20th May: I went to office and Meenakshi asked me to review a proposal sent to europian union. It was her anniversary and it reminded me that  tomorrow I am having mine. This fateful day has to come every year and I had learned to live with it. I decided to stay in delhi for this day and deferred the trip for one more day.

21st May(477KM): Celebrations!! cooked biryani with mix vegetable curry and tomato sauce. Had my wonderful lunch and celebrated the day. We were invited for the dinner by Latto bhaiya and returned by 12:00 mid night. Till 1:00 AM we were busy packing our stuff and decided to leave early morning. Latto bhaiya gave us the reference for Tapovani Mataji’s ashram at Uttarkashi and he managed it wonderfully. We owe the success of this trip to him.

22nd May: We woke up at 3:30AM and started moving stuff. At around 5:45AM we left for the destination. Got my tank filled at ISBT and took a leap towards ghaziabad. We kept on asking people and advise poured in from Rajeev as well. Finally we were on NH-58 and kept on following the traffic, till we hit our first traffic jam at khatauli. We managed to cross it in 30 minutes and headed straight to haridwar. In between we kept on purchasing fruits and had our lunch just before roorkee. At 2:00PM we were at haridwar and moved towards rishikesh. I got my tank filled at this place again and left for uttarkashi from Rishikesh. The upward spirals started from this place and I got my first feel of driving in mountains at this place.  I was bit cautious and was surprised with the ease of driving. I shared the same with my mother and kept on asking her whether she is comfortable or not. I gave a positive affirmation and we spiralled further into the mountains. We kept moving on NH-94 and had our journey blessed by rain gods. My my, it was awesome to have rains after seeing the scorching sun of delhi and nearby plains. Everything was fine till chamba, where we missed the highway and moved towards tehri dham on the lower side. Here, locals guided us to follow a kachha road(non-operational short cut) and we followed it. I am thanking my gods for safely traversing this stretch and not getting my tyre flat during this escapade. It was just raw stones and dust everywhere and no signs of roads ahead. But as a blessing in disguise expert, I managed to click some nice pictures of Tehri dam. One thing I am sure that I have learned to count my blessings and never miss an opportunity to laugh and enjoy. kya pata kal ho na ho (who knows what happens tomorrow)…Still, we kept asking locals and all of them gave the same answer that pakka road is only 2-3 km ahead. People are very sweet in general, but, dont believe them as far as distances are concerned. I think due to lack of oxygen, a single Kilometer stretches upto two or even more..depends on whom u ask. still at 4:30 we were back on NH-94. Again, we took a wrong turn and moved 4 Kms in wrong direction. But, we got ourselves corrected early and ended up wasting another 10 minutes or so.  In between somebody told us that we wont be able to reach Uttarkashi today and had to stay somewhere in between. I told myself that let me drive as long as we are having sunlight and then we will see. Now, the traffic started building up and I was driving with commander jeeps and tourist buses of uttaranchal. Being a novice moutain driver, I was bit cautious. Day was getting longer and destination was not in sight anywhere. Finally, we reached Dharasu at 7:00PM and Uttarkashi was still 29KMs. Light was getting dimmer and rain was about to come. Still, I decided to move on and followed a Tata Sumo, which we later met at Tapovani Ashram. I dont know why, but, we kept on following this Tata Sumo. At 8:15PM, we reached Uttarkashi and have to travel further 4 KMs to Gangori. Now, I was bit relaxed and tried to get hold of milk, but failed. Reached gangori ashram at 8:30PM and got ourselves into a room as quickly as possible. Had a hot water bath and dinner immediately after that. Doctor uncle at ashram was kind enough to get us hot milk and we relaxed for the day. God has been very kind…what shall I say. I thanked god again and again…

23rd May(10KM): Our first morning at Uttarkashi……we were like fresh roses. The day was bright and sunny, whereas the cold breeze was gushing through my hairs. I had my dip at dodital spring at bhagirathi shore and was ready for the day. We had our breakfast consisting of khichri with curd at the ashram. And trust me it was the nicest khichri, I had in my life. Today, it was the second of the medical camp at ashram and soon people from the nearby villlages started pouring in. Many of them were carrying their parents on their backs and had brought them from far of villages. It is surprising to see the lack of medical facilities at a place like uttarkashi, the district headquarter. Anyways, I became the impromptu photographer for the event and received lot of appreciative gaze. During this photo shoot, I met an eye surgeon, Dr. D.P. Kar. He is such a multifaceted personality that anybody can be mesmerised. Infact, everybody was impressed when he started singing indian classical vocals in the evening.  Today, we visited fish breeding center and the shiv temple at uttarkashi. The famous khadak in the temple courtyard is a magnificient piece of history. The day ended on a very positive note.

24 May(190KM)started our day at 4:00AM in the morning and left at 5:00AM for gangotri, as the upward gate at Bhatwadi opens at 5:00AM only. We took a break at gangnani, the hot water springs on the way and took a dip there. I think mass bathing is in our culture and I have grown accustomed of being semi nude with hundreds of other fellow travellers. Anyways, we moved further and crossed lot of bridges. Magnificient valleys and breath taking views were framed carefully by the nature in every possible angle of view. Lot of picturesque villages are spread across the valley and names are also quite interesting like chinyalisaur. At Dharali, we had our breakfast and single aloo parantha was sufficient for me(Trust me it was huge!!). We crossed bhairav ghatti  and hit a traffic jam 2 KMs before gangotri, quite common during this part of the year. We parked our car on the roadside and started walking along the traffic trail towards gangotri. There is a big market on the way to the temple and pne can purchase lot of stuff here. But beware of fake saffron and shilajit. We had our visit to the temple and went towards the ghats(river bank). I took a dip in the holy ganga and sat in the middle of the flow to gather some ganga  jal(holy water). The mud particles are so tiny that it appears almost milky and thats the reason the place of origin is called gaumukh. Suddenly the weather changed it colors and it became cloudy. We immediately headed back towards our car to take it out. My camera kept on clicking and  I had some nice shots. I stopped at the outskirts of gangotri and sipped some nice tea. We took break at Dharali again and saw Kalp Kedar temple at the river bank. The temple is almost submerged and has a kalp virksha(wishing tree) in the courtyard. By the time, it has started drizzling rain; I had to pack my photo gears and leave. After driving another 20 KMs, I took a break at one of the serene and peaceful spring. Soon rest of the people started parking their vehicles over there and the place became crowded. Now, there was no point staying over there and we left. There was a traffic jam at gangnani again and we wasted good 20 minutes over there. Still 45 KMs to go… We reached Bhatwadi and were welcomed by rain for the first time during the day. On the way the view of maneri dam was magnificient and almost felt like boating in the lake. Alas, may be some other day. We returned back to gangori ashram and had our dinner. Today, there were lesser number of people at ashram and we managed to know people more closely. Anyways, tomorrow was a cheat day..lol.

25 May(84 KMs): Day before yesterday, i had expressed a desire to visit dodital and vikas along with akhilesh(two boys from gangori itself) were there to accompany me on the same. I woke up at 4:00Am and washed all my clothes and left for Nachiketa tal trek. I was told that completing doditaltrek in single day was impossible. We parked our car at Chorangikhaal. Had darshan at Choranginath temple and a quick breakfast. We started the 3KMs trek through half burnt forest and it must be the rains a day before that must have put the torch off. It was very calm and smooth trek. On the way, we kept on climbing rocks and clicking some wonderful pics. We reached the nachiketa tal and found a nice clear water body with fishes. Vikas and Akhilesh started playing with the fishes and this led to fishing suspicion. Monk at the lake came rushing towards us and immediately calmed down after seeing us feeding them. He was so happy after knowing that we came from tapovani mataji’s ashram that he offered us tea. Initially, I was bit hesitant and was wandering about his cooking setup. A couple of stones, wood logs collected from nearby places and an aluminium mug was sufficient for him to go with tea making exercise. Trust me the tea was nice and enjoyed his constant chattering about government’s apathy towards religion, his saviour acts for this lake and his gujrat connection. We took a round at the lake and saw yam ka dwar(gateway to death)…Well, i knocked at the door and they said that I got more to stay. Got some wild photographs in the woods, with me climbing rocks and trees around. While coming down, we chose to take the wild trek and came down very early. We had our lunch at chorangikhal and it was good and only Rs 35/person. Salad basket free…great deal. Way back to uttarkashi, we had watermelon(I purchased at uttarkashi) in the pine forests at the roadside. For the passerby’s envy, we enjoyed the water melon in the wild meadows. We hit back at uttarkashi in the afternoon and for the first time accessed internet in last 4 days. Checked mail and got back to the ashram…Took rest for a while and got myself rejunevated. In the evening, Swamiji took me to varnavrat mountain and we had some discussions around his plans for the ashram. I also visited the school that is being taken care of by the ashram. This day was wonderful..

26 May( KMs): We started our day at 6:00AM in the morning and left for yamunotri. We came to Dharasu on NH-94 and took route towards Brahmkot. This path is more secluded and full of difficult turns. Drivers here have an unsaid rule of driving without honking, as one said that it disturbs the piece of mind. Well, it is not OK and i unilaterally decide to honk on every turn. It was difficult to bear the brunt of these guys and had to have an altercation with them at times. It was necesary. Our lives were at stake. It was extremely hot here and road was very rough. Everywhere bridges were constructed or the roads were broadened. I was expecting atleast a tyre puncture at this stretch, but god has been kind. We straight away headed towards janakichatti while passing by hanumanchatti and phoolchatti. It was 12:00 noon by the time we reached janakichatti. We had our lunch and at 1:45 PM we left for yamunotri. It is 6Km upward trek full of palkiwala’s and ofcourse mules. On the way, I had the nice aloo parantha’s and hot tea. It was required for the upward tough trek and I managed to reach there by 3:45PM. It was a magnificient site and one could see river yamuna coming down from saptrishi kund, up in the heavenly skies. Contrary to ganga, here water is much clearer and blue in color. I took a dip in the cold water first and then in the hot spring which was just adjacent in the river bed itself. I didnt took a dip at the hot water tanks built inside the premises. I like taking bath in the open flows, as it is more closer to nature. Had darshan at the temple and immediately started back for janakichatti. By the time we reached jankichatti a huge storm has already hit the place and it started raining heavily. Initially, we planned to return to hanuman chatti, but, an old man from delhi asked me to stay back. This elderly advice was appreciated and we had our first hotel stay at janakichatti. It did cost us Rs 800/- for a small room with minimal facilities. But, there was no way out.

27 May: At 6:00AM in the morning, we left for the downwards journey. We had our lunch at Dharasu and started moving back on NH-94 towards tehri and we came to know that its better to move back to uttarkashi and take way to Lamgoan for Kedarnath. We did the same and moved back to uttarkashi. This is the same route we took for Nachiketa tal. We crossed over to Chourangi khal, towards Lamgoan. This is a lonely trail and kind of frightening also. Actually, I was carrying an old map of the area and it had some places which were submerged in the dams constructed lately. We kept on asking for a village called Bhaldiyana, which was on the way to Kedarnath(as per our old map). And we could stop laughing when we kept on asking for Bhaldiyana and one fine old man asked us to jump into the lake, as it was submerged. Rain made the journey more memorable and gave us some nice views of the valleys lying below. At some places, we reached on the mountain tops to cross over to the other side of the valley and peaks on the other side seem to be dwarfed. It was a wonderful evening and during the day we had decided to stay at a luxury hotel. And, here we found it at Pipaldali, after crossing 1KM long wire bridge. I had my best meal after long time and splurged on their menu. Yet this costed me slightly less than Rs 850, including rent and food. Wonderful day again…

28 May(): Today, we started late and I kept sitting on clothes washed yesterday. Mom kept on calling me “late latif”. But, anyways whatever happens, it happens for good. At 8:00AM, we started for Gaurikund(our next destination). We had hardly travelled 5 Kms and we had our first flat tyre. I quickly changed the tyre and started looking for the tyre repairing shop. After travelling 26Kms, we saw the first tyre shop and got our tyre fixed immediately. Now, I was relaxed…ah u always need a spare tyre. We reached Sitapur at 3:00PM to find a long traffic jam towards Gaurikund and decided to stay there only. Relaxed for the day…tanked up an oxygen can for tomorrow(was suggested by local doc-boy).

29 May: At 5:00 AM in the morning, we left for Gaurikund and hit another traffic jam. But, I managed to park my car in the government approved parking( I litterly had to lecture the parking attendant, who was refusing me citing non-availability). Anyways, I walked for 2 Kms towards Gaurikund. Walking through the narrow market lanes, I visited the Gauri Temple and the hot water spring nearby. After crossing the market, we saw the starting point of the upward 16KM trek towards Kedarnath Temple. This place is exteremely crowded with mules, palkiwala’s and numerous labourers. Here it was stinky and I just crossed over to the other side of it. At 8:30AM, I started the upward trek towards Kedarnath temple. My previous experience at Yamunotri made me realise that I can manage a constant speed of 3KM/hour for this kind of upward trek comfortably. Going by this figure, I evaluated that I can complete this trek in 5 hours. But, I didnt realise that this was going to be difficult in rains!!!!  Anyways, I started and made my first stop for breakfast just after Rambara. Trust me, its difficult to walk after having nice aloo parantha’s and hot tea. This whole trek is full of dhabha’s, tea stalls, lemon stalls and what not. I just stick to water, that too provided by uttaranchal water supply. On the way, I must have had 50 litres of water atleast or more. I did follow some of the short-cuts and summed up that it was worthless. Almost 3KMs before Kedarnath it started raining heavily and I risked to take another short-cut. I managed to save good 750M this time and reached Kedarnath at 2:00PM. Luckily, we had become smart now and were carrying umbrella with us. But, my shoes were soaked in dirt and mud..poor poohs. Had darshans at the temple..dont ask me how did we manage to complete this in an hour or so. It was miracle! At 3:30PM, we were sipping hot tea with gulab jamun’s..At 4:00PM we started the downwards journey towards Gaurikund. If the weather would have been nice then we could have stayed at Kedarnath itself. Anyways, first 9KMs were fine and I managed to complete it in 90 minutes. But the last 5 KMs were terrible in the sense that i measured then by foot. Counting each step and eagerly looking for the next milestone to only read 250M. Somehow, I managed to reach Gaurikund by 7:30PM. Had a cup of tea and walked towards the parking. I picked my car and straight away left for Son Prayag. We checked in at this hotel at Sonprayag and were kind of exhausted for the day. Soaked by feet in warm water and applied some vaseline. I thanked my legs for carrying me over 32Km today…

30 May: Today, the day started little late.. I mean as compared to the previous days. We had our aloo parantha breakfast and left for Triyugnarayan. This is a nice and serene place just 13 Kms from Sonprayag. It is quieter as compared to Gaurikund. After visiting Triyugnarayan, we headed towards Gupt Kashi. Everything was done in leisurely manner. At Guptkashi, the priest told us the stories around these temples and were quite interesting. We have to move towards badrinath. But, I was not sure about the next stopover on the way. Well, we started and reached a place called Bhiri. This was a river side resort and I managed to sneak into Mahananda waters. Again, started our journey towards Badrinath. I dont know how we managed, but, we reached Joshimath at 7:30PM. Took a room and hit the bed.

31st May: At 5:45Am, we left for Badrinath and hit the first gate at Joshimath. At 6:00AM, the gate opened and we started our upwards journey towards Badrinath. This 45KM stretch between Joshimath and Badrinath is considered quite deadly. I cant agree more. This stretch is just wide for one vehicle to pass by at many places. Anyways, we passed Gobindghat and hit the gate at Pandukeshar. We reached Badrinath at 10:00AM and straight away headed towards temple. By 12:00 noon, we managed to have darshan and returned to our car. Mana villlage was next on the card and we returned back to hit the gate at 1:00PM. During this time, we had our lunch and clicked some shots around. At 2:00 PM, we started the downwards journey and I dont know, when Joshimath passed by. Trust me..It must have been the sunny gaze of the afternoon. I reached Karanprayag and decided to stay here for the day.

1st June: At 8:00Am, we left for Rishikesh. This was the most dry and hottest stretch of the entire journey. We hit Devprayag at 12:00 noon and tried to recall it from 1990 lens. Had our lunch at one road side dhabha. On the way, we had to stop for lime water and cucumber. This was a mistake that we realised later on. It had started raining by the time, we appraoched Rishikesh. We have been following Ganga for the past two weeks and our journey culminates at Rishikesh. We stayed at Yog Niketan and returned back to delhi the next day. Overall, 2200KM and 12 days..a wonderful journey.

6th May: Took a taxi at 5:00 AM to new delhi railway station and landed at 6:15AM(Rs 100/person). We were comfortably placed in our seats before departure at 6:50AM. Dehradun sthabadi takes 4:00 hours to reach haridwar(Rs450/person and half for senior citizen). We arrived at haridwar station on time and took an auto ride to Rishikesh(Rs 25/person). Had our lunch at Rajasthani Dhabha at Rishikesh costing Rs32/person and we were totally full. There are lot of options to stay at Rishikesh, right from lodges, ashrams to luxury hotels. We decided to stay at Geeta Bhavan, one of the most famous ashram at Rishikesh. Seeing my mother’s problem with knees and post surgery situation, they decided to allocate us deluxe 2-bedroom appartment with standing commode toilets. These guys at Geeta Bhavan are truly amazing. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. At 6 in the evening, we took our first dip in ganges..ah it was awesome. Cool, fresh water gushing through my hairs. I saw the sun setting in west, while sitting in my natural bathing tub.  Changed and then left for evening aarti at Parmarth Niketan. Another spiritual experience after bathing in ganges. Dinner times brought us to Geeta Bhavan, where we sat with 50 other people to have our simple meal of daal roti(Rs15/person)…Cool. Sky was clear and moon on one side of the sky was lighting up the entire landscape…nice day.

7th May: Day started at 4:30AM in the morning with a dip at ganges..this time i went in the middle of the flow and had to grab stones to stop from drowning. Had a hot cup of tea immediately after this chilling bath, as yours truly, was trembling and shivering with cold. Watching all the sadhus or rather sanyasi’s lined up for tea, outside parmarth niketan, do motivate me to sit by their side. It requires a huge spin of mind to reach a egoless state called “bhiksha”. Bhiksha, as reverred in ancient hindu culture was not a representation of idleness but a conquering journey over one’s ego.  I call it journey because hindu religion equally emphasises over journey as compared to destination only.  One should not look at bhikshuk of today, but, the concept of “bhiksha”. Bhiksha, is being satisfied in what you get from surroundings, a truly amazing concept. Me and my friend, decided to go for white water rafting on shivpuri-rishikesh stretch. Such a trip typically costs you something between Rs400-650, depends on your bargaining expertise. We met a local agent and fixed at Rs400(I think we could get it in Rs300 also, bargaining makes u greedy..but its true). Our team leader was a 19 year old lad called Gabbar Singh. He was not at all close to the Sholay namesake. But, we did enjoy his leadership and modesty. We were a team of six rafters besides Gabbar Singh and his assistant. An austrain lady with her two sons were too excited and kept on asking stuff. Despite the efforts put in by Gabbar Singh to educate us in following his commands, we were quite on our own. Left forward,  right backward and vice versa were just commands to our ears and our hands did something else.  Thanks the “Jai Ho Ganga Maiya” chants we sailed through all the rapids smoothly. I got the nice front seat and was soaked with every gush of wild water splash. With every rapid passing by, i could feel adrenaline gushing through my veins. Cliff jumping after Brahmpuri was again awesome. Though, my life jacket opened up during cliff jumping, but still mother ganga threw me upwards…I think even mother ganga cant take “papi” like me in her lap..lol. Our journey ended after Ram jhula, where we thanked our team members and yes, Gabbar Singh ofcourse. Dehydration drove me into zero energy state for another 4 hours or so. Still, I managed to attend evening aarti at Parmarth Niketan. Took couple of pics of foreigners chanting “hare rama hare krishna”….I wonder what drives them to places like Rishikesh, Vrindavan and Varanasi. Some say they are into substance abuse and just nomadic way of life. While some seem to be genuinely into search of spiritual path..god knows and who cares that much.

8th May: I would call it a lazy day..My dehydrated body had not recovered completely. Had a failed attempt at yoga in the morning. Once again I realised the need for flexibility in body as well as mind to enjoy this world. Spa treatment and Massage Centers have mushroomed in the entire city of Rishikesh. Somehow, they give a shrowdy look and I  deliberately avoided them. My curious mind still made me check out their services and charges. Not at all appealing. Avoid going to such places. By afternoon, we started planning for a trip to Neelkanth Mahadev temple. At 4:00PM we boarded a taxi(Rs600 for whole taxi, both ways). There wasnt much crowd and we managed to touch the shiv ling at sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Its always nice to travel during religiously “off-seasons”. But, in a country like india nobody can predict when ganeshji will start drinking milk and some deity shedding bloody tears. Therefore, rule is to avoid crowd as much as possible and take the least religiously important time of the day/year/month/week for such visits. Lets get satisfied with lesser blessings!! Attended evening ganga aarti and had dinner at geeta bhavan. Today, this 12 year old boy serving food was too keen to serve us aaloo sabji, which is otherwise served as if pickle. Anyways i like the food at geeta bhavan. It is simple, balanced and quite affordable(Rs15/meal). Retired for the day.

9th May: Early bird wins the race. And we were at goa beach today. Sand, breeze and ganges make perfect place to relax and rejunevate. We enjoyed the bath and clicked some nice frames. Lot of foreigners frequent this sandy river side, which is next to a crematorium. No wonder there is a warning saying “No Bikni, No Smoking”. It was our packup day at Rishikesh and we wanted to spend some time at Haridwar. We took an auto and left for Haridwar at 12:30PM. But all went vain, thanks to bapu Asharam and his commune at Haridwar. We directly left for railway station and left for delhi directly..Took a taxi back home(Rs 100/person). Entire trip costed us Rs2360/person including 4-days lodging, food, lot of chai, taxi, train and yes rafting trip. Please do let me know if it does qualify for EYC(economical yet comfortable) nomination or not.

Sikandra: Fusion is an old concept, Akbar was best at it

All of a sudden, things started shaping up. Rajeev and Mona were kind enough to plan their trip to Agra, taking me along with them. Its always great to travel along with friends. Theory of distortion of time(in presence of friendly forces!!) leads to inter-twining of timelines and a longer journey translates into a smaller one.

Took up metro at 7:00Am in the morning at dwarka and reached IP extension station. Rajeev and Mona were already waiting there. Rajeev is very particular with timings and all..signs of a great manager. Mona does have laid back and rather relaxed attitude like me(I,m complimenting myself not Mona) .

All those road side dhabas and a smooth ride make it perfect for travellers like me. Food is something I savour the most. Actually, cuisines of a particular area blend the various historical, geographical and political influences on that area. Culinary skills were passed on through generations from mother to daughters in the family. And, each generation did have their own variations added on to it. Isnt it kind of a unique blend of history rather than spices only.

We reached Sikandra first and visited Akbar’s tomb first. I would say a unique structure, still, imbibing simplicity to the most. What I could definitely make out from Mughal arhcitecture was that It was emperor’s personality that used to get translated into the structures. There was nothing like independent PWD in those days. Emperor was not only involved in approving the final design, but, in the design part itself. Designers and Architects must have worked most closely with them. This is unique to Mughals…hats off to those designers and architects who designed these wonderful buildings. Emperor’s did have a vision or a dream, which was brought to reality by these people. I knew engineers have been quite instrumental in structuring the world around…lol.

Akbar’s era reflects the simplicity and emphasis on functional aspects in the form of red sandstone and minimal usage of marble. It is unique in the sense to combine many different genres like persian, gothic, rajput and jain styles together into a single homogenous style. In a way it reflects the way he was deeply influenced from various cultures and his respect for them. Also, it highlights the amalgamation of various thought processes to create a unique being, din-e-elahi.

If, we try to summarise each mughal emperor by a unique quality. Then, I would say Akbar was a “fusion” maestro. Today, he would have been a fusion musician comfortably, playing guitar along with tabla…may be even stranger, yet unique blend. Jehangir was a “rebel” in his own sense and challenged everything his father did. Today, he would have been Sanjay Dutt comforting himself in Manyata’s lap(Sanjay’s Noorjahan)…Sunil Dutt did get lot of headache like Akbar. Shahjahan was an “addictive lover” , yet a dedicated husband. He would have been Shahrukh Khan today..hope Shahrukh makes a cricket stadium in Gauri’s memory. Auragzeb was “unpopular” and weird. Today, he would have been Mullla Mehsood…mostly unpopular outside swat valley. I think he decided to destroy the legacy inherited from his forefathers.

Baby Taj: Itamadullah's Tomb, Gyas Beg and begam Asmaat's Tomb

Took up metro at 7:00Am in the morning at dwarka and reached IP extension station. Rajeev and Mona were already waiting there. Rajeev is very particular with timings and all..signs of a great manager. Mona does have laid back and rather relaxed attitude like me(I,m complimenting myself  not Mona) .

All those road side dhabas and a smooth ride make it perfect for travellers like me. Food is something I savour the most. Actually, cuisines of a particular area blend the various historical, geographical and political influences on that area. Culinary skills were passed on through generations from mother to daughters in the family. And, each generation did have their own variations added on to it. Isnt it kind of a unique blend of history rather than spices only.

We reached Sikandra first and visited Akbar’s tomb first. I would say a unique structure, still, imbibing simplicity to the most. What I could definitely make out from Mughal arhcitecture was that It was emperor’s personality that used to get translated into the structures. There was nothing like independent PWD in those days. Emperor was not only involved in approving the final design, but, in the design part itself. Designers and Architects must have worked most closely with them. This is unique to Mughals…hats off to those designers and architects who designed these wonderful buildings. Emperor’s did have a vision or a dream, which was brought to reality by these people. I knew engineers have been quite instrumental in structuring the world around…lol.

If, we try to summarise each mughal emperor by a unique quality. Then, I would say Akbar was a “fusion” maestro. Today, he would have been a fusion musician comfortably, playing guitar along with tabla…may be even stranger, yet unique blend.  Jehangir was a “rebel” in his own sense and challenged everything his father did. Today, he would have been Sanjay Dutt comforting himself in Manyata’s lap(Sanjay’s Noorjahan)…Sunil Dutt did get lot of headache like Akbar. Shahjahan was an “addictive lover” , yet a dedicated husband. He would have been Shahrukh Khan today..hope Shahrukh makes a cricket stadium in Gauri’s memory. Auragzeb was “unpopular” and weird. Today, he would have been Narendra Modi…mostly unpopular outside Gujrat. I think he decided to destroy the legacy inherited from his forefathers.

Anyways, we enjoyed our  food at Sadar Bazaar Agra. Here, chaat is little mild as compared to the brand haldiram..still unique. Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Baby Taj and Fatehpur Sikri were great and stand testimony to the greatness of Mughal empire.

Neetu : taking plunge into her first presentation for sales and marketing session

Hey guys, see the whole gang together. This batch is quite nice, obedient and hardworking one.

All of them together(CSWC-22 batch)