Bricolage: Sketched with Passions of my Life

A Quick Note

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:45:16 +0200

I am taking a break from writing and blogging for a while. Life has taken a sudden turn and there are lots of things to be dealt with. Will return to this space when I can. Until then...

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Vaishno Devi Yatra

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:12:33 +0200

You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Prisig

It is said that you can’t go for Vaishno Devi Yatra until and unless there’s a calling from divine goddess herself. Do I believe it now? Well I still have my share of doubt but after an array of invitation from friends, family and acquaintances over past few years I finally acceded to my colleagues request to join them for trip to Vaishno Devi, well a pilgrimage is more like it.

Towards Katra - Bends and Beautiful

Vaishno Devi Pilgrimage in India is second only to Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple which is the most visited religious shrine in India. Located in the Trikuta Hills 14 kilometers from Katra – from where the pilgrimage starts- Vaishno Devi is one of the most revered Hindu shrines in India, visited by almost 8 millions pilgrims every year.

On 24^th of February after an exciting day at office which was preceded by weeks of frenzied planning by excited colleagues, our motley crew boarded Doronto Express from Sarai Rohilla station for Jammu. There’s no pantry car in the train so many of us were carrying our dinner which we had together.

On the Highways - In and Out

Well talking about the train journey, it was a long time since I had travelled in a sleeper coach. And I do missed the comforts of the AC compartment. The biggest luxury of traveling in AC coaches is the clean toilets. The toilet of Doronto was in sorry state and even flesh were not working. Ah! Mamta Didi if only you’d let the best Rail Budget in quite a few years pass and not gone for populist measures I would have hoped for improvement in Indian railways. Alas! It was not to be.

The train, Doronto Express, left around 10 O’clock in the night from Delhi and we arrived in Jammu in the early hours of a cold but fresh morning. Getting off the train was a relief. Outside the station, we had a hot cup of tea with snacks. Most of the other passengers were doing the same. Out of nowhere a nondescript lady in tattered clothes arrived and began accosting people gathered near the tea stall with some choicest expletives for our top politicians and India. That was one - and thankfully only - shocking incident to greet travelers, mostly Vaishno Devi Yatra pilgrims, in Jammu.

Lonely Planet

At the bus stand we were joined by one more person – an army officer and friend of one of my colleague and our group of pilgrims answering mata’s call was complete. A bus ride from there to Katra was supposed to be a 2 hours ride through rolling hills and scenic valleys. But then where’s the fun when everything is already planned.

In all the trips I have made this was the most neatly planned tour, planned 2 months in advanced whereas normally its not more than 2 hours of planning where to go on a weekend. If every piece of the jigsaw had fit together, Vaishno Devi pilgrimage plan entailed that we will begin our climb by 3-4 in the evening the same day and get back to Katra the next morning and then leave for Patnitop and cover Nathatop the next day and catch the train from Udhampur on Monday evening. But fate had other plans for us.

Even before we could have traveled for half an hour, the bus we were traveling on got stuck in a massive jam. From there it moved at snail’s speed for a few more kilometers before coming to a complete halt somewhere ahead of White Knight’s Golf Club. To our dismay we found out that the highway is clogged up with vehicles 14 kilometers further up the hills and for next 3-4 hours we were not moving at all and that there was no guarantee if the vehicles would move at all before evening. So we were in a predicament. Were we really?

Katra From Top - A Bird-eye View

The place where our bus was stuck was flanked by a hillock on one side and a valley on the other with a stream flowing through it, green pastures and horses grazing in it. So we took the trail and descended towards the stream. The adrenaline rush of adventure was palpable in members of our group. Shouting and screaming in excitement everyone was charged up as the rejuvenating natural ambience left each one of us enchanted. There was a frenzied photo shoot and after an hour of frolicking we returned to bus to recharge our batteries.

Soon our stock of water was over and I along with a friend embarked on a little adventure of our own to find water to drink. After walking a few kilometers we arrived near a cantonment area. There was a large open ground were people were picnicking. Can you believe all were travelers stuck in the jam and there were 100s of them? After walking a few 100 meters we arrived at the only source of water which was a water tank of the army. As I was carrying only 1 bottle which I knew I’d need when I walk back and since I also had to carry some water for fellows back there by the bus, I asked an army man if they could provide us with some bottle in which we could carry water. He replied that the only bottles that they have are empty bottles of Rum which we could wash and then carry our water. Was I surprised? Not at all! I know that in army if there’s one thing which could be found in plenty and very cheap, it’s the alcohol.

A View of Katra with Trikuta Hills forming the Backdrop

When I returned to the bus almost 3 hours had already passed and most of our group member were now hungry as well as thirsty and there’s were no signs of jam coming off. After much deliberation and conversation with local drivers we decided to walk ahead. They told us that a few kilometers ahead there is a dhaba so leaving two person behind to look after the belongings we decided to walk to the joint to fend for our food and drinks. It was also taken into consideration that in case the jam clears we could always catch the bus as we were moving in the forward direction.

I believe that we walked for like an hour or so and at that time it was like we were walking forever. Everyone we asked en-route told us that the so called “dhaba” is 1 kilometer ahead and we were told this over and over again as we keep on walking up the winding road. The sun was out and after a while we began to feel the heat. Even as we walked every banner caught hold of our sight appeared like our eagerly awaited dhaba. At that particular time and moment I could feel a kinship with dwellers of desert and could actually see the mirage. Every hoarding and billboard raised our hope, beckoned us, inspired us to keep moving, and ever drew us forward like a burnished beacon; like an oasis in desert.

After walking forever we did arrive at “the dhaba”. To our relief and disappointment all we could find there was tea and drinking water which we did with much gusto. When we asked about where we could find something to eat and drink, the locals told us half kilometer ahead. And we burst into laughing exhausted after walking so many “half kilometers”. We stayed there sprawling on the green grounds near the tea stall and waited for our bus the jam was giving way to smooth traffic and after 20 minutes or so our bus did arrived and finally we were on our way to Katra. Not half kilometers ahead we did saw a proper dhaba and a bar and we looked at each other and burst out laughing again. Now that’s what I call the interplay of “predestination and freewill”.

After riding for more than 8 hours we arrived in Katra which is not even 2 kilometers drive from Jammu Railway Station. We were down but not out. I couldn’t believe when everybody encored that we should begin our trek as soon as we dump our luggage and freshen up in the hotel. Finally at around 9 O’clock, we began our Vaishno Devi Yatra from Katra. The pilgrimage was finally on.

Banganga from where the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage begins

The path to the shrine is well paved and one could find it strewn with shops all along the way to Adhkuwari. This is perhaps the most commercialized pilgrimage I have ever undertaken. You can eat and drink all that you want to provided it is not alcoholic. Pilgrims who undertake have 4 options to reach the shrine of Vaishno Devi at Bhavan. They could either walk – the most arduous way, take the palanquin – mostly preferred by rich elderly pilgrims, hire ponies – the most common and suits middle class budget and finally fly on board Pawanhans Helicopter – suitable for those who don’t have much time to spare.

We walked in the blanket of darkness which otherwise would have been quite an incredible view as well as motivation for the tiring trek we were on. Every kilometer of the uphill climb was like walking 100. After the tiring walk of the day we were yet to recover from the fatigue and it was taking its toll even. Soon we were all separated from each other in groups of 2-3 and 4. I along with my friend formed the rear – and I was the only seasoned trekker in the group, what a humbling experience. Walking with me was Dinesh and he had decided to attempt the entire pilgrimage barefoot – in which he eventually succeeded. I only walked barefoot for half an hour at Bhavan and I needed 1 hour just to have the sensation back in my feet. It went cold and numb and I couldn’t feel a thing, it is amazing bordering on flabbergasting that he done the entire uphill climb barefoot in snowy season.

A View of Katra from above the Hill

Somehow we kept walking and after following the arduous trail arrived in Adhkuwari at around 11 O’clock. It was quite an achievement. We regrouped near a food joint and I had one of the most flavorsome teas I ever had in my life for just 4 bucks. Quickly 4 cups were gulped by me that was quite enough to quench my appetite. Everything else available there came at much higher price. Every packaged snack, biscuit etc were priced half as much. After years of traveling it doesn’t baffle me anymore that “serving gods” means good business. Even in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, cabs cost twice as much as they should normally - most of them are owned by religious trusts and swamijis. I could understand the price of maggi owing to the hardship of transportation and all when I go trekking but where vehicles are available and pilgrims throng the place round the year such overpricing is confounding or sheer business in the name of religion and piety.

Anyways, as everywhere else, all around the trail to the shrine, plastic bags adorn both sides even when dustbins are available all along. Pilgrims don’t think twice before disposing off their litter anywhere but in the dustbin. It’s alarming to see the amount of plastic waste which is casually thrown everywhere. I don’t think Ma Vaisho Devi will take this is her own stride because it’s definitely poisoning and destroying her abode. Adhkuwari also bears the brunt of the litter. It’s dirty and strewn with garbage. Although, sweepers and cleaners do their job round the clock but then there are thousands of apathetic pilgrims and only a handful of them.

Sleepy in Sunshine - Early Morning in Adhkuwari

There was a long queue at Adhkuwari and we were assigned our number which ranged in 390s – a number which is assigned for darshan at garb joon where Ma Vaisno Devi took refuge for nine months from Bhairav, the Tantrik. She was supposedly meditated for power and wisdom to defeat Bhairav. She was eventually located and emerged out of the garbh joon incarnated as Maha Kali and in a fit of rage struck Bhairav with such force that his severed head flew more than 2 kilometers before falling on a hill top where now the fatigued pilgrims have to walk in order to appease Ma Vaisno Devi and ensure completion of the pilgrimage. There’s a blessing even in the curse and when demons die they eventually find salvation when it comes to Hindu mythologies. Even our modern day demons are as blessed and it was spectacularly summed up by Pranab Da in his budget speech as he quoted Hamlet “I must be cruel only to be kind”. Ah! The irony of it all.

A View to Thrill - Emerald Sky and Seven-fold Mountains Adhkuwari

Diversions apart, given the assigned number, we unanimously agreed to press ahead and reach Bhuvan then press on to Bhairav before returning back to Adhkuwari and audaciously we also decided to do so before our number for darshan is called. So again we hit the trail and started to climb uphill. To our relief, this was a moderate climb but fraught with danger of slide as well as increasingly cold weather. It had snowed and we could feel it as we walked ever ahead. The trail was fairly empty and we could only encounter fewer and fewer pilgrim en-route.

Again I fell in beside Dinesh and we engaged in a healthy discussion on pilgrimage, piety, religion and all those abstract topics which ever confounds me when in comes to almighty and all. I think that was the most satisfying stretch of my Vaishno Devi yatra. It reinforced my beliefs and it also made me understand the other perspective. Ultimately, there are meanings which are always personal, just as pilgrimages are. One could do it listening to his/her ipod, as a date with his/her bf/gf, as an attempt to woo, in palanquin, in helicopter or barefoot; there are always perspectives and there are always motives and every time they are personal.

Even appointments with gods come with privilege. A pilgrim with VIP pass could bypass all number and answer his/her calling with a privilege which a poor barefoot pilgrim couldn’t even dream of. An Amitabh Bachhan has more easy access to god than a mere “Nikhil Chandra”. Perhaps gold is a precious metal even among gods…who knows why the world is the way it is.

Well we did arrive in Bhavan a few hours later and paid our homage. I saw people tying clothes on the steel railing on way to Mata Darshan where it was clearly written in bold not to do so, I saw people shouting Jai Mata Di where it was clearly written not to talk aloud and I saw how the deity of old has given way to shining idols as the original cave is not accessible anymore, at least not to us.

From there it was a tiring walk to Bhairon to complete the pilgrimage as it is mandatory in order to have the privilege of Ma Vaishno Devi blessings. By the time we arrived in Bhairon the sleep was threatening to take over, my body was exhausted and I was afraid even to stand still as I would have fallen asleep standing. As we were descending, it was arduous to keep my eyes open even as I walked. I was afraid I might fall asleep and fall. I slowed my speed to a crawl and was afraid to take the step as it was too risky in the condition I was in. As compared to 28 kilometers of Dodital which rejuvenated my senses, this 7 kilometer walk had my body exhausted as never before. Somehow I did managed climb down to Adhkuwari where I slept for an hour.

Signposts - All road leads to Katra

The sleep was healing. Soon we had our little walk inside the garbh joon and our pilgrimage was complete. Even as the queue crawled as we made our way to the garbha, I couldn’t but notice people ready to fight it out, to bypass each other so that they could enter first, the phoney faces, the tired faces, the casual faces and a few calm faces.

Every pilgrimage I have undertaken or have heard of requires pilgrims to take a bath somewhere and walk some distance. I have always believed that they are just symbolic, taking a bath at Banganga and walking the trail before taking a bath again in Bhavan does not purge a pilgrim of his sin. Same is true for other baths and walks, be it the Harmandir Sahib or Hemkunt Sahib or the Baba Dham. When scriptures demand that one should come clean to seek the blessing it’s not the body, it’s the mind and spirit. The hardship and trials of journey and meditation along the way is what purges a pilgrim of his sins so that he is clean when he seeks the blessings of his/her god.

The hardships during the climb are the real test and if they don’t transform you in anyway and if that doesn’t makes you stronger; than the pilgrimage ever always fail. When you are standing in the queue, your temperament decides if you have been blessed or not. When you eat that kurkure or drink that kinley, its where you throw the empty bottle and packet that decides if you have been blessed or not. Because blessings of Vaishno Devi Yatra if ever come, comes from within, because only you have power over you to transform yourself and become better and one always has that choice. It’s not there in Garbha joon or Bhavan, the blessing that everyone seeks; it’s all along the way.

Sorry for being gotten carried away. I think it’s better if I talk about my trip to Patnitop in my next post. Hence I should with all due regards conclude my Vaishno Devi Yatra here. And I also once again reiterate that all the views expressed here are personal and no offense is intended to anyone.

Fending for Food - Common Yellow-Vented Bulbul

Towards Patnitop - Here I am on the road again

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25 SEO Question you Always Wanted to Ask

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 06:30:01 +0200

If you are looking for tips to improve the visibility of your website in Google search, or if you need answers to some common SEO related problems, here's an interview with the Google search quality team that you will definitely find useful.

The answer to some of the most vital SEO questions come from the panel consisting of John Mueller (Webmaster Trends Analyst, Google Zurich), Matt Cutts (Webspam Engineer, Google California), Zareen Kazim (Strategist, Google India), Koteswara Ivaturi (Project Manager, Google Hyderabad) and Kaspar Szymanski (Strategist, Google Dublin).

Q 1: Google now considers page loading speed as one of the many factors for ranking web pages in search results. Does this mean I should switch my blog to a faster, and more expensive, web host or even consider using a CDN (like Amazon S3)?

Zareen Kazim: If you are sure that switching your blog to a faster webhost or using a CDN will enhance your speed then I say go ahead my friend. Making your site faster will not go unnoticed by your users.

Having said that, increasing server speed alone may not help in some cases. The most common problem is not the time for a page getting sent to the user, but the time it takes to deliver and render all page objects. It's always good advice to fine-tune your site and implement some options (compress your CSS, reduce the amount of JavaScript you need to load and also improve on the caching) to ensure faster loading.

There are lots of tools to help you identify ways to improve the speed of your site. Our official blog post gives lots of links, and some of the links lead to other tools. But just to highlight a few, the site performance tool in Webmaster Tools shows the speed of your website as experienced by users around the world. In addition, various free-to-use tools offer things like in-depth analysis of individual pages . Google also provides an entire speed-related mini-site with tons of resources and videos about speeding up websites.

Please note, site speed is just one more signal (out of many ) in larger picture of Google's search ranking , this is not a high -impact change and therefore better loading speed will not guarantee ranking.

Q 2: Like most other blogs, I have tons of "archive pages” on my blog that don't have any content but merely group content by author, category or tags. Will these pages constitute "duplicated content” and should I block them from the Googlebot?

John Mueller: Good question. Duplicate content within your site is generally not a problem, however it always makes sense to try to limit it to a reasonable amount to make it easier to recognize your preferred pages. There are several methods to handle duplicate content, and when it comes to archive pages, one simple solution might be to just show a snippet instead of the full article.

Q 3: Over the years, my university has moved my Web site from server to server, and, as such, the URL has changed six times. They use aliases to map all six to the same IP address, so my old links still work but Google considers it as six separate Web sites. Is there anything I can do to consolidate the six URLs?

John Mueller: One easy way to handle duplicate content across different websites is to use the rel=canonical link element. Other possibilities are included in our blog post about handling legitimate cross-domain duplicate content.

Q 4: I was looking at my Google Webmaster Central report and under Sitemap, it says that the total number of URLs is ‘x' while the number indexed in Google is only ‘x-y'. What can I do to get more of my pages in the Google Index?

Zareen Kazim: Google uses a large number of factors to determine which pages to crawl and index. Two important elements to work on are:

Make sure that it's easy to crawl your pages; try your site with JavaScript disabled and also check your crawl errors in Webmaster Tools.
Make sure that your site provides unique and compelling content.

Q 5. We publish a lot of original content but there are scrapers who copy our content without giving any credit. The sad part is sometimes these sites, who copy our content, rank higher than the original content creator. How can we tackle this problem? Does Google Search take into account the timestamp when an article was published for search results rankings? Why does Google even index scrapers?

Koteswara Ivaturi: This is a popular question. At the outset, duplicate content due to scraping does not equate to a webmaster violation because we know that it is not the fault of the webmaster to not have control over who is scraping the content from his website.

Google is very good at identifying the original source in such cases and so that takes care of the any potential negative effects that the original source may have. It is very rare that the scraped sites rank better than the original site in the search results; but if that happens you can follow the instructions.

Q 6. For an image or media-rich website, what are best practices? Too often, the focus remains on written textual content – which of course is a major factor towards a website’s relevance to search terms, but sometimes, artworks are also relevant to the search. Other than adding good ALT text and using descriptive file names for image, what can I do to improve my site's visibility in Google Image Search?

Koteswara Ivaturi: Image Search can be a great source for some additional traffic to your website. Adding the ALT text and using descriptive file names are a must when it comes to image- or media-centric websites.

Beyond these, context for the image is going to really help the search engines understand the images much better. For example, if a page has an image of a flower the text or caption that describes the flower should be around or next to the image. Lastly, we recently announced that you can now submit information about your images while you submit your Sitemaps.

Q 7. I already have an XML Sitemap for my website. Should I also create an HTML sitemap? Also, should I include every single page of my blog in the Sitemap (including tag pages and the date-based archives) or just the important ones?

Matt Cutts: In general, HTML Sitemaps can be very handy for your human visitors, and it's a nice additional way to help search engines make sure that they know about all of your pages as well. If you have time or a script that can generate a pretty HTML Sitemap (e.g; for a blog, you could have one page for each year or month of your blog, depending on how much you write), that can work nicely.

If you don't have the time or motivation to do that much work, you might consider creating a "Top 10 most popular posts” feature for your blog. I know that as a regular user, I love stumbling on a new blog and discovering that the site owner is pointing out some of their best or most popular posts.

John Mueller: It's always a good idea for your XML Sitemap file to include all pages which you want to have indexed. If you have pages such as tag or archive pages which you prefer not to have indexed, it's recommended to add a "noindex” robots meta tag to the pages (and of course, not to include them in the Sitemap file).

Q 8. I have read on forums that domain expiration dates are a factor in Google rankings and domains that are due to expire soon may be penalized in some way. Is that correct? I have registered a domain through Google Apps and it won't let me renew the domain for more than a year.

Zareen Kazim: Matt Cutts addressed this issue in a Webmaster Central video recently and confirmed that the length of a domain name registration isn't a ranking factor.

[On Google Apps] Your initial domain registration is valid for one year. If subsequent registration renewal fails, you’ll have several opportunities to change your billing information and renew your registration. If you purchased the domain through Google Apps, you should make sure that you have the renew option checked in your Google Apps account and have a valid Google Checkout information. You can find more detailed information here.

Q 9. How does search quality team look at links from Newspaper Websites & Editorials? In recent times there have been incidents where leading editorials were selling paid content (which include links) on their website for brands & business interested in ranking well on search engines.

Although they explain they only offer advertorials with SEO benefits to agencies to promote brand content, doesn’t this mean offering a paid content (links) to manipulate SERPs is a direct violation of Google’s TOS? These sites indeed have a long reputation & trust but Google TOS should be same for all regardless of the brand or individual?

Matt Cutts: If you're talking about the recent incident in the UK, we saw that. Google's quality guidelines are clear on this point: paid links shouldn't pass PageRank.

Whether the paid links are in an "advertorial” or somewhere else on the page, that would violate our quality guidelines and Google would take action on those violations, both so that the link buyers wouldn't benefit and so that the link sellers wouldn't be trusted in the future by Google.

Q 10. I do have a couple of affiliate links on my website that point to Amazon.com and some other websites. I am not getting paid to insert these links into my content but will get some commission on a sale. Should I use nofollow with such affiliate links?

Zareen Kazim: If linking is natural, based on relevancy of a site's content, I don’t see a violation of any Google Webmaster Guidelines.

While it is legitimate for a webmaster to monetize great content, in order to perform well in Google's search results it is important to take technical steps in order to prevent unnatural passing of PageRank through paid links, e.g. by either using the "nofollow” attribute or by creating a robots.txt file.

Q 11. I have launched a new blog and it obviously won't rank in Google because none of the reputable blogs are currently linking to it. Therefore, I am actively writing guest posts on other blogs as that gives me a chance to get a link from them. Is Google fine with guest blogging and do links ‘earned' from writing guest blogs matter?

John Mueller: Making and promoting a new site takes time and effort. In general I would recommend putting that work into your own site, instead of creating content for other people's sites.

It's much better to create great content for your blog and to let other sites refer visitors to your site on their own. Good luck!

Q 12. What's your take on articles submission websites? I do a lot of article marketing & distribution for my clients. These are original articles written and distributed through sites like eZineArticles and iSnare. Obviously besides the exposure my clients get as experts, I am also looking at the SEO benefit of earning backlinks from these posts. How do you treat multiple copies of the same article spread over different sites?

John Mueller: As mentioned in an earlier question, it generally makes much more sense to create great content for your own site, instead of giving it to a large number of other sites to publish.

Personally, I would recommend not looking at it with regard to the links; think about how users will view the content and the people who created it. Having high-quality content on your own site will make it stand out much more than if that content is posted all over the web. If the content is unique and compelling, it will generally attract links naturally over time.

Q 13. Are all links on a page treated the same or does the order of links matter. For instance, will Google flow more juice to the links that are in the first paragraph of the story than the ones that are in the page footer?

Zareen Kazim: Our link analysis is getting much more sophisticated than the original PageRank used to be. To answer your question, we may treat links across different areas in a different way, as some areas of a page might not be as relevant to the content of the page as others.

Q 14. My website has a country specific extension (like example.in for India) but the content is of interest to a global audience. How do I ensure that my domain /site is visible in Google search results of other countries as well?

John Mueller: Any website can be relevant to users globally; it doesn't have to use a generic top-level domain (gTLD) for that. Using a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) is fine if you want to create a website for users all around the world.

If you're looking to target specific countries (instead of the whole world), you may want to review our recent blog post on multi-regional websites for more information.

Q 15. How do I know whether my site has been penalized in Google or not? I know Google Analytics reports can give me an idea but are there are any other methods? Will Google inform me about the penalty through Webmaster Tools?

Zareen Kazim: Many webmasters worry about penalties when they see their site change in the rankings, and for most times, these changes can be attributed to the nature of the web itself. Google algorithms are constantly changing, to reflect the changing content of the web, and these changes can affect how your website is ranked in our search results.

Working on improving your content and the user experience of your site should be your number one priority. In our Help Center, we have an article with suggestions for potential fixes if you see your site's ranking change significantly. Google uses the Message Center in your Webmaster Tools account to communicate important information to you regarding your Webmaster Tools account and the sites you manage.

If we have noticed there is something wrong with your site, we may send you a message there, detailing some issues which you need to fix to bring your site into compliance with the Webmaster Guidelines. Once you fix your site you can submit your site for reconsideration. Please note, while not all of the messages in the Message Center are for issues involving our Webmaster Guidelines, it’s strongly recommended that you make sure that these messages are forwarded to your email account, so that you are informed about changes or issues as quickly as possible.

Q 16. There are times when I have searched for a ‘query’ and clicked on ‘ads’ as they offered better content than the natural listings. However when I tried the same keyword few days later, the site that I clicked through ‘ads’ was listed in natural listing this time. Would the future of SERPs based on Google Algorithm involve correlating large number of user clicks on ‘ads’ and adding them to natural result pages?

John Mueller: We work hard to provide high-quality search results. In many cases providing personalized search results can help to make them more relevant to you. Ads, however, are separate from natural search results, so I would assume that what you've seen here is a mere coincidence :-).

Rest assured that ads do not affect our natural search results.

Q 17. My site is all about movie reviews and now I am planning to expand it into food recipes. Should I use a sub-domain (food.example.com) or a sub-directory (example.com/food) for the new topic.

Zareen Kazim: When it comes to Google, there aren't major difference between the two, so when you're making that decision, do what works for you and your user. If you use Webmaster Tools (which we hope you do ), you’ll automatically be verified for deeper sub directories of any sites you’ve verified, but sub domains will need to be verified separately.

Q 18. I have two blogs – one is about food and other one is about movies. Will it be OK if cross-link the two sites even if the content is not related? I am worried that Google might consider that as a "paid link” even though I run both the websites.

Zareen Kazim: Before you begin cross-linking sites, consider the user’s perspective and whether the crosslinks provide value. Ask yourself if you would place this link in a highly visible place on your page – if no, maybe it would make more sense to skip the link.

Cross-linking between dozens or hundreds of sites, however, probably doesn’t provide value, and I would not recommend it.

Q 19. Googlebot can read and execute JavaScript files but do you also pass any juice to the links that you may have discovered through the scripts?

Kaspar Szymanski: It's true that we started crawling JavaScript. We don't recommend for webmasters to focus on linking; instead a much wiser way of spending your time is by enriching the site with great content and useful tools. However, if you are concerned about JavaScript links passing PageRank, feel free to use "no follow” attribute.

Q 20. I have an active blog where I post anywhere between 10-15 articles in a week and Google indexes my new stories often within minutes of publishing them. I am however planning to take a break and won't be adding any new content to my site for a month or so. How will that impact my site as far as indexing and rankings are concerned?

John Mueller: Your existing content will hopefully remain relevant in that time :-), so I wouldn't worry about Google's crawling, indexing or ranking during your break. Google will be ready to pick up your new content when you're back; you don't have to do anything special in a case like that.

One thing that you will want to do – if your site is self-hosted – is to make sure that it's running the most current version, is properly locked-down, secured against hacking and monitored accordingly during your break. We see many blogs get hacked nowadays, and that in turn can affect your site's standing in our search results if it's left in a hacked state for a longer period of time.

Q 21. Some people call a portable computer as a notebook while others use the term ‘laptop.' Similarly, a Flash Drive is known as a USB stick, a thumb drive and even a memory stick in some cases. Now if I am writing an article on say "10 best laptops,” how can I also optimize it for all "notebook” related queries?

Matt Cutts: When you're writing an article, it pays to think in advance about the words that regular users might type when searching for your content. If you identify 2-3 common terms before you start writing, it's not hard to incorporate those synonyms into the content of the post in a natural, non-spammy way.

Don't keyword stuff in the article, but you might write "a flash drive (also sometimes called a USB drive or thumb drive) is a handy way to carry around data in your pocket.” Or you could sometimes call it a flash drive and sometimes call it a USB stick. As long as you're doing it in a natural way, sometimes it can make the content even more readable than repeating the same term over and over again.

Q 22. Is there any ‘optimal' length that you can recommend for the page URL and the title?

Kaspar Szymanski: Not really; instead it's probably best to decide upon these things with the user experience in mind, rather than search engines. If you are interested in optimizing your snippets, feel free to have a look at our blog post on that topic.

Q 23. I know that inbound links will help my site's ranking in Google search results but is that true for outbound links as well? I always link to quality websites from my articles where my visitors can read more about that topic but do these outbound links aid search rankings as well?

Kaspar Szymanski: No, they don't contribute directly towards your site's rankings; however they add value for your readership and they contribute to the community, so feel free to continue this good practice. On the other hand, being selective and preferring quality sites to link to might help in how Google perceives your site.

Q 24. Do ads on a web page affect search rankings? All other factors remaining the same, will pages having 3 ads rank better than a page with say 5 ads?

Zareen : No, ads don't affect a page's rank in our natural search results.

Q 25. Would you recommend any books on web search and SEO?

Zareen Kazim: Given the dynamic and constantly changing nature of the web, it might not make sense to stick to a single book. But we have an entire page in our webmaster Help Centre about SEO including the SEO starter guide [PDF] which I highly recommend.

End of the Interview.

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Life Lessons: Inspirations

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:30:35 +0100

I came across something wonderful today while surfing over internet. It talked about lessons in life and each of them are so true! It's inspirational and sincere and straight from heart. I couldn't help but share them with you and I am sure you'll love them too...coz a little love can change it all :-)

A Little Love can Change it All

I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned that you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
I've learned that love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note.
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by how he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People need and love human touches -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on t! he back.
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

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Chronicle of a Dream Untold

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:02:50 +0100

Tossing and turning
trying to find the verve
is it late to say
or are you comfortable with the word

I came of late
floating in dreams absurd
metaphors with meaning
life is all but simple word

Hope is cheesy
Promise of the world
Lived in moment
But to hope is .....

P.S. If someone could fill in the blank...I am missing the last word to fill in the puzzle of my predicament

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Holi - Festival of Colors

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:08:36 +0100

होली के दिन दिल खिल जाते हैं रंगों में रंग मिल जाते हैं

गिले शिकावे भूल के दोस्तों, दुश्मन भी गले मिल जाते

Perhaps one of the most colorful festivals in the world, Holi is celebrated with great gusto not just in India but around the world. What distinguishes Holi from other festivals of color is the amazing concoction of thousands hues which have become the intrinsic part of the celebration over the years. The origin of Holi could best conjectured to be in celebration of good harvest and beginning of spring. Celebration with water and color could be attributed to the same origin.

Holi - Festival of Colors

Over the year the ways of celebration has changed but not the gaiety, gay abandon and shared joy which define the spirit of this harvest festival in India. During my childhood days when I lived in Bihar the Holi was celebrated with great gusto. Those were the days when festivals, be it Durga Puja, Diwali or Holi, meant so much. The anticipation and thrill used to keep us excited from weeks before the arrival of festival.

United Colors of Holi

During Holi all the kids and teenagers of the colony where I lived would gather after the school with their axes and we used to go to jungle to gather wood for Holika bonfire. According to legends of Holika, the bonfire symbolizes victory of good over evil. From that fire the believer Prahalad – according to Hindu Legend – has come out alive whereas Holika - the demon who was "fire resistant” - burned and perished.

During those days all of kids as well as elders gathered around the bonfire and wished each other well. The ashes of the bonfire were put to use the next day as a substitute for gulal (colored powder) by us kids. The day after Holika was for celebration with colors and water in the first half where we went door to door and gathered all kids of our age group. The entire locality came together to celebrate the festival of colors. The profusion of happiness, banter and joy pervaded the ambience. From there every one would go to community club to partake of lip smacking cuisines where non-veg menu dominated the scene.

The best part came in evening when people of same age group gathered together and then paid visit to every person in that group. We used to carry gulal (powdered colors) which we used to put on the feet of elders and cheeks of kids and teenagers. We'd gorge on an array of cuisines afterwards which included dahi-vada, sweets and other delicacies. Without a shadow of doubt every one had same favorite - Dahi-Vada.

Ah yes! That's me in Holi induced trance

When I arrived in Delhi it changed completely. There weren't any Holika bonfire to speak of. But the same gaity, excitement and playfulness existed here. Instead of gathering woods for bonfire here people gathered together to fill their balloons with water. Throwing balloons on passersby was exhilarating and fun. When I arrived in Delhi, I used to live neat Batra (North Campus). There were so many students living there in late 90s from all parts of India and world including huge number of Biharis that I never missed Holi as I could have.

But the great thing was that everyone had adapted and assimilated new ways of celebration, something we Indians are so good at. But on the day of Holi I remember group of students would gather together with musical instruments all drenched in water and color and under influence of alcohol and thandai (Bhang) and then they would sit on the rod and a hilarious and joyful round of music and song would ensue. Oh! That was simply amazing. The crossroad of Batra and Mukherjee Nagar would turn into Chaupal and the good thing was everyone would celebrate. The things have changed now but I am not really sure whether for good or bad. Ah! Nostalgia is good :-)

Come Together - Myriad Colors of Holi

This year our full family gathered here for Holi and the festivities was great. After evening Holi with collegues in office which was crazy, the morning celebration began slowly like a test match but by 12 O'Clock it was T20 in full swing. Mom made an array of delicacies which obviously included dahi vada.

We filled our balloons threw it on neighbors they reciprocated with their own water grenades. Then came colors and waters and crescendo was reached when a bhangda dhol player arrived in the scene. Then ensued a trance induced, joyful session of dance and merrymaking which lasted an hour. Families came together and danced. It was sons and fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands and wife; everyone rejoiced drenched in varied colors and joy of Holi.

Playful - Holi Family

If one word could epitomize the celebration of festival of colors Holi; it would be crazy. It's a day when people don't mind. It's a day when people come together. It's a day when everyone greets one another and laughs and plays together. It's a day when inhibitions are put at bay and it's a day when whole world around us is happy in the moments of celebration, inundated as they are in the spirit of Holi. I hope the same fervor is maintained round the year and I wonder what if it is possible to live and relish each moment we live in the spirit of Holi. But then as they say "the heart is a lonely hunter”.

Here's few more photographs at my Flickr photostream from this year's Holi festival celebration if you are interested:
Holi: Festival of Colors

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I Love My City New Delhi

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:29:01 +0100

New Delhi is My City

Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is Hauz Khas Village for a dash of history, a quiet cup of coffee and bagels.

When I crave for shopping I always go to Connaught Place.

Connaught Palace after sunset a view from Central Park

To escape the din of the city I head to Lodi Garden but not on weekends when almost entire city is out picnicking in the sprawling greens.

If I want to get acquainted with seven cities of Delhi I go for a Heritage Walk.

For complete quiet, I can hide away inside Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

If you come to my city, get your picture taken with anything but hungry and poor and beggars. It's too much to see only pictures stereotyping the third world image of Delhi. I agree there is disparity but instead of always looking at the negatives sometimes good things should also be highlighted of one of the most happening, historically rich and modern cities in the world.

If you have to order one thing off the menu from Karim's near Jama Masjid it has to be Badam Pasanda (boneless mutton cooked with yogurt, almonds and spices).

Karol Bagh is my one-stop shop for great shopping and eating experience.

Locals know to skip Connaught Place and check out Janpath instead, which is a heaven for budget travelers and shoppers, buyers of curio, handicrafts and latest fashion goods at cheap prices if one knows how to bargain.

When I'm feeling cash-strapped I go Chandni Chowk/Daryaganj, a place with lots of history and cheap eating and shopping options especially books.

Photo ops in my city include Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Lodi Garden and Humayun's Tomb and the best vantage points are from the ground in the early morning.

If my city were a celebrity it'd be Jack Nicholson for obvious reasons (I allude here to ‘As Good as it Gets').

The most random thing about my city is monuments sprinkled all over the city. Delhi happened to be the ever expanding city with a history of destruction and resurrection like phoenix from her own ashes at least 11 times.

Begumpur Mosque, main mosque of Jahanpanah, the city built by Muhammad Bin Tughlaq

My city has the most uncouth men but then all generalizations are wrong including this one. There's a phrase which epitomizes Dilliwallahs: "Dilli Dilwalon Ki” (Delhi is of people with large-hearted/daring)

My city has the most voluptuous women. Ah! They are the most fashionable and pretty things in the world.

In my city, an active day outdoors involves tuk-tuks (three wheeled auto rickshaws).

My city's best museum is the National Museum, the biggest museum in India which holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era dating back to Indus Valley Civilization to the modern work of art.

My favorite jogging/walking route is Lodi Garden.

For a night of dancing, go to Agni, the Park. Or, for live music, check out Haze, the only bar offering live jazz and blues music in Delhi.

Pandara Road is the spot for late-night eats.

To find out what's going on at night and on the weekends, read Timeout Delhi.

You can tell a lot about my city from visiting Connaught Place and Chandni Chowk on the same day. Delhi is a city of contrasts, one heck of a cocktail.

You can tell if someone is from my city if they flaunt this "me first” attitude or they are good at adapting to almost everything. Every Dilliwallahs knows how to survive because in Delhi it's the ‘survival of the fittest'.

In the spring you should visit Mughal Garden inside grand Presidential Estate as this garden is open for public only for a month during spring (February/March).

In the summer you should attend International Mango Festival held annually in Dilli Haat (7-8 July 2012).

In the fall you should attend India International Trade Fair (IITF) which is normally held in the second week of November.

In the winter you should embark on a heritage walk of Delhi. It's the best time for sightseeing in Delhi.

Surajkund Crafts Mela 2012 where Assam was the theme state

A hidden gem in my city is Mehrauli Archaeological Park housing close to 70 monuments which include first true arched tomb of Balban, a breakthrough in Indo-Islamic architecture and Dil-Kusha of Thomas Metcalfe.

For a great breakfast joint try Sarvana Bhavan in Connaught Place.

Don't miss the Surajkund Crafts festival in ar Faridabad in the outskirts of Delhi organized every year during February (01-15) upon arrival of Spring.

An artist performing Sambalpuri Dance form of Orissa at Surajkund Craft Fair

Just outside my city, you can visit Taj Mahal in Agra which is considered to be the greatest monument commemorating love and happens to be a World Heritage Site.

The best way to see my city is with an open mind.

If my city were a pet it would be Dumbledore's Phoenix, rising from her ashes again and again with a new vigor.

If I didn't live in a city, I'd live as a hermit in Himalayas.

The best book about my city is the City of Djinns.

City of Djinns by William Dalrymple

When I think about my city, the song that comes to mind is Jump by Van Halen.

If you have kids, you won't want to miss the Fun and Food Village in Gurgaon.

Republic Day Parade could only happen in my city.

My city should be featured on your cover or website because of its seamless fusion of the old and modern. A capital of as many as 10 empires, destroyed as many times and risen again like a phoenix, it is like hearing an echo of the Persian phrase spoken by celebrated Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya: "Dehli dour ast” (meaning Delhi is still far away), which imply that a task or journey is still far from completed. To refer to Delhi as Multiplying City is more than apt. Every time you visit my city after a few years break you discover a new "New Delhi" rise.

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A Tale of Seven Cities: Part IV

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:53:11 +0100

Table of contents for A Tale of Seven Cities

A Tale of Seven Cities Part I
A Tale of Seven Cities Part II
A Tale of Seven Cities Part III
A Tale of Seven Cities Part IV

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself in our mirth;
And o’erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world’s worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth

~Arthur O’Shaughnessy

The urge to talk about Mehrauli Archaeological Park is literally irresistible now. After weeks of traveling and researching over the internet and books, I could not but wonder whether this is the most architecturally and historically rich places in the world. Turning the pages of history brings alive every alley and stone of Mehrauli area with a vigor which I had never ever imagined in wildest of my dreams as I passed through these streets over last several years I have been in Delhi.

Metcalfe's Folly - Mehrauli Archaeological Park

To talk about Mehrauli is to talk not just about the seven capitals of Delhi but all the cities of antiquities and medieval times, a daunting task whose scope certainly borders on epic. It is when you talk about this place as you move to and fro in time that the words of Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya “Hanoz Dilli Dor Ast” strikes you to take heed of its essence. Delhi is still far off, a city in flux, constantly evolving all the time and a new city rising each time this phoenix turns to ashes to rise more gloriously with a renewed vigor. In a sense Delhi is one of the only city in the world which is still becoming, expanding, assimilating and growing.

Mehrauli is the site of plethora of monuments, so much so that a sense of history and legends pervade every lane and even stones, for here lived kings, sultans, generals, warriors, saints and monks. Prehistoric tales associate Mehrauli with the descendents of the Pandavas. Later it saw the building of Lal Kot, a bastion of the first real city of Delhi whose archaeological proof could be found. Then it became the dominion of legendary Rajput warrior prince Pritviraj indelibly ingrained in Hindu courtly love tradition. Qila Rai Pithora was witness to the glory of Prithviraj Chauhan who was later defeated in Second Battle of Tarain by Ghauri, whereupon the latter’s death, his slave Qutubdin Aibak made Mehrauli his capital and the Sultans and emperors who followed him ruled from there.

The unfinished Alai Minar which was meant to be twice in size of Qutub Minar

The Qutub Minar was the crowning glory of Mamluks. Then Khiljis took over and build monuments such as Alai Darwaza, Madarsa and also laid foundation to the audacious Alai Minar which was supposed to be twice the size of Qutub Minar. The Tughlaqs built their own capital in the vicinity and the Sayyids and Lodis also left behind their modest creations which are now nestled inside the sprawling Lodi Garden.

The Mughals too liked this place and built several monuments. They were great devotees of the saint Qutubdin Bakhtiar Kaki and build many structures to show their respect and reverence. Bahadur Shah I found his last resting place in Mehrauli and Bahadur Shah II also wanted to be buried here in Mehrauli but unfortunately his wish was not granted as he was exiled to Burma after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, where his ‘mazaar’ now lies. The last Shah of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Jafar’s despair and anguish of not finding his beloved resting place was immortalized in his famous gazal:

लगता नहीं है दिल मेरा उजड़े दयार में
किसकी बनी है आलम -इ-नापायदार में
कह दो इन हसरतों से कहीं और जा बसें
इतनी जगह कहाँ है दिल -ए -दादगार में
उम्र -ए -दराज़ मांग कर लाये थे चार दिन
दो आरज़ू में कट गए दो इंतज़ार में
कितना है बदनसीब ‘ज़फर’ दफ़न के लिए
दो गज ज़मीन भी न मिली कू -ए-यार में

TRANSLATION

My heart finds no joy, in this ravaged city
Who has ever felt fulfilled, in this mortal world?
Please tell my wishes to go away somewhere else
There is not enough room for them in my sorrowful heart
I had requested for a long life of four days
Two were spent in wishing and two were spent in waiting
How ill-fated Zafar is! For his own burial
He couldn’t even get two yards of earth in land of the beloved.

Bahadur Shah Jafar II – The Last Emperor of India

There are many ways to reach Mehrauli Archaeological Park which include Delhi Metro. If you are using this mode of public transit, you should take the Qutub Minar Station exit. From there its a short walk to the gates of the park. It’s impossible to believe, as you walk the road towards park, that a place like this even exists there. When you’re on road, you’re in midst of the civilization, a part of urban Delhi but then suddenly a portal opens up and you step into a different world altogether – a world as magical as in entering the Platform Number 9 ¾ of the King’s Cross Station in London – You know what I am talking about if you have seen or read Harry Potter :-) Nestled amidst the urban chaos and din of ever expanding Delhi on all sides, Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a veritable oasis, a place bordering on ethereal if not for the encroachments (call it invasion of plastic, sewer lines and garbage dumps) of urban lifestyle.

A Mughal Era Gumti slowly overtaken by Nature

The world inside the gates is so very different from the usual one that we the people notice everyday, that it’s a wonder how a few step left – literally as you walk from towards Metro Station – could set everything right. It’s like the lines of Robert Frost whein he says that I took the road less traveled. And believe me those are the path which leads you to joys of life, a veritable Route du Bonheur. Inside is a magical world – relics of past, sprawling lush landscape, nature encroaching on man’s dream of immortality, audacious monuments trying to commemorate the cold residents in their bowers for all eternity; and a sense of calm, serenity and freshness seldom witnessed in the bustling megalopolis of Delhi.

Ruins near Balban's Tomb

Nestled in the shadows of the World Heritage Site of Qutub Minar Complex, Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a gem to be discovered, a treasure trove to be explored and a magical escape to savor. With right kind of conservation and restoration and a little bit of human concern, this sprawling 100 acres park has the potential to be the crowning jewel of Delhi’s heritage and a tourist hotspot. Although restoration work is going on – and the work done by INTACH is definitely commendable - the nature is slowly taking over the monuments, some corners are used as landfill, plastic litter abounds, people play cricket and except for a few well known monuments most of the enclosures, gumtis and tomb lie in state of gross disregard as they are yet to be declared “protected monuments”.

Paved Walkways inside Mehrauli Archaeological Park with one of Metcalfe's Follies in the Background (Center Left)

Tomb of Quli Khan or the Dil-Kusha (Metcalfe’s House)

Pleasure gardens once were sprinkled across Mehrauli and it became the picnic spot of the royal families residing in the Red Fort. Later with the arrival of British, things changed but the allure of Mehrauli remained strong and Metcalf’s Follies and Dil-Kusha are prime example of that British penchant with then scenic Mehrauli.

Stairs Leading up to Quli Khan's Tomb of Metcalfe's Dil-Kusha

A large part of what is today the “Mehrauli Archaeological Park” was purchased by the British Resident, Thomas Metcalfe. Metcalfe himself noted that one could not remain indifferent to the majestic ruins which were meant to immortalize their cold inhabitants for eternities. So after purchasing this vast expanse of land he went about landscaping the area.

Metcalfe also converted the tomb of Quli Khan into his residence. The house which was rechristened ‘Dil-kusha’ (the Delight of the heart) by its eccentric builder, once boasted of a drawing room, library, an oratory, as well as an external wing for guests and separate servants compartments. In fact, to add to the eerie quotient, the central chamber of Quli khan’s tomb (where his cenotaph existed) was removed by Metcalfe who made it into a dining room.

Tomb of Quli Khan which was bought and converted into weekend retreat by Metcalfe and renamed Dil-Kusha (Delight of the Heart)

Metcalfe also build several structures to add to the ambience of his weekend retreat and a place which he sometime lent to honeymooning couples. There were boat house, springs, pools and what not once when Metcalfe was happily settled here to “look after” Bahadur Shah Jafar II from close quarters. One can spot one of the Metcalfe’s follies standing on top of a mound, just beyond the Jamali Kamali mosque. Another of his follies, a ziggurat, could be spotted near the parking of the Qutub Minar Complex. Ziggurats were massive structures built in ancient Mesopotamian valley having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding levels.

One of the Entrance to the Archaeological Park is Near this Ziggurat near Qutub Minar Parking

But glorious days of Metcalf’s Dilkusha were shortlived. During the Great Revolt of 1857 the house was ransacked and abandoned. Over the next one and half centuries, the entire region was covered with vegetation with only glimpses of archaeological structure visible. In 2001 – 02 a massive conservation initiative was taken up by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which gave birth to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, housing close to 70 archaeological monuments.

Balban’s Tomb

One of the most important monuments inside the park, when it comes to development of Indo-Islamic architecture, is the Balban’s Tomb. Balban was slave of Iltutmish and the last sultan belonging to Mamluk Dynasty. He succeded legendary Razia Sulatn when she was killed by her noble. Balban was known as a ruler with iron fist. After his death he was buried with royal honor in what is now known as Mehrauli Archaeological Park. His tomb now lies mostly in ruin and it is also not as ornamentally carved and inscribed as his master Iltutmish. It is said that after the death of his favorite son – who was also supposed to be his successor – in a fighting near Multan against the Mughals, Balban was heartbroken. This incident is also said to have quicken his death.

Crumbling Remains of Tomb of Sultan Balban, the last of Mamluk Dynasty

Balban’s tomb belonging to Balban – Slave dynasty ruler of Delhi Sultanate and last of Mamluks – was constructed here in the 13th century can still be marveled at, although in a ramshackle state. This tomb is the first one to incorporate true arch, a breakthrough in Indo-Islamic architecture. The tomb was made of rubble masonry and now lies mostly in ruins. It was the first building to incorporate true arched dome in architecture which alas didn’t survived making Alai Darwaza in the Qutub Minar Complex, a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, the earliest such structure standing intact. Although Balban’s cenotaph is no longer accounted for, another cenotaph belonging to Balban’s favorite son, Khan-i Shahid (the martyr prince) or Muhammed, who died fighting Mongols near Peshawar before he could be crowned, is also located nearby Balban’s Tomb.

A View of the Balban's Tomb through the Arched Entrance , first of their kind built in India

Jamali Kamali Tomb

Another important monument inside the park is the tomb and mosque of Jamali Kamali which is a mystery of sorts. Sheikh Fazalullah was a noted saint and poet who lived through the reins of Lodis Babar and Humayun. He died in 1536, 10 years after the Mughal dynasty was established in India. The romantic bent of Fazlu’s mind found expression in poetry which was highly appreciated and it also led the young Fazlu, a hapless romantic, somewhat arrogant character, with his head high in the air.

Exterior Facade of Jamali Kamali Mosque

There’s an interesting account of how Fazlu became Jamali. According to anecdotes, once Fazlu went to a deserted spot where he was supposed to meet his beloved. it was the time of the year just after the rainy season when nature puts on her best and even the old moon shone brighter. The night was still young when Fazlu stood admiring it and composing couplets in his mind as he waited for his beloved with great anticipation. According to this version of the story, Fazlu paced restlessly as the hours passed by and at last saw a figure approaching through the trees. Thinking that his beloved has arrived Fazlu caught hold of the figure draped in robe but to his surprise Fazlu found out that it was an old man who looked like a dervish. Since that night his life changed and he becomes a hermit.

Arches of Jamali Kamali Mosque

The period during which Fazalullah lived was the one in which saints Kabir, Sur and Tulsi Das flourished. It was when Bhakti movement was at its apex. Fazlu was drawn into the fold and came to be known as Jamal Shah or a fiery saint. He performed several miracles which cemented his ‘jamal’ or glory and so the name Jamali became popular. Historically, Hamid Bin Fazlu’llah belonged to merchant Sunni family who rose to considerable prominence during the reign of Sikandar Lodi. Under the aegis of his pir Sheikh Samauddin, Fazlullah was initiated into Sufism and later at his pir’s suggestion changed his nom de plume from Jalali (awe inspiring) to Jamali (lovable).

The construction of his tomb was begun by Jamali himself in 1528, as was the tradition in those time and was completed during the reign of Humayun. The walls of the Jamali’s Tomb are decorated with colored tiles and inscribed with verses composed by the poet himself. The grave next to him is referred to as that of Kamali. As for who Kamali actually was there is no record. But the name Jamali Kamali goes together for the Mosque and the tombs. A conjectural explanation could be that Kamali was the same old deverish man who Jamali grabbed that night waiting for his beloved, an incident which changed the course of Jamali’s life.

Mihrab of the Jamali Kamali Mosque

Rajon Ki Baoli

Ingrained in folklores not just in our part of the world but in the Occident too, are the legends of tooth fairies and djinns inside step wells and divinatory/healing power of water inside step well. Wells and springs were even reputed in folklore to be the entrances to the other worlds and like portal stone – which Rand uses to go to mirror world in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan – a way to the world over. After the Church took over the pagan world, some of the wells and springs were also supposedly used for divinatory purposes, or for seeking blessings upon oneself and one’s family, or for cursing one’s enemies. Thankfully all the three baolis that I have visited in New Delhi had none of these supernatural properties or it may be that with the passage of time these properties have evanesced, just like the water which these step wells once held.

A View of the Rajon ki Baoli from Front - Notice the arched colonnade on three side and dried up reservoir

This magnificent three-storeyed step well is believed to have been built by Daulat Khan during the reign of Sikandar Lodi in 1516. The name Rajon Ki Baoli is often inadvertently translated as step well of Kings (Raja = King). In actuality this magnificent three-storeyed step well should translate to step well of masons (rajon = builders). It is believed that this baoli was used by masons for some time, hence, the name.

A View of the Steps from inside at Rajon Ki Baoli

It’s a spectacular sight as you reach here in the midst of wilderness. The manner in which Rajon ki Baoli – which is entirely subterranean – unfolds before your eyes is fascinating. Its like a layer cake, with each level adding to the sense of awe as you behold the colonnaded section running along three sides of the step well. The well is dry now but once it would have been the center of lots of activity, offering refuge and water to the merchants and city dwellers alike. Even now, a sense of serenity and calm pervades the interiors of Rajon ki Baoli. In the summers it offers a cool retreat to the denizens to beat Delhi’s unruly summers blue.

Within the structure of the baoli is a mosque and a tomb enclosure connected to the step well through the flight of step. There is unmarked cenotaph within the tomb which has 12 pillars forming arches. The mosque has an inscription on its chhatri. The inscription on this chhatri, which records the year of its making, dates Rajon ki Baoli back to the times of Sikandar Lodi reign. Rajon ki Baoli is the largest and most resplendent of the three Baolis in Delhi which I have visited – That includes Gandhak ki Baoli and Agrasen ki Baoli on Hailey Road in Connaught Place.

A View of Rajon ki Baoli and the Tomb and Mosque adjacent to it connected up flight of stairs

Other Monuments inside the Park

Sprinkled across the park are numerous Gumtis, enclosures and other relics of past which are slowly but surely being superimposed by nature. Several monuments are yet to receive the status of “protected monument” which well maintained monuments like Rajon ki Baoli and Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb enjoys. According to the paper of The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), these unprotected structures within the park would be covered under the Phase VI of the conservation plan which is supposed to be the culmination of the previous phases wherein this park was designated as Mehrauli ‘Archaeological Park’ in Delhi Master Plan 2021. These unprotected structures belong to various dynasties – like the Mamluks, Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals and even British – which have ruled and laid foundation of the Seven Capitals of Delhi.

Walled Enclosure with tombs and other ruins inside the Archaeological Park

Stairs which were probably made to cross over the water stream in the age of the kings

Gandhak ki Baoli

Just as you step outside Mehrauli Archaeological Park towards the Mehrauli Bus Terminus you can find a nondescript entrance to Gandhak Ki Baoli which is almost hidden between residential buildings and dhabas. The legend behind building of Gandhak ki Baoli is that Iltutmish built this step well for the saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. The story goes that one day the emperor, who had been bought as a slave boy by Qutubuddin Aibak, came to pay his obesience to Qutub Sahib and seeing him disheveled inquired why he had not bathed. The saint replied that he needed a place to do so. ltutmish immediately gave orders for a baoli to be built and Gandhak ki Baoli was constructed in record time.

Gandhak ki Baoli was constructed by Iltutmish for Saint Qutubdin Bakhtiar Kaki

Tomb of Adham Khan

Just as you exit from the park towards Gandhak ki Baoli and head towards Bus Terminus, from out of nowhere you will come across an anomalous sight. Surrounded by busy market place and thronged by people in quest to catch the bus, Adham Khan Tomb is almost unreal in the chaotic environs as in it does not belong where it is. The tomb of Adham Khan in Mehrauli gives a sense of peace and quititude but has a turbulent history of betrayal, murder and bloodshed. The tomb however contains no such stain now to corroborate to its violent past. Surrounded by the bazaars that have sprung up and dusty Mehrauli Bus Terminus, the tomb complex is a different world altogether.

Adham Khan's Tomb or the Bhool Bhulaiya in Mehrauli

One of the things which make this tomb distinct is that it is neither Mughal nor Afghan in its conception. One of the reasons being given is that it was built by Emperor Akbar in imitation of the Dome of the Rock of Jerusalam. The other explanation is that since it was built for a traitor the elements of Sultunate period architecture – the octagonal shape – were ingrained in the pattern of the tomb.

The person who lies interred here is Adham Khan, Akbar’s foster brother and son of the emperor’s favorite wet nurse Maham Anga. It is said that Adham Khan was a man devoted to worldly pleasures. He was fond of the pleasure of the flesh, full of a great deal of swagger and could not bear the sight of Atgah Khan because the latter occupied a high post and was referred to as Akbar’s foster father. Thinking that Atgah Khan’s removal from the equation would clear his path for more respect and higher position, Adham Khan conspired and had Atgah Khan killed in Agra Fort.

Details of the dome of Adham Khan Tomb

When Akbar came to know of this treachery he went mad with rage and had Adham Khan thrown from the top of a balcony of the Agra Fort. According to the chronicles, Adham Khan was thrown twice from the height of the fort to ensure that he was dead. The body of both Atgah Khan and Adham Khan were bought to Delhi for burial and whereas Atgah Khan was buried in Nizammudin – most probably due to proximity with the great Sufi saint’s tomb – the body of Adham Khan was buried in Mehrauli close to the traitors (Sultans). As the destiny would have it, the tomb of the Adham Khan turned out to be grander of the two.

A View of Qutub Minar from Inside Adham Khan's Tomb

The uncommon feature of this tomb is the intricate passageway or the labyrinthine maze up a flight of steps and that may be why this tomb is popularly/locally referred to as Bhool Bhulaiya. Even if you go on asking the locals about whose tomb this one actually is no one can tell you the name of the person interred here neither will you find plaques or board telling you that the tomb actually belongs to Adham Khan.

According to a popular folklore women should not visit this tomb. This is because of the curse of Roopmati. Like Romeo & Juliet and Laila-Majnu, the story of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur is one of those grand romantic sagas of Indian history, filled with beauty and emotion, yet ending with tragedy, loss and separation.

According to the romance, Baz Bahadur who was the ruler of Mandu from 1555 to 1562 once caught sight of Hindu pastoralist Roopmati singing as she bathed in the Narmada River. Enchanted by her beauty and her melodious voice, Baz Bahadur instantly fell in love with her head over heels and yes you’ve guesses it right; it was love at first sight. There was no turning back as we all know that love is blind. From then onwards all Baz Bahadur could see was Roopmati. Thence started the adventure of our own Mr. Eagle and Phebe in the Forest or Arden. India’s very own Romeo began spending his time in the pursuit of love and music, leaving a placard hanging from the palace which read: “you are most welcome, but do not disturb”. So when Satans’ general, Mephistopheles Khan, attacked Mandu in 1561, the kingdom was his for the taking.

Baz no longer Bahadur fled to Chittorgarh to seek help leaving behind apple of his eyes and melody of his heart, Roop, forgetting all the love they shared “jab they met”. Adam khan came as the conqueror to Mandu to do what they did best – plunder both wealth and women. Adam tried to invoke Aphrodite’s wish granted to him through royal diktat when he beheld the enamoring beauty of Helen of Mandu. But bred in Indian culture of chastity, pati-vrata nari in tradition of Sita and Sati, Rani Roopmati stoically poisoned herself, Indian romance/tragedy’s very own Lucretia; thus ending this magical saga of love and commitment immersed in music, poetry and beauty between Brave Eagle II a.k.a Baz Bahadur and Titania a.k.a Roopmati.

So when MJ asked the ultimate question “Who's bad?” from humanity, Captain Hook a.k.a Adham Khan was petrified to see every finger pointing towards him and to this day it is considered an ill omen for a woman to visit this tomb which would mar a lady’s conjugal happiness.

Now for the general information from tourist point of view, there are no public conveniences that I know of or see inside the park but there are secluded corners which people do love to use for nature’s call. It may take several hours if you are for serious sightseeing inside Mehrauli Archaeological Park so plan accordingly. For lunch breakfast and dinner, there are several dhabas near the Adham Khan’s Tomb serving Indian cuisines including stuffed paranthas. From here you can even walk up to Qutub Minar Complex. As for how to reach this park, Metro is your best bet and you should ideally get off at Qutub Minar Station and walk from there to the park and do keep looking left for a gate to the park.

Other entrances to the park are from near Gandhak ki Baoli near Mehrauli Bus Depot and from near Qutub Minar parking where you see the Ziggurat, one of the Metcalf’s follies. For those using their own vehicle, you may also drive up to Jamali Kamali Mosque inside the park. Parking is not an issue as park remains mostly deserted if not for cricket playing kids. It may get real secluded hence I’d advise caution to ladies traveling alone especially in late hours of the day. In the morning and afternoons it’s as safe as any part of Delhi which is I am sorry to admit is not much.

Let me finish with a few lines from the same ode I begun with in the first place to aptly sum up this post. These beautiful lines pay tribute to the artists, the dreamers, the thinkers, the builders, the power of human imagination and to those who dare. Another narcissistic interpretation of the lines would be that ultimately it is left to us, we the storytellers, poets and writers among other artists since time immemorial, who have the ability to affect the course of history through our narrative to an extent often greater than the mightiest conqueror :-) And I travel; therefore I write. I write; therefore I am :-)

We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams.
World-losers and world-forsakers,
Upon whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems.

A Few More images from my trip to Mehrauli Archaeological Park:

Gandhak Ki Baoli just outside the Mehrauli Park Boundary

Inside arches and Mihrab of the Mosque near Rajon ki Baoli

Description of the walled enclosure constructed during Mughal period

Indifference - Inside Balban's Tomb with Khan-i-Shahid (the martyr prince) cenotaph in background

Tomb of Balban's Favorite Son Khan-i-Shahid who died fighting Mongols with Quranic Inscription

Walking tours

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) offers heritage walks of Old Delhi and Mehrauli Archaeological Park at weekends. You can also arrange private guides. Alternatively pick up a copy of Old Delhi: 10 Easy Walks for inspiration. Join the charitable organisation Salaam Baalak Trust for a city walk with a difference. These two-hour walks (Monday to Saturday) are led by a former street child who shows you what life is like for kids living on the streets.

Website: www.intach.org www.salaambaalaktrust.com, www.intachdelhichapter.org/heritage_walks.html

I hope you liked this installment which might be considered as a short detour from the seven capitals of Delhi but an important part nonetheless. Your feedback about the series uptill now would be most welcome. Till the next chapter CIAO :-)

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What's Not to Love About a Yoga Sex Scandal?

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:15:48 +0100

An excellent write up which I couldn't help but share when I came across this post on Huffington Post.
So here it is:

Who knew the downward dog has a missionary position?

The New York Times, in all its wisdom, informs us that yoga began as a sex cult.

Now if only I had known this in the ninth standard in Kolkata, I would have paid much more attention during yoga class at school.

The Times had already tied itself up in knots with an earlier story about how yoga can be hazardous to your health.

The firestorm that caused made one thing clear -- yoga sells well. Sex sells even better. And sex scandals sell the best. So what's not to love about a yoga sex scandal?

The man in the eye of the storm this time is John Friend, the founder of the Anusara style of yoga. Friend, says the Times, had built up a huge following by preaching "a gospel of gentle poses mixed with poses aimed at fostering love and happiness." Apparently there was too much love and too much happiness on his end. A former confidante has gone public about his "penchant for women", "partying and fun" and cheating on girlfriends. Friend has stepped down for some "self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat." (Hopefully no yoga will be involved there.) There were also some problems about stealing from pension funds but that's boring stuff when you have juicy sex covens.

OK, so a beloved yoga guru falls face down on his mat. But William Broad, the Times' science writer somehow extrapolates from that to this mind-boggling conclusion.

Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught? One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a Tantric sex cult -- an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise.

Really? Sex cult?

The issue isn't whether yoga can, among other things, help improve your sexual stamina. There are scholarly studies from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the Guru Gobind Singh-Indraprastha University in India on yoga in male sexual functioning. (Here's the link -- go ahead, click it, I know you want to.) I dimly recall some benefit like that being hurriedly mentioned in that ninth standard yoga class much to the tittering amusement of puberty-stricken boys. But we were quickly also told about how yoga was going to sort our constipation problems and blood circulation issues and make our liver and kidneys hum along.

The bafflement with the Times article is the ridiculous equation that Mr. Broad has seen fit to draw between Friend's personal fall from grace and the roots of yoga. His argument suggests philanderers and yoga are a natural fit. (I wonder if Bill Clinton knew about this.) Also a yoga class is just an affair waiting to happen given all that "arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress." Houston, we have a sticky mat problem.

As proof, alongside Friend and other fallen yoga gurus like Swami Muktananda and Swami Satchidananda, Broad cites the fact that the student-teacher sex problem was so prevalent the California Yoga Teachers Association had to deplore it as "immoral."

Yes, yoga does draw a lot of starry-eyed groupies and yogis have become rock stars. Yes, after Mahesh Yogi's Beatles adventure many so-called gurus set up ashrams in the West and dispensed the spiritual East in five easy poses and nirvana in five easy doses. But that's really a gullibility problem, a megalomania problem, an abuse of power problem, not a yoga problem. A lot of cult leaders (even non yogic ones) have that very same problem. Remember David Koresh of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas? Or Jim Jones? Or even Thomas Peli in Papua New Guinea who told his followers that the banana harvest would increase every time they fornicated in public? The problem really is, as Lauren Jacobs points out in her Huffington Post blog the "guruization of religious leaders, spiritual teachers, politicians, and even therapists who seem to be permitted to act above the rules that govern the rest of us."

When it comes to yoga, as the Hindu American Foundation tirelessly repeats the problem is the way the West has reduced yoga, the spiritual practice, into yoga, the sequence of physical asanas. Mark Morford, a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle and a yoga teacher explains, "Yoga is a physical, spiritual, energetic, wildly interconnected practice that can transform every aspect of your world... Oh, and by the way? It also makes your genitals tingle nicely, too. Bonus, really."

Anyway, just as yoga is about more than your bhujangasana, Tantra is about more than your never-ending orgasm. All those Tantric sex workshops are based in as much wishful thinking as all the hair growth clinics and penis enlargement ads. Morford writes: "I've been studying Shaiva Tantra myself for years now, most recently with one of the finest scholars in the business and we have yet to have a single wild orgy or virgin sacrifice. I know! Total rip-off!"

But actually all this could be good news for the booming yoga business. Its clientele in the West has been largely white women. Here's a perfect marketing opportunity to make it a lot more popular with men. Also, the Indian government needs to dig up that 2010 Ram Manohar Lohia pilot study. Methinks much more research is in order.

Now excuse me, while I go to perfect my bhujangasana.

Source Sandip Roy - Huffington Post

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Paraprosdokians - I am Feeling Lucky

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:25:00 +0100

"Paraprosdokian" comes from Greek "παρά", meaning "against" and "προσδοκία", meaning "expectation". A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.

In the morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas, I don't know. —Groucho Marx

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way; so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

Do not argue with an idiot; he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

The last thing I want to do is hurt you; but it's still on the list.

Light travels faster than sound; this is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

The last thing I want to do is hurt you … but it's still on the list.

If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?

War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Ah, I see. Groucho Marx made a living from wry paraprosdokia and Dorothy Parker was no slouch, e.g,

"Men do make passes at girls who wear glasses… it depends on their frames."

The best of these paraprosdokian thingies come from a handful of famous people:

"He was at his best when the going was good."
— Alistair Cooke on the Duke of Windsor

"There but for the grace of God– goes God."
— Winston Churchill

"If I am reading this graph correctly– I’d be very surprised."
— Stephen Colbert

"You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing– after they have tried everything else."
— Winston Churchill

"If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised."
— Dorothy Parker

"I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it."
— Groucho Marx

"A modest man, who has much to be modest about."
— Winston Churchill

"She looks as though she’s been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say ‘when’."
— P. G. Wodehouse

"I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don’t know I’m using blanks."
— Emo Phillips

"I haven’t slept for two weeks, because that would be too long."
— Mitch Hedberg

"I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night."
— Bill Hicks

Wikipedia attributes a good line to The Simpsons:

"If I could say a few words, I’d be a better public speaker."
— Homer Simpson

ANd here are some more

Ofcourse I don't look busy, I did it right the first time.

I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.

Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others, whenever they go

“I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted pay checks.”

“I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.”

If it weren't for the gutter, my mind would be homeless.

“You do not need a parachute to skydive - you only need a parachute to skydive twice ...”

“The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!”

“Always take life with a grain of salt, plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.”

Where there’s smoke, there’s pollution and last but not the least:

Two’s company, three’s the Musketeers

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Surajkund Mela 2012 - A Day in Life

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:40:17 +0100

One of the must to do things in the first two weeks of February if you happen to be visiting or living in Delhi is a trip to Surajkund Craft Festival. Every year during the first 15 days of February artisans and artists from every corners of India gather in Surajkund to showcase the rich traditions, art and crafts of India. The Craft Mela is a delightful mélange of handlooms, handicrafts and cultural folk dance forms of India.

This year the annual craft festival in Surajkund also saw the participation of artisans from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. Kiosks from Bhutan, Thailand, Afghanistan and even Pakistan attracted a lot of curious buyers and admirers of arts and crafts. There were more than 400 artisans showcasing their talents in Surajkund Craft Mela. In a yet another new, Helicopter rides were also on the offering - provided one could pay the hefty fee - to the discerning visitors offering aerial view of the craft festival in Surajkund.

For the connoisseurs of art, Surajkund Mela 2012 had plenty to offer for their values both as collectibles and functional. Cotton Durries, Bidri works, wooden and bamboo and cane wares, cotton works, metal casted and terracotta artifacts, carpets and leather products and Madhubani and miniature paintings among other form the major highlights of the handicraft section. Handlooms section also had an exciting selection to choose from including cotton, woolen, Banarasi, silk and kosa works.

For those looking to satiate their gastronomic cravings, a food court with traditional cuisines of almost every region of India was the place to be. Claiming to offer the genuine taste of the region to which they belonged, the food stalls were quite a disappointment as they definitely failed in offering the “authentic local flavor”. The prices too were exorbitant - which is quite understandable for annual events like these - for the kind of quality and quantity which was on the offering.

Assam was the theme state for this year’s festival which could be easily discerned from the décor with profusion of cane and bamboo. A large section of the premises was also dedicated to the art, crafts, and handlooms from the theme state of Assam and there was a life size replica of rare single horned rhinoceros which is found in Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

There are quite a few activities to keep the visitors busy inside the perimeters of Mela Compound. People gathered not just to shop around for crafts and handlooms but to gorge on the food, soak in the festival atmosphere, photography, and for joyrides which were available near Surajkund Craft Mela venue. Families came to spend time together and have fun from Delhi and even far away places. Foreign tourists in large number were also spotted shopping for crafts and souvenirs. One of the highlights of the Surajkund Mela 2012 was the cultural folk dance performances by renowned artists from India and around the world. Several award winning international performers of cultural dance form won the hearts of the visitors through their effervescent performances at Choupal (open air amphitheatre) and Natyashala.

It was almost nostalgic, sitting there by the choupal at Surajkund Fair. Although I don’t have vivid memories of attending choupals, I do have vivid recollection of weekends spent at my Grandpas place when I was a little kid. Those were the days when there was no electricity and cable TVs. What my grandpa had were two 12V batteries (which were used in cars and jeeps). Those batteries were used only for 1 purpose – Watching TV on Saturday and Sunday during which they used to discharge and later sent to main town (some 40 Kms away) to be back next weekend. Almost entire village used to gather to watch Rangoli and movies and Sunday morning epics and the “Darwaaza” (the portico with a large front yard) turned into what could come nearest to my personal experience of Choupal.

Choupal at Surajkund Mela was quite different but not something alien to what I have already experienced during my childhood. On a raised dais with arc shaped seating in front, artists from India and other countries enthralled and charmed the gathered audiences with their performances. One of the most playful song which elicited huge applaud was the Barsane ki Holi. The performance which bewitched and mesmerized every male visitor was perhaps the dance from Uzbekistan (It was more to do with the looks of the performers I guess). The performers from Uzbekistan were the cynosure of all eyes. It was not just the audiences who were under spell but even the photographers looked frenzied when the Uzbek performers were on stage.

From personal point of view, the performances of note included the performance by Sambalpuri dance artists, Siddi Goma dance by African origin settlers from Gujarat and Bihu from Assam. But having some personal favorite doesn’t in any way take away any due credit from any performers who did perform the day I attended choupal.

I had reached Surajkund Mela at 8:00 in the morning and left at 5:00 in the evening. Except for the initial walk around the stalls, rest of my time was spent at the chopal. I sat there before performance started and that is one of the reasons why I did saw artists perform all day. On my next visit - which came a week later - I couldn’t even see the performers on account of the crowd which thronged the choupal. It is almost impossible to have a seat anytime during the day if you don’t have it in morning. If you are sitting in the last row be prepared to be pestered by the curious on lookers trying to get a peek. The crowd also gets a bit unruly as the day progresses especially near the last rows.

One of the things which I couldn’t do on my first visit was checking out the amusement park area. On my second visit – on which I couldn’t be a witness to the dance performance no matter how hard I tried – I gave a shot to this particular area with a lots of daredevil rides on offering. This place – although inside the mela complex – is anything but a part of Surajkund Mela. It’s a different world altogether catering especially to the not-that-well-off-looking-for-fun kind of visitors. Visiting this section is like back to mainstream cinema like Spiderman after watching Requiem for a Dream.

Arena like these, which once got me excited, offering an irresistible adrenaline rush now kind of scare me. Blame it on Hollywood and movies like Final Destination, getting aboard one of these rides scares the hell out of me. Okay now you’ll say that it’s good now that it drives the hell out of you but believe me I keep imagining a bolt here and a rope there could screw it all. I don’t actually have premonition as in the Final Destination movie series but a scary feeling. But then I gather my spirit and I step onto one of those after my brother insists and well the heck of it!!!

Ah! After the initial moments when it gets to full swing, it turns out to be okay. I don’t really shout and all that but I love the sound of madness, screams and laughter. They are not really scared like I was; they are just enjoying themselves and having a good ride, having a day in life which may actually come back to cheer them up as nostalgia. I have my camera out and I keep on clicking shots trying to capture those genuine smiles and hysteria for the heck of it and joy and fleeting moments of life. It all adds up and it feels good.

Ample security arrangements were made in and around the venue of Surajkund Mela 2012. CCTV Cameras, local police personnel and even special security personnel were deployed to ensure smooth proceedings at the craft mela and to prevent any untoward situation. Tughlaqabad is the nearest metro head from where one could catch tuk-tuks to reach the mela venue. For those arriving on personal vehicle from Delhi, the best way is to take the Mathura Toll Road and then take the right turn from the first traffic signal to get off the highway. Toll for both way journey (Car) is INR 30. Good arrangements were made for parking and the charge was INR 50 for parking and INR 50 for entrance. Senior Citizens could get their ticket for half the price that is INR 25. For more photographs of my trip, you may like to visit my Flickr photo stream set of Surajkund Mela 2012

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Every Picture Tells a Story: Myriad Colors of Rajasthan

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:28:51 +0100

Rajasthan is the land of Rajput warrior princes of yore, many of whom are inextricably entrenched in the romance and folklores narrating tales of honor, chivalry and romance of Rajput princes. Unarguably Rajasthan is one of the most favored tourist destinations in India with its royal legacy manifest in great palaces and resplendent forts, painted havelis and pleasure gardens, and burnished marble temples. Tours to Rajasthan offers a mesmerizing mélange of travel experience which includes but is not limited to the forts, palaces, desert castles and vibrant culture.

To say that Rajasthan is a harsh land would definitely be an understatement. During the summers, the mercury easily crosses the threshold of 50 degrees. Aravali Mountain Range and vast Thar Desert add to the rugged outlook of Rajasthan for most part of the year. Yet it is the harsher landscape that provides the most effective background for an ancient marble Temples or a group of women returning after their routine errands, balancing, on each graceful, high-held head, their daily toils which in this case is the stack of wood instead of the familiar sight of burnished brass or terracotta water-pots.

Taken on the Highways in Alwar on my way back to New Delhi from Sariska National Park

The most fascinating aspect of the vista amidst the austere backdrop of Aravali is the three women wearing full-skirted attire in every shade and combination of color imaginable. The colors are not limited to the one seen in the pics when you encounter more of these sights and they are as varied as grass-green and vermilion, turquoise and crimson, lavender and magenta, emerald and cherry. This picture was taken during my return trip to Delhi from Sariska National Park in Alwar district of Rajasthan when we had stopped by the highway near a waterhole.

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A Tale of Seven Cities Part III

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:20:30 +0100

In the series A Tale of Seven Cities
A Tale of Seven Cities Part I
A Tale of Seven Cities Part II
A Tale of Seven Cities Part III

So Time that is o’er-kind
To all that be,
Ordains us e’en as blind,
As bold as she:
That in our very death,
And burial sure,
Shadow to shadow, well persuaded, saith,
“See how our works endure!”

Cities and Thrones and Power ~ Rudyard Kipling

Walking down the alleys of history, the road – Delhi Metro to be more precise – led me to Hauz Khas on an unbelievable Sunday. I say unbelievable because of the stunning clear blue sky which is a rare sight in Delhi especially during winter. Hauz Khas Village is part of many capitals but is best known as important site for: Siri and Firuzabad, with Siri being the third capital city and Firuzabad the fifth official capital and last of the Sultanate of Delhi.

One of the best things to have happened to dear Delhi in the recent times is Metro transit system. It’s arrival has come as a great boon to traveler like me who can now easily reach far flung attractions in Delhi. Be it Hauz Khas, Qutub Minar or even Tughlaqabad, no destination seem far and also no fuss about driving in Delhi’s crazy traffic. For Hauz Khas Village I got down at the eponymous metro station but later I found out that alighting at Green Park Metro is better option as you have to walk less.

Metro Rail: Taking Delhi Forward

Walking is a good option especially during early hours in the morning when roads and walkways are less chaotic. This was the third time I had been to Hauz Khas Village, and believe me it was the best time too. First time I was here for birding – can you believe that – around 3-4 months ago after reading somewhere that more than 100 avian species could be spotted. It was disappointing as all I could capture was sitting ducks. After a short session of see-sawing and swinging and all and watching deer enclosed in small area I had returned disenchanted and angry at misinformation served to the curious tourists through promotional websites and travel forums.

Ducktales: Inside Hauz Khas

Last time I visited here was with a friend from across seven seas on the last day of last November last year and it was great and bagels at the Bagel shop – with a secret chamber which was actually a washroom not the portal to Narnia – was delicious. It was a good trip but alas we made it in the late hours of the day and we couldn’t do much of sightseeing and I promised myself to come back when the there’s more light to “see”. Then I thought of this series and it happened before I had actually planned to return. You see it (my “I am Back” thing) also makes this write up ‘lines composed a few miles’ from Hauz Khas Complex ‘on revisiting the banks of the’ “tank royale” ‘during a tour, 15 January 2012 ’. Although I am not Wordsworth the words are worth it :-)

The wall of Kharera Village: Look how contemporary evident in window AC fuses seamlessly with historical rubble masonry wall

So where was I? Ah! Yes, I was on and about a tale of seven cities. So this Sunday my quest led me to the Hauz Khas Complex. And the timing…oh the timing! Even as I walked on towards the Village, I came across an imposing wall structure of Kharera Village. According to the plaque of ASI, this was the only portion of the walled enclosure from Lodi period which survived. In the days of yore, most of the historical village had a protective wall around it. But with the bane of the uncontrolled urbanization, the walls were demolished to give way to residential buildings. This portion of the wall survived or say saved as this entire area of Kharera Village was bought by a single family. The part which you see in the photograph is the only portion of the historical wall which survived in its entirety. This fortified wall was built during the Lodi period made up of rubble masonry.

Moving ahead as I observed the day was good and the sun was shining radiantly in the azure sky. As I took the turn by the Aurbindo Complex towards the village the adventure began. First in the scene was the brilliant Dadi Poti ka Maqbara. The clear blue sky, perfect lighting and no crowd what else does a traveler like me crave for? Ah! Well I guess a DSLR camera with Wide Angle lens :-) But that’s in my wish list of things to buy in 2012.

Dadi Poti ka Gumbad with Poti in the front near Hauz Khas are unknown Tombs

The monuments – Dadi Poti ka Gumbad – are dated to the times of Siri or the period of Sultanate when Alauddin Khilji ruled. Beautifully crafted, these are fascinating specimen of the tomb architecture of the Sultunate period. The name given to the tomb Dadi Poti (grandmother granddaughter) is of popular origin. Methinks something about their size but that is just a speculation. As to the whereabouts of whom does it originally belonged to or the builders, no one can tell. All I can say about this is it’s a well manicured and maintained green space amidst the concrete of dear Delhi where you can spend some quite moments and a few people sleeping there inside under the gentle early spring sun would definitely testify this fact.

Barakhamba near Hauz Khas Village is dated back to Lodi Period

Moving on I encountered another monument which is named Barakhamba owing to the 12 pillars on which it stands. Its construction also dates back to the period of Sultanate. The state of the structure could be rated at best as fair and crumbling. I wonder if they’ll dot the Delhi’s landscape a 100 years from now. Moving on there is a Choti Gumti, a Sankari Gumti probably build during Khalji’s rule and a scintillating white temple built recently that is 1969 :-) But comparatively speaking, to say it a recent structure in light of the project would not be an overstatement. The temple looks good though. With a perfect canopy of clear blue sky the white façade were sparkling in the morning sun and a sight to behold. The temple is known as the Jagannath temple and is considered to be the centre of cultural conglomeration for Oriyas in Delhi.

Chooti Gumti enroute Hauz Khas Village

Jagannath Temple is where the Oriya fraternity of Delhi come together for cultural exchange

Moving on through narrow yet posh alleys of shopping market where chic restaurants, art and craft shops and designer clothes stores jostle with each other and woo considerable overseas tourist traffic , arriving at the gates of the Hauz Khas Complex is almost ethereal. A step backwards and you are in the thick of 21st century modern, savvy and hip Delhi and with two steps forward you enter into a quaint world of mighty empires of yore.

Once located in the center of Tarababad (City of Joy), this complex was once the most important place in the world for Islamic learning. Hauz Khas or the “Royal Tank” was built by Alauddin Khilji to address the perennial problem of water in Delhi as the city flourished under the Sultanate. It was a public utility project to collect the rain water over a large expanse of land which addressed the growing need of water for the population of Siri and Old Delhi (Quwwat ul Islam or Qutub Minar Mehrauli area).

Standing Tall: Eastern Limb of Madarsa leading up to Tomb of Firuz Shah

After Khalji’s dominion, the tank got silted and was off use till the arrival of Firoz Shah Tughlaq in the throne of Sultanate. Firuz Shah did what he was known to do best, build and restore. He had the tank desilted and built the Madarsa complex and other settlements around it and the place flourished so much so that the area was referred to as the‘city of joy’. The current Hauz Khas Complex is dominated by Firuz Shah Tomb and comprises of madarsa, pavilions, chhatris and a mosque.

Favored with fertile land Hauz Khas Village became important for food production, located as it was in a densely populated area. And with its royal endowment from the Firoz Shah Tughlaq, it also became the chief center of theological study in fourteenth-century Delhi.

Northern Limb starting from Tomb of Firoz Shah leading upto Mosque

The L shaped madrasa with the tomb of Firuz Shah at the corner intersection of the two wings is flanked by the water reservoir in the northern front and by a lush courtyard on its southern side on the second floor level which is where you are if you enter through the gate. There’s no way down to the reservoir from this side as the gates are locked and you need to take the entrance of the Deer Park in order to see the first level of the madarsa.

The complex is in fairly good state after the recent restoration but age and long neglect of monument by our credible archaeological department is telling. Then again the plastic litter inside the complex. It is so commonplace inside monuments that I sometime think that I keep repeating the obvious when I talk about them. What was good to see was a group of young volunteers cleaning up the litter inside the complex. The concerned about the environmental ethics especially in the college going kids is something good to notice. Thank god to the entire hullabaloo over Global Warming thing which if some reports are to be believed is actually a good thing. But that’s a debate I better avoid here :-)

Chhatris with the Urban Village in Background and some volunteers in the middle gathered to rid complex from plastic wastes

As you move toward the tomb of Firuz Shah you’ll notice 6 pavilions dotting the lush lawn of the complex. One is square, another hexagonal and three are octagonal, All these structures are actually tombs and mark six important grave site, most probably the scolars/tutors who taught here in the times of Firuz Shahi.

Northern Limb ending in Mosque overlooking Hauz Khas

Cenotaph in the center is the one that belongs to Firuz Shah Tughlaq

The tomb of the Sultan is entered through the veranda in the South. The tomb overlooks the Hauz Khas to the North. Inside there are four unmarked grave with the central cenotaph belonging to Firuz Shah Tughlaq. One can discern Quranic inscriptions on the gold medallion of the dome. There are steps down to the reservoir from the either side of the tomb but the gates remain locked.

There are only a few places which could boast of the sophisticated market, monuments, a lake and sprawling gardens and Hauz Khas Village, a veritable “urban village” is one of those few places in the world. Inside the park, there are a few monuments built during Khalji’s reign one of which is a tomb. There’s a deer park inside and besides ducks it was good to spot some red wattled lapwings basking in the warmth of gentle winter sun.

Loneliness: Crumbling remains of the Eastern Limb Arches

This is place where you can spend serene hours but then beware of traveling towards far corners and secluded spaces inside this sprawling lake garden as the bane of Delhi’s public places are also found here. Yes! I am talking about the love/lust sick couples ruining the ambience of the park.

Nevertheless Hauz Khas Village is definitely recommended if you can take my word for it. There is so much to do once you are here. Eating, sightseeing, nature walk, shopping, the list is endless. I mean all you could hope for to do in a day could be done here. When it comes to food, there are plenty of street food option including Delhi’s own Chhole Kulche and bhature. Then there’s Gunpowder, the Bagel Shop and well there is the travel Café Kunzum which should be on the” things to do” list. Parking, opposite entry to the Deer Park, is not a problem and there is ample space to park in if you are traveling in your own vehicle.

This will conclude the third part of the series a tale of seven cities I was thinking of including my trip to Bijay Mandal and Bagumpur Mosque in this part only but that will make it too long and I think they will be more relevant if featured in a separate chapter with Siri wherein I could cover Khilji’s reign (Siri) and Mohammad Tuglaq (Jahanpanah) together as there’s not much to them separately and I don’t want to sound monotonous covering only history which is available in numerous books.

Now before I end this post just a quick recap:

I have covered Lal Kot (Qila Rai Pithora), Mehrauli (one half i.e. Qutub period whreas coverage of Archaeological park remains) and Hauz Khas (Complete). In the next I will either take up with Firuzabad or Siri. So the order will look something like:

Chapter 1 – Qila Rai Pithora/Lal Kot (1st capital city of Delhii)
Chapter 1 – Mehrauli (2nd Capital excluding the Archaeological Park)
Chapter 2 – Hauz Khas Village (Associated with 3rd and 5th cities of Delhi)
Chapter 3 – Firuzabad/Siri & Jahanpanah (Tentative)
Chapter 4 – Firuzabad/Siri & Jahanpanah (Tentative)
Chapter 5 – Tughlaqabad (4th city of Delhi)
Chapter 6 – Dinpanah/Shergarh (Dawn of Mughal Empire)
Chapter 7 – Shahjahanabad (7th city of Delhi)
Chapter 8 – Lutyen’s Delhi (Current capital)

Now this is how I have it in mind and if all goes well then this is the order I’ll follow but then there’s a chance – a small one – that if some chapter exceed the appropriate word limit the I may either increase the number of chapters or else there’s a remote possibility that I may change the order.

A few more pics from Hauz Khas Village:

Stairway to Heaven - Hauz Khas Complex Madarsa

Oops! Rain Dancing Hauz Khas

Three is Crowd: Inside Hauz Khas Garden Area

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Ode - Arthur O'Shaughnessy

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:46:37 +0100

Ode -- Arthur O'Shaughnessy

This poem comes from the collection Music and Moonlight (1874). It is often quoted, but rarely provided in its entirety: often even where it is assumed to be complete, only the first three stanzas are actually given. The first two lines are impressively splendid and my personal favorite. The first two lines have been extensively quoted in many work of arts/literature/music etc.

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself in our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration
Is the life of each generation;
A wondrous thing of our dreaming
Unearthly, impossible seeming—
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising;
They had no divine foreshowing
Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broken,
A light that doth not depart;
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling
With a past day's late fulfilling;
And the multitudes are enlisted
In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,
Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,
The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing:
O men! it must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
Intrepid you hear us cry—
How, spite of your human scorning,
Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the comers
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

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Yearning - No Country for Old Man

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:16:16 +0100

The last Shah of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Jafar’s despair and anguish of not finding his beloved resting place was immortalized in his famous gazal.

Zafar was exiled to Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Union of Myanmar) in 1858 along with his wife Zeenat Mahal and some of the remaining members of the family after the failed uprising against British in 1857. His departure as Emperor marked the end of more than three centuries of Mughal rule in India.

Here I reproduce it along with translation in English. I hope you like it.

लगता नहीं है दिल मेरा उजड़े दयार में
किसकी बनी है आलम -इ-नापायदार में

कह दो इन हसरतों से कहीं और जा बसें
इतनी जगह कहाँ है दिल -ए -दादगार में

उम्र -ए -दराज़ मांग कर लाये थे चार दिन
दो आरज़ू में कट गए दो इंतज़ार में

कितना है बदनसीब 'ज़फर' दफ़न के लिए
दो गज ज़मीन भी न मिली कू -ए-यार में

Bahadur Shah Jafar II - The Last Emperor of India

TRANSLATION

My heart finds no joy, in this ravaged city
Who has ever felt fulfilled, in this mortal world?

Please tell my wishes to go away somewhere else
There is not enough room for them in my sorrowful heart

I had requested for a long life of four days
Two were spent in wishing and two were spent in waiting

How ill-fated Zafar is! For his own burial
He couldn't even get two yards of earth in land of the beloved.

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A Tale of Seven Cities: Part II

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:13:28 +0100

In the series A Tale of Seven Cities
A Tale of Seven Cities Part I
A Tale of Seven Cities Part II
A Tale of Seven Cities Part III

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

In my quest to unravel the seven capitals of medieval Delhi, I traveled first to Mehrauli area which is the site for both the first and the second capital. If you turn back the pages of history, the first city of Delhi dating to 11th century gets its recognition as Lal Kot of which only ruins remain. Lal Kot, meaning Red Fortress - owing to the extensive use of the red stone - was the first city to be constructed in the Delhi area.

A View of Qutub Minar from Outside the Complex

The city of Lal Kot (Rai Pithora) was founded by the Tomar Rajput leader Raja Anag Pal in 1060 and studies by ASI and other archaeological evidence suggests that the Tomar ruled the area from 700AD based mainly in the Suraj Kund area. Prithviraj Chauhan of the Chauhan Rajputs seized power in the 12th Century. Prithviraj extended the city and renamed the area Qila Rai Pithora.

A View to Thrill - Qutub Minar with one of Metcalf's Folly in the front

Those was the time when ‘Hindustan’ was known as “sone ki chiriya” (Bird of gold) owing to the riches and was a favorite hunting ground of plunderers. Afghans were the most famous and consistent raiders of the time looking for bounties and plunder as far as South. The respite for Hindustan during that time was that these plunderers used to leave with their booty butl this changed in the late 12th Century with the arrival of Muhammad Ghuri. He was not just a plunderer but an ambitious conqueror.

The intact facade of Imam Zamin's Tomb, Quwwat ul Islam Mosque and Qutub Minar

To realize his ambition of Ghurid Empire, Muhammad Ghori conquest led him to the borders of Rai Pithora, the dominion of Prithviraj Chauhan. In a legendary battle which is still ingrained in romance of the chivalrous Prithviraj, the Rajputs defeated Ghuri in the first battle of Tarain in 1191, but their code of honour led to Ghuri’s release, a historical blunder.
The next year Ghuri regrouped and secured victory in the second battle of Tarain. Ghuri did not have the same battle code and Prithviraj Chauhan was taken captive and later executed in Ghazni. With this decisive battle dawned the age of Islamic rule in India as the outcome enabled Ghuri to take control of Lal Kot and Qila Prai Pithoria and the foundation of Sultanate was laid in India.

Sanderson's Sundial at Qutum Minar Complex

Ghuri left one of his Generals and also his slave, the Turk Qutb-ud-din Aibak as Viceroy of Delhi who started the work on the Qutb Minar and the Quawwat ul Islam Mosque within the city of Lal Kot by destroying Hindu temples and building Islamic structures in their place. One of these was the tower of victory - the 72.5 m tall Qutab Minar, finally completed in 1220 AD, which still stands.

Collision Course: Qutub Minar from the Entrance

After the death of Mohammed Ghori in 1206, Qutubuddin enthroned himself as the first sultan of Delhi - Delhi thus became the capital of Mamluk or the Slave dynasty, the first dynasty of Muslim sultans to rule over northern India. One of the son-in-laws of Qutub Din Aibak, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish became Sultan in 1211 and continued Aibak’s work at the Qutb complex, finishing the tower and extending the mosque.

Iron Pillar and the Minaret inside Quwwat ul Islam Complex

This was the second time when the road led me to Qutub Minar Group of Monuments in Mehrauli. Last time, I was here as a sightseer more interested in “seeing” than “looking”. Now when I do contrast the two visits of mine there is a huge difference in perception. As I entered the Quawwat-ul- Islam complex, I realized how grand it is. Although most of the monuments lay in ruins, you cannot but admire the sheer scale of the architecture.

It is said that the pillaged pillars and stones of the Hindu and Jain temples were used in the construction of the Mamluk Empire in India. There are hints sprinkled across the complex such as lotus and Vishnu motifs and carvings which are typically Hindu in origin. Then there is the iron pillar which has withstood the ravages of time with its Bramhi inscriptions.

Inscription in Brahmi script dating 4th century AD on the Iron Pillar inside Qutub Minar Complex The Iron Pillar, 7.21 metre high originally erected by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–414 AD) weigh at 6,511 kg

When empires clash, the losers inevitably have to give way to the victor. Same happened with the first official capital city of Delhi Qila Rai Pithora which exists now only in ruins or as the raw material of ever crumbling remains of the Qutub Minar Complex.
Qutub Minar of yore was entered through its four monumental gates of which only the Southern one renowned as Alai Darwaza remains standing till date. Along the western periphery of the precinct runs a giant wall with pointed archways, creating a ‘Qibla’ or the decorated prayer wall. There are several buildings in the complex most of which lay in ruins except for the exquisitely carved tomb of Iltutmish which is still in fairly good state. The structure of note inside the complex includes the magnificent Qutub Minar, Ala al-Din Khalji's madrasa and the Imam Zamin Mosque.

The tomb of Alaudin Khilji inside Qutub Minar Complex

Even amidst ruins of the exquisitely carved niches and archways, what amazes you is the grandness and the colossal scale of what might have once stood. You can’t help but be in awe of the will of human imagination and allure of power which see structures like this adorn the earth for centuries to come. No wonder that Quawwat-ul- Islam (Might of Islam) is a UNESCO recognized World Heritage Site.

A View of the crumbling remains of Qutub Minar Group of Monuments: World Heritage Sites in Delhi

Now when your initial romance with the majestic ruins and tall edifices is over you inevitably look around. Scattered along the well manicured gardens, walkways and courtyard, you’ll found the ubiquitous plastic wrapper of chips and all. It’s a wonder that people are allowed to carry them inside in the first place. Even when they are allowed to do carry it (sorry ladies they are mostly carried inside your bags and purses as gentlemen are not allowed to carry bags inside the complex) they should be sensitive and sensible enough to use the dustbins present inside.

A View of Minaret through massive ornamented arches

Then there are families, oh! The great Indian families with zero travel IQ. As opposed to the foreign travelers who are sensible enough not even to touch the structures and carvings, what Indians do is have their children climb the wall despite the repeated whistles by the security personnel to click the photos. What they don’t understand is that ‘harkats’ (transgressions) like this will ensure that their children’s grandchildren won’t even have those ruins left to appreciate.

Another shame of this World Heritage site in Delhi is the sorry state of the public conveniences. As opposed to the washroom in Lodi Garden where you may want to finish the book you’re carrying, the state of the toilets at Qutub Minar is atrocious. Every window/door made of glass is broken and you are more likely to faint after looking and smelling the gross ambience. It’s in such a state that you wouldn’t want it to gross your sight and keeping atleast 20 meters distance is what I’ll personally recommend.
Except for these few shortcomings, the monument overall is well maintained. There are personnel deputed to clean the mess created by indifferent tourists – read Indian families with small kids. And there are foreign travelers who exude infectious warmth and smiles and leave a lesson to be learned through their sensitivity towards these relics of past and to the ecology. Not that they don’t involve in littering, I have even seen them pick up plastic thrown here and there and put them where they belong - in the dustbin.

Thus concludes the first chapter of my narrative “Of Seven Cities and Delhi” in which I have endeavored to unravel the historical perspective as well as the contemporary status of the place. There’s not much pictures to be taken of the first capital that was Delhi as there’s not much left of Quila Rai Pithora, the first official capital of Delhi. The second one according to the Government of Delhi and Department of Tourism is Mehrauli which includes Qutub Minar Complex but I think excludes the Mehrauli Archaeological Park which I initially thought belonged to this very installment.

Remains of monuments with pillars which were probably salvaged from destroyed Hindu Temples

Now I think I will have to use a separate installment to cover that park because of the structures housed within that park which date from Babur’s time to Metcalfe (British Raj). Logically, the next chapter should feature Siri, the 3rd official capital of Delhi but then again I am not very sure of the order. I think going about it chronologically will be a difficult task hence I’ll try to cover them as I’d visit them in weeks to come. Let me know what you think through your comments. Till then I will keep traveling and writing.

Here's a few more pics from my trip to Qutub Minar Complex, Mehrauli:

Uppermost levels of the Qutub Minar where Quranic inscription could be discerned Reused Pillars of the Jain Temple inside Qutub Minar Complex Translation of inscription in Sanskrit in Brahmi script dating 4th century AD Highly ornamented Qutub Minar Mosque Arches - These were later addition to the original structure The Alai Darwaza, built by Ala-ud-din Khilji in 1311 AD is the main gateway from southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam and the first building in India to employ Islamic architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation Tomb of Imam Zamin inside the Qutub Minar Complex Inscriptions in the Kufic style of calligraphy, form regular bands throughout the Qutb Minar Alauddin Khilji started building the Alai Minar, after he had doubled the size of Quwwat ul-Islam mosque and it was meant to be twice in size of the Qutub Minar

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Birding in Sultanpur National Park

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:10:55 +0100

Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance but you still catch my eye
Tell me baby do you recognize me?
Well it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me
George Michael, Wham!

Don’t try to read between the lines of the above quote. Yes! It’s a quote from a song and you’d know the context in which I have used them if you do manage to go through this post. I take it; it’s difficult though :-)

The layout Map of Sultanpur National Park

Remember the movie Prince Caspian from Chronicles of Narnia Series? The visit was reminiscent of the movie where the children return to find their “Eden” that is Narnia usurped and destroyed by human invasion. Something similar had happened to Sultanpur National Park and the creatures responsible for this plight are alcohol-thirsty-kurkure-chomping- virtuoso-scribblers-yet-to-be-toilet-trained brats, PDA maniacs, picnic-happy- garbage-littering-neighbor-complaining-pakau-family-guys and know-no-bound-doting-couples who believe they have a right to self expression and freedom.

These kinds of creatures have become ubiquitous these days in and around Delhi and their most favorite hangouts are well you see one could easily spot them at public parks, heritage buildings, ethnic/theme parks/marts and even shopping malls. They know everything; they are the nouveau-westernized-open-thinking-trigger-happy bourgeoisie individuals. The only thing they don’t know is responsibility, respect and humility.

Once paved roads which are now reduced to dusty trails

Now for the quote! Well, no other phrase could explain my predicament on revisiting Sultanpur National Park this year on Diwali. After reading an article in Hindustan Time which said how the birds are once again are making Sultanpur National Park their home, it was really difficult for me to convince the traveler in me not to go to this bird sanctuary after my earlier experience. The traveler in me said “what’s life like, if we don’t take chances now and then”. He even quoted me when I tried to convince him that it’s crazy really to revisit the park. He replied “some people never go crazy. Imagine the kind of life they live.” After that there were no options but to call a few friends and go, albeit with trepidation.

Sunrise in Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

We - Vineet (my friend) and I - decided to arrive early at the park to maximize our luck - I should have known as I always run out of it when needed most - and we left real early (04:30 AM from Inderpuri)on our quest to spot as many birds as we could. We drove smoothly as there was no traffic and arrived around 6:00 at the park to find out that it was closed. As opposed to other sanctuaries and parks which remain open from sunrise till sunset, Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary opens it gates at 7:00 AM.

Untended Patches inside Sultanpur National Park which makes it more suitable for cattle than birds

From then onwards it was like the chronicle of a death foretold. It was a cold day and skyline was smeared with fog. Even as we smoked to add to the ambience and pathos of our situation I was not really hopeless as I could see couples of painted storks, cranes and birds that be. Waiting hours passed soon and at 07:00 sharp we entered the park. Rs. 10 for entry and Rs. 25 for camera was the fee per person.

The wetlands are mostly neglected inside the park

Again when it came to parking the car, the guard told us that they parking is not allowed anymore as a vehicle was stolen from the parking a few weeks ago. Instead he advised us to park our vehicle by the resort restaurant where it would be much safer and we readily obliged.

Honeymooning Couple Black Necked stork has a dance-like display which lasts for a minute and may be repeated several times

Coming back to the song I quoted above, soon after entering the park the lines “Well it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me” were so true to the context. The park was in total disarray even worse than what it was an year ago. Last time when I had visited Sultanpur National Park it was less littered with plastic classes, empty bottles of alcoholic drinks, empty Kurkure and chips packets disposed off here and there and what not. The radial road was in the state of gross disrepair and the vantage points from where we had sighted many birds last time were conspicuous by their absence.

Tangled up in Blue - A lone Hunter

The marshland appeared more like grassland with bushes blocking the way everywhere. There were more grazing cattle inside than birds – I mean the birds which were supposed to be there according to the article. The ambience inside the park was more allusive to the Eliot’s Wasteland than the Wordsworth Tintern Abbey. You must be thinking I am totally nuts…talking like this :-) Well the thing is that I am writing this line on a few miles away from Sultanpur National Park, on revisiting the banks of “not quite” marshlands of the park and 15 months had passed since my last visit to this one time birder’s paradise.

An Elusive Woodpecker finally captured in a candid shot

Aw! Digressions apart, the park is in real sorry state. I can’t believe that it is even considered a bird sanctuary. I paid a visit to my native village on the occasion of my Grandpa’s death and I could spot more varieties of avifauna which included Herons (great egrets, great blue herons, black heron, grey ones and more), Kingfishers (yellow billed, pied and common) and resident birds that one usually spots in a reserve than what I could spot inside Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary.

An Attempt at Macro photography

The marshland that was and the wetland that could have been are almost destroyed or are nearly on the brink of destruction. The landscape strewn with litter, callous visitors (including picnickers, drinkers and couples) and apathetic authorities have insured that we, the visitors spot more love-birds than actual birds. The park which once gave high hopes to birders and travelers alike is now a sitting duck under constant attack from insensitive, cold, alcohol and pop-corn/chips happy visitors.

A Shy Bird Hiding from visitors like us

It’s ironic that now they have a hall (kinda museum) named after India’s most celebrated ornithologist and naturalist Dr. Salim Ali. In a stark contrast to the desolation and apathy inside the bird sanctuary is the adjacent resort of Haryana Tourism. With its well manicured lawns, spotless surroundings and more verdant ambiance, one could see where the focus of state tourism department actually is. It is sad to notice that resort is preferred over the park on which it actually depends to promote itself in the first place. This relationship is not a symbiotic relation but a parasitic one.

Pair of Great Egrets inside Sultanpur

I wanted to start my story with sentences like I spotted Black Necked Stork, Great Egret, Great Blue Herons, Darters, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Red Vented Bulbul, Red Wattled Lapwings, Black Winged Stilt and many resident birds including lots of Hoopoe but I could not even though I did spotted them. You see even though I am an optimist who prefers BRB (Be right back) as his epitaph over RIP (rest in peace), I am not much hopeful when it comes to Sultanpur. When I do revisit a place I usually find it in better shape albeit with some minor alteration which could be attributed to urbanization and technological advancement. No place may remain exotic or truly pristine. Even traveler in me knows this truth. But Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is in really truly and utterly sorry state. My only concern if it is too late for redemption?

Here are a few more images but all look so gloomy :-(

Camaraderie: Birds flying in formation Grey Heron Couple fishing for food in the Sultanpur Lake A Painted Stork in flight to fend for food A Hoopoe fending for lunch

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A Tale of Seven Cities: Part I

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:30:00 +0100

In the series A Tale of Seven Cities
A Tale of Seven Cities Part I
A Tale of Seven Cities Part II
A Tale of Seven Cities Part III

Cities and Thrones and Powers
Stand in Time's eye,
Almost as long as flowers,
Which daily die:
But, as new buds put forth
To glad new men,
Out of the spent and unconsidered Earth
The Cities rise again.

Cities and Thrones and Powers ~ Rudyard Kipling

How true are these verses in context of the project that I am about to undertake. New Delhi turned 100 on 11th of December, but Delhi, which has witnessed empires rise to power and fade away to dust is centuries old. A city which has been capital of as many as 7 empires/dynasties - if we leave the mythical capital Indraprastha of Mahabharata legends and the modern New Delhi or the Lutyen’s Delhi as it is often referred to as after its architect Edwin Lutyen - has innumerable tales and legends in her bosom recounting lessons in glory, humility and ephemeral nature of power.

This prized city of antiquity has always attracted warriors and powers from around the world and such is her allure that high and mighty once here made Delhi capital from where there dominion extended to the corners of their realm. Conquerors, rulers and colonialist came each dismantling the existing hegemony and destroying and plundering as much they can for bounties but this city rose like a phoenix each time from her own dust.

Delhi needs no introduction. This bustling megalopolis happens to be the national capital of India and has seen empires come and go in its long history. Delhi is a confounding potpourri of culture, art and creeds. Most of the population is migrant giving the city a truly cosmopolitan flavor.

Pidgin Punjabi is the lingua franca. Road rage or bargaining is best done in Punjabi. City is becoming increasingly unsafe for fairer sex. More people live sleep on pavement then ever. Better employment opportunity is leading to more migration. Meekness seldom pays. Here in Delhi, you are allowed to celebrate your ethnic festivals. Chhaat Pooja at India Gate, Durga Pooja at Chittaranjan Park, Eid at Jama Masjid or Teej at Dilli Haat. There are no Raj Thackreys here in Delhi. It will be an understatement to say that Delhi truly is a city of contrast.

Cities like Delhi, which have been the capitals of as many as seven empires before, never die. They just reinvent themselves with a renewed vigor. It could be attributed to the seamless bond between the old and the new. There are 1200 buildings and 175 monuments in Delhi recognised as national heritage sites. Delhi has more art galleries and bookshops than any city in India, apart from national centres for arts, dance and drama. At its heart, Delhi remains a city of stark contrasts. To the outsider, it can be menacing and unrefined but behind that unappealing veneer is a city with an enduring soul and an ongoing romance with the past epitomized in the phrase “Dilli dilwalon ki” (Delhi is of people with heart).

In last 12 years I have spent here, I have witnessed a new New Delhi rise. It is almost like hearing an echo of the Persian phrase spoken by Delhi’s celebrated sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya: “Dehli dour ast” (meaning Delhi is still far away), which imply that a task or journey is still far from completed. If Mumbai is Maximum City, then to refer to Delhi as Multiplying City will be more than apt.

As a tribute to this undying city, I would like to undertake the task of relating the tale of seven cities or more precisely the seven capitals which shaped Delhi’s past and blessed her with rich heritage, contributed to Delhi’s present concoction and confounding diversity and the promising future which I reckon will be unique owing to the very fabric of this vibrant megalopolis.
The cities which I will cover in this series are:

Quila Rai Pithora
Mehrauli
Tughlakabad
Firozabad
Shergarh
Shahjehabanad
Siri

Some of them are in state of utter ruins and some of them you might have crossed in your everyday routine life but didn’t stopped to inquire or that you usually don’t look into deeper, beyond the surface. It’s like what Morpheus told Neo in Matrix that you take this ride with me and I’ll “show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Delhi with her countless tales was aptly summed up by Darymple as the “City of Djinns”. All you need to do is dig deep into its past and behold how the narrative unfolds. And I would wrap up this introductory post with a quote by one of my favorite author Bill Bryson:

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

So if you’re with me, welcome aboard!

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Spoken word Promises

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:46:59 +0100

Words tainted by the shadow of the ones spoken before. How ironic it is that that which creates could be destructive. Words are powerful. Words are creative but then inevitably they also create destruction; of things, meanings, motives and relationship. Isn’t it confounding?

I have always found it too much to bear as a receiver at the wrong end of the stick when it comes to words. The problem arises when the meaning at the instance of utterance, the signified; is in complete opposition to that which is intended.

Take for example what Russell Brand told in December on Ellen’s show “I am really happily married... Perpetually ‘until death do us part’ was the pledge”. Look now they are happily separate. See how the spoken word promises works. How easy it is to say words like “I’ll never…”, “It would never happen to us…”, “I would never think of you…” but just as the season change, the words fades to shadow, broken …tainted and defeated; bereft of purpose.

One of the most casual ways of using spoken words is promises - even more commonplace in written form. How easy it is to give assurances; sureties about how things will be, how future will unravel, how one will never change and how one will always understand.

Life, as I know it, is an eternal play of the binaries. There’s day-night, there’s good-bad and so on. Then how can one presume that a person will be always kind and loving and perfect without one’s own moment of craziness, some ugly moment.

I mean this is where love should step in. When the most wonderful, kind, affectionate and tender person turns ugly, angry, intemperate! Or else love is just a word devoid of any power. Come to think of it. It’s the implications and connections which bequeath words with such power. What matters is connection that is why even animals who have speck of brain come to value camaraderie and protect their comrades.

But then as they say “everything that has a beginning has an end”. When somebody is gone it does hurt. Each man's life touches so many other lives that the gaping hole is conspicuous when they aren't around anymore. You miss them although you pretend you don’t care. And you love them even when they aren’t there. Sometimes! It’s over as it begins. It may well have been a dream that you ware living from which you are jolted back to reality.

But with the benefit of hindsight, it’s wonderful to live a dream. Miracles do happen. Lifetime lived in moments; each one full of promises and possibilities of how wonderful life is. But then they are just that: dreams, ephemeral. But look at the positive side too. It’s a solace that you do get a chance to live in one.

P.S.: I miss you

PPS: I don't realize what I am talking about but I am truly madly deeply in love.

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Brilliant Creative Advertisements: A Bricolage

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:55:39 +0100

"Doing Business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does" ~ Stuart H. Britt

It is always said that first impression is the best impression so to grab public attention towards products, ad agencies and the large conglomerates stick to the creative advertisements. These advertisement techniques and unique idea helps you to spread your product or services successfully. Whether the ad is about cars, cool drinks, electronics anything which you think off; with its hilarious and creative ideas will either impress you or makes you look twice.

This post showcases the most unusual and creative advertising campaigns.

1. BBC World - Both Side of Story

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - BBC World

2. CEMEX - Concrete

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - CEMEX

3. Child Rights and You

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - CRY

4. Good Parenting

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Good Parent

5. Panasonic Lumix

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Lumix

6. Snickers - 50% Extra

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Snickers

7. Drink and Drive Campaign

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Driving Awareness

8. Google Search

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Google

9. Greenpeace

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Greenpeace

10. Samsung Washing Machine

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Samsung Washing Machine

11. RCA - Sound System

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - RCA

12. H1N1 Awareness

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - H1N1 Awareness

13. FM 98.0

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - FM 98.0

14. Nivea

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Nivea

15. ORION Telescope

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Orion

16. Panasonic Camera

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Panasonic

17. WWF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - WWF

18 Canon Powershot

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Canon

19. Dealer Track

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Dealer Track

20.WMF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - WMF

21. Australian Post

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Australian Post

22. WWF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - WWF

23. Komatsu

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Komatsu

24. McDonalds

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - McDonalds

25. Heiniken

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Heiniken

26. UNICEF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - UNICEF

27. Bergmann Funeral Service

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Bergmann Funeral Service

28. Public Awareness Campaign Govt. of Delhi

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Govt. of Delhi

29. Drunken Driving - Johny Walker

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Johny Walker Drunken Driving

30. WWF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - WWF

31. Graffiti

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Graffiti

32. Drunken Driving Campaign

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - Drunken Driving

33. CAT Train Service

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - CAT

34. WWF

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - WWF

35. PUMA

Brilliant Creative Advertisements - PUMA

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Virgo - What the Stars Say

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:32:42 +0100

Virgo

They often have the quiet, unsophisticated air of an inexperienced person, which can be deceptive. They are reliable, sincere, methodical and precise, have an enquiring mind and a critical eye for detail. They see life as a never-ending series of tasks and duties, some pleasant, some difficult - but all of them very necessary. Negative Virgoan traits include a capacity for endless worry.

If you are a virgo then:

Practical, cool-headed and thoroughly meticulous -- that's what you are in a nutshell. You are not unnecessarily swayed by emotions and even if sentiments were running high, you can keep a cool head to weigh your approach.Often quiet and reserved, you try to stick to your world, keeping it as tidy and perfect as you can. Nevertheless, you are bustling with energy and always have plenty to do. You are not afraid of taking on challenges and prove your mettle with hard work and a quiet determination. Your quest for perfection and your inability to ignore even the smallest of faults generally proves good for you. You are Nelson's Horatio, quite content not to be in charge, but there to make sure everything runs smoothly and is done as required. You believe in fair play and rarely manipulate. Violent confrontations are not your cup of tea and indeed render you quite ineffective in your work. Honest and forthright,you do not like hypocrites and cannot hide your displeasure at sycophants. Although you are not short-tempered and in fact are slow to get angry,when you do have arguments you try to put up a stiff resistance to anyone opposing you. You tend to make bitter enemies, and like an elephant you remember events that happened a long time ago.You love to travel and generally this proves beneficial for you.

Yes this is what I found out about the characteristic of a typical Virgo. Surprising how accurate they can get :-) and satisfying too. What do you think of this and me if you do know me? Do let me know :-)

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Happy New Year: 2011 in Retrospect; 2012 Prospects

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:42:33 +0100

So the New Year has arrived. It was like a line I remember from one of the lessons in my standard 8th English Book: “Not with a bang, but a whimper”. Not that we had the entire poem The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot in our 8th standard but a few lines in a short story about Nuclear Bombing of Japan during World War II which alludes to this poem kinda stuck in my memory.

There was a lot of anticipation building up at the conclusion of 2011 and arrival of New Year 2012 which as some might say portends the end of the world as we know it. On 31st, I tried all day in vain to write a post which I initially titled 2011 in Retrospect and 2012 Prospects which I later renamed Bookends 2011 and which I finally discarded altogether after 6 arduous hours. This also reminded me of some lines from A Long Way from the Stuffed Cabbage by Murakami which goes:

“Painful is the stress when one cannot reproduce or convey vividly to others, however hard he tries, what he's experienced so intensely. In my case, the stronger is the intention to "write about a particular subject in a particular way," the harder it becomes to start writing and to express myself.”

After much hullabaloo and planning the day - which happened to be a working Saturday - ended on a sorry note as I couldn’t even finish what I had been planning for over a week. But then evening began on a promising note and the crescendo was reached during the brief jam session with family.

I went to bed at 11:00 PM on 31st of December after a brief alcohol induced Guitar n Song session- well I do think that a bit of alcohol helps when I do play guitar - and the New Year sneaked in somehow while I was fast asleep.

I had promised myself a blog post in retrospect dedicated to things happened in 2011. There were plenty which did:

I traveled a lot
I tried looking things from a different angle
Got drunk too often
I did a lot of photography
I mixed all the above element and wrote some decent travelogues
I talked with new people
Met the person I have been wanting to but never thought I would – and it was great
Spent quality time with family and friend
Loved each and every moment of my professional life

And what are my expectations from 2012?

Well someone told me that we shouldn't have expectation. May be she was right may be she was wrong. But what are we and how would we indeed live if we are not allowed to go crazy now and then.

Here's a checklist of what I have in mind:

I gotta travel a lot
Buy a DSLR probably Canon Rebel XTi
Do some more photography
Do a lot of writing and poetry
Meet her again
Be a better man
More time with family and friend
A more satisfying professional life
And try to please myself more

The year has begun and well it’s a good beginning. A few resolutions I have in mind is:

Drink less
Think more
Talk less
Listen more
Expect less
Hope more
Travel less
Discover more
Write less
Say more

Well that's too much for wishes and all...but then New Year is here. And I am a succor for beautiful beginnings. I couldn’t finish what I had in mind and I am not sure even now. But the thing is last few months have given me a new confidence in power of dream and “magic” which is possible if only we believe. And in 2012 my most fervent resolution is that I am going to believe in infinite possibility of human imagination and heart’s affection. And I think 2012 will be the season of heart's perfection.

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

If ~ Rudyard Kipling

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A Day in Life: Christmas Day Out in Delhi

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:00:42 +0100

Although not a succor for parties and crowds, I do love social gatherings like picnic. When I was a child December always held great rewards in form of picnics and parties. And believe me there were plenty of Picnics. Invitations and participations in Dad’s General Club, Mom’s Ladies Club, School’s, Colony’s, Our Cricket Team’s and many invitation from other area’s general club’s (My dad worked in Coal India you see …lots of clubs :-)) picnic were greatly anticipated and treasured. The crescendo of the New Year’s arrival used to be the 31st Night Party with an assortment of competition among kids (dance, singing and all), Orchestra and Tambola (a game which fascinates me with the name of task to be completed such as quick five, temperature, King’s Corner, Queen’s Corner, Bamboo and my favourite Full House and a game where I dreamed of getting rich unsuccessfully). Ah! Nostalgia is good.

It’s not that I realized the worth of those shared joys and bonhomie till I moved out to Delhi for higher education. I simply adored them then and I cherish them even now. Digressions apart, the reason I undertook this endeavor is that I attended a picnic last weekend. It was organized by the company in which I am currently employed.

It’s funny how difficult it is to sleep when you are going to picnic/party tomorrow morning but then you grow up or say grow old. I sincerely believe that growing up is optional as opposed to growing old. Well I woke up or to be more exact was brought back to my mundane existence with a sharp jolt from mum. “Nikhil! You told me to wake you up at 6 and it’s almost 8” Said mom handing over the tea for the third time. “Mom!” I said. “Why didn’t you wake me up early? I told you I have to leave early to catch the bus.”

I wish I could call it Déjà vu but it I could not! More precisely it’s jamais vu … It recurs every time I have to wake up early. It’s funny how you take less time to get prepared when you wake up late. Does it happen with you too? Well at 8:30 AM I was off to catch the Metro to catch the bus at our Connaught Place office.

It was a lovely morning with fog pervading the skyline and visibility almost negligible. Actually the place I live at is ensconced within Delhi’s greenest cover of Ridge in the West and the Agricultural Research Institute PUSA in the East. Owing to this great location, Mercury here reads 2-3 degrees lesser that what normally is in the other locations in Delhi. It’s always a wonderful sight and more so during winters.

So with my hands freezing, body trembling and covered in my jackets, I strode ahead arrived at Metro Station where another colleague and friend of mine was waiting. From there, it took us half an hour to reach WTC where others were waiting by the bus.

The morning sun with hues of gold and yellow painted a beautiful canvas and photographer in me got to work as soon as I came out of Barakhamba Metro Station. There were only a few people on the road and a diligent MCD worker was out sweeping the road to keep Delhi clean.
For me the best part of picnic is the time spent on bus while traveling to the spot. I just love the fun ambience which pervades when the engines roar up and wheels start spinning on the road. It’s a time for banter, fun, pulling legs and a lot of laughter and smiles. What a great way to begin an eventful day. I wish every office day could be as fun.

It took us almost 3 hours to reach the resort which is located in the outskirts of Gurgaon. It was called the Village Retreat and the locale really corroborated the name. Surrounded by sarson ke khet (Yellow Mustard Fields) - which often reminds me of Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge - the resort was beautifully located away from the din of bustling Gurgaon or Delhi which we left behind. Although the road was tolling, the journey was well worth it. There were plenty of activities to keep us busy. Wall Climbing, Rappelling, Burma Bridge, Mogli Walk, Tug of War were some of the activities in which we participated and had loads of fun.
Then there was a classic cricket match between two teams which had to be suspended even before it could be completed due to scoring issue – You see opposition team was inflating their score My favorite activity in the resort was Table Tennis. I just love it and I rocked too.

From photography point of view there was nothing very remarkable to shoot. I did try to capture a few images though and was lucky to spot a few birds too. I am still not sure if it was a grouse or partridge. Later there was award/reward ceremony for annual performance followed by lunch after which I again tried my hands at table tennis.

It always amaze me how time flies when you are enjoying yourself and having fun with friends or traveling new places. Office picnic was no different. After sunset it was time to board the bus again. I got off at Connaught Place and along with Dinesh - my colleague and friend - decided to explore CP for a bit more. We went to Central Park which I was yet to explore even though I travel to CP almost daily. The park is splendid with its well manicured gardens and tasteful lighting arrangement, water fountains and unbelievable 360 degree view of the inner circle. From inside of this park, when you do look around you witness the grand scale of Connaught Place, its imposing Georgian Architecture and see the similarity with Royal Crescent of Bath, after which CP is modeled.

But as with most of the monuments and parks in Delhi, the ambience inside the park is utterly ruined by high-on-libido-I-don’t-care-who’s-looking-hypersexual lovers behind every beautifully pruned bush. Not that I have a grudge against these couples, but the etiquette of a public place should be maintained by everyone. The activities in which couples so outrageously indulge in these places is really disheartening as well as disturbing. Remind me of verse from a Latin poem. “Oh this Age! How tasteless and ill bred it is”.

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Delhi Centenary: A Tale of Two Cities

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:34:23 +0100

It was on 12 December 1911 when George V, then Emperor of India, announced New Delhi as the new capital of India. Even though Delhi is wrapped in centuries of history, it was the British Empire that gave the city -- also called Lutyens’ Delhi -- its modern-day capital and seat of power, New Delhi. Built and rebuilt seven times over, plundered and rising as phoenix since as far back as 300 BC, this “City of Djinns” has survived and re-invented itself to tell innumerable legends.

Conceived as a city immured in by the Yamuna in the east, verdant cover of Ridge in the west, Lodi Garden in the south and Connaught Place in the north, New Delhi has grown many times over in every direction since its inception, even beyond the wildest dream of the town planners who drew up the original blueprint of the modern Indian capital.

Delhi has grown into India's largest metropolis over the course of 100 years since its foundation was led by Lutyen and Baker and many other unsung architects and planners. Its population has risen from 233,000 in 1911 to more than 22 million today, including the suburbs of Gurgaon and Noida. Pidgin Punjabi is the lingua franca. Road rage or bargaining is best done in Punjabi. City is becoming increasingly unsafe for fairer sex. More people live sleep on pavement then ever. Better employment opportunity is leading to more migration. Meekness seldom pays. Here in Delhi, you are allowed to celebrate your ethnic festivals. Chhaat Pooja at India Gate, Durga Pooja at Chittaranjan Park, Eid at Jama Masjid or Teej at Dilli Haat. There are no Raj Thackreys here in Delhi. It will be an understatement to say that Delhi truly is a city of contrast. To narrate a story which is about Delhi is always a 'tale of two cities'.

Delhi is where the country's collective anger is manifested. Mandal riots, Masjid riots, Sikh riots; Delhi bears many scars. From Boat Club to Jantar Mantar and now Ram Lila Maidan, expression of dissent seems like the daily chore. Ask Anna Hazare, who seems more like a Delhite now than a Ralegaani holding his hunger strikes, which has become the latest fad of the recent breed of dissenters and old political veterans alike. “lao ya jao” is the new “Gandhian” means to have your way.

As a resident of Delhi even an atheist like me sometimes believes in existence of god. It’s a miracle really that things get done here. There is a pace of work that is uniquely Delhi in nature, which is not as manic-fast as in Bombay nor as laid back as in Calcutta. Delhi has more vehicles than all the other metropolises in India combined together. More cars are sold in Delhi every month than the cities of Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Calcutta, leading to increasing traffic gridlocks. But the building of India's most modern and extensive metro railway network has helped ease the strain.

In last 12 years I have spent here, I have witnessed a new New Delhi rise. It is almost like hearing an echo of the Persian phrase spoken by Delhi's celebrated sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya: “Dehli dour ast” (meaning Delhi is still far away), which imply that a task or journey is still far from completed. If Mumbai is Maximum City, then to refer to Delhi as Multiplying City will be more than apt.

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Humayun's Tomb: Moment in Day

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:04:08 +0100

Humayun died in 1556, and his widow Hamida Banu Begam, also known as Haji Begam, commenced the construction of his tomb in 1569, fourteen years after his death. It is the first distinct example of proper Mughal style, which was inspired by Persian architecture.

If you have visited both the Taj Mahal and the Humayun’s Tomb, the similarity would be inescapable in their design and pattern. Also remarkable is the Charbagh design which was later used in most of the Mughal buildings especially the tombs as the Charbagh is considered to be earthly manifestation of the garden in heaven where peacefully departed go o rest in peace. The symmetry of the iwan is also reminiscent of the main structure of the Taj Mahal with the only difference being the color of the stone used.

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RIP John Lennon: Johnny B Goode

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:18:25 +0100

“I say you're the phony, mate.”
~ John Lennon to his Catcher in the Rye obsessed assassin, seconds before his death, on his greatness

No doodle for John Lennon "Imagine" who's the "Jealous Guy" now! "Nobody Told Me" Google's "Going Down on Love" with "Working Class Hero" when Lennon did gave "Power to the People". Somebody "Help" Google coz Lennon definitely has "Ticket to Ride" So all ya fans of John Lennon from "Across the Universe" and amidst the "Norwegian Wood" I pray beseech thee to ""Come Together" and pray R.I.P John Lennon.

Like each of the Beatles, Lennon helped to create a cultural archetype, in his case the semi-thinking man's rock star who rarely shied away from weighing in on the issues of the day. Though he's widely (and legitimately) characterized as being a commie-symp peacenik drug addict less-and-less-talented bum who might have been the original tea-bagger (tea-baggist?), he was a lot more complicated than all that.

Lennon crafted a career on singing about love, drugs and shit but also built an empire of hate by of pissing off a lot people along the way. He was a symbol of fear in the higher, more expensive seats in all governments across the world. The way Lennon talked and sang seemed to them to be deeply and culturally subversive.

Here's an autobiography of John Lennon in his own word to throw light on his character:
“I am not going to get locked in that business of saving the world on stage. The show is always a mess and the artist always comes off badly… . All of you who are reading this, don’t bother sending me all that garbage about, ‘Just come and save the Indians, come and save the blacks, come and save the war veterans’"....

"I worked for money and I wanted to be rich. So what the hell—if that’s a paradox, then I’m a socialist. But I am not anything. What I used to be is guilty about money. … Because I thought money was equated with sin. I don’t know. I think I got over it, because I either have to put up or shut up, you know. If I’m going to be a monk with nothing, do it. Otherwise, if I am going to try and make money, make it. Money itself isn’t the root of all evil"....

“Now I'm the biggest! At least until he gets done signing in.”
~ Jesus on the death of John Lennon

Disclaimer: All this is written in good zest, taking personal offense will be punishable by law

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Plunging Deep (in Pockets) to See Titanic at 100

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:51:13 +0100

Down, down, down you go, for two and a half hours, jammed with two other people in a tiny submersible, all the way to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean — and all for a glimpse, through a five- or eight-inch porthole, of the ravaged remains of the once-grand ship where the Astors and the Strauses played, dined and, in some cases, died.

The trip is not for the claustrophobic, nor the 99 percent: a two-week cruise that includes one dive, lasting eight to 10 hours, costs $60,000.

But for fans of the Titanic, no price or privation is too great — especially with the 100th anniversary of the sinking coming up on April 15. With the centennial in mind, at least 80 people are expected to take the plunge down to the wreck, according to the company that runs the trips, Deep Ocean Expeditions.

And while this may be the most extreme observance in the works, there are myriad others: cruise ships will sail to the exact spot in the Atlantic where more than 1,500 Titanic passengers drowned; people will hold Titanic-themed dinner parties, complete with napkins bearing the flag of the White Star Line; and the Titanic Historical Society will hold a gala dinner at which people are welcome to dress as an officer, a crew member or a passenger “to create the ambience of a festive maiden voyage.”

Next summer, however, passengers will travel in Russian Mir (“peace”) submersibles that can withstand the deep’s crushing pressures. Inside, a pilot and two tourists occupy a space less than seven feet wide, wearing layers of clothing to ward off the cold. Travelers bring a light lunch but are reminded that there are no toilet facilities.

The Titanic has long fascinated, because it symbolized the end of an era of technological innocence and seemed like a cosmic rebuke to privilege. Ten millionaires were on board, including the financier John Jacob Astor IV, the industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Straus of Macy’s, the world’s largest department store. All three perished with the ship.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

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We need a sustainability movement to make 'green living' the norm

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0100

A dramatically different approach to marketing and positioning of sustainable products, services and lifestyles is required to make sustainable living mainstream. It can be done with a radical little idea called normal — and thus far, we've been making sustainable living anything but.

Over the past year OgilvyEarth has spent a lot of time trying to understand the gap between what people say they're going to do and what they actually do when it comes to living and consuming more sustainably. The group we've been particularly focused on is what we call the Middle Green, the 66% of Americans (and 50% of Chinese; we're rolling the study out to other markets now) who have the best of green intentions but fail to fully act on them. This group is otherwise known as the mainstream consumer; they purchase most of the products and services the clients of an agency like Ogilvy are trying to sell. We published our findings in our report Mainstream Green: Moving Sustainability From Niche to Normal.

Some of the barriers preventing the middle green group from following through on their intentions were interesting but expected: the more sustainable options are more expensive, harder to find, less convenient, of inferior quality and green labelling systems are almost impossible to decode. These barriers are persistent and important, but they have been flagged before.

The fresher insight was at once unexpected and blindingly obvious. The penny dropped for us as we listened to our research subjects talk about how hard it is socially to be a green-acting consumer in America today. A Chicago vegan told us she felt like an outcast at the neighbourhood barbecue as her hostess made jokes about her eating mud in front of fellow guests. A New Jersey mum said she feared the judgment of her greener-than-thou neighbour, commenting in a snide whisper that the same woman didn't dye her hair or shave her legs. We saw men trying desperately to cram reusable shopping bags under their desks before their colleagues should see and judge them. "It just feels kind of girly," said Michael of New Jersey. Another mum confessed to wanting to ride her bike and doing so when visiting her green friends, but feeling compelled to drive her car when hanging out with the minivan-driving 'soccer mum' crowd so as to fit in.

What these consumers were telling us was that to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle is to step outside the norm, to mark yourself out as 'different'. Fine, we thought. It's cool to be different. But these people were telling us that for them, it most definitely was not cool to be different. Indeed 50% of Americans said green products and services are for 'crunchy granola hippies' or 'rich elitist snobs', not for them, and not for anyone they aspire to be. They crave the security and anonymity of the mainstream. They are actually there by choice. What the mainstream consumer wants to know is, am I normal? And today, living a more sustainable lifestyle in America, and some other countries around the world, is manifestly not normal. It means attracting a social stigma that even 'super greens' struggle to deal with. Mainstream consumers just aren't willing to go there.

Sustainability marketing until now has got it all wrong. We package our products in burlap. We slather them in green leaves. We advertise them with polar bears. We put them in special aisles. In short, we do everything we can to single these products out as different, not normal. We seem to have decided that, when it comes to sustainable living, human beings park human nature at the supermarket door and a higher, altruistic self comes out. They don't and it doesn't. We are motivated by human needs and desires in this area as in any other, and the need to fit in and belong is hardwired.

By this reckoning, green marketing has not been just benign but ineffective. It's actually been wildly counterproductive, continually reinforcing the un-normalness of green and propping the green gap wide open in the process.

So if we want to create a mainstream movement of people living and consuming more sustainably, as we know we must, we need to stop making sustainability feel different and make it just normal. In terms of marketing, this can be achieved through normalised pricing, packaging and advertising and other ordinary selling techniques.

But marketing alone won't be enough. There's much more to it. An edifying contrast was provided by our respondents in San Francisco where a combination of regulation, infrastructure and culture have conspired to make a more sustainable lifestyle the norm and behaviour that is seen as normal elsewhere in America, weird. Here consumers happily go about their comparatively sustainable lifestyles, and people who move there from elsewhere feel compelled to get on board. So there is a clear role for regulation that changes the defaults and infrastructure that makes it easy and possible.

But marketing does play an important role. So let's try a fresh approach. Let's ditch the 'g' and 's' words in favour of the 'n' word: normal. Normal is not a dirty word nor a boring strategy. Normal is mainstream, popular and above all, sustainable.

Source: Freya Williams for the Guardian Professional Network (guardian.co.uk)
Freya Williams is co-founder and director of strategy at OgilvyEarth

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CII-ITC Sustainability Awards Ceremony 2011

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:16:37 +0100

There is seldom a business leader in today's world who would argue against the need for sustainable growth. Tailored to the Indian business environment, the CII-ITC Sustainability Awards, organized by CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, rewards companies which have successfully introduced sustainability into their way of doing business. The awards will be held at Stein Auditorium, Indian Habitat Center in New Delhi. The event will be organized between 16:00 hours to 20:00 hours on Friday, December 16, 2011.

CII-ITC Sustainability Awards Ceremony 2011 in New Delhi highlight a variety of approaches to sustainability and the range of strategies and solutions that companies are employing to incorporate sustainability. The awards put the spotlight on concrete results that many of these leaders are seeing thanks to their sustainability initiatives. The event is jointly sponsored and supported by multi-disciplinary partnerships including business organizations, NGOs, academia, media agencies, and community groups.

Special guests will include Mr. Y C Deveshwar, Past President, CII, Chairman, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development Advisory Council, & Chairman, ITC Ltd; Mr. Suresh P Prabhu, Chairman of the CII-ITC Sustainability Awards Jury, & Chairperson, CEEW; CEOs and members of the Sustainability Awards Jury.

For more information on CII-ITC Sustainability Awards and registration details, go to, http://sustainabledevelopment.in

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Geotourism: Endeavor for Sustainable Development

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:08:36 +0100

Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place?its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.

Geotourism incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism?that destinations should remain unspoiled for future generations?while allowing for ways to protect a place's character. Geotourism also takes a principle from its ecotourism cousin,?that tourism revenue should promote conservation?and extends it to culture and history as well, that is, all distinctive assets of a place.

What Is Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism, like a doctor's code of ethics, means "First, do no harm." It is the foundation for destination stewardship.

Sustainable tourism protects its product-the destination. It avoids the "loved to death" syndrome by anticipating development pressures and applying limits and management techniques that preserve natural habitats, heritage sites, scenic appeal, and local culture.

It conserves resources. Environmentally aware travelers patronize businesses that reduce pollution, waste, energy consumption, water usage, landscaping chemicals, and excessive nighttime lighting.

It respects local culture and tradition. Foreign visitors learn local etiquette, including at least a few courtesy words in the local language. Residents learn how to deal with foreign expectations that may differ from their own.

It aims for quality, not quantity. Destinations measure tourism success not just by numbers of visitors, but by length of stay, how they spend their money, and the quality of their experience.

What Is Geotourism?

Geotourism adds to sustainability principles by building on a destination's geographical character, its "sense of place," to emphasize the distinctiveness of its locale and benefit visitor and resident alike.

Geotourism is synergistic: All the elements of geographical character work together to create a tourist experience that is richer than the sum of its parts, appealing to visitors with diverse interests.

It involves the community. Local businesses and civic groups join to provide a distinctive, authentic visitor experience.

It informs both visitors and hosts. Residents discover their own heritage by learning that things they take for granted may be interesting to outsiders. As local people develop pride and skill in showing off their locale, tourists get more out of their visit.

It benefits residents economically. Travel businesses hire local workers, and use local services, products, and supplies. When community members understand the benefits of geotourism, they take responsibility for destination stewardship.

It supports integrity of place. Destination-savvy travelers seek out businesses that emphasize the character of the locale. In return, local stakeholders who receive economic benefits appreciate and protect the value of those assets.

It means great trips. Enthusiastic visitors bring home new knowledge. Their stories encourage friends and relatives to experience the same thing, which brings continuing business for the destination.

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