Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort Jodhpur, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

Mehrangarh Fort

fort by dusk, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

Caught the sultry sky and the silhouette of the Mehrangarh Fort against the pale blue that evening...

Jodhpur terraces

Jodhpur terraces, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

This was the view from one of the terraces and till the eyes could see, there were quaint little terraces all interconnected for miles...

Good morning Jodhpur !

good morning jodhpur :o), originally uploaded by radicaleye.

Every morning you can have your cuppa in the lap of the mighty fort! The haveli also has many terrace restaurants and the view from every corner was quaint and inviting! A warm and sweet hearted family runs the hotel and they are always looking for ways to make the visitors stay more entertaining and fun! They will tell you how the hotel was initially a part of the Fort, it was the kings cowshed originally and there is still a secret entrance from the hotel to Fort; which is if course blocked now.

Haveli gate

Haveli gate, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

Though we did not have a reservation, we had read a lot about this place on the net... Its a lovely haveli turned into a heritage hotel, right at the foothill of the Mehrangarh Fort. It has many lovely rooms and we got a double bed room with attached loo at Rs 1000per night exclusive of food. The rooms are very clean and also very pretty with some old portraits of Jodhpur royalty decorating the walls along with hand painted Rajasthani motifs!

At the Haveli

at the haveli, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

We headed straight to Killikhana in the old Jodhpur city and checked into the Krishna Prakash Heritage Haveli (www.kpheritage.com). In the night we could barely make out the ambience in dim light of the tiny lamps, but it looked really warm and ethnic and we just decided to stay ... which turned out to be a great decision !

Jodhpur Train Station

Jodhpur Train Station, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

We reached Jodhpur late night on 29th Oct... though we had done a rough rekki for the kind of place we want to stay in,we scouted for a hotel around the Railway Station and Nayi Sadak area which was highly recommeneded. But as soon as we reached Nayi Sadak we knew that it was too commercial for us.

Off to Rajasthan

off to rajasthan, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

For years now I have been fantasising about going to the Pushkar fair in Rajsthan... But as is always with life, some more important things (BAH !!!) kept me from taking the trip up north and visiting the desert... Finally opportunity knocked in the form of a couple of friends visiting Rajasthan from abroad and we planning to catch them there... since we were going to be in Jaipur during November, I decided that this should be clubbed with the Pushkar fair to make the most of the trip...

After much deliberation, me and Deep charted out an itenary that would cover Jodhpur, Pushkar, Jaipur and a few village on the route... And wow! we couldnt wait to get started... I also finally got around to buying my first digicam, couldnt imagine missing a photographic opportunity like this :o) Got the tickets booked in a hurry and off we went on 28th of Oct to Jodhpur.

And now I plan to make several blog entries to jot down my travel in rajasthan last year...it might take a few weeks or months, but now the pictures will be in the order they were clicked.


PS: I got a Conon Powershot A 700

Pushkar calling...

Family Portrait pushkar, originally uploaded by radicaleye.

when we left for rajasthan, we headed to jodhpur, then pushkar then jaipur and some villages in between... but after a few days in jaipiur i couldnt wait to head back to pushkar and spend all the rest of my dyas there...

this was the first family i met when i landed back in pushkar...

Stop Pimping the PRESS !!!

I recieved this email from a friend this morning. It was a forward from someone who realised how the Indian Media had conviniently ignored a brave Army man's sacrifice, focusing all the time on celebrities. Personally, I think its shameful that Indian media has become so sensationalism driven. And being a journalism student myself, I think all the foundations of Journalism have been conviniently tossed out of the window and the Third Estate has become just another money mongering business!!

Heres the email, that I want to share with all. Please forward the same and spread the word!

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The body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, was cremated with full military honours at Thane on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a news swept across all the news channels: ‘Sanjay Dutt relieved by the court’, ‘Sirf Munna not a Bhai’ ‘13 saal ka vanvaas khatam‘, ‘although found guilty for possession of arms, Sanjay can breathe a sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn’. And then many experts like Salman Khan said, “He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean.”
Big B: “Dutt family and our family have relations for years he’s a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek.” His sister Priya Datt said, ‘we can sleep well tonight. it’s a great relief.’

In other news, Parliament was mad at the Indian cricket team for performing badly; Greg Chapell said something; Bomb scare on Gorakhpur Express; Shah Rukh Khan replaces Big B in KBC; and Sonia asked PM to consider reducing petroleum prices. But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Dutt’s “Phoenix-like” comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges.

Surfing through the channels, one news item on BBC startled me. It read, “Hizbul Mujahidin’s most wanted terrorist ‘Sohel Faisal‘ killed in Anantnag. Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured.”

It was past midnight. I started visiting the foolish Indian channels, the ones who are ‘Sabse TEZ’, but Sanjubaba was still ruling. They were saying how Sanjubaba pleaded to the court saying ‘I am the sole bread earner for my family’, ‘I have a daughter who is studying in US. Who will look after her?’ And then they showed how Sanjubaba was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict. Also how he went to every temple and prayed for last some months. A suspect in the Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under arms act, was being made into a hero.

Sure Sanjubaba has a daughter; sure Sanjubaba did not do any terrorist thing as in bombing some place or hijacking an airplane, etc. Sure Sanjubaba went to all the temples; Sure he did a lot of Gandhigiri but then…

Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists’ whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp, killed the Hizbul mujahidin’s supremo and in the process lost his life to the bullets fired from an AK47. He has a wife and a daughter (just like Sanjubaba). Age? 18 months. Major Manish never said ‘I have a daughter’ before he took the decision to attack the terrorist hide out in the darkest of nights? He never thought about his having a family and being the bread winner of the family.

No news channel covered this since they were too busy hype-ing a former drug addict, an actor in real and reel life, a suspect who’s linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of arms had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him.

The parents of Major Pitambare are still on this earth and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won’t ever see her papa again.

Major Pitambare, Sir, to my generation there is no greater hero than one who laid his life in the name of this great nation. Hence Sir, I salute you. You are the real Star, Vande mataram.

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And heres a link to a sensitive Obituary written for Major Pitambare by a friend.