Archive for the 'Wildlife' Category
Travel India Dharmasthala
Author: Binoy Gupta
and the legendary Veerendra Heggade
I have visited a number of educational and medical institutions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu of South India.
Most of them are beautifully supplementing the work the Government is doing. In 2004, I was invited to inaugurate a wing of the Hospital of the SDM College of Medical Sciences in Dharwad (Karnataka).
The institution had applied for permission to start a medical college which was then pending.It has a beautiful campus. Neat and clean. Well planned modern infrastructure – and a very good team of doctors.
Almost across the road is a sister institution – the SDM Dental College – older and one of the finest in the country.I received an invitation to visit Dharmasthala and meet Virendra Heggade – the hereditory head of the SDM group.
So I landed in Dharmasthala. A beautiful, historic place, seeped in legend, mythology and religion. Read the rest of this entry »
read comments (11)Travel India Saputara – abode of the Snakes
Author: Binoy Gupta
the Best Hill Station of Gujarat
Saputara literally means Abode of the Snakes. But don’t panic. Saputara is not a place full of snakes.
There is a sacred snake image on the banks of the river Sarpagana worshipped by the Adivasis (tribal people) during festivals.Saputara is a beautiful, planned, hill station in Gujarat.
Not too well known, it is clean and not too crowded.
The cool climate; its motorable distance from Mumbai, Nasik, and Surat; and the beautiful roads make it a place worth visiting.
Location
The hill station is surrounded by dense forests with Adivasi villages.
Travel India Point Calimere
Author: Binoy Gupta
Unique Wildlife Sanctuary
According to the Ramayana, Lord Ram himself stood at this point and carried out reconnaissance of Ravana’s kingdom in Sri Lanka just 48 kms. away.
A stone slab at Ramarpatham (meaning Rama’s feet), the highest point of Point Calimere, bears the foot prints of Ram.
Now it is a unique wildlife and bird sanctuary.
Travel India – Pichavaram
Author: Binoy Gupta
Second largest Mangrove forest in the world
Almost two and a half decades ago, when I was working in Chennai, I first heard of the Mangrove Forests of Pichavaram – 14 kms. from Chidambaram.
I did not really know what Mangrove forests were and what Pichavaram was like.
I requested my friends to organize a visit.
After my visit, I wrote about Pichavaram in the Swagat (inflight magazine of Indian Airlines) and a number of other magazines.
To this extent, I take credit for increasing its popularity.
Since then, I have visited Pichavaram several times.
My last visit was a few months after the Tsunami of 2004.
Pichavaram is a unique success story. Read the rest of this entry »
Travel India Matheran – the pollution free resort
Author: Binoy Gupta
Matheran
Matheran is a no-vehicle zone… so go ahead and walk in the clouds at this hill-station.
Prized, protected: Rain clouds, dense mist
It is the only hill-station where any kind of public or private transport is prohibited by law; and the prohibition enforced effectively. Besides the buses, cars and other four-wheelers and two-wheelers such as motorbikes, even bicycles are not allowed inside Matheran. 
As for the plastic bottles and carry-bags littered by irresponsible tourists, this hill-station tackled the problem long ago. In November 2002, Prof H.Y. Mohan Ram, Chairman of a Government Expert Committee, declared Matheran clean and free of garbage, and the cleanest hill-station of India.
Read the rest of this entry »
Travel India Ranthambore – the land of the Tiger
Author: Binoy Gupta
An Amalgam of Antiquity and Nature
How about a vacation under the shadows of one of the oldest fort in India – with tigers for company at breakfast and tea ?
Ranthambore is the place I selected.
History
The magnificent Ranthambore Fort is one of the oldest forts in India. The Fort was built by the Kachhwaha Rajputs (Chauhans) but there is no certainty about the time and who the actual founder was. Some historians tell us that it was built by King Sapaldaksha in 944 A.D. Others historians say it was built by King Jayant of the same dynasty in 1110 A.D. There are other historians who give the credit to some one else.
Read the rest of this entry »
Travel India Dandeli – An idyllic forest destination in India
Author: Binoy Gupta
Dandeli
a little known unique destination in South India
Dandeli is a little known, rustic hamlet, near the borders of Maharashtra and Goa in North Karnataka in South India.
Dandeli is the gate way into the dense virgin forests and is a wonderful get away place within motorable distance from Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, Goa, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Travel India Sunderban – Journey to nowhere
Author: Binoy Gupta
Land of the Royal Bengal Tiger
Largest Delta in the World
The two great rivers, Ganges 2,510 km. (1,560 miles) and Brahmaputra 2,900 km. (1,800 miles), are born in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. On the last lap of their long journey, just before they enter the Bay of Bengal and merge with the oceans, they meander through the plains of Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) creating the largest delta in the world.
Travel India Goa – the land of the sun, sand and feni
Author: Binoy Gupta
Goa
The Old Portugese Settlement
Goa is a dream world of fun, frolic and leizure – rolling stretches of silver sands, wonderful golden beaches and waving palm trees.
Travel India Ooty – the Queen of Hill Stations
Author: Binoy Gupta
Ooty
The Queen of Hill Stations
The Queen of Hill Stations in South India is Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund. I find both terms far too long and tongue twisting; and prefer the much shorter term Ooty.
Ooty is certainly the most popular hill station in South India.
Ooty, located in the Western ghats at a height of 2240 metres, is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district where the Eastern and Western ghats meet.
Flora and Fauna
Ooty is full of coffee estates and tea plantations. The dense forests around are full of connifers, eucalyptus, pine and wattle; numerous animals and birds.