Category: India

Celebrate this Bengali New Year’s day differently 1

Celebrate this Bengali New Year’s day differently

April 13, 2019

The Bengali New Year or Poila Baisakh is the first day of the Bengali Calendar, celebrated with processions, fairs, family time, and lots of sweet. It’s celebrated on 14th April in West Bengal, India and as a National holiday in Bangladesh.

Traditional Bengali New Year celebrations include wearing new clothes, sharing sweets and pleasantries with friends and family, touching feet of elders to seek blessings for the upcoming year and go with parents to do “haal khata”.

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Last day of Aero India 2019 show ended on a high note! 2

Last day of Aero India 2019 show ended on a high note!

February 25, 2019

Hi Friends, I am writing this after an exciting day at the 12th edition of the biennial Aero India 2019 show held at Yelahanka Air force station in Bangalore, India. The Indian Air Force, Defence Ministry of India, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and other such organisations join hands to organize the Aero India show, making it Asia’s largest air show. This five day event starting from February 20 came to an end yesterday (February 24) on a high note.

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Celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Lalbagh Flower Show 2019 3

Celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Lalbagh Flower Show 2019

February 6, 2019

As I was tuning the radio to listen to my favorite radio channel while carpooling to my office, I heard about the Lalbagh flower show and immediately made a plan to visit it after my work that day. Every year on Republic Day and Independence Day, remarkable flower shows are organized at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore. The bi-annual event is jointly organized by the Department of Horticulture and Mysore Horticulture Society, becoming one of the most awaited events in the city of Gardens. This year’s theme is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150th Birth Anniversary. The show was inaugurated on 18th Jan and ended on 26th Jan with a footfall of 7 lakh visitors.

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A Weekend Getaway to Garh Panchkot, the Forgotten Land 5

A Weekend Getaway to Garh Panchkot, the Forgotten Land

December 13, 2018

My trip to the forgotten land of Garh Panchkot is engraved in my heart as if it was yesterday. Garh Panchkot is a ruined fort located at the foothills of Panchet Hill in the district of Purulia, West Bengal. The remnants of the Garh (fortress) bear a silent testimony of the Bargi attack during the 18th century. To give recognition to the main five (panch) clans (khunt) of the local, the kingdom established by Damoder Sekhar assumed the name of Panchkot.

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Murud Janjira Fort - The Only Unconquered Fort in Maharashtra 6

Murud Janjira Fort – The Only Unconquered Fort in Maharashtra

November 21, 2018

Safely tucked away from the eyes of the mainlanders, there is an oval shaped fort of Murud Janjira on an island off the coastal village of Murud in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Murud Janjira fort is the only one of its kind and rightfully so.

The fort got its name from the Arabic word “Jazeera”, meaning an island. The name of the village Murud is derived from the word “Morod” in Konkani.

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The statue of Jatayu in Lepakshi

An excursion to Lepakshi from Bangalore

November 7, 2018

One of our friends recently purchased a car and took us for a long drive to Lepakshi, a historic village in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on Karnataka Formation Day (1st November). Approximately 120 km from Bangalore, Lepakshi makes an interesting place to visit in weekends because of its many legends.

Lepakshi has a cultural and archaeological significance as it has shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Veerabhadra which were built during the Vijayanagara kings’ period.

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A Road Trip to One of the Lesser Known Hill Stations - Valparai 7

A Road Trip to One of the Lesser Known Hill Stations – Valparai

October 22, 2018

While coming back from Kodaikanal, we took a detour towards Valparai, a tiny hill station in the Coimbatore district to Tamil Nadu. It is often dubbed as the ‘Seventh Heaven’ of those who desire to visit hill stations like Ooty, Kodaikanal, andCoorg but are dismayed by the upsurge of the footfall of tourists in those places.

The road from Kodaikanal to Valparai is very scenic with 40 hairpin bends on the way up to Valparai from Aliyar. You can see the forest giving way to plantations as you reach the town.

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A Road Trip to Kodaikanal - The Princess of Hill Stations 8

A Road Trip to Kodaikanal – The Princess of Hill Stations

October 20, 2018

Last summer I went to Kodaikanal with my college friends just to get away from my mundane life. Back then my parents were looking for a suitable groom for me and I was a little frustrated with the search. Kodaikanal was a welcome break for me.

Located in the hills of Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu, Kodaikanal is often referred to as the “Princess of Hill Stations” and for good reasons. The word “Kodaikanal” loosely means “The Gift of the Forest” which it undoubtedly is. Kodaikanal every year attracts a lot of tourists, who are looking for an escape from their mundane lives.

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