Bari Kothi

Seherwalis of Azimganj

Coming to the second part of my blog post on Murshidabad, I will cross the Bhagirathi to reach Ajimganj and explore the remnants of the Nawabi era. The city is no different from Jiaganj on the other side of the river. Here too you find narrow lanes with buildings on either side. Ancient architectures lie scattered here right from the bank of the river. It was once the stronghold of the Jain community, who were known as the ‘Seherwalis’. Come and explore this part of Murshidabad with ‘Footlooseinme’.

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Hazarduari Palace

The Story of Murshidabad and its Nawabs

Murshidabad was the erstwhile capital of the Bengal Subah – the wealthiest province of the Mughal era. It’s flourishing seventy years of opulence came to an end when the British East India Company moved the capital to Kolkata. The city gradually lost its importance. Today this historic city is lost in the crammed modern outgrowth, what remains is the silent testimonial of its predecessor’s glory and misdeed. I share a story of this city built by the Nawabs of Bengal.

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Ganga Arti

A Photo Journey Through Varanasi

Kashi, the ultimate place to attain Moksha – liberation from the cycle of rebirth, the divine destination for salvation. This ancient city has been the silent observer of the happiness and sorrow of its residents for ages. Countless such stories are probably etched on the walls of these old buildings, on the stones of the narrow lanes and on the stairs of the Ghats. The Ghats stood as the visual testimonial of affluents while the Ganges, without any discrimination, washed away every sin and every associated story. In this way, time and the river flowed by and the city matured into what it stands today with newness engulfed in the tight embrace of the powerful old arms. 

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Wood Owl

Adventure and Birding in Koyna

Koyna has become our go-to Birding site. Situated close to Pune, it takes a few hours of driving to reach Koyna – where the hills, the river and the jungle meet making it a beautiful place which is also preferred by the birds to feed and breed. We were adequately geared up for birding this time and the results were fascinating. Let me take you through this interesting and adventurous birding session in Koyna.

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My first attempt at capturing the Milkyway

The Dark Sky Experience in Dubare Elephant Camp

On my ‘blogversary’ I share my amazing experience of witnessing a dark sky and my first attempt at successfully capturing it. I kept this few months old, much-treasured moment for this special day. It was the dark night of Diwali far from all the lights and sounds of the city in the forest of Dubare. We stayed in the Jungle Lodge and Resort property – Dubare Elephant Camp, in close vicinity of the gentle giants.

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Devgad beach and the windmill farm

Winter Holidays in Devgad

I was looking for some nearby destinations for a relaxing weekend this winter. After a lot of searching and indecisive planning, we finally agreed to go to a place where we had been before that too just a few months ago. Yes, it was in the summer in search of mangoes and this time in search of some Me-time away from the crowd. Devgad – be it in summer or in winter has always been a peaceful getaway. Today I will share some of these moments in Devgad.

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Mr Srilankan Frogmouth

Birdwatching in Koyna

Koyna or Koynanagar is yet to be known as a birdwatching destination. It was our sudden visit to Koyna that gave us some fantastic surprises in the form of some unique, not seen before (by me) birdwatching experiences. With this personal understanding, I would definitely claim that Koyna is a bird-watching destination. All thanks to the naturalist, Raj Rathod the curator of (www.explorekoyna.com), who along with his team gave us an amazing tour through the off-beat track in search of the winged beauties.

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Show of lights in the forest of Bandipur

In Bandipur National Park

In my quest to explore the forests of India, I travelled to Bandipur National Park this time just after the monsoon. Yet the rains were not over in Karnataka as the monsoon stretched its span this year in the Western part of India. Forests always look pretty when dressed up in foliage and the monsoon is the best makeup artist for them. The only worry was spells of rain must not spoil the safari. With not much hope of sighting and just being in the forest, we reached Bandipur.

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Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary

Tour of Churches in Kolkata

This Christmas I will take you through the churches of my native city, also known as the city of Joy. Yes, Christmas has an archetypal charm in the old city of Kolkata and its surrounding. Kolkata and its surroundings witnessed different colonial settlements and hence had a diverse effect on its culture, people and religion. Irrespective of the religion Christmas is celebrated here as a maas festival where every household celebrates the occasion ‘Borodin’ in their own way. Not delving much into the type of festivities, I take you through a tour of churches in Kolkata this Christmas.

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Probably this is the Kalu Waterfalls, though I am not sure

Malshej Ghat on a Sunny Day

My Malshej Ghat trip has always been associated with heavy to very heavy rains. This time too it was during the heavy monsoon months but the weather God had a different surprise for me and I was blessed with a super sunny day. The day was so clear and bright that the sky was sparklingly blue and the surroundings overly bright. In this post, I will not say anything but share pictures of what I saw. It gave me a clear idea of what lay beyond the mist. It was only mist and rain on my every previous visit to this place.

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