Usha's Odyssey

In our many visits to north India, one more visit we made was to Munsiyari. From Almora we went to Chakori, a govt. managed holiday spot. Chakori has individual cottages and separate building for meals. We all used to pull out our chairs to sit to gather and enjoy surrounding in the evening. After breakfast we left for Munsiyari. Munsiyari is a scenic hill station and gateway to the Johar Valley located at an elevation of roughly 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) in the Pithoragarh d

Simla 1st Visit. When my daughter was in first year of college, her friend whose family had moved to Chandigarh from Singapore invited Sonali to visit. We decided to make this family trip to Simla suggesting that she should also join us. We stayed at their home for two nights. Very friendly people. Her mother made sure to cook vegetarian food. This was my first visit to Chandigarh, designed by famous Swiss-French architect, La Corbusier. Our friend took us around to see the

Our first visit to Kabini was many years ago, when the establishment was small and life was simple. The rooms were built in a rectangular arrangement, and each morning a cup of tea or coffee would be placed outside our room. There was a peaceful atmosphere that made the stay particularly enjoyable. My memory is during very first stay it was a person who had retired from wildlife place close to Nepal His name was Colonel John Felix Wakefield, affectionately known as “Papa Joh

Our journey When my daughter left for USA for further studies, we first went to Nainital. We flew from Mumbai to Delhi by Plane. An Interesting Episode - On reaching Delhi we decided to travel by bus from Delhi to Nainital. There we met two German ladies travelling by the same bus. We tried to help them but they were familiar with where they were going, Ranikhet was the place where they had come to work at Hindu temple. So when we were travelling by car we stopped to meet the

Me and my husband went to Mussoorie along with my sister and two more of her friends. We all stayed at a bungalow owned by a lady from Mumbai. The present owner of Hotel Padmini Nivas is from Worah family (managed by Mrs. Harshada Worah), who purchased the heritage property in 1964 from Maharani Padmini Kuverba. Originally it was purchased as a summer family getaway, the property was converted into a family-run heritage hotel in 1979. The family-run hotel has not changed the

His Holiness the Dalai Lama The main attraction to go to Dharamshala was to be able to see him and hear his lectures. So after Palampur we came to Dharamshala. We two of us stayed in the city down below, in a private house probably owned by someone who had worked in Military. Our room was on ground floor. Garden around was colourful. There was a circular pond in the compound with rows of flowering greenery. Lovely birds use to come and sit there. Rest of the group had booked

We started our trip to Palampur. We flew to Chandigarh and took a taxi to Palampur. Palampur holds a special importance because it offers a perfect blend of unspoiled nature, slow-paced heritage, and soft adventure, without the typical commercial chaos of other hill stations. We passed through Yol Cantt (a prominent, historic military cantonment town) which sits directly on the primary highway connecting Dharamshala and Palampur. Our stay was planned to stay with a family w

In year 1984 we had gone to Shrinagar in Kashmir, for conference of Indian Society of Cardiology. The meeting was held on the edge of Dal lake at a convention centre, put up on a small patch of land projecting in the lake. Surrounding was beautiful. At the end of meeting, plan was to go to Ladakh. Along with us were my daughter and her friend - both around 16 years age. From Shrinagar we hired a local taxi to go to Leh. Sonmarg to Kargil On the first day we drove up to So

My Wanderings Around Mumbai My father was a solicitor by profession and also a freedom fighter. We lived in a suburb of Mumbai, and every weekend he would take the family out for an outing in the car. Two of our favourite destinations were the famous lakes, Vihar and Pawai lakes, which were not very far from where we lived. We went there very often. Along the road was a huge water pipeline which carried drinking water to Mumbai from Tansa Lake. The surroundings were very gree

Meghalaya is a state in northeast India, with Shillong as its capital city. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: the united Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, and the Garo Hills. The estimated population of Meghalaya in 2014 was 3,211,474. Meghalaya is a beautiful state in northeast India known as the "abode of clouds,”. Shillong as its capital, Cherrapunji as one of the wettest places, and amazing living root bridges. I s

We were in Jabalpur for a Cardiology meeting. We stayed with a family who knew my husband. It is generally accepted that the game of snooker originated in Jabalpur. The game of snooker was invented in 1875 at the Officers' Mess in the Nerbudda Club in Jubbulpore (now Jabalpur), India. The game was conceived by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, a British Army officer. While stationed in Jabalpur, he began experimenting with a popular cue game called "black pool" by adding colo

Some years ago, we decided to go on a temple tour starting from Chennai. As we travelled along the coast, the journey itself became part of the experience. The humid sea air accompanied us throughout the drive, while coconut groves swayed gently beside the road. Across the flat landscape, huge temple towers would suddenly rise into view, their silhouettes visible from far away. We passed salt pans shimmering in the sunlight, quiet beaches touched by the waves of the Bay of Be

My association with Narmada river goes a long way back - when I heard from my parents that after his marriage his father ( My Grandfather ) took them for a holiday for their wedding along the Narmada river along Satpura hills till they reached some water falls. I am very surprised to hear this as they were teenagers when they got married. The Narmada River is very special geologically. The Narmada flows through what is called the Narmada Rift Valley , a long depression in

There are several caves all over India. Scattered in many places. But the foremost that comes to my mind are Ajanta & Ellora caves. Popularly these caves are considered to be made in Memory of Gautam Buddha. Another Buddhist cave that is popular and easy to access is Karla Caves. Just across the railway tracks near Karla caves there are a few more small caves. My first visit to the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves was with my father and the whole family. At that time, I did not

When we reached Jaisalmer, we checked into a hotel and rested after the journey. The next morning, we set out to wander through the old city. As we walked through its narrow lanes, we came across the marvellously carved havelis—each one more intricate than the last. The delicate stonework, almost lace-like, seemed impossible to achieve by hand, yet there it was, glowing golden in the desert sunlight. While exploring, we struck up a conversation with a local artisan. He told u

Shekhawati is not just a region—it feels like an open-air gallery. The towns like Mandawa and Nawalgarh are filled with old havelis, their walls painted with stories—mythology, British-era influences, daily life. Even if one doesn’t understand every detail, there is a quiet richness in simply walking those streets. What made our visit truly unique is that it coincided with the Total Solar Eclipse of October 24, 1995. The painted walls of Shekhawati tell stories of the past, b

I had heard about visit to Little Rann of Kutch from a friend. He gave me contact number and I decided to go there for 3 days. It is not far from Ahmedabad. Once when travelling in northern Gujarat I met a group of school children - when I asked they told me that they were from Zinzuwada. And that name remained with me. Surprisingly when we went, I found Zinzuwada was just adjoining this Ran. We went to this place with friends for 3 nights. We had to make reservation throug

Once my husband who is a Cardiologist was invited to give a lecture at Bijapur Medical college. To get there we went by train to Sholapur. On reaching we spent sometime in the market. Than we took a taxi to drive to Bijapur. This memory evoked my mind to think of all that we saw in Bijapur and places we visited from there onwards. Bijapur is in northern Karnataka, on the Deccan plateau. His lecture was held at a Medical college on the out skirts of the town. Next day we wen

Most people go to Bhutan by flying by Airoplane from New Delhi to Paro. But in our case we flew to Bagdodra via Calcutta. We had decided to go by road, a long journey but we travelled by a very comfortable SUV and were very happy. In those days Mobile phones perhaps were not there. So we made a booking by a phone with a travel agent recommended by a friend. Communication was very poor. We saw two luxirious Innova SUV waiting for us at the airport and were very happy. We all f

Lakshadweep A group of islands off the Malabar Coast of south-western India, constituting a Union Territory in India, capital, Kavaratti. The group consists of the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands. In 1982 we had gone to Bangaram, an Island Of Lakshdweep. It is at the level of Cochin. The island's beach resort opened in 1974, and as the Agatti Aerodrome was completed it became more accessible to tourists. The Indian government is also pushing tourism on the island, w