yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Let us begin with the previous post previous post on the town  That was BC - aka Before COVID Since I have been to the town for the book-stores : Vaani and Rajkamal . Here, I also look forward to are the times at Indian Coffee House (nicely located between these two book-stores) and Bushy's .  I, with colleagues, have also made trips to the G B Pant Insitute for its museum ,  This time we began with the library, one of the more stunning libraries for sure - when it comes to buildings, as a  Kader Khan or Sharabi film fan would have said: लाइब्रेरी की बिल्डिंग हो तो ऐसी,  वरना  ना हो  The park with it multiple resources reminded me of Kamati Baug ,  This board was also the first time I read of map being referred to as मानचित्र The park also has its share of quirkiness  Image: Dheeraj It also houses  The Allahabad Museum ,  There has been work done here as well since I last visited, especially the new interactive galleries and the h...

Posts from the previous visit Walking Food Gods and Flowers Eating places The dining hall at  Buddha Pada , a place to sit,  to do nothing , The table outside, took me to evenings in  Saiha . Was fun to sit here for long, to eat, to write, To soak in Kalimpong at Café Kalimpong Coffee places Locally grown – roasted - ground coffee, an ease in the ambience, And, welcoming conversation at the Himali Aroma Cafe . Reading places At Buddha Pada,  Amidst those by Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, and others, I came across  Kalimpong: Where the mules quenched their thirst Museums Tharpa Choling Monastery houses a café, a souvenir shop, a library, Besides, of course, the museum. One that reminded me of the museum at Aligarh .  The Lepcha Museum , not far from the Gangjong Handmade Paper Factory   These private museums , a world apart from the large ones, but equally important for preserving our heritage. Reminded yet again - so many manuscripts we have to save, to...

Sarnath on an early morning  Some places take special form at select times, this campus (managed by the  ASI ) is a different world altogether during the mornings ~ Did the Daniells –  Thomas and William  - paint during this time of the day? Is this why  Diana L Eck  calls Banaras – City of light? Neem flowers on the morning grass, fun it is to lay alongside these and watch the Stupa ~ There are nooks and corners that hold surprises, once in a while one comes across changes as well ~ There is something special about this, have little idea about it, but the experience of standing in front of it and look at it was good ~ Just outside stand new installations, whether these were needed is debatable, but now that they are there can one take time out to experience, figure these ~ Previous post on Sarnath  here Other monuments in Banaras Dufferin Bridge Sanskrit University Laat Bhairav

Where the Buddha gave his first sermon . . . . .  Last week I returned from Sarnath hassled – a frame of mind I do not associate with the place. Roads have been dug up and blocked. Drains are being constructed and vendors have been shifted. Select monuments including the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara are under restoration. It is a Sarnath taken over by dust, noise and chaos. Increased tourist numbers ( spill over of the record spike in number of people visiting Banaras ) further exacerbate the situation. Image Credit: Pawandeep Kaur I am unclear whether this is being done under the Smart City project or for the upcoming G20 meetings in town or for another reason. I sadly wonder though how long it would be before I resumed my trips to Sarnath! Notwithstanding the current scenario the peace and calm associated with Sarnath have been eroding over the years. Not much unlike the names previously used for the place, names that seem to have disappeared: Rishipatana, Mrigadava and Mrigadaya....

First, the gardens The Botanical Garden was a pleasant surprise! Beauty of an unkempt garden? or that of the late morning winter sun? or of a path less taken? Jug Suraiya had once written about how a major role of the branches of State Bank of India was to serve as landmark for addresses - to help people reach their destinations. On similar lines trees help those in love? An Indian addressed as Sir and his name placed above that of a European. Not common this! Just outside the gate of the Shrubbery Nightingale Park - amidst the hill trees!  Now, to the museums Museums are ever fascinating. This one of the DarjeelingHill Railway was not an exception. It also had a sketch of Mark Twain when he took the journey during 1897. Tibetan museum at Dharamshala was stark. The museum at Darjeeling too was nicely done. Cultural maps of areas around ours often reminds how little we know about our neighbours! How long before this moves from the road to the museum? Finally, the cemeteries...

Darjeeling has a fairly high number of buildings that ooze grace. Many of these had windows that were special.  On some of the walks I wondered if the windows too were  looking at me?   A house of windows? Did someone replace the walls with windows? The Deshbandhu Museum on the Bhutia Basti route. Walls of this graceful building are home to windows of different shapes and sizes. What to say of a town where the Post Office exudes such beauty! Is the afternoon light trying to peep in through the windows? This, somewhere on the road to the Japanese Temple. A solitary and lonely window high up from the ground! The Union Church on the Gandhi Road. Windows about to be strangled? The Hill Cart Road has surprises on offer when the traffic allows one to languorously walk and look around. A chimney and an electricity pole waiting for the windows to open? On a road with an intriguing name - Toong Soong. Windows in the dark!  These sit in silence atop a bustling street - n...

Walking up and down the roads and lanes of Darjeeling was a pleasure.  Every now and then I would come across a bench that I would sit on. Here I would enjoy the views, savour the bakery products I carried or just sit - happily lost in thoughts. Benches with a view at the Shrubbery Park. Part of Mr. Tartan's private bungalow it was purchased by the then ruler of Cooch Behar who coined the name - Shrubbery. Sometime hence it was then transferred to Raj Bhavan. During the recent years the Hill Council has turned it into a tourist destination. Even the parks here drip with history! This somewhere on the Zakir Hussain Road. For some reason I felt glad it was there. At the Alubari Monastery These benches offered views of the hills, peace of the monastery and songs of the flags. On the road to the Peace Pagoda . What an idea this! Benches along the road. A bench on rails at Ghum . The station - for some reason - had a stall selling Banarasi Paan. Multicoloured benches on the approach pat...

Aligarh sits in western Uttar Pradesh - about 50 kms away from Firozabad ( associated with bangles ) and roughly same distance from Hathras ( famous for its hing ). Agra is roughly 100 kms further and Delhi 150.  The first quick impression of the town is that it retains a distinct character. As one moves one comes across the bustling, cramped and noisy lanes of the market area and a very different 'Civil Lines' part of the town. Like Banaras this is a town which takes its food seriously. Aligarh, of course, seems to have more options on offer. And, like Banaras, Aligarh is also on way to becoming a 'smart' city.  The windows here have a special feel! Walking the market area was fun. We came across ' Gajak ' being made - with help of large wooden hammers, a sweet by the name of ' Makhan Santra ', ground-nut being sold as ' Gujarati Singh ' and a lot more - including (very reasonably priced ) pottery from Khurja -  that fascinated. People too were ...