Blogs from Gujarat, India, Asia - page 15

The landscape in the Little Raan Sanctuary is harsh and extreme. For eight months of the year it's a desert of cracked, crusty mud - a flat expanse of nothingness stretching as far as the eye can see. Confronted with such a landscape it's easy to see how people believed it was possible to fall off the edge of the earth. Featureless, colourless, a country-scape to drive a person mad. Occasionally, a bet (elevated plateaus which rise to about three meters) provides eye candy. Heat mirages hover on the horizon. Vast lakes appear out of nowhere, shimmering in the sun's glare. The emptiness is unrelenting. Imagine living in such a place. The area is punctuated by desolate salt farms where Agarias - salt pan workers - belonging to the Chuwaliakolis caste (which comes under the backward ... read more

India is a country of workshops. Most Indian ladies buy fabric and get a tailor to make up garments specifically for them rather than buying 'ready made'. I decided to follow suit. On the recommendation of our guesthouse manager I went to look for "Bandhej" a shop well known for it's bandhani or tie-dye fabrics - a speciality of the area. Tie-dye is a simple but time consuming process. Material is folded in half several times until it becomes a small square or rectangle. A design is then marked on the cloth using a wooden block. A bandhani crafts person, who purposely allows the thumb and forefinger nail to grow long for use as a pair of pincers, ties the marked areas into tiny knots. The motifs (indicated by the block) are tied with thread so ... read more

Hello and Namaste!! It's pleasure to be back in Country and exploring places. Enjoying Winter more than ever I did before though sometimes Sunlight that I missed more than anything else in England, scares me when I imagine temp. will reach more than 40 C in Summer.. Don't worry.! I can survive.. :-) As I wanted to, I had almost 3 months Holidays doing nothing other than wandering here and there into the Wild, met various spices of Birds, Animals, Insects and most interesting outcome was that I found the secret to be a "Wildlife Photographer" don't tell anyone else.. ;-) it's a Secret ... You only need to be an Adventurous, love Nature and its creatures. and of course, a Camera ;-) and you are one of the Wildlife Photographer... Why people go to University/college?? ... read more

We headed towards Somnath Jyotirlinga temple. Somnath temple one of most important Lord Shiva temple. The history of this temple is a true proof of the Glory of India in past. Before rise of west india was richest country in the world. Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 in West Indies when he tried to reach india from west. There where specialist persons who made maps in britain who were finding sea route to reach golden land of india. Richness of Indian land have attracted Mugals,portugese and britshers. How did india became worlds richest country then? This also raises questions as to how was journey of indian civilization from apes to worlds richest country.If the temples of india were so rich, how rich would be the citizens of india in those period. Somnath is the place which ... read more

Well here goes, first entry on my travelblog. Not sure who I'm writing this for just yet, ie you my merry audience, so maybe i'll write for myself and see how things pan out. The unforgettable smell of hot humid tarmac that is Bombay airport. Ingrained in my memory. Only this time the air conditioning is so efficient inside even the domestic terminal that waiting all night for the mornings connecting flight was cold. Not an experience i had expected on my round the world adventure seeking warmer climes - I had to put my woolly sox on. And no, before you ask no i dont have a picture of me at Bombay airport with my woolly sox! A week on the Vadi. For those that dont know this is the farm my grandparents started in ... read more