The Road that never ends .....

 If I had an option, I would have been on the road always ...... But there are other responsibilities that needs to be fulfilled.

Travel brings change. We see different people, places and culture. This brings in a change in us. The feeling of being alien to others vanishes. We have created boundaries by defining countries, states, cities ..... so what ..... we can still travel and know about each other. Its a road that never ends..... beyond boundaries.

When we ask ourselves about WHY do we travel ... we have different answers to it.....

............We like it. 

...............We feel at peace. 

............We love Nature. 

.............For a change. 

...................To get away from routine etc etc. 

We are all self described travelers. But is this the real reason or is Travel a basic human desire. We human beings were a wanderer and with evolution we formed societies and started to settle in areas which we called cities, townships, countries etc. We were a migratory specie and that instinct is still hidden inside us. Ask anyone and he will you same answer... I would like to travel but... We all want to move out of the place where we spent maximum of our time to faraway places. Our migratory gene starts dominating us and forces us to move out.

Travel is not only for pleasure. Pleasure can be derived from many other activities while sitting at home. It is more like a compulsion for us. We get bored of same place. It starts making a impact on our thoughts and reasoning power. Travel opens our mind to whole new ideas. Imagination keeps on flowing and brain is at its best. When we escape from the place where we spend maximum time, we feel innovative ideas and imagination flowing in our mind.

Living at same place makes our brain think on same lines. We fail to think on options. Travel makes us realize that a single thing could have multiple options and meanings. We come across different culture, beliefs and human beings, who perceive things differently. Thus our brain comes across a totally different perspective of seeing and dealing with things an problems. These observations makes us more creative. It becomes a secret tonic for our creativity.

Our routine, our job teaches us efficiency but kills our creativity. We are so much engrossed in our activities that our brain forgets to be creative. We never give it a chance to explore itself and be innovative. That routine starts killing us. Travel opens our brain. It gives it a option to analyse and see different cultures, practices, beliefs and ideas and gives it a whole lot of space to explore and be creative.

The home is same when we return. but we feel rejuvenated and filled with energy and we know that inside us has changed .............

Survaya Garhi - Shivpuri - Old Heritage

I had not traveled for long this year and this gap was killing me. Nature keeps on inviting and we keep on dreaming in office or home. I was satisfying myself by reading travel stories of other people. And then suddenly planned an outing. Family was ready and on 30th September 2011, we drove to Shivpuri. I have already written about Shivpuri in my earlier post (Shivpuri - Madhya Pradesh). Our objective this time was to visit places which we missed last time. The place is beautiful, Nature at its best and wild life started to flourish now.

In this beautiful place, in between the lap of nature lies a Historical Monument - Survaya Garhi. This  was one place which we missed last time. Garhi in English means Fort. But the place is a 10th Century Hindu Monastery. A fort like structure was created around it for protection. It is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India and whole place was dug out in an excavation.

Survaya Fort

Survaya Garhi is about 20 kms from main Shivpuri Town on Jhansi Road and lies in between Survaya Village. From outside the place looks like a fortress. The place has 3 temples and a huge Auditorium. It is said that this place was a boarding school and was also used by saints for meditation. The Hostel (few call it Auditorium) is a double story complex with a underground water source. Two temples now do not have and deity or idol in it, but one temple still has Shivling in it. The architecture in the temples is very beautiful as can be seen in the photos below.

Main Gate (Entrance) 

                                             

Old Well

                                                         

Internal Wall

 An View of the Main Compound. Two Temples are visible here.

                               

  Auditorium or Hostel

                                                               

Temple Number two

                                                                   

An view of the Entrance from inside the compound

     Temple Number 3

                                                       

  Inside the Auditorium

                                                               

  Inside the Auditorium

                                                                 

 Inside the Auditorium

The archaeological survey have done a splendid job to restore and maintain the place. It is clean and restoration work has been very minutely. The architecture on the temple walls can be seen in pictures below:

A Big Grinding Stone

      

Remains of Pillar

                                                               

Close up of Pillars

                                                     

Another View

                                                       

                                                     

Though these temples are small, but the grandeur of Ancient Indian Architecture can be easily seen below:

An Image on the Pillar 

Design on Roof

    Temple with Shivlingam in it

                                             

   Ancient Engineering Marvel

                                           

Pillar with Beautiful Architecture

Renuka Ji - Nature's Paradise

Renuka Ji is a beautiful place situated in Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh. It is 315 Kms from Delhi. It is a secluded place in the lap of nature. There are not many activities to perform here, but is a place where you can spend few days in peace. The place has two lakes - one called Renuka Lake and other smaller one called Parashuram Taal. You can also do boating in the Bigger lake i.e. Renuka Ji Lake. It is the largest lake in Himachal Pradesh, with a circumference of about 3214 m. It also has temples of Renuka Ji, Lord Parshuram and all the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is a peaceful place in the midst of beautiful nature.

The place has history behind it. Renuka Ji was the mother of Lord Parshuram. Renuka ji has taken Jal Samdhi in this lake. I am not giving the detailed story. It can be referred here

Wikipedia Page on Renuka Ji

How to reach:

There here are two routes from Delhi, both approximately 350-km. The first route is:

New Delhi is via Shahabad, Naraingarh, Kala Amb, and Nahan to Renuka.

The second route begins in Delhi and goes via Pipli, Yamunagar to Renuka.

The Distance between Nahan and Paonta is 45-km; between Nahan and Renuka is 35-Km; and between Paonta and Renuka is 58-km. Saketi is a fossil park and is about 22-km from Nahan.

Where to stay:

Hotel Renuka is HImachal Torurim Hotel situated on the Bank of Renuka Ji Lake. It is a Ok type hotel, but the location of it is magnificent.

The tariff for the same is given below:

Renuka Suite A/C (DBR)	2000
Double Bed Room Cozy Deluxe A/C	1500
Double Bed Room Deluxe	1300
Double Bed Room Regular	1000

It serves only Vegetarian food as Non Veg is not allowed because of religious nature of place. 

Here is the link of Himachal PRadesh Tourism site, from where you can do online booking:

http://hptdc.gov.in/custsw/viewuser8_hot.asp?dest=018

                                                                View of lake from hotel

                                                                     The Renuka Hotel

                                        Rotis and other food stuff to feed Mahasheer Fish in the lake

                                                                         Parshuram Taal

                                                                     Parshuram Temple

                                                                  Lord Vishnu Temple

                                                                    The Hotel Renuka

                                                                       Dinning Area

                                                             Mahasheer Fishes in the Lake

                                                                   Another View of Lake

There is a circular road around the lake. Morning walk along it is wonderful. In the way you will find small zoo with few Deers and one Lion and 3-4 lioness, sloth beer and one Panter. At one time this was the breeding point of Lions and they were kept in open. Safari use to go inside the Park to view them in there natural habitat. But all has stopped now and they are confined to cages only.

Feeding fishes is considered holy and its a joy when you see hundreds of fish gather near you. There are some old and big Turtles in the lake as well. They will come near you when you feed them. But beware of monkeys who are ready to snatch everything from your hands and specially the eatables.