HILL TRAIN TO SHIMLA

Hill Train Departing From Kalka Railway Station

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The Indian summers were unbearable for the officers of the East India Company and they used to shift their headquaters to Shimla to escape the extreme heat of the months of May to July.There was no hill train and the journey on horseback used to take about a week.

Townhall of Shimla during the east India company rule in 1850

When the Sepoy Mutiny started in 1857 the urgent telegraph sent to the Commander of the Army-then holidaying in Shimla-was seen after 3 days and it took him another 2 days to realise the gravity of the situation. he rushed back to Punjab and reached in 7 days. The British Army came in , quelled the mutiny and established the British Rule in India However the Indian summer was still the same and the Viceroy along with his whole Government had to shift to Shimla in the summer months. Shimla became the official summer capital of British India in 1864. 
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The Viceregal Lodge in Shimla

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The shifting of the capital was a much anticipated event and the high and the mighty would shift for 3 months of fun , frolic, and general enjoyment.It was the time for balls,parties and festivities with people attending a minimum of 3 to 4 parties everyday starting at 2PM going upto 2 am.
It was difficult to travel on horseback for 7 days and also keeping in mind the lesson learnt during the Sepoy Mutiny it was decided to biuild a hill train from Kalka to Shimla.  


This is what the train and  Barog station looked like when it started.

The current day Barog Sation looks like this.

The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railway in North India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages. The Kalka–Shimla Railway was built in 1898, to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the rest of the Indian rail system. At the time of construction 107 tunnels and 864 bridges, were built throughout the course of the track.

Opened in 1898 the construction was quite robust and the same bridges are still being used today.
It is an extremely enjoyable ride for the first time and should not be missed under any circumstances.Infact it is now an UNESCO Heritage site.
The detailed history and information about the Railway Line.

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Jhoomar Baori-A Hotel Inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

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Built Initially As A Castle The Jhoomar Baori Later Became The Hunting Lodge Of The Rulers Of  Jaipur. Today Jhoomar Baori is a Heritage Hotel Operated By Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation.

You cannot sleep any closer to the Tigers of Ranthambore.The Hotel,Jhoomar Baori, is in the middle of the forest providing the real thrill of staying in a forest full of tigers,some of them known to be man eaters. After reaching around 1 PM we were relaxing in the winter sun on the terrace when we heard a strange loud sound-of some animal. The General Manager of the Hotel came up running and looked around . Again the same sound. He told us it was the call of  a tiger real close to the hotel. December being the mating season for Indian Tigers the tiger/tigress was calling to attract a mate. Although we were a bit alarmed by this kind of proximity to the tiger but the experience at that time was exhilarating. Apprehensively we asked the GM whether it was safe to stay in the place he reassured us  by throwing a counter question"what have you come here all the way from Delhi for? Enjoy the fun". 

The Wild Tiger Is An Extremely Ferocious And Dangerous Animal And Tourists Are Strictly Not Allowed To Get Off The Vehicles AT ANY COST.In One Instance In Corbett Tiger Reserve A Foreign Tourist Got Off The Vehicle To Video graph The Tiger 50 M Away .The Tiger's Speed Is Unimaginable. In Milliseconds The Tiger Had caught His Arm And Started Dragging Him Away. The Brave Tracker Kicked The Tigers Ass Hard While Pulling The Tail.Unused to Getting Ass Kicked The Tiger Ran Away.The Tourist Is Still Not Able to Use His Arm Properly Even After 10 Years.

In the evening the GM shared his two captivating experiences of being chased by a tiger twice on his motor bike while once coming to work and second time while  going home after work. He had a knack for story telling and he kept us enthralled with his vivid description of him and a tiger first sighting  each other.This was accompanied with detailed  the reactions of both the GM and the tiger upon seeing each other. Then came the flight and the chase replete with mimicked  growling sounds and ended happily with the GM reaching the safety of his house and the second time reaching the reception of the Hotel. In the entire story the size of the tiger kept growing until he became as big as a camel. But yes tigers do weigh about 400KGs sometimes and also may be there was more than a pinch of salt. 

During the night all kinds of sounds could be heard as if the entire forest had come to life and sleep did come but after a couple of stiff ones.

The Temperature Was about 2 Deg C. But the Open Vehicle Moving At 60KM/hr Creates A Wind Chill Effect That freezes The Bones Despite All The Woollen Clothing.Maybe We Are Not Used To It.

Next morning at 5 am our Safari came driven by an expert tracker Mr. Sagid. During the drive the freezing air  in the open Gypsy chilled  the body to the bones and by the time we were entering the deep forest the sun was also rising. 

The Jungle Safari is Done In An Open Maruti Gypsy Painted dark green So That It Merges With The Jungle and Does Not Alarm Animals. If Alarmed They Will Run Away And Then What To Photograph.. These are Petrol driven So The Pollution Is Less And Also The Noise Pollution Is Less. All The Animals Have Been Seeing These Vehicles Since Their Birth And Accept These As Part Of The Scenery.But getting Down is a STRICT NO. The Driver And Tracker will Lose Their Jobs And Permits If A Single Tourist Sets Even One Foot On The Ground.

Mr Sagid drove fast to a point in the middle of the forest, stopped and switched of the engine . He requested for pin drop silence.Now we could also hear the alarm calls of various animals some close some far. Mr Sagid was trying to ascertain which calls were for a tiger, which were closest, and which direction the particular tiger was moving . Sagid made up his mind based on the Jungle sounds. "HOLD FAST"-ordered suddenly in English.The Gypsy moved at break neck speed perilously bouncing over rocks and stones and suddenly he pointed-TIGER.

  The Tiger in the forest is totally different from the ones we see in the Zoo or Circus. The Tiger which has to kill its prey himself for eating is about two times the size of the ones we see in the zoo. It was not as tall  as a camel but the overall size was definitely bigger. He appeared to be walking languorously but the speed was not less than 12 Kms per hour .

The tiger was spraying his urine on the trees and standing up to scratch them too; basically staking out his territory to let other tigers know that they better clear orf!

 Without a bother in the world he walked towards a Canter safari which was moving in reverse. That is the normal procedure to be followed by all vehicles should a tiger approach them directly.All along the deer on the ground and the monkeys in the trees  who were watching him continuously were giving off alarm calls in their individual style.

 As you can see in the pictures and the video the Jungle of Ranthambore is not very dense unlike other Tiger reserves like Corbett or Kanha and therefore chances of spotting the tiger are much higher. In dense jungle the tiger keeps watching you but we cannot spot him. Soon the tiger probably got sick of the Camera Flash Bulbs from the Canter in front, popping in his face, turned right and made off into the jungle. It was the most exhilarating and captivating 90 seconds for the occupants of the Gypsies and the Canters who were struck by the Tigers vibrant skin gleaming in the rays of rising sun. 

In the excitement I forgot to pull up the camera and therefore missed out a few more pictures and videos, but that is called " The heat of the moment"

So Mission Accomplished. The Spectators, The Vehicle Drivers and The trackers were ecstatic at the their success. We have spent several days scouring the various jungles of India in the past ,but all we got to see was the pug marks, scratches on the trees and Tiger shit. Some times the tiger shit was warm indicating we were just a few minutes late. I asked the trackers how could they know for sure it was the tiger's. They said the tiger eats the skin of his prey and the hair can be seen in his excreta. we roamed around in the forest for another 2 hours seeing various animals, all prey of the majestic tigers.

The Nilgai is one of the largest deer in India.

The Sambar deer is the favourite food of the Full Grown Male Tiger and they said he does not kill any other animal for 10 days if he is lucky enough to get hold of a full grown Sambar.

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We reached back to The Jhoomar Baori and rested for some time. Then the celebration started in the evening on the Terrace of the Jhoomar Baori. 

Nobody was scared of the Jungle or its night sounds any more. We had kept our Rendezvous with the Most Terrifying, Fierce, Majestic and Awe Inspiring Lord of The Jungle-The Tiger .

Next morning we woke up amongst the beautiful birds which came to share our morning tea and biscuits with us 

 After a Hearty Complimentary Breakfast in the Coffee shop we drove back to Delhi with excellent memories of the Jhoomar Baori.

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The Jhoomar Baori is 3 Hours Drive From Our Airbnb Apartment-Reunite in Delhi-The Ideal New Delhi Accommodation

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Nagpur-The Orange City of India

Nagpur Orange Wholesale Market


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Nagpur,located at the exact center of India on the Deccan Plateau is famous for its Juicy oranges-known as Nagpur Mandarin-,so much so that Nagpur has earned the sobriquet The Orange City. The NRCC-National Research Center for Citrus,also located in Nagpur has done some excellent work to increase the yield and taste of the Nagpur Mandarin(Nagpur Orange) .The soil and climate of the Vidarbha region is ideal for the cultivation of oranges with the  season lasting from  October to February.India has become a top destination for travellers all over the world and the Orange City with its tourist attractions as described below has become a popular tourist place.

Zero Mile Marker, Nagpur

Nagpur lies at the exact  geographical center of India and the precise point is marked by the Zero MileStone. All distances in India are calculated from here and the distances of many major cities of India are engraved on the pillar.The Zero Milestone  is the geographical heart of India. Nagpur also is the winter capital of Maharashtra and therefore has a Vidhan Sabha, alongwith a  Nagpur bench of the High court and the Reseve bank of India.

All India Radio, Nagpur

Akashvani-The Hindi (Devnagari) name for All India Radio- is the national radio broadcaster. In Nagpur there is a 1 MW transmitter broadcasting at a frequency of 1566Khz.

The Ambazari Park

     The Ambazari Garden has several amusements which children can enjoy. There is a musical fountain which rises & falls creating a beautiful symphony of music & water. 

Children can enjoy a ride on the mini train, swing along with the Columbus boat or play on a fighter aircraft. The structure of a mammoth dinosaur at the entrance is a popular draw among kids & tourists alike.

The Ambazari Lake, Nagpur

Ambazari Lake is a picnic spot popular among  locals & tourists alike , who throng to the place during the  weekends and the evenings. A pleasant  boat ride can be enjoyed on the Ambazari Lake.

Futala Lake, Nagpur

Futala lake ,once used only for washing cattle has been developed into the most popular tourist place in Nagpur.At night multicolored lights and two red fountains and one white but very tall liven up the place which draws more than a thousand visitors daily.

Restaurants Opposite Futalal Lake, Nagpur

Opposite the Futala Lake esplanade there are several restaurants and these along with road side vendors convert the  Futala Lake tourist place into an enjoyable picnic spot.

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Hanuman Temple, Telankhedi Nagpur

 The Sankat Mochan Temple of Nagpur attracts devotees and pilgrims of all age groups for deliverance from their individual problems.

Kalyaneshwar Shiv Temple, Telankhedi, Nagpur

The 400 years old Telankhedi Shiv Temple draws devotees of Lord Shiva ,the fascinating and powerful diety of the Hindu trinity who represents death and dissolution.

The Tekdi Ganpati Temple

Tekdi means hill,and this temple of Lord Ganesha is more than 250 years old. Lord Ganesha is regarded as the remover of obstacles and also the Lord of Beginings. More than 5000 devotees attend the temple daily and the number goes upto 10,000 on Ganesha Chaturthi. Sachin Tendulkar is one of the celebrity devotees and he gets a  good score  everytime he prays here.

Heritage Sites ,Nagpur

One of the heritage monuments of Nagpur.

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Japanese Garden, Nagpur

Green and Refreshing the Japanese garden has iron structures which give it the name of Japanese garden.

Inside Japanese Garden,Nagpur

The refreshing atmosphere inside the Japanese garden makes it the ideal place or a healthy and brisk morning walk.

The Maharajbagh Botanical Garden

The Maharajbagh Botanical Garden ,located in the center of the city,is a bio-diversity park with a zoo having various animals inside it.

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Meandering Nag River,Nagpur

The Nag river meanders like a Cobra across the Deccan Plateau and flows through the middle of Nagpur. The course of the river resembles a cobra which is called Nag in Hindi and hence the name Nagpur.

The Deekshabhumi Stupa is an important Budhist Religious Place for Budhists in Nagpur.

Nagpur is famous for its oranges and the whole sale market is known as Mohan Patel Orange Market. Just for idea sake we purchased 200 Oranges for Rs 1000(US$20) and they weighed 25 Kgs. An 8Kg Box of green table grapes cost Rs 350( US$7).
Nagpur is an hour and 35 minutes from Delhi. When in Delhi stay in our Airbnb Reunite In Delhi. Agroup of upto 8 persons can stay omfortably in the heart of Delhi. 


The video below gives some feel about the market.

Orange Market Video


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