Ghumakkar's Diary

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II , Founder King of the Jaipur city, established five Yantra Mantra  ( the instrument and formula )  or Jantar Mantar in five cities of West Central India between 1727 and 1734 at Jaipur , Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi . Most famous being the ones at Jaipur and Delhi; very few people know about the other three and fewer have even visited them. Graffiti at Rajendra Prasad Ghat I came to know about Varanasi’s own Jantar Mantar few years ago, when wandering at Ghat we noticed a building near the vegetable market at Rajendra Prasad Ghat .  This Ghat is next to the famous Dashaswamedh Ghat of the city. The building is locally known as Man Mahal or Man Mandir ( 25.307699, 83.010807 ), and the adjacent ghat as man Mandir Ghat.. As per ASI, it was erected by the Maharaja Man Singh of Amber in around 1600 AD. Later Maharaja Savai Jai Sigh II (1699-1743 AD) constructed the observatory on the terrace of the palace. This observatory is ...

Dear Japan, My father introduced me to you as a tiny island located somewhere far in the east. My earliest impression was that you’re Home to Sun, or have done something extraordinary that even Sun doesn’t dare to miss to wish you a Good morning every day before any other big country, including my own Bharatvarsha . And as I come to know more about you, I realized how true my imagination was. A Sengoku warrior on horseback   (Courtesy:  http://peterphun.com ) You have always been a beautiful country nurtured and taken care by very hardworking, honest and technologically super human beings, who built their Nation from ruins to riches. A nation who gave birth to Landmarks of Global Industries from Sony, Suzuki to Yamaha, Mitsubishi, Honda and  hundreds more. A nation synonymous to Quality Electronics and Revolutionary Automotive engineering.  A nation where ladies wear beautiful Kimonos , farmers cultivate artistic rice fields , engineers construct marvels, and...

City of Jagannath , Puri , is situated some 60 kilometers south of Bhubaneswar, the City of Temples. It takes about an hour journey to reach Puri by road from Bhubaneswar; the town is connected to major cities of the country by Railways also. Shri Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra (Courtesy:  harekrsna.com ) This was my third visit to the Puri. First was when I was a kid, not much in memories except that we roamed the city and the beaches in white- chikan kurta . Second, a few years back with my college mates, the Best visit, with lot of fun on and with the jovial humongous inviting waves of the Puri beach. This time it was an unplanned short visit to the city with my office mates. Jagannath Temple – A far view Jagannath means Lord ( Nath ) of the Universe ( Jagat ), and He is an incarnation of Vishnu. It’s believed that Lord Jagannath is the Neeala-Madhab of a Tribal King (Savar King) of Odra desha (Odisha).

Have you heard of International Tell Everybody Justin Bieber is a Gay Day ? Well, until today morning I too wasn’t aware of such an anniversary. We’re having a talk about International Women’s Day , when to show off my knowledge I told the guys that the International Men’s Day and the World Toilet Day share same date, i.e. November 19 th . To prove the bet, easiest was to Google the same and land on the Wikipedia. Page was on International Men’s Day, but someone ‘interestingly’ changed the " Men’s " thing to “ Tell Everybody Justin Beiber is a Gay ”. We checked the bottom of the page and found that it was last modified on 9 March 2011 at around 9:00.That’s today only! What else, it was tweeted instantaneously :p Here’s a snapshot: International Men's OR Tell Everybody Justin Bieber is a Gay Day

Just another Brick in the Wall... (shot near Chilika Lake,  intentionally not keeping the subject in focus) Let me get lost in the crowd Enough tried to be stronger and proud Let me get dissolved Be a brick in the wall. Never been so negative in life Not seeing any light this time Every road has reached its end There’s no way amicable to mend Let me be just amongst the trillions Enough tried to outshine the millions Let me get dissolved Be a brick in the wall. [ Wrote these utterly pessimistic lines keeping the old man disappearing in his background. Don't have exact idea, but I wasn't able to keep myself in his ' probable ' mind setup and think positively ]