Spread over 625km2 in the Chandrapur district, Maharashtra’s oldest and largest National Park, the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is rich and varied with tropical dry deciduous forest. Though Tadoba is a teak realm with crocodile bark trees, Tendu and Mahua prominent amongst the other species, I was seeing Bamboo everywhere! A healthy tiger density, virgin forest, indigenous tribal culture, eco-sensitive and less commercialized tourism define Tad…
The Travel Blog
Somnath Darshan - A Divine Experience
A powerful experience – when you stand in the majestic courtyard of the Somnath Temple with an endless vista of the Arabian Sea ahead of you roaring and rejoicing the presence of one of the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas towering along the seashore.
We reached the temple at around 6:30 in the evening by driving 55 kilometres from Junagarh where we stayed. The maha-aarti started sharp at 7 PM with thousands of awestruck devotees who came togeth…
Gir National Park
Initially when I started my expedition with a miniature pocket-candy – a 5 megapixel camera, only the big cat would allure me to visit jungles, until I actually started understanding and cherishing the wildlife in toto. The fascination of seeing a Lion (particularly the Male one, with glistening mane and persona) was only after I saw Lion King - the animation movie, and yes, funnily enough, after I realized there is even another big cat besides…
Magical Matheran
The smallest hill station in India, Matheran is situated in the Raigad district in Maharashtra. A good 90 km-drive from Mumbai, this is an eco-sensitive and fragile region, and therefore, motored vehicles are not permitted beyond a certain limit. I drove up to an extent, and rode up the rest of the way to reach the view point on a mare.
Chugging along in a toy-train that idly stoops around the mountains, breathing in the fragrances of medicin…
Pujo Holiday in Kolkata
The idols were absorbed into the water of Ganges, drawing an end to the celebrations called Durga Pujo in India, and in my native place - Kolkata.
Part thanksgiving, part family get-together, part state fair, Durga Puja is a 5-day joyride ... from fasting to feasting, from prayer to getting dressed in new clothes to offer the prayer and undoubtedly romancing the crowd that throngs the pandals ... either clicking or getting clicked for th…
Idyllic Kelva Beach
You don’t have to cross the ocean to find a slice of a beachy paradise. The tiny sleepy town of Mahim-Kelve is just 115 kilometers away from Mumbai...dotted with suru trees and speaking of the beach, one of the best settings I have seen of a beach.
As it was low tide, the sea was at quite a distance leaving a long beautiful spotless stretch of Arabian Shoreline with hardly anyone but us strolling around.
If you expect a Goa or Kerala …
A misty hangover
As I call this bit of foothill a piece of my personal heaven, I can’t stop feast my eyes on the vast horizon cloaked in profuse mist. Relishing every moment of being in the midst of the spectral mists that shifts and swirls through the highlands in the rains in Igatpuri, I stand amid the young shrubberies and stare into the distance for hours, listening to the gentle wind blowing into my ears and walking along the freeways obscured in the mist.…
A Trek Through The Woods
And here we are, standing among green giants, 100 kilometers from the city of Mumbai, at a tiny village “Jamrung” overlooking the olive green meadows soaked in the fresh monsoon rains, we hear the sound of a thundering waterfall and we, in no time, decide to follow our sensory auricle and reach the waterfall wherever it is.
10 back-packers, trekking for the past 2 hours, away from their sedentary jobs, are all happily walking, running, c…
Silvassa - a Walk in the Rain
Forest is where I first discovered my love al fresco. Traveled in search of adventure, in
search of peace, in search of new culture, people, their laugh, cry, worry and journey.
Each time it added a different flavor of vigor to the mind - my search for infinity
and embrace more of travel to my life.
This time it was Silvassa, a small union territory with a lot to offer – my thirst was all for
the greener pastures.
Overcast sky wi…
