Ghumakkar's Diary

Kalavnatin in clouds, as we looked at it from Prabalgad I have been to Prabalgad twice, but for some reasons (reasonable/non-reasonable!) I couldn't write about it.  So, going easy way - I am re-posting a very comprehensive post written by my fellow trekker Kranti . Also, I will update the post soon with trekking route for Prabalgad, which you can use with your Navigation app to "easily" navigate to the Top, else "getting lost and finding the way" is still the Best Way :) Prabalgad - A beautiful Day Trek in Monsoons :  “Pahad chadne ki kya Jarurat hai?” – Mom “Tumhara beta pagal ho gaya hai” – Dad “Mama/Uncle you are damn cool, man” -  Nephews/Nieces “Gaadi se jaana, bike se nahi” – Loved ones “Pahad chadna mere liye sirf ek trek nahi balki ek nasha hai, meditation hai” – Me #filmy Okay, so with all of these above, finally started our much-awaited Trek to Prabalgad/Kalavantin. We have been planning for this trek for more than a week n...

India is an exotic subcontinent with almost everything to offer to its tourists – right from lofty mountains, mysterious jungles to tranquil seas and colorful cities. Being a history enthusiast, I decided to opt for the capital city of India, which is popular for its wide array of historical monuments as well as interesting heritage. New Delhi is a beautiful combination of the modern and the ancient and I was amazed at every step by the kind of diversity it offers. The one day I spent in New Delhi was memorable in every sense of the word. A look at the lofty Qutab Minar I decided to start off with this well known historical landmark in South Delhi. Touted as the tallest brick minaret in the world, the Qutab Minar has five stories, each of which is covered with beautiful carvings of the scriptures from the Koran. There are various other monuments in the same site – some intact and some degenerated. I also saw the famous Ashokan pillar here – the wrought iron marvel. There are ma...

Goa is a place with innumerable offerings. So, handpicking the few best things is tough. Still, I would take the risk and offer my silly little tips (which, by the way, are not at all silly). So, here are my top 10 things to do in Goa ( I mean these are the things I would be doing there, provided my father-in-law finances my trip): i.                     Parasailing: Parasailing is a sport which is in my bucket list! You may have heard of it too and it won’t be a bad idea to try it out in one of Goa’s popular beaches . It is an aerial sport where you are propelled to midair via a makeshift parachute-kind-of-a-thing! It will cost you somewhere around Rs 800-1500! Parasailing at Baga Beach ii.                   Checking out bikini-clad girls: Yes, if you thought that you cannot check out bikini...

Putting into words, that emotion, which is transcendental, is often a hard thing to do. The trouble lurks in running out of metaphors and analogies to give a shape, form or color to such an experience. Greece is just that place. A brooch adorning mother Earth’s bosom, it lays scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, reflecting our world at its best. It welcomes you with those personal moments when you can feel as invisible as the breeze, or as light as the sky. The heaven on earth that you define on your terms awaits you. For a honeymoon, there surely could be no better place. The ideal climate, safe waters and montages of landscapes makes it complete in an exhaustive sort of way. Is that a 'little Venice' in Mykonos, Greece Many of Europe’s oldest civilizations developed on the Greek islands. The Cycladic civilization, Minoans- all painted the town with their unique styles, thus gifting Greece, its distinctive archaeological sites and heritage. The number of architectur...

Updated June 2013: This run couldn't happen because of some administrative problems. Also, Barefoot Runner India's website is leading 404Error. Reason is not known to author. ( This post has been published in  TheViewspaper  as  Running Barefoot to Guinness! ) Have you ever run a few kilometres barefoot , that too for a Guinness Records , and not shoed with the best sneakers in market for your diabetes, weight-problems or so? If not, here may be a chance to run barefoot or ride your pride, the bullet, for a special cause. Navi Mumbai 2010 Guinness Record Taking inspiration from the very first ‘original’ marathon run from Marathon to Athens in Greece by barefoot-Pheidippides, some 2500 years ago, BarefootRunnersIndia is organising a Navi Mumbai Half Marathon 2011 . Last year, in its first edition held on 12 December, 2010, with 306 barefoot runners, the organisation successfully registered to Guinness World records as the Largest Barefoot Race. This yea...

( This post has been published in TheViewspaper as The Paradise called Chilika ) This year seems to be much more happening than I expected. I realized it when I got an invitation from a senior colleague to attend his marriage at Bhubaneshwar. Hidden was another invitation to revisit the Puri- beach and also the Chilika Lake. I hadn’t still come out of the hangover of my pan-India ride , when the date to fly to the City of Temples knocked at doors. Packing the very morning of departure with least pairs of casuals and 3sets of party wears, I joined Kaustav and Abhimanyu bhaiya on our tour de Chilika and Puri, also the Odiya Wedding. Chilika Lake is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest in World. It is an essentially shallow brackish water lagoon on the east coast, spread over the districts of Puri, Khurda and Ganjam of Odisa state. The lake, popularly known as Chilka, was designated the first Indian Wetland of International importance under the Ram...