Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records

Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records

Truely an eye opening site.

Mother Nature- Seen through Photography.

Nature, the wonderful manifestation of Almighty, of which we are but a infinitesimally small part . Nature, of which we think we know so much, yet we hardly know anything. It is infinite and it would be impossible to ever understand it completely. Its creations are diverse . From a microscopic bacterium which measures about a fraction of a micron to huge stars in front of which our magnificent sun would just be a dwarf. From life sustaining creations to life threatening catastrophes, in so many ways nature manifests its splendour. Huge mountains with ice capped peaks, rivers flowing down the mountains in form of majestic water falls, vast oceans and dense forests, such diverse kind of animal life and plant kingdom and to add to all this the mysterious outer space. The list is unending.

One way of exploring our Nature is through Photography. It is one of my hobbies and favorite passtimes. As and when it is possible for me, I indulge myself in it. I feel it is a very good and interesting way to explore our nature. Whenever I happen to see something eye catching or beautiful or something holds ones attention in anyway, I try to capture that moment in the form of a photograph. This becomes a permanent reminder of that wonderful moment .

I would like to share some of these pictures, through which I have tried to capture the diversity of Nature. Below are links to pictures of Flowers, Dawn & Dusk, Mountains & Hills and Birds & Butterflies. I hope you will like them. Your comments and opinion are most welcome.

FLOWERS

DAWN AND DUSK

MOUNTAINS AND HILLS

BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES

Ellora-It happens only in India.

Our Country India has no dearth of wonders and marvels. One such marvel is the Complex of Caves at Ellora. I visited Ellora in January 2009. The beauty and the splendour of this cave complex, especially the Kailash Temple, cannot be described in words. One has to actually visit this site.

I am sure once a person visits Ellora, he will never forget it and will always muse over the thought that how did they achieve this feat 1000-1500 years ago using just basic tools like hammer and chisel.

Ellora is situated at about 30 km from Aurangabad. It is group of about 30 caves which are either monasteries or temples belonging to Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.

Among all the caves The Kailash Temple or the Kailashnath Temple is the most marvelous and awesome structure. It is a monolithic structure, which means it was carved or more specifically speaking, excavated out of a single rock mountain. It is the largest monolithic structure in the world.

Usually construction of something starts at the bottom and goes upwards, but this temple was excavated starting from the top of the mountain and moving downwards. The work was started around 750 AD-800AD by the Rashtrakuta rulers. At least two-three generations of artisans, about several thousands in number, worked on this temple. It took about 150 years to complete.

I was just awestruck when I entered the temple. It is a horseshoe shaped complex, with the main temple in the centre, surrounded by a two storeyed complex consisting of halls and galleries. The temple is pyramidal in shape; the external walls are full of intricate carvings depicting various Hindu deities.

As usual in any Shiva temple there is a huge Nandi outside the sanctum sanctorum. The sanctum sanctorum is a big hall with a large Shiv Ling in the centre. A sense of peace prevails in this place. There are other small temples surrounding the main temple but the deities in these temples were missing.

In front and on either side of the main temple there are two tall pillars or obelisk like structures which are carved intricately from top to bottom.

Kailashnath temple is a great and a very rare example of precision and perfection in art. Since this is a monolithic structure the artisans had just one chance to make a perfect sculpture. They had to be right the first time. The artisans working must have been so much focused and dedicated to create such a great monument. I was filled with an immense sense of respect and gratitude for those artisans for giving our country such a heavenly creation. It made me feel proud that I was born in India where such marvels have been created.

I also felt sad and angry to see that many of the sculptures were badly damaged; these were undoubtedly scars left by the wanton destruction carried out by one of the most ruthless mughal ruler- Aurangzeb . Inspite of this, most of the carvings survived the onslaught.

I wonder how many such beautiful creations were destroyed by these Islamic invaders during their 700-800 years reign in India. I would call this period as the darkest period in Indian history; So many works of art, paintings, literature, historical records along with thousands of wonderful temples were destroyed and lost forever.

I don’t mean to evoke any kind of feeling of vengeance or hate over here but would like people to remember that India was a great and a rich country ; It was much advanced then today’s so called developed countries in almost all the fields, be it art or science or literature. It was vandalized and subdued by the invaders, first the Islamic invaders followed by the British to such an extent that it has totally changed the attitude and mindset of the Indian people. This I feel is the main reason why we are such a degraded lot compared to the developed countries. Our people should look into the past and learn from it, develop a progressive mindset and return our country once again to that lost glory.

Zero Point experience- Binsar.

Binsar is a beautiful place situated in the Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand. You find yourself surrounded by hills covered with pines and Rhododendrons. Once there, you feel that time has come to a stand still with such a serene and peaceful atmosphere.

Gauri, my wife and myself had a wonderful and a memorable three days stay at Binsar. Those three days gave us a diverse experience which we can never forget.

We had heard and read about the beauty of Binsar and about the magneficient view of the majestic Himalayas. So we had left for Binsar with lots of expectations and fantasies in our mind. From New Delhi we reached Kathgodham by Ranikhet express early in the Morning at about 6.30 am. From Kathgodham to Binsar it was about three and half hour drive, taking us up and down the ghats several times through winding roads giving my wife a bout of nausea. On the way we stopped at a small eatery where we had hot Alu Parathas and Coffee. The weather was cold and gloomy, the hot breakfast made us feel warm .

On the way it started raining, this made the weather more chilled. By the time we reached Binsar the weather had worsened. It was raining and was cloudy all around. Due to this the valley was dull and gloomy. Our Club Mahindra resort is in a valley surrounded by hills.

We felt that if the weather does not change we may have to stay indoors throughout our stay. This made us feel very disappointed and dejected. However by evening the rains had stopped and the sky had started becoming clear. When I saw outside from our cottage it appeared as if the clouds were rushing away, trying to jump beyond the hills.

A steward at the restaurant told us that there has been snowfall at Zero point and that if we go there early in the morning we may get to see snow. We booked cab for next day early morning. I got up early the next day at about 6.30 am and went out on the balcony. The view was so beautiful and I just couldnt believe my eyes. Far away in the east between two hills , I saw a Himalyan peak, which was glowing white with a faint saffron tinge due to the rising sun. I instantly brought out my camera and zoomed in to get a closer look at the peak, wow, it was splendid;my first glimpse of Himalaya our mighty protector in the north. I saw that the surrounding hills had a white covering on them; it was snow. I woke my wife up and showed her the peak and the snow. She just couldnt stop her exclamations, wow, so beautiful, heavenly etc, etc. I thanked god and our stars for giving us this great treat early in the morning.

We hurriedly got ready, had our breakfast and came out of the resort. Our cab was ready to take us to the Zero point. It is the highest point in Binsar situated inside the Forest reserve. From this point one gets a wide angle view of the majestic Himalayas showing off its might with great peaks like Nandadevi-India's second highest peak, Trishul, Nandakhot, Panchchuli etc. The ride in a Maruti Alto driven by a skilled driver was an adventurous one. On our way up ,the peaks of the Himalayan range were coming into our sight with every turn on the road only to loose them on the next turn . This made us move our heads from right to left and right again to catch a glimpse of the peaks. Once we entered the forest reserve we started to see snow scattered here and there on the roadside . As we went up, the snow on the road increased and at some of the turns it got so slippery that the driver had to try really hard to move the car up. It made us a bit tense at one point but our driver Deepak was really good . Finally we reached the spot from where we had to trek another kilometer and half till the zero point. This was the most tough and adventurous part, especially for Gauri. We were escorted by a young enthusiastic guide till the zero point and back. A guide on this trek is a must for amateurs like us because it is very much possible for one to get lost in the forest . It took us about half an hour to a quarter hour to reach the top. The path was full of snow, ankle deep in some places and slippery in other. Inspite of walking very carefully I managed to slip a couple of times. The ascending path coupled with the cold weather made Gauri breathless , we rested for a while and continued again.

It was so silent and serene, I thought, back home there is so much noise and chaos, but here, all one can hear is the sound of silence. We enjoyed every moment of our walk up to the Zero point.It was truely an amazing experience. We had never expected to see snow and now we were actually walking on it. The surrounding trees were fully covered with snow and with the slightest breeze the snow on the branches came pouring down, sometimes falling on us directly. On the way we spotted pug marks in the snow. Our guide said that a short while back a leapord was spotted in this area and that the pug marks are those of the leapord. That gave us a little scare but we continued. After a gruelling walk we managed to reach the top, Zero Point. The place was full of snow. There was a sought of watch tower with a staircase which led us to the top of the tower. From this point when we saw we felt that we have reached the heaven. The sight was mesmerizing. Right in front, as far as our vision could go, stood the mighty himalayan range, with its peaks touching the skies. The sight was truely awesome. I felt so humble in front of this massive, majestic and splendid creation of God. It gave me a state of mind which was calm and full of bliss as one might feel after deep meditation. After the disappointment of the previous day and a trecherous trek, this was a great Climax to our visit to Zero Point in Binsar. We came down fully satisfied and contended as if we saw Almighty God himself. The experience could be described as divine and nothing else. Thank you God for giving us this wonderful nature.