Khushboo Gujarat Ki ……… with Amitabh Bachchan

RUPAL: Palli - A tradition on Navratri…

We can define Navaratari meaning Nine Night Dance festival. It is celebrated all over India. Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal are states were Navratri celebrated maximum. 

Rupal, a small village around 47 km away from Ahmedabad and 12 km from my city Gandhinagar. Rupal is known for Ma Vardayini Temple and Palli of Ma Vardayini. There is one big Temple with new look, all the basic facilities on the main road.

Palli is a wooden frame of around 6-7 feet height. . It is made by some Prajapatis in the village, then Rajput made some tilak from his ancient sword and then the Palli starts moving all over the village on some predefined route. Its having holy fire kindled at top of it and also on all four corners. Pure Ghee or clarified butter is being poured onto a Palli.. During the route at each and every place people are ready with Ghee in pips and buckets, when the palli pass through, they pour it on the palli. More than 600,000 Kg of Pure Ghee poured onto a Palli. The price for that ghee is around 100 million rupees.

Matheran - A perfect weekend getaway

Matheran literally means "Forest on Top".

At Matheran, you can experience unpolluted fresh air as motor vehicles are banned within Matheran. Vehicles have to be parked at Dasturi Naka on the outskirts of the hill station. The most enjoyable way to reach Matheran is to take the toy train from Neral. (Mumbai local trains to Karjat stop at Neral)

Shivasamudram falls - A One day trip from Bangalore

Shivasamudram falls....also referred as Bharachukki and Gaganachukki falls.

Route --> Vijayanagar - Kanakapura- mavalli - shivanasamudra

Distance --> 140 Kms from Bangalore

Money spend --> Petrol + 32 Rs (Toll) + 50 Rs (Fees for the falls)

Duration --> 10 hours total.

Ideal Time --> Middle of rainy season

Ideal for -- > Large groups, Family, Weekend Getaways

Araku – A beautiful Valley near Vizag

Araku valley is the best place, this is a hill station, About 135 kms from Vishakhapatnam (Vizag) and can be reached by a smooth ride from Vizag in approximately 3 hours and is close to the Orissa State border. If you plan to make a trip to Araku, go to Shimliguda railway station which is the highest station on the broad gauge of Indian Railways. The journey to Araku Valley is the most enjoyable as the train passes through tunnels, hill sides and streams. It is a good option to go to Araku by train and return by road. It has been a wonderful place for people who like to enjoy in between the hills, forests, beautiful roads, water falls, cottages in forest and beautiful sceneries. Best place & climate for nature lovers. There are frequent state and private buses that ply between the cities and it takes 5 hours to climb the mountain by train to Araku valley as it goes slow to enjoy tunnels. Try to travel during October to February. Will be foggy and misty will be realistic. However the town still has several hidden spots that make it worth a visit in the monsoon and winter months.

Lansdowne – A Serene and unspoilt hill station near Delhi

Serene and unspoilt, Lansdowne is a hill station in the secluded reaches of Uttaranchal. Surrounded by beautiful oak, silver fir, spruce, bamboo and pine forests, it is a summer getaway for nature lovers and romantics. This hilly town was established as a British cantonment in 1887 and named in honour of the Earl of Lansdowne, the Viceroy of India (1888-1894). Now it is the headquarters of the famous Garhwal Rifles of the Indian Army. You won't find much of popular tourism here and it is as if the town intends to preserve its local charm and sanctity.

It was a great experience of visiting the Lansdowne. It is not crowdie like the Shimla and Mansoori... Even it is cleaner as compare to them... Just Five hours drive from Delhi and its wow.

Less options for food BUT they are worth it.. And this is what we expect from a hill-station maintaining old world charm... Do try out Local Bal-Mithai and Maggi at Tip-in-Top...

Saajan – An unscathed natural beauty near Mumbai

The search for unscathed natural beauty in today's grimy world just keeps getting arduous. Its only when one comes across the consummate beauty of places like Sajan that the faith in God's creativity is renewed. The township of Sajan is mostly occupied by the candid Marathi community. Though the route to Sajan is sprinkled with Brick Kilns it's only upon entering the town that the real closeness to nature can be felt.

Sajan is surrounded by dense forest from all the sides and has a liberal growth of Mango and Chikoo plantations. The plantation owners have mostly converted their beautiful areas into multi use Farm houses thus it’s a dream come true for all those nature lovers to actually reside in a tree house or just pitch up a tent and enjoy the vast greenery and winding river running along it.

Sajan is well connected to all neighboring cities by Government owned buses. Private A/C and non A/C deluxe buses are also available from Sajan to many cities in the State including Mumbai and Pune. Bus fare is about Rs 3 to Rs 4 per head.

Thane railway station is the nearest railway station to Sajan. This station is directly connected with Mumbai and regular train services are available from here to many cities in India. Taxis are also available in the railway station and fare is about Rs 200 to the heart of the city.