the weekend that was....

In 48 hours the total distance traveled was of 1700 kms plus and was covered by all the possible means of transport, including a flight worth more than my one month's house rent & sharing a berth, that too in the sleeper coach. Both the experiences, irrespective of the price paid or saved, stirred the adrenalin levels conspicuously.

All these efforts were made to reach Bandhavgarh National Park in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. The density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is one of the highest known in India and you really have to be blind to miss tiger spotting (not quite true)

Wiki trivia – core forest area of 105 square kilometer and buffer area spread over the forest divisions of Umaria and Katni totals 437 square kilometer.
Legend has it that this park got its name from the most prominent hillock of the area, which is said to be given by Lord Rama to Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka, hence the name Bandhavgarh (Sanskrit: Brother's Fort)

Our weekend escape had all the elements of adventure, action, comedy, romance, fun, relaxation and luxury. Wherein the Jungle offered adventure, the resort was pure luxury bliss, and the company made sure that there were no dull moments.

It took us two safaris to spot “Mahammen” like the early bird catches the worm and the second mice gets the cheese, getting up late finally paid off.

P.S. if you are looking for an awesome weekend, closer to nature, under the open sky with fireflies & tree houses do visit Bandhavgarh & stay at Syna resort.

P.P.S – it’s got a swimming pool & Jacuzzi as well

P.P.P.S – Go for more than 2 days.

Pics - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150343024049008.418540.795269007&l=546ce4801d

think big and even bigger ;)

Choti cheez toh humne sochi hi nahi ;) 

Checked out the latest from the luxury car maker Audi A7 Sportback and yeah that Deepika aunty :P 

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A perfect synthesis of prestige, sportiness and modern technology, the Audi A7 combines the strengths of a coupe, a sedan and an avant in a highly attractive concept which truly symbolizes progressiveness.Click here for more information

Chalti ka naam Gaadi

www.gaadi.com

Travel & photography is the new singing & dancing. Every second person I know, owns a DSLR these days & loves to travel, nah nothing wrong about it, in fact its inspiring, places people visit, pictures they click, it’s quite inspiring & thanks to facebook  we get almost real time updates.

And I am no different, I too love to pack and move and when I have my camera in my hand, the world around me appears diverse, colorful, and full of fascinating life.

I am a curious person, and my camera is my probe to satisfy that curiosity – to understand a moment, what led to it, and accept it as it is. When I capture a moment through my lens, you get to see not just what my eyes saw, but perhaps, also what my mind processed.

The bouquet of subjects I capture is diverse, and it expands as I continue to explore.

Often I find myself so charmed by colors that I could gaze at them oblivious to everything else.

Landscapes soothe my mind, while the water and sand invite stillness in me. Animals – alive and guiltless – make me wait till they smile with their brilliant eyes. But the most expressive are People – the wrench of sadness, the jolt of rage, kids and their innocence, men at work, a mothers’ charm, a priests’ aura, the gardeners skin, and more – and that is what I endeavor to capture.

Through my pictures, I hope, you will be able to read into the un-uttered words of creation.

Thanks for stopping by. I am learning as I go, and hope you like it :)

 

Mp3

Life is fun when you don’t have to go to office and you don’t particularly die for a long weekend. So while the entire corporate janta was going mad about planning for the long weekend thanking good Friday, I was home with no plans in particular (fine ! that’s not new)

I did what I am good at – delegation, and within few moments I had a plan ready and all I had to do was to act, which I very well did.

So the journey began, which ended in 3 nights with 3 different experiences.

Day 1 – Bhopal >> Hoshangabad >> Suhagpur >> Unknown territory (it was all kept hush hush) Any trip needs a camera else how would our friends on fb know ;) so we bought a camera (yeah we are rich people) *all the pics in this album is courtesy Saurabh & his super cool camera. Next we reached the national park called Paraspani where we were accompanied by our dear collector sahib who made no mistakes in his hospitality. The night was spent in a” van gram” which had no lights or network but had the best starlit sky possible. We were looking up the entire night spotting shooting stars and we did =)

Day 2 – Paraspani >> Pachmarhi Clean roads with less traffic made the short distance even shorter. Pachmarhi is a quite laidback town which made us go some 5 or 10 years back in time. Beautiful, green and lazy are the words I would want to use for it, though it offers some touristy things like sunset point, waterfall etc.

Day 3 –Pachmarhi >> Madai – By far the prettiest backdrops I have seen in MP, so much to say that I will visit again during or post monsoon. We encountered some animals but again, the highlight was the landscape .


In transit we came across suicidal birds, crossed rivers – once in a car & once by a boat, clicked pics, cracked some really random jokes & yeah importantly we figured that Honshangabad does offer FM radio stations ;) 

Pics - http://goo.gl/pZqIJ

a tear & a smile

Was caught once again in thoughts that were darker then the kajal in my eyes yet brighter than my spirit. I didn’t know if I was happy or sad, if I should laugh or cry? 

This state of mind was not a result of specific something or someone. It just happened.

When my eyelids were heavy with sleep, mind was yearning to wander off somewhere, making it hell of a task for the brain to accomplish doing both. 

So I stared blankly at the empty ceiling, and noticed a quiet line dividing through it, but it wasn’t much after that humming mosquito began to fight for attention by its amusing rhythmic noise. So the train of thought was lost never to be caught again. And the melodious mosquito got what it wanted - an applause =)

So the focus shifted to books lying on the bed, and I wondered if I should pick them up or if I could get away with the being-too-busy-doing-nothing justification. I settled down for the reason that light was not enough to read, and the fact that I don’t want to squander away my newly bought glasses.

When the room is sparsely decorated, there aren’t a lot of objects that can arrest your thoughts, and so letting the mind stroll and oscillating between past, present & future.

It was fascinating how I kept thinking of all the mistakes made in the past and how am I going to revise them in the future, completely glossing over all the new ones I am making in the present. 

Going back as far as I could, and thinking about each and every mistake I made, rivers began to damn up in my eyes and when the doors could hold no more, well, lets just say the water supply restored in my area for a week at least. Once that dried up, the ever-hopeful brain quickly decided that no matter how thick I was in the past, the future will be error free – and with that came a lasting smile and some rosy thoughts had begun to get together in my mind.. 

In this struggle of the tears and smiles we fall short to assess the incident that comes along each of these mistakes, the experience which is much more precious than those pearls lost of those pearls yet to be gained.

MP again...

So weekend tripping continues and as I mentioned March is dedicated to Madhya Pradesh, and I have some destinations chalked out.

They say sometimes it’s not the destination but the journey that matters; I say it’s not just the journey but also the company, and what could be better with someone who can be quiet with you and can see the world as you see it.

Without digressing further, this week’s destination was decided by keeping Bhopal as the base and highlights with quick trivia

1. Kerwa Riverside - Well there is nothing fancy about Kerwa River but you have to be there to experience the serene & composed skyline and stillness of the water in sun was dissolving it heat & colors.

2. Bhimbetka rock shelters - Bhimbetka rock shelters reveal the most primitive signs of human life in India and are approximately 9,000 years old literally stood the test of time :)
Legend has it - Bhimbetka is derived from Bhimbaithka - sitting place of Bheem

3. Bhojpur - Bhojpur a small town with a blend of history & religion has an incomplete Bhojeshwar temple of Shiva with the largest Shiva lingam in India crafted out a single rock.

And it’s not just the temple which is intriguing; the place will offer you a near perfect romantic evening, sitting on the cliff with feet hanging in the air, being caressed by the calm breeze which brushes your hair across your face. If you are lucky enough, the soothing rhythm of a flute playing in the village nearby will enliven your soul.

Pics - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=371576&id=795269007&l=73dc1149f0