Kaas is a plateau at an altitude of 3500ft from the mean sea level, at a distance of around 25kms from the city of Satara. It is known for the numerous varieties of flowers that bloom here in the post monsoon season. Along with the variety of flowers you get to see at this place the drive to from the city of Satara is also very picturesque. You really feel blessed witnessing such a spectacle where nature laughs in the form of flowers. A must visit for every nature lover.
I visited this place along with my group photo group "Photographes@Pune".
Hope you guys enjoyed the pics. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Ganeshutsav is one of the oldest and most celebrated festivals in Maharashtra specially in Pune. It was here in Pune where Bal Gangadhar Tilak transformed the household worshiping of Lord Ganesha into सार्वजनिक (Public) गणेश उत्सव. Since the starting of the festival five amongst the numerous Ganesh mandals are given special honour and are called मानाचे गणपती . They are as follows (in order of honour)
कसबा पेठ
Is the first Ganpati of honour in Pune. Since 1894, mandal is being in the first place in the procession. The Kasba Ganpati Utsav is celebrated without use of 'Gulal'. It is said that Shivaji Maharaja's mother Jijabai had put up the statue of Ganesh herself. On her behalf Dadoji Kondadev had put on a tent in front of the statue of Ganesh.
तांबडीजोगेश्वरी
Tambdi Jogeswari is the Second Ganpati of Honour in Pune. Established in the year 1887 Tambdi Jogeswari is one of the early established Ganesh Mandals.
गुरूजीतालीम
Guruji Talim the Third Ganpati of Honour in Pune. The Mandal was established in1887. This was the first mandal in Pune to celebrate its 100 years. This mandal existed even before the Ganesh festival had started.
तुळशीबाग
Tulshi Baug Ganpati is the Fourth Ganpati of honour in Pune. It was established in the year 1901. Peculiarity of this mandal is the Ganesh idol which is a new one every year. The size of the idol is about 13 feet in height. The idol is of fiber glass and the mandal pioneers in such kind of idol making.
केसरी वाडा
Kesari Wada is the Fifth Ganpati of Honour in Pune. The mandal organises various functions on festivals through out the year. Lokmanya Tilak had established the idol of Ganesh for this mandal in the year 1893. Every year famous artists perform in shows organised by the mandal.
(source for info: http://pune.gov.in/culture/pune%20festival.htm)
गणपतीविसर्जन
After 10 day long celebrations finally its time to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha. The Visarjan Procession (विसर्जन मिरवणूक) is the most important event of this festival with lots of energy and fun. Sounds of Dhols and Tashas fill your ears and make you to dance on their tune. The procession of the five manache ganpati is a festival in itself. The procession which starts from the Laxmi road is highly organized and is a treat to watch. I recommend that if you happen to be in Pune during Ganesh festival do visit this procession.
With monsoons making an exit, the traces it leaves behind, in the form of lush green landscapes and beautiful variety of fauna is a real feast to the eyes. Following are some pictures from the University of Pune garden.
Thanks to the conferences and sceintific meets I get to see many new places. This time I had a chance to visit Ahmmedabad for Young Astronomers Meet at the Physical Research Lab. 'Amdavad' as it is called in the local language is the cultural and financial capital of the state of Gujrat. Two of my good friends Priyanka and Hershal are at ahmedabad. Priyanka has joined PRL for PHD this year and Hershal has home in ahmedabad.
I only had four days to explore ahmedabad. On the first day Priyanka suggested that we should see the Adalaj Vav 'Stepwell'. These kind of wells are all over gujrat. They were built in ancient times to provide water and cool shelter to travellers along the trade routes. The Adalaj stepwell was built by Rani Roopba in 1499.
There is an interesting historical story behind this. To read more follow the link
Next day was my birthday and also the first day of the meet. After the meet we did some shopping and went for a dinner at a nice restro suggested by Hershal. We had a wonderful time time together and relived old moments. It was decided that we would go for the heritage walk around the old city of Amdavad the following day. The heritage walk is an initiatve of the Ahmedabad Muncipal Corporation and is a nice way to go around the ancient wall city of Ahmedabad. This was my first ever planned heritage walk. We were shown a slide show which contained both old and new pictures of the old city and the presenter told about the history of the place.
The legend says that when Sultan Ahmed Shah was camping on the banks of the river, he was surprised to see some rabbits which were being chased by his hounds, turned around in defence and confronting their attackers. Sultan's spiritual advisor explained that it was the character of the land that it inspired courage to timid rabbits and advised the Sultan that the site would be auspicious for his new capital. And this is how the city became the capital of Sultan's regim. City was also named Ahmedabad after the name of Sultan Ahmed Shah.
We started the tour at around 08:00 am and finished around 10:00. It was a 1.5km walk starting from the Swaminarayan temple and ending at the Jama masjid. It included places like 'pols' - old residential places, temples, the old stock exchange building, rani ni haziro- tomb, badshah ni haziro,etc. Later we visited the Siddi Saiyad ni jali- famous for carved windows.
The rest of the day was spent in attending the meet. Later in the evening Priyanka and I visited the Gobinddham Gurudwara.
The next day was the day of my departure. After the meet got over I went around PRL to click some pictures of birds and Peacocks which are in plenty in ahmedabad. Later we went to a popular hangout place of the Amdavadis 'The Kankaria lake' through the newly commenced BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System). It is a very well executed transport system in Ahmedabad. Kankaria lake is a nice place to hang out in the evenings with a beautiful walkway along the lake, with food joints, amusement park, a zoo, and a toy train that is called 'Atal Express' ! We left the place around 7:00 as I had to catch a train at 10:00.
I must say that I liked Ahmedabad very much. Its a nice city with a good transport system ( Rickshawallas seldom cheat you!!), good food, friendly people, and a rich history. I will love to come back and visit the rest of the places in Gujrat. Hope you like the pictures.
