Rathina's View Space
TRAVEL | CULTURE | FOOD
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Air Arabia Mumbai – Sharjah
Flying to international destinations from Tier 2 cities in India is a pain in the neck. You need to fly to the nearest metro with an international...
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Solo Travel
In my recent long distance travels whilst returning home by train the gentleman next seat asked me what took me to Kannur? “I was keen to explore...
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Chettinad doors to a faded glory
An edited version of this article was published in the February’15 issue of Travel + Leisure India and Southasia magazine as Chettinad’s treasure chest A beautiful Kolam...
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Goa paint me Red
An edited version of this article was published in the Feb’15 Vistara in-flight magazine. The waves lapped at my feet as the golden disc slipped down the...
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In love with Devon
An edited version of this article was published in Travel + Leisure India and South Asia magazine (December’14) It was my second trip to United Kingdom after...
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Dandeli Diaries – memorable experiences
Dandeli had been my abode for three days and I had enjoyed every moment of it. Three years back I had visited Dandeli but then it was just...
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Borough Market for the Global Cuisine
I climbed the stairs to step out of London Bridge’s tube station. A cold draught blew in and I zipped my jacket. It indicated I was getting...
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Balloon Safari – Romancing the sky
I woke up at dawn and got ready for the safari of my life. Have you ever been part of the limitless azure sky with white puffs...
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How Traveling Changes your Life
This post appeared in Women’s Web Traveling is the tonic for life that keeps the soul replenished. Every moment brings in a new perspective to the journey...
ABOUT
Want to know more about me? I am a freelance journalist based in Pune, India and write about Travel, Culture, Food, Wellness, Health and Lifestyle. My bylines have appeared in National Geographic Traveller India, Forbes India, Travel + Leisure India and South Asia, BBC Travel, Mint, NPR, Economic Times, Hindu Businessline and more. In an earlier avatar I worked as a software engineer. I let go off these 12 + years of cubicle life to spread my wings and explore the world. I am on the lookout for those offbeat extraordinary stories from…
PUBLISHED
`Browse Travel
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Oman Tourism Board Blogging Contest
Chapter 12 #CelebrateBlogging
This post is twelfth in the series of the #CelebrateBlogging event conducted byBlogadda. I belong to the Tandem Tensome team. The previous chapter could be read at Chapter 11
Jennifer grabbed her bag, dumped her keys and mobile into it and headed down the stairs. She crossed the road and stopped the next auto rickshaw. “Bhaiya, thoda jaldi chaliye”, she muttered as the vehicle maneuvered through the maddening traffic in Mumbai’s streets. It was way different compared to Kochi barring the salubrious climate of both the cities which she liked.
My exposures towards the Malayali festivals had always been restricted to wishing friends during the Onam and Vishu festivals. Having married to a Keralite the divulgence has increased and in the recent times reached home. Come Chingam, the month in the Malyali calendar all the Keralities celebrate the ten day festival with pomp and fervour.
The first day Atham marks the start of this harvest festival. Today in most cities the festival has been restricted to the celebrations on the tenth day called Thiruonam. Legend states that the demon King Bali had become a very influential and strong monarch of the pompous kind. Lord Indra was scared that he might become more powerful than the Devas. Hence Lord Vishnu donned the Vaman avatar and reached the land of King Bali who was busy with a Yagna. The Vaman asked for land equal to the size of his three strides and the monarch fondly called Maveli by his subjects agreed to it.
Chapter 6 #CelebrateBlogging
This post is sixth in the series of the #CelebrateBlogging event conducted by Blogadda. I belong to the Tandem Tensome team. The previous chapters could be read at Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.
Shekhar had a sullen look on his face. He stepped out of the police station torn between anxiety and despair. His only love and the one that instilled life in him had gone missing. He yearned to hear her soft and petite talks, the childish tantrums and the aliveness of his soul. He felt hopeless for a moment and wondered from where he should start his search. He walked to his car and sat behind the steering wheel gazing at infinity.
Dandeli had been my abode for three days and I had enjoyed every moment of it. Three years back I had visited Dandeli but then it was just white water river rafting and soaking in the waters of River Kali. This time around I saw a very different face of Dandeli. I never knew she had so much to offer. I spent my entire stay in the Dandeli – Anshi Wildlife Reserve which is house to many endangered species like the hornbill, tiger and black panther. The thick vegetation is spread across approximately 1400 sq. km.
Dandeli offers the visitors a plethora of activities all throughout the year. I was of the impression that it is only Birding and White Water River Rafting which one can indulge into but there is an exhaustive list that Dandeli has to offer to it’s guests. This jungle which was once rampant with mining activities had given me a refreshing and a soothing experience.
I was heading towards Dudhsagar from Londa station by the Amravati Express which was a good one hour late. I had to kill time somehow as the idea of spending an hour in the small station was not very interesting. To add to it I had a bag that was heavy and the thought of lugging it to Dudhsagar in the rains turned me off. We had planned for some hiking and trekking till the base of the falls. Though Londa station is a junction it didn’t have any cloak room facility. I fretted and showed my displeasure to my husband. We stood outside the station and looked around for a place to leave the baggage with a reliable care until evening. The staff at the ticket counter suggested handing it to a shopkeeper outside the station but I had my own apprehensions. That was when I saw a board stating Station Superintendent. I pulled out our return ticket for that evening from Londa to Pune and walked up the stairs to show him the ticket. The kind soul agreed to take care of our belongings for that day. Having deposited our bag, I asked the station master is there anything to see around in Londa. He smiled and replied Londa is a small town but you can move around the market that is very close to the station.
Doesn’t the title sound odd? Well Old Magazine is a resort deep in the jungles of Dandeli. The story goes that in 1974 the Government decided to build a dam in the Supa area. They wanted to store the cartridges used for blasting whilst building the dam somewhere away from the villages to ensure safety. The best place was in the jungles away from human inhabitation. Two lightning proof buildings were built to store the magazines. Once the Supa dam was built they decided to convert this place into a resort with the name Old Magazine House and it became part of the Jungle Lodges and Resort group.
I was invited to stay in this beautiful place right in the middle of the jungle. In Old Magazine at a given time around forty five people can be accommodated and there are plans for further extension. The cottages are built 8 to 10 feet above the ground on stilts and they protrude right out of the hill. One can sit outside the room in the verandah of the cottages to enjoy the beautiful view of the jungle and its wild inhabitants. Rare and migratory birds are found in abundance in this forest and they are a regular in this resort. Old Magazine is a haven for the bird enthusiasts and they stay put day long with their huge cameras and lenses to capture the sightings from October to May. Perches and bird baths placed all around the resort lure the birds and give a great view to the shutterbugs. One can also indulge in river rafting, coracle ride, nature walk and hiking by staying in this resort.
Recently I had mentioned about getting some ME time whilst travelling. (Read How Travelling Changes your Life).
How very true? You get the time of your life away from the daily routine that kills you. It puts a restless soul at peace and gives the sense of liberation. Back home I am working all day through in the kitchen cooking, tending to the kids needs or working for an IT Company. Travelling with partner or solo sets you on the path of experiencing the inexperienced. Simple things that we tend to miss in our daily life are enjoyed and admired.
Recently I watched the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara on Television. It brought memories of my trip to London. I got to spend great time with my friends. Cooking was more fun when it was a team work in the kitchen. Over the weekends we would go on a culinary trail by rustling some Indian dishes with limited resources. Here you can see a snap of the chicken curry, dal lasooni, jeera rice, salad and egg curry that was finished in flat twenty minutes by six hungry souls.
Adventure is a term that is beyond the thinking limits of any individual. My limited view of this term was restricted to the few activities that I have experienced in my life time. White Water River Rafting, Fox Flying, Balloon Safari, staying in a Tree House are to name a few that I have explored in my life time. But today’s activity that was arranged by Blogadda and Renault India was mind blowing. Thanks to these lovely folks for inviting me.
It was the launch of Renault AWD and we had the privilege to drive it first hand in the beautiful and scenic locales of Lavasa near Pune. The French makers had come up with the 4WD of the Duster Model long after its launch of the Two Wheel Drive. The day started early at 7:00 a.m. in Courtyard Marriott, Pune. 15 bloggers from Mumbai and Pune had come down to experience the mind blowing drive of their life.
My second post on clan deities.
It was my niece’s ear piercing ceremony which is normally done when the kid turns one year old. This ceremony is celebrated in the presence of friends, relatives at the clan temple and the kid’s head is tonsured after which the ear’s are pierced. Each temple and cult has it’s own story to narrate as regards it’s culture and traditions.
I walked into the stone carved Solaiappan Swamy Temple in Kattunaickenpatti which is in the Tuticorin district of Tamilnadu. This was my sister’s clan deity post marriage. Hoards of people had come to pay respect to the omnipotent.
Blogmint
