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ocdfortravel

~ SHORT trips and LONG circuits

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Tag Archives: India

Where the river becomes the sky: Dibru Shaikowa

24 Sunday Jul 2022

Posted by vinitagursahanisingh in Assam, India

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Assam, birding, Brahmaputra, Dibru Shaikowa national park, India, Indian rains, majuri beel, Northeast

The trip to this sanctuary was added to an assignment in the tea gardens in Assam that began on a Sunday. So I decided to fly into Dibrugarh a day earlier and visit the Dibru Shaikowa national park, renowned for its rich bird life. My friend Nisha decided to join me and later extended her stay to visit Kaziranga. We took the flight together from Delhi to Dibrugarh and landed there at 9:30 in the morning.

It was at the end of March which is usually the best time to visit this region. But when we landed at Dibrugarh airport, the sky was overcast. We were met at the airport by Sanjeeb, our guide. He took us straight away to the camp on Majuri Beel, a lake adjoining the park. The camp was very basic but its location was amazing – at the very edge of the lake so we could greet the fishermen rowing in their tiny canoes.  It had rained heavily the night before and the waters of the Brahmaputra had moved swiftly into the lake, swelling its level. This made it dangerous for us to go into the park.  So, we decided to go for a long drive instead. See https://wordpress.com/post/ocdfortravel.com/981

Early next morning we headed off to the park. It was completely overcast but thankfully there wasn’t any rain. We took a jeep and went to one of the banks of the park where a small canoe was waiting to take us to the grassy islands that dot the park.

You have to know that the Dibru Shaikowa national park is a highly unusual park. It is a swamp forest, on exposed patches of land, completely surrounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit rivers in the north and the Dibru river in the south.  Each of these rivers is massive with many streams. So, picture tiny bits of grasslands encircled by countless fingers of water and you will see Dibru Shaikowa.  Add to this a dense cloud-laden sky and you will have a vision of us on that day, with water above, below, and around us.

As we sat in the tiny canoe, I wasn’t sure if the sky was seeping into the water or if the water was dissolving into the sky. In that brief moment, I thought I was suspended in space. I struggled to come out of my trance as we approached the island. In the grasslands, we walked in a single line, trampling dense undergrowth, listening to bird sounds. A weak sun came up, giving us hope to see the parrotbills. But soon, the clouds moved in and the sun gave up completely. We had to return. We raced back to the canoe but by the time we sat, it felt as if the whole sky had collapsed. It poured torrents of rain. Our raincoats were hapless fragments in the fierce downpour. But sitting there, soaking, the canoe swaying side to side, I felt immersed in the beauty and fury of nature. And that moment will stay as the abiding memory of this park. Just as it remains beholden to nature, all months of the year struggling to stay afloat, that showery morning, so were we…

Bhupen Hazarika’s Bridge

24 Sunday Jul 2022

Posted by vinitagursahanisingh in Assam, India

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arunachal pradesh, Assam, Bhupen Hazarika, birding, Brahmaputra, bridges, Dibru Shaikowa national park, India, Indian rains, Northeast, owls, roing, sadiya, singers, statue of brotherhood

It was 10 in the morning. We had a full day ahead and it was clear we could not go through our original plan of visiting the Dibru Shaikowa national park. It had rained suddenly the previous night and the swollen waters of the Brahmaputra had made park access impossible. So, we did what I have been wanting to do for a long time: drive across the longest bridge in India over water, the Bhupen Hazarika Setu.

The bridge, spans nearly 10 km, over river Lohit, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra. It is named in honour of Bhupen Hazarika, singer, and lyricist, an icon of Assam. His deep baritone, soaked in the culture of the northeast, connected this region to the rest of India.

We left our camp in Majuli Beel and in a breeze, we reached Dhola, on the southern side of the bridge. Our plan was to cross over to Sadiya on the northern end and then drive all the way up to Roing in Arunachal. When we got onto the bridge, it was completely empty. The sky was overcast. The river below was vast and unending. The small islands in the river were shrouded in mist.

And we were overcome by a sense of freedom, of joy, of being one with the place. We walked, skipped, jumped, and drove along with Hazarika’s haunting voice lifting us, his song ‘Dil Hoon Hoon’ playing at full blast on the car stereo.  

Off the bridge, we drove slowly past Sadiya, the place where Hazarika was born. Further up, we entered Arunachal Pradesh and at Bolung, we stopped at his statue. Called the statue of brotherhood, it looked amazingly life-like. Perhaps he was bemused that people here sometimes called him more Arunachali, than Assamese…

Soon, the landscape became more rugged with extensive bamboo plantations. People looked and dressed differently.  It was amazing that just as you cross the border into another state, how things could be completely different from what you left behind.  As we entered Roing, we were welcomed by towering snow-capped mountains. We stopped at this fantastic bakery for buns and great coffee. We picked up locally grown, dried ginger and elephant apples. Then we drove all the way back to the camp.  

It was dark by the time we got back. We went owl-spotting and got lucky with the Brown Hawk Owl and the Oriental Scops Owl. As we walked in the still night, millions of fireflies surrounded us. Nisha, like a magician, caught them in her palm and slowly released them. Somewhere, a bird called out, maybe its last song before settling in for the night. And, with a soulful Hazarika-type sigh, our day came to a close.

Champaner-Pavagadh: Following the sun through a heritage landscape

02 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by vinitagursahanisingh in Gujarat, India

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Tags

archaeology, architecture, backwaters, baroda, boating, champaner, champaner heritage resort, champaner-pavagadh, composite culture, culture, Gujarat, heritage, hill temples, hindu, Hindu temples, history, incredibleindia, India, islamic, lonelyplanetindia, mumbai, muslim, natgeoindia, parsi, pavagadh, people watching, stone carvings, sun, udvada, UNESCO World Heritage, vadodara

Do people in Baroda understand how lucky they are? Maybe not all. But one person certainly does. Sameer Khera. My friend, Baroda-wala and an eternal traveler. Photographs from his frequent visits to Champaner-Pavagadh, filled me with travel-ache. So, when I was in Mumbai during Diwali holidays and started looking, Corona-eyed, at places within driving distance, C-P was an obvious choice. I called Sam to see if we could go together. But, as expected, the man had a travel plan on those very days. Then he did the next best thing and sent me a detailed itinerary of places I must see, along with the best times of the day to see them! Hurrah!

C-P is an 8 hour drive from Mumbai and we left very early. On the way, we took a short detour to Udvada, a place I had been meaning to go to since some time due to its significance as a Parsi spiritual center. By 3pm we reached Baroda and took the turn-off to C-P. These last 30 kms. were astonishing, as the plains opened up to the Pavagadh hill. Even from a distance, we could see the temples and old structures around its summit. And as we passed the city of Champaner, located at the base of the hill range, we felt we had entered a region of special historic significance. And it is. This is the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, a vast area dotted by ancient monuments making it an important UNESCO world heritage site.

Our hotel Champaner Heritage Resort was a bit beyond the city of Champaner, in Bhamaria village, by the backwaters of the Kada dam. From a small island here, where we watched the sun going down that day, dazzled by the golden water and the silver bracelets of our boatman.

And we watched the sun come up again the next morning. Near the top of the Pavagadh hill, at the Saat Kamaan or the Seven Arches.

The hillside is strewn with monuments from the time of the Muslim rule of Sultan Mehmud Begda and earlier Hindu rulers, notably the Khichi Chauhan Rajputs. At the very top is the revered temple of Kalimata, attracting hordes of worshippers from all over. We did not visit the temple as the cable cars ferrying people to the temple were quite crowded. We meandered around the ruins, just below the jump off point for the cable cars. And discovered that we could have actually walked up the hill along a sheltered walkway that no one seemed to use.

A little while later, down in Champaner city, we sought out a guide. The rest of the day we tramped through the wilderness and saw a bewildering array of mosques. The One-Minar mosque, Shaher ki Masjid, Nagina Masjid, Kewada Masjid, Kamani Masjid. It appears that Sultan Begda, who made Champaner the capital of Gujarat in the 15th century, spread his troops and families all across the area. Where they settled, they built a mosque. Once the city went into decline, these mosques were taken over by the forest. All the mosques are similar in architectural style – a masterful blend of Hindu and Islamic. While the domes and minarets make you completely certain you are entering a mosque, the Hindu motifs and carvings inside, throw you off totally. Our guide told us that Sultan Begda did not have access to any Islamic artisans and he basically had to rely on local ones. These artisans went wild making what they knew best. And the result is that the Champaner city is “the only remaining complete and unchanged Islamic pre-Mughal city”, as quoted by UNESCO.

With the sun following us, we went from one awe-inspiring monument to another, covering mosques, step-wells, and fortifications. We spent many delightful moments just watching trucks, trams, rickshaws, people crossing the gates of the walled city.

Finally, we saw the sun setting from the Vadatalav Lake in a majestic glow of light behind the Pavagadh hill. We could not get a very good photograph, so I am using Sam’s below from his earlier visit.

This ‘follow the sun’ itinerary was really a wonderful gift and guide from Sam. It gave us a compass and companion, even when he wasn’t around. We felt also the presence of many other people who had invested time and energy in preserving this unique place. Our guide Manoj Joshi’s father Ghanshyam Joshi, has passionately recorded the monuments, contributed to archaeology books and played an important role in lobbying for UNESCO status for the area. They can be contacted at 9879542611/02676245611. Rahul Gajjar whose name came up several times, has photographed and organized events to highlight the importance of the monuments here. And the Sarvaiyas, affable owners of Champaner Heritage Resort, who are restoring their property and making it possible for more people to stay a few days and take in its beauty.

As Manoj ji told us, the Pavagadh hill range has many more monuments to behold. But we had to leave the next morning. So, as the sun rose, we pottered around the mango groves and village ponds, leaving the boat people to their centuries-old rituals. We are, after all, only passers-by. But this treasure remains, a breath away, for the people here and I hope they forever take care of it.

Picture credits: Hardeep Singh.

Hidden gems: Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole

07 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by vinitagursahanisingh in India, Karnataka

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Agasthya Lake, Aihole, architecture, Badami, Belgaum, Bhutanatha temple, bouldering, cave temples, Chalukya, Clarks Inn, fort, Goa, Hampi, Hindu temples, India, Jain temples, Karnataka, Kolhapur, Malikarjuna temple, Off the beaten path, Pattadakal, Pune, Satara, South India, temples, UNESCO World Heritage

Why the hell had I not come here earlier? That’s the thought that came to me when I saw the Agasthya Lake, shimmering in the evening sun and circled on three sides by burnt red hills. The rays illuminated the ancient Bhutanatha temple and covered everyone in a golden glow. At the banks of the lake, children played, men chatted and women washed utensils, in a ritual that must have repeated every sunset since the 7th century. And that day, just for a while, I was part of this age-old scene.

We had left Pune at dawn, and driven through Satara and Kolhapur to reach Badami by late noon. The evening was spent exploring the Bhutanatha and Malikarjuna group of temples clustered around the eastern and north-eastern sides of the lake. We spent the night at the Clarks Inn. I ate dinner at a nearby canteen, gorging down dried jowar rotis, dal and some incredibly spicy chutneys. But then I am an intrepid foodie. My husband took the safer option and ordered room service. The next day, Just before dawn, we went back to explore cave temples that are carved into the southern flank and Badami fort built on the north-western side of the lake.

The Badami temples, comprising Hindu and Jain temples, are stunning examples of rock-cut architecture, dating back to the 6th century.

The Badami Fort, also from the 6th century, was the residence of the Chalukyan rulers. Its entrance is through massive rock walls and the monuments are strewn all over the sandstone hill. Some of the monuments are accessible only through narrow crevices and others are a long climb to the top. Sitting on the high boulders, looking at the winking waters of the lake and the cool breeze on our faces, a feeling of deep contentment…

View from the southern Badami cave temples. To the west is the city edging in

We would have loved more time at the Fort but had to leave for the two architectural marvels close by – Pattadakal and Aihole.

Skyline at Pattadakal
Iconic Durga temple at Aihole

These two sites are barely 10 kms. apart and together with Badami form the cradle of Hindu temple architecture, built by the mighty Chalukyan dynasty. Aihole especially was like an open-air school for architects from all over to come and experiment. What they created has now become a veritable museum of architectural styles from North and South India and which, from 1400 years earlier, have inspired temple structures all across India.

Why do these magnificent gems get overlooked by tourists? Maybe it gets overshadowed by Hampi? Maybe it is off the beaten path? But this UNESCO World Heritage site is an absolute must do. So, to help you put this on your list, here are the distances from more visited places

  • Goa: 238 kms
  • Pune: 446 kms
  • Belgaum: 146 kms
  • Kolhapur: 227 kms
  • Hampi: 140 kms

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