Dudhsagar waterfalls fury max.

If you are in Goa don't miss this amazing waterfalls. You cannot take the off road route to this fall during monsoons but you could try some trekking from a place called Kulem.

Rain dance in western ghats.

Me travelling from Goa to Bangalore. sharing some amazing sights of western ghats on the borders of Goa. Hope you like it

JEEP'd up

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Offroading in Goa

Offroading has picked up pace and passion like crazy. My group of friends also enjoy doing our bit of off tarmac activity or nonsense as some like to call it. Today being a sunday we took to hills and some muck too. My Jeep got stuck, 2WD it is. :(
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5th day of continuous rains in Goa.

Hibiscus at my home.

Why hibiscus? It is one of the most common flowers in india and at least 99% of homes in goa would have them in the compounds. I thought I would shoot one for the blog. Btw I got about 7 varieties at home.

A popular sight in rural Maharashtra. Travel unlimited is what I call it.

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Another capture _ drive up to Mahabaleshwar

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Roadtrip it was

Drove off to the hill station of Mahableshwar for a 2 days holiday. Well rains largely played spoil sport but the company was awesome. Had 2 days of non stop fun. Now back to work.
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kids playing at the beach.

11am invasion of the rain clouds.heavy rains have greeted the day.

Green green Goa

With the monsoons raiding goa there is greenery everywhere. Its the best time of the year in goa if you looking to do more than just the beaches. So don't forget to have one holiday in goa during the rains.

A wild variety of mushroom that is edible. Luck by chance. Popped up in the back yard of my house

Backyard mushrooms.

Invasion of the clouds.

A blog post after ages. Inertia is bad and it shows. Sitting in my office on a sunday noon I realised its been a while that I posted a thing on the blog that was so dear to me. All excuses will go to make it stuck. Let me atleast try to post a few pics from the mobile hereon.
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"River Princess" she is .......

How did I miss out the Princess on my blog. The whole of Goa is talking about her and gradually you ll find the whole world talking about her. She is a monument in the making and she will be one fine day cos its been 10 years that they have been trying to salvage her and the famous Candolim beach which houses some of the finest 5 star hotels namely Taj Aguada and The Taj holiday village but its not happening courtesy our Government. The presence of such a big vessel near the coast line has created such mighty ecological imbalance but no ones bothered. They must have issued contracts and currency worth millions of rupees but she stays. So fellow bloggers, visitors presenting to you the one and only ' River PRINCESS'. Next time you are in Goa, 20 years from now you could visit, walk over the River Princess. :)

View from CHAPORA FORT - Goa

The Chapora fort, 10 K.M from Mapusa was built by the Adil Shah of Bijapur on the southern headland of the Chapora River. The red-laterite bastion, crowning the rock bluff, was rebuilt by the Portuguese in 1617 on the same site. The Chapora Fort has another name - Shahpura, ('town of Shah'), was intended as a border watch post to see various Hindu raiders during the 17th century. It was finally deserted by the Portuguese in 1892, after the territory's frontiers had been forced further north. The Chapora Fort has a commanding view of the Vagator beach and is near to Anjuna beach.


It lies in ruins today, although the views up and down the coast from the weed-infested ramparts are still superb. One can still see the heads of the two tunnels that formerly provided supply routes for besieged defenders. Also can be seen a scattering of Muslim tomb stones on the smooth slopes of the hill. These tomb-stones are believed to be relics of the pre-colonial days. The main attractions here are the superb views from the bastion's ramparts, which look north to Morjim and Mandrem beaches, and south towards Anjuna.

Sunset at Fort Aguada - Goa

Baga Beach - GOA

When you talk about Goa to any person keeping interest in Goa - you could be shot with a question - You live near Bagabeach ?? - Yes its almost so fast that it seems like one word. God knows why in the world this place is so famous and why do so many Foreign tourists even unwind here. Whats in this place. I have completely failed to understand this one aspect. I was at the Baga Beach yesterday after 7 or 8 years and that place has dramatically changed its face for worse. It seems like a commercial capital of Chaos (not like the Laos) and yea multi coloured beach umbrellas. But one thing has remained static absolutely pristine - the roads and the complete infrastructure which has remained the same as it was a decade or two. This place is known to generate more revenues for Goa in tourism industry but absolutely disregard for any improvement. It does not even have a well equipped wash room. I was there just for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Thats all - I am sorry I am unable to write anything. But yes if you are looking for some crowd and chaos - you are right there.

Martins Corner -GOA

This is something I completely missed out posting on my blog. How could I do that?? Just talking about the place makes my gastronomy go haywire and it hurts. Well jokes apart this is one of the nicest places you will find in Goa to eat, drink and have fun. Good ambience, a favourite amongst many a celebrities and the tourists from across the world. This is not a discotheque although you might find some space to wriggle your belly on weekends, which is a lesser possiblilty considering the fact that the belly would be overfull to do such an act.

Now whats special and recommended. You will get a wide range of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages to start with. You could get crabs, Kalamaris, Prawns and fish cooked in red masala and I would call that lip smacking. If you got an appetite for CRABS order one king crab ( advisable that you check on rates before you order for one) and that will surely keep you busy for sometime. Well they also call it Sachins special ( not me) - its the Sachin of the cricket world. I believe Martins Corner is one of his world favourite restaurant.

There is a little bit of monotony to this place if you start frequenting it but if you manage to make it once a month affair ie. if you live in Goa its a hell of a nice eating place.

A new year and a happy one.

Hmmm... where do i start?? this is what happens when you dont do something regularly. But then why is it not possible to do the same with smoking?? well lets not touch upon things not understood well. Here is a very happy new year to those few who remain and return to read this age old blog. And if you continue to read further I assure you that you might not find anything promising. Yea.. pessimistic it is - Rat race is what i hear them all say, a race that is run by most human beings with NO wins in it - it is all about running. No winning spirits huhhh?? I dont know.

Its been a while that a thing has been posted on this blog. So I ll end this for now. If something starts coming up I ll come back and say a POST :D till then enjoy this year 2011 and be good. smile if you can and remember and drive slow and ..huhh.. have fun.

The Temples of Goa

Away from the noise of rising and falling waves, from the loud music parties, from the excited cries of the thousands of tourists landing in the state everyday,.. nestled deep in the heart of Goa are the beautiful but less known, symbols of Goan culture. The Temples of Goa. It is mentioned in the history of Goa that the original temples of the region did not survive the Portuguese rule and what we see today are the temples re-built .
To a common eye, all the temples of Goa look alike. But , if carefully observed every temple has it’s distinct style. Usually painted in light colors, the temples are a treat to the eye.
The structural elements common to most temples are the Main tower (Shikhar), the Lamp tower( Deep Stambh), a pond (Taley),..
Here are two pictures of one of these lovely temples.

The one here shows the Main tower of this temple, right above the main deity, right above the main chamber (Garb gudi).



The one here shows the side view of the temple. The structure of the far right end of the picture, painted white, is the Deep Stambh of the temple.

Ganapati Bappa Morya!

I once heard someone say, India is a country where every day is a celebration. It is true. India has about 150 festivals. While some festivals are common to the whole country, some are celebrated by portions like, North/South India, States only, Religions,… Some festivals mark the beginning of a season, harvest, new year,.. And some to celebrate religious occasions like the birth of Gods, Gurus, Saints,.... Festivals are time for people to come together. Each festival in India is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and devotion.
In this post I’m covering one such festival which is celebrated with a lot of pomp and gaiety, not only in the whole of India, but in Goa too. Ganesh Chaturti, also called Ganeshotsav/ Vinayaka Chaturti, is celebrated to mark the birth of Ganesh(god of wisdom and good fortune), son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The date usually falls between 20 August and 22 September. The festival lasts for 10 days.
A few months before this festival, skilled artisans make Clay idols in the form of Ganesh. These idols are beautifully painted and decorated for the occasion. Ganesh Chaturti can be celebrated among the members of one family or among several families as one. The end of the festival is marked by Ganesh Visarjan, which is the immersion of the idol in the river, well or sea to mark the journey of the lord to Kailash. During the procession that precedes the Visarjan, devotees sing and dance and chant “Ganapati Bappa Morya” in the praise of lord Ganesh.
This picture was clicked at Parag’s home where Ganesh chaturti is celebrated with lot of splendor.



And this was at his cousin Kushal's house.

Harvest...begins.

Looks like the monsoons have finally bid adieu to Goa. And it’s Harvest time. Farmers are breathing a sigh of relief. A few more days of the same incessant rain as last week would mean all the crops would be destroyed. The harvest has begun and these lovely sights are a treat to us who live a little away from the city.

Of bells and Chapels. Weekend Story.

I’ve always wondered how is it that the smallest state in India by area, never ceases to give us new places to discover. Every little village has a story here. A tune of its own. In which you could get easily lost. Surprisingly, not many tourists know that Goa is not all about Sun, Sand and hippies. And that may be precisely why the rural Goa is untouched.

Parag, finds this new place for us to explore. And that’s what the camera and the jeep were looking for.
About 20 kms from Margao, a quaint little town, Sarzora. Paddy fields lining both sides of the road. A few streams dotting the path. And some kingfishers.

We came across this very Chinese-Portuguese style of chapel. My wife is fascinated with the window. And that bell with the Cherub??

We drive further to this final destination(or we thought so then), a hillock with the view of a Dam. We can see the ocean far away, tempting us all the same. Get a good view of the Highway, NH 17.

With daylight still on hand, we then leave to Assolna, another small village whose highlight is the very Roman, magnificent church compound, monument to ‘Cristo rei’. A fine Marble structure.

As if to keep the weekend tradition alive, we headed towards the beach at Sernabatim. The sun was setting on Sunday. Rains playing havoc, we got back and mused on the good weekend that was.

Moss and Hue.

Monsoons might soon wave a goodbye to Goa for the season. But it sure has left its mark for the year. Moss has become a part of the garden. And wild mushrooms of various size, textures and colors too. This vivid one here makes me wonder how tough the job of being an artist in nature could be.

Rains bring curry.

It’s mushroom time for Goa. Locally known as 'Alami' or 'Olami', they are a hot favorite. These wild mushrooms buds are found in Goa only into the mid monsoons. They need to be handpicked and found usually in the forests. And we do wait eagerly for them. They need to be eaten before they bloom. Delicious Xacuti or fried accompaniments is what becomes of them. Lip smacking.

On that hill top

Armed with a friend and a camera, i set off to the hill top I'd frequented as a kid. 'Chandreshwar Parvath' it is called. The view from the top is beautiful. A few kilometers from the hustle bustle of the Margao city, you almost feel disconnected from the noise. And to top it all, a temple of historical importance. A must visit.