Forts and Palaces

Apr 042017
 
A Road Trip From Gurgaon To Agra To See THE TAJ MAHAL

A desi Tourist Goes To Taj Mahal Agra Every time I will ask her where should we go, she will say “Let us go to Taj Mahal in Agra”, and every time I will reply, “But we have both been there so many times”. This time she snapped back “YES WE HAVE BOTH BEEN THERE, YOU WITH YOUR STUPID CLIENTS AND I WITH MY COUSINS, MASSEE Jee, CHACHI JEE AND MUMMY JEE AND PAPA JEE. Has it ever occurred to you that I want to see THE TAJ MAHAL with you, MY HUSBAND and with my kids?” Now normally [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 202016
 
World Heritage Day Walk in Mehrauli with INTACH

INTACH Heritage Walk in Mehrauli Archaeological  Park April 18 is World Heritage Day, aka known as International Day for Monuments and Sites.  So desi Traveler went on his own little jaunt with INTACH Delhi Chapter for a little heritage tour of Mehrauli Archaeological  Park. Now this was not my first visit to Mehrauli, nor it will be last, for Mehrauli has more history per square meter than any other place in Delhi. And this history spans more than a thousand years from the Pre-Islam days in India to all the way to British times, all this you can cover in [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jan 162016
 
Gobindgarh Fort Amritsar

Restoration of Gobindgarh Fort : A heritage reclaimed On all my previous visits to Amritsar, I wanted to visit Gobindgarh fort, but each time I was discouraged by anybody whom I asked for directions “ Gobindgarh Fort ? Wahan Kuch Nahi hai, Kya karoge waha ja kar”  क़िला गोबिंदगढ़ ? वहां कुछ नहीं है क्या करोगे वहां जा कर Or there is nothing in Gobindgarh Fort , what will you do there ? And as a naïve tourist, who  is happy to be see what he is shown I missed visiting Gobindgarh fort each time. But as I always [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jul 252015
 
Ranthambore National Park and Fort in Rajasthan

Ranthambore  Where Time Stands Still & Tigers Roam Free  Trinetra Ganesha Temple Ranthambore Fort   I started writing this post while packing to visit Tal Chapar Sanctuary in Rajasthan. I have scheduled it to get published when I will be on a Train to Rajasthan. Preparation for the trip reminded me of my visit a few years ago to Ranthambore national park and fort in Rajasthan; initially, I was reluctant to write as many things may have changed. But then Wife jee chided me if not much has changed in a thousand years in Ranthambore, what would have changed [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jul 182015
 
Mirza Ghalib Ki Haveli Ballimaran Old Delhi 6

 desi pays homage to favorite poet of Delhi at Mirza Ghalib Ki Haveli  This post is dedicated to  Mirza Ghalib and his fans. A recent visit to Mirza Ghalib’s Haveli in Gali Qasim Jan, Ballimaran,  near Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi took me back to centuries and to an era when poets ruled hearts of people, while the Emperors struggled to save their fading glory. We were introduced to Ghalib in childhood form movie songs from Black and White era like Nuktachi Hai Gham-E-Dil Usko Sunaye Na Bane Kya Bane Baat Jahan Baat Banaye Na Bane Maein Bulata To Hun Usko [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jun 102015
 
Rangoli Frescoes in Rajasthan: A tradition lost & found

Rangoli Frescoes Found in Rajasthan I was watching Hitch the nth time and like every time Will Smith’s character Hitch says Hitch: Heard of Michelangelo? Heard of the Sistine Chapel? Albert: Yeah? [Points at himself] Hitch: Michelangelo. [Points at Albert] Hitch: Sistine Chapel. Albert: So you’re saying you can make this work? Hitch: My name is Alex Hitchens. Let’s go paint that ceiling. Now please look at the picture below it is a rangoli design right? But it is not painted on the floor it is painted on the ceiling!  The central sphere that you see is actually the [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

May 242015
 
Road Trip to Neemrana Fort in Tata Bolt : desi goes on #BoltDrives on NH 8

#BoltDrives to Fort Neemrana Rajasthan in Tata Bolt  Can there be anything better than a road trip to Rajasthan ?  Well how about a road trip with fellow bloggers? But wait let us make it even better. How about a road trip in brand new Tata Bolt, with tank full, and fellow bloggers to give you company and share stories, sing songs and pull each other’s legs? Bus Bus Pajee control nahi ho raha ab to… (बस बस   पाजी  कंट्रोल    नहीं  हो  रहा  अब तो ), I can imagine what you must be thinking. So same was my condition [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Feb 272015
 
March 2015 Calendar- Download Desktop Wallpaper

  March 2015 calendar desktop wallpaper: The  Most Magical Swimming pool Dear readers, let us welcome , a month that brought shivers down my spine even as the mercury rose to torturing thirties and occasionally flirting with forties.  But the shivers down the spine had nothing to do with weather; my shivers were due to the exam season. Yes March is the month of exams in most of the schools in India and mine was no exception. So suddenly I had to find all the books, beg, borrow and in one case even steal (for photocopying then returning) notes from the smart ones in [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jan 192015
 
Golconda Fort and The Legend of Bhakta Ramadas

Golconda Fort & the Story of  Bhakta Ramadas &Tana Shah Every time I climb the stairs of the Golconda fort I discover something new or spend the time to understand and photograph something in more detail. I hope you have read my post about Kali Temple in Golconda Fort,  right next to the Royal Palace, if not please do read before moving further. So this last trip we spent some time in the prison room of Bhakta Ramdas, his name means a devotee of Lord Rama though his original name was Gopanna. The story of the prison is a combination [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jan 132015
 
A Walk Photographing Delhi Heritage in Mehrauli

 Walking Talking and Photographing Delhi Heritage in Mehrauli So how many Delhi cities you know? If you are a Muggle like me you may say 2, New Delhi and Old Delhi. But if you read historians they will give you a lot more than just 2 cities of Delhi. From the mythological Indraprastha to the modern New Delhi there were many cities in between. The Dhillika or Tomars, Jahanpanah and Tughlaqabad built by an emperor who is either called an idiot or a genius depending on whose version you want to listen, but everybody agrees on his tyranny.   A [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]