Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Fort Tiracol symbolises freedom from Portuguese

Fort Tiracol is literally on the northern most tip of Goa, it is virtually the boundary of Maharastra.  It can be reached from the ferry point at Querim,  across the river tiracol or rather the back waters.  It can be approached from the newly constructed bridge on Vernem crossing into Maharastra and back to Triacol if one travels around 4 kms.  Another approach road is from Vengurla or Kudal rather to reach this destination.  It is almost 60 kms from Panjim via the coastal route via Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Vagator beach road, via Siloli.  One has to keep Querim enquiring about the road deviations to reach this spot.

History :  The King of Sawantwadi Maharaj Khem Sawant Bhosle from the Shivaji clan built this fortress on the northern most tip of the Tiracol river to protect his territory from invasion by Portuguese and others from the sea front.  The hillock chosen to construct this fort had a vantage view of the Arabian sea and back waters of Tiracol river.  The name has its gensis in Marathi which signifies steep river bank ( Tri Khol ).  The fort initially sheltered a vast fleet of naval vessels of the Maharaja along with cannon turrets on the fortress.


But it was unsuccessful strategy, it attracted the attention of the 44th governor of Portuguese Pedro Miguel de Almeida, who defeated the king in a fierce naval and ground battle.  It lead to the surrender of the fortress to Portuguese in November 1746.  From than on Portuguese strengthened and revamped in 1764.  the maritime fort was reinforced by adding additional fortifications on the ramparts to encompass 12 cannons.   The fort was seized once again by the British who defeated the Marathas in 1819 and occupied the fortress.  The british had signed a treaty with the Portuguese in 1661, as a consequence of marriage of King Charles II and Catherine of Portugal, there was on and off friendly gestures between them.

Dr Bernardo Peres De Silva lead the first rebellion against the Portuguese during the civil war in 1825.  The Potuguese took shelter at Tiracol Fort to recoup.  Tiger Da Cunha entered the fortress and beheaded the entire garrison.  The fort was severally damaged in the rebellious attack and the Chapel was later rebuilt.

On 15 August 1954, the sathyagrahis entered the fort and raised the Indian Tri colour.  They were later captured and imprisoned in the fortress.  A church of Holy Trinity was constructed in its courtyard which later came to be known as St Anthony’s church, which is now in state of ruins.  The church is not open to public.

It is sad that such a historic fort is run as a heritage hotel, currently under renovation with only 7 rooms.  It could be converted as a historic museum and monument signifying freedom from Portuguese.

One can have a birds eye view of the Tiracol beach from the ramparts of the fort.  It also provides a panaromic view of the landscape, there is a memorial constructed on just outside the fortress for the freedom fighters who lost lives during the liberation of goa in 1961 through operation Vijay and other rebellions in the past which were unsuccessful.  Overall a visit to Tiracol takes us back to the legacy of freedom struggle from the british as well as the Portuguese.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Basadis of Bhatkal

I had heard a lot regarding existence of Jain basadis located in muslim dominated Bhatkal.  So i decided to venture and explore the age old Jain basadis which have been converted to Hindu temples by the local community in due course of time.
Jettappa Nayakana Basadi :  This happens to be largest Basadi situated closer to the town which goes towards the police station and market.  One has to take a U turn if one is travelling towards Goa from Mangalore to visit this Basadi, which is roughly two kms and it is on the main road itself on the left hand side. 


This basadi was built by Naryana Nayak in 1556, who was son of a general in Queen Chennabhairadevi ( who is also known as Pepper Queen ) who ruled this territory. We can surmise that Jettappa Nayak was a prosperous pepper trader from Bhatkal.  The two storied structure housed the images of jain thirtankaras, such as Neminath, Parsavnath, Mallinath, etc, who were all jain saints.  The upper floor is closed to public in lieu of protection of the monument. 
On the left hand side of the complex, one can witness an enclosed Pillar Manasthamba, which is miniature in size.  Behind the main complex is a hall which has huge Pillar Manasthamba which signifies jain basadi.  The entire complex seems to be renovated and landscaped to protect the jain heritage of the town.



Most of the statues and engravings are missing from the complex or facade of the Basadi, either they have been taken away for safe keeping in a museum or vandalised by invaders according to me.  

Inscriptions found in the temple complex states that Bhatkal was once a prosperous port town wherein horses were imported and sugar and white rice along with spices were exported. The inscriptions also confirm the reign of Vijaynagar Empire which was a prosperous kingdom during the 16th century.
Location :  If one is driving on NH 17 ( now NH 66 ) one should watch out for a right turn just two 2 km before Bhatkal town which also happens to be road leading to railway station.  Ask for railway station instead of Jain Basadis if one is travelling from Gokarna or Goa towards Udupi or Mangalore.  It is 2 kms after one crosses Bhatkal town. There are series of 6 temples or Basadis located one after the other.
Erotica at Ketapai Nayak temple is the icing on the cake for one interested in this form of sculpture.  Some of them are fashioned on likes of Aihole & Khajuraho.  It also indicates the open culture of the Indians who followed the manual of Kamasutra to the core.  



Ketapai Naryana Temple :  This temple was built in 1546 by a businessman named Ketapai who used to trade in horses and other imported stuff from Arabia, which was supplied to mainly Vijaynagar Empire. The pillar at the entrance of the temple premises is typical of Jain Manastambha and therefore qualifies for status of Basadi. 

Suddenly one notices the erotic sculpted on the side platforms of the temple premises.  Some panels look like plain wrestling and some of them display erotica in a mild form.  The panel on the temple facade on the right clearly displays Khajuraho type of erotic which is clearly fading away.

Our ancestors seem to have mastered the manual of Kamasutra looking at the sculptures embedded on the facade of the temple.  Westerns may have considered it gross in olden times, but looking at the sculpture, sexual exploits were probably at its zenith considering the prosperity prevailing during the Vijaynagar era.

Inside one comes across a small temple which is guarded by two dwarpalkas and a fabled dragon at the enterance.  The slabs above the temple is built sliding towards the ground inorder to ensure that heavy rainfall does not cause damage to the structure.  The temple is well ventilated with various windows surrounding the rectangle shaped temple.  The facade of the temple is well decorated literally with various scenes of Ramayana including the yagna, coronation of lord Rama, etc.


Ketapai Basadi is one of the first of the Basadis one can witness going along on the right side of the road.  Than if one proceeds further one comes across the next temple or basadi.


Joshi Shankarnarayana temple : Another small temple complex is located further to Ketapai Narayana temple with a compound gate.  This premises houses a small temple built with granite with a sloping inclined roof to protect the temple from heavy humidity and rainfall.  The compound is occupied by the priest who was conducting a function for the devotees when we visited the temple.  This temple too has been built around Ketapai temple by rival businessmen inorder to keep up the tradition of donating to the lord.
Adike Narayan Basadi :  Luckily this premise does not seem to have been occupied by temple priests family.  The compound adjescent has house built, maybe an encroachment too.  This temple was built around 1500s by donations from arecanut farmers, therefore the temple is called Adike ( which in Kannada means arecanut ) Naryana temple. This basadi rather has a beautiful pillar welcoming one into the compound.

Shantappa Thirumala Nayaka Temple : This temple was built in 1555 by Shantappa Nayaka who seems to be a grocery trader of Bhatkal.  This temple has a small temple built in conical shaped roof, and embedded with carvings on the window panels of the temple.  The sanctum sanatorium consists of diety and the priest resides in the compound of the temple.  This temple too has some erotic engravings on the platform of the temple just like Ketapai temple.  The Pillar is absent in this temple, which may have collapsed due to ageing. 
Lakshmi Narashima Temple :  This temple is the furtherest of all temple, which we let go due to paucity of time along with Lakkar Kamti temple.
Overall it was wonderful exploring the exoctic basadis at Bhatkal, we heard Bhatkal Biryani too is famous, but one has to go inside the town, to have a taste of the same, however i have tasted plenty of Bhatkal biryanis, so we had a good vegetarian lunch at 4 seasons which also serves good non veg too, it is located next to Vijaya Bank after one crosses the Bhatkal main cirlce.





Yana Peaks


Trekking is generally considered to be domain of teenagers in view of their strength, agility and spirit of adventure.  But this destination which offers the same pleasure for a family and children with 1.5 km long trek along with steep ascent on steps laid towards the peak.   

 
LOCATION :
Location : It is situated enroute to Sirsi from Kumta with a distance of 26 kms precisely off the national highway NH 17 which is now redesignated as NH 66.  It can be approached via Sirsi side too which has a lesser trek of . 5 km when compared to the main route.  The road condition are just average.  There is an entry point closer to Mirjan fort too to reach this destination one has to take left turn from Anegundi. 

After driving through the forest area which is no so dense, one reaches the trekking point where one can park their vehicles and begin the journey.  The route is filled with plenty of flora but less of fauna even though sign boards show some feline movements.  Streams keep flowing from the moutaineous terrain, one should tread carefully in some places where pebbles can trip. 



As one closes towards the twin peaks of Yana one finds caution notice for wild bees, which have their hives on the cliff.  These forest bees when disturbed can chase an individual and sting very badly, once we had a bitter experience of the same in Tibetian colony.  It is better to not to swing ones shawl on them it can trigger a chain reaction with other bees joining the fray to sting the hell out of an intruder into their domain.

YANA is a actually a village in Uttara Kannada district.  The rock formation are basically a volcanic eruption, but some consider it as an asteroid remains too.  The bigger peak raises to a height of 120 meters ( 390 feet ) and smaller one is 90 meters ( 300 feet )  Both the rocks are solid black in colour.  The bigger one is named after Lord Shiva Bhaireswara Shikara and smaller one is known as Mohini Shikara.
On the ground level there is a temple dedicated to lord Shiva, which is actually a cave temple which is opened during Shivarathri time for piligrims to have dharshan.  The statue is supposed to be self formed or syambhu linga.  Drops of water keeps dripping on the statue making it sanctimonious  to the people of the area.  Recently a silver statute of Chandika or Durga is also installed to give tourists a glimpse of the myth prevailing in the area. 


A natural water fall is also prevalent known as Vibuthi falls and Sathodi falls nearby.  These water falls are mostly active or in its fullest glory during the rainy season.  There is a constant stream flowing from the hillock where some tourist like to have a dip and cool themselves. 


Driving down the lonely road towards Yana might give one some creeps of a desolate forest area initially but one need not worry since lost of residents have their houses by the side of the road.  But it is better to complete the trip before night fall, especially during summer where feline are likely to stray towards habitation in search of prey.


Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sindhudurg Fortress, Legacy of Shivaji Maharaj




Prologue :  This happens to be my 150th post on Indiabackpacker and it is a nice concidence forme to dedicate it to the master of guerrilla warfare Chatrapathi Shivaji.  The beaches of Goa however good maybe did not enamour me because i happened to cover beaches in Singapore, Pattaya and our own backyard of Sashitulu, Surathkal, Kaup and Malpe along with Marvanthe which are world class in their own right.  So we decided to cover most of the fortress in Goa and Maharashtra.  Earlier i had visited Murud Zanjira and Alibaugh Fortress, but the decision to cover Sindhudurg Fort was perfect one.  We had to travel all the way from Goa, crossing Tiracol river by Ferry and travelling a distance of nearly 130 kms on coastal goa and Maharashtra to reach Malavan.  Enroute we found a green field Airport under construction at Malvan, which might change the topography of the region in future
                                                                                              
 Location :Sindhudurg fort is situated roughly 5 kms into the sea from Malvan beach, it is now reachable by motorised boats from Malvan Jetty.  Currently one is charged Rs 50/- per head for a return journey by the same boat for accounting purpose.  The journey takes hardly 25 minutes veering into the volcanic rock formation jutting out of the seabed.  Each motorised boat is loaded with 50 pax which includes the children, a queue system is followed by the boat owners.
How to reach Malvan, from Mumbai one can reach by the coastal route travelling 450 odd kms, or vide Highway to Ratnagiri or Kankavali and take the coastal route to Malvan.  From Bangalore one has to travel towards Belgaum, Ponda, Mapusa, Kudal and towards Malvan.  From Goa obviously there are two routes one via Mapusa another via Tricol Fort, which we undertook.  One has to pay entry fee if goes through the main route of NH 17.


The fort was almost fashioned in mould of Murud Zanzira fortress in guerilla style,  which was held by the Siddhis fiercely protecting their territory of reign.  I believe over 5000 mounds of cast iron was used to ensure a strong foundation, i suspect the volcanic rocks were used as a guideline to form the boundary walls of the fortress which circles to a distance of 3 Kms.  The enterance of the fort is hidden from the oncoming vessel in such a fashion that it can be easily given a go by.  It is designed to camouflage its existence from the enemy ranks. 

Construction of this fortress began on 5th November and it took more than 3 years to complete the same.  The fortress is spread over 48 acres, with walls raised almost 30 feet on each sides so as to make it unassailable.    The thickness of wall 12 feet inorder to ensure smooth movement of materials such as gun powder, swords, potable water etc


Probably a small outpost already existed in 1656, the construction was supervised by Hiroji Indulkar. One can witness footprint and impression of Shivaji Maharaj.  There are in all three temples in dedication of lord Shiva and Devi.  A huge fresh water pond exists which must been used to harvest rain water for drinking purpose. There are number of wells and ponds and even a tunnel to escape from enemy attack.  Some of the ponds have vanished due to lack of water storage or inadequate rainfall. 

Sindhudurg fortress and Vijay Durg virtually served as the naval base for the Marathas to fend off a likely attacks from Portuguese, Siddhis, Dutch and the British. Shivaji Maharaj was blessed with able naval admirals such as Tukoji who is father of Kanhoji Angre ( greatest Maratha naval commander )

There were almost 200 outposts on the Konkan coast established to protect the invasion from the sea.  Shivaji’s commanders were adapt with guerialla warfare by taking the invading vessels by surprise.  On the other hand Siddhis too were fierce fighters in alliance with the Moghuls from Murud Zanjira fortress. 

There are three temples and a seperate building housing a library of Shivaji's fortress across Maharashtra inside the premises of the fortress.  The main temple was dedicated to Maharaj Shivaji by his son Rajaram. In fact around 15 families have stayed put inside the fortress serving as priests and caretakers and guides for the tourists, some of them are fisherman too.

Overall Sindhudurg Fort signifies the naval dominance which is probably replicated by the Indian Navy at Sea bird Karwar.  The inspiration to protect the coastal belt has intensified after 26/11 terror attack.  I hope the rich legacy of preservation is carried by the tourist department, there is such vast expansion of land on the fortress that a beautiful landscaped garden can be created, i hope the work in this direction is carried out to consider it as a world heritage monument.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Fort Aguada Bem Vindo, Goa

Bem Vindo in Portuguese means Welcome to Fort Aguada !
Aguada means spring in Portuguese, which is source of pure drinking water.  The landscape on the northern most mouth of the river Mondovi formed a strategic point to build a fortress which is partitioned into a double decker.  The upper deck consisted of water tank which contained a large reserve of 23,76,000 gallons of water and a light house.  The potable water was source of livelihood for the soldiers and traders visiting Goa from foreign lands.  They used to refill their tankers with water and proceed further down south towards Calicut and Kochi. 

The lighthouse was built in such a fashion that it used to emit signal to the ships every 7 minutes, which was later timed to 30 seconds.  It is four storied conical shaped building which happened to be largest in Asia in Olden times. 



The lower deck consisted of a fortress with berthing facility for ships and a Watch tower stretching upto to the Arabian Sea.  Currently the beach and the lower deck belongs to Taj group of hotels which has built a heritage property with a swimming pool and luxurious rooms for tourists to stay comfortably.
The fort consisted of a moat surrounded with water to protect from invasion by the enemies, it was filled with crocs to scare away the invaders from attempting to scale the fortress.  The Marathas were known for their guerilla warfare against which the Portuguese had to take plenty of precautions.

The primary reason for building Fort Aguada was to enhance the security of Goa against the frequent naval strikes by Marathas, Dutch and Ottomon empire.  Everybody were keen to extract their piece of cake from the trading opportunities of spices, gems & diamonds, muslin and other forest produce in the konkan belt.  The Arabs used to earlier import horses, perfumes, etc into India to be sold to local kings and Vijaynagar empire.  This demand was being fulfilled by the Portuguese.  The Portuguese traders were clever to switch and sell diamonds to the world referring it to as Indian Diamond.  The diamonds mined from the Vijayanagar empire were the best in its grade which is unmatched probably even today. 
The fortress was constructed during the Viceroy Rui Lourenco De Tavaro ( 1609 – 1612 )  and inaugurated during rule of D Jeronimo De Azevedo ( 1612 – 1617 ) as a reinforcement to the already existing fortress inside the Mandovi river bed.  This fortress is almost built in square shaped formation with turrets and watch tower manning the fortress.  The firepower unleashed from this fortress would have caused unimaginable damage to the enemy lines on the sea front as well as land.

Aguada too seems to have been chiselled out of a hillock and built with laterite stones which was naturally occurring on the landscaped.  The local masonaries were used who were adapt at construction, with the architecture planned by the Portuguese.

Just a few meters away from the Aguada fortress exists a Church with statue of Jesus in a redeemer fashion beckoning the disciples to come into his fold.  This Church has an excellent view point to give a panoramic view of the Aguada fortress and its hillock.  Below one can find the prisoners barracks, which is used even today as a Central prison.  The prison is heavily guarded, and tourists are not permitted to enter the premise.  Many a tourist are carried away by the notice board which mentions only Tuesday and Friday entry is allowed outside the prison gate. 

Enroute if one finds time one can visit the Dolphin Jetty, which is advisable than the Coco Bridge because the traffic snarl and parking will be time consuming.  On this jetty one can find parking by the sides and quick getaway.  Also one can spot Kingfisher pvt. Jetty, Kashmir Emporium and plenty of food joints catering to tourists across the world enroute to Calangute beach. 


The legacy of Fort Aguada is far reaching considering its strategic location, there is even a helipad located for the VIPs and Navy personnel to land and survey the area.  One can see some lovely private properties located in vantage points.  Overall Aguada is a must in every tourist Iterneary for Goa, but care should be taken so as to overspeed the roads are narrow and cows crossing the road can cause accident, better to visit in the early mornings, since it opens at 8.30 am, carry an umbrella which can give better protection, even during winter times, it is hot as oven.  Apply Sun screen is advisable and carrying plenty of water, one can get dehydrated.
Thank you Portuguese ( Obrigado )for leaving behind a wonderful legacy to be enjoyed free of entry cost, we forgive you for over staying beyond the mandated period of Aug 1947.  Adeus ( Goodbye in portuguese )

Friday, December 27, 2013

Fort Reis Magos Restored Bardez Goa

Ries Magos Means three wise men in Portuguese, maybe it was designed and executed by three wise men, originally signifying the architect, viceroy and the King.  The credit should obviously go to Adil Shah, Almeida and Albuquerque too.  Originally there may have been an ancient hindu temple from the era of Kadamba dynasty...........






Prologue :  Fortune favours the brave how true this statement is we realised on hindsight.  We were guided to an extent by Francis of Angel Resort, but we almost were misguided and met with a major accident.  But after visiting Reis Magos we realised it was worth the trouble of hunting it down literally after 2 hours........
 
Portuguese were in fact lucky to establish their empire in Goa due to the patronage of Vijaynagar feudatory Timayya.   Adil Shahs was literally driven out of Goa after reign of nearly 2 decades.  Krishnadevaraya too had just ascended the throne ( 1509 ) when Albuquerque with his Armada attacked and drove out the Adil Shahs of Bijapur on Dec 1510.  Initially they sought the support of the local Hindu populace,  Timayya’s ambition to control the territory fell on his face when Afonso Albuquerque stayed put by occupying the queens palace ( now old secretariat ) on the banks of river Mandovi. 



Albuquerque occupied Adil Shah’s Fortress on the south Bank of river Mandovi.  It was a strategic decision to have Fortress on the northern Banks of the river Mandovi probably due to constant attacks by Dutch, Moors and Arabs with changing style of  Warfare.  Reis Magos was built during the Viceroyalty of Afonso Noronha ( 1551-1554 ).  The Fort was constructed with a perennial source of water  with a spring providing the required quantity for sustaining the entire garrison of the Portuguese armada. 


Fort Reis Magos was literally chiselled into a Hillock with laterite stones providing the building material.  This fort was an extension of an outpost created Adil Shah in 1493 and later expanded by Albuquerque ( 1509 – 1515 ).  The Fort consists of  6 Gunloops located inside the basement of the Fortress.  It has a strategic Dual Cannon firing watch towers facing the South and East.  There are literally 6 firing spots covering 180 degrees into the backwaters of the Mandovi River. 

Barracks were constructed along the river beds for the soldiers and their families.  Slowly the extension was built in the form of a church for the Portuguese army for retaining their religious identity.  Two steep stair connected the Fortress in its original Format along with a side railing towards the church leading to the Fortress.   This was used by the horse astride higher ranking officials of the Portuguese.  A strategic view point was created for the generals to guide their soldiers in case of vicious attacks on the fortress. Probably once in a while the viceroys used it as their residence during extreme summer months due to cool breeze providing relief at the peak.




There are literally two main buildings housing the soldiers and their officers on the Fortress premises along with a small barracks.  The fortress has Watch towers facing all directions literally. Cannons were placed at cylindrical vantage turrets to fire their salvos against the invaders. The Portuguese flag donned the Fortress precincts.




There are graveyards on both the sides of the fortress which seems to be have largely vanished in due course of time. During Viceroy De Mello Castro (1707) extensive changes were incorporated to Reis Magos which was enabled the fortress to fire from 33 cylinders literally on the enemies.  This enabled the fortress to withstand the guerrilla type of warfare by the Marathas in 1739.  However they made dent in the defence of the Portuguese by occupying some portion of Goa.  In 1741 Marquis De Lourical was able to repulse the Bhonsle threat who retreated to Pernem and borders of Sawantwadi. 








Location :The Fortress is located is Verem, Bardez, which has two approaches from the Mondovi bridge from Panjim towards Calangute . Take the immediate left turn and keep going till you reach a left turning towards cocoa bridge.  One has to keep checking the route till one approaches the Francis Asissi Church which has a small cross as a landmark.  Keep towards the left till 2 kms further down and cross the Kings Resort leading towards the Ries Magos.  One can be easily mislead or misguided by locals when you ask for a Fort they will guide you Fort Aguada, some may guide you towards Cocoa Bridge which is actually Dolphin view point. This has a narrow road and it is jam packed one can end up wasting precious 2 hours in parking and finding way back.  Note : Fort Reis Magos is Closed on Mondays Open 11 am to Sunset.

Reis Magos was converted to a mini jail after the naval attacks from Dutch and Ottoman empire decreased.  In 1798 the British occupied the fortress along with a treaty with Portuguese after defeating them at Sadshivghad.  After India gained Independence in 1947, rebellion started cropping up various forms in Goa.  Freedom fighters were jailed in this fortress.  Finally Goa was liberated in Dec 1961, whereas Fort Reis Magos continued to function as jail till 1993.  A number of modification seems to have been undertaken keeping the prison requirements till nature took its toll due to the ageing of the building.  Once it was abandoned as a prison the entire structure fell into a state of ruins. 
Reis Magos was converted to a mini jail after the naval attacks from Dutch and Ottoman empire decreased.  In 1798 the British occupied the fortress along with a treaty with Portuguese after defeating them at Sadshivghad.  After India gained Independence in 1947, rebellion started cropping up various forms in Goa.  Freedom fighters were jailed in this fortress.  Finally Goa was liberated in Dec 1961, whereas Fort Reis Magos continued to function as jail till 1993.  A number of modification seems to have been undertaken keeping the prison requirements till nature took its toll due to the ageing of the building.  Once it was abandoned as a prison the entire structure fell into a state of ruins. 



Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQLytMDchwQ


Sketches from the famous goan artist Mario Mirado

Freak Baniyan tree on the ramparts of the Fort was basically a parasite to coconut tree

Ack :  Literature from Reis Magos exhibits, Pamplet, Website, Wiki and some original linkage of events

avinash

avinash
cannons ready to fire

About Me

My photo
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Basically i am down to earth, take friendship to its logical end. It is my endeavour to create a wealth of co-operative ventures. Basically being a marketing man i have the acumen to spot winners. I am privileged to travel the length and breadth of the country, courtsey my father, who was with Indianoil, my employers such as Nutrine, Kurl-on, Hindustan Pencils, Prestige, Crystal, Bell Ceramics, Pentel, Sezal, Commander. Currently i am involved in Tourism, Booking Air Tickets, Agent for Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited and Taj Group of Hotels and a numerous hotels across India. Depending on the needs of a traveller i would recommend the destination and accommodation best suited to their budget. Humour takes me on. Let us have a win win situation for all. I love travelling for sake of adventure, photography and discovering the heritage. Life is a journey and let us enjoy our drive. Come share your travel experience on indiabackpacker.