And this is how it looks:

Do grab your copy today!

All geared up for spending some money, our shopping spree began in Adalat bazaar (picked on Mallika’s recommendation, who’s lived in Patiala, and could guide us well). The market was abuzz with stuff befitting a typical Punjabi bride’s trousseau — rich fabric, colourful parandis, juttis..!

Narrow lanes lined with shops selling fabric in Adalat bazaar

Colourful parandis on display

A shoe-seller enthusiastically poses with his wares

We warmed up with picking some Patiala salwars, and chappals..until the big spending happened on the lovely phulkari dupattas! In variety of colours with chequered, geometric patters and mirrors..most of them so broad that one could probably wrap them around like saris ..but nevermind that, we still, all of us (minus the boy Bodhi ), got one or more each!

In a Phulkari shop.. spoiled for choice!

Dressed in phulkari!

Content with our buys here, we set out to our next stop, Qila bazaar, literally, the market that has grown along the walls of the once royal fortress here, Qila Mubarak. It offers the most attractive variety in juttis with zari work, Mallika informed us. And sure it did! We found an amazing jutti shop here, with royal pairs in leather, embellished with the most intricate weavings in gold and silver zari! Looking at them admiringly, we got nearly every second pair out to try. However, disappointingly for the sales-boy we decided to be tight-fisted and ended up buying none!

Qila bazaar

The seemingly narrow lanes manage to make space for everyone!

Anyhow, shopping adventure over, we walked down to the Fort to soak in some of the historicity the town lays claim to.

Inside the fortress, Qila Mubarak

Durbar Hall of the Qila Mubarak

chara and wheat fields

a pristine blue canal, one of the many that criss cross the fertile state

NH1, a picturesque ride

Our whole team of six was headed to Gary Farms, a plush 1600 acre farm in Nabha, Patiala, to check out what ‘farm tourism’ was all about.

Our first stop was of course a dhaba at Murthal, barely an hour’s drive from Delhi, for a breakfast which was a preview of what was to come in Punjab, paranthas with huge dollops of white butter and creamy curd.

parathas with huge dollops of white butter, our staple during this trip

It was a fairly smooth drive to Chandigarh where we met our host, Mr AS Grewal, a sprightly gentleman well on the other side of sixty. He suggested that we stop by his office in Gary Arts in Mohali before proceeding to the farm.

Gary Arts took us by surprise. With a Spiderman perched on the roof in take-off mode and a gorgeous village belle peeking out of a haveli window, all conjured out of fiberglass, the factory cum showroom transported us to toon world meets model Punjab village. As a result we became shutterbugs and posers. I needed a photograph with my childhood hero Bugs Bunny, the boss wanted to be clicked with Sardarji with mobile and Bodhi found a gun (was it real or fiberglass?) and got an entire portfolio shot by Nidhi.

village belle at the entrance to Gary's Arts with leaping Spiderman in the background

Mr Grewal informed us proudly that Gary Arts, known for its fiberglass reproductions of Punjabi village scenes, made the Sheras given as tokens to the athletes in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi.

An hour’s drive from Mohali brought us to Nanoki, the village where Gary Farms is situated. After depositing our bags in the guestrooms in the family gurudwara where we were to spend the night we rushed off to catch our evening entertainment, ‘kushti at the village akhara’. As we drove through the fields at dusk we realized how quiet and clean the air around us was! At the akhara, while the regular spectators sat in charpoys we sat in plastic chairs facing the pit which we were told had been prepared by mixing the earth with turmeric powder(for its antiseptic qualities) and mustard oil (to soften the ground). The village pehelwans were already in their loincloths and after the customary lap around the pit and some thigh slapping they dived at each other, grappling in pairs matched in weight and strength.

'Kushti' at the village akhara

We gathered that the heaving struggle concluded only when one of the pair landed on his back and was unable to extricate himself from the opponent’s grip.

Elaborate photo sessions with the local heroes, some of whom have competed at the national and international level followed.

At night, we drove down to Nabha town to see a parandi factory and got ourselves rainbow hued naras!

coloured yarns being woven into vibrant naras and parandis

We drove to the local fort which looked massive and forbidding in the night and on our way stopped by the grand Punjab Public School located in the vast buildings and grounds of the court of the erstwhile princely state.

the Nanoki Gurdwara, our shelter for the night

Our day ended with a scrumptious dinner served by our hosts which included fresh paneer from their dairy and fish from their ponds. And yes we did locate some of those long forgotten constellations in the star filled sky (a rare treat for us city slickers!).

The next morning we went to see Col Grewal’s (Mr AS Grewal’s brother) fish farm set amidst three ponds which yield quintals of fish every month. We were, however, enthralled by the other animals in his menagerie, the handsome black kadaknaths (indigenous hens of Madhya Pradesh), the charming cow and calf, the ducks, the turkey and the horses.

prized Kadaknaths and the Turkey who thinks he is a chicken

Our team on Col RS Grewal's terrace

After yet another lavish meal of paranthas, curd, butter and fresh milk (counting calories is a city fad) at Mr Grewals’ we left the farm satiated, rejuvenated and all set for our next stop…Patiala.

Bhojpur, located 11 kms into the countryside on a rocky hilltop, seemed grander than I remembered.

As we walked around the ASI-enclosed space, we looked for clues to the unfinished character of the temple we had read about…architectural plans, a damaged ramp, fragments of loose sculpture….

but the most striking feature that stands out like a beacon of faith in a desolate landscape is the shivalinga.

Parvati and I watched the priest-caretaker, a very knowledgeable and engaging elderly man, perform the ritual abhishekam (or milk-bath) of the linga. He then climbed down and approaching us, signaled to us to make coconut offerings. My coconut took some persuasion to crack but the priest didn’t require any to launch into an engrossing narrative, peppered with shlokas and folk-sayings, of the history, legends and mystery of Bhojpur.

From Bhojpur, we headed straight to Bhimbetka and the excitement grew as soon as Parvati spotted the silhouettes of rocks that led the noted archaeologist VS Wakankar  to this incredible site in the first place. Unlike my last visit, 14 years ago, Bhimbetka now had a cosy Highway Treat hotel-cum-restaurant run by Madhya Pradesh Tourism, which, other than snacks and beverages, offered a great opportunity to observe trains brushing past on the adjacent track every 10 minutes.

Nourished and pepped, we headed to the caves, which captured our imagination, almost making us forget time. The UNESCO World Heritage Site provides evidence of human art (cave paintings) from as far as 100,000 years ago. From layer-marks of sedimentation revealing that the rocks here were once below the primaeval Tethys sea to the Zoo-Rock with thousands of overlapping centuries of animal sketches, to the precariously balanced Turtle-Rock, the sights of Bhimbetka are fascinating. A word of advice though: don’t go by everything the guide says. In fact, he probably won’t show you the the coolest, and most ancient, green paintings, that are 2kms uphill. But if you want to needle him, do ask about rhino sketches.

Interestingly, the mosquitoes were still there, and the bites did swell but not before we had completed two rounds of the complex. Armed with tripods, we looked a bit mosquito-like ourselves.

By evening, we were back in Bhopal where the ASI scholar, Manuel Joseph discussed more interesting points about Bhimbetka, but once we reached Bhopal Station, the train chugged in and we knew it was back to the 21st century.

And to add another ‘first’, it is our first attempt at compiling a guidebook on forests and wildlife. Must say we went through a whole lot of road blocks (and mind blocks) on conceptualising and writing it, but the end result seems to be more than satisfying!

Vibrant with images of fauna, flora and the varied forestscapes that the state offers, and complete with in-depth research, the book will be a sure delight for the wildlife enthusiast!

Do check it out! We hope its appreciated enough to edge us onto publishing lots more showing the wild side of the country!

Cover

A glimpse of the inside pages:

Latest from Goodearth: Monuments of Delhi for the Archaeological Survey of India

Yes, its out! And the Prime Minister gave a thumbs up at the official launch! (We couldn’t all make it to the launch but we believe the news-people couldnt stop clicking…ok, the PM’s Monalisa smile could have had something to do with it..)

PM Manmohan Singh releases MoD

The rickshaw ride through the ancient bazaar, watching it stir into break of day activities at the leisurely pace befitting the 17th century havelis which line the streets, was enchanting. The aroma of freshly fried puris and milk sweet tea filled the air while the shutters went up revealing shops selling everything from bejewelled sarees to electrical goods. Ajmeri Gate, one of the five remaining gates of Shahjahanabad, stands forlornly at the intersection of several such streets that in a few hours time would see frentic commercial transactions. Our task of photographing the gate for our book Monuments of Delhi was challenging to say the least. The single arched gateway looked imposing but was surrounded by scaffoldings as it is being renovated by ASI. When we attempted a closer inspection we were greeted by a large mongoose family, its current residents, who seemed to take our intrusion well and posed indulgently for Nidhi. The gate’s semi-octagonal turrets on the two sides and embossed motifs still look magnificent though.

Ajmeri Gate

We proceeded to Delhi Gate, again by rickshaw. It stands on a traffic island, at the junction of Asaf Ali Road and Netaji Subhash Marg and owes it name to the fact that when Shahjahanabad was built, it faced the old cities to the south known as ‘Dilli’. Today, it is identified with Daryaganj, the hub of India’s publishing industry which lies to its north. Like Ajmeri Gate, it is a single high arch with flanking octagonal turrets. While we took photographs of the gate at high noon, with heavy traffic constantly whizzing past it, we were amazed at how it stood stoically, unattached to the wall of which it was once a part.

Delhi Gate

When Mughal emperor Shah Jahan laid the foundations of the city of Shahjahanabad in 1638 he enclosed it within walls, bits of which now remain in Daryaganj. We walked to the wall from Delhi Gate crossing the offices of several publishing houses. The almost 13 m high wall, with spear holes and battlements, now serves as a parking space for editors! Cars stand in a neat row ensconced in the arches in the inside wall.

the Wall

As we wound our way back to the relatively new and structured lanes of South Delhi we made urgent plans to revisit the area to shop and eat, finding it hard to shake the aura of the ancient city that has neither lost itself in the new nor resisted inevitable growth.

Presumably one of the city’s oldest extant structures is the edict of the 3^rd century BC Emperor Ashoka proclaiming his expansive conquests through Dhamma ­– the great precept of Buddhism that took the age by storm – and enlisted in the ASI Inventory of Monuments as Edict in Srinivaspuri for the benefit of the interested explorer, me. After asking seven Delhiites if they had an idea of where exactly in Srinivaspuri I would find the said treasure, I realized no-one really did. However, my father informed me that indeed there was such an edict near the ISCKON Temple in East of Kailash, which set me to rub my hands and charge the camera and set off in pursuit of the precious stone.

The hillock on which the edict stands was situated in a well-manicured fenced-off lawn at the traffic signal after the temple, with the hallmark ASI board saying Protected Monument and nothing else. So I knew this was it and walked in

The hillock with the edict

Up where the air is clear

and as I climbed the rocky hillock, was pleasantly greeted by some enthusiastic children flying kites. They were even more enthusiastic to stop flying them and come running to see the camera I was carrying, but I proceeded up the hill, and found a 10m x 10m shed, enclosing a 1m x 1m cage that enclosed our edict.

The Ashokan rock edict...no really, its there

I tried taking some pictures through the bars of the shed and then went looking for the caretaker, only to be informed that he had left for the day (it was 6 pm) and nobody came to look at the edict at that hour. What he didn’t add perhaps was that nobody came to look at the edict at all, so I felt a tinge of sympathy for the guide, and asked when the keeper of the keys to the kingdom would be present. Come at 12, said an inebriated man who always came to the park to play ludo/cards and never really knew it to hold other attractions. But neither, I suppose, did I.

Footnote: The rock edict was actually discovered by a building contractor in 1996…it was thereafter that ASI built the cages and the shed.

Picture of the edict: Courtesy ASI

The Orchha skyline is full of domes and chhattris from the Bundela dynasty: Jahangir Mahal, Ram Raja Mahal, Chaturbhuj temple and the haunting row of royal chhattris by the river. From our hotel, which was to the north of the town on an incline, we could see the whole town bathed in evening light. Living amidst these medieval edifices are the warm and friendly Orchha locals in their pretty white houses, entrepreneurs from other cities and the floating population of tourists.

The view from the hotel

There are more tourists in Orchha than one would expect, but it is still an ignorable number. With the tourists come amenities that one wouldn’t associate with such a small town. Restaurants all over the place, lavish hotels and dingy inns and even cycles on hire. There are innumerable holy men, and an equal number of foreign cameras lapping up the exoticism.

Tourists are easily ignored by other tourists, but the locals are hounded even into their baths

After checking in, we left for the chhattris on the riverside immediately. It was already getting dark, but we discovered a short cut from our hotel. Sitting on the plinth of Bir Singh Deo’s chhattri, we watched the light get dimmer, and listened to the sounds of the river. The chhattris we would see again and again throughout the trip, from all possible sides, at different times of the day, every time acquiring a different sort of beauty.

From the opposite banks at sunset

The ghostly line-up

Through fields of gold

The most endearing part of Orchha, for us, was the river. Except where the main road crosses over the river to the Orchha Forest Reserve, the water is clean, and there are almost no signs of human damage in the waters. Our best moments were trekking by the river, both upstream and downstream. About a kilometre upstream, we discovered a sangam of three rivers, each cascading over rocks to form the Betwa. There were places where there were natural rock pools where one could go swimming, and never any need to carry a water bottle though we trekked through the sunny afternoons, because the water was delicious. There were no people around at all.

where the streams converged

natural pools in the Betwa, and the forest reserve on the opposite bank

Downstream, we trekked along the Forest Reserve, where we even saw a fox coming down to drink water. Every now and then we’d see the remains of a fire, still smoking, but no other signs of people. Orchha is full of wandering sadhus, the invisible lighters of the fires. Finally we met one sitting on the banks. Did he know if we could cross the river upstream? It looked very inviting on the opposite bank. Were there any wild animals about? He was vague and said maybe we could cross the river if we continued walking a little more. But could we give him a little money?

As we walked further, there were no more forest fires. No signs of people at all. But suddenly we saw the ruins of a short fort wall. Then before long, our walk came to an end. The river had become wider, and joined another river, another sangam. We could jump from little islands of rock to a point where we were surrounded by water on all sides. I discovered later (on google maps), that all the joining streams were actually part of the Betwa.

From the Forest

I enjoyed cycling around the town. We even took our cycles into the Jahangir Mahal complex and cycled around the surrounding ruins (see the Orchha Travel Guide,  pg 14 for a map).  Orchha, which according to many, literally means hidden, has many secluded, scattered monuments built by the valiant Bundelas. The Bundela king Rudra Pratap chose Orchhabecause it was surrounded by impregnable jungles and provided for by the river and made an ideal capital. Until 1783 it remained the capital of the Bundelkhand region and flourished under the succeeding kings.

Here are some photographs from our cycle trips:

Jahangir Mahal

Dearly Beloved Chungul Bird, which I wrote about in the Orchha Travel Guide and just had to find on the walls of Raj Mahal

Against the fort walls. Cycles abandoned in the gate in the walls behind me.

Our hotel, the Prashanti Tourist Lodge run by Assam Tourism, provided a decent stay with a very decent view of the Guwahati Club’s tennis court from my balcony. We spent some time watching tennis under the stars, neither of which I really get much in Delhi, and turned in early to begin Day 2 at the crack of dawn.

Other than the fact that I’d only seen dawn about 6 months ago, the morning held lots of promise. We started by making a stop at Kamakhya, the sacred shaktipeeth where Sati’s yoni fell. While Bodhi carried on up Nilachal Parbat to get views of the town, I took off my shoes to enter the hallowed pit of the Devi Temple charged with primordial energy and the flutter of white pigeons.

Kamakhya Temple

I didn’t stay long but there is something about Kamakhya that doesn’t require a souvenir for recollection. Nonetheless, I took photographs, bought some cool calendar art and continued on our pilgrimage, via the Saraighat bridge, to the temple town of Hajo.

Hajo, with its blend of Vaishnavism (the Hayagriva Madhab Temple), Islam (Poa Macca) and Buddhism (this is where the Buddha is said to have attained Parinirvana), is not your average tourist destination. At least not for the tourist with weak knees because you’ve got to climb, and climb, and climb, steps. But the effort is eminently worthwhile as are the photo-ops.

Goats in Hajo

We carried on to Sualkuchi, Assam’s primary centre of silk weaving, where we watched weavers at work and also bought some fabulous samples to show back home.

Weaving in progress in sualkuchi

Our boss soon joined us and she and I proceeded to Bashistha Ashram, which was set up by Bashistha Muni though any more probing questions as to when and why just left most locals baffled and well, unperturbed.

A minstrel outside Bashistha Ashram

We ended the day on a spectacular note, whetting our appetites with the Assamese thali in the beautifully done up Paradise Restaurant on GNB Road, Guwahati.

Next day, we awoke at the crack of dawn again – and by now I was getting to like the sound of that phrase a fair bit – to head out eastward. Our first stop was the Ujanbazar Fish market in Guwahati, where we discovered, strangely, it was not Brahmaputra fish but imported fish, that was being sold. We also stopped at some interesting temples along the way and then followed the course of the Brahmaputra all the way

A boat on the mighty Brahmaputra

to the town of Tezpur. Tezpur, with its many parks and lakes, is like one all-encompassing picnic spot. It has a nice Station Club, and the proprietors are always eager to show visitors around.

Making our way across the Kalia Bhomora Setu, we headed on to the state’s biggest and most romantic draw, the reason that so many naturalists keep booking tickets, sometimes one-way, to Assam – Kaziranga National Park.

Kaziranga

The adventure began on the highway itself where we caught our first glimpse of the great Indian one-horned rhinocerous. In the one evening that we toured the Park though, we saw enough rhinos to draw them blindfolded, and someone was even impelled to remark, ‘They’re like cattle’.

wild northeastern cattle

the king of birders' hearts

Having soaked in the bewitching ambience of Kaziranga, we proceeded to have our memories and our selves frozen in a remarkably badly insulated ethnic hut in Jupuri Ghar.

At Jupuri Ghar

This time I awoke much before the crack of dawn, but was prepared nonetheless to make forays into Upper Assam. First we stopped at the lovely stilt houses of the Mishing villages in Aghoratoli.

Mishing stilt-hut

The journey to Jorhat therafter was past many beautiful tea estates, many of which started before we had left the periphery of the Park even, and punctuated with some memorable eating stops,

dhaba in Bokakhat

a jaunt in a local haat

A snake-man at a local haat near Negheriting

and a visit to the Negheriting dol which with its abundant monkeys could have passed off for a set from Planet of the Apes. After a short stop at the Jorhat Tourist Lodge, we visited the beautiful Gibbon Sanctuary where boss and i discovered more primates and the problems of human encroachment in forested areas

Swati Maam with the forest ranger in Gibbon Sanctuary

while Bodhi discovered the fine art of wearing a gamosa on the head like a true craft-sensitised man of the woods.

We began the next day by visiting some significant namghors and satras, that set the tone of reverence for the main stop – Sibsagar. The Ahom kings had a gala time building tanks, temples and palaces in Sibsagar and we didn’t have too bad a time discovering them.

At the world's largest Shiv Dol in Sibsagar

Later, after stopping to eat at a fabulous stilt-restaurant, we headed to Nimati ghat in the evening from where boats ply to and from Majuli.

Nimati Ghat

The trip was rounded off by a beautiful night’s stay at a tea estate bungalow on the outskirts of Jorhat. The roads were not nearly as smooth as they had been through the rest of the journey, but the stay made up entirely. On the final day, after a leisurely breakfast, we surveyed the tea factories

Gatoonga Tea Factory

and plantations around Jorhat,

Sangsua Tea Estate

learnt some tea-speak, and picked up some half-kg of drinking silver each. In the afternoon, we sat at the airport, listening to the iPod in between announcements of the delayed flight, but by then, we had learnt that in Assam, the wait was always for a good cause.

Hang about for a bit…  the Assam Travel Guide is on its way!