Bekal Fort

Bekal fort is in the Kasargod district of North Kerala and the only history I know of this magnificent fort built on the sea shore is that the hit song Tu hi re featuring Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swamy of Mani Rathnam’s controversial film Bombay was shot extensively at this fort.
Unlike other forts, the construction is restricted to the boundary walls, while the centre of the fort houses lovely gardens which looked much greener in the monsoon.
Who built the fort and why it was built does not matter! Just see its pictures and get a feel of it!

GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN KOLLAM, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN KERALA

This was the punch line of an email I received from an old friend who, after spending many years in Delhi and Bangalore, had gone back to his native state: Kerala.

Having visited Kerala twice in 12 months a few years back and being satisfied that I had seen Munnar, Kochi, Thekkday, Kumarakom, Alleppy, Kovalam and Trivandrum, Kollam stirred my curiosity and I checked it up on the net. Not satisfied, I thought I would go and check it up personally!

In mid-January 2009, my wife and I flew to Cochin, and after spending two days in Cochin, one in Kumarakom and one in Allepy, we headed for Kollam.

On reaching Kollam, we checked into the Tourist Bungalow on the bank of Ashtamudi Lake. In the evening, we went for a speed boat tour of the magnificent lake, which was lovely. At dinner time, I met my friend who advised me to visit Varkala beach, which is 40km from Kollam. Here are some pictures from Ashtamudi Lake:











The next morning we went on the DTPC tour of Munroe island. First we were taken by bus for around 25km and then we sat in a Punting boat which was navigated through the small canals. The bridges on the way were so low that many times we had to lie down to avoid hitting them. In the boat, we were the only two Indian tourists, and the rest were from the West. During the boat ride, we were served fresh Coconut water.The boat ride was an experience of a lifetime. I’m sharing a few pictures with you.

After lunch, we went to Varkala beach, another wonderful destination. Clean beaches and clean water. Accommodation was on the expensive side, but worth the price. The room had a comfortable bay window with an excellent view of the sea, and the next day’s breakfast was served on the balcony of the top floor restaurant overlooking the sea. We went early for breakfast and enjoyed the breakfast and the view for two hours. Breakfast was nice and the view breathtaking.











In the afternoon, we went to Trivandrum Airport, another 40kms away, and took a flight for Bangalore to meet our daughters.

Yes Mr Koshy (my friend), you were right. If one has not seen Kollam, one has not seen Kerala.

This month, I have been to North Kerala, so I will amend the statement. If you have not seen Kollam, you have not seen South Kerala.

HOLIDAYING IN INDIA

Holidaying in India can be fun and inexpensive if one knows a few facts.
First, India is beautiful and as far as natural beauty is concerned, India is second to none. Yes, we do lack in facilities, but is not difficult to find good destinations with clean accommodation. It may not be very luxurious, but it’s comfortable.

Holidaying can be dividend into two categories: weekend travel and week-long or longer trips.
Weekend trips are best made within a 300-400kms range of your home. Overnight travel saves time and cost. If it’s a planned trip, one can book accommodation through any of the various travel sites. Usually, if you reach Friday morning, hotels do permit you early check in at no extra cost.

If, like me, you do not like night travel and would love to drive yourself or take a cab, then the best thing is start early to reach your destination by lunchtime.
Most of the destinations in India offer a comfortable accommodation in the price range of Rs1500-2000 per day and if you avoid the peak season, you can get 15 to 40% discount on the tariff.

I venture out in North India four to five times a year on such trips and the total cost does not exceed Rs10,000/- per trip for two persons for three days two nights. Sometimes in this amount one can do four days and three nights.

For Longer trips, one has to plan early and, if possible, avoid the peak season. If you are prepared to sleep in different cities each night and are an early riser (even when on holiday), you can easily manage for Rs 4000 per day for two people including food and travel by A/C cab (travel to the starting point and back home not covered). A six-day trip to Kerela from Delhi inclusive of air tickets just cost me Rs 40,000/- for two people (shopping not included).

Fagu

Fagu is a tiny village aside a saddle-like mountain along Hindustan Tibet Road. A rare range of views is visible from here, which include vivid dales and snow clad peaks. The picturesque countryside is dotted with clusters of villages, fruit gardens and nearby terraced fields. Fog characterizes the hillside landscape endowed with romantic ambience. Most of the area is covered with conifers of Himalayan cedar and spruce. Located at an altitude of 2,450 m, Fagu, perhaps have derived its name from the fog itself.
ACCESS: The closest airport is at Jubbar-Hatti, 45 km away. The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Shimla, 22 km away. By road Chandigarh is 139 km and Delhi is at a distance of 392 km.
THE PEACH BLOSSOM: The hotel has been rebuilt and converted into a modern and commodious Deluxe Hotel. It provides a rare opportunity to enjoys nature's serenity and magnificence. The hotel presents a rare and kaleidoscopic view of the landscapes dipped in mysterious mist all around. The suites at the hotel offer a great view of Sun Rise as well as the Sun Set

Read the above on the Himachal Pradesh Tourism site. Last weekend I reached Fagu with my wife and daughter after halting for a night at Barog.
I have no words to describe the beauty of the place, only pictures which I am sharing with you.

Kodak Memories

There was an article in the papers recently about Kodak stopping the sale of colour films in India.
I was reminded of a notice issued by Kodak in 1994, informing that the processing of their slide film Ektacrome is being stopped in India. They were accepting films only till a particular date. That was the time when slides were cheap and prints were expensive. You would watch slides with the help of a projector on a big screen. I had clicked slides of my younger daughter of her first few months. On finishing, the roll went to the Kodak office. I gave them the roll and was informed that the roll will be processed in Australia and it would take a month.

After a month I was informed that it will take more time. I started losing patience and hope. Two months later, one fine day I received a post card informing me that the slides had arrived. On reaching the Kodak office on Janpath, I was handed over an envelope containing a plastic slide box instead of the usual cardboard box, slides mounted in plastic mounts instead of the usual cardboard mounts, and a card apologizing for the delay, and on the top it said WITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROM KODAK. These slides were very important to me as they were the only photographic record of the first six months of my daughter. This gesture of Kodak made me their admirer and client forever. As long as I used colour film, I only used Kodak. Only in April 2006, when I bought my first digital camera and bid farewell to film cameras, my association with Kodak film finished. Although if I ever need prints, it’s still Kodak and will be Kodak till they stop processing in India.

The Uttarakhand Adventure

On one Wednesday last month we were all packed to go to McLeodganj when we came to know that there was some disturbance enroute. So we decided to go to Lansdowne instead, where our neighbours had gone recently and were all praise for that place. We checked the route from Delhi on the net: it was not very exciting having to pass through Meerut, Bijnor, Mawana, Nazibabad and Kotdwar. We realized if we go via Haridwar we travelled extra, but bypassed Meerut and avoided Bijnor and Mawana.

Next morning we headed for Haridwar, stayed there for the night and after breakfast left for Lansdowne: a 120 km stretch of beautiful road. The only bad stretch was on entering Najibabad, which had a double traffic jam: road under repair and railway crossing. Once out of Najibabad, it was comfortable and after Kotdwar we started the ascent to Lansdowne.

The climb was not very steep and, as we got closer to Lansdowne, both sides of the road were full of pine trees. It was a lovely sight. After 3.5 hrs drive, we entered Lansdowne and right at the entry point was the Blue Pine Resort, which had been recommended by our neighbours. We checked into it. It was a nice place with a view of the valley, and the only drawback there was no mobile network connectivity, though there was an STD booth in the resort so one was not totally cut off. We went for a walk in the evening.

The next morning we drove through Lansdowne cantonment to Tip n Top: the highest point in Lansdwone, with a beautiful view of the valley and the range. There were a few huts of Gharwal Mandal Vikas Nigam there. We saw the place, fell in love, found accommodation, and shifted. The added bonus was that my Airtel phone suddenly came to life, much to the relief of my friends in Delhi and children in Bangalore.

I realized that the car was low on fuel. I asked for a petrol pump but was told that the last petrol pump is in Kotdwar, but you can buy petrol in the market at Rs 50/-. Went to the market with my wife, who looked out for the petrol shop while I waited in the car. Soon she appeared with a porter carrying a plastic sack on his bag. On enquiring where is the petrol, I was told it is in the sack. I opened the petrol tank lid and the porter emptied 5 two litre bottles of petrol. This was my first experience of bottled fuel.

Drove to Bhura Tal: a small artificial lake in Lansdowne and on return to the hut a storm had started. Ahead of our hut the trees were swaying and there was rain while behind the hut everything was calm as if nothing has happened: a living example of how we should be calm inside even if turbulent externally.

After the storm, in the sweet company of the two young nieces of the manager of the tourist bunglow, we went to the Tip n Top point.

In the adjacent hut was a young couple with two little daughters. On chatting with them, we came to know that Corbett Park is just 60 kms from there and my wife got tempted. They were leaving for Corbett the next day after breakfast.

The next morning visited the Lovers lane, two churches and one temple. Lansdowne is a small beautiful place, a paradise for all those who love nature with least interference.

Had breakfast and drove along with the couple to Corbett after 60 Kms there was a gate to enter Corbett but we were not allowed, as entry was restricted to permit holders. Permit was issued to people staying in the guest house and permit was issued only in Ram Nagar, though Ram Nagar was just 50 kms away if you had a jeep. My Wagon R could have still managed, but our companions had a Honda City. We decided to take a longer route which was 140 kms away. We were told only 9 kms it bad rest is fine. The 9 km could not be called bad: it was very bad! At certain points the car skidded towards the valley and other parts it was very very bumpy. My car had a higher clearance so I could manage, but our companion Akash had to get out of his car and clear the stones for his car to pass. On reaching the good part of the road Akash looked very worried about how I felt after that drive. I said no problem and rather I thanked him for fulfilling my desire of participating in the Himalayan Car Rally and from now on, I will think twice before calling a road bad. The rest of the journey was comfortable on winding roads through places we had never heard of. We climbed the mountains three times before finally reaching Ram Nagar after 8 hrs of driving through the hill terrain. We got into a resort inside a mango orchard, had something to eat, and slept like a log.

The next morning we got up very early, went to Ram Ganga behind the resort and by 6 am were all set to leave. We did not visit the Corbett park as it was peak season and advance booking was needed to visit, which we did not have and my wife was is no mood for bumpy jeep ride after yesterday’s adventure. We got the petrol tank filled and set for our return journey we came across a board saying Nanital 74 kms Delhi 280 kms. I asked my wife where should we go. She shot back: Nanital of course, Delhi is so far off! Within 2 hours, we were in the Tourist Bungalow of Nanital, looking out for a room. It was Saturday morning and we thought if we do not get accommodation we will spend some time in Nanital, drive back to Ram Nagar and go home on Sunday. The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam tourist bungalow people were very helpful though they did not have any room they could get us a room in their other tourist bungalow at Talli Tal which has a lovely view and we have stayed there many times. Tt was a blessing in disguise. We left for Talli Tal and were given a room

Had a bath and after breakfast went boating in the Naini lake. It was a cloudy morning and very few people had yet ventured out. After boating, we went around the mall where my wife was busy window shopping. I went to the newspaper shop and sat on the roadside bench and glanced through the paper.

Soon it was lunch time. We went to a restaurant cum confectionary and had a nice meal followed by éclair. In the meantime, outside it was raining heavily so we kept on sitting in the restaurant sipping a cup of coffee.

After the rain stopped went back to the Tourist Bungalow. Did not venture out in the evening. Sat in the balcony and enjoyed the view of the lake and the mall.

Sunday morning we went for a boat ride and after breakfast we drove back to Delhi doing around 1000 kms in 5 days through Garhwal and Kumaon himalayas, staying in different places.
Sharing with you a few pictures of our adventure:

Indian Coffee House

Today morning I received a call from Rumi. He said it’s been 40 yrs. We must get together as promised. So at 6.30pm, Rumi, Shammi, Mukesh, Agni and I met at the Indian Coffee House at Mohan Singh Place, where we went for our first college joining party 40 years ago.

Mohan Singh Place in Connaught Place Delhi is the first multistoried mall in Delhi and even now you can go there, select cloth, and get jeans stitched in a few hours. Last we went to the coffee house was when we completed 30 yrs.

We have fond memories of this place, the cup of coffee, the vada served with pumpkin sauce, the aluminium spoon to stir your coffee with (it would vanish the moment you put it back on your plate, because they were always short of spoons).

In all these years, things have changed. You get tomato sauce, you get hot palak pakora, but what has not changed is the taste of coffee and also us friends.

The chat and the topics were the same as 40 years ago. We joked about the same things, remembering the girlfriends, the mischief, the old friends… how 40 years passed we did not realize…. and soon it was time to go. We called for the bill and the moment bill came it was my duty as usual to announce the share. We friends have always gone Dutch and even today we pooled the money to pay the bill.