole style is my favorite most.

One more from Farrukh nagar, perhaps gives a better glimpse of the town, and how does it look like now. who do you think define a place better the history, or the people living now?

Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India

An extremely congested and dark image, and if you dint get it, I will understand, after hours of rains, and no power, when it stopped by 4PM, it got extremely dark in this village of western Uttar Pradesh India. the fields were are overflown with rain water, with absolutely no path visible to walk on. I was enjoying this view from my terrace when this little girl came on the roof and started dancing. it was still drizzling but she dint care. I think I had better time watching her dance then trying to get a decent photo out of iPhone in this low light condition. this is all what I managed and I loved it to the core.

Kerala, India

and here comes the final one. the 12th of the series. since I dont want to break the continuity I converted this image from kerala, in monochrome. these are pullikali dancers, in first day parade of Onam festival, their bodies painted and faces of tigers, leopards and lions in all colors. tell you its a crime to show Kerala in black and white and I am guilty, I processed and uploaded a few photos from Athachamayam on flickr here for you to see, why I have chose this one as one of my favorite pic is because, pullikali dancers were not the ones I was expecting to see here in this parade. and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw more than one group. colorful and enchanting, the parade was my most memorable shoot from the year 2012

Letter to Santa - My 2013 Travel Wish List

2012-12-10T10:48:00.002-08:00

"I want universe to royally spoil me this new year. so would you Mr. Universe?"

Starting next year, First thing i want to do is to take a dip, drench this, though pure yet sinful soul in my highly maintained yet mortal body, in the holy confluence of divine rivers, so that I can achieve nirvana. and by nirvana means, bringing freshness in to life yet again, and trying to see a world i want to see with a baby's eyes, new and curious.

and my first destination is -> ( drum-rolls...)

1. Maha kumbh Mela

Held every 12 years, Maha Kumbh Mela is the greatest pilgrimage festival in hindu religion, and truly a cultural spectacle, attracting participants from not only all parts of india, but from around the globe to take a dip in the holy waters of Sangam, the confluence of holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati.

For photographers and travelers, one of the main attraction of Kumbh mela is Naga Babas procession. Kubha mela is like a yogi convention, where yogis, sadhus arrive from various holy places, remote forests and mountain caves in the Himalayas. Naga babas are naked saints with their bodies smeared in ash and their hair in deadlocks.

photo courtesy - aforasana.wordpress.com

Maha Kumbh Festival 2013 in Allahabad Uttar Pradesh, India is speculated to be one of the biggest congregations in the history of mankind. Last Maha Kumbh witnessed participation of about 70 million people. A huge temporary city will created at the site of the festival for the millions of pilgrims that arrive for the most auspicious bathing days, one of them called mauni amavasya or "New Moon of the Saints." falling on feb 10, 2013. It is also the day when new members to various holy monastic orders will receive their first initiation.

2. Chadar Trek, Ladakh

Well it totally depends on Santa, where he wants to send me first to Maha Kumbh or Ladakh. if he wants to torture me a bit too much, (umm no, i wouldnt call it a torture though. the trek is a blessing, so shower upon please) but he can sure give me some strength to walk on a thin ice, shoot with my ungloved fingers, and yes clear vision... because I dont want to come back with blurred shots, nope.

photo courtesy - kingdom-of-sky.blogspot.com

Carrying the Legends, history, culture and magical landscapes for over thousand years, The ancient trail that was once used by the Zanskaris as only way in or out for trade in months of winters, is now known as the one of the greatest, high adrenaline, most exotic and incomparable trek in the region of himalaya.

From walking on a frozen river and camping in caves, to utterly real possibilities of seeing a glut of wildlife — the bharal, ibex to the elusive carnivores, the wolf and the regal snow leopard, and chance of learning about the region and its people by staying with the locals, the Chadar trek offers thrill seekers an experience of a lifetime. no doubt its features in every avid trekker's dream trek list and as one the top treks in world trekking map. and exactly that is why its in my wish list too.

Trek starts from chilling, a little ahead of the indus, Zanskar confluence near Leh, and goes all the way in to womb of zanskar with many villages on the river side, and also high up on the mountains. Well I am just sitting here writing, imagining how it be to walk on that blue-green ice and if i'd be lucky again to get a glimpse of snow leopard, like I was in when witnessing a alpha female tiger, on my very first safari in Bandipur, karntaka. one can always hope right ;)

3. Greenland / Iceland - Arctic Circle Expedition

Well Santa might think I am being greedy, but, can i really help it? the zanskar river is frozen only for few days in Jan end and feb beginning. the kumbh mela happens once in four years, and maha kumbha only once in twelve. so you see, I dont want to wait up till i get old, carry my kids along with me to kumbh mela, get them tattooed and lose them there only for them to meet up once they grow up, I know, very common phenomenon in 70-80s bollywood movies.

photo courtesy - aliceinwonder.net & club.doctissimo.fr

Oh oh... did i get you all confused in age old repetitive bollywood story, just chuck that.
this is the third and final of the quarter, No No I am not asking to attend Holi festival too this year, that'd be way too much to ask, but Northern Lights???? How can I not go..? I am not sure what connection it has with the Cosmic Forces, Maha kumbh, but it seems the Aurora in 2013 are going to be best in past 11-12 years. Now... the weather has always been a great fan of mine, I have noticed, because whenever I go out in nature, I always get best weather. so well, Mr. Universe can you turn some tables and make me see the northern lights in their full glory please ?

I can also make it a considerable option, You can send me to greenland, chances are, the light show will be the best there, you can send me to Iceland, or you can also send me to Alaska incase sending me all the way to Arctic is difficult for you... Well, I would always dream of a arctic cruise, or backpacking expedition, hiking to the glaciers, getting to see aerial views, meeting polar bears and all that sort of things, but I 'll be fine in postponing the latter, if you could just let me see the northern lights in a grand way :)) Just make me be the "Alice in Wonderland".. quite a bargain huh!

photo courtesy - kanoo world traveller

The Bright light show, the Northern Lights, or Auroral displays that appears in northern or southern hemisphere, are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights appear in many colors and forms, i.e. the color ranging common pale green and pink and rare shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet, and in forms or in shapes of patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow. The lights, that are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south.

The Southern auroras are not that often seen as they are concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean. However, Northern lights can be seen in many places over North america such as, the northwestern parts of Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Alaska. The best place to see Aurora are southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway and over the coastal waters north of Siberia.

4. Utah Grand Circle Road trip

Past six years I have been in USA on and off, but I have not seen Grand Canyon, Yes you have heard it right! I have seen the coastal road from Point reyes to Bigsur and lot of forests and valleys but I havent seen the wonder the grand canyon is, and here comes the surprise, Its not really the only one, that qualifies to be part of my 2013 wish list, what however is the rest of the canyons scattered around i.e. Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyon lands and finally Grand Canyon national parks.

photo courtesy - http://www.bergoiata.org/

The Grand Circle is a beautiful, vast region located in the Southwestern United States. Encompassing portions of five states – Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada – the Grand Circle contains America’s largest concentration of national parks and monuments, woven together by extraordinary designated Scenic Byways. Some of America’s most diverse scenery can be found within the Grand Circle – the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell and Arches National Park, just to name a few. From over 2000 arches in Arches National park, to Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument , one of the finest scenic route, from hiking to Angel's landing in Zion to walking among hoodoos in Bryce, from searching the geological wrinkles on earth in Capitol Reef to photographing the most breathtaking slot canyons in Antelope, I want to do it all and in just, one road trip.

5. Chaouen, Morocco and Santorini Greece

Since after seeing it in 2005 movie 'Sisterhood of Traveling pants', which apparently was the first time, so far I have seen a countless of photographs of this beautiful greek island named Santorini, and every time i see one, I wish to go to this place, all over again. this blue and white little magnet like place, was the only one place in my list, till I saw a flickr image from Chaouen, Morocco and I just fell for it. I opened maps.google and my eyes surfed all over the Mediterranean sea. where all I want to go... I want to see istanbul too. so is it possible for me to magically land in Casablanca, and do a road trip right through the coast line, from Morocco to dead sea of Jordan to Constantine,Turkey to Santorini in Greece and Spain? One needs to dream high right? ;)

photo courtesy - http://www.moroccoincomingservices.com/

Situated in the Rif Mountains, just inland from Tangier and Tetouan, and known by its Medina of shady alleys, whitewashed houses, blue turquoise doors, wrought iron windows and tile covered roofs, a glance of this small mountain city Chef chaouen is an experience in itself. Despite the blue colour, the old part of the city has a distinctly Andalusian feel to it and toing and froing in their straw hats, souks are decorated with their traditionally dressed inhabitants. Kasbah, Hammam – traditional Arabic bathes, Grande Mosque that dates back to 15th century are something worth to visit and a great way to immerse yourself in local culture and customs.

6. Oahu, Maui, Hawaii - can I go back in time and get myself a character in LOST ?

So I know that Maui has been voted the best island by many travelers and magazines through out these past years, but thats not the only reason I want to go to Maui for. earlier this year, I did a LOST marathon. yes exactly what it means, I watched all six seasons of ABCs' hit series LOST non-stop day and night. and in that period of time, I practically lived on that island. to tell you this series, when it aired in 2004, perhaps in india as well (HBO), in the same year i am guessing, I had absolutely no interest in it. I had a vague memory of that 9 or 10PM slot, with few season 1 scenes. But that definitely was different time in my life. came 2012, and I fell in love with it well except the last 2 seasons. which I did not like that much, but hey, who cares! what I want to do is to go and explore (not really the tour type, trust me its a huge business - read this ) each every spot in oahu, Kauai, lanai and Maui, say, Oh I was actually here... yes virtually.

here a gallery edited by CNN on LOST locations -> http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/18/lost.locations/

7. Follow the Fall Foliage this year - umm, sniffing a New England here ?

photo courtesy - commons.wikimedia.org

In my dictionary, I have no word that can describe the love I have for fall colors. from sugar maples, scarlet oaks, sweetgums, red maples, and hickories, I want them all. I am a true leaf peeper who but wants it all for herself. I seek solitude, so is New England really a place for me? may be not. there where else can I go?

Hiking Smokey Mountains? or Horseback riding in Shenandoah?
'or' perhaps take this MAP from weather.com and follow it through out United States. I kinda like the scope and challenge of the latter.

8. Tracing roots - Exploring My Ancestors History

So an interesting thing happened, as I went searching for images on parihar dynasty, google threw up my images as search results, not my face thank god, but the one I shot, and are spread over the internet. Parihar's were originated from Mandore, Rajasthan, they were also part of kannuaj dynasty somewhere in Kanpur Uttar Pradesh area. In this Era, there are about 100 villages of Parihar Rajputs or Thakurs in Bah District of UP, close to Bateshwar which is a pilgrimage about 70 KM from Agra, and famous for cattle fair. What my late Grandfather told me years back, a group of Rajput sat on their horses, headed north, reached a forest, about 100 kms from Bateshwar, threw few Muslim communities settled around, chopped the forest of, and settled there. Hmm... interesting story. this happened in late 19th century and this village is now known as Bankati Bujurg, in Etawah.

photo courtesy - luxurytourtoindia.blogspot.com

Incidentally, when I discussed whatever little i knew about the origin, he told me that there is a man who comes to village to collect some kind of cash from everyone, every three years, and he's the only one who knows entire history of the place and people where did the came from and how they settled here. well, alright till I meet him, ( fingers crossed) this is all, my father's side of the story I know. as for mom, history of Tomar's dynasty is another game plan, there were few who ruled in Delhi around 750 AD, but thats way too far for my interest, what I want to know, is What happened in Morena, Madhya Pradesh. I haven't been there for as long as 25 years, and I have absolutely no idea how I am going to fulfill this wish of mine to know a-z of of them all.

9. Burning Man Festival

photo courtesy - forum.punterslounge.com

Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event begins on the last Monday in August, and ends on the first Monday in September, The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, art, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. There are no rules about how one must behave or express oneself at this event rather, it is up to each participant to decide how they will contribute and what they will give to this community. The event takes place on an ancient lakebed, known as the playa. By the time the event is completed and the volunteers leave, sometimes nearly a month after the event has ended, there will be no trace of the city that was, for a short time, the most populous town in the entire county. Art is an unavoidable part of this experience. Larry Harvey, founder of the Burning Man project, gives a theme to each year, to encourage a common bond to help tie each individual's contribution together in a meaningful way.

Two consecutively failed plans, and I am again keeping an eye on the burning man festival next year. there is no reason to be told, its an expression magic one can only understand after experiencing it. so Santa, Let me experience the city that never existed and never will, a place that just appears and disappears. ( I am kind of talking like LOST island again, but this is no island, its a bustling city of sizzling, bizarre things, if you call it that is.

10. Send me wherever you want to...

How generous of me, right Santa? so well, for 10th I thought i'd go ahead look at everyone's list of top places to travel in 2013. 2 links I clicked but i could'nt connect, I think to wish for traveling to certain places, you really need to truly dream about them, for sometime, that process does build a perfect foundation to plan, research and travel and of course the post travel memorabilia. so would I go push you to visit these places? not exactly, once I come back from there, may be yes. I'd have the dream that I lived in reality and I'd have the facts to support, an opinion about it... and I'd definitely want to share that with you all.

so why not I let you tell me what fit the perfect 10 in my list, the place you have experienced, you have been to, the place you've dreamt about?

Please note - All photographs are copyrights of their respective owners. I am available at handle @poonamparihar on Twitter, or Facebook new page / profile to chat up more. if you want to send me any query/comment you have, you can so by mailing on mailme@poonamparihar.com / indigypsi@gmail.com or commenting below.

Top 10 treks to do in Himalayas this Winter

2012-12-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

The trekking season in the Himalayas starts from late spring to summer, covers virtually the whole year including winter at lower altitude regions, a sizable decrease in options in comparison to the rest of the year. Winter may not may best months to venture high in to himalaya, but for the energetic leisure seeker and adventurer, keen to take up a rare wilderness experience, the awe-inspiring views of snow covered mountains laced in thick white dress makes it hard to resist opting for choices that it persistently lays out in these few months of otherwise low activity.

From famous to non-famous, from explored to least known, here are my top 10 picks from the best of winter treks, that different regions of Himalayas have to offer.

evaser.com

1. Ladakh Chadar (The ICE Sheet) trek

Carrying the Legends, history, culture and magical landscapes for over thousand years, The ancient trail that once was used by the Zanskaris as only way in or out for trade in months of winters, is now known as the one of the greatest, high adrenaline, most exotic and incomparable trek in the region of himalaya. From walking on a frozen river and camping in caves, to utterly real possibilities of seeing a glut of wildlife — the bharal, ibex to the elusive carnivores, the wolf and the regal snow leopard, and chance of learning about the region and its people by staying with the locals, the Chadar trek offers thrill seekers an experience of a lifetime. no doubt its features in every avid trekker's dream trek list and as one the top treks in world trekking map.

The Chadar trek follows the river bed from Chilling to Naerab, Lingshed and many other villages, along the river Zanskar.

Difficulty - Moderate to Difficult

Trekking Kms.- 70-100Kms

Duration - 7-10 days

Region - Ladakh

Nearest airport - Leh

2. Chopta Chandrasilla trek

Famous for the highest temple dedicated to lord Shiva, Mount Tungnath, at an altitude of 3810mts, is difficult to scale in winters. A mini-peak beyond Tungnath, however is not only easy to reach, but offers a great vantage point, a 270 degree most amazing view of the entire range of Garhwal peaks like Chaukhamba, Kedarnath, Nanda devi and Trishul among the most prominent ones. The trek passing through forests and vast meadows, views of snow clad Himalayas, starts with a steep but short climb from Okhimath, to Deoria tal, crosses Chopta and Tungnath to reach the summit of moon rock, .i.e. Chandrashila at 34090mts

Chopta is situated on the Gopeshwar-Ukhimath road 40kms from Gopeshwar at an altitude of 2900mts high. The trail from Chopta to Tungnath peak is short and easy yet difficult to spot in winters and hence challenging. Chandrashilla is another 1km of rigorous climb from Tungnath Temple.

Difficulty - Easy to moderate

Duration - 3-4 days

Maximum Altitude - 4000mts

Region - Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Nearest railway - Haridwar

Nearest airport - Dehradun

pic courtesy - kalpeshgohil.blogspot.com

3. Har-ki-Doon- Ruinsara tal Trek

At an elevation of 3556mts, Har ki doon trek is a classic, one of the most famous tea-shop treks in Garhwal region of Himalaya. Surfaced on Fateh Parvat and Known as a small valley, more beautiful than the valley of flowers, Har-ki-doon valley literally means the Hanging valley of Gods. The Trail from Sankri takes you to some of the least explored area in the valley, surrounded by dense forest, rich fauna and shining peaks. The trek is relatively easy even in months of winter, and can be further extended to Ruinsara tal, Jaudhar Glaciar and Maninda Tal. From Ruinsara one can see a splendid view of Swargarohini range peaks.

Trekking Routes for Har ki Dun Trek : Sankri - Taluka - Taluka - Osla - Har - Ki Dun - Osla - Taluka - Sankri

Difficulty - Easy

Trekking Km.- ~90Kms.

Duration - 6-7 days

Region - Uttarakhand

Nearest railway - Mussoorie

Nearest airport - Dehradun

pic courtesy -jeevanmaya.blogspot.com

4. Kedarkantha Trek

Bordering Himachal pradesh, Kedarkantha is another trek in har-ki-doon valley. The trail offers enchanting view of Himalayan vista, rich and verdant pines, chestnut, and maple forests and chances of catching few glimpses of Himalayan wildlife, making this route, virtually a paradise for the botanists, bird watchers, trekkers and anyone interested in exploring and photographing it. The land has been also known for the temples and shrines with sacred mythological attachments. Duryodhna, the eldest of Kaurvas, is worshiped here.

The trek starts from Mussoorie, crosses Kempty Fall, Nainbag, Purola and Mori and reaches Juda ka Talab, a small pond on the way to Kedar Kantha. from the medows a 6 hours trek takes you to Kedarkantha peak.

Difficulty - Easy

Trekking Km.- 20

Duration - 6 days

Maximum Altitude - 38120mts

Region - Uttarakhand

Nearest road - Mussoorie

Nearest airport, railway - Dehradun

5. Sandakphu - Phalut

One of the best and most popular trek in Darjeeling, North East Himalayan region is Sandakphu -Phalut trek. also known as Sandakfu-Falut, this trek in Singalila range, offers not only a magnificent panoramic view of Mount Kanchenjunga, but the spectacular sight of burned sliver-fir and emerald green forests. the region abounds in rhododendrons, magnolias, primulas, orchids and ferns of numerous varieties and about 600 bird species making it a bird lovers paradise. From Phalut a portion of Mt Everest is also visible although it is slightly hidden by another peak in a shape of an enormous armchair.

The trek starts from Maneybhanjang via Chitirey, Meghma, Tonglu, Tumling, Gairibas, Kala Pokhri, Bekhey to Sandakphu and Phulat.

Difficulty - Easy to Moderate

Trekking Km.- ~45Kms

Duration - 8/9 days

Maximum Altitude - 3635mts.

Region - Darjeeling, Himalaya

Nearest road, railway - Darjeeling

Nearest airport - Bagdogra

sathyastravels.blogspot.in

6. Helambu circuit Trek-

Helambu is very popular trek in the langtang valley, also called the valley of glaciers, in nepal region of Himalaya. Inhibited by sherpa villages, the valley offers pine forest, slow moving rivers and swift mountain streams, rugged rock and snow-capped peaks, grassy downs and meadows strewn with daisies and wild primulas. The trek is relatively easy, peaceful and less crowded than Annapurna and Everest region treks and is cultural spectacle in itself.

Trek starts from Sundarijal, 15kms from Kathmandu, heading up a concrete path to Mulkharka Dam, and Chisopani. Pati Bhanjyang,Gul Bhanjyang,Malemchigaon and Tarke Gyang are few village you can see in this trek. Gosaikund peak to Tharepati is the best ridge walk amongst all treks in nepal. further the trail goes via forest to Sermathang and then to Malemchi Pul Bazar in Kathmandu.

Difficulty - Easy

Duration - 7 days

Maximum Altitude - 3490mts

Region - kathmandu

Nearest railway - kathmandu

Nearest airport - kathmandu, nepal

Khumbhu region, Chola Pass, Dhaulagiri, and Ghorepani poonunhill Trek in addition to Everest and Annapurna Base trekking expeditions are also few treks in nepal region of himalaya that you plan in winters.

winterspringsadventure.com

7. Dodital - Darwa Pass Winter Trek-

Relatively easy in summers, Dodital trek can be quite challenging in winter, due to heavy snowfall
The Dodital trail is a forest trek, which can be used to travel between Gangotri andYamnotri regions. The trek starts from Bhaghirathi Valley goes up to Dodital and then via Darwa top one can reach Yamnotri. Dodital is a sacred lake at around 10800 feet and it is believed to be the birth place of Lord Ganesha. The trail is very well marked goes through the Oak, Rhododendron and some Deodar forest.

From Uttarkashi, drive to Sangamchatti and begin trekking via Agoda to Dodital and Darwa pass, you can descent via the same route on the summit day. Another route starts from Hanumanchatti on the Yamnotri road ato Kondola. there is no facility on this route, one needs to hire porters and mules and arrange full gears in Hanumanchatti itself. This route will take you about 1,300 feet higher than Darwa Pass from over Darwa Top and then down to the bugyal descending to Dodital Lake. The longest and most difficult route however is via Dayara Bugyal following a jungle path used by the Gujjar nomads from the region.

Difficulty - Moderate to Difficult

Duration - 5/6 days

Maximum Altitude - 3025mts

Region - Uttarakhand

Nearest railway - Haridwar

Nearest airport - Dehradun

8. The Lord Curzon / Kuari pass winter trek -

One of the most beautiful and scenic, Kuari pass trek, offers views of many famous snow-clad himalayan peaks such as Neelkanth, Kamet, Kalanka, Trishul, Mukut Parvat, Nilgiri, Changabang, Dronagiri, and Chuakhamba. Kuari pass is also a pilgrimage route to Joshimath, and Badrinath. Joshimath is about 256 Km from Haridwar by road. after reaching Joshimath, the trek can be undertaken from either Auli (8KM) or Chitrakhana (12Km) to Tali top. from Tali top, trek traverses via khullar top through a steep, snow path to Kuari pass.

Difficulty - Moderate

Trekking Km.- 40

Duration - 5/6 days

Maximum Altitude - 13990ft

Region - Uttarakhand

Nearest railway - Haridwar

Nearest airport - Dehradun

pic courtesy - http://www.yohyoh.com/

9. Chamba to Dalhousie Trek - National Himalayan Winter Trekking Expedition, conducted by Youth Hostel Association of India-

Youth Hostel Association of India, YHAI, offers a winter trekking expedition to Dalhousie, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh. The trek begins at Dalhousie, to Kala Top, Khajjiyar/Khajjar, and Mangala or Chamba. Set on five hills and facing the Pir Panjal range, Dalhousie is one hill station, very popular among home and foreign tourists. The Trail from Dalhousie to Lakkadmandi is easy, from Lakkadmandi to Kala top is beautiful has snow patch, and is part of the Kalatop-Khajjiar Reserve forest. Next stop Khajjar, is called mini Switzerland and is a venue for adventure sports like paragliding and horse riding. From Kahjjiar tthe route onwards to Chamba is all downhill.

Difficulty - Easy

Trekking Km.- 35

Duration - 3/4 days

Maximum Altitude -

Region -Himachal Pradesh

Nearest Railway, airport, road - Pathankot Airport is 80 Km from Dalhousie. The road from Pathankot to Dalhousie forms a part of the Pathankot-Chamba National Highway and is smooth and spacious.

10. Sunder Dunga Glacier Valley snow Trek -

Sunder dunga means the valley of beauitiful stones. The enchanting valley situated to the west of Pindari valley and has two glaciers, Maktoli and Sukhram. With its superabundant wild-life, rolling forests, lush green meadows, deep and narrow gorges, and the snow-capped mountains, the valley offers all its name stands for—beauty in all its true forms. The valley is reachable via Dhakuri pass, through a snow bounded climb, and then descending to the village Khati to the valley floor vila Chilta top. the route makes it a great snow trek. and if (only) the weather permits, you can trek to either of the village Dwali or Jatoli, the famous village in Sundar Dunga Base camp route.

Incase you look forward to extend your trek, from Khati, an alternate route through dense forest trails and snow trek takes you to Bajling Dhar to Kaluwa taki pass and Pangu Top, offering a great view of Nanda top, the return from this route is via Supi and bageshwar.

Difficulty - Moderate to Difficult

Trekking Km.- 40

Duration - 7 days

Maximum Altitude - 13990ft

Region - Kumaon Himalayas, Uttarakhand

Nearest railway - Kathgodam

Nearest airport - Dehradun

Points to remember before you venture out - winter hiking can be as risky as it sounds, so before you head out

Get the right gears - clothing, basic snow hiking gears, Food items and emergency items
Make sure to leave an itinerary - am sure you have watched 127hours
Understand Altitude sickness and Hypothermia
Have a company - Dont venture out alone, get a guide at least
Dont get confused, remember to have fun...

Dhanushkodi - Life in The Ghost Town - A Photo Essay

2012-11-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

"Diversity in the world is a basic characteristic of human society, and also the key condition for a lively and dynamic world as we see today. ~ Jinato Hu"

In Dec 2010, I, along with 3 friends, went for a 10 days long coastal road ride to 2 south indian states of Tamilnadu and Kerala. Starting from Bangalore, karnataka, we drove through popular destinations in Tamilnadu, such as Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Trichi and Madurai to the famous hindu pilgrimage located between indian peninsula and Sri Lanka, known as Rameswaram or Pamban Island, and spent ample amount of time at this holy place, walking, beach trekking, mountain biking.

Rameswaram, spread over in a area around 62 sq. kms, extending for around 30 kms in width and 2 to 7 kms in length, is a bustling pilgrim centre, and isconsidered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and also the part of the Char Dham pilgrimages. Connected to the mainland India by Pamban Bridge, this small island is only 32ft above MSL.

The southern most tip of Rameswaram which is only 29 odd kms from SriLanka is known as Dhanushkodi, Once a flourishing and prominent town, well connected by rail and road with Pamban and the mainland, later destroyed in the cyclones of year 1964, claiming over 2,000 lives and crippling power supply and communications. From temples to churches, houses, dharmashalas, roads and railway station, all were destroyed leaving no signs of life.

Following the Disaster, Govt of Madras declared the place unfit for the living. Some of the dharmashalas and a prominent mutt based in Dhanushkodi were moved to Rameswaram. The ruins of the station and the railway track were left untouched and Dhanushkodi could never be rebuilt. however in the ruins of the old island town, that was swept away in the recent history, now is a small fishing hamlet around 10-12KM away from the Adam's Bridge, famously called the Ghost Town.

we took accommodation near the main temple Rameswaram, and instead of driving the four wheeler around town, decided to take an auto-rickshaw to this very point in down south where road ends. on your right greets you the great indian ocean beach and to your left flows the shallow green water of the bay of bengal. from here on only few dedicated minibuses and jeeps are allowed to go further where the land ends also known as Adam's Bridge. hosting a few shops for the tourists coming over and houses the place otherwise remains crowded being one of the favorite beach spot for many National and International tourists.

Since we could'nt find any jeep when we arrived at the beach, which could take us to the land's end. we boarded a mini bus, and it dropped us half way to the ghost town, instead of waiting for another lift, we decided to trek the last stretch of 8-10 KM of Beach Trek to the adam's bridge, Its in that 8Km walk, That I encountered life, so full and alive, that just 50 Yards fat peninsula with nothing to accompany but super hot weather, boats, fishing nets and vast ocean, gave me another reason to question life.

Entire area of Dhanushkodi is covered with white sand and hence is not suitable for cultivation. Coconut and palm trees are found in abundance apart from fig and eucalyptus plants. Scrubsand rushes are found in abundance all along the sea-shore. a population of less than 500, the nearest telephone about 20 km away, no mobile signals and, adding to that standing at the tip of India, a country so diversified, gives anyone a pretty heady feeling!

Haunting yet appealing, deserted but still full of life, eerie but fascinating — Dhanushkodi is full of contradictions. Bow's End (as translated from Tamil) is a sure delight if you have a penchant for impossibly blue seas, pristine white sands and ruins by the shore. Bordered by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, breathtaking beauty, and the feeling of being in a place which was once alive and now a ruin city, reduced to rubble, makes it a place truly less travelled.

How to go there -

By Rail -
Rameswaram (Mandapan station just 2 km away) is well connected by rail with many south Indian cities including Chennai (Chennai Express), Coimbatore (Jan Shatabdi Exp), Thanjavur (Chennai Exp) and Trichy (Bhubaneshwar Exp).

By Air -
Madurai is the nearest airport to Rameswaram, which is located at a distance of 163 km away from Rameswaram. Madurai is connected to many cities by air including Coimbatore, Chennai and Bangalore.

By Road -
Rameswaram is connected to the mainland India by the Pamban Bridge (Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge). Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Service links Rameshwaram with a number of destinations of Tamil Nadu as well as other cities of neighboring states such as Thiruvallur, Kanyakumari, Trichy, Madurai, Thanajvur, Pondicherry, Tanjore, Bangalore, and Chennai etc. Overnight deluxe super fast luxury buses provide connectivity with Bangalore and Chennai from Rameshwaram.

Reach me @poonamparihar on Twitter, or Facebook new page / profile , Check out more images from Ladakh on flickr here. Send me any query/comment you have by mailing on mailme@poonamparihar.com or commenting below.

(left - Dhanushkodi , Rameshwaram, Aerial Shot, the long stretch i beach trekked ...)

Ladakh Landscapes in B&W - A Photo Essay

2012-11-24T04:29:00.000-08:00

Back again with few more images from the magical lamaland on the roof of the world, ladakh, and I am going a little bit old school this time, inspired by high contrast, low key Black and White images from the likes of Ralph Gibson, Bill Bandt and indeed my most favorite of them all, the great Ansel Adams, you might have seen his influence on certain section of work that I have produced so far but this or the previous work by no means is (blind) emulation of these mentioned above or any other past or present photographers.

I personally favor landscapes in their original colors and I do not believe in the statement that colors may sometimes confuse how landscapes might appear, but I do *not* advocate excessive saturation of the sunset sky or green jungles either. keeping colors aside, I think, that nature can very well express its beauty in black and white and with out any help of color but composition has to be just right, i.e. not all color compositions will do justice converting them to black and white sceneries.

I would love to try film B&W in future, these however, are Digital Monochromes images shot in RAW RGB and changed to Black and white while post processing in Adobe PS CS5 darkroom.

Diskit Nubra Valley Ladakh J&K India

Tsoma Gompa, Leh, Ladakh

Suru Valley, Zanskar, Ladakh

Nomadic Camps in Tso moriri Changthang Ladakh

Lake Tso miriri, Korzok, Ladakh

Rangdum Village, Rangdum Valley, Zanskar, ladakh

Pensi la, Drang drung Glacier Zanskar, Ladakh

Diskit Monastery and Buddha Statue, Diskit, Nubra Valley, ladakh

Khardungla Village, Khardungla, Nubra Valley, Ladakh

Shyok River, Nubra valley Ladakh

Pensi la, Ladakh, India

Drang Drung Glacier, Pensi la, Ladakh

Reach me @poonamparihar on Twitter, or Facebook new page / profile , Check out more images from Ladakh on flickr here. Send me any query/comment you have by mailing on mailme@poonamparihar.com or commenting below.

New Photo book : Ladakh

2012-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Much awaited, yet this is not what I' had actually promised for earlier. "Leh'd Alone - My 32 Days in Ladakh" is still in the making, But I have something for you all. this is the it collection, a unique photobook consisting of more than sixty of my best ladakh photos on flickr, in square format, and in instagram size book, available both in print and ebook format.

Its not easy to compile a book about Ladakh, (even if its just a photobook) on top of it, I have over a month long experience to pour in, with not few hundreds but over 5000 images to process, select and add to it, I thought I wouldnt be able to do justice to such a big project until I have enough experience and time for this process. as someone has quoted "Don't wait for perfection. Start and learn along the way." I am learning along with this process and as promised I'will soon publish about my entire travel experience with the photographs you'vent seen before.

Ladakh is a traveler's fantasy, Ladakh, is where, the forces of nature conspired to render a magical unrealistic landscape, a landscape of extremes, desert and blue waters, burning sun and freezing winds, glaciers and sand dunes, and you'll see that in this photo-book through my very own eyes. its my vision, realistic, grand yet true, squared up vintage yet very contemporary, and very uniquely composed, a fruit of my passion and love for ladakh, and Now you can own it too.

Here is a glimpse of the photo-book ladakh.

LADAKH | poonam parihar |Arts and Photography by Poonam Parihar | Make Your Own Book

Book is available in both print and ebook format ( iPad/iPhone/iPod ) on Blurb here

The Books is also out on Apple itunes, make sure to check it out.

Cliff House & The Ruins of Sutro Baths

2012-09-21T06:25:00.003-07:00

If you're a san francisco native or a photography enthusiast based out of SF bay, this extravagant public bathhouse would'nt sound alien to you.

The Modern day ruin but Once upon a time a place for amusement, hosting one of a kind luxurious swimming and bathing complex has gone to many before finally falling in to the hands of National Park Service, as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

I will always wonder how much fun it would have been, having a pool side party at the edge of a continent, with stunning views of Golden Gate to your right and endless beach to your left, and and pacific ocean's wave come crashing on you. sounds like a dreams isn't it? ( Rich Pleasure or as Jerry Flamm relates in his book, "Good Life in Hard Times")

Well from a dreamer's or certain photographer's point of view, who always seem to have a thing of ruins, Sutro baths is now more photogenic then ever. I mean from whatever few photographs and video clips are available of this place, including one and only movie which featured this place before its death, one could tell that history has it as a natatorium with various pools and as many ways to slide in to them so who knows had the structure hid the beauty lying outside or it did actually enhanced the same.

In any case, its a wonderful place for a evening stroll, and for casual to serious photography, so if you find a bunch of photographers holding their tripods and DSLRs, regardless of when you visit, dont get surprised.

I wouldnt dive much in to history, as I have already linked this post to Sutro's official site and the wiki links, which has got pretty good info about its past. and If you visit Sutro, you can read a few signposts that describe its history from the the golden age till its destruction by fire.

One of these days when I got tired of walking around Pier 39, with a pure thought of exploring and a simple evening stroll I walked up to this place, only to be amazed by its breathtaking natural beauty.

I took a few test shots with iPhone4S, luckily I liked the above ones and few more for their distinctive compositions, but, should I'd been upset over not carrying my DSLR and lenses and tripods and plan it properly, you bet I was. with a mixture of ruins, ocean high tides, rocks, and edgy placements of these all together, i mean that some one who has patience and a plan, can create some of the best slow-shutter, long exposure images at this place. here are some of my favoites from flickr mostly been shot in the blue hours and the moonlight, and couple of em which i couldnt embed are here in the gallery

with No comparison, I'd say iPhone as well can take some excellent shot, considering the timing but place deserve a serious shoot with a good DSLR and as you can see, I have been dying to do it soon. till then...!!

( P.S. first four are the iPhone4S shots, I clicked, the second is now part of Getty Images USA. the bottom three photos are direct flickr embeds, and are copyrights of their respective owners. you can click the photo to reach the originating pages).

(P.S. 2 - Ah, I just now realized i pretty much forgot to mention anything about the cliff house. I actually dint get inside, rather walked up and down towards the ocean beach before heading back home. the Giant Camera shot with flowers highlighted in the foreground is behind the cliff house, and mostly neglected. as the sun was about to set, I got pretty nice red color peeking through the rock on which the cliff house is been built. the third shot is from a closeby point towards the left. )

Roopkund Revisited : my 10 favorite images from the trek

2012-09-12T16:13:00.004-07:00

Few Minutes back I was looking at an image of Swiss Alps with a sunstar, someone had tweeted, and those sparkling snow-capped swiss mountains immediately transported me to that region of himalayas where stands the mighty Trishul, to bugyals and the views of gangotri peaks. I immediately opened my flickr set and looked for that sunstar i shot at kaluvinayak. I found this one but I am still wondering if this is the one I was thinking about.

Technically Roopkund was my first hike to snow-peaks back on Oct 3, 2009. I did little climbing and skiing in lake tahoe in Dec 2007 but that was no way a trek. perhaps thats why it'll always remain special. plus this trip also comes under my "first 6 months with a DSLR or my first six months of photography" i would say. and yes exactly "what crap i had produced and posted" is what I just thought when going through the album again... well i was still learning the ABCs and oho they aint all that bad, in my rescue but seriously what I need to do is to work on the album again and do some re-processing.. ( I am guessing most of them are either direct out of camera jpeg files or operated in picasa ) btw if you are or a wanna be photog, you must know this is a life time exercise to go back to your previous work and see how you have evolved through time and experience. you just cant grow with out doing that...

Talking about revisiting, I remember I have some pending roopkund blogs as well, I think i was writing about Bhaguvasa night, one day before climbing roopkund, when suddenly "something weird" happend to my laptop and everything just vanished. I was so disappointed that I havent got the mood to get back to the finish that or story about next 2-3 days ever since. such is my mood, anyways, coming back to photos, as I said, I still see some missing photos in the flickr set, which I would want to upload once I get time and I am in the right mood, but looking in to the set, I must say, I have no complains on my compositions... and thats why i think its a good idea, I should pick a few shots from the album which are no matter what, still my favorites and pretty much the foundation of my photography.

I am starting with this shot, the one I am talking about above, and that I am not sure if this is the only sunstar I captured there, I believe there is one on the other side of this mountain that I had shot and I would want to post in future.

this is shot on the way to kaluvinayak I think, i little below the peak and the sun is at the cusp of Kalidak and a series of other mountains of Kumaon himalaya. I was big on sunstar then. and thats was one of the first thing I wanted to shoot, and my Beloved lens Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 helped me exactly do that. Oh! whom not I have sold that lens to. Tokina owes me big time for their sales in bangalore and delhi specially and the places I do not know about. I hope i am not getting pompus. but the lens was my favorite, is and will remain my favorite. and if you are in to landscapes.. you gotta get this baby, and you dont have to pay me for this. seriously!

My second favorite from the trip ( in no order), things that I unknowingly do when shooting landscapes or anything for that matter, I am naturally inclined to portrait orientation, so even when I am shooting landscape my hands just turn 90 and take portraits. secondly I like my eyes to walk from the bottom of the image to the top, from the foreground to the background, exploring every possible details in it. if you visit my stream i think you'll see many images shot this way. this one is Kosi river, close to almora. a little waves in the foreground on a big rock shining in the sun and beautiful reflection in the water make it a perfect memorable image.

No point guessing this is one of my favorite or perhaps the most favorite from the trip. Unfortunately mount trishul is hidden due to clouds but thankfully clouds gave way to Kalidak mountain to fall in to bedni kund and that rainbow, what more one could ask for. it was a beautiful serene evening after long hours of rain.

This is Nanda Ghunti or Nanda Bell. I dont want to say anything, i just loooooove the blue.

I absolutely adore this photo, the clouds were breathtaking this early morning at bedni bugyal, and I actually took another shot to cover all the caps and clouds etceteras in one of the shots, but this composition is what I like. the way it brings out the essence of the place, the highs and lows of the ground, and how those clouds are emerging out of the mountain and slowly taking over the sky, its just other worldly. talk about what simple images do to you.

My next favorite, this image is again a very simple image, not a pano but I have chopped the bottom half of this Ultra wide angle shot. two lucky ones from the group saw this magical view that morning. all the peaks in that direction from Kedarnath to gangotri range, so clear, so close and not a piece of cloud in between as an obstacle. One got to be really lucky or one need to sacrifice a bit something. i did both.

I think I can be proud of showing this curvaceous and rocky path and how it leads to roopkund. I was able to capture the crater inside which the lake is, along with Kalidak and Trishul. You can imagine how much I took to find the perfect spot and angle. Oh Yes I am really proud. but I want to process this image again and may be bring the roopkund out a bit more. ( future work)

I need to find one image shot on top of Junargali ridge to be included in this 10 shots photo essay, its missing from the album, until then, here is the next one. the alpenglow. need I say a thing? ( may be just one, I want to process you again! yeah!)

I have space for only two photographs now, and This has to be one, and if you have seen my mulliyangiri trek images you'll know why, I love the ocean of clouds evolving and if himalayan peaks fills up the background, how could it not be my favorite. and I repeat, I would process it again. yes.

and last but not the least, there are no clouds here, no gorgeous golden peaks and no grasslands, I just want to pick this image for perspective, the way I see see this old rusted iron bridge, I feel like I am walking right on it right now. in a minute i'll cross over and reach didna then bedni and then roopkund again. for how this has been a memorable one in the path to roopkund.

New Photo-book : #BayAreaSaying : Chapter 3

2012-09-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

As I updated in my previous release post, there seemed to be some issue with book preview, as both boxes were showing the same book in the preview, I couldnt find the error, so posting this book in a new post. So here is the new post on my third self published photo book titled "#BayAreaSaying Chapter 3"

I also realized, I had not explore entire set of images from iPhone so I went again and reworked on the book. there are couple of edits and new additions worth 20 pages. this book is more for me than for anyone else, a sort of journal and collective, for keeps, However feel free to preview, review, like/dislike and/or buy it. any/all feedback is welcome.

#BayAreaSaying Chapter 3.0

For the third book in

#BayAreaSaying chapter 3.0 by Poonam Parihar | Make Your Own Book

" #BayAreaSaying Chapter 3" is my first installment of iPhone4S photos. I have selected few seen and rest un-seen instagram images from my stream as well, and have made it as a collective travel journal of 2012. most of the images are from san francisco bay area, and are emotional juxtapositions, and hence comes this title. which is a popular bay area ( # ) hash tag on twitter. the images are personal, and expressive, just like things you want to play hide and seek with.

New Photo-book : Vaishno Devi

2012-09-07T14:26:00.007-07:00

Book-making is an art in itself and a tough one at that. Self-publishing is even more tougher, because you need to look at every single aspect of the book, you have to be all, the author, designer, proof-reader, publisher, and what not.

I was in a book store a few weeks back and I noticed though paper hasn't change much, how innovative and creative covers are these days. I was fairly impressed and pleasantly surprised.

I think writing an entire book is still an herculean task for me, I did test my "photo" bookmaking skills last December using blurb publishing. their print quality and publishing experience is pretty good and it was suggested by few of my friends who have been self-publishing their photo books for quite some time. I went through the process, and successfully created "Jewels of the Silk Route", a photo book featuring bactrian camels of cold deserts, which are sadly, on the verse of extinction. I shot these double humped camels in Nubra Valley, during my long (not so long anymore, as my records are slowly being broken) ladakh trip in 2010. You can view the preview here and also buy if you wish / inclined to. The book features some beautiful shots of Hunder Beauties in all their moods. The Shots are unique and Not the regular camel shots that you see often, as I haven't treated animals like animals.

Having said that, I find it extremely difficult to promote my brand or my work. Self-publicity or inflating my ego by pampering it in various medium is not my thing. I think self-scrutiny is a great characteristic only not that great in these times but still its still good to hold while one is on a path of learning, which is like a life-time seriously. What I am trying to say is there is very thin line between having self-confidence and the quality of being pompous which mostly the artist get inflicted with.

Just some thought that rushed into my mind, which actually makes pretty good sense in this scenario. Book-making does tell you how do you view your own photographs. when you see it online, its just an image, and on paper, its a piece of art. perhaps thats why books will never ever go out of fashion and book stores shall remain magical.

As an Artist its a huge thing to understand, and be self-aware about, that if you understand the connection between a image and a piece of art. I for one want to say, if you take the efforts to push yourself, travel near or far, dissolve in the atmosphere, be one with the subject and pour your imaginations out on a 3x3 LCD, it should be worth a print.

My long promised ladakh book is still a work in progress, though here I am releasing my latest works, both experimental in nature, and mostly shot using only iPhone4S in square format. here the details.

Vaishno Devi

My second book on blurb which I just finished publishing is a total different attempt from what I shoot regularly. I personally love colors, and I believe shooting in color is way too difficult than shooting monochromes, because you dont have "only" two but many shades to deal with. Its quite a task to incorporates them and still not let them take over the story and essence of the image, so hats off to people who bring out the colorful work.

It was a call of the time, that I went to "Vaishno Devi" this july, not carried my DSLR and it so happened that I thought of trying "Noise", Jitter to be precise, as I was constantly on move it made perfect sense to me. as a result I have lots of many-to-many, multiple conversations, subjects, moments, going on in each image. just like hundreds of strangers walking, hiking, riding together towards the same destination, so visible to each other, and still have no sense of other's existence. perhaps thats what pilgrimage is all about?

Vaishno Devi by Poonam Parihar | Make Your Own Book

with that, I say goodnight, some more work in books format is on its way to you, september seems to be a busy month. you can share, buy the books if you wish to, Your feedback, comments, questions, likes are all welcome, you can leave your comments here, on individual book page, on facebook or twitter. I have deleted my facebook pages though due to time constraints I cant handle them any more, so if you wish you can connect on my profile itself.

Atham, Tripunithura and Me

2012-08-22T04:32:00.008-07:00

Alright! Wow! Yes! I 've done it. Finally!

This is all what was coming to my mind, yesterday evening, sitting in ladies waiting room at Ernakulam KSRTC Bus Stand. I felt really good, and the only thing left to accomplish the state of total relief was to reach back home.

Now I am home, and though I wanted to wait, and post it on the later date sometime, I thought I should rather just pour out the whole entire experience and give way to fresh and new thoughts and ideas. so here it goes.

First of all, A very happy Onam to all of you, today is the second day of this 10 days long harvesting festival in kerala, and I am sure, many people will be enjoying the festivities already. The festival begins with a grand procession in temple town of Tripunithura / Thrippunithura, also the early capital of kingdom of Cochin, on the atham day (Atham Nakshatra or Star) of Malayali month Chingam. That's why it is called "Athachamayam" or "Atha /Atta Chamayam", Atham is followed by many other activities, event like boat race, pulikali and other processions etc on next 9 days of the festival.

This is my second procession or parade experience is Kerala. While Kochi Carnival is more of fun and turns out like a cross dressing competition, this is more serious business. its like two recipes slightly similar ingredients but both are different in taste. I Planned and attended Cochin Canival during my south india road trip and This event, after almost 3 years of thinking about it, I have finally been able to attend and this is precisely why I sound so darn excited. and well, I would love to taste some other dishes, but for now I am definitely satisfied.

So where do I begin... perhaps the right place to start will the night bus journey to Ernakulam. how much I was cursing myself and everyone else, for why I was on that bus. huh!. I hate bus journey and specially in the night, though none would have heard me complaining so far but thats very true. Since I could nt decide till the last minute if I really wanted to go, I missed on train tickets, and doing a good check on my contacts, if anyone were going from here, I just contacted my friend in Kochi and Kollam to come meet me up when I am there and boarded the bus. So yes I was literally cursing anyone who's ever done anything bad to me, ( watch out you guys! ) every time the bus stopped I felt like getting down and run back home, and oh did i mention this was my first and last solo bus night trip ever.

Right I am not a traveler really. I think above are certain feelings I fight with every time i get out. Its just like if your crazy nervous before beginning it and once your done with it you are like, okay! Yeah! I could do it. I can do it. and then this iBackpacker is just a mind game, atleast for me, because physically also I am not at all strong, I can say this because I have swollen feet right now.

Anyways, I did it. for once. The journey from bangalore to ernakulam was horrible, I couldnt sleep, I couldnt keep my mind off. all bus stations and road side dhabas on the way, kept reminding me of Trekmaniax times, because all we used to do was less trekking and more checking out road side dhabas and eating. By the time dawn broke, I was in my good senses again, and the view of very striking neon colored houses and chain of coconut trees from the bus window took all my fears and restlessness away. I was looking forward to the trip.

About 8:30 I reached Ernakulam interstate bus stand, ( There is a big reason why I am writing ernakulam, in full every time, wait for it.) Tripunithura is 10Kms away and there are frequent buses and autos to the place. The event starts at Govt Boys high school near statue junction and the town bus stand. Bus dropped me right on the parallel road 1km apart, and i decided to walk.

Tripunithura, its a very cute town with beautiful old style kerala houses. I read it has many temples, but ones I noticed were few of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, great architecture, vast-spread and peaceful. the one of this road to bus stand right in the heart of the town was among one of the top in my list, thanks to the wrong lens mounted on my DSLR body and me hurrying up for the parade, I couldnt shoot it.

The procession begin ontime, Unintentionally though, I kept comparing it with Kochi carnival, here participating were many school kids, cute girls in beautiful princess attires, boys showing kalari moves, and not one but Many king Mahabalis' with their countesses ( from what i understood). What I was interested in was to see all the art forms of kerala in one go, and actually I could up to some extent see most of them, not enormously yet, briefly to satisfy my hunger authentic art faces.
Before I forget, I need to mention this one thing, more than everything else, I salute the people of kerala, young ones to the old, who more than anyone, organizers, spectators or photography enthusiasts like me, are responsible for keeping kerala's true spirit alive. from pulikali dancers who paint their bodies so articulately, to theyyam performers to the drummers and other participants who walk 2km barefoot in the hot sun carrying 50kgs on their head and shoulders. With the dedication they present, not only in parades likes these, but otherwise, for example theyyam which are sort of duty of god for them but only a performance for us, they deserve all the praise and applause.

coming to photography part of it, do I need to see its an unmatched spectacle full of lovely bright colors. I definitely can not estimate how much money, planning and hard work goes in to it, but its a treat for photographers. having said that, its not at all easy to photograph such events with hundreds of people around. I think the lessons I learned in cochin carnival interms of how to shoot and what and with which lenses to, were pretty useful in here. I will be writing more about those details in flickr as I start posting the pictures. for now I would just say, these events are for brave hearted only. you have to 100% there in the moment, put all your energy just like the participants, be as energetic and engaging as they are, and above all wait for the right movement to click. all this makes a difference while you can take 500 pictures and get out of 50 good ones, or you can take 100 pictures and get out with 100 excellent written on them each.

By the time I was done shooting the parade, I was drained out of energy, I took my time, checking out some kerala kasavu sarees, bought one as I was planning to, then took an auto to the hill palace museum. which I had planned for the rest few hours I had, only when I reached there, I got to know that they govt had declared a holiday and they weren't even allowing to see it from outside. After exploring a church close by, since I had plenty of time, I took the bus back to the bus stand, I also thought about my friends suggestion to visit marine drive, which is very close to the bus stand, but funny! the Auto driver told me that it was blocked on some judge's order.

Anyways this is when I was checking out marine drive, on iPhone maps, I realized I was in Kochi. Yes, beat me up, I have forgotten my own lessons since I have been out of touch for almost 2 years, or perhaps it was my iPhone screen, I didn't zoom out and saw the entire map clearly. I was so focussed on finding the 3 points on the map, I had to be, I did not see what was around. I was right in the parallel of fort kochi and the part I had been to before. I am seriously, I couldnt find an explanation of using three names Kochi, Cochin and Ernakulam for one single place. but my mistakes, If I would have seen the map better and had a peaceful much researched and preplanned trip like I used to do, I would have used my time well and to the fullest. my parting thoughts at "ernakulam" and dedicated to "ernakulam".

P.S. I had a peaceful sleep and company of a cute nun on the way back. thank god!...
Pictures coming up on flickr soon.

Rail Journey Memorabilia

2012-08-11T12:39:00.005-07:00

“the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.” - Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

I have to accept, I am not an avid reader, I have to be in certain mood to read. I need to dive in to the texts, and get transported to the world built up by them, filled up with my own imagination. and for that I need one hundred percent focus. so reading in train is certainly not what I ever do. I can put my earphones on, and constantly look outside the window to find something new, when the view is monotonous I end up starting at faces inside the train, every image develops a thought, every thought becomes an experience, every experience a story.

for a very long train journey, specially if you're traveling in those AC coaches, where people suddenly becomes so quiet, well behaved with no political discussions, no one entering and exiting, no kids crying, or even if something is happening around you, you pay least attention, a scenic view outside the window, is such a relief, specially for people, who as i said above, cant do nothing much but observe and of course in case of me, who has option to shoot "with camera" its a blessing for the Milo in me. I get extremely bored in train trips, precisely the reason I have n't travelled in train for a very long time, ( excluding the light rails of course). In last one month I did 5 train trips, ranging from 4 hours long to 36 hours, the first one was from Delhi to Jammu and back, another was to Etawah from delhi and back, and the last and the most tiring one indeed was the Delhi- Bangalore Trip, this time vis Hyderabad which I never did before, though the route is not much different I think.

With plenty of photos to share and so much to say about, the pilgrimage and of course the visit to the native land, I thought I'd compile the boring and not so boring train part in one post. so here are couple of photos with/ out stories.

{ Delhi to Jammu }

Train journey is one, but from home to platform is another. battling traffic, cool metro ride, to 3 people sitting on one rikshaw ridden by a man, again those same thoughts crowded my mind. the number one - never think of that extra buck in malls and restaurants but when it comes to giving money to sabji wala or rikshaw we bargain. as he rode, through high and lows of the road, and the shadow of me zoomed from my left to the right, following the lamp posts. the next thought comes in to my mind, how much value labor has? can you earn being physically strong? there is one saying in hindi, "Akal badi ki Bhains" who's superior, the brain or buffalo. I am trying sorting it out, how much does he earns in a day, in a month, does he eat enough to keep him strong to pull 3 people, or he is being really greedy cheating on with own physique.

The Station has arrived, I am hiding a coin of 5 rupee in my fist, he asked for 40, dad settled it with 35 I guess, I wanted to give him that extra 5, while my dad walks away. mom wouldn't say anything i know. but its kinda insulting to my father if i did so. I get down, try to jump on to the high footpath, i almost fell in the dark, my mind was somewhere else I think. anyways, I pick up my stuff, look at the guy, and start walking behind my parents towards the platform bridge.

"I think he's satisfied. 35 is what he was expecting. may be thats what is the actually deserve. I dont know. "

We are almost an hour and half early. the station is no fancy, there is absolutely nothing except ofcourse people rushing to catch their trains. ( I can say since I have seen many in my childhood.) since its the month of Shravan, there are plenty of young boys in saffron tshirts and shorts, carrying their Kawad to haridwar. "they are suppose to walk right?" I ask myself. "ah its too much to ask these days" there are discussions going on wearing synthetic and modern yet more comfortable attire to a pilgrimage, "isn't dhoti-kurta convenient enough?... may be not. this is much easier to walk in." some explain. BTW their are factories in old delhi who make Tshirts and shorts specially for Kawad Yatra. how amazing I thought. saffron is business.

Suddenly I remember, That Balika Vadhu episode might be over by know, let me check if its been uploaded, and yes it is. first I watch it with my dad, ( he, pretty impressed with quality, and streaming!! he basically wants the iPhone for himself. precisely) then I watch it with my mom, and yeah the time is up. we are in the train and its about to leave.

{ You can get a lot of dilli darshan while on train, technically the people below the poverty line (not really sometimes), living in mud houses along side the rail tracks. I have a lot to say about them, in some other post may be }

express train or not, its so irritating when they all of a sudden stop in some wonder-where land. Ya they need to let the other trains pass, and its totally understandable, but dint the train drivers ever hear, its "Chalti ka naam gaadi"?

the interesting part about this photo... many ones and as many parallel lines.. could you find a few!. btw think i took it with wide angle or a fish eye on iphone.

They say, you become what surrounds you.... the atmosphere, people, mood, everything influences you in one way or the other. but well thats a big picture, in this small black and white picture, whats not visible is that train is delayed, it is stopped at some weird place and simply not moving. while I can kill my time looking and others and shooting pictures and brainstorming whats going on in their mind, they have all this to do! get in to a healthy conversation, play like a child, look outside try to find something interesting, get lost in your thoughts, or take a short nap with face resting in your palms... which one works for you?

Ah the Dal pakoris and that mouth watering chutney, though cold, tasted like heaven. they are certainly not alien dishes, but sure had the taste of the region. In Punjab, I could still see the trees loaded with raw mangoes, july though is way beyond the season, or is it not. I am never been a Master chef contestant, in none of my incarnations i guess, but I have good understanding of food items, ingredients, it was a simple chutney or you might like to call it sauce, made with tomatoes, red chillies and some really tasty bit sweet raw mangoes. and as I said, no mango i taste back here tasted like that one.

Part II - Updated on Aug 14

What can i say about this ever busy and bursting Jammu Station. Its truly a definition of a transit point. About 50000 passengers every day is a crazy statistics, and about 90% of the people who arrive at the station leave to katra and other destinations almost immediately. With so many people traveling everyday to this city, there is hardly much info available on internet about Jammu, and search engines queries either result in Srinagar or they precisely take you to totally weird place.

Anyways, I had a plan to explore Jammu city and Udhampur ( That famous Jammu - Udhampur train route included), but thanks to the weather and other factors. Those plans are part of future now, if I would ever go. Now more about Jammu and rest of the Vaishno devi trip in other posts...!

{ Delhi to Bangalore }

Ask me what was the highlight of this trip and answer would be rain. the hopesoon moonsoon returned after a long break and it did like never before. I even heard news of flood in the areas near Bhopal as I was crossing it. It kept raining as the express chugged through the UP west regions to MP and Maharashtra, thats the part of the journey I pretty much slept through. My iPhone says this shot was taken at Jijora MP, I m not sure, why I feel it was Lalitpur UP but anyways, this is only where I braved the rain and tried to get out of my shutter island. rest of the time it was that mighty window who kept me company.

precisely the reason I have a plenty of shots to share! This is one of my favorite shot from Bina, MP. That red-white carriage in the left corner of the picture looked stunning from the window, but I think train was moving at very high speed so by the time I pressed the shutter and iPhone captured the image, this is only part I could capture. I still love the liquified dripping visual of a wet platform.

the very charming rain drops, the Train and the greenery outside together in motion, feels so poetic. what made this image is so unique was this continuous spread of green, very close to the rail tracks, which I think I dint find later on.

Oh Yes as soon as I heard of the flood, I had my eyes locked on to that wide window. I remember seeing this one river in MP while traveling b/w bangalore to delhi, I dont remember the name of. but either i missed it or i guess the train change the route somewhere, and this was the only canal ( dont think its a river ) that i found on the way and I could click.

Before I go, here is one of my favorite shot, with a very unique window view and my overused yet happy feet in. it was shot somewhere in Kudumalakunte, Karnataka. I love the way this leafless tree is spread in the window creating a absolutely unique frame dry leaves and branches on the ground and the shrubs, give this a dry-land sort of feel. which is in total contrast to what I had experienced in earlier part of my journey.

To be continued...

Haridwar Instagram 'ed

2012-06-22T07:42:00.006-07:00

If You're on the road to salvation and you've nt taken a dip in sacred cold water of holy ganges at har-ki-pauri yet, you've missed the very first step. Even if you don't believe in hinduism and god and salvation, this place is very inviting for every type of travelers, be the ones looking for pleasant weather and natural beauty in the hilly terrain or the ones who want to taste the culture of holy cities of India.

Haridwar literally means the gateway to God and marks the beginning of river ganges journey from the mountains to the plains of north india.

Hardiwar is one of most significant of the Hindu pilgrimage. according to ancient hindu mythology, Prince Bhagirath performed penance to rescue the souls of his ancestors who had died due to the curse of Kapil Muni. His prayers were answered and Ganga flowed from the locks of Lord Shiva and revived the sons of King Sagara. Therefore, according to the Hindus salvation of the ancestors can be reached by standing on the holy waters at Har-ki-pauri.

Mansa Devi, and Chandi Devi are two famous goddesses temples situated on the hilltops on each side of Har-ki-Pauri. Mansa Devi temple is situated on Bilwa Parvat, A hike is required to visit the temple, however, there is cable car or rope-way connectivity to temple. The stair to the temple starts Near Har-ki Pauri.

For Chandi Devi Temple You have to take a bus, taxi and cross the bridge, to reach Neel Parvat, from where you can take a cable car and reach the mountain top.

Hundreds of devotees from different region of the India visit here everyday. Haridwar also hosts many religious fairs and festivals on various auspicious days and months through out the year, during which Lacs of devotees visit the place. ( above : women from Bihar taking a dip in ganges on the occasion of chhath puja )

Ganga Dussera, Kanwar Mela, and Somvati Amavasya, during the months of June to August, are few very popular festivals in which lacs of devotees travel to Haridwar to take water from holy Gages to perform Lord Shiva Puja.

Rishikesh near haidwar is another and one of the best located pilgrimage centers along the right bank of the Ganga where awaits a breathtaking experience of natural beauty and undiscovered wildlife, Not to mention the peace and tranquility of a landscape associated with 'munis' and meditation. Today Rishikesh has become a center for learning and research in yoga and meditation- the renowned Indian methods for mental and physical health. The week-long International Yoga festival which attracts participation from all across the world is held here annually in the month of February on the banks of serene Ganga.

Rishikesh is also popular amongst adventure-lovers for various activities like camping, white-water rafting, bungee jumping and backpacking opportunities it offers. Dehradun and Mussouri are other famous hill stations near haridwar.

( Devi Sati Temple on Neel Parvat )

(Goddess Chandi Temple )

A Unique Lord Ganesha Statue on Neel Parvat.

View of Ganges from Mansa Devi Rope-way

Har-Ki-Pauri in during Sunset

Lord Shiva Statue at Haridwar railway station.

-> Haridwar is about 200Km from National Capital Delhi, and is well connected via road, rail and air.

Notes on Photography : All shots are from a day-night trip to haridwar in November 2007, I used a Canon Point & Shoot then, do not remember which model though. cropping and processing is done on jpeg files with Instagram 2 app on iPhone 4s.

Nantucket Island, New England

2012-06-21T15:32:00.004-07:00

I wouldn't have noticed it at all if not the unique boat-shape of this island glowing in the sunset. Interestingly it looks like a fish-head from the opposite side, but I was too late to capture that. Also slightly visible is the "elbow of sand", peninsula, cape cod.

While Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was a landmark for early explorer, Nantucket Island in north atlantic ocean is now a popular summer destination famous for both history, architecture and the natural beauty, which I can sure imagine seeing it from the plane.

So next time you're in boston, perhaps you can plan a trip across the atlantic and see how it looks from the land. More Info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantucket

A Window to the Unknown

2012-06-21T11:50:00.006-07:00

"Cecil says, each new window contributes to the breadth of our view.

I say, I just don't like to lose what's in the window. "

presenting here a series of window shots i took in my ladakh trip. the very first photograph below was shot at leh place on my final evening in leh-ladakh. the image in the mirror view is a zanskari dancer/folk dance performer who's getting ready for his evening performance.

1. Reflection:

Every evening a group of musicians and dancers both male and female, present cultural show, folks songs and dances from various regions of ladakh e.g. changthang-spiti folklores, zanskar etc to entertain the visitors in leh palace.

2. Masquerade

"village kid and two young masked monks hanging out of the monastery temple window in korzok"

apart from performing regular tasks like dance, processions and literal help, these young kids also do a job of maintaining discipline in crowd during dance festivals roaming around with a stick in hand, wearing the masks and colorful robes. however their actual task is collect the money by singling out few folks from the crowd , bless them, and get some money from them in return. I am not sure what this ritual is called. but it can be irritating if the monk kid is real mischievous and he's got ways.

3. Echelons

when you travel to a place for the first time, no matter how many of photographs you have seen, or texts you've read before, its still remains strange to you until you experience it yourself. hadn't that been true, the books and photos would have long replaced traveling. and having said that, you cant plan your experience either. the idea is to go with the flow and enjoy the journey.

this series of window photographs wasn't a planned shoot either. its more like coming back home and find out "oh, i have shot so many windows in ladakh, lets put 'em together, should i? "

to the people of north india, the structure of these windows might not be a unusual and strange, because this is exactly how the windows are constructed in villages of north india plains. though these are mostly painted black using charcoal or something similar, if not the regular color of geru red and the wood is thicker and solid enough to last through generations.

The village of korzok in changthang, ladakh however have a little uniqueness about these windows. the mud houses of dusty village, are more delicate than a lady whom you dare not touch. ya! from a look of those it feels they can fall down any time, still stands through the roughest of weather through out the year. the windows mostly glassed or occasionally open with no shield of any sort, are constructed in parallel and hence make a layer of windows (sometime 2-4) to see through entire house and a glance of whats on the other side. in the above 2 layers of windows of a store house, i have found a view to die for.

4. Murals

If you have been to any place of Buddha's presence, you' must be aware of stupas or chortens. chortens, also called chaitya or pagoda usually signifies a monument, a domed memorial, sort of a tomb of great individuals.

Stupas shape and size generally evokes the seating figure of Buddha with eight variations as, Stupa of enlightenment, of many auspicious doors, of commemorating victory and appeasement of existence and nirvana, and also teacher's descent, evoking the lotus heap, reminding of the miracles, and marking the victory over all misadventures. More in to the real world, the structure corresponds to 5 elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether -- is visually divided into a base, mound and pyramidal steeple, which are, in turn, segmented.

Sometimes its the color with which stupas are painted. which represents the basic elements of life. its goes like a combination of blue white and red, and more. While in Nubra Valley, going further hunder valley, you'll find many sets of small sized chortens in 3 colors. however unlike anywhere that I have seen in Ladakh, Stupas in Sumoor village, (towards panamik and siachen glaciar) have a small door (e.g. 10X10 inches) kind of openings where people do offering. the size also differs and height is reduced to the waist level, and the area is extended. this unique room mulitple window openings, wall murals and fresco paintings, depicting various natures/types of buddha, in above photograph, I found on the way to samstanling monastery sumoor, near a stupa of sumoor chortens' description.

the ruined structure might be depicting the stupa of many auspicious doors or it could possibly be an enclosure, a building where people can be protected from the weather. as the chaityas' definition goes. I find it simply fascinating.

5. Entourage

A self explanatory window on a nicely painted mud wall, sending out a message of going green. are you following? ( PS I wonder whats that pussycat is doing right in the middle :P )

6. A Good Shop Window

A small window tea shop at North Pullu, Nubra Valley, which also is a police check post and military camping spot. if you're traveling to/from Nubra Valley this is one of the pit stop for a short tea/coffee break. North Pullu is at 16000ft altitude and pretty cold through out the year. wont u need a cup now? :P

7. Social Rank

here is one in contrast to the one above and also shot at the same place.

these two photographs both shot in the village padum of zanskar valley. here I find this window in the above image, which is a window to a rich kitchen of a well established comparatively family with tons of cutleries, dish tv connections and what not. the other however has old torn clothes hanging in the window with nothing to sneak on to, (but there is more in the frame, wait till you see ) for now its a representation of your status.

Belum Caves & Gandikota, The Grand Canyon of India

2012-01-26T22:00:00.009-08:00

These aren't the days of Marco Polo's or Robinson Crusoe's. Thanks to Columbus and his look alikes, There is nothing big left in the world to explore and our generation is best left to explore Avatars and Pandora's floating mountains. We don't write books based on our travel. apparently books are worth only if we are doing around the world in certain number of days, you know! so we write blogs to fulfill our quest of sharing our experiences or just blabber about our achievements and then throw in the big blue sea called Internet. We, the paper-free generation. There is not much left to readers' imagination either. since we, the Modern-Day Columbus who know how to use every damn kind of camera ( yup ;)) in the world, provide enough photographs from each and every angle. Still, somehow, since we do believe in Prophet Muhammad's saying..

"Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled"

and DIY ( Do it yourself, i.e. you know what i am saying. it actually applies to everything in life) We keep up with our titbits of exploring what we like and dislike including small things and small places.

(check out all the images from belum caves and gandikota on flickr )

Before I go ahead, here is a disclaimer, whatever I wrote above, with a We is totally I, me and myself. You don't want to own it. don't ! that's perfectly all right. So well, as you can already see above with pictures and title of this post, this writeup is all about places. I doubt if they are unexplored anymore. atleast one of them. but 2 years back when I visited this places, it certainly became a super-hit in our network and we sure sent few bunch, running and sweating all wanting to jump of the cliff ~500ft down in the river pennar, and if not, explore a river running deep down the ground which took the shape of 3.5KM cave with natural formations all over, i.e. a truly psychedelic escapade to two of the natures' finest wonders. All this in about 250-300Km distance from hip and happening International city of Bangalore. India indeed is full of surprises.

After we did our initial research, saw a photo or two, we, a small survivor not so roadies but lets explore all jungles and mountain peak in the world gang, set out in a very modern day AC taxi aka Toyota Innova, on a friday night with 6 of us plus our driver, that does make us 7 Yes we do treat our driver as human being and as one of us. we started at about 10 w/ out dinner, but it took us about 12 to reach Andhra-Karnataka Border, and when we stopped at one small shop on National Highway 7, I think they had pretty much nothing to offer except India's ever favorite poor man's drink, Tea. (Its my favorite too btw and no I am not poor, handle the contradiction, please!)

The onward overnight journey had nothing specific to offer, we kept stretching our legs left right making muliple crosses inside the car, changing seats often and some crazy songs in the same CD since all other CDs refused to play and we had no heart to listen to Kannada songs at midnight while riding under the stars. however, it was definitely one kannada song, the horror kind, which helped us wake the driver up when he stopped the car took a forced nap, in an old petrol station with no petrol, located somewhere, in the middle of Anantpur and Tadipatri state highway. ( we ofcourse dint want him to sleep but go on and reach belum asap, how inhuman of us).

The road till Tadipatri is alright. Belum and Gandikota in different directions from the main junction of the town where the straight road state highway takes you. if you go right, you reach Gandikota, if you take a left, you go to Belum caves. What we did was to book one room (6-8 beds) in Punnami lodge at Belum for 2 days, since there were no other better option around the area, including tadipatri of course. So we continued our Journey towards Belum and I still remember it was still dark, when we saw the Ultra-cement plant approaching, and with all the lights and sparkles from so far, it did look nothing less than one approaching San Francisco. ( Totally me again, you might think otherwise) it sure was like a small city on on the hilltop. and fortress perhaps, and I loved it. I still regret not stopping and taking a photograph since i kinda thought we'd be coming back from this side at about same time, so i could take a night shot later. but as you know or will know soon. we dint.

Nothing else interesting at dawn that I could remember, and by the time sun rose, we were at Belum Caves. I have to say, I liked the place almost instantly. almost impossibly peaceful, surrounded by small hillocks, (not many actually) which we thought first were the caves ( yup you wont think since you'd read it already) the famous kurnool black tiles and few tractors splashing sand, and oh a beautiful Buddha Statue. Top it all, the big clean and fresh room in the lodge, Oh it was such a blessing ( considering we are jungle men/women and we crash almost everywhere sometimes yes!) If it wasn't for golden sunlight and yellow-red sun shining on Buddha, I wouldn't have got off the bed and went for a shoot. few did prefer to stay in the room though, others went on shooting spree (only shoot photos, we aren't killing types really).

There was a downside too though, I think there wasn't no tea early morning, the restaurant was closed and there is pretty much no other facility in the entire vicinity of " happy making tea sort" so we have to wait till 10 AM for the restaurant to open, and we starving to kill ( not in literal meaning), ate everything put on our table. hold on, it was all veg. I remember. Andhra style food. some found it spicy but I cried with happiness. since I, Rajput Northy, love anything chilly in any form. but here to your giggle. its been almost 2 years, and i m sure you'd be well pampered there. (happy? )

Now that I have been there, Wiki or any other page, I can understand, it was a little blurred to me though, Yes the caves were first explored about 130 years back. they came in to APTDC (Andhra tourism in short) notice in late 1980s and they decided to shake hands with ASI ( Archeological society, i.e. the official explorer, and protector of all history) and I agree the caves are in good hands. since the timing is maintained, there is no food items allowed, not even water. so absolutely nothing to throw inside, and a Guide is mandatory. someone to look over the naughty you eh. there is only half part of the cave, which is open to public, I have no idea what they are doing with the rest of it. but whatever is open, is well illuminated and its a better sight than any Disney created caves and Dinosaur houses, in which they take you in train. this is not for kids, or grown up kids this is one real deal.

In case you're still wondering whats big about this 100+ feet down under passage, then let me tell you. there is history, there is mythology, and ofcourse there is natures old and long process which has made this underground caves wall, take different formations such as stalagmite and stalactite. these formations resembles so many things, some gets as close to as a shivlinga. there are freshwater spring deep inside one of the chambers which you need to go climbing iron stairs and then in to a narrow gauge. and there are simple meditation halls created as well. once you go you realize its important to go exploring with a guide, else you, wonder kid of the new world, might get lost into well lit and semi lit passages. while the heat takes every ounce of your body water, you keep jumping from lions gate to musical chamber to patalganga.it took us about 2+ hours to see the entire cave and be back to the opening. we practically drank 10l water each plus sitting under the handpump cooling down the burning skin. we were this thirsty. Apparently our guide told us we were supposed to lose about 2KG weight in the cave. hmm. did we feel light, I have no idea.

After coming out we did some munching session, including having a lots of ice creams and junk food, (we had a breakfast plus lunch already) and rejoiced our moments inside, with many bottles of mountain dew-dar ke aage jeet hai. I wonder if I have to really explain that in words how you feel inside, its different for everyone, and as I mentioned earlier a little should be left to imagine. the Pictures I was posted in above slider, are low light shoots since I did not want to show people inside or take the focus away on the pathway etc. this is the pure visualization of the place and how gorgeous it looks in different color lights. Well, You have to see for yourself.

There must be few other things come up by now around the cave, as planned then, we however, took a tiny little rest, in that really hot afternoon and then began our drive to Gandikota the same day. we took the Jammalamadugu route to reach the reservoir. which is about 60KM. the road is/was bad then, there is nothing much around. so while we are on that road, I should rather take you to history of Gandikota and what its all about.

Kota in most of the languages means fort, Gandikota is ruins of a fort built around 11th century, by a Chalukya king, The fort I believe was impassable because of the surrounding hills and the deep valley and certainly the deep gorge by Pennar and one more river, was its saving pass, since no one could win the fort, until it was later conquered and exploited. There are two beautiful temples towards the north, next to the gorge, built in 1100 and another is built in Vijayanagara style temple architecture. there is a mosque as well and a big deep pool which I was told was used for bath after killings, or something like that. this fort is still inhibited btw. the town Jammalamadugu is just 15kms. however you wouldn't find much rides until unless if things have been drastically changed in past two years.

So one is about the fort, and second is about the canyons which we are about to see. lets not ruin the surprise, we did the entrance from the east. i.e. just after crossing the town , we took the bridge and an actually good road on the hills after certain hickup, it took us not much time to reach to the gate of the fort. till now thing was really visible, except some water bodies far right. which we thought was gandikota reservoir but it wasn't since we came from the opposite side. it took us about 2 hours or so to reach this place from Belum Caves, not to far really. this is when we dint anticipate the 40KM of the roads to be this bad. Anyways, No tea again, we had some coconut etc water from the shop before the entrance and then we headed inside.

Gandi is Gorge in Telagu, the canyon which you cant see even if you roam around the small fort, but view of the barren dry red land is still amazing. a little walk inside the fort towards west takes you to the pigeon tower, and there you realize, oh people are still living in the fort. but does anyone knows where our canyon is, i guess not. perhaps they do, but we are unable to exchange a word with them. language problem huh. we can certainly see a temple on our left and something high further on our right but where is the river flowing. hmm.. is this the right place? or we need to cross the mountain and then only we can see our so called grand canyon. ( no one called it that before actually until we saw it and shouted our lungs out, so its all okay uhmm)

some of us left behind, some went to see the temple, and me and another fellow, jungleman walked on the road ahead, to see if we have any luck finding what we came here for. there was big mosque and a van standing up on the road and lots of school/college boys and girls too. we wondered if they came to see the fort or the gorge. we tried to pass our confusion forward to the maruti van driver but he dint understand either. so I thought of taking a short right, uphill before we go further down on that straight road which does point to a curve in a hill pretty much looking like if a huge river ran over it.

On the right we had that pool and then further up the temple, but i wasnt really looking at it rather trying to find if there is something hidden behind those huge rocks and if at all we are lucky and we find the gorge. in the hope i ignored the temple and walked a little ahead and just couldnt believe my eyes. it was that couple of hundreds feet tall tower, standing on its own on the bank of a river totally on its own, as if it was telling everyone, how strong it is, still. and what next, I started shouting and giggling which i generally don't, but hello, i was the Columbus of the day and I had the right ;)

It was a bit difficult and dangerous too, to climb through rocks to reach this side of the edge of the rock wall to get a good look at our own grand canyon, but we had no issues. the wind was strong on the top, it was helluva scary to hold on to that edge and look down, but it was worth it. the view was something to behold. it was nothing man made really. it was all nature. and it existed in the neighborhood. who thought it was. we took the pictures from every angle, possible of everyone, hanging, flying, dragging and giggling with happiness ( nut cases) , we paved the way for others (college crowd) also to come up
some of them actually went down the wall created to go down to the river, but we were happy up. it was getting dark and when someone came screaming only we realize this is an ASI site, and everything gonna get close to tourists at 6PM. we still had temples to explore. and so we did. paying some bucks and a ride to the town to the caretaker.

so if you haven't got it why we call it grand canyon is because of the red granite gorges and green river. this might not be as grand as grand canyon itself, but it indeed is massive. the river flows along for quite a distance, and we actually saw it from one point. so we can not really estimate how long the gorges are though its deep and wide enough. the caretaker did tell us about the boat ride in the river as well. which certainly dint happen the time we were there. March, the beginning of the summer but yes it was certainly one place we wanted to explore in full. me too. haven't yet got a chance though :-/

We went back to belum because of two reasons. one the direct road to tadipatri was not safe in the dark, we were told and secondly we like the guest house so much, we wanted to crash asap. the dinner was also not available after 9-10PM so we decided to have food in Jammalamadugu ( what a tough name, i m writing it for the last time huh) town itself. and it was indeed tasty not sure it was hunger or something else, we were licking fingers but.

Keeping the second day of this already successful trip easy, we started late, had a nice spicy breakfast, looked around the small houses enroute tadipatri, built with kadapa black tiles, which also reminded me of houses in muraina, Madhya Pradesh, which are made of similar red tiles. we later reached hindupur, had an amazing lunch and then reached lepakshi temple, explored it leisurely and got back in bangalore about 6 easily!. (easy-vizy told ya!)

Route Map :

Below is the route we took. For the return trip, We took a took a diversion towards Hindupur to visit Lepakshi enroute bangalore, and were back in the city by evening 6.

The Place is easily accessible for a weekend trip, from Hyderabad and other cities as well.

View Larger Map

Trip Logistics :

This trip is easy to plan on your own. the best way to travel to these two places is 4 wheeler, hired or your own. however if you wish to motorbike, you can do so. for those who want to visit only Gandikota, there is a diversion from Tadipatri, the road leads you to the reservoir.

Its been two years since I visited the place, I am sure the APTDC Punnami Guest house and restaurant under construction at Gandikota then, must be up and running now. i.e. you must be having an option to stay there. Otherwise, The guest house at Belum Caves is best place to stay. the booking details for belam caves are avilable on APTDC website.

Best Time to Travel : October to Feb since the Belum Caves underground heats up to incredible high and can dry you off very quickly. the food items and water bottles are not allowed inside the cave. such however is not the case at Gandikota. but being in the open dry land, Summer must be avoided.

Responsible and Green Travel : Both the sites, Belum Caves, and Gandikota fort and canyon, including temples and mosque are protected by Archeological Society of India. Hence using the tripod is one thing not allowed at any of these sites. also I wouldn't ask you to tap or not tap to hear the sound coming from stalactite formation. The caves are well lit to see and admire different formations.

Word of Caution for Gandikota : as I mentioned in the blog, Gandikota is a bit dangerous, so be careful if you want to climb the boulders or you want to go down the gorges.

P.S. I am not posting any details about Lepakshi, here, will write another post for that.