The Satpura Railway was among the world’s greatest Narrow Gauge (2’6″) railway systems. Commissioned under the aegis of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway (BNR), the system comprised more than a 1000 km of line stretching from Nagpur in the west, to Jabalpur (Jubbulpore) toward the North and Chandrapur (Chanda) in the south, covering large parts of present day Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In the late 1990s, the…
Dances in the mountains
“Julley ji! Aaj aap bahut achhe time pe aaye. Aaj hamara bahut achcha festival hai.” With his bright smile, Tashi leads us up the narrow lanes of Demul – a tiny village, high above the Spiti Valley. It is summer in the Himalayas, and Demul is celebrating the Namkhan, its annual harvest festival. The whole village is gearing up for festivities, and ready to welcome…
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,…
Riding the Sri Lankan Railways
Early in 2017, I visited Sri Lanka with a friend. Apart from checking out major tourist attractions on the East and South coast, we also made it a point to ride as many trains in Sri Lanka as we could. Not only were they a cost effective mode of transport, they also allowed us to explore the country’s natural beauty from the comfort of our…
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…
The little trains to nowhere
Over the last decade or so, India has accelerated the pace of replacing its narrow and meter gauge railways with the bigger, faster broad gauge. While the socio-economic benefits of the broad gauge are many, its arrival has ended the era of the slow, leisurely travel – the kind that a few hopeless romantics like me still yearn for. Travelling on these lines meant taking…
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
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…
The Ghost of Telan Pacheri
Deep in the heart of Ranthambhore, lies Telan Pacheri. A dark, wooded part of the forest surrounded by towering cliffs, under the shadow of a 1000 year old fort. Three paths, two that come down the cliffs and a third that leads deeper into the forest meet here. Rocks, banyan wines and the occasional cacti make visibility extremely difficult. In the many years that I…
Who needs a beach?
It’s 8 AM on a steamy March morning at Madgaon Railway Station. Taxi drivers and tourist ‘guides’ are falling head over heels, trying to peddle their beach properties. We make our way through the melee and manage to reach the Pre-paid taxi counter only to be met with a strange question – Why on earth do we tourists want to Aldona? As it happens, Aldona…