Akshardham or Swami Narayan Temple in NewDelhi, India

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The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

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The Lotus Temple, Bahai's House of Worship, Delhi

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Baga Beach, Goa, India

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Vivekananda Memorial, Kanyakumari, India

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Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

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Auroville Ashram, Puducherry (Pondy), India

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Kerala house Boat, Munnar/Wayanad/Kumarakom, India

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Lakes of Nainital, India

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House Boat at Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

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Taj Mahal, Agra, India

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Hawa Mahal(Palace of Breeze), Jaipur, India

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Gateway of India, Mumbai, India

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Chennai / Madras, India

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Information Technology Park, Bangalore, India

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Charminar, Hyderabad, India

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Vidyasagar Setu, Kolkata, India

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Spice of Goa

A HOLIDAY is often incomplete without the thrill of shopping, so why not shop in Goa even if it is touted as a prime HOLIDAY destination, vibrant with its selling schemes. Rather than being cocooned in five-star sterility, it’s fun and comfortable to stay at one of Goa’s innumerable small homely hotels. Here one gets to speak to friendly staff, and the owner, who are so enlightening on local things, and help in arranging for safe transport to hire to visit spots of interest. After all, life’s not just about Goa’s beaches or sunbathing. One wants to experience a slice of local life.

The best way to do this is visit the thronging Mapusa market (pronounced Maapsa, from the Konkani “Maap”, meaning volumes of measure and “Sa”, meaning “to fill”), about 12 kilometres away from Panaji. It is a short mini-bus ride away (Rs. 5 on a non-stop shuttle. The return trip is of course a little different, as shall be told shortly!) Mapusa bus stand is just a two-minute walk from the open grounds of the Friday market, from early morning till late evening. It is positively raucous, with Konkani, Marathi and Kannada echoing loudly, along with American accented English spoken by the uneducated women and children stall holders — they’ve smartly picked up the lingo from the teeming foreign tourists, in full strength here in the cooler months.

Each trader has a patch in front her where wares are laid out attractively — from antique thingummies, glass baubles, old medicine jars in ceramic and glass, bundles of beads, chains, bracelets, rings, shell belts, mirrored bags, plants, chillies — 12 locally grown varieties, kokum, tamarind balls, jaggery, fruit, bottles of kokum and mango syrups, sausages, a bounty of fish, uniquely tied brooms, terracotta ware, jewellery stores, local bakeries and flowers — mogra, crossandra and gomphrena — all beautifully tied into venis to long strings of marigolds. The sights, sounds and smells of Mapusa are a must in one’s lifetime.

Local Goan and Konkani women sell ready-to-eat local fish pickles, mango pickles and Goan masala powders for their unique cuisine. One almost wishes one ate fish, for the women generously offer a taste of their mouthwatering wares.

The pungent aroma of chillies sets everybody sneezing in its particular corner.

Lambadi women from Karnataka are all smiles on hearing their tongue, and most willing to bargain for their exquisite embroidered bags, purses and dress material. St. Francis bakers is a huge presence here, with the most delicious plumcake possible. Goan bebinca too is available here.

The Mapusa market has been going on for a very long time. As the lady who was selling flower seed packets at a small table set up under an umbrella said, “These seed packets used to cost Re. One. When I was a child, I used to come here with my mother to sell them. Today they cost Rs. 5 each, 35 years later.”

A happy tired morning or whole afternoon later, laden with one’s bargains, it’s back to the shuttle bus for the ride back to Panaji. It’s still fast, safe and comfortable, but now the driver and conductor allow people to bring on their purchases. A big woman lays her big bag of dried fish at my feet, and proceeds to drape her ample body over my back, thus supporting herself while standing!

Her friend has been content with bags of sausages, and chillies. It’s these vignettes that have made the Goa trip memorable and not its beaches or many resorts. It’s the people who make the difference everywhere, It is they who make Goa so appealing.

Eco tourism, Thenmala


WE have stopped for a cup of tea. Or rather, our driver and attendant are having tea at a wayside tea-stall; we stopped because we saw something interesting happening near the tea-stall. Two men were pouring out a yoghurt-like liquid into pans, traysize pale yellow sheets, had been hung out to dry on a line. They were rubber tappers, and the liquid and the sheets were latex — the sap of the rubber tree. We are in the damp foothills of the Western Ghats and rubber plantations spread like dark forests all around.


We are back at our table beside the picture window. Trucks and cars swoosh past us occasionally, otherwise we are cocooned in the subliminal hum of the forest. Which is as it should be because we are parked just outside the reception building of the unique Thenmala Ecotourism, which claims to be India’s first planned ecotourism destination.

For us, both the destination and the journey to it were fascinating.
This morning, when we stepped out of Thiruvananthapuram’s Mascot Hotel, we saw our temporary home for the first time. We were impressed. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation’s Caravan is a white luxury coach converted into a mobile home: two air-conditioned bedrooms with attached chemical toilets and showers, a living-dining room with a gas cooker, a portable generator for emergencies and facilities to plug in to an external power source when we stopped for the night. We covered the 72 km in a shade less than two hours and 45 minutes with two stops in between. It was a comfortable and very interesting journey.

Our companion during this drive was the knowledgable and enthusiastic K.G. Mohanlal, IFS. He is the Director of Kerala’s Eco Tourism Department and Chief Executive of the Thenmala Eco Tourism Promotion Society. Clearly, Kerala has decided to pay more than the customary lip service to this new discipline.

As we rose out of Kerala’s green plains to its forested uplands, Mohanlal spoke about eco-tourism and his project. “Eco-tourism,” he said, “must be nature-based, ecologically sustainable, have education and interpretation as its major component, and its activities must benefit local people.” Definitions, however, are not enough: if they are not followed by a viable action plan, they remain stillborn. This project, however, seems to have developed appreciably further than pious thinking. The operational heart of the project has already been built around the Thenmala dam. Happily, it is not a replication of the illuminated artificialities of the usual dam gardens, the ones that tend to confine nature into a Public Work Department (PWD) straightjacket. Here, apparently, they plan to promote three distinct types of eco-tourism: eco-friendly general tourism with the emphasis on outdoor activities, ecotourism in the nearby Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary and an eco-pilgrimage circuit connecting the three Ayyappa shrines of Kulathupuzha, Arayankavu and Achankovil while ensuring that there is no environmental degradation.

Nevertheless, while all this planning is very impressive, we wanted to see what had come up on the ground.
T.U. Uthup, Wildlife Warden, became our authoritative friend, philosopher and guide. The Reception Complex is a well-planned building with features drawn from Kerala’s traditional architecture. On the left, at a slightly higher level, is a broad parking area. Beyond it a semi-circular amphitheatre had been cut into the slope of a hill, crowned by a projection booth. They faced a wide and deep stage. Both the amphitheatre and the stage were unroofed. Returning to the reception building we walked up a laterite path to the raised and open- sided restaurant giving horizon-spanning views of wooded hills. Both the reception and the restaurant areas had a very open, uncluttered, look about them. They were, also, reassuringly eco-friendly and merged with the ambience of these forested hills, unlike the block-like dam buildings in their ruthlessly cleared grounds.

We drove past the ostentatious gates of the dam complex and headed into the eco-friendly tourism area. Here, again, tourist facilities had been built to blend with the trees. Offices and ticket booths were raised on decks. Mountain bikes stood in one of these buildings and a mountain-bike trail wound through the forest: challenging and appropriately rugged. A nature trail crossed it and vanished into the fastnesses of the jungle. And we looked down into a forest pool with a “river-crossing” cable strung high above it. Everything was designed to pit the visitor’s will and physical skills against obstacles that any outdoors-person might encounter. Sadly we did not have the time to test our Himalayan-conditioned bodies against these stimulating challenges, but we did climb up the elevated walkway: a wooden stairway that climbs, at tree-canopy level, to the old Thiruvananthapuram-Shenkotah Road. Short of swinging like a latter-day Tarzan through the trees, this is an excellent way of getting a forest- creature’s perspective of its high habitat.

Presumably, in time, the Interpretation Centre will identify interesting features on this walkway, the nature trail and the mountain bike path. There can be no better ways to appreciate the intricate web of life that is a living forest.
Clouds were building up so we had to hurry over the boardwalk that looks down into the gorge cut by the Kallada, fed by the spillway of the dam. Boardwalks are, generally, laid to make pathways over wet-lands and, possibly, this area does get soggy when it rains but, even when it is dry, the boardwalk is a good introduction to a feature that would not normally be encountered by tourists in our land. We did not quite agree with the concept of the so-called Sculpture Garden.

Here, they have made a path that winds, through the jungle, past some rather outré sculptures. They are supposed to revolve around the theme Nature and Man but some of them are so esoteric, like the busts of four elongated figures sitting around a candle, that we could not relate them to the theme.

But then, artists do have their own perspectives of the world and it is often difficult for the ordinary person to see creation through their eyes.

If the Sculpture Garden is meant to entertain mere mortals like us, then we would much rather opt for their excellent musical fountain. We have seen musical fountains in other parts of the world but none with such a perfect seamless melding of music, lights and dancing water. It is superb.

Dusk was rising out of the valleys when we headed for our last encounter with Thenmala. We drove through the jungle, approached the backed-up waters of the dam spreading around rising, wooded, hillocks and stood on a headland in the silence. The lake spread like a sheet of blue glass, mirroring the mountains, an island, a hazy frosting of clouds above. It was all as unreal as a painting, as contemplative as a prayer and slowly, we began to feel ourselves vibrating with the unheard but deeply felt chords of Nature, resonating with a holistic harmony that, for a long moment, lifted us above ourselves. It was, in all ways, a spiritual experience. This, clearly, is the true essence of Thenmala.

Enchanting Ghats of Haridwar

Probably right behind Varanasi in “holiness”, many polgrims come to haridwar to witness “the footstep of Vishnu”, chain links line the ghats because the currents in this part of the river are so strong, it is easy to be swept away.

The town itself is a holy place and is crammed with pilgrims who come to bathe in the ganges and float lit candles down the river as a means of offering. Intrestingly, although Haridwar is hot in summer, but the ganges water is always icy cold.

The river is fed by melting glaciers and snow peaks. That doesnt stop multitudes from turning up on any given day to bathe in the waters. Truly Haridwar is a city that signifies an arresting blend of indian culture and spiritual beliefs. The Kumbh Mela here is a big draw and the next Kumbh mela will be held here from Febraury to May in 2010.

Haveli Hari Ganga
We had booked ourselves into Haveli Hari Ganga ( also known as Pilibhit house), a mere 500 meters walk through the bazaar at the sacred Har ki Pauri. Hindus believe Haridwar was blessed by each member Hinduism’s great trinity, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. They also believe that shiva left his footprint in a stone that is now part of a Har ki Pauri ghat( a section of river that is used for bathing). we were given prayer beads and lassi to drink on arrival and we had a room with a terrace which the ganges lapped onto. The Haveli has been designated as a heritage property by the Department of Tourism, Government of India. The best part is the clean private bathing ghats, which is a first for a hotel in Haridwar.

Temple Visit
The next morning we woke up before sunrise to go down to the ganges to watch the sunrise over the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful, we then hiked up a small mountain to Mansa Devi. It was about a 30 minute stair-master workout, but the views were worth it. Along the way, we were almost attacked by the numerous monkeys on the trail. We took cable cars up to the temples of Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi. these were high on the hill overlooking the town and the ganges. Streams of devotees made their way through the temples, making offerings of flower petals and nuts. Other temples in close vicinity on the hill itself are the temples of Gauri Shankar, Neeleshwar Mahadev and Anjani Devi.

The Ganga Aarti
Ganga aarti is a riverside religious ceremony that takes place at sunset. The Ethereal beauty of ganga aarti is an un paralleled vision. It is accompanied by chanting monks, symbols, flaming torches, drums and trumpets. In the end visitors and locals alike set large leaf boats filled with flowers and candles afloat on the river amidst the tangy aroma of incense.

Cuisine
Strictly vegetarian cuisine is the order of the day, street food is commendable especially the halwais. The karigar fries the jalebis in his huge wok and its wonderful sight to see his old hands moving with the speed of an expert. The samosas here are equally commendable, the matar ka samosas are delicious and very different from anywhere else. Do not leave without a meal at Chottiwala.

Getting there:
Located on the banks of river Ganges(Ganga), at the point where the ganges descendsfrom the hills to the north indian plains. Haridwar attracts a large number of Hindu pilgrims from all over the world.

By Air: Dehradun’s jolly grant airport, with twice daily service to delhi is 20 km from Haridwar.
By Train: Haridwar junction is well connected by train. The railway station is located on the south side of the town, within walking distance of most hotels.
By Road: Haridwar’s bus station, a stone’s throw from the train station is chaotic and has no signage whatsoever in english. There are regular bus services from Delhi, Rishikesh and other important town of North india to Haridwar

Accomodation: For most of the hotels the checkin time is 12 noon, plenty of dharamshalas are also available in Haridwar, Haveli Hari ganga ( The packages are extremely reasonable) or ashrams.
Attraction: Hari-ki-Pairi, to the north of the center, this is Haridwars focal point, where devotees gather to bathe and worship on the ganges. Mansa Devi Mandir, atop a hill near the center of town, can be reached by roads that generally winds uphill starting from railway road

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