Uttarakhand trip

Last week, my friend Rajan, who was my roomie in London, currently in Noida called me up and asked if I would be interested in joining them for UK (UttaraKhand) trip, to which I instantaneously said 'YES'. And so began my trip to another state in India.

Deepak and Ambrish, friends of Rajan, came to pick me up from Green Park at around 11 PM on friday and we left for Rajan's place by their bikes. We reached his place at 12 and there we were joined by his roomies - Kunal and Ballu. We slept for some time, had Maggi and then all the 6 of usleft for UK at an unearthly hour of 4 AM, as we thought traffic would be less and we can reach UK faster, by Rajan's Baleno. We drove thru Ghaziabad, Meerut, Roorkie and finally to Shivalik Nagar, which is 10 kms away from Haridwar, and taking breaks in between, having custom chais in dhabhas. On the way, at Roorkie I saw IIT, and further saw Patanjali Yoga centre, which is run by Baba Ram Dev (the Astha TV guy).

We reached Shivalik Nagar at 8:45 AM and went to Abhishek's place, who is another friend of Rajan. We had a tough time locating his place, as the area was grouped as clusters from A to Z and there was no sequence in the clusters. We slept and took some rest(2 hrs!) at his place and in the meanwhile Ambrish went to his house at the same place and got his car too. After rounds and rounds of discussions, finally we agreed to go to Dehradun in the afternoon and while coming back visit Haridwar. We finally started for the only place to be seen in Dehradun - Sahastradhara at around 11:30 in both cars.

We had to pass thru Haridwar to go to Dehradun, which was about 45 kms from Haridwar. At Haridwar, I had the first look of Ganga river and the various Ghats on its banks. There was also a temple on a hill and ropeway service was available too. I got excited about the ropeway, but we had to cover other places first. We took regular breaks thru out journey to Dehradun, as it was on a hilly region and roads were curvy. On way to Dehradun, a guy told that there was a bypass for Sahastradhara, which was 15 kms from the bypass. We followed instructions and finally reached Sahastradhara at around 3:30 PM.

We parked the vehicle and did a little long trek on the sides of the stream. Sahastradhara is a very small 1000 fold spring, which is on river Baldi, and which itseems has great medicinal value since the water has sulphur. We reached a place where finally there wasn't much crowd, changed our clothes and lied down on the bed of the spring. The water was so cold that I shivered. But it was damn fun in the water and the views from the place were exotic.

We spent around 1.5 hours there and returned to the car, but it started raining heavily all of a sudden. The temperature cooled down drastically. And our guys then decided that we go to Mussorie and come back as the weather was so pleasant. Truely, they hadn't planned anything, and any planning was on run-time. And, I wasn't the show runner.

We started our drive to Mussorie, which was 25 kms from Sahastradhara. But since it was again a hilly area and it started to get dark, we thought we call it quits. Approximately after 14 kms, midway to Mussorie, we took a break at a tea stall and started our return journey to Haridwar. However, the view from that place was awesome, and I thought it would be the same from Mussorie, but at a higher level. And friends also told that there was nothing much to see at Mussorie. I had to accept.

We reached Haridwar around 8:30 PM and by that time the famous Aarti to the river was over. Also, it wasn't much crowded as expected. As we were damn hungry, first we went to the famous poori shop behind the ghat and ate them. Later, we came to Har-ki-Pairi where I had been told that this is the most sacred place to have bath in the Ganga. There were 2 temples on the banks of the river and a number of steps. We all changed clothes and dipped into the river. And thus, I had my first bath in the most sacred and holy river of India :). The water was chilled, and was flowing with great force. I was expecting it to be not clean, but the area was pretty decent. Many people were easily swimming and crossing to the other side steps. I thought I will also test my swimming skills after a long time, and tried to swim, but the force of water increased suddenly and it carried me for a long way. I just couldn't reach the other side and as it was very slippery in the middle, I couldn't even stand, and I tried to swim against the flow, but in vain. I thought, this was the end of me. But I dont know how, I managed to come back to the same side of the steps and I came to life again! What a thrilling experience that was!

After having bath at Har-ki-Pairi, we went again to the poori stall behind and had a proper dinner this time. I couldn't take any snap of this place, as it was very dark. But I always wished to come back to Har-ki-Pairi the next day to atleast take a few snaps. We had dinner and left for Shivalik Nagar to Abhishek's place, and there decided that Rajan, myself and Ambrish go to Ambrish's place to sleep. We 3 reached Ambrish's house at midnight and just crashed.

The next day, as decided, all the rest 5 came to Ambrish's house and we left for Rishikesh at 6:30 in the morning. Aunty had prepared poori rajma for us to have for breakfast and we got it packed. There were 2 ways to reach Rishikesh as told by Rajan, one thru the normal highway and the other thru a jungle. We decided to take the jungle route as we thought it would be exciting. On the way, in Haridwar, we had to cross a bridge over the Ganges, and there I took this snap of the river.

We entered the jungle area and paid a toll of Rs. 100. But thru out the route, there was only a canal of Ganga which was for the dam and nowhere could find the forest. It was very disappointing.

We had been given the time of 9 AM for river rafting, and we managed to reach Rishikesh at around 8:15, as the roads were bad and curvy. From Rishikesh, the starting point for our rafting was still 25 kms uphill, at a place called Marine drive. This drive took around 45 mins. All thru the road, beatiful scenic places were there. We finally reached marine drive at around 8:45 and again drove back some 250 mts as there was no parking available at that place. We there then had pooris and changed and walked upto marine drive. Here are some pics.

At Marine drive, I was prepared for my first ever white water rafting experience. We were given life jackets, helmets and paddles. The insturctor gave some training on how to row on a raft, how to hold the paddle, how to save ourself in case of capsize and all other safety instructions. He told that its a team work and we got to collectively do it. The distance was approx 10 kms, from Marine drive to Shivpuri. He told that there are 4-5 'rapids' in between varying in the range of 2 to 4 grades. Rapids are those areas where waves occur in middle of the river due to rocks and causes the raft to move very haphazardly, if not rafted properly. I had seen them in some ads, and I was now ready to experience it.

We started rafting and before the first 'rapid' came, we were comfortable to row and we had tried out helping others, and swimming in the river. The flow of the river was moderate and it was damn chilled. I was feeling like being in heaven, after the tiring summer in Delhi. The first rapid with the name 'Good Morning', with grade of 1.5 came and we rafted thru it successfully. It was a thrilling experience, and we wanted to have more. Subsequenly, we rafted thru another 4 'rapids' and it was just good. We dipped in the river after we crossed every rapid. It was a super feeling being in the middle of the river and getting carried by it. Risky though, but whats life without risk ;)?

We finally completed our rafting of 10 kms stretch (Rs. 400 per person) and wanted to have more, as the instructor told that there was a rapid with grade 4 in the next stretch. We then decided to continue our raft for another 10 kms and took a small break at the banks. We started again, though we were little tired. The rapid with grade 4 arrived and it was just too good to raft over it. The raft was about to turn upside down due to the heavy waves and winds, but we just managed to pull it thru and cross it. Damn awesome stuff. After around 4 kms, there was a small cliff and the instructor took us there. There was a long queue to the cliff, but he moved everyone aside and took all of us. From the cliff, we all jumped to the river, which was approx 10 mts in height. One look down from the tip of the cliff to the river scared me, but I just jumped without thinking much. In 1 sec I was under water and with life jacket, I came to water surface quickly. Another super exp!

We completed the second stretch, which had 4-5 rapids and we were hardly 200 mts from Lakshman Jhula. Me, Deepak, Ambrish and Ballu stayed back at the banks, while the other 3 left with the instructor in their cabs to get back our cars. We 4 then spent some time in the river and went to the main road. There, we waited for more than an hour for those guys to come. They finally came after the long wait and again there were confusions and discussions about where to go next. They all decided to go back to Ambrish's place and back to Delhi, but I told them that I was from south India, and would rarely get a chance to visit north again, and I wanted to see Ram Jhula and Lakshman Jhula and again have a dip at Haridwar. Rajan agreed to this and so we 2 and Ballu drove in another car to these places while the rest proceeded to Haridwar.

We 3 reached Lakshman Jhula and the view was amazing. There were many small temples here and there all thru the path. Its a hanging bridge over the Ganges with no pillars in between. The sight was just pleasing. There was the Triambakeshwar temple opposite side and many Yoga centres all over. We walked thru the bridge for some distance and returned back. No more temple visits.

Further down, on way back to Haridwar, I saw the Ram Jhula. This also is very similar to Lakshman Jhula.

Further down the road, I could see the entire Ghats of Rishikesh.

We began descending Rishikesh and took a break at a hotel on the highway and had some food. Over ther, the other 4 folks also just had completed their food. It was already 4 PM or so. Then, we 3 again left by the same car to Haridwar, and the rest 4 left to Shivalik Nagar by the jungle route. On way to Haridwar, I saw the entrance to Rajaji National Park. We reached Haridwar at around 5:30 or so, and changed and again had a bath at the Ganges. This time, I was able to take a few snaps of Har-ki-Pairi. It was crowded like hell. It was almost Aarti time and I could see some diyas on water.

After the bath, we came back to car and left for Shivalik Nagar. We reached Ambrish's house at around 7:30 PM, dropped his car and left for Noida at 8. 3 hours behind schedule :)

Rajan and Kunal drove the Baleno and we took very minimum breaks, as we had to reach Noida early, to go to office the next day. We finally reached Rajan's place at around 2 AM, and crashed on bed. On Monday, Rajan dropped me back to guest house just in time and from there I went to office by 11 cab with someone.

Thus, came the end of this great Himalayan tour in Uttarakhand. The memories of this trip, especially the rafting part will not be lost. Looking forward for more these kind of trips.

Delhi Darshan - 5

Today I set to explore some relatively not so popular places of Delhi which every tourist would visit. I must say, I have become a bit religious in terms of visiting temples after coming here. Daily on my way to office, I see a big temple in Chattarpur area, and so I decided to go there today, after R&D in google here.

I started from the guest house at 10:30 and took a direct bus to Chattarpur Mandir, which took about half an hour to reach. On my way to the temple, I saw a huge temple complex on the left side of the road. A little further on the right side was a huge Hanuman statue. At a little distance there were many gateways. I wasn't sure which one exactly was the Chattarpur Mandir.

I asked watchman at the nearest gate and he told me that Chattarpur Mandir area has 3 complexes, one main temple and the huge temple I saw on the left side of the road, and one complex on the right. He asked me to first go to the main temple and then visit the other temples. I did so accordingly and there was a huge rush near the entrance of the main temple.

Inside the main temple, there were a number of dieties - Lord Shiva, Sri Ram, Hanuman, Ganesha, etc in all corners of the temple. The main temple had 2 floors, where in the ground floor was Sri Ram, and on the first floor was Katyayini Devi (Durga) which is the main diety here. I got to know that this temple is managed by a trust called Sri Adya Katyayini Trust, which was founded by some Baba.

Around the main temple, there was huge hall where a big idol of Sri Ganesh was placed.
After visiting the main temple complex, I set for the second huge temple complex I saw. This temple was surrounded by plush gardens. The main dieties in this temple were Lakshmi and Ganesh, whose idols were so huge. There was a big prayer hall here. In the basement, there was the food serving hall, where lunch is given as Prasad on some days. Apparently, there was no Prasad today, and the authorities told that tomorrow as it is full moon, lunch would be served.

This Chattarpur temple complex has both North Indian and South Indian styles of gopuras. The main temple has the North Indian style and the Lakshmi-Ganesh temple has the South Indian style. All the temple complexes are built from white marble. Marble is so cheap here! And undoubtedly, the trust has so much money!

Next, I proceeded towards the third temple complex on the other side of the road. Here there were few temples here and there. The main temple here too had 2 floors - on the ground floor was the Samadhi of the Baba who founded this, and on the first floor was a huge Shivalinga. In both the floors, idols of different forms of Durga surrounded the place.

Next to the this temple there is a huge prayer hall. This prayer hall also has Durga as its main diety.

After seeing this, I next went to the Hanuman statue but didn't go near it as it was too hot and I didn't want to get my foot burnt.

Overall, this whole Chattarpur temple complex was absolutely magnificient. This seems like relatively newly built. This is currently not in the "must-see" places of Delhi, but I'm sure few years down the line, this place is going to get famous.

After the Chattarpur temple tour, I took a bus and next went to another not-so-famous place, which again I see daily on my way to office - Bhagavan Mahavir Ahimsa Sthal. I reached this place at around 1 PM (seriously I'm crazy to loiter in the sun!), and the very description of the place which was painted catched my eyes.

I could see a statue of Mahavir on a hill like structure. I climbed up the small man made hill and there was the idol of Bhagavan Mahavir.

From this place, I could see the only structure which stood tall amongst the greenary was the splendid Qutub.

Finally at 1:15 PM my hunger started and I had to listen to my stomach. I left the place and took a bus to Hauz Khas and went straight to the newly discovered south Indian restaurant at Green Park. I had the traditional south Indian food and came back to the guest house at around 2:30 PM and slept.

This weekend didn't go wasted! :-)

Mathura - Vrindavan trip

After lots and lots of analysing and planning about where all to go in Mathura and Vrindavan, I pushed myself to make this trip happen all by myself again, as noone else was keen in coming. I had booked a tour thru one site - radhekrshn.com for Rs. 2k (expensive, but couldn't help!) for the whole of saturday the 25th, as I didn't want to take a risk of not finding anyone on arrival at Mathura.

On Saturday, I woke up as early as 5 in the morning and set for Mathura. I took a rick to Nizamuddin Rly Stn, and caught the Taj Express just in time at 7:08 AM. 2 mins later, the train started and I stood for the whole journey in the general compartment. And the bogie was so full, I didn't have a place to stand too! Dont ask!

I finally completed the journey and arrived in Mathura in exactly 2 hours. Mathura, or Braj Bhoomi is the land of Lord Krishna, as everyone knows. The cab was waiting for me and he took me straight to Sri Krishna Janma Bhoomi first. I had to deposit my camera and mobile along with my bag, and entered the temple after thorough security check (they touched all parts of my body and checked my wallet too!).

Here, I first went to the Krishna Janmasthan, which is a very small room and there is a huge stone and a little grove on top of it which has the footprints of the Lord, and which marks the exact birth location of Sri Krishna. I'm sure everyone knows the birth story of Krishna. My long standing wish of seeing this place came true finally.

Next, I went to the huge temple complex nearby, called Bhagavat Bhavan. Here, a very beautiful lifesize idol of Radha-Krishna is present in the centre, with Lord Jagannath in one side and Lords Sri Ram, Sita & Lakshmana on the other side. The inside of the temple is very colourful with paintings all over including the roof. At the back of the sanctum sanctorum of the main diety, there is a huge wall on which the whole of Bhagavad Gita is placed, which is written on copper plates. After seeing this, I went to a shop in the same area and bought a packet of Peda, as I heard that Mathura ke Pedas were very famous.

I also saw the Idgah adjacent to the main wall of the temple complex and thought of the plunderings the Mughals had done. This area was very sensitive, just like Ram Janmabhoomi. Next, I went to Keshav Bhavan, where in some verses of the Gita were painted all over the walls and there was a very small idol of Krishna.

I had one cooldrink from the same place as it was very hot and got back to the cab. I told him to take me to Dwarkadheesh Mandir, but instead he took me to Birla Mandir, also called Gita Mandir. This temple is situated on the Mathura-Vrindavan road. This temple looked exactly the same as the one in Delhi - same colors and architecture. But only difference was, I was allowed to take photos of it. It has a very huge prayer hall, with Lord Krishna in the centre and 2 Gods in either side (forgot who were there, one was Sri Ram, the other one I dont remember). On the ceiling here too, were nice paintings of Krishna.

I went around the temple and saw the pillar on which the Gita was inscribed on the right side of the temple. This pillar is located in the centre of garden next to the temple.

It was already 12 and the driver took me to Vrindavan. I told him to take me first to Govardhan, as I had checked out in the net that the temples in Vrindavan would close by 12:30 PM, but he insisted to go to Vrindavan, which was only 10 kms from Mathura. In Vrindavan, itseems there are more than 5000 temples and one would require an entire month if they were to cover all the temples. On the way to Vrindavan, I saw the famous Pagal Baba Mandir. I had already jotted down few temples which are a must see from net.

The streets of Vrindavan are so small that I remembered the streets of Dwarka. Only one vehicle could pass by in one direction at a time. The whole of Vrindavan was painted with the names of Radha-Krsna. Each and every shop, wall, tree, had this name. This temple town is so small, but it has a large number of temples.

The driver first took me to ISKCON, which was on the very small main road. Again I had to deposit my camera and mobile. The security guards were so rude here, I had never experienced in any of the ISKCON temples I have seen. As I entered the temple, on the left side is the Samadhi of A.C Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. A little further down, there is the main temple with Sri Krsna-Balarama in the centre (the same one in the calendar), Sri Gaura Nitai on the left and Sri Radha Krsna on the right side. The Gods were no doubt very beautifully decorated. There were many people chanting the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra, and the Maha Mangalarati was being performed. I prayed and left the temple. For some reason, I dont know, I thought this temple was a little let down as compared to other ISKCON temples, as it was not very clean, rude people, fully commercialised, and not situated in a proper area.

We left the temple at 12:15 PM and I was immediately joined by a guide from the tourist office which I had booked thru the net. He came in his bike and picked me up and hurried to the Banke Bihari temple, which is very famous in Vrindavan, as cars cannot go to this place as the roads are very very narrow. We reached the temple at 12:30 PM, but unfortunatly, the door of the sanctum sanctorum just got closed. This temple had an open hall in the centre which was very crowded. I just came out of the temple and took its snap from the outside.

We came back to the cab, and the guide parked his bike nearby and he too joined me in the cab. He took me to Nidhi Van, on the banks of River Yamuna, where there were lots of Tulsi plants, where the legend has it that Krsna and Radha used to come here and play. This place has a small path, which has to be covered barefooted. There were many small temples along the path and different stories associated with it. One temple was dedicated to Radha Rani, which was very unique as she was holding the flute along with her friends, and this is the only temple in the world wherein She is holding the flute.

This place was fully smelling of Tulsi, but when I asked the guide if I can eat this, he told not to eat, as this was of the forest breed. The once which is eatable and has medicinal value is of some other breed.

Next to Nidhi Van was the Shahji temple, which was very big, but was closed.

The guide then showed me the tree, where the legend has it that Sri Krsna used to flick the dresses of gopis and keep them on this tree when the gopis were having bath in the river.

We then went near the Yamuna river and the guide arranged for a small boat ride on the river. The river was very narrow, and I dont think it had great depth. The guide told the boatsman to take us to Keshi Ghat, where the legend has it that Sri Krsna killed the Kalinga Naag at this place. The view of the Ghat from the river was very good. I thought, Yamuna river must have been really big at the time of Krsna, as it was very small now.

We got down at Keshi Ghat and walked back to our cab, which was hardly 200 mts. The guide told the driver to take us to ISKCON temple for lunch. On the way, I saw another big temple - Madan Mohan temple and took its snap.

We reached ISKCON's Govinda Restaurant and had lunch. This restaurant, again didn't look like it belonged to ISKCON, as prices were heavy and also the people were not friendly. And the food was also not that good.

After lunch, the guide asked me to pay the money and instructed the driver to take me to Govardhan and Dwarkadheesh temple in Mathura, and if time permits the remaining temples in Vrindavan and left the place. The drive to Govardhan took around 45 mins, though it was only 25 kms from Mathura and 35 from Vrindavan. Near Govardhan, he took me to a place called Radha Kund. In this place, there are 2 Kund's, which is separated by steps on either side. The left one is called Radha Kund and the right one Shyam Kund. One priest came to me and very nicely said that as I had come from a far off place, I ought to know the importance of this place. He told me that the legend is that Radha made this Kund with her bangles and took bath here. The popular belief is that this Kund is the embodiment of Krishna’s love towards Radha. And, once upon a time, there was some Rakshasa(demon) sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna. The demon changed his avataar to a cow and started bullying people of Mathura. When Krsna came to know of this, he killed the cow in human form. As killing of cow is considered to be a sin, Radha asked Him to purify Himself by bathing in all Holy places, to which Krsna told that He would get all the rivers of holy places to this place only and would connect this Kund with Radha Kund. So, with His flute, he created this Kund. I was all ears to the priest and I wasn't aware what would be coming to me. He made me do some pooja and asked to tell some number to contribute. I simply said 4, and he immediately told that I had to pay Rs. 175x4=Rs. 700 bucks as donation! I immediately realized what I was into and got a shock and told that I didn't have much money. Then, he didn't let me go, and I had to settle for Rs. 300 to get out of this! Holy Shit! What nonsense was this! They just looted me within minutes. I thought I need to be careful from next time!

Radha Kund:

Shyam Kund:

On the way further to Govardhan, there was another beautiful Kund, called Kusum Sarovar. One of the important signature signs of Krishna era is the Kusum Sarovar, the sacred tank on whose banks the gopi’s awaits their Lord with handful of flowers.

Still further, he took me to Manasi Ganga Sarovar. This is a masonry tank prettily placed in the center of the town, and bears close association with lord Krishna. The highly enclosed tank encompasses so many steps that were built by Raja Bhagwan Das and Raja Man Singh. Legend has it that this lake came in to existence by the divine intervention of the lord and so in divinity it transcends all other holy kunds. Devotees believe that a holy dip in this sacred kund would gain them divine blessings. It acquires much mythological relevance since it serves as the starting and ending point of Govardhana Parikrama. This tank is considered to be more potent than the holy Ganges.

All thru the way, I was looking out to have the first view of Govardhan, as I was under the impression that its a huge hill and would be able to see it from long distance. But when we arrived at Govardhan, the driver showed me the hill, which looked like on par with land. People do its parikrama and it takes around 2 hours to go round the hill. Again, legend has it that Govardhan has a bane that He would be reducing by a size of a mustard seed every day. Initially, its shadow used to come till Mathura. One of my other long standing wishes was finally fulfilled.

Opposite the hill was the main temple of Sri Giriraj Govardhan. I went around the temple, and here too the poojaris were trying to woo me, but I resisted. Looks like the entire region is only filled with false priests.

After Govardhan, we left back to Mathura and reached Mathura by 5:45 PM. As I had still plenty of time for my train, I asked the driver to take me to Dwarkadheesh temple. He dropped me near Janmabhoomi and arranged for a manual rickshaw to the temple, as it was a very very narrow street and cars wouldn't go thru. I took the rickshaw and arrived at the temple at around 6 PM, and here too the poojaris started to jump on me, but I didn't care. They told that the temple would only open at 6:30 PM. So, I went to Vishram Ghat nearby, where in the legend has it that lord Krsna took rest here after killing Kamsa. This too is on the banks of river Yamuna and there were many small temples, including a temple of Yamunadevi. The poojaris didn't leave me here too, and with great difficulty I managed to get rid of them. I just hate people who make money in the name of God! Here are some pics..

After this, as it was time, I left for Dwarkadheesh temple. The inside door opened exactly at 6:30 PM and there was a very small idol of Sri Krishna, which is similar to the one that is there in Dwaraka. I went around the temple and it was again very crowded. Here too, people were only money minded!

I left the temple at around 6:45 and took the same rickshaw and reached the cab. The driver took me back to train station and I got the tickets to Delhi by the same Taj Express. The train was supposed to come at 7:55 PM, but got delayed by 20 mins. Thankfully, I got a seat this time and finally reached Delhi Nizamuddin at 10:45 PM. From the station, took a rick and came back to the guesthouse by 11:30 PM, had dinner and just crashed.

Finally, my much awaited Mathura-Vrindavan-Govardhan trip happened and it became successful by God's will. A mission well accomplished! Thanks Lord.

Delhi Darshan - 4

Another weekend. Another outing. I must have been really crazy to step out in the sun, but some spirit in me kept me going. On Saturday, we 3 from the guest house left for Delhi Haat, at the peak time of 1:30 PM to have lunch, as in the guest house lunch wasn't served anyday. We took a direct bus to Kidwai Nagar, which is only 3 stops from Hauz Khas and walked 2 mins to reach Delhi Haat. The entry ticket was Rs. 15 per head. There was little security check, and as we entered, there were rows of handloom and handicrafts exhibition. This place is basically an open exhibition which runs thru out the year, where people from different states come and sell their stuffs.

As we were damn hungry, we set out to eat first. At the rear end, foodstalls of majority of states of India were put up. There were Kashmiri, Oriya, Assamese, Rajasthani, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra, Gujrati, Maharashtrian and Delhi foodstalls. But I couldn't see a Karnataka food stall anywhere. Deepti had been telling that Rajasthani food here was good. So, we took Rajasthani Special Thali, which was Rs. 120. They served dal-bati-churma, 2 types of rotis, 2 curries, rice, 2 sweets, raita & pickles. It was amazing, and very filling. After having that in the shades, I felt like sleeping over there itself!

After having lunch, we set out to explore the market. Apart from the normal handicrafts, the special things which I saw were the Kashmiri carpets and miniature paintings. They were so good, and when I spoke to a carpet merchant, he told that the cost of a 2ft x 4ft carpet was Rs. 8k, where as in Bangalore if they had sold, it would be Rs. 25k!

There were not many guys stuffs here, and out of which were available were too costly. The bargaining policy never worked here, and so I didn't buy anything, while the girls bought some stuffs.

We left Delhi Haat by 4 PM or so and took a rick to Ansal Plaza. This is a mall around an amphitheatre. The place was cool, but the same shops everywhere was boring. Over there, on a huge screen, the first match of IPL Season 2 was being played, and I watched it while the girls went on a shopping spree. We left this place by around 5:30 PM and reached the guest house by 6.

At around 7 PM, myself and Deepti went to Jagannath Mandir, which is very close by to our guest house. This temple was awesomely cool, calm and free from city's traffic. I wish I had taken my camera. Probably sometime later, I will revisit this temple and take some snaps.

On Sunday, I had all set plans to coverup the Humayun's Tomb and Jama Masjid. I left by 10:30 AM, changed 2 busses and reached Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, as this was the place on Google Maps which appeared to be close to Humayun's tomb. But when I landed there, people told that I had taken the wrong route and I had to cross the Nizamuddin station and take a rick or walk down from there, else from ISBT it would cost Rs. 70 by rick. So I walked down the Nizamuddin station (badly maintained!) and went on the opposite side. From there, I took a rick and went to the tomb. The rick guys didn't understand what a Tomb was, and then I had to explain what it was and how it looks, and then they gave their local name - Humayun ki Maqbara.

Well, I reached the world heritage monument by 12 PM and bought the ticket. I entered 2 big Darwazas to have the first look of the tomb. The paths & gardens were very well maintained. But it was only damn sunny.

According to the place description here, Humayun's tomb was built by his grieving widow Hamida Banu Begum. This is the precursor to the Taj Mahal and it stands on a platform of 12000 sq mt and reaches a height of 47m. This is also called 'Dormitory of Moghuls' as it has more than 100 graves within it.

To enter the tomb, there were about 20 long sized stone steps. The view of the gardens from the top was superb. Mughals had a great taste in architecture indeed. I went around the huge area on top and I found the entrance to the tomb.

I went in and found a number of small tombs here and there. The Mughal family rested here. In the centre was Humayun's tomb.

After going around it again and taking some rest under a tree, I left for Jama Masjid. After enquiry, I took a bus straight to Jama Masjid at around 1:15 PM. I had told the conductor to let me know when my stop comes, but the idiot forgot and I had to get down at the last stop. He told me a route to go to the Masjid though. I followed his advice and walked down. The area was very shabby, bad roads, and very dirty. This was the other side of Delhi, its like K.R Market of Bangalore. And worse, this was the real Delhi 6.

I moved down and surprisingly saw a Cafe Coffee Day. I was damn hungry and had a pizza. I continued and I saw the lanes having the name of Chandni Chowk. I heard the food over here was very good, but I didn't feel like having anything looking at the dirty area. There was one Gurudwara too on this road.

I continued my walk to Jama Masjid by enquiring every other person and finally reached the place, only to find that to enter the place, one had to remove shoes and if holding a camera, we had to pay Rs. 200! What the heck! Now, who wants to go over this place barefooted in this scroching sun! And the place also looked very dirty. I felt it was not worth entering it, so just took the pic from outside and thought of where to go next.

At the Jama Masjid bus stop, I thought I'll go to Karol Bagh, where I was told that there were lots of tours n travel operators. I just had to enquire about any tour to Mathura-Vrindavan, and all operators told that Agra also would be included. I collected their pamphlets and started back to guest house at around 5:30 PM. I changed 2 busses and finally reached the guest house by 7 PM.

With this, I covered all the major attractions of Delhi, baring a few like Raj Ghat, Teen Murti Bhavan etc, which is not in my tour list anyways. And this being summer time, I dont think I'll consider visiting these places. But still one thing remains in my list - Akshardham temple, which is in pipeline, as all our folks also havn't visited yet.

In the coming weeks, we are planning to have long trips (2 days max) over the weekends. Some tours which have been jotted down are: Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar, Agra-FatehpurSikri-Mathura-Vrindavan, Udaipur, Chandigarh-Shimla, Amritsar and Rishikesh-Haridwar. Lots of places to see, hope we can see! Looking forward for it to happen..!

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P.S.: Oh Surya Devta, thoda hum par reham karo!