Diwali - Love it or Hate it but you Can't Ignore it (contd...)

Continuing with my previous blog post here is a small video of the fireworks - sometimes it looks and sounds like a war.



And just after a couple of hours it leads to pollution levels rising to an unbearable proportions.

Diwali - Love it or Hate it but you Can't Ignore it

Houses Lit during Diwali

What I like during Diwali is the lighting done in residential and commercial areas. What specifically I don't like during Diwali time is the traffic chaos on all roads starting a few days before Diwali, and the chaos building up closer to this festival.

Another View of the lighting during Diwali

There are other festivals around Diwali time like Dhanteras and Bhaiya Duj which lead to more festivities and more chaos!

Lakhamandal- An Architectural Delight

Lakhamandal is a small place in Uttrakhand where  a temple of Nagara style was built in the 12th -13th Century AD and is devoted to the Indian god Shiva.

The Shiva Temple at Lakhamandal

 A large number of sculptures and architectural remains are also spread in the nearby area though only this temple has survived. 

Another view of the same temple

The Archeological Survey of India has unearthed several lingams (phallus) of various sizes indicating that this was an important site about 800 years back.

A sculpture at Lakhamandal

The place also has mythological importance and it is believed by many that a palace was built of 'Lakh' (shellac) to kill the Pandavas.

The Village of Lakhamandal with the temple in the background

The place also houses a museum which has recently been opened but is not very well maintained.There are for example no details mentioned about the period of the sculpture or any other detail. It was also not very well lit inside.

 

A typical house in the Village of Lakhamandal

Little windows in the houses!

Lakhamandal is approximately 45 kms if you are coming from Chakrata side. Incidentally, once I had crossed Chakrata town I did not see another vehicle till I reached this place. So one has to be sure that your vehicle is in good shape and the petrol tank is full. The road, though metalled, is not in very good shape. And though there are several villages enroute, surprisingly, there is no bus service in this part of Uttarakhand. Compared to this one can get a state road transport corporation bus in almost all remote areas of Himachal.

This Can Happen Only in India

Recently I was travelling from Chakrata in Uttrakhand towards Kharapathar in Himachal and I stopped for tea at a small tea shop in a small village Kwasi, in the Mandi Parishad of Uttrakhand (also known as Uttranchal).

What I saw there was a foundation stone inaugrated by the Agriculture Minster of the Uttrakhand State about the ropeway from Kwasi to Banyana and Khatua villages.

Foundation Stone of a Ropeway

Next to it I saw the ropeway but it was being used by the locals as a clothesline to hang their clothes to dry. I went near it and found that there was no machinery inside.

The Ropeway without the Machinery!

On making further enquires I was told that though a few years back the machinery was installed and the ropeway was functional but only for two months after which the machinery got stolen! How can this happen without the connivance of the local government officials and a few locals as the machinery is huge and one cannot be just put in one's pocket and walk away.

A 'Green' Snake

A 'Snake'

I saw this lovely plant which almost looked, at the first glance, like a snake about to strike at something. This was while I was trekking from Kharapathar towards Giri Ganga (a place which is supposedly the source of the river by the same name originating near Kuppar peak. Later on the river merges in the Yamuna river.

Cliff Swallow at Chakrata

Recently when I was trekking from Chakrata town (Chakrata is in Uttrakhand state of India) to the Tiger Falls, a distance of approximately 12 kms (to and fro) I stopped at a tea stall (the only one on the route) I saw this mud structure hanging from the walls of the shop and I thought that may be it is a termite nest.

The Nest which looked like a termite nest from far

To my surprise I saw a bird going and vanishing in this structure -

The Cliff Swallow

When I went closer I saw that it is not a termite nest but a mud nest which had a opening where the bird had disappeared. Then I realised that it is a mud nest made of thousands of mud pellets and the bird is probably called the Cliff Swallow. For building their habitat they need a nearby mud source. The food is insects which they capture in flight.

The Nest of the Cliff Swallow

Sunrise at Chakrata

Recently I went on a holiday to Chakrata in Uttrakhand. The weather was nice. I got up at 4:30 in the morning to look at the sunrise (which was beautiful). Unfortunately, in the mountains almost immediately after sunrise the sun becomes very bright and harsh.

Sunrise as seen from my hotel room in Chakrata