The Magnificent Fort of Ramnagar.

 India has a very rich cultural heritage and history, which can be seen through numbers of forts and palaces present in our country. The forts, palaces and the architectural wonders are the immortal mark of the several dynasties and kings who have ruled India in the past. So, while travelling I never miss a chance to explore these architectural wonders. Here is a photo story from my visit to Ramnagar fort located in the state of Varanasi.

View from the Fort ground

Manin entrance of the Fort.

The Ramnagar Fort is located on the eastern bank of Ganga River opposite to tulsi ghat. It was built in the year 1750 in Mughal style of architecture by Kashi Naresh Raja Balwant Singh. The fort is the royal residence of the king of Varanasi since eighteenth century and currently the king of fort is Anant Narayan Singh.

Colorful Elephant on the entrance.

A balcony of the fort.

A beautifully carved Balcony.

The Buggy used by Kashi Naresh.

 The building is constructed with sandstone and has some very beautifully carved balconies, it also houses the Ved Vyasa temple, a museum and a Hanuman Temple. Only a part of structure is open for public and display and the rest of the residence is still used by the King's family as residence.
The museum which is also known as Saraswati Bhavan has got a collection of American Vintage cars, Ivory antiques, silver and gold made palkis.

End of the Fort.

View of the balcony.

The Veda Vyasa Temple.

How to reach the fort?

The fort is situated 14 kms from the main city of Varanasi, it is easily accessible using the Pontoon bridge available during the summers and winters. In the monsoon season one can take auto from BHU which takes around 20 minutes. You can also opt for a direct ferry service available from the ghats of Varanasi.

The Special Chinese Breakfast in Kolkata

The iconic Yellow taxis, Tram rides are a few things which always strikes your mind whenever it comes to the city of joy Kolkata. But wait, Kolkata is also a foodie's paradise and a true mecca for every street food lover. There is something very special for every foodie travelling to the city or trying to explore the city of joy, "The special Chinese Breakfast" served every morning at the Terreti Bazaar or The China Town located in the eastern part of the city. 

A Chinese breakfast stall.

A breakfast stall.

Some tasty steamed momos.

The breakfast is served on the streets by the people of the Chinese community and are literally very tasty and worth having. What makes this breakfast more special is its time of serving, the market starts at early morning 6 am and runs till 9 am. So while the half of city keeps sleeping you can have this amazing breakfast, a treat for every early morning person like me.

Some more steamed momos.

Another breakfast stall

Cheuan aunty serving breakfast.

I had a 2 minute conversation with Cheuan aunty who has been into this breakfast business since last 12 years.
There are also some vegetarian dishes served here, so no problem if you are a vegan. The must try items over here are Chicken and pork Momos and meat balls.

A monk having breakfast early morning.

But how is Kolkata connected to the Chinese community?

The area of Tangra is located in the eastern part of Kolkata about 5 kms from the main city. The area gets its name Chainatown as the large numbers of people staying here have their origin from China or eastern Asia. The area of Tangra which is the only Chinatown in the whole country has some of the best Chinese restaurants in the city and one can experience the old Chinese charm with the chinese temples and the cultural centres located here. This place gives you a true taste of Chinese culture in every sense. 

A visit to "Bharat Mata Temple".

Varanasi is said to have around 22000 temples, each and every temple is beautiful and has its own religious values. But of these large numbers, the most interesting temple I find was The Bharat Mata Temple which is one of its kind and the only temple dedicated to Bharat Mata in the country as per the people around there.

The sign booard on the entrance of the temple.

The Bharat Mata Temple is located inside the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus in Varanasi.
The whole temple is made of stone. It was built by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt and was inaugrated in the year 1936 by Mahatma Gandhi.

The main building of the temple.

I woke up a little early in the morning to visit the temple, as I thought there would be a long queue of devotees outside the temple premise as I met a day before while paying a visit to another famous temple. But to my surprise, I was the only person at that time inside or around the temple premises except a few security guards who were busy chatting among themselves.
The temple is very beautifully built around a large garden area and has some patriotic songs written on both the sides of the entrance door of the main hall.

Song written on the entrance door.

Songs written on both the sides of the door.

But the most interesting thing about the temple is the large marble structure which is a huge map of mother India carved in marble. Yes the map is of undivided India as the temple was constructed before partition. It very beautifully represents the plains,oceans and all the Himalayan ranges surrounding India .
A must see for everyone visiting Varanasi.

The monolith structure of undivided India.

The structure of  Mother India.

A potrait of Mother India inside the temple.

How to reach the temple ?

If you are travelling from BHU, the temple is 7 kms from there and you will easily find an auto for some 15 or 20 rupees. From Godowlia Chowk it is 3 kms and you can take auto or rickshaw from there. From Varanasi Cant Railway station its just 2 kms, you can either walk or take a rickshaw from there. 

The Mini Khajuraho of Varanasi.

Just a few meters walk from Dr. Rajendra Prasad ghat is situated the Lalita ghat. Along the stretch of the Lalita ghat just a few steps above is located a very old and beautiful temple of  Lord Shiva also know as Kanthwala Temple or mini Khajuraho. The temple was built in 1800 to 1804 by the then king of Nepal Rana Bahadur Shah. It is a very beautiful piece of construction which resembles the Nepali style of architecture. Because of the similar pagoda construction style, it is known as a replica of the Pashupati Shiva temple in Nepal. And yes the temple is looked after by Nepali sadhus so you will mostly find Nepali sadhus here, as all the religious people residing in the temple premises are Nepalis. I was also told about the dharamshala inside the temple premises which still belongs to the Nepal Government.

The main temple premise

The temple situated a few meters above the ghat's edge gives some of the most breathtaking views of the ghats and holy river Ganges. I did not find any heavy crowd of people or noise around except bird's chirping, so the environment inside the temple premise is very calm and peaceful. One can easily spend hours observing the beauty and silence around the magnificent temple.

A young boy on the temple door

A baba busy reading inside the temple premises

A Sadhu reading holy book

The most beautiful part of the temple is the exquisite wooden work that it exhibits on the walls and the pillars.

A bird carved on the wooden pillar

The upper portion of the door.

Beautiful wodden work on the temple door.

But why is it called The Mini Khajuraho ?

As I said earlier, this temple is also known as mini Khajuraho because the sculptures carved here are similar to the Khajuraho group of Monuments. Here you can have a glimpse of a few interesting sculptures in the pictures below.

Sculptures resembling Khajuraho monumetns.

Sculptures resembling Khajuraho monuments.

Next story coming soon..!

The Banarasi Paan and Thandai

Paan is basically our very own Indian mouth freshner made with beetle leaf, areca nuts and some other sweet spices. People prefer having it after meal to remove bad odour from mouth and sometimes tobacco is also added as an ingredient to consume it as a stimulant. The preparation of Paan totally depends upon the type of ingredients added into it.

Banarasi Paan in in the making.

But when it comes to the very famous Banarasi Paan which has proven its fame from the old Bollywood songs to the menu of top notch Indian weddings, we do not really need any introduction to define it.
And as I was in Varanasi last week for 3 days I tried many different varieties of Paans and had my mouth stuffed with the tasty Paan almost everytime I went out.

Preparation Of Banarasi Paan

Beetle Leaves kept in front of the shop.

My first experience of Banarasi paan was at Deepak Tambul Bhandar which is just after a few shops on the right side of Vishwanath Gali. This is a century old shop and it really served the tastiest Paan. And they also have a very particular style of serving it, they served with right hand, with left hand touching the elbow of right one which is the famous Nawabi style. 

Quite interesting

THE MAKING OF BANARASI THANDAI.

And yes of course Thandai is another must have drink from Varanasi. Thandai is a milk based drink mixed with crushed almonds and other dry fruits and finally served with a large scoop of malai over the top. 

Syrup of almonds and dried fruits

A little amount of Bhaang being mixed

This drink can also be consumed with bhaang (a paste prepared from the leaf of cannabis plant). 

If you really want to enjoy the drink, have it with a little amount of bhaang.

You will find many thandai shops around the main Godowlia chowk. I had my thandai at a shop named Badal Thandai which is run by Manoj Mishra whom you can see in the picture below serving freshly prepared thandai.

Thandai ready to be served.

This is the 3rd part of my travel story from Varanasi a lot more coming soon.

The Pahalwans of Tulsi Ghat.

The traditional style of mud wrestling or Kushti is an ancient sport of India and also the oldest sport in the world. I always had a wish to visit a traditional Akhara and witness a match of Kushti between the Pahalwans. So in my last trip I was lucky enough to visit the famous Akhara of Tulsi ghat where I got an opportunity to see some Pahalwans in action and also got a chance to interact with a few of them. 

Just after a very peaceful and serene early morning boat ride I started walking towards tulsi ghat which was about 10 minutes walk from the place where the boatman has dropped me. The Akhara is just situated a few steps up from the right side of ghat. As I entered the Akhara premise the first person I met was Sia Ram Ji who is 62 years old and he is the Ustad (Coach) and also the caretaker of the Akhara.

Sia Ram Ji oiling himself

I had a few minutes of conversation with Sia Ram Ji while he was tying up his Langot and oiling himself before stepping inside the Akhara. He said unlike the modern gym here in the Akhara every senior is a trainer to the junior Pahalwans and also he shared the importance of oil massage which every Pahalwan does before stepping inside the ring. Amidst all these conversations I saw the young Pahalwans working out in traditional style with mostly wooden exercise equipments and the experienced ones warming up and getting ready for the match.

A young Pahalwan Working out

A Pahalwan with wooden exercise equipment

Potrait of a Pahalwan

The match of Kushti starts.

Match in progress

Some more moves.

The Pahalwan showing some serious move.

A Pahalwan applying soil on the body of another Pahalwan.

During the Kushti match the pahalwans often applied soil on eachother's body so that they can get a better grip on their body while playing the wrestling moves. And yes the soil inside the ring is not just soil, it is mixed with ground neem, oil, turmeric and curd which makes them very therapeutic for the skin. 

The last move of the match

Meet Bhanu a Young and very skilled wrestler.

While I was busy taking some nice shots and enjoying the kushti match, Bhanu who has just came out of ring asked me if I can show him the photos I have clicked. I just smiled and passed him the camera. Bhanu saw his own photographs and said he has put on a lot of weight as he had left wrestling for 3 years. Bhanu runs a small shop and has started wrestling at the age of 15 and left when he was 17. Now again he has started practicing it. I saw Bhanu in the ring and he was one of the most skilled and strong wrestler I saw there.

Potrait of Bhanu Pahalwan.

This is the 2nd part of story from my recent trip to Varanasi a lot more coming soon.

Varanasi - The Mystical City

The city of Varanasi is an amalgamation of history, tradition, culture, art and faith. I have been to this city a few times before and every time it manages to surprise me with its rich aroma of faith. The city has got a lot of things to do for everyone around. It has got a lot of temples and old forts for history lovers and yes the city has its own kind of lip smacking street food for every food lover and how can i forget to mention the famous Banarasi Paan and Thandai. 

But the main attractions of the place are the numerous ghats and temples around. Just walking around the ghats and spending some time sitting and observing things and people around is one of the most beautiful thing one can do here, you can start your walk from the famous ghats stretching from Assi ghat to Manikarnika ghat.Trust me a walk around the ghats is a treat for those seeking solitude.

A man in deep medetetion on the ghats.

The stretch of beautiful ghats on the bank of river ganges.
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The ghats are surrounded by a labyrinth of narrow alleys, try walking around those alleys to experience how life runs at a regular pace in such narrow space. While walking there in those alleys you might feel like you re getting lost but don't worry they are somewhere connected to the main place. And yes while walking around these narrow lanes you can get some really nice subjects and objects to click pictures a true treat for photographers..!

An old man sitting on the door in the alleys.

While walking around the ghats you can see some sadhus and babas sitting on the river banks you can click some interesting potraits of them but only with their permission try having a conversation with them, they have a lot of interesting and inspiring stories to share.

A sadhu reading holy Book.

Potrait of a baba doing his make-up.

Potrait of  a Baba Smoking up.

And yes when in Varanasi you just cannot miss the early mornng boat ride on the river ganges and witness the most beautiful sunrise if you re lucky enough your boatman will sing for you like my boatman Sonu did.

Sonu busy rowing his boat and singing some nice songs.

This is the frist part of my Travel story on VARANASI a lot more coming soon.. !!