The Birds and Beasts of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

 Keoladeo National Park, better known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, the former host of the Siberian Crane (the last of which came in 2001) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a joy for bird watchers.

There are two ways to visit Bharatpur. You can either visit it on your way back to Delhi from Agra; Bharatpur is 55 kms from Agra and about 185kms from Delhi, or you could just go to Bharatpur directly, and spend the weekend birdwatching and visiting nearby palaces and museums. You are not going to have any issues staying because both sides of the road, leading to the Bird Sanctuary is lined up with private hotels, with the RTDC hotel bang at the crossroads. There is also a tourist lodge (Hotel Bharatpur Ashok) inside the national park maintained by Indian Tourism Development Corporation Limited.

Coming to the main attraction- the Keoladeo National Park, more commonly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a delight for not just bird watchers, but for anyone who loves nature. The park has an area of about 30 sq. km and is the home of many species of not only birds, but fishes, reptiles (snakes and lizards) and mammals. There are deer, hyenas as well as wild boars inside the sanctuary. 

Hyena

Wild Boar

The rickshawwallas double up as guides, showing the different species of birds and beasts, and there are also forest guides ready to accompany you with binoculars for better bird watching. You can also rent a bicycle and go on your merry way because the routes are well defined, and there is no way you can get last.

I went both early at dawn, and then again in the evening. And I would firmly recommend you to go as early in the morning as possible. You get to see way more birds and animals.

Bharatpur Killa (as seen from the entrance)

There are also the lesser known palace (Bharatpur Killa) and museum that houses antique weapons, everyday items and sculptors among other things, and is a wonderful place to hang out under the warm winter sun.

All in all, if you love taking strolls without the hassle of traffic, if you enjoy letting your imagination run free in the backdrop of nature and if you find peace in the heart of wilderness, this UNESCO World Heritage site is a must visit. And if you live in Delhi, any regular weekend during the winters is all the time you need to explore this tiny town and its wonderful bird paradise.   

Falcon

Migratory bird

An Afternoon Exploring Shahpur Jat Village

I love exploring new places. And I think of food incessantly. If you combine the two, you can well imagine my happiness level. Today was one such happy day.

I had woken up relatively early to do piled up college work, and suddenly found myself making plans with a friend to go out and explore some new part of the city. As is always the case with me, I soon started looking at places on Zomato and after a while decided to visit Shahpur Jat. Soon, from two, we doubled up, and four of us planned to visit the urban village for lunch.

So, we reached Shahpur Jat at around 1:30, and started looking around. In the beginning, it looks like any other market of any other residential colony of Delhi. There was the usual hustle bustle of children returning from school, along with the cacophony of street vendors and shop keepers. We roamed around aimlessly for a while, and then asked for directions to go to the village which houses boutiques and cafes. 

After about 10 minutes of walking, we reached our destination, gawking at the windows of the high end boutiques and looking at different restaurants. 

First up in our list was Scribblers Cafe, which was at the first floor of a building complex and has an urban cafe look. They had both outdoors and indoors seating. And though the cafe is tiny, it looks very well kept. 

Being the ardent non-vegetarians that we are, we ordered a chicken Shepherd's pie, a grilled chicken breast in mushroom sauce and a lasagna, along with cold coffee with ice-cream and kulfi shake.

The food was pretty good. I loved the chicken in mushroom sauce the best.

Chicken Sheperd's Pie

Grilled Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
 

Lasagna

 But the portions were pretty small, and since we wanted to explore more, we kept roaming around, and finally reached the Old Town Cafe to fulfill our dessert cravings.

We had cupcakes and waffles in this quaint cafe, which had a really cute decor.

We hadn't done exploring yet, and we kept checking out the high end shops, that sell everything from scarves to wedding gowns. The last store we hit was the Wishing Chair, which is a very beautiful store that has creatively designed everyday items, such a coasters made up of keys. 

The store also holds bi-monthly craft workshops Sunday afternoons. It was pretty impressive. We oohed and aahed at the beautiful, albeit expensive items and then sat down for our evening cuppa.

We ended out journey with hot chocolate, which tasted totally unique because of cinnamon and some other secret ingredient and Earl Grey.

All in all, it was an amazing day well spent. I wouldn't like to return to Shahpur Jat again, mainly because there are so many places to visit in Delhi, but it's a must one time visit place.

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I'm Undefined

I am unwritten, (you) can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

- Natasha Bedingfield

It is safe to say that India is a vastly diverse nation. And with this diversity comes the bane of stereotyping. One of the first questions that you are asked  by any new person you meet is where you come from. Depending on the answer to that question are a basic set of follow-up questions and comments. 

Since I am a Bengali, my answer evokes a "Oh, Rosogolla" or "Maach-Baat" remark in most cases. So, today, inspired by the Gillete Venus : #UseYourAnd, I want to clarify, for once and for all, who I really am.

Who I am is not the stereotype you have created in your minds about every Bengali speaking girl. I am not meant to be put in a box labelled rosogolla-loving, fish-eating, rabindrasangeet-singing girl the moment the word Bengal leaves my lips.

Because, I don't just love rosgollas, I love gulab jamuns and peethas and kaju barfis too. Sure, I love fish, but I eat butter chicken with equal gusto. I can hum rabindrasangeet and Sinatra and Beatles and Cyndi Lauper and Katy Perry. I can cook aloo posto and chilly chicken and chocolate mud cake. I love to travel, meet new people, absorb new culture and learn new ways of life. And I do not label people beforehand. 

It's true that a person's background does play a significant role in forming a person's lifestyle, but that in no way defines a person's potential. I love books and dressing up and cooking foreign cuisines and travel to distant lands and creative do-it-yourself projects and making elaborate lists and listening to music and penning my thoughts down and sending old fashioned letters using the post office. And the list is endless. A couple of years down the line, I might pick up a new hobby, a new area of interest; the possibilities are infinite. 

I don't think anybody can or should try to define another person on the basis of their language, religion, job, caste etc. I am as unique as anybody else, with as much complexity as I can muster, and all you can do is try to know me, without putting a label on me.

“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.

Theme- Things That Define Me.

Land of the Kings- Rajasthan!

 My customary year end family trip in December 2013 was a road trip through most of Rajasthan. 

I took  a train to Jaisalmer, and then from there till Jaipur was a bliss of a raodtrip. The roads in Rajasthan are the best, period. Our car would go an an average of more than 80km/hr, and we won't feel a bumb, that's how amazing the roads are. 

The first two days were spend in Jaisalmer, exploring the dunes till sunset and witnessing the tradition dance and folksong performances, along with Rajasthani cuisine for dinner on the first day, and the Golden Fort on the second. I would recommend not to take a guide, and just explore the fort at your own pace. Sip coffee at a cafe overlooking the city, browse through the shops, or just plain bask in the sun, but do not let anyone rush you. You can get audio guides, that are pretty comprehensive, if you like. From Jaisalmer, we drove via Jodhpur and Udaipur to Jaipur, hitting all the famous tourist spots in each city.

 We took a couple of detours, one to Ranakpur, which is on the way from Jodhpur to Udaipur, and it a beautiful sight to behold. The artwork and the carvings in the walls and the roof is intricately done, with the finest craftmenship. I would highly recommend this place. And it's so peaceful!

The second detour was to Haldighati. The actual place just has a museum, but being history buffs, we went around the town, and saw Chetak's burial ground (Maharana Pratap's horse) and apparently the two hills that Chetak had jumped over to save Maharana's life.

I would be happy to answer specific queries, if any, since I am not going into the nitty gritties of the entire tour.  

Why everybody should watch St. Vincent

After a long, long time, I finally saw a movie that moved me to tears. Surprisingly, it wasn't about Nazi atrocities, genocide, community oppression, or Jack dying (that one always makes everyone cry), but about a bitter old man, who finds a second chance at happiness.

The plot is very simple, yet it captures emotions beautifully. We meet a rigid old man, set in his ways consisting of drinking, smoking, gambling and meeting up with a pregnant prostitute every Tuesdays. Enter a single mom with a young boy, who has a hard time adjusting in the new school. The boy and the old man get to spend more time together, and we follow the gradual growth in their relationship and how they let each other in. A lot of other amazing, funny things happen in this course, but I think I will leave them for you to watch and discover.

Why I think people should watch movies like St. Vincent is because you see profound emotions being captured in a very understated manner. And frankly, after watching loud, in your face Bollywood movies like Happy New Year, Bang Bang and even Haider, for that matter, subtle movies with a lot of undercurrents is pure joy. Most importantly, you see real human emotions in the movie- someone who is so wrapped up in her own misery, she can't see anything else around, someone who is at the end of the rope, and the things he does in his desperation, unlikely friendships with bullies, and a ray of hope in an otherwise dire situation.

Enough said, watch it and prepare to be moved.

Old Forts, Filter Coffee and Farewells! ( Epic December #1)

December 2014 has been full of bittersweet moments! Too much fun, and too many goodbyes!
And I won't be able to do justice if I try to cram them all up in a single post. Yes, it was that epic! :)
So, I will try to break it down to make more sense of the awesomeness.

Have you noticed how when you know things are going to change, you try your best to hold on to the current situation? And no matter how bad it has been, you still want it and know you will miss it.
Goodbyes are hard. And I have had to bid farewell to so many people, and will continue to do so for the next couple of days too, that it's not even funny. It's bad enough that a larger proportion of my close friends live hundreds of miles away, now I have to send the few who didn't away too!

But to lessen the sting a little, we have been hanging out a lot! And having a lot of coffee. Filter and otherwise.

And what awesome filter coffee it is! Basically we have been trying to make up for all the time lost, due to exams and submission deadlines and assignments and laziness!

We went to Purana Qilla. And had a fun afternoon! Monuments that stand the test of time makes you wonder about the generations that have been there before you; the battles fought and the lives lost to capture a piece of property, no matter how magnificent.

It makes you think of the people who inhabited these places, and their living conditions. And how beautiful it must have been!

I made some very good memories these last few days. And spoke to people who have been in my college for the last one and a half years for the first too!

We sang, and we danced, and we ate good food, and we had good conversations. And the reason we had all that is because we will all be leaving. Most of us will never meet, a few maybe a couple of times a year, and if we are very fortunate, some of us might just end up in the same city. But it's the uncertainties in life that make it so interesting, and heartbreaking at the same time.

I know I came to Delhi to be in the same city with a couple of people who I considered the forever kind. And in these last few months I have realized I am never going to take any decision depending on where my friends live. It's a good thing I love what I am doing right now, or I would seriously regretted my love to the capital. But, keeping aside the lesson learnt, I am going to miss my TERI Non-Econ people, who are all going away!

And I wish I travel more in 2015 and meet 'em all again!