Wednesday 28 September 2016

तेरे बचपन की यादें ...

Painting by - Ayushi Jain
 
मासूम सी ये उँगलियाँ ,
और ये नन्ही सी मुस्कान  ...
पलकों पे सजाए रखा है ,
सपनो का ये जहाँ  ...

कुछ नटखट सी अदाएँ ,
तो कुछ शरारत भरी आँखें  ...
हर गलती को छुपाती है ,
इसके मन की ये सब बातें  ...

रुई की गरम रज़ाई में ,
तो कभी माँ के आँचल में  ....
लोरी सुनके जो सोता है ,
ये अपने छोटे से महल में  ....

न कभी थकता है ,
न कभी रुकता है  ...
डांटों तो आंसू बहाता है ,
मेरे लाल तू मुझे बहुत सताता है  ....

बचपन की जो ये यादें तेरी ,
आज पिरोके रखी है ....
भूल जाए अगर तू मुझे ,
तो ये यादें संजोके रखी है ....
तो ये यादें संजोके रखी है ....



 
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Monday 26 September 2016

Kaas Plateau - The Valley of Flowers...

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

About Kaas Plateau: The Valley of Flowers...

Last Saturday, I visited "Kaas Plateau" with my friends. It was in my "must visit" list from the past 3 years and finally we planned this trip to "The Valley of Flowers". Kaas Plateau, also known as "Kaas Pathar" (in Maharashtra), is located around 145 kms from Pune city of Maharashtra, India. This place is rich in flora and is significantly known for its biodiversity. During the months of August and September, the valley provides habitat to more than 800 different species of flowers and plants. After monsoon, for a stretch of 2-3 weeks; from end of August till mid-September, the plateau blossoms with different varieties of flowers and attracts many tourists and nature lovers from across the country. In 2012, UNESCO approved it as the "World Natural Heritage Site" and since then this plateau grabbed more attention of the local tourists.

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Our Journey...

In our trip to Kaas, we left Pune at 8 am in the morning and reached Kaas at around 12:30 pm (took 2-3 breaks in between). Since it's a UNESCO approved site, to manage the crowd and to avoid damages, the officials have restricted the number of visitors to 3000 per day. Along with that, there are four time slots of 3 hours each for visiting the place. Since it was not a pre-planned trip and that we planned it in just 2 days and also we were 14 people in total, so to manage everything we kept some travel time in buffer and booked our tickets for the 1-4 pm slot. We reached Kaas at 12:30 pm and parked our vehicle 1 km ahead of the main entrance gate. After that, we started walking and reached the main gate at 1 pm. Since the plateau was located at high altitude and unfortunately we had overcast conditions, which ruined some of my plans to capture good pictures of the place. But still the beauty of the valley was of a different kind and we took a stroll across the path created for walking and enjoyed our time
 

After covering most of the area, we left for Pune at 4pm and reached there by 9 pm in the night (took dinner break in between).

Here are some of the photos I clicked in foggy weather. Hope you like them! :)

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

 Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers


Near by places to visit...
  1. Mahabaleshwar Hill Station (35 kms)
  2. Koyna Sanctuary (20 kms)
  3. Tapola (50 kms)
  4. Wai (30 kms)

How to reach Kaas Plateau from Pune...
  1. Pune-Bangalore Highway -- Katraj --Shindewadi -- Khed Shivapur -- Nasarpur phata --  Kapurhole -- Shirwal -- Bhumj -- Satara -- Kaas (20 kms from Satara)
  2. Pune-Solapur Highway -- Hadapsar -- Saswad road via Diveghat -- Saswad village --
    Narayanpur --  Kapurhole --Shirwal -- Bhumj -- Satara -- Kaas (20 kms from Satara) 

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Kaas Plateau - Valley of Flowers

Best time to visit...

Best time to visit Kaas Plateau is after the rains from end of August till October. However, the rarest species of flowers normally blossoms during the months of August(late) and September(mid).

For Photography enthusiasts this is the perfect place to capture some ever-lasting memories. So pray to god for sunny day and click some extra ordinary pictures! :)

Timings...

There are four slots of 3 hours each for visiting the valley-

7am - 10am
10am-1pm
1pm-4pm
4pm-7pm

Maximum 3000 people can register to visit the place per day. 

Ticket Details...

Rs.50 per person for 3 hours on Weekdays
Rs.100 per person for 3 hours on Saturday,Sunday and Government Holidays.

Photography charges for DSLR camera : Rs.100
Vehicle parking charges extra.

My Take...

This is one such place which you wouldn't want to miss when in Pune. It's a UNESCO site and is the only one of its kind! A perfect place for nature lovers and photography enthusiasts!! :)


Note: Few details have been taken from Google for accuracy.

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Tuesday 20 September 2016

मन का खेल..

Image of cards depicting मन का खेल


किसी को शौहरत चाहिए,
तो किसी को मोहब्बत ....
किसी को सुकून चाहिए ,
तो किसी को बरकत ....

है ये मन का खेल एक बड़ा ,
न जाने कितने सदियों से चलता आ रहा है ये सिलसिला ....

पहर दर पहर ,
किस्से बनते जा रहे हैं ....
कभी हम उनको ,
तो कभी वो हमको ,
ये बातें सुना रहे हैं ....

दिल की चाहत को समझो ,
तो एहसास होता है ....
ये मन का वहम है यारों ,
कभी दिल अपने पास ,
तो कभी उनके पास होता है ....

डरता तो खुदा भी है ,
अपने बन्दों की जरूरतों से ....
सुनने से मुकरता है ,
तो कभी हक़ीक़त बयाँ करने से कतराता है ....

है ये मन का खेल एक बड़ा ,
न जाने कितने सदियों से चलता आ रहा है ये सिलसिला .....





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Friday 16 September 2016

Madhya Pradesh Foundation Day (2014)...


After India’s independence, Madhya Pradesh state was first created with Nagpur as its capital and later in 1956, the state was reorganized and Bhopal was announced as its new capital. The reorganization of the state took place in November month. In 2010, the state government of Madhya Pradesh announced to celebrate the Foundation day of the state on 1st, November of every year. The state witnessed its first Foundation day i.e. 54th year celebrations in 2010. For better understanding of what Foundation day exactly means, we can define it as the designated date on which the state or a nation was founded and came into existence. 





In 2014, when I was visiting my hometown in November month. My father asked me if I wanted to attend this 59th Foundation day celebrations of Madhya Pradesh? Since I had heard a lot about the cultural events and fireworks in the newspapers, I said "Yes" right away without giving it any further thought. And then we bought the passes for the event and attended the wonderful and colorful program.









The program was held at the Lal parade ground, Bhopal and was attended by thousands. In the first half of program, Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave a 15 mins speech and then he presented the Madhya Pradesh Gaurav Samman (Lifetime achievement award) to Dr Anil Kakodkar for his outstanding services and achievements. Afterwards the main cultural program was started where hundreds of artists from various parts of country presented Mahakavi Kalidas’ Meghdootam. The show was choreographed by famous choreographer Maitreyee Pahari. In second half, music composers Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani performed their hit nos. and then the program ended with mesmerizing fireworks.








 
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Wednesday 14 September 2016

Prati Balaji Temple near Pune


Prati Balaji Temple

Shri Balaji temple near Pune is an exact replica of the main Balaji temple at Tirupati. It's located at Ketkawle village and is approx. 45 km away from Pune, Maharashtra. Devotees of Lord Venkateshwara come here from different corners of the state to take his blessings. Though I had never been to Tirupati before, I found the essence of spirituality in the atmosphere of the place. People say that it's the exact copy of the main temple and even the carved sculptures on the temple also justify that.The only difference is that the main temple at Tirupati is carved with gold and here it's a simple structure, but one can feel the same mystical energy here too. The temple is surrounded by mountains and green fields all around. During dawn, the picturesque view of the temple from the backdrop of the mountains provides a refreshing and spectacular experience.







Inside main temple premises, apart from Lord Venkateshwara temple, there are four other temples too. Lord Venkateshwara idol is installed in the main temple which is in the center of the temple premises. Just before the exit gate, temple staff member gives ladoos to the devotees. And if you're visiting the temple between 9am-3pm, then staff members also provide the coupon of the maha-prasad. There is a separate Bhavan in the premises only where we get maha prasadam. The quality of the food and staff management is excellent. I recommend if you're visiting this temple then don't miss to take this maha prasadam. It's really very good.








Nearby places to visit -

Datta Temple, Narayanpur (10 kms from Prati Balaji Temple) 

Narayanpur is famous for this temple as it's the only single headed (God Datta has three heads) Lord Datta temple across the country.


How to reach Shri Balaji Temple from Pune-

1) Pune-Bangalore Highway -- Katraj --Shindewadi -- Khed Shivapur -- Nasarpur phata --  
     Kapurhole village-- Bhor saswad road -- Prati Balaji Temple 

2) Pune-Solapur Highway -- Hadapsar -- Saswad road via Diveghat -- Saswad village -- 
     Narayanpur -- Prati Balaji Temple 

Both routes are good but if you're taking the 2nd one then you can witness some beautiful scenic views in between the route. 






Best time to visit - 

Best time to visit Prati Balaji Temple is from July to February. The beautiful surroundings make this place worth a visit during monsoon time. To avoid standing in long queues for darshan, it's always advisable to visit the temple in early morning hours.

Photography is not allowed inside the temple premises but we can take photos from outside.


Temple timings -

Opens at 5 am in the morning and closes at 8 pm in the evening.

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Note: Few details have been taken from Google for accuracy.