THE ENIGMA OF DEVPRAYAG

For hours together, I sat there...thoughtless...it was miraculous...to see the Bhagirathi meet the Alaknanda...Bhagirathi with full force and intensity getting absorbed into the calmness of Alaknanda...giving birth to the Ganga.

Its rightly said, you are never the same after the dip in the Ganga...how it happens...will always remain an enigma to me...

Take a ride on NH7 from Rishikesh and keep following the track of the Ganga up into the Himalayas, before she is known as the Ganga...and that might turn out to be the most powerful journey of your life...Know her as Mandakini...as Alaknanda...as Nandakini...as Pindar...as Bhagirathi...as Dhauliganga.

One post is not enough when I talk about the Ganga. Many more to come on this.

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ANTWERP CENTRAL STATION

As deep as I can peep into my past, I always sense very fond and nostalgic memories of railway stations. So many moments of childhood began and ended in railway stations. My love for railway stations continues and whenever I get a chance I don't miss a visit into a station to experience the magical energy of the mixed sound of thousands of fast moving footsteps and eager voices. European settings provide infinite moments to any traveler. Antwerp is no exception too. Like any other European city with a strong medieval connect, Antwerp owns its history and legends. While it may take pages to write about Antwerp, let me restrict this post to the first landmark of Antwerp, its getaway - its very own train station, the Antwerp Central, located in Koningin Astreidplein, in the heart of the city. The brainchild of King Leopold II and designed by Louis Delacenserie, Antwerp Central, with its stone clad structure and huge dome, has s...

THE CLASSIC RIVALRY OF OLD ZAGREB

We stood there absorbing the beautiful sunset that Old Zagreb, locally known as Gornji Grad, offered. The February evening was delightfully clear and presented a view to remember. In front of us, mingling with the red tiled roofs, dominated majestically the two famous monuments - the Zagreb Cathedral of Kaptol and the St. Mark's Church of Gradec...along with the bits and the pieces of the historic panorama of a thousand years. Few centuries back, during the medieval period, when the region was not known as Zagreb, existed two hill top settlements - the Kaptol and the Gradec, separated by the then existing rivulet Medvescak. The Kaptol housed the Cathedral and was the religious center while the Gradec was home to the merchants and the craftsmen. It took the two settlements centuries of bitter rivalry before prudence took over and they decided to unify during the nineteenth century, thus together becoming Zagreb. The reasons for this bitterness were many ranging from s...

LAKE TITISEE AND THE BLACK FOREST

Just about an hour's drive from the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen can take you to a different sort of forested mountain range...which dates back to the Roman era. Located in Germany's Baden-Wurttemberg and very close to the French border. and known locally as "Schwarzwald", this dark canopy of evergreen pines and firs block out most of the day light thus creating an almost dark effect within the forests. The cold fog adds to the aura making these almost eerily beautiful. Add to the setting, the well preserved medieval villages with their vineyards, waterfalls, hiking trails, castles and rivers. Not to forget that the Black Forest is the setting for Grim Brothers' Fairy Tales. The tale of Hansel and Gretel took shape here. So did the fables of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty...in these forests and castles around. At the heart of the Black Forest, sits cozily the largest natural lake of the region, with the name Titisee. With prehistoric glacial origin an...

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