Of Hoops and Flames

Of Hoops and Flames

In the middle of the night, a train is blaring its horns, announcing its arrival at a wayside station. A man, casually walks across the tracks and takes position on a tiny pedestal. In his hand, a blazing torch and a hoop of wire with a pouch that contains a metallic ball. He then waits for the train to come straight at him. He is…

Last Stand of the Lower Quadrants

Last Stand of the Lower Quadrants

Tucked away in a corner of the Punjab, lies a nondescript town named Dhuri. If you ask the locals, they claim that famous movie-star Dharmendra, spent his youth working there. The Indian Railways however, has a habit of attaching great importance to nondescript towns. Dhuri, for them is an extremely important junction. Four lines radiate – north towards Ludhiana, east towards Patiala, south towards Jind…

In search of the Ghost Cat

In search of the Ghost Cat

Nearly twenty years ago, a teenage climber sat on a ledge overlooking a gorge in the Pir Panjal mountains. He saw a couple of Bharal grazing on the cliff face across the gorge. The sun was low, the weather crisp and a hot meal waited back at the camp. All was well with the world, when hell broke loose. The  Bharal started running helter skelter,…

Ghost Cat Diaries

Ghost Cat Diaries

Continued from…. They say well prepared is half done. And prepare we did for this trip. After all, we were going to a place where the slightest mistake could kill us. The roads would be some of the world’s most dangerous. We would be walking in knee deep snow or along precarious ledges. All of this when daytime temperatures would be below freezing, and at…

The Terai Trains

The Terai Trains

“Almost every other week, one of the station staff sees a tiger around here. Occasionally, a leopard. Elephants, well in summer, they cross near the home signal in hordes!” That was the station master at Dudhwa introducing his station to us. Not that we were expecting any less at a station located smack in the middle of a national park. I for one, was secretly…

Tale of Two Kingdoms – Redux

Tale of Two Kingdoms – Redux

The fabled land of Rajasthan was actually a collection of princely states. Chief among them were the states of Mewar and Marwar, with their seats at Udaipur and Jodhpur respectively. From the late 19th century itself, Marwar was served by the Rajputana – Malwa railway, with lines extending from Ajmer to Delhi, Indore and Ahmedabad, and a branch to Jodhpur via Marwar Jn. Mewar. The…

The Dhoulpur State Railway

The Dhoulpur State Railway

In a tiny spit of Rajasthan – sandwiched between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, lies the town of Dhoulpur. Once a not very significant princely state, the Dhoulpur Maharajas still managed to build their own railway network. Chiefly to transport the state’s main export – the famous Dhouplur stone. For those who don’t know what that is, think – The Rashtrapati Bhawan, The India Gate…

To Digpa Ratsa Ri

To Digpa Ratsa Ri

Sometimes, it just comes together. Months of planning, researching and preparing pays off. We were given the opportunity to spend some time at one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world – The IAO in Hanle, Ladakh. The following video is a selection of time-lapse sequences capturing the skies above Hanle, and some other locations elsewhere in Ladakh. Enjoy in full 4K resolution if…

Jewels in the Dust

Jewels in the Dust

On an unassuming street in dusty Junagadh, lie two of India’s least celebrated architectural marvels. The Mahabat Maqbara (mausoleum) and the adjoining tomb of Bahar-ud-din Bhar are two unusually stunning structures. The former is the tomb of Nawab Mahabat Khan II of Junagadh – a distinctly Islamic building with European flourishes. The Nawabs of Junagadh were staunch supporters of the British and had a taste…

Dharakhoh

Dharakhoh

There is a place on this planet which you probably would have never heard of, had you not been reading this post. Chances are, that after reading this post you will forget about it and get on with your lives again. But that is not the point, in fact there IS no point. It just so happens that it is there. You probably won’t get…