The beautiful Sun

While I was visiting Shivpuri (read my earlier post http://sudhir-chauhan.blogspot.com/2011/02/shivpuri-madhya-pradesh.html), I came across some beautiful scene created by Sun which was going down and giving way to darkness and we call this Sunset.

I could not resist my temptation of sharing those pics with you all. these pictures were taken from while boating in Sakya Sagar lake, (courtesy Madhya Pradesh Tourism) .

Nature is marvelous, its poetry in itself. The golden water of Sakya Sagar Lake created by Life Giver SUN is magical. This is a scene which can be enjoyed countless times............ The more I see nature the more I get mystical about it ..... Love for Nature keeps on increasing......

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary - Birding Delight

Sultanpur is a village under Farrukh Nagar, Tehsil in District Gurgaon of Haryana State in India. Gurgaon which is famous for its Call Centers and other IT companies is part of National Capital Region (NCR) and is very close to New Delhi. Not many people are aware that Sultanpur village hosts a Bird Sanctuary, which is now a National Park as well. It is a small area, but about 250 species of birds are found here and in winters about 100 types of migratory birds visit this place.

History of Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

The area was once famous for extracting Salt at the time of British Empire. In 1970 a senior Journalist Peter Jackson, who became interested in birds while reporting Hillary's conquest of Mt. Everest, recognized the importance of Sultanpur lke for the birds.

In his own words:

"I took Peter Scott, Richard Fitter, Dillon Ripley, Salim Ali, Zafar Futehally, and some others to Sultanpur Lake in 1969. That led the following year to my approaching Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to obtain protection for the jheel. The Haryana government was enthusiastic, because the state had few attractions, and they were starting to create picnic sites at various reservoirs."

Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who was the prime minister at that time wrote to the CM of Haryana and in 1972 the area was declared as Bird Reservoir. In 1989 the area was declared as National Park.

Best Time to Visit

October till March is the best time to visit the Park, as the lake is filled with migratory birds.

Park Timings

In summers (1st April - 30th September) it is from 6.30 am till 6 pm and in Winters (1st October - 31st March) it is from 6.30 am till 4.30 pm.

Facilities

The park offers following facilites:

1. Parking space for vehicles
2. Washrooms
3. Children Park
4. It has a educational and Interpretation center
5. There is a room dedicated in Honour of Dr. Salim Ali

Links related to Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Wiki Page on Sultnapur Bird Sanctuary
Haryana Govertment Tourism Department Page on Sultanpur

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

Shivpuri - Madhya Pradesh

Shivpuri is a district in Madhya Pradesh which is about 100 kms from Jhansi. It was hunting ground of Moghul Emperors. Akbar caught herd of Elephants from here for his army. Later it became summer of Scindias of Gwalior and was also there hunting ground. At one time Tigers use to roam this place, but alas all perished, courtesy, so called 'Royal Shikaris'.

Today it is preserved area and the area is called Madhav National Park. The area of the park is about 157.58 sq. km.

How to Reach

By Road: You can drive up to Gwalior and from here take road to Shivpuri. And the distance is about 436 kms and it will take close to 9 hours. The road from Gwalior to Shivpuri is not that good. The route is New Delhi -  Faridabad - Mathura - Agra - Morena - Gwalior - Shivpuri.


By Train: You can Shatabdi Express till Jhansi. From Jhansi it is about 100 kms and taxi charges about INR 1200. The road is excellent and the view magnificent.

Where to Stay

Tourist Village : MP Tourism: is an excellent place to stay. It has many cottages with good food. It also has a Bar. The tariff is given below:

Room Type	No of Rooms	Single	Double	Extra Bed
AC	17	1490	1690	200
AC Suite	2	2590	2590	300

• Tariff is Inclusive of Breakfast.
• Taxes extra as applicable
  Contact Details : Tel: (07492) 223760, 221297
                           E-mail: tvshivpuri@mptourism.com 
  Online Booking: http://www.mptourism.com/dest/bookings.html

The property is good and staff very co-operative and friendly. I visited the place in 2010 and 2011. Mr. Vipin Katare, who is the manager arranged everything for us. It is very difficult to find such care and co-operation in a Government owned property.

Madhav National Park: Though it does not offer much of wild life, but is a very good experience of nature and forest. I could spot many birds here, besides a herd of Spotted deer, Blackbuck, Sambhar, Nilgai, Jackal, Monitor Lizard, Panther and yes Crocodile. The park has 2 big lakes which attract lot of birds in the winter season, Chandpata and Sakya Sagar. 

                                                                   Chatatris of Scindia

                                                             View - Jhansi to Shivpuri

                                                            Cottage at Tourist Village

 

Front View of Tourist Village

                                                              Entrance To Tourist Village

                                                                        Boat Club

                                                                           Crocodile

                                                               Chataris of Scindia

                                                          Tourist Village - Backside View