Binsar - Part 9 - A fishy story

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan

Binsar - Part 9 - A fishy story

The first river we spotted on out Binsar trip was the Kosi, which joined us a short way from Kathgodam. She accompanied us most of the way, weaving her way among the mountains, as we followed the winding road alongside. We were struck by how dry the river was, and the huge rocks and boulders which made up her bed, and Samhith kept looking for an opportunity to collect stones, but we couldn’t find a suitable place to do so, and moved on.

The dry bed of the Kosi River

On our return journey too, we joined the river soon, and this time our driver asked us if we would like to stop by the river for a while. Thinking of this as another chance to collect stones, we agreed, and he stopped by a small hotel/restaurant, situated on a ridge over the river. There was a flight of steps leading down to the river and we proceeded towards it, expecting to see the river bed as usual.

As we started down the steps, we were approached by a man who asked if we would like ‘fish pakoras’. I refused politely, saying that we were vegetarians, and both, he and our driver burst out laughing! It seems he had asked us for ‘pakoras (vegetables dipped in batter and fried) for the fishes’, and this stumped me further! Whoever had heard of fish eating pakoras!!! Well, seeing my ignorance, the man proceeded to explain that this part of the river had plenty of fish, and that they ate pakoras! Well, we decided to try it out, and buying a few, proceeded on our way towards the river, thrilled to see so much water in it!

The Kosi again, this time with water!

Plenty of stones, but too huge for us to carry!

Samhith, as usual was super-excited, and he went as near as he could to the water, and started throwing the pakoras in, thrilled to see the huge number of fishes which turned up to eat them! instead of talking more about the wonderful sight, let me take you along with me through my photographs…….

The fish turn up for the pakoras!

And finally, here is a video of the fishes.... I was fascinated by the play of sunlight on the rocks, so that is what the video begins with.....

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

Ladakh - Planning The Trip

Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we

Bhedaghat - Home of the 81 Yoginis

The Narmada flows down the mountains , carving out a path for herself as she makes her way down to the plains of Central India. She cascades from the rocks, her fine spray making it appear as if billows of smoke (dhuan) arise from the flowing streams of water (dhaar), giving it the name Dhuandhar. Dhuandhar Falls The force of her flow creates a gorge , smoothening and carving out the rocks into fantastic shapes, the pure white of the rocks standing starkly against the shades of the water. It is a joy to cruise down the river in a boat, seeing the natural contours created by the river, now famous as the Marble Rocks. We are at Bhedaghat, located on the banks of the Narmada near Jabalpur, where thousands of visitors turn up to see these natural landscapes, creations of the sacred Narmada, and pay obeisance to her. However, to me, the most interesting thing about Bhedaghat, isn’t the falls or the rocks, or even the river. What makes Bhedaghat special is t

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