Winter in Darjeeling

One day on the department notice board I saw this notice of 'The Winter School on Particle Physics' (WAPP), this school was organized by the Bose Inst., Kolkata and TIFR-Mumbai. It was going to be held at Darjeeling. It took me no time to think that I was applying for the school. One of my main motivation to participate and attend the school was the possibility of visiting Darjeeling and travel in the world heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR).

I left for darjeeling as soon as my exams got over on 12th Dec,09. I had to take a long route via kolkata and siliguri. Finally I reached DJ on 15th one day after the start of the school. The journey was tiring but not boring. I had a brief stay at my friend Sainik's place in kolkata, I was really humbled by the warmth and love of his family members. When I reached DJ the school had started and I had to sit for the lecture even without brushing my teeth. I managed to do so before lunch somehow. The weather in DJ was real cool!! I was shivering from head to toe. It was so cold that one could not hold a pen even. Then in the evening i shifted to my hotel which was an ancient Gothic style hotel called "The Swiss Hotel".

The WAPP schedule was hectic and we used to be busy the whole day. By the time we use to leave the institute it was dark. So we had to restrict ourselves to take a round at the local market and interacting with locals was our favorite timepass. Although the issue of Gorkhaland is on the boil there the tourist are safe and people are in general good natured.

Then one day when it was a holiday the organizers had planned a trip for local sight seeing. On 18th morning we got up at 03:30 in the morning it was freezing outside. We went to one place called the Tiger Hill which is around 13kms from the main town.

Tiger Hill

"Situated at an altitude of 2590 meters (8482 ft.) and 13 kilometers from the town, this spot has earned international fame for the magnificent view of the sunrise over the "Kanchenjunga" and the great eastern Himalayan Mountains. Even Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, is visible from here. The hesitant rays of the early morning sun paint these peaks in pale gold. Source: http://darjeeling.gov.in/

 

 

Then next stops were the Batasia Loop and Ganga Maya Park.

"The Batasia loop situated almost 5 km away from the town is a gigantic railway loop where the Toy Train makes a 360 Degree turn. It was basically built to make it possible for the Toy Train to cut the deep ascend. Strategically located the Batasia Loop offers a panoramic view of the Kanchanjunga Range.A War Memorial constructed in the memory of the brave sons of the soil who laid down their lives in the different wars since the independence of the nation adds to its attraction." Source: http://darjeeling.gov.in/

           "The participants of WAPP posing at the Batasia Loop. The Kanchenjunga peak is hidden by fog and clouds"

"Situated 10 km from town, Rock Garden and Ganga Maya Park has now developed into a very attractive picnic spot with natural water falls. The park offers boating facilities and is endowed with great scenic beauty." Source: http://darjeeling.gov.in/

On the way to Ganga Maya Park we stopped for a brief moment at the 'Orange Valley Gardens' and enjoyed the view of  tea gardens over the slope of the hills.

                                                        

After a short break we went to the 'Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park'. I was specially fascinated to see the Red Panda which was a rare sight and a special moment for me.

After the zoo we went to this place called 'Himalayan Mountaineering Institute'

"The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was set up following the successful ascent of the Mount Everest-the highest peak in the world by the local hero Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir EdEdumund Hillary on 28 May 1953. The oldest mountaineering institute in the country carries out various mountaineering courses every year. Apart from Tenzing, legendary mountaineers like Nawang Gombu(the first man to climb Everest twice) and Lattoo Dorjee Sherpa have helped build the reputation of this pioneering institute. The institute is presently under the purview of the Minstry of Defence, Government of India."

Source: http://darjeeling.gov.in/

This day was the day when we visited most of the places possible in Darjeeling. I stayed back one day after the school and visited some more places like the Ghoom Monestory and the Chowrasta. But the main highlight of the short outing was the 7000 per kg tea which I drank at the Nathmull's (one of the oldest tea sellers of DJ). I drank a cup of that which cost me around 75 Rs. Most of the time of the day was spent in photographing the general public.

 

Ghoom Monestory

Darjeeling Tea!! 

One more special thing about Darjeeling is the fact that worlds second highest peak 'Mt Kanchenjunga' stands as a wall against the backdrop of the town and is really a awesome sight. 

            People of Darjeeling                      

 

 

 

 

The last phase of my DJ stay was the most important one. The journey in the Himalayan Railway. The train started at 09:15 AM from Darjeeling station and reached New Jalpaiguri at 04:16 PM. The distance between the two places is just 86 Kms. With this train you can leisurely enjoy the nature the fullest. It was a slow but a fascinating and memorable journey. With this I have the privilege of travelling in all four mountain railways in India. They are 
1.Kalka-Shimla, 2.Neral-Matheran, 3.Ooty-Mettupalayam, 4. Darjeeling-New Jalpaiguri(Siliguri).

On the way back I stayed at sisters place in Kolkata for a couple of days and we enjoyed a lot. It was christmas evening, we stepped out of the house and went to the maidan area where the famous Victoria palace is situated there I saw crowd of people as never seen before and it seemed that the entire Kolkata is out on the streets!! The next day I got a chance of meeting my dear friends Ushoshi and Upasana and relived some old moments.

I reached home on 29th. This was end to my winter holiday in Darjeeling!!

I hope you like the pictures. Please leave your valuable comments and suggestions.

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR

For more photos please visit http://picasaweb.google.co.in/mhamu3/Darjeeling?feat=directlink

Cricket Match

Being an avid cricket fan I still had not seen any match in the stadium, be it domestic or international. I came to know that a Ranji match is being played between Maharshtra and Uttar Pradesh at the Poona club. Obviously I did not want to miss the oppurtunity, so I grabbed my camera and set along with my friend Sagar. We were wondering whether we can get an entry or not. But luck was our way and the entry was hassle free and free too! We entered the ground and saw that a bowler was taking his run up, It did not take much time to recognize the bowler, he was R.P.Singh who has represented India in many International matches. I wasted no time and took out my camera. It was also my debut in sports photography and I also was eager to try my new telephoto lens here (I thanked papa for buying me one). The next over was by Piyush Chawla, a talented new leg spinner. We then scanned the field and could identify Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar.

The UP team was playing with five international players but Maharashtra had none. Still Maharahtra were leading in the match. We stayed there until UP started to bat and witnessed some fireworks from Praveen Kumar.

At 16:45 the day was called off and we left the ground. It was indeed a treat to the eyes for me watching these players play right in front of me.

For more photos please follow the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhamu3/Cricket?feat=directlink

An Evening with Sparrows

An Evening with Sparrows

Exams are nearing, tension is rising, people are busy studying. . Today after studying a bit I got bored so decided to go out and click some snaps. I zeroed down to Sarasbaug; reached the place around 4:30. Sarasbaug is a beautiful garden with a old Ganesh temple in the middle. The temple is surrounded by a nice pond. The place is usually crowded but it is a very nice place to spend the mornings or evenings. I started off with taking some snaps of a 'Heron' in the water.

Later I got a bit disappointed because i could not spot a single bird after that. I proceeded further, to my surprise I found a place where many sparrows were enjoying the evening. The entire atmosphere was filled with their sweet chirp. I could get really close to them. They did not seemed to mind my presence infact they were more than happy to pose for me.

I had a good photo session with them after that I decided to leave as I had to go back and study. I left the place around 17:15 bidding goodbye to my new friends.

For more photos please follow the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhamu3/AnEveningWithSparrowsAtSarasbaug?feat=directlink

My Past Experiences

I have recently started to share my experiences through this blog, but I would like to share my past experiences. Here I will just mention the place in short and a few photos will follow. Hope you like them.

I will start with the older ones and then come towards the more recent ones as I remember them.

Ooty

I visited ooty in Feb, 2008 for a conference. The conference was at the famous ooty radio telescope. The places visited in ooty were ooty lake, botanical garden,rose garden,dodabetta peak (highest peak in south india), and the magnificent journey in the toy train from ooty to Mettupalayam.

Dodabetta Peak & Ooty Radio Telescope (with Prof Govind Swaroop)


Ooty Toy Train & Ooty Lake

Matheran

A mega trip to Matheran was arranged by members of the Astroclub after successful organization of the lecture series ' Frontiers in Physics '. We started our journey with the ride in Neral-Matheran toy train and later on explored Matheran on foot. It was fun with a group of 18 friends. We did lots of masti and dhamaal.

Neral-Matheran Toy Train


Friends

Mangalore-Surathkal
 

I happen to go to Surathkal for an exam with my cousin Kartik. Along with Surathkal we visited Mangalore (major city in Karnataka, Udpi (Temple town famous for udpi restaurants), Dharmasthala (Gamateshwar statue: Jain Pilgrimage) . We had taken the konkan railway route from mumbai to mangalore and that was one of most thrilling journeys of my life.

View from the Heavens !! ( Atop a Light house at Surathkal)



Statue of Gomteshwar & Surathkal Beach

White Water Rafting in the Kundalika River

This was the most adventurous outing in my life. It happened by chance. My cousin Dhaval along with his friends were going for rafting, one of the friends backed out and I got the chance. The experience is beyond words and cannot be told or written.

The above photo is taken by one of the organizers






Sinhagad

The Sinhagad fort is just 25kms from pune city and is a popular weekend gateaway. I have been to sinhagad for quite no. of times. Mostly for trekking and skywatching. Memories of my first meteor shower observed from this place are still fresh. This place is ideal for first time trekkers. The lake of Khadakwasla is enroute to this place.

Parvati Temple

It is a old temple of Shiva atop a hill near sarasbaug. It was build at the time of the peshwas. The terrace of this place offers a magnificient view of the Pune city.

This photo is taken with a exposure of 30 sec at around 20:00.


Goa

GOA!! WOW WHAT A PLACE !! This place needs no further introduction.

Date of Visit: 25th December

Duration of Visit: 2Days

Purpose of Visit: !!!!!!

Sky Party - Khagol Vishva

I recently bought a new DSLR and my hands were itching to take some 'night sky' shots. The oppurtunity came to my way through the sky party organized by khagol vishva. Thanks to Sandesh and Pritesh for inviting.

Kolkata

I got a chance to visit kolkata when Priyanka and me had gone for the Young Astronomers Meet at IIT-KGP. Though we had only a day to go around kolkata, we enjoyed every bit of it. Starting from ride in the ferry over the mighty hoogly river and visit to the eden gardens to the momorable journey in the underground metro. We also visited Kalighat and the Victoria palace.

Flower Exhibition

Every year I make it a point to visit the flower exhibitions held at the Empress Garden and the Sambhaji garden. In this exhibitions one is able to see wide and exotic variety of flowers which is very pleasing to the eyes. The following photos are from such exhibitions.

Vasantutsav

Vasantutsav is a cultural event held in the memorial of great classical singer Vasantrao Deshpande. Last year i got a chance to cover the event (special thanks to P@P). I witnessed a spectular concert. Rahul Deshpande (singing) and Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra, Germany Conducted by Dr. L. Subramaniam.