Allô Chatrath

He was my favourite actor. R.I.P. Sir.

It is kind of late to wish some one whose 86th birthday fell on September 20, 2020. But if the person is beautiful Sophia Loren, then one needs no excuse to wish her. An old photo of Sophia Loren on the cover of LIFE magazine. Here she is in two old photos with another of my favourites and her co-star of many hit films- the late Marcello Mastroianni. Buon Compleanno Signora Sophia Loren!

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments attributed to the Chandela dynasty which, under sovereignty of Gurjar Pratihars reached its glory. The ensemble of monuments that have survived belong to the Hindu and Jain religious practices with striking fusion of sculpture and architecture; the best example of this outstanding feature is seen in the Kandariya Temple. Of the 85 temples built, only 22 temples have survived in an area of 6 km2, which represents the Chandela period of the 10th century. Located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, it was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, a cultural property on October 15, 1982, for its unique original artistic creation and proof of the Chandela Culture that existed prior to the Muslim invasion of India in the early 12th century. Kaṇḍāriyā Mahādeva Temple, got built by King Vidydhara is dedicated to his family deity Shiva. Epigraphic inscriptions on a pilaster of the mandapa in the temple mentions the name of the builder of the temple as ...

The fortress cum palace was originally made from red and white sandstone way back in the 1550s. However, as and when different rulers ruled over the region, there were changes and betterment made to this palace over the next 150 years. This magnificent fort stands on a hillock overlooking Jaipur. Amber Palace is representative of a key phase (17th century) in the development of a common Rajput-Mughal court style, embodied in the buildings and gardens added to Amber by Mirza Raja Jai Singh-I. The palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. It consists of the Diwan-e-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over a water cascade within the palace. The palace was the residence of the Rajput Rajas. At the entrance to the palace near the fort's Ganesh Gate, there is a temple ded...

Sad to share the news of passing away of my batchmate Shri Sunil Ahuja, Ex Chief Secretary Haryana. May God rest his soul in perpetual peace. (The New Indian Express, 30.10.2020)

An inexpensive but very centrally located Hostal (Hostel, not hotel)where I stayed in Santiago De Chile. Santiago is a great place to visit. The huge statue is a replica of the intriguing maoi stone statues found in Easter island, which is a part of Chile.

I visited the Hagia Nedelja Church, Sofia, Bulgaria in 2018. This church is said to have been built in the 10th century and just like other Sofia churches at that time, had a stone base and a wooden structure above. In the second half of the 14th century, these wooden churches were converted into stone churches. It is not known why only this church remained to be a wooden church and continued to exist in this form till the middle of the 19th century. In 1578, the German traveler Stefan Gerlach visited Sofia and gave a list of 12 churchew of Sofia. Among them was the church with the Greek name Kariaki.In the 19th century and first decades of the 20th century, this church was also called Sveti Kral (Saint King), as the relics of the Serbian King Stefan Milutin Urosh II lay in it and it was said to have curing power. This church suffered from the great earthquake of 1858 and , at the beginning of the 1850’s, in its place Sofia Bioshopic and the city church, the municipality buil...

Ritratto di donna anziana; Palombara Sabina, localita Colle Fagiano, Marmo Greco. This distinctive hair style reflects the fashion exhibited by the Roman matrons between the end of the late Republican and early Imperial period, and was favoured by Octavia, sister of Emperor Augustus. This hairstyle divides the hair into two masses: the back portion is tied in a bun on the nape of the neck, while the front portion is divided into four strands two of which form a small knot (nodus) over the forehead, while the remaining two strands fold back over the head and are tied to the bun at the back. (End of the 1st century B.C.)