A scary but worthwhile experience!

Two Sundays back (25th June), early in the morning at 3:50am, I woke up to get ready for a trek to Devkund waterfall (3.5-hour away from Pune) with a group of people, including my dad. We reported at the bus pick-up point at 4:45am and off we went. I was sleeping almost the entire three-hour journey except during the times my dad woke me up to see the nature and the scenery, or while eating breakfast. We reached the trek starting point at around 8:30am and after a round of introduction, we started our trek through the forest at 9:00am.

Lush green plains

It was already raining by the time we started the trek. Me and my dad hoisted our umbrellas and did about 30min of the trek with umbrellas until we realized that we were slowing down due to the umbrellas getting tangled in the branches of the trees. We closed our umbrellas and continued our trek. Due to it being the rainy season, we constantly encountered small streams of water but we had to cross one stream that was quite wide, thigh-deep and rapid (This stream is further referenced as Stream-4. Stream-1, 2, 3 weren't encountered during the onward journey). We crossed the river quite effortlessly by creating a human chain, although the riverbed was not uniform. We continued onward and often crossed lush green plains, from where we could see the beautiful mountains covered in fog and low clouds.

Bhira reservoir in the background

At one of the plains

Now, comes the beginning of the thrill. As we trekked further, the incline increased as we were climbing upward and not trekking flat plains anymore. The forest became thicker and the rain (that had stopped a while ago) had made the mosquitoes wake up from their resting places. They were everywhere, annoying several of the group members, especially when we had to stop due to a few people fallen behind. Once we were all together, we moved on, only to our disappointment that the next stream we had to cross (Stream-5) was way too rapid for a safe crossing. So, we took a U-turn to try a different path to a place where we thought the stream might be less rapid. We had to trek downhill this time which was much more difficult as the ground was wet and mushy after the rain. Once we reached the spot, we observed that there were a lot of people at the banks of Stream-5 contemplating whether or not to cross the river. In the end, the option of crossing was eradicated and everyone started heading back group by group. My dad and I were disappointed that we could not reach the waterfall to enjoy ourselves (we later learnt that after Stream-5, there were to be two more streams).

To remind you readers of the beautiful nature for one last
time as we had no access to phone after this point, under
harsh circumstances

The scary part was during our return. As we started back towards the starting point, we encountered Stream-4 once again. This time it was much more rapid, waist-deep and looked scarier than before. As we started crossing by creating a human chain, we realized that we underestimated the force of the river. So, we doubled-up the chain to create a stronger chain/loop to cross the river. But (A big BUT), this doubling-up resulted in breaking of the chain a few people after me, right after whom was my dad! He was 1/3^rd into the stream but the chain broke off and he was in a dilemma on what to do. Luckily he held back on the other side (This entire episode of his experience was told to me after we were home. At the spur of the moment, I did not know what was happening as I was still focused on crossing the stream.). Here is what my dad has to say:

“Having walked another couple of hours back, we got stranded at the first stream we crossed in the onward journey. At this stream I was the first one to experience the state of "being declared stranded"! Half of our bus group crossed. After Suhas, two more people crossed with more struggle and everyone could sense increase in the flow. The next guy couldn't cross and lost balance and got almost washed away! He was pulled out with difficulty to the other side. I was the next, a couple of meters behind him in the water having already crossed one third. I was feeling the full force of the water barely able to lift up leg for next step. At that instance the people shouted "go back". That's it! We were stranded for the next couple of hours.

Rain increased further and water was gushing crazy. The Bhira reservoir entry point for that stream was just 50ft away right in front of our eyes which was already increasing level. So, anyone who slips directly ends up in reservoir. While we were waiting for an arrangement to be made to cross the stream, the rain turned out to be like a shower operated at full speed. We were standing in that rain watching the stream in full spate for more than an hour and half, wondering if we would make it back for the day. Meanwhile, a few hundred people from different groups accumulated there all waiting to be rescued.

Finally, two rope arrangements were made at two different spots and a few strong men held the rope standing across the stream with rope in hand and helped all of us to cross. While we were trekking back, we got to know that a group of people who started earlier than us managed to reach Devkund and got stuck there due to increased water levels with one college student feared dead, but found later (The news was in Times Of India!). Of course, we couldn't even reach there. That tells the gravity of the situation we could have faced. Thank god, decision to turn back was made at right time! The trek guide later said that never before had they seen such a thing happen in June. Typically such sudden heavy rain happens only in July it seems.”

Once, I crossed the stream, crossing the stream was declared too dangerous by everyone and the people on the other side (including my dad) were asked to wait there until the flow reduced a bit. Seventeen of our group had crossed, while sixteen were still stranded on the other side. The bad part was, I was the only one who was separated from family on either side; the rest were either entire family on this side, or entire family on the other side.

I was really scared as I did not know what would be the outcome over the next few hours. The leader of the half group on this side later decided that we should start heading back, and that we should not worry about the other half as one of the leaders was stranded along with them. But that did not suffice my question of ‘how much longer?’ For a moment, I thought of not listening to the leader and staying back waiting for my dad, but later I realized there is no point in waiting there as every group which successfully crossed was leaving, and the rain started pouring once again, and this time, with all of its might.

So, the successful half and I headed back. But to our surprise, we came across three new streams, which had only come into existence after the heavy rains. Stream-3 was relatively the same as Stream-4 was in the morning, so we could cross it without much of a problem. Later we encountered streams 1 and 2 which were basically part of the same larger stream split into two. These two streams were literally within feet of each other so we did not have much bank in the middle either. This was quite a scary place to stand in, considering there were raging streams on either side. All this while, I was wondering how my dad would return as there was heavy downpour and the streams might speed up further.

In the end we reached back to the starting point, completely drenched by the rain and by crossing streams. We changed our clothes at the place we rented for lunch, and then ate lunch and (applicable to me) waited anxiously for an hour and a quarter before the remaining sixteen were back safe and sound. They changed, and had lunch, after which we started back home at 5:30pm, delayed by almost an hour and a half than the estimated departure time, and we didn’t even make it to the waterfall! We had tea and snacks midway and we reached home at 10:45pm to mark the end of an exhilarating trek – one of a kind.

-Suhas

4th July 2017

My first job as a...

...Teacher!

My piano teacher offered me an opportunity to teach piano theory lessons to her lower grade students. I was excited as I was waiting for an opportunity to teach piano if I could find a student (which never happened 😜) even after my efforts - advertising in my residential society. So I grabbed the opportunity at the first instance as I am confident of my teaching abilities.

Today was my second day of teaching and I already came across different types of students (every teacher's dilemma). One common characteristic among all of them was they were bored of completing exercises by themselves. So, my teacher arranged group sessions as the piano exam is nearing. She asked her senior students (including me) to help her teach and grade the students.

I had to deal with a tough student for the first time ever. I immediately wondered how could a ten-year old boy be so arrogant and argumentative. He is undoubtedly smart and intelligent but he doesn't have a good attitude towards learning. My teacher told me that he took another senior student for a ride, finally making her believe in what he thought was right. Today, I could handle him without raising my voice or scolding, but just by being firm on what I wanted to convey. Though he argued initially, he later calmed down. My teacher was around watching me deal with him, and appreciated the way I handled him.

I am hoping this teaching experience (which will continue for a couple of months) will help me fetch some money during my stay in the university for my undergraduation.

PS: Right now, I am waiting for my first salary. 😁

-Suhas

22nd April '17

My guest lecture at Hyderabad

With the teacher: Abhay Mathur sir

A couple of weeks back, I got a call from my uncle, asking me whether I would like to give a small talk about my experiences, at my cousins' school. I was hesitant at first but said yes anyways, while wondering how such an opportunity came my way. One of the teachers at my cousins' school, Mr. Abhay Mathur, got in touch with me; he wanted me to share my experiences and a few tips with the older students of their school. Their school is relatively new and they do not have 12th graders yet, and I was to take the position as their senior during the talk.

After everything was decided, I left for Hyderabad (where the school is located) on 14th February by an overnight bus, ALL ALONE, for the first time. The early-on experience in the bus wasn't great though, considering I vomited having boarded the bus with an upset stomach. In addition, the bus got diverted due to an accident. But, in the end I was glad that I was able to travel all alone to another city. My uncle booked me a cab from my bus drop location to his home and I reached home safely.

Me speaking on the first day

The first lecture (with the 9th and 10th graders) was on that day, in the afternoon. I got ready, wore my formal-wear, and left for the school with my aunt (who is also a teacher at the school. I was welcomed very well, and escorted to the class, as though I was a VIP. I was a bit nervous, it being my first time speaking to a fairly large crowd (about 40-50 students). I spoke about my experiences throughout my childhood, my recent years, and my accomplishments. Later, I also gave some recommendations and tips. I did not get a really big response from the students as they were hesitant to interact with an outsider. But, I did feel satisfied that I could convey what I wanted to, at least to some extent. Later, I had lunch in the school canteen along with some students, where I was asked a few questions. I definitely enjoyed interacting with them, especially considering I am not good with strangers.

With the 8th graders

The rest of the evening was just fun with my cousins (no interruption from my parents as they weren't present there :) ). The next day, I had another session at the school, this time with the 8th graders. I wasn't as nervous as on the previous day, and my talk was crisper. I was given a painting as a gift at the end of the session! On the whole, it was a pleasant and different experience being a guest speaker.

The remaining of this day and the next day, I spent in another aunt's house. It was time to go back on the 17th of February. This time, the bus journey was worse! There was a four hour traffic jam due to an upturned bus on the way! I was supposed to reach home at 8am but ended up reaching at 12pm on 18th! I probably would have gone insane if the journey was a tad bit longer. This wrapped up a quick break in my regular routine, along with a completely different experience.

-Suhas

22/02/2017

Trip to my grandparents' place

On the 27th of December, I started for Kakinada in a train, to visit my paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins of course -- all of them arriving for a huge celebration. My grandparents' three children (including my father of course) hosted a function to celebrate the golden jubilee (50th) marriage anniversary of my grandparents and also the diamond jubilee (75th) of my grandfather. This memorable trip also is probably my last large gathering before I am off to US for under-graduation.

Actual function was on 30th December (photos have not arrived yet)
Function at my grandparents' spiritual institute (Brahmakumari) was on 31st December

Detailed account of all activities will be added later

Photos of function at grandparents' spiritual institute:

Walking toward the institute

Institute head giving a speech

Crowning ceremony of grandparents

The crowd at the institue

Garland ceremony of grandparents

Cutting cake with all the grandchildren present

Lunch after function completed

Photos of a short trip to Mada forest at Coringa after function on 31st

Wooden walkways (to Neverland??)

The Tulyabhaga river

The Tulyabhaga river

At the pier, whole family picture

Another family picture

...And another family picture (messy indeed)

Discussing (or arguing?) whether 'the river' is a river
or backwater

To the left and to the right, go all cousins

Hurray!!! for what?

Another family picture

Another family picture

Guess who is the monkey

My parents at the pier

Exhausted after walking around the forest (or just lazy?)

Just before leaving the forest, one final family picture

-Suhas

03/01/2017

Concert in Pune

On Sunday, the 20th, my teacher Ms. Sonam Lodhi hosted a concert in Mazda Hall, at Pune. All of the participants (about 20) are my teacher's students. We practiced quite a bit for this concert since almost three-four months. This was my second concert (after one in Mumbai in Aug 2015). I was one of the senior-most students in this concert and I played two pieces - one solo, and one trio with my teacher and another student.

The solo named "Allegro - First Movement of Sonate in G major K283" is one of Mozart's oldest pieces when he was just 18 years of age.

The trio named "Golliwogg's Cake Walk" is one of the pieces from Debussy's Children's Corner.

My performance significantly bettered from the last time in Mumbai when my hands stuttered amidst the performance. I enjoyed playing and as you will see below, I felt immersed while playing the piano. It was a different experience to play on Pune's most well known grand piano, which is a Blüthner.

Here is the clipping of the solo that I played (uploaded to youtube):

-Suhas

25/11/16

Viewing the supermoon!

On the night of 14th, I finally used the telescope I made. It was both exhausting and fruitful. I am glad that worked perfectly fine.

The telescope set-up and moon

My mom and I went up to the top floor of our building (12th floor) from where the open sky is visible. The city sky is too polluted (due to light and smoke) for viewing most stars and planets, but the moon can obviously be seen. I was lucky that it wasn't cloudy. While my mom held a flashlight, I jigsawed all parts of the telescope together and balanced it on the tripod. Next, I attached the 12mm (thinking it is 12x magnification) eyepiece to the telescope and started searching for the moon. Every movement - of even a fraction of a millimeter - could make a huge difference. After my mom and I took turns to scan the sky around the moon for over half an hour, I finally spotted the moon - exactly taking up the entire space in the eyepiece. I immediately tried to focus it better, but of course the telescope had other intentions of bothering me. It moved slightly and the whole moon completely vanished from the frame...

My dad and I, enjoying the view

I struggled once again and somehow got it back in frame, in significantly less time than before. An important thing that I had forgotten was that the image seen in the eyepiece is actually an inverted image. I was moving the telescope in the opposite direction of what I was supposed to, every time, until I realized so! Once, I realized this, it become a much easier task to align. Finally, we could see the moon - very well focused. I moved on, taking up a challenge of changing the eyepiece to 25mm, (thinking it is 25x magnification) only to wonder why was the image smaller in the 25mm eyepiece. I realized that the value on the eyepiece was the focal length and not the magnification. My task of searching the moon would have been much easier with the 25mm eyepiece... If we looked through the telescope for long enough, we could even notice the moon moving!

Now that I had all my physics together, I could maneuver the telescope with greater ease. By now, my dad arrived back home from office. We had a good time together seeing the moon, chatting and clicking pictures.  

-Suhas

15/11/16

Originally posted on 25th Nov 2016 but then pre-dated to 15th Nov 2016.

Diwali comes and goes once again...

Mom and dad

 After another whole year, Diwali came once again. This time we had no guests due to my important admission's exams being around the corner. At first, I was reluctant to burst any crackers for three different reasons! : The first being that I was bored of bursting crackers every preceding year, the second being that I wanted to reduce my contribution to noise and air pollution, the last being a more recent development of fear for bombs or fire in general (the reason unknown to me either).

Mom and I

But, on the morning of Diwali itself, which was yesterday, I realized that it might be my last Diwali in a few years - I would most likely be going to the US for my under-graduation the next August. So, I ushered my dad to buy a few crackers - something that would satisfy me that I celebrated Diwali. I burst the crackers yesterday, late in the evening (not a very pleasant sight as I was constantly fearing the bombs). Now, I am satisfied that I celebrated Diwali - probably the last time with crackers!

-Suhas

31/10/16

Day 8: Completed Telescope!

Hurray! The completed product.

PS: Ignore the red eye

Before the assembly:
I had already pre-ordered all the material that was required to assemble the telescope other than the mirror that I ground (the primary mirror). This material included the view-finder, the eye-pieces (12.5x and 25x), the eye-piece holder, a secondary small mirror, two mirror holders of different types and finally the telescope stand. I bought the PVC pipe separately according to the focal length of the primary mirror.

On the day of assembly:
On the August 30th, sir came to my house with some important tools (small screws, high-quality glue etc.) and the primary mirror, now coated with a reflective material. We decided to work in the terrace to cause a smaller mess. First, we glued the mirrors to their holders and set them aside to dry. Then, we drilled screw holes for all the parts. One by one, we put together all the parts of the telescope and completed its collimation (aligning the two mirrors together). Most of the assembly was done by sir but I assisted in setting up everything.
The final product is the telescope seen in the image on left.

-Suhas

31/08/16

Originally posted on 31st Oct 2016 but then pre-dated to 31st Aug 2016.

A lecture on gravitational waves

Previous Tuesday, I went to attend a lecture along with a friend, on gravitational waves and LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) at IUCAA (the same place where I ground the mirror for my telescope). This lecture was by an Australian professor visiting India for talk on LIGO India. I came to know about the discovery of gravitational waves when the news was first released in September 2015 but, I did not know much about how LIGO functioned or how the waves originated. I am lucky that I got a chance to attend this lecture (and after completing 12th standard physics as now I have a better knowledge about quantum theories). The lecture was very informative and not the least of boring. It instigated in me, quite a few thoughts about these quantum physics theories. Hopefully I can attend more lectures in the future!

-Suhas

Day 7: Work with the mirror is done!

Today, I went once again to continue polishing the mirror. I went with a target to complete polishing the mirror by the end of today. As soon as I reached, I started polishing the mirror with TOT and SW but, sir soon told me that I had done enough of TOT and so I switched the positions of the mirror and the fish tool to start MOT. He kept checking the mirror under a torchlight to see if the 'Rinchigram' that was required was achieved. Rinchigram is the pattern of lines formed on the surface of mirror (due to its terrain) when light is passed through a piece of 'thin glass with dark stripes spaced at regular intervals'. When the lines formed on the mirror are almost straight, the Rinchigram required is achieved and the polishing process is done.

Before lunch and after lunch, I had to check the Rinchigram several times as in the beginning of polishing, the light wasn't even passing through the mirror completely (which is supposedly normal after grinding). Sir noticed that SW wasn't being very effective and so he told me to continue with LW (long wave). LW was a more tiring process but nevertheless, I wanted to complete the polishing process today. Soon enough, the Rinchigram was achieved and the work with the mirror was done!! (not just the polishing). Sir, said that once the mirror would get coated (by an outside party), the mirror would be ready for assembly! The only thing that I was not completely satisfied with was that the mirror got slightly scratched at two places. Sir said it would not make much of a difference and so, I did not think much of it further.

-Suhas

Day 6: Polishing!

Yesterday, although I was sick, I went to start the next stage of making my telescope - polishing the mirror after the grinding process was complete. I was excited in thought that this would be something different. But once I reached there, I realized that it was to be the same old grinding method, only with different materials. This process is done with a different tool (fish tool), not the same glass tool used for the grinding process. Also, 'grit' is not used for this process but Ferric oxide solution is used. This process was easier than the process with grit as I was not supposed to apply pressure while rubbing the fish tool and the mirror together with the lubricant as the Ferric oxide solution. This solution helps shape the mirror to attain the spherical format required for the telescope.

I went after lunch and so, I did continuous polishing of the mirror (TOT and SW) for about two hours before I stopped as my arms wore out due to muscle aches (as I was sick). So, I told sir that I would be leaving. He told me to put the fish tool over the mirror in hot water before I left so that the next day, the polishing could be done with more ease. I followed that and stopped for the day...

-Suhas

Day 5: Grinding complete!

Yesterday, it was my target to complete the grinding process. As soon as I went to the place, I continued grinding with the 1200 grit that I had left the previous time. It was very very difficult to predict the right amount of grit to be used for grinding because if I use too much, I might scratch the mirror and on the other hand, if I do not use enough, the mirror will not grind sufficiently. During the first revolution of the platform, I was just figuring out the perfect amount of grit to be used. From the next revolution onward, I understood the right amount and consistency of grit to be used.

I did two revolutions and then took a break each time so that my shoulders do not feel fatigued. After four rounds, I had my lunch and then continued to grind on. After sir came back from his lunch, he checked my mirror and told the grinding hour target was achieved (finally!!!). I cleaned up the platform once again. The next time I will go to continue the telescope making process, I will start off with polishing! The work was done for the day...

-Suhas

Day 4: More grinding!

On the previous Friday, I went back to continue grinding my mirror and sure enough, everything was still there as I had left it a week ago. I had to start with the 800 grit as the previous time, I had completed the 600 grit and cleaned up the setup. I could clearly see the difference in the consistency of the grit as I was changing it each time. The higher the number, the less viscous the grit. But, at the same time, it was getting tougher to predict the right amount of grit to be used each time for grinding. So, when I started grinding with the 800 grit, once, I put wrong proportions of grit and water which lead to the mirror and glass tool getting stuck together really tightly. Sir pulled them apart by putting the mirror + tool in hot water.

After continuing to grind for a while, I took a break and had lunch. After lunch, I completed the target hours for grinding with the 800 grit. So, I cleaned up everything once again to make it ready for the final grit before the grinding procedure is complete - 1200. The sir guiding me said that I had done enough TOT and so he told me that now the mirror should be on top (MOT) throughout the rest of the grinding. I started grinding with 1200 but I realized that I was already too exhausted to do 1200. I completed one revolution with 1200 grit and then left everything as is and called it a day.

-Suhas

The Golden Triangle

The 6th of July, my parents and I set out on a trip to the Golden Triangle in Northern India. It is called the Golden Triangle because the three main tourist spots of this trip can form the vertices of a triangle - Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. So here goes my experience!:

Day 1: Travel and Delhi beaucoup!:

Early in the morning at 5:00am, I woke up to my mom's shouts... Both reluctantly and excitedly, I got down my bed to get ready for our flight. Our flight was at 7:25am. Our cab came slightly late but luckily we were on time for checking-in. I boarded a flight after an year and a half and my previous flight experience wasn't very great (extreme turbulence freaked me out). This flight on the other hand was very smooth due to a lack of clouds both over Pune and Delhi. We landed in Delhi at 9:25am and our driver-to-be Nandan was waiting for us. We got in the car and straight up headed for the first monument of our trip. Nandan is a nice person belonging to Delhi because of whom we could cover more of Delhi than we first thought of as you can see further in the blog. He also entertained us well during the long journeys in cars.

Qutab Minar

Iron Pillar

First up and closest to the airport is Qutab Minar. It is a very old tower of victory which commenced building in 1193. The surroundings of Qutab Minar also houses a Mosque and an 'Iron pillar' (not just any, it is a special one...) Qutab Minar was built by the material obtained by destroying 27 Hindu temples. It has five storeys and is 73m high. When we reached the monument, we had our packed breakfast in the car itself while our driver bought us entry tickets. Once we got down the car, we were introduced not only to the monument but also to the scorching heat of Delhi. By the time we completed scouting the whole place, my parents were drenched in sweat and I was feeling overheated too. We saw the Iron pillar at the very end. It is one of the first iron pillars that were made rustproof and that has very well been confirmed in the modern day. We had a nice time and were still pretty enthusiastic, it being the first of many.

Lotus Temple

Next, we went to visit the Lotus Temple. This Temple as the name suggests, is built in the shape of a gigantic lotus. It is a relatively new structure and was built in 1986. The outside structure is pure white marble and this 'Bahai Temple' chose the shape of lotus as it is an important symbol for several religions including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism. The view of the Temple from far away was very good and as we went closer, the marble made it look great. In my opinion, the inside of the Temple was very similar to the seating in old large Churches. We sat inside in complete silence for sometime and heard the cheerful sounds of the birds in the Temple's surroundings. After a while, we left the Temple premises and headed for the next monument in the afternoon heat.

ISKCON Temple

Another Temple upcoming... This time it is the ISKCON Temple. It is a tourist attraction as it is a beautiful place promoting the Vedic culture along with audio-visual presentation of the Bhagvadgita. We visited the temple at a very odd time and could not see around for very long as the temple was about to close for the afternoon. We went inside where we saw several idols of different gods. We sat down for a while not only to watch the people, listen to the bhajans being played by the devotees, but also for cooling down underneath the fans (The heat was unbearable as we were not accustomed to such heat in Pune). Just outside the temple premises, we ate kulfis and left for lunch in a nearby place as suggested by our driver.

Humayun's Tomb

After our lunch, we visited Humayun's Tomb (or rather the complete mausoleum). It was built nine years after Humayun, the second Mughal emperor's accidental death by falling of a staircase. It was built in 1565. Inside the premises (after buying the tickets), the pathways were not well covered by the trees and so, the heat was simply annoying. Along with Humayun's Tomb, we got to see Isa Khan's Tomb which was supposedly built about a decade before Humayun's. This tomb was much milder than even the entrance gateway to Humayun's Tomb. We saw this tomb first and then went ahead to Humayun's Tomb which was huge in size. Inside, not only was Humayun's final resting place but also several other tombs in side rooms. The architecture was beautiful and we also got to see the classic Islamic type dome at the top of the tomb.

Later, on the way to the India Gate, we saw the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Parliament House from where the decisions of whole of India are made and signed. The place is huge and really grand. Of course, we are neither allowed inside the premises nor allowed to wait for a long time outside the building to make it look suspicious. We clicked some quick pictures and left soon after.

At India Gate

We then visited the India Gate - a 42m high monument very similar in shape to France's Arc-de-Triomphe. It is built to honour the Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting in the WW-I for Britain. Also, it bears the names of over 13000 soldiers who perished in the 1919 Afghan War. Underneath the gate, an eternal flame is burnt in honour of the soldiers who died in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. When we reached this monuments, lots of photographers offered clicking pictures for albums. We got three pictures and then enjoyed the monument a while more before leaving. Our driver showed us around the huge circular road of about 2km circumference around the India Gate with about 12 connecting roads. Now we left for the only night-visit place in our entire five-day tour.

Akshardham from outside

We reached Akshardham - a massive Temple inaugurated in 2005. It displays the efforts of 11000 artisans and over 10000 years of Indian culture and traditions. It is a Temple dedicated to Bhagwan Swaminarayan who is believed to have been one of God's messengers. It was going to be a long time inside the Temple premises as the place offered several things other than just visiting the actual Temple. When we reached, we realized that neither handbags, nor any electronics are allowed inside the premises. So, my dad went back to the car to leave everything there. We then went inside the Temple premises only to sit down exhausted by heat (even in the evening!). My dad bought the combo tickets for all the exhibitions that were offered.

• First up, we saw the robotic film of the life of Swaminarayan. In a series of rooms, different scenes of his life were shown by moving robotic statues. It was a different way of showing a film and hence, I enjoyed the experience.
• Next, we experienced the boat ride that took us through a small stream showing 10000 years of Indian culture and traditions through statues (immobile) along with a well-programmed, perfectly synchronized voice originating from the boat's speakers itself.
• Next, we viewed a film which depicted the 12000km foot journey of an 11 year old boy Nilkanth (later named Swaminarayan).
• Lastly, we saw the musical fountain for a while, but it wasn't really great so, we left it half-way to see the Temple before the gates closed. The Temple architecture was great, considering that it was made in this millennium but made in an ancient way. There were several domes in the inside of the temple - each with equal splendour.

Akshardham was the last stop for the day as it was already 9:00pm, and we ate our dinner in the canteen of Akhardham itself. While on way to our hotel, we drove through Delhi's popular area Connaught Place where we again saw large circular roads (probably it's the British style of architecture). We then checked-in to our night-stay hotel - Hotel Southern. After enjoying the free-wifi for a while and unpacking our luggage, we went to sleep, in hopes of waking up early next morning although we were exhausted.

Day 2: Delhi, we aren't finished with you yet!:

Birla Mandir

We woke up later than we wished to. We ate in the hotel itself as the breakfast was complementary. Later, we began the day with another Temple as it was the nearest to our hotel... This time it was the Laxmi Narayan Temple (also known as Birla Mandir). It is a major tourist attraction as it is a beautiful place. Built in 1939 and inaugurated be Mahatma Gandhi himself, the Temple is open to all castes of Hindus. Inside were the idols of several different gods. We saw around the place as it was a pretty large premises. Although the Temple was well-built, my parents said that the Hyderabad Birla Mandir is better.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

Next, we went to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. It is one of the most prominent Sikh's place of worship in Delhi. It was originally built as a small temple in 1783 but then built as it is currently. When we went to the Gurudwara, our driver told us that our hair should not exposed inside the premises. My mom used her dupatta (long scarf), while my dad and I used the handkerchiefs that we brought along. The temple looked grand along with the water pool that was clean enough that fish were living inside it. This water pool is holy and is called as 'Sarovar'. The Gurudwara building itself had several parts of it gold-plated which made it look really good not only up close but even from outside the premises.

Next up was the Jantar Mantar. It was constructed in 1724 by Jaipur's Maharaja Jai Singh. This Jantar Mantar is one of the five he built in different places of India (the others being in Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura). Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory that he built to take accurate measurements of Sun's and stars' positions in the sky, the duration of the day and other astronomical measurements. Unfortunately though, the Delhi observatory is not functional anymore so we just took a look around the observatory and left soon after.

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial

Raj Ghat was next as it was nearby Jantar Mantar. It was originally a memorial dedicated just to Mahatma Gandhi. But, over time, memorials to well known politicians of India have been built surrounding the main memorial area. We did not want to use up much time, so we just visited the main memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and then left the place for our next stop - Jama Masjid.

Jama Masjid of Delhi is the largest Mosque in India. It commenced building in 1644 by Shah Jahan - the Mughal emperor well known for building Taj Mahal. It is capable of holding 25000 devotees and is made of sandstone. When we reached there, we came to know at the entrance that people are not allowed inside the Mosque without covering their legs completely. As my dad and I were in shorts, we were given 'lungi' type dresses to cover our legs. Inside, a man showed us around the place and as it was afternoon time, not many people were seen. People had finished their prayers in the morning (it being Eid festival time). We clicked pictures and left the place after handing back the 'lungis'.

Inside Jama Masjid

Outside Red Fort

Almost opposite the street leading to the Mosque is the Red Fort - another construction made under the rule of Shah Jahan. It was the palace of his kingdom's capital 'Shahjahanabad'. During Indian independence day, the president delivers his speech from the walls of this massive fort. It is made of red sandstone. At the time we reached the fort, unfortunately, there was massive crowd at the ticket counters and it would be a waste of time for the rest of the day to wait in the so-called "Indian queues" to get tickets for entering the fort. So, we chose to stay out and click some pictures before leaving.

White Tiger at the Zoo

Our next stop was a Zoological park (or simply a zoo...) which was not originally in our "to-see list" but our driver suggested that we should go see the zoo. Our driver managed to get us entry from the staff entry gate as he had a friend whose father had just retired from working at the zoo. So, we avoided the long wait of getting tickets as the crowd was as large as that at Red Fort. We enjoyed seeing several animals that are not common in India such as the Jaguar, Cheetah etc. What I actually wanted to see was a Lion but when we went to the Lion's compartment, it was not to be seen (it was probably hiding from the heat too...) After having a good time, we left the zoo.

On the way, we visited Ramakrishnan Mut (again suggested by the driver). We saw the temple inside and also the bookstore where there were several different books based on spirituality. We then left for the hotel as most monumental sites close by 5:30pm - 6:30pm and we had finished the important things on our list.

When we were back at the hotel, we decided to go to the Ghaffar market which was straight down the lane of our hotel. My dad bought some stuff in the market while my mom and I were just looking around the market, not really interested in anything. We still had to eat dinner, so we found a small eating place in a sweets shop, ate light and went back to the hotel. We enjoyed the wifi a while more and slept as we had to get up early the next day to leave for Jaipur.

Day 3: We are coming Jaipur!!:

We woke up pretty early in the morning and got ready to check out from the hotel to continue our trip to Jaipur. It would be approximately a three hour ride. My mom and I slept off in the rear seat of the car as we woke up pretty early. My dad sat in the front, guiding the driver and giving directions to him using google maps. I woke up when we are reaching closer to Jaipur. When we entered the city, we were directly in the old city where three main tourist attractions are - Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal and City Palace. The old city was pretty messed up with tiny streets and too many one-ways as there was metro construction ongoing. This made google maps unreliable too. We just followed the boards blindly and reached Jantar Mantar eventually.

One of the instruments at
Jantar Mantar

We thought the Jantar Mantar of Jaipur would be similar to the one in Delhi but we realized that this one was in full working condition. We went and looked around the several different astronomical instruments that were there to measure the time, length of the day, altitude of celestial objects and also positions of celestial objects in the sky. Unfortunately, the technical language on the information boards were not easy to interpret even by me who is slightly better at astronomy than a lay-man visiting Jantar Mantar. After viewing all these, we exited Jantar Mantar and opposite was the secondary entrance to the City Palace.

A cannon at City
Palace

City Palace was a huge place by one of Jaipur's kings in the 1700s who had earned the title "Sawai" literally meaning 'one and a quarter'. Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor had given him this title to note that the king was much more than others. City Palace now showcases a lot of the royal stuff, weaponry and clothing of the past kings. We rented an audio guide at the entrance to understand each thing in more detail. We got to know a lot of things about the palace and were really impressed or surprised by some of the things that were used so long back in the 1700s. After we completed listening to information about all the parts of the palace, we returned the audio guide and left the palace to go to the next place.

The old city was a complete maze and we had to hire these battery-operated rickshaws to roam around the streets only to have traveled a short distance as there were a lot of one ways. When we reached the car in the parking, we decided it would not be worth to roam around the place once more to go to Hawa Mahal and so we decided we would see Hawa Mahal the next day and we left old city to visit some forts atop a hill. On the way to the hill, we saw Jal Mahal situated amidst a lake and not allowed for people to go to via any means.

Jaigarh cannon

When we reached the hill, we first visited the Jaigarh fort, where the world's largest cannon is situated. When it was test fired back in the day (1727), its shell reached out 36km from the place it was fired. This was the only reason we wished to visit the fort. Once we saw the cannon, we were about to leave when a security guard suggested us to view other parts of the fort. We decided we would venture in for a while but realized that the routes were a complete maze and we did not have much time to explore where the routes led us to. So, we left for the next fort - Amber Fort. We decided to ignore Nahargarh fort as there is nothing really special to see there.

Amber Fort

At Amber Fort, we hired a guide who told us about the history of the fort. It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1727. This palace complex is a lavish one and also has a court Diwan-e-Am - The hall of public audience. The main attraction that we went to visit Amber Fort was Sheesh Mahal (the chamber of mirrors). Unfortunately, we realized that this part of the fort was now closed to public as the mirrors were being plucked off by visitors. So, there wasn't much left to do over here. We clicked some pictures in the courtyards and then the guide took us a bit downhill where we got to see the local artwork, including statues, clothing, bedding etc. Then we saw the world's second largest 'Taj Mahal' which was an exact replica but about the size of a small bed. We then left for our hotel.

The ride to our hotel, with directions from google maps was a very rough one through the small slums and streets of Jaipur. It was a disappointing ride considering the fact that Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. But, the ride was totally worth at the end. The hotel - Lemon Tree Premier (a 4-star) was my first high class hotel experience. When we reached the hotel for checking-in, they gave us a free upgrade to the deluxe suite as the rooms were quite empty - it being off-season. I loved the room that we were provided with. I enjoyed that evening in the room itself, only to leave the room for dinner that night. We found a small eating place on the second floor atop a sweets shop where we ate light and then went back to the hotel room to have a comfortable sleep on the bed. We were supposed to wake up early next morning as we had to visit Ajmer and Pushkar (not to forget Hawa Mahal).

Day 4: Total disaster :(

When I woke up, I was wondering why was I woken up so late (8:00am). My mom told me that my dad was very sick and that we were not going to Ajmer and Pushkar anymore. I felt bad, as I remember several instances where I fell sick during trips too. I was partially sick too with a running nose and mild cough. My mom was slightly sick too just like me. We nailed down the reason to most likely be the previous night's meal. As my dad was sick, I continued to sleep (or loll around the bed) too.

Then, my mom suggested that just she and I could go visit Hawa Mahal and also Jantar Mantar once again as we did not understand the functioning of most of the instruments properly. So, I got ready and my mom and I went to eat our complementary breakfast... and... it was so lavish! I had never seen such a buffet setup for breakfast. There was so much stuff to choose from - different juices, different breads, other meals, different cheeses, salads etc... I ate a heavy meal just as the saying goes (breakfast should be the heaviest meal of the day). We took some back to our room as my dad was feeling weak and also had a weak appetite.

In Hawa Mahal

At around 11:00am, my mom and I left the hotel to go to the old city to view Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. We first decided to revisit Jantar Mantar. We hired a guide when we reached there, who explained the purpose and working of every instrument that was setup at that observatory. After this, we went to Hawa Mahal.

Hawa Mahal is the most recognizable monument of Jaipur, is five storeys high and was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It was (when functional) a recreational palace for the women of the royal family and their 'dasis' (servants). We hired a guide who told us a lot about the palace, what was each part of the palace for and what way it functioned back in the day. From the top floor of the Mahal, we could also see the 'Ishwar Lat' tower - a seven-storey 'heaven piercing' minaret that provides a view of the entire old Jaipur city.

View atop Hawa Mahal

After visiting these two monuments, we started our return ride to the hotel just to realize that google maps was completely messing up our return journey. Three routes that google maps was suggesting were impossible to use as the Jaipur metro construction had blocked these roads from use. We were stuck and going around the place in circles not knowing which way to go. So, I checked the maps a bit more closely and chose a route that it was not suggesting. It worked! This route wasn't blocked (turns out that you should sometimes actually not listen to google maps...)

This day, which was meant to be dedicated to Ajmer and Pushkar turned into a 'Enjoy a 4-star hotel experience'. We did not want to risk our health further, so we ordered Fried rice and Hakka noodles from the in-room dining menu and ate in our room itself. The food was really good. Later, we did not have much to do and the free wifi was set such that each device can use it for only an hour a day. So, I turned on the TV and watched two movies in a row (a feat I had never done before) - Home Alone 3, and Independence Day. Both movies were really good. Next, my mom decided to order our dinner from the hotel menu too. The pizza was very good too! The experience in terms of room, and food - both were great! After this, I killed time (I do not even remember how) and went to sleep at about 10:20pm as we were to get up early next day too...

Day 5: We would see the beauty this day:

We woke up early in the morning as we had to leave for Agra (and Fatehpur-Sikri en route). When I woke up, I was surprised that my dad was almost normal after he was badly sick the previous day. It usually takes me a long time to recover as my colds are usually chronic. My dad recovered super-fast! We checked-out of the hotel and then started off for Fatehpur-Sikri in our car.

My mom and I slept off in the rear seat of the car once again as we woke up early in the morning. My dad had to sit in the front to guide the driver on how to reach our destination. The highways were surprisingly wide. We were able to cruise at pretty high speeds on these roads and that meant reaching our destination faster. I woke up a while before we reached Fatehpur-Sikri.

Fatehpur-Sikri

Fatehpur-Sikri is a fascinating city built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1569. Akbar did not have a heir to the throne even at the age of 26. He consulted a saint named Salim Chisthi, by walking a long distance from his capital palace to Sikri where the saint resided. The saint's blessings gave Akbar three sons. In return to this, Akbar built this complete city along with the main fort to commemorate this saint. Later, the place was deserted due to water shortages and has since been untouched as we see it today. We hired a guide along with a package who paid all the fees of entry, rickshaw travel, shoe-keeping etc. Just as at Jama Masjid, we were not allowed inside in shorts. So, we wore the similar 'lungi' in order to go inside.

Inside the Shrine

The guide explained us a lot about the history of the place and what all would be conducted in the massive courtyard inside the fort complex. Directly in the courtyard, we could see the tombs of several family members of the saint. The place had a very similar design to Jama Masjid (but it should be considered that this place was built earlier). Also inside, was a Mosque / Shrine built for the saint himself. It was built out of marble. We had to wear a 'topi' to go inside and also cleanse our hands first. Although, overall the place was very dirty after festival happenings, the architectural design of the Mosque was very good! We then left the place to go to our next destination - Agra.

Agra is not very far away from Fatehpur-Sikri, but as I was pretty sick, I was feeling weak and I slept off in the car once again. As we reached the West gate of Taj Mahal, we realized that the crowd was too huge and we may not get an entry ticket. Our driver's relative lived in Agra. With his help, we navigated to the East gate which was supposedly the VIP gate. He got us the tickets but we were a bit reluctant to get out of the car as it had started to rain quite heavily. We realized it would be a waste of time to stay in the car for such a long time and just as we got out of the car, luckily, the rain started to subside... When we got inside the East gate, we hired a guide once again....

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal was built under the rule of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan from 1632 to 1648 as the most magnificent tomb for his deceased and 'favourite' wife Mumtaz Mahal. It was built by over 20000 workers for seventeen years! Now, this piece of architecture is open to the public but under pretty tight security conditions as Taj Mahal is the number one wonder of the world! When we got inside the gate, first of all we saw the Mumtaz Mahal (not the lady... another main entry gate). This itself was a grand gate to enter and view the Taj Mahal. As we started to enter this gate, there it was! We could see the beautifully constructed structure of white marble! Also, the tiles were made of red sandstone. A photographer clicked us some photographs which would be handed to us later on at South gate (an unknown disaster it was going to be...) I was too tired to walk much so after a while, my dad continued to walk to get closer to the building, but my mom and I went back to the south gate to collect the pictures...

...Now, this was a disaster. We realized, we could not enter back in once we exited the South gate for the photos. My dad was inside while we were outside and it does not end there! We had to wait a complete hour to get our photos in so much of a crowd. It was a really annoying wait, and once we got our photos, it was a long route to get back to the Eastern gate to catch the mini-bus back to the parking area. It was annoying, and tiring. After this ordeal, we ate at KFC and then went on for Agra Fort.

Outside Agra Fort

I was not really interested to go to Agra Fort... But, we had enough time to visit Agra Fort but not sufficient to visit Mathura en route Delhi (as we had to catch our flight). So, we decided to go to Agra Fort. We expected the crowd to be as bad as it was at Red Fort but, though it wasn't that bad, it would still take a long enough wait in the line to get the tickets. My mom waited in the line while I scouted the place restlessly and my dad took a quick look of the inside. He put forward the point that it might take too long inside and so, we left the place to go back to Delhi.

This time, I sat at the front as my dad was feeling weak again. The roads were really wide which was a good thing once again to cruise at high speeds. This is when my dad gets a message that our flight was delayed by 40 minutes! So, we would go to Delhi and wait at the airport doing nothing (how interesting!) Once we reached Delhi, we ate our dinner at a restaurant in Connaught Place and then left for the airport. At the airport, I used my mom's 2G to play some games on my phone but soon I got bored of that too and roamed around the place while my parents dozed off. When it was almost time, I asked a person at the check-in counter whether check-in was open for our flight, and it was almost shocking to know that the check-in was going to close soon!! It was luck that I asked at the right time. I woke up my parents, completed the formalities, boarded the flight and were back home in Pune at about 3:30am and we slept early next morning at 4:00am... A hectic last day and in general an awesome trip and experience!

-Suhas
17/07/16