Dec 132017
 
My Experience of Visiting Hornbill Festival Kohima Nagaland

The Colors & Smiles of Hornbill Festival From My Camera They call Hornbill Festival Kohima Nagaland as the festival of festivals as during Hornbill Festival the diverse Naga tribes come together at the Kisama Heritage Village about 12 KM outside of state capital Kohima to collectively celebrate the Naga cultural heritage.  I must confess that my knowledge of North East India in general and Nagaland, in particular, is very poor and I can assure you most of  Indians who are not from North East know exactly as much as I know about North East that is  “ZERO”. We who [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Nov 062017
 
My Experiments in Photography With Infinix Hot 4 Pro

  Diwali & The Case of Donut Photography With Infinix Hot 4 Pro The problem with declaring yourself a travel blogger is that people assume that you are always traveling.  And now that I have declared myself to be a “Top Ka Travel Blogger from India” people assume I am always traveling to exotic destinations. But truth is that I travel much less than many of mine corporate type friends spend more time in flights than they spend in their homes or even office. As for me, I am equally happy going to my neighborhood if something interesting is [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Nov 232016
 
Celebrating Naropa Festival Leh

My Experience of Naropa Festival Leh Celebrations For more than 2000, years Leh was the final frontier, a few people knew it even existed, even less wanted to visit Leh. Then after the movie 3 Idiots, getting Lehed became something to be proud of. Thankfully for thousands of years, Ladakh was not on anybody’s agenda except for Buddhist monks and an odd invading army from Central Asia on his journey to more lucrative places to plunder. Isolation due to harsh terrain to travel with heavy snow in winters leading to the closure of passes every winter meant that very [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Oct 092016
 
Revisiting Puja Memories:  With Love from Kolkata

The Joy Of Puja: Because Every Puja is Special Note from desi Traveler: There is Puja festivities everywhere, so I asked our friends to share their Puja Memories from Kolkata and other places.  I have my own fond memories of Puja in Kolkata, going from one Pandal to another trying to figure out what is happening all around me. But then I gave up and just joined the crowd in celebrating. Such is the joy of joining a Sarbojanin Durga Puja or the community Puja. But then there are very special Pujas that happen in Bengali homes in Kolkata that [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Aug 112016
 
Naropa Festival Leh 2016 – ‘The Kumbh Mela of the Himalayas’

Naropa Festival Leh the right reason to visit Ladakh in 2016 First thing first- Irrespective of  the label you restrict yourself to – Traveler, Tourist, Pilgrim, Solo, Group, Family, Gali-Mohalla or Panchayati traveler please do yourself a favor and stop saying, shouting  and /or wishing “ I want to get Lehed” “ Finally I got Lehed after dreaming about it ever since I saw 3 Idiots ” And then there are those who visit a slightly so called off beat destination where only locals normally go and then beat their chest like King Kong on Empire States Building – “ I [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jul 072016
 
Rath Yatra Puri : A Divine Festival of India

Where The Divine Travels: Rath Yatra Puri The map only showed that Puri is on the sea shore of Bay of Bengal, there was no mention of the ocean of humanity that submerges the city of Lord Jagannath every year. As per legend every year Lord Jagannath and his siblings Balbhadra and Subhadra visit their aunts’ home. The journey happens on three temples chariots pulled by devotees.  When I reached the main square where Raths were getting final touches, more than the size of the Chariots I am overwhelmed by humanity around me.  It seems the world has congregated [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jan 212016
 
Lohri Celebrations

Pictures of Bonfires of Lohri Festival In India, most of our festivals are as per the lunar calendar like Holi, Diwali among Hindus and Eid among Muslims.  But there are a few festivals in India that are celebrated as per the Solar calendar. I have share pictures of Sankranti or Pongal as it is called in South India some time back.  But Sankrant / Sankranthi / Pongal is celebrated in different parts of India and other places like Nepal and Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara Rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path.  But [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Oct 312015
 
Clicking Karwa Chauth Moon

How To Photograph Karwa Chauth Moon So my experiments with photographing moon continue. Just like last year, this year also the Karwa Chauth Moon played spoilsport and defied all predictions by all the astronomy websites. But partly all the haze and dust in the sky was also to be blamed. Both me and the younger one on moon spotting duty, and were constantly coordinating with building security,  Wife jee and various astronomy sites who have predicted moon rise at exactly 20: 22 hours.  I was on rooftop much before that trying to figure out from where Mr. Moon will make [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Oct 202015
 
Bathukamma Festival of Flowers Telangana by Chandrasekhar Singh

Celebrating Bathukamma A Festival of Flowers in Telangana If you are not from Telangana the 29th state of India, chances are you have never heard about Bathukamma. So a bit of introduction and information about Bathukamma, the festival of flowers of Telangana is not out of order.   Bathukamma is a festival with deep roots in agrarian traditions and worshipping Mother Goddess in the Telangana region. Just like the colorful festival of Bonalu dedicated to Mother Goddess, Bathukamma is also dedicated to Mother Goddess, but while Bonalu  is for thanking the mother to save the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Oct 222014
 
Diwali is a festival of Lights

    Celebrating an Eco Friendly Diwali: A festival of Lights Diwali is the biggest festival in India celebrated across regions and religions.  It started as a festival of lights when as per Ramayana Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after spending 14 years in exile in the Jungles.  When he returned to Ayodhya triumphant after defeating demon king Ravana the citizens of Ayodhya illuminated the city with oil lamps, hence starting the tradition of ” Festival of Lights “. Notice  Diwali or Deewali or Dipawali is a festival of lights, I am not sure when the tradition of burning [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]