Gypsy at Large

Gujarat has been a home for me for the last four years. For a Delhi girl, used to carry a constant frown on her face as a time tested safety drill, Gujarat - Jamnagar - to be precise, came as a refreshing change with girls roaming around unhindered on the roads till late in the night, with no person trying to cat call them or trying to grope them was the much needed impetus for my traveling dreams. This state of Gujarat just celebrated it 50 years of foundation. On this occasion I tried to curate my own reasons to visit this state on the west coast of India. 1. Rann of Kutch - The white desert aka Rann of Kutch is a marvel of nature that is seen to be believed. A marshy stretch of white salt is shared between India and Pakistan. The unending white stretch till your eyes can see and the sun going down at the horizon is a sight to behold. Stay in Bhuj, Gandhidham or Dhordo in case you do not want to shell a bomb for the tents in Rann of Kutch during the Kutch Festival in winter...

The scene was straight out of the Jungle Book, a dense forest teeming with all sorts of insects and other living beings, humidity threatening to dehydrate you slowly but surely. And thus began our adventure to trek to Nongriat village, roughly 70 kms from main Shillong town. In short we were gearing to play Mogli without Bagheera to help us out. We hit the road from Shillong at around 9.30 am. (Even if you are not a road journey person, do it for the scenic beauty of it). It is the beginning of April and the monsoon season is knocking on the door. Shillong belongs to the state Meghalaya, literally the abode of clouds. So as the sun goes up in the sky, the clouds descend on earth. At Cherapunjee, the erstwhile “wettest” place on earth, the clouds shadows the Noakhali waterfalls and the green valley is turned white. We continue our onward journey as the car drives through series of clouds. We were being told the village would not have anything to much. So we made a pit stop had...

The imprint of the Hindu God Lord Krishna is there all over Gujarat. But it is in Dwarka - the believed Kingdom of the Blue God - does one see the mythology coming to life. The foremost of the Chardhams, the four holy pilgrim cities in Hinduism, Dwarka has also been referred to as 'Mokshapuri' (the place where one can attain Moksha or freedom from the cycle of life and death). The city finds mention in the epic of Mahabharat. Krishna, termed as the 'purna avtar' or complete reincarnation of Vishnu- The Preserver, had founded the Kingdom after he left Mathura. Visitors should visit this intricately carved five story temple and thereafter visit Bhet Dwarka. Bhet Dwarka is located on an Island two kilometers away from Dwarka and is dedicated to Krishna's wife Rukmani Devi. The excavation by Archeological Survey of India has yielded evidence of a city that has submerged into waters owing to coastal erosion. Visitors should also keep in mind that finding non-ve...

When I was amongst the people selected to go up to Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim I was exalted. I had to been to Gangtok many a times, but this was the first time I will go to one of the highest lakes in the world and the best part was it was located just 5 kms away from the Indo-China border.  Out of a group of 30 odd people only 15 were declared fit to go to Gurudongmar Lake, located at an altitude of about 17,100 feet. And I was riding high on my experience of having trekked all the way to Siachen Glacier in more inhospitable conditions. So began the journey from Gangtok to Lachen. We started around 9.30-10 am in a bus for our destination. The road was washed away in many places considering we were travelling in the month of September. But the rain had made the landscape amazingly beautiful. It was green and misty till where your eyes went. We stopped halfway at an army post to have hot Chai and Matthi!! It was the ultimate bliss in the weat...