The Delhi Travel Massive - 2013

 The banner of Delhi Travel Massive 2013
Image Courtesy - SoDelhi

On the evening of Sunday the 7th, The much awaited Delhi Travel Massive took place, organised by SoDelhi.. It was a wonderful oppurtunity for people from the Travel Industry like travel writers, bloggers, travel brands e.t.c. to interact and exchange ideas over traveling..Apart from the warm interaction there was a competition too which was held, in which the guests (divided in teams of 5) answered questions over Delhi and its colourful history..

 Faizan Patel and Doulos Jose (Right)

Many well known personalities on the New Delhi travel, photography and blogging circuit were there which included Doulos Jose, Subir Dey, Asif Dehlvi (owner of Delhi by Foot), Vikramjeet Singh Rooprai (Ace Historian), Mr Passey amongst others.. (It goes without saying that the team of Vikramjeet, Asif, Subir, Mr Passey won the travel contest and took home vouchers worth Rs 5000). I had wonderful travel conversing with traveler Abhinav and many other like minded folks over all things travel..

Vikramjeet Singh Rooprai (Left) and Asif Dehlvi

Banner of Delhi Travel Massive against the backdrop of Tughluq period mosque and seminary (14th Cent)

Travel Massive is a wonderful initiative where the people from the Travel fraternity (across the spectrum) get together and exchange notes over everything related to Travel.. The team of SoDelhi and all the sponsors deserve a word of gratitude for making this wonderful travel event take place.. The venue was Smoke House Deli, Hauz Khas..

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UNESCO World Heritage Day - April 18th

Today is UNESCO World Heritage Day, a day dedicated to raise public awareness about the importance and diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts which are needed by us to protect and conserve it, as well as draw attention to its vulnerability from various elements like encroachment, vandalism e.t.c..The theme for 2012 is 'World Heritage in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention'.

This is what we are fighting against.. Vandalism, Disrespect and Time !!
Clockwise from above - 'Vandalised Walls' of the Western settlement of Sultan Garhi; 'Cracked Pillars' of the 'brittle' cenotaph of Muizuddin Bahram Shah (brother and successor of Razia Sultan); 'broken bottles of beers and matches' lie littered in the Western Settlement Ruins of Sultan Garhi; the 'Vandalised information slab' for the tomb of Emperor Balban's son..

Conserving Heritage monuments is important because it is very important to know who we are, where have we come from, how has our knowledge evolved, how have we evolved and last but not the least.. do we have any lessons to learn from the past..

UNESCO World Heritage Day can also be a day to discuss  and debate one of the biggest topics amongst conservationists.. Whether to conserve the monuments as we see them or restore them, wherever possible, to their former glory..

The Humayun's Tomb and its restored ceiling (at the top) and the Lakkarhwala Burj and its restored ceiling (at the bottom)

Various tourism boards, state governments and NGO's in India are celebrating UNESCO World Heritage Day in their own way.. So while the Indian Government is throwing the doors open (ticket free entrance) to the visitors to all monuments, the Odisha Government organized a "heritage walk" rally, seeking public support for conservation of ancient temples and monuments, the Heritage Activists in Goa submitted a 16 point agenda to their Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar, for protection of the state's heritage through conservation and enforcement of the law..

 A small example of our world's heritage which we need to conserve.. Clockwise from above - Rani of Jhansi's Fort, Red Fort, Qutb Minar, the alpine Yumthang Valley of Sikkim (which needs to be protected from Global Warming)

Internationally, the UNESCO World Heritage Day is being celebrated by all the countries in different ways - While Chile is hosting seminars and inviting young volunteers to clean 4 heritage monuments in Santiago as part of an Awareness drive, the United States is celebrating the 40th year by issuing passport booklets highlighting the United States 'World Heritage Sites' amongst other activities..

In the end I would like to wish you all a very Happy World Heritage Day !!

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Traveling with HP Connected Music

If some folks, in a sense of wonder or doubt, ask a traveler how is 'Traveling related to Music ?' he should not mind the smile which might come across the traveler's face. The reason behind the smile is that Music is a very important component of Travel. One only needs to ask a long distance traveler like me and he would tell you how long time in transit, can become if there is no music to accompany him on his journeys.

While listening to your favourite genre of music (my favourite genre is Ambient) can help you pass your time or help you unwind and get you in the mood for writing, listening to regional music can give you a sense of the country or place you are visiting.. For a traveler having access to an efficient music app, on his HP Notebook, in which he can stream the music of his/her choice, across the world, without any hitches is a must..

Pic Source - IndiBlogger

This is where HP Connected Music Service comes in.. HP in partnership with Universal Music and Hungama brings this wonderful application to HP's Windows 8 line-up.. On one touch HP Connected Music provides us free access  to exclusive content and access to over one million songs from more than 20,000 artists, from different genres across the board, which effectively makes it the largest online music catalogue in the world..

The ‘Money Can’t Buy Experiences’ offered by the HP Connected Music Service gives access to unique content such as previews, behind the scenes content, VIP events and many more exciting activities. So, it doesn't matter whether you are on the move, or not, you can always connect with their favorite artists.. For more informtion visit - HP Connected Music India

HP and IndiBlogger would be hosting a great blogger's meet on Saturday the 20th of April in New Delhi for an afternoon of music and fraternizing amongst bloggers.. So if you are a blogger and haven't signed up yet.. Well.. you are really missing something..

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Heritage Photowalk in Lal Kot (Const. 1050 A.D.)

 Walking over the crumbling battlements of Lal Kot (the first fort of Delhi)

Built by Raja Anangpal Tomar II in the 11th century Lal Kot (Red Fort, not to be confused with the one built by the Mughals in 1648 A.D.) was the first city/fort to come up in Delhi.. While the capital city of the Tomar kings was present in Delhi since the 8th century, the fortifications were built by Anangpal Tomar II in the 11th century, perhaps in reaction to Mahmud of Ghazni's ruthless invasion of India..

An Enthusiastic Photographer

As the fort is located deep inside the Sanjay Van (A Protected Forest) people rarely travel to see this landmark monument.. This Sunday, I had an opportunity to go on a Photo Walk organized by Mr. Vikramjeet Singh Rooprai, a heritage enthusiast and the admin of Delhi Heritage Photography Club.. The difficulty level for walking around this fort is considered to be tough.. We all ended up trying to avoid thorny shrubs and playing hopscotch across loose stones and crumbling battlements (risking our limbs) while trying to move forward..

Climbing down the crumbling battlements (with the possibility of tumbling down looming large) was a nerve-wracking experience

I recalled Traveler Merwyn's quote 'In the wild, only humans come to the assistance of humans' while observing how other photographers including myself tried to assist folks especially the ladies and the elderly to climb down from the crumbling walls of the fort (as there was no other path to lead us forward)..

In the Photo Walk, in which about 60 photographers and heritage enthusiasts participated, we covered the fort of Lal Kot, which is located at a desolated location within the capital city, and other monuments like Anang Tal, Adham Khan's Tomb, Dargah of Saint Ashiq Allah and Zafar Mahal.. At the end of the PhotoWalk Mr Vikramjeet and the rest settled in the balcony of Zafar Mahal and discussed historical facts related to Mehrauli (One of the oldest suburbs of Delhi, even older than Old Delhi)

Mr Vikramjeet and others discussing the history of Mehrauli

Given the fact that visiting the Lal Kot is something only an adventurer would try on his own (because of the lack of proper paths, secludedness of the area, lack of water e.t.c.), this Photo Walk was really significant from that Point of View.

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A Discourse by Ace Archaeologist Mr K. K. Muhammed

Whenever people asked me what's next on my bucket list, I would think of many destinations but never did I thought about 'Bihar' (State of India).. But after attending an inspiring discourse by ASI's Regional Director (retd.), Mr. K.K. Muhammed on the 'History of Buddhism through the Archaeological Excavations in various parts of Bihar and UP', organised by India International Center on Feb 1, my perception about Bihar transformed completely..

 Archaeologist Mr Muhammed displays a picture of a mound which contained a very important stupa

He, during the discourse, spoke about how he and his team conducted successful excavations and conservation projects in areas like Nalanda, Vikramshila, Vaishali, Kesaria, Rajgir and Sarnath (M.P.), the challenges faced by ASI like removing human settlement over possible archaeological sites (as in the case of Vaishali and Nalanda), building of religious monuments over historical sites, e.t.c.

Site Map of the 1400 year old Nalanda University

Mr Muhammed (who headed the Patna Circle of the ASI) shared with us anecdotes (apparently the half buried Ashokan Pillar of ancient Vaishali was used by a farmer to tie his cattle), his personal experiences while dealing with government apathy (apparently the Indian Railways was insisting to build a railway line over a mound which later turned out contain a 1400 year old stupa, Mr Muhammad had to start excavating the site without legal permission to unearth the stupa and foil the Railways' archaeologically disastrous plan).

Mr Muhammed displays the progress of excavations over the Kesariya stupa, the highest in the world

 Observe a 150 years old pic (behind the speaker) of the mound which covered the ruins of Nalanda University

Mr Muhammed showed rare pictures taken by British archaeologists of the mounds which contained the ruins of the Nalanda University and really old pictures of mounds containing the stupa's of Kusinagar, Vikramshila University, Rajgir, Kesariya e.t.c.

 Portrait of famous Chinese traveler and monk Hsuan Tsang

Picture Source - Wikipedia

He also described the immense value Chinese traveler Hsuan Tsang's (above) (who visited India during the 7th century) journals had for Indian archaeologists and historians. Many significant stupas were located with the help of his journals as all other records were lost.

 Archaeologist Mr K. K. Muhammed

After this discourse it became clear to me that it would not be entirely fair to criticise the ASI for not conserving monuments as (in the words of Mr Muhammed) the government does not realise the fact that building 5 star hotels would not boost tourism.. Conserving monuments and archaeological treasures would..

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Fundraiser for Haiti by Expedia & Passports with Purpose

In the wintery evening of November 28th, Expedia and Passports with Purpose in association with Kunzum Travel Cafe organised a fundraiser for developing perennial sources of fresh and safe drinking water for the earthquake affected villages of Haiti in Central America.

 Participants at the Fundraiser

The event was started by a short speech by the employees of Expedia who elaborated over their partnership with 'Passports with Purpose', their attempts to improve the lives of the earthquake victims of Haiti. They also presented a video about their activities worldwide. 

 Expedia employees explaining their social activities to the gathering

Kunzum Travel Cafe provided free membership to Club Kunzum for all the folks who attended the event. In the end the participants which included travel writers (like me), photographers, bloggers amongst others interacted with each other including Expedia employees..

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Interactive Session with Author Ajay Jain

Cover of the Book

Image Courtesy - Ajay Jain

In the cool wintery evening of November 17, an interactive session between readers, writers and Author Ajay Jain was organised at the Bookwise Bookstore, New Delhi. The interaction was based over the recently launched book of Ajay Jain, who is also a Travel Writer, called Don't Feel Stupid at 60.

As the author himself mentioned the book is a compilation of suggestions to make the readers life more fulfilling, enriched and healthy. The book is a kind of a suggestive manual to prompt the reader to think about the choices he or she must make. Some of the suggestions which the Author has given in the book include Stepping out of your Comfort Zones, Going back to School (to learn further), Go on a Trip, Having Coffee Alone (to spend time with yourself), Indulging in a hobby e.t.c. 

The basic idea behind these suggestions is to ensure that you give time to your passions, do your bit for the society, e.t.c. so that when you get old (60 years of age) you do not look back with regrets thinking that you were not able to live the life you wanted to live.

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Windows 8 Launch Event (New Delhi)

Yesterday, October 25th, Microsoft invited your author to the launch party of Window 8. It was a gala event where Microsoft left no stone unturned to make it look spectacular.. From hosting the launch party at the city's no 1 hotel to inviting famous TV personalities to explain the salient features of Windows to serving a lavish buffet to lovely dance performances by beautiful artists.. Everything was done in style.

So what makes Windows  so special ? I discussed this question with MS employees, the other consumers who reviewed the product and also checked it out myself to know the answer. The answer was that it is definitely more futuristic as compared to its predecessors.

'Start Screen' of Windows 8

The new features in this operating system were a new user interface which includes the 'Start Screen' with a grid of dynamically updating tiles to represent applications, a new app platform with an emphasis on touchscreen input, a new Windows Store to obtain and purchase applications for the system, and the ability to synchronize programs and settings between multiple devices.


From a traveler's point of view Windows 8 with its new interface can really help in researching about destinations, book tickets and rooms, access maps much quickly than before thus saving you much time. And being a more mobile friendly version it only adds to our advantage.

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Interactive Session with Travel Writer Monisha Rajesh

The invitation poster for the event. (Clockwise from Left - Book Cover for the India Edition, Author of the book, Description of the book.)

Image Courtesy - Roli Books (Nandini Vaish)

In the pleasant evening of October 5 an interactive session, with London based Travel Writer Monisha Rajesh, was organised at Kunzum Travel Cafe. She is an experienced writer who has just come out with a new book called Around India in 80 Trains. She has also written for the London Evening Standard, The Guardian, TIME magazine and The New York Times. The event was hosted by another well known Travel Writer Ajay Jain.

In the interactive session Traveler Monisha discussed frankly, her experiences of traveling across India in the vast network of the Indian Railways. She also read out excerpts from her newly launched book Around India in 80 Trains (published in India by Roli Books). She revealed that in the process of traveling in the 80 trains she experienced the best quality of India amongst others i.e. the helpful demeanour of Indians.

From helping her to board an already moving train in Gujarat (West India) to offering to make reservations for her (in advance) in Ledo, Assam (East India) the common Indian was very helpful. In some cases the common Indian was over helpful as well and traveler Monisha often ended up choosing from between four to six answers for one question asked! We also learnt the minor fact that by the time of completion of her journey she covered a mind-boggling 40,000 kilometers (24,855 miles)!

Apart from talking about her new book, Traveler Monisha discussed the finer points of Travel Writing and also gave really useful tips to budding writers on how to further their careers in Travel Writing. 

To conclude it all, it was a really great evening for the Travel Writers as they got quite a few tips over the subject. I must also add that my after-session discussions with Traveler Monisha, Traveler Ajay Jain and Ms Krinna Shah (a renowned social activist) were equally enriching.

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(In the world of Path Rarely Taken all the Travelers are equal by the virtue of their love of the planet and travel.) (Pictures of the session will be posted soon!)

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Qualcomm Snapdragon Photo Tips Session and Photo Walk

 

Participants (at the base of the monument) photographing the Shish Gumbad

Last weekend (Sept 29 and 30), a two day event was organised by Qualcomm Snapdragon and Kunzum Travel Cafe in which ace photographers, professional bloggers and travelers were invited for a special weekend to discuss photography and also have a photo walk in the Lodi Gardens, New Delhi the next day. 

The group of participants (which included accomplished photographers, editors, tech geeks and professional bloggers) at the Kunzum Travel Cafe on Saturday 29th

Picture Courtesy - Subir Dey

The event commenced on Saturday 29th at the Kunzum Travel Cafe with the participants (which included accomplished photographers, editors, tech geeks and professional bloggers) and Team Qualcomm discussing things of common interest which was photography and the finer nuances of cameras associated with it. Team Qualcomm talked about the creative features of Snapdragon powered mobile phones, its cameras, and how better it was compared to its contemporaries. one of which was the ability of the phone to take excellent 360° panoramic photos.

Participants photographing a flock of Geese near the Athpula, Lodi Garden

On Sunday the 30th a Photo Walk was done in the picturesque Lodi Gardens where the participants carried their cameras, and some smartphones powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors to shoot. Various tips of photography were exchanged and the participants spent the pleasant evening shooting the landscapes of the Lodi Gardens and its monuments.

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