Cycle Explorations

Being on the wrong side of the fifties brings more than silver glints to hair... And my knee suitably reminded me of this. That put paid to my dream trek to the Valley of Flowers or ambitious EBC. However as my Ortho Doc freely permitted cycling, I found new options opening up. 

Having spent up to five years in the North East, Assam had a special place in our lives . On Facebook, I had seen Bishwajit (Jitda) pedaling across this state. The curated routes of the Brahmaputra Cycling Expedition  were attractive and seemed doable to me. After Jitda cleared all my doubts, we decided to take the (metaphoric) plunge and signed up for the tour. 

Note: This is NOT a sponsored post.

Being a weekend cyclist meant I had to focus on daily cycling to be able to complete the tour. Even though the monsoon chose to stay longer in Pune, we managed to train. I got a good idea of my endurance, and even increased it to an extent. The more difficult part was in choosing the right clothing for our tour, saddle covers, compact packing (is there such a thing?????) and so on. 

Sigh.. it was easier to cycle...

Along side, I was researching plants that I was likely to see. I prepared notes, local names and created my own reference guide for the tour. This helped to some extent but since we had cell phone connectivity all through, I often referred to Flowers of India. My study was vital as we were planned to do a forest walk at Kakoijana (home to the endangered Golden Langur) and were visiting the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (Manas is a world heritage site). As it happened, we made an unplanned visit to the Pobitora Sanctuary as well! 

We worked our way through the rain fury in Pune, packing travails and D day arrived. Armed with good wishes of friends and family we reached Guwahati and met our enthusiastic co cyclists! A diverse interesting group of all ages and backgrounds. The next week looked very promising.

I had to make 'friends' (and quickly) with 'my' cycle and it was reassuring to interact with the BCE team who adjusted cycles for all of us. The back up logistics support and the bus were superb and gave me confidence and helped overcome last minute doubts. 

Kailashnath Neem (ThursdayTreeLove)

Continuing on this e-visit to Ellora, here is a massive Neem tree. It is growing on the right side as we face the Cave 16 Kailash Temple complex. The straight trunk its vast base are eye catching.. The dense foliage hid its branching and only made it more imposing. 

Knowledge Strength Wealth (Wordless Wednesday)

Monumental (ThursdayTreeLove)

"Monuments and archaeological pieces serve as testimonies of man's greatness and establish a dialogue between civilizations showing the extent to which human beings are linked"

Vicente Fox

This magnificent Ficus is growing at the entrance of the Ellora Cave complex. The winter morning sun streamed in through the leaves and aerial roots creating a pattern on the ground. My humble phone camera was unable to capture the full glory but I think this image gives a general idea!

A monumental tree at a UNESCO World Heritage site. What a wonderful coincidence! 

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Head over to see some amazing trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

Root Skirt (ThursdayTreeLove)

This tree seems to  be wearing a skirt!! That is what the magnificent stilt roots of this mangrove tree reminded me of!! 

What do you think? 

This is a mangrove species that I saw in the Sunderbans. They are adapted to grow in saline and brackish water and have special roots for support and to breathe. 

I am joining Parul's #ThursdayTreeLove33. Head over to see some wonderful trees from around the world.

Bewitching Sundarbans

Our trip to Sundarbans was booked so long in advance that we managed to log three more destinations in the intervening period! There was no scope for travel fatigue as Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide kept interest levels high and if possible even increased them. Yet there was an underlying element of doubt as the area is the home of the swimming tigers.. the Royal Bengal Tiger.

Nurturing these doubts would serve no purpose if I was to enjoy my holiday so I buried them as much as I could as we embarked on the journey in the wee hours of the D-Day. From Kolkata city we travelled to Godkhali - the place where we were to board our boat. The young bus driver treated this drive like a Formula 1 training session, overtaking everything and everyone in sight. This meant close encounters with cattle, villagers and other vehicles irrespective of their direction of motion. The road was infested with buses and rickety three wheeled vehicles that had passengers stuffed inside, hanging outside and even on top! With our destination only 10 kms away, Murphy made his presence felt in the form of a burst tyre. The aforesaid young man showed equal speed and proved his mettle by making quick work of replacing the troublesome auto component - faster than our group leader could summon the rickshaws to take us the final few kilometers…

The jetty at Godkhali is rather unassuming considering that it is the main sourcing point for the islands in the Sundarbans delta. After a quick settling in at our resort we took off for our first glimpse of the jungle. 

Our boat which was to be our home for the next 3 days boasted of a kitchen and toilet (I give it 4 stars considering its location) with sufficient space for everyone in our group to get a ring side view of the forest without stepping on each others toes! 

Musically Inspired

The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav is an annual event in Pune, Maharashtra that attracts classical Hindustani music aficionados from India and overseas as well. Obviously the festival has grown over the years and is continuing even after the founder Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away. 

There can be several inspirations for travel - architecture, history, natural wonders, food, bragging points (ahem)... But music too is a huge motivator for people to travel. India with its rich musical heritage has music festivals of repute held across the country. Its an excellent opportunity to hear stalwarts and upcoming artists and see the local sites as well. I can say that with confidence because it was music that took me to Bhopal and I could see Sanchi Stupas because of that visit! 

Here is my collation of music festivals around India. Hope it can inspire at least a few travellers!
(Kindly reconfirm information about dates and entry tickets before your visit.) 

1.  The Harivallabh Sangeet Mahasabha in Jalandhar, Punjab. This was first held in 1875 and is now held in the last week of December every year. Entry is free. Here is the programme for Dec 2014.

Stunning Stupas at Sanchi

The usual factors for choosing a holiday destination for most of us are the Local Attractions (Music, Arts History, Geography, etc), Shopping, Food, Nature, family/friends (at times this helps in NOT choosing a particular place) and so on. After my visit to Hampi, the presence of a UNESCO World Heritage site has become a big plus in the decision process. This explains why we seized the chance to visit Bhopal.

Located in central India, Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh state and I had often transited this city during train journeys but had never actually stayed there. Sanchi is located to the north east of Bhopal at a distance of about 45 kms. It is home to the Buddhist monuments - the Stupas that show case Buddhist art and architecture. This is designated as Unesco World Heritage Site. It dates back to some time in the 3rd century BC and was constructed by Emperor Ashoka. After its hey day period, it was ignored and forgotten for several hundred years. It was re-discovered and then explored and developed by British Officers during the Raj. There are plenty of reviews and descriptions of this site available on the internet so I would not like to repeat those. This page on the website of the Archeological Survey of India offers excellent information.

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

Speaking Rocks and Stones

The best way to really know our country is to physically travel and 'see' different states. This is especially true for our vast nation with diverse habitats and cultures. We have 'learnt' history in school but I certainly do not remember anything more than certain names. The Chalukyas, Vijayanagar empire, all were names that shone from behind a thick mist. As things worked out, I got an opportunity to visit some historical sites, one that I took up eagerly.

Monuments at Bijapur, Badami and Hampi (close to Hospet) all in Karanata are not easily accesible. Our visit ended at Hampi but those who can must include Halebid in their itinerary as well. By easy I mean that one needs to travel by train or air to the closest destination and reach these places by road. Luckily the roads are all excellent, well maintained and one covers large distances easily. These are small towns but the three offer comfortable, clean, vegetarian hotels with helpful and courteous staff. Lack of such facilities have deterred me from visiting places despite being a self professed 'travel enthusiast'. But this time, I was pleasantly surprised.

Kas Pathar - A need to protect

Its that time of the year again but this time round Punekars are thirsting for rain. The weather has turned cooler, the sky is overcast and often filled with menacing black clouds. Yet there is not a drop of rain (oh well, ok... a few drops), nothing to prove its the peak monsoon month.

July end, August is also the right time to visit Kas, which is Maharashtra's own Valley of Flowers. Located off Satara, its a lovely stretch that is few kilometers long that is bare and barren all year round. Yet come the rains, the seeds that lie hidden and dormant in the rock crevices and few strips of soil spring to life and live out their lifespan in a space of a few weeks. The plants grow, bloom and disperse their seeds all in a short time span. Hence those keen to view or study these species must visit Kas only in this period. These ephemeral species are found only here (or few grow in other similar geographies in Maharashtra as well).