August 2008, Delhi.

The Hazrat Nizammudin Dargah is the mausoleum of one of the most popular Sufi saints in India, Nizamuddin Auliaya, who is revered by not just Muslims but also by many Hindus and even Christians. The same dargah complex also houses the tomb of Amir Khusro, the famous poet and musician as well as father of qawwali, who was a disciple of Nizamuddin. Fittingly, every Thursday there are Qawwali sessions organized in the verandah before the mausoleum of Nizamuddin Auliya. The above photo is of one of the qawaali singers, from one such session we attended, as he took a break from singing.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

August 2008, Mussoorie.

Mussoorie is locally referred to as the ‘Queen of the Hills’. As such it has been a popular hill station from the time of the British Raj. There are great views from the top over the surrounding valley and on a clear day you can apparently see snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas but the day we went there a thick cloud cover descended over the region covering the whole valley below with a thick white blanket. While this eliminated any chance of great views it did offer interesting photographic opportunities of a different kind as can been above.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.)

August 2008, Mussoorie.

Finally, the rain cleared after two days so we immediately set off for Mussoorie in the morning. The above photo was taken while waiting for the bus to Mussoorie to start. A lot of pilgrims visit the state of Uttarakhand as part of the Char Dham Yatra, one of the most important pilgrimages in Hinduism. The four dhams in the order in which they are supposed to be visited are Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The incredible thing about this ‘yatra’ is that many of the pilgrims actually complete the whole pilgrimage on foot, which is a few hundred kilometers at least, across some of the toughest terrain in the world!

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

August 2008, Dehradun.

Another one from FRI. As we came earlier than planned to Dehradun we had a lot of time on our hands. So we decided to visit Mussoorie, a popular hillstation about an hour and a half away by bus. But the weather as usual was bad. It was raining almost every day and therefore we cooled our heels in the IMA guest house watching the Beijing Olympics and cheering the few Indians who performed well there.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.)

August 2008, Uttarkashi.

After a seven hour bus ride we made it to Uttarkashi. Uttarkashi is a small town nestled on the valley floor with the Bhagirathi (which later becomes the Ganga further downstream) splitting the town into two parts. It is a also the starting point for many expeditions/treks to the higher reaches of the Himalayas (which was what we also wanted to do, more on that tomorrow). In the evening, we made our way to one of the ghats by the river to marvel at the roaring river flowing past with such force. Hindus believe that taking a dip in the holy river washes away all your sins and even liberates you from the circle of life but I decided to live with my sins for some more time as I did not dare risk getting washed away by the swiftly moving waters! The two in the photo had come to make an offering to the river.

In spite of the immense importance this river has for Hindus and the delicate ecosystem it supports the govt. is going all ahead with projects in Uttarkashi and elsewhere up and down the river that would lead to this powerful river being shackled behind dams. Once the projects are finished and go online the river might not even flow at all for most part of the year! Something that will be unthinkable for thousands of Hindus who travel every year to pilgrimage sites along the river Ganga to take a holy dip. For more on this issue go here.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.)

August 2008, Somewhere between Delhi and Haridwar.

I returned yesterday after 20 days of traveling in the north of India, mostly in the state of Uttaranchal. Although the trip was something of a disappointment as I fell sick halfway through and had to cancel onward travel to amazing places such as Manali and Ladakh (something I had been looking forward to for a long time) I still got to see some beautiful and interesting places. So starting from today I’ll present a selected (visual) travelogue of the places and people I saw.

Today’s photo was taken halfway through a long, dusty and tiring bus journey to Haridwar from Delhi. The bus had stopped to fill up on diesel. As I look back now it feels as if the whole trip was a series of endless bus journeys. But that is something that could not be helped as the state is home to the mighty Himalayas and therefore mostly mountainous terrain abounds. More on that later as we were still on the hot and dusty plains at this point.

August 2008, Hyderabad.

This is the first photo to be put up here from my newly acquired Sony Alpha 700 camera. It is a worthy upgrade to Minolta’s 7D and is so responsive and easy to use. More importantly, at least from my perspective, the camera has improved upon or corrected some of the quirks/flaws associated with the Dynax 7D that always irriitated me while shooting.

July 2008, Hyderabad.

July 2008, Hyderabad.

July 2008, Hyderabad.