An outlook at Purna Kumbh Mela at Haridwar. The shots were taken during the Pratham Shahi Snan (1st Royal Bath) which took place on 12th Feb 2010.

The largest of the “Cat Family” and presently the most endangered species amongst the big cat, the Tiger is what we are going to explore about.

There were originally eight subspecies of tiger, the Javan, the Bali, the Caspian, the Indochinese, the Sumatran, the Bengal, the Siberian, and the South China tiger, The South China tiger being the antecedent of all tigers. And can you imagine that three of the eight subspecies are now extinct. The Bali tiger met its demise in the 1940′s, the Caspian in the 1970′s and the Javan in the 1980′s. Yes, its sad reality. Of theremaining tiger subspecies the South China tiger is the most critically endangered with only around sixty living in Chinese zoos and approximately twenty in the wild (although none have been spotted for over twenty years). This puts this subspecies at the very top of the endangered species list. >> Read more…

Araku Valley is a famous hill station and a Mandal in Visakhapatnam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located 115 km from Vishakhapatnam, close to the Orissa state border. This place lures people with pleasant weather, hills and valleys. The natural beauty of this valley comes alive with its rich landscape. The locals are mostly tribal are quite friendly and their villages around green valleys offer excellent opportunity for trekkers and holiday seekers. The area of the valley is roughly 36 km², and the altitude is between 600 and 900 meters above sea level, the average elevation of the place being 911 meters (2992 feet). The place is located in the Western Ghats and the local people are mostly tribals and the place also offers a Tribal Museum which also deserves visit. >> Read more…

Tajpur, the untouched beauty and latest addition of travel spot in West Bengal is located in East Midnapur, almost 180 kms away from Kolkata. It is one of the most natural beaches in India. Tajpur is situated on the Kolkata – Digha route and just 5 Km from Chaulkhola (way to Mandarmoni – another virgin beach in West Bengal) and surrounded by beautiful water body and forest. It is one of Bengal’s recently discovered tourist destination that lies close to Digha and Shankarpur. It is one of Bengal’s recently discovered tourist destination that lies close to ever-popular Digha and Shankarpur. This beach is slowly becoming popular among the tourists, although the beach here is usually exposed only when the tide ebbs. The casuarina trees, kissed by the gentle breeze at Tajpur are a soothing sight. The exotic beach fringed with a dense forest of tamarisk trees are bonus here. A one km walk will take you to a lagoon with really breathtaking surroundings. >> Read more…

Haridwar is the gateway to the four pilgrimages of Uttarakhand. It is also the starting point on the journey to the sacred sources of the Ganga and the Yamuna Rivers. Associated with both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishn, Haridwar is among the seven sacred cities of India.

According to legend, Prince Bhagirath performed penance here to salvage the souls of his ancestors who had perished due to Sage Kapila’s curse. The penance was answered and the river Ganga trickled for the from Lord Shiva’s locks and its bountiful water revived the sons of King Sagara. In the tradition of Bhagirath, devout Hindus stand in the sacred waters here, praying for the salvation of their ancestors. Haridwar is the kaleidoscope of blissful Indian culture and is also termed as ‘Gateways to Gods’; it is also known as Mayapuri, Kapila as well as Gangadwar. The followers of Lord Shiva (Har) and followers of Lord Vishnu (Hari) pronounce this place as Hardwar and Haridwar respectively. >> Read more…

The sanctuary with an area of 237.27 sq. km. came into existence in the year 1984. It lies on Raipur – Deobhog state highway on Chhattisgarh – Orissa state border at an elevation of 320 to 370 MSL and at a longitutde of 82.32′E to 82.0′E and latitude 20.0′N to 20.15′N. the temperature ranges from 7 degree Celsius to 40 degree Celsius maximum. Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary derives its name from the river flowing from west to east throughout the sanctuary. The topography of the area is a broken mass of land traversed by innumerable hill ranges intercepted by strips of plains. The river divides the sanctuary into almost equal halves of well forested area of south-easter Raipur district. >> Read more…

Researcher Richard Gross and his colleagues at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California calculated that Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude quake could have cut 1.26 microseconds off the length of a day.

The BBC and other major media reports revealed that according to Richard Gross, the Earthquake that hit Chile, Saturday on 27th February,2010 has brought about some permanent changes in the geography of the earth.Richard Gross, a geophysicist working with the NASA, has reported that the  effects of the Chile earthquake are being compared to those that had been brought about by the earthquake that had struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, back in 2004. Strangely enough, measuring at 9.1 in the Richter Scale, that quake had been far greater in magnitude than the one that struck Chile. However, the effects of the recent quake on the earth have been far greater.

The Sumatra earthquake had caused a noticeable shift in the tectonic plates of the earth, causing a distinct transformation in the geography. It had also caused the earth’s axis to shift about 7cms, a little less than the Chile earthquake, which caused an 8cm shift in the earth’s axis. Moreover, the earthquake has also resulted in an increase of the velocity of the rotation of the earth. Consequently, the length of each day has also shortened a little, by about 1.26 millionth of a second.

Richard Gross explains that the shift in the earth’s axis and the change in speed caused by the Chile earthquake occurred as it had been a thrust earthquake, casing one plate to shift under the other. The calculations were done by Richard Gross in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the NASA, in which he took the help of a complicated mathematical model. However, the calculations cannot be taken to be perfect, as so far, the scientists can only measure the speed of the earth’s rotation to about 1/20th of a second.

Here goes contact details of some of the Dharamshalas between Tulsi Chowk to Laltarao Bridge. STD Code of Haridwar is 0133. Click on the title to get the details.

Sargodha Dharamshala, Mayapur, Haridwar – 228455
Ganga Nilayan Ateetih Bhavan – 227766
Leela Yatri Bhavan – 225052
Sindhi Dharamshala – 226641
Sadhu Ram Maadiwala Dharamshala – 226710 >> Read more…

Chilka lake is the largest salt water coastal lagoon in Asia and 2nd largest in world. This lake is spread in the eastern coastal area India in three districts of Orissa state namely Puri, Ganjam & Khurda. Chilka is the largest watering ground in the Indian Sub-continent for the migratory birds which flock here each December-January during winter. This lake is a home to a large number of endangered species of animals, birds and plants. This 1100 sq km spread lake has a unique ecosystem with a range of aquatic flora and fauna found in and around its brackish waters with large fisheries and the livelihood of about 150000 fishermen living in 132 villages of the coastal islands depends on Chilka lake. This pear shaped lake consists of several islands namely Badakuda, Honeymoon, Kalijai Hill, Kanthapantha, Krushnaprasadrah (Old Parikuda), Nalabana, Nuapara and Sanakuda. One of the beautiful islands of Chilka Lake is the Nalbana islands. Chilka Lake is one of the best bird watching spots in India, and is also popular for fishing and angling.
>> Read more…

River Rafting
This leisure sport gained its recognition in the year 1970 when it was included in the Munich Olympic Games . But it was first journalized by the Lieutenant John Fremont of the U.S. Army in on the Platte River in 1842.

Teesta or Tista River starts flowing from the state of Sikkim after being originated from Cholamo Lake at an elevation of 5,330 m. Said as Teesta Khola in Nepali, it is often refered to as the lifeline of Sikkim. This green river after being joined by River Rangit forms the boundary between the states of Sikkim and West Bengal. Rangit on the other hand originates in the Himalayan mountains in West Sikkim district. Being perennial river, it is fed by the melting snow of the Himalayas in early summer, and the monsoon rains in July-August. At Teesta Suspension Bridge, which joins Kalimpong with Darjeeling, Teesta river is met by its the said Rangeet River, its main tributary,. At this point, it changes course southwards flowing entirely into West Bengal. The river hits the plains at Sevoke, where it is spanned by the Coronation Bridge which links the north east states to the rest of India. The river then courses its way to Jalpaiguri and then to Rangpur District of Bangladesh, before finally merging with the mighty Brahmaputra at Fulchori. >> Read more…

Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the sorrounding areas of Lake Mansarovar in Western part of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Indus river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and then enters Northern Areas (Gilgit-Baltistan) of Pakistan. The river, locally known as the Singhe Khababs (out of Lion’s mouth), while flowing into Pakistan joins Shayok and Suru to become major historical Indus River.

Water levels remain high during the month June to late August, which is the best season for fascinating rafting expeditions. White Water Rafting on Indus provides spectacular view of the landscapes of Ladakh and Zanskar ranges which housed Buddhist monasteries on high cliff. Rafting on Indus can be undertaken for one to five days. >> Read more…

Though it was my third trip to the Corbett Park , the charm and excitement has not lessened at all from my previous trips. May be because of the fact that the wildlife here possesses a hypnotic charisma and charm or may be the lust to explore wilderness will keep we human being’s driven forever. Add the fact that Corbett’s wildlife does contains an extra bit of unpredictability. You never know what you are going to see in the next 50 meters. >> Read more…

A Bengali news daily reported today that the Tiger census is going to get its start after many hiccups from 4th of March. Modern techniques of collection of DNA rather than pugmark process are being adopted this time. The teams consisting of forest workers, experts and ngo’s will start collecting of Tiger’s hairs, biological extracts etc and they will be sent to to Hyderabad’s National Testing Laboratory. The Laboratory will then after analyzing the DNA’s will give their report. The estimated time for publishing this report is 1 year. Though the 2006 report has been stalled on the ground that the census quoted existence of 274 Tigers whereas Indian Statistical Institutes’s study revealed the figure will be under 80. Ultimately, Govt. decided to stall the report. >> Read more…

Bakkhali is a small beautiful tourist spot situated on the seashore of Bay of Bengal in south 24 Parganas District of West Bengal. Bakkhali is a popular as week-end tourist spot. It is approximately 132 kms away from Kolkata. The sea beach in Bakkhali is very calm and quiet with gently rolling waves which attracts the peaceful minded tourists. This beach is one of the two beaches situated in West Bengal. The beach is about 7 kms long from Bakkhali to Frasergunj. Except during the week-ends and holidays, the tourist gatherings is in small scale in this spot. The beach here is hard which is suitable for cycling and driving. One can reach Frasergunj from Bakkhali by a long walk of 7 kms through beautiful beach of silver sand. Bakkhali is a spectacular seaside tourist spot with Casurina groves lined up creating panoramic views and is famous for its sunset. It is situated on one of the detaic islands spread across the Southern Bengal with most of the islands situated in Sunderbans. The numerous Red Fiddler Crabs crawling on the beach makes the beach area look red and vanish into their holes as you go near them.. >> Read more…

Well, to start with, lets look into the definitions of Rafting and its evolution. Wiki says “A raft is any structure, with a flat top, that floats on water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Instead, rafts are kept afloat using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers.”

Traditional or primitive rafts are constructed of wood or reeds. Modern rafts may also use pontoons, drums, or extruded polystyrene blocks. Inflatable rafts use durable, multi-layered rubberized fabrics. Depending on its use and size, it may have a superstructure, masts, or rudders. >> Read more…

After the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference for the first time, the UN climate chief, Yvo de Boer, noted that the talks in the Danish capital achieved three key things on which the international community needed to build on at the next set of negotiations in Mexico.

“It is fair to say that Copenhagen didn’t produce the full agreement the world needs to address the collective climate challenge,” de Boer said >> Read more…