Allô Chatrath

                                                 At Gongotri Temple with one of the co-trekkers.                                                                          Gangotri Temple                                                               And the trek starts from this temple.                                  A look back at thee temple after after a few metres of climb Crevice below the frozen green ice and white snow is the origin point of the Holy Ganges. It is called 'Gomukh' or cow's snout. One has to trek up 18 kms from Gangotri Temple to reach this point.   This is from one of the more recent treks to Gomukh- as my age is clearly showing....

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                    Come visit my India and taste and relish thousands of varieties of cooked food. .......   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

 

  What is this creature called and in which part of the world is it found? Any idea? Well, it surely possesses a strong backbone!   Having been a bureaucrat all my life, the first sentence that came to my mind on seeing this photo was, 'Dont crawl when asked to bend, but stand all the more erect!'    Please click at the image to see the full photo.

  .......   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

                                          Odisha is one place you must visit before you die. 

                                                                                                        'It is a mask, you idiot!'

                                   Believe you me, Odiya cuisine is one of the best in the world.   'Pakhala Bhata- an Odiya dish to feel drowsy during hot summers'- K.J.S.Chatrath . It is not French but the Indian cuisine which is the best on planet earth! Yes, it is time the French updated their knowledge of the cuisines around the world. Pakhaḷa is cooked rice mixed with cold water and kept overnight. It is seasoned with curry leaves, cumin and fried chilly peppers with alu-potala bhaja (potato and pointed gourd deep sauté) and Badi bhaja. Odiyas the world over have now started celebrating March 20 as the World Pakhala Day.                                       Odisha in India is one place you must visit before you die!

                                     He was a non-combatant not carrying any weapons.

  .......   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

  Odisha is one place you must visit before you die!

This was over a decade back. I was travelling through Norway with a Group in a small van. On a late Saturday evening we reached a town and feeling tired went to our hotel rooms foregoing the dinner. Next morning, after a sumptuous breakfast we started a walk around the town and went to the square where a Sunday Market of sorts was on. Weather, though cold, was bright.  And then suddenly I stopped seeing a young lady selling flowers from a mini vehicle. The flowers were multi coloured and and looked very pretty and refreshing. The gentleman in me decided to seek permission from the flower seller before clicking a photo. So I went nearer to the van and then I saw the flower seller from a closer quarter. She was prettier than all the flowers put together.. I wished her politely and then asked her in English if I could take photos of flowers and of her. She smiled, nodded her head  in acquiescence   and said in perfect English, 'You know this is the first time some one has asked me fo

                     Come, visit my India and taste and enjoy thousands of varieties of cooked food.  ' Punjabian di shan vakhri (Punjabis have an elan of their own) - by KJS Chatrath  .....   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

  When James Bond met more than his match...... My dashing brother-in-law Anil Dhawan (left), his son Rohit (R) and Rohit's son Karam. (Photo courtesy Kaamna Dhawan)

                                                                                      (Photo source: National Geographic Traveller, India)   .......   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

  .......   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

Puno is a city in southern Peru on Lake Titicaca, one of South America's largest lakes and the world's highest navigable body of water. A regional trading hub, the city's also considered Peru's "folkloric capital," owing to its traditional festivals featuring vibrant music and dancing. Landmarks include the Andean baroque-style Puno Cathedral                                                                                                  (Photo source: Wikipedia)

 

                                Odisha- the one place you  must visit before you die!

                      Come, visit my India and taste and enjoy thousands of varieties of cooked food.   DISCLAIMER: This is a not for profit blog and no infringement of copyright laws is intended. If some of the published images violate any copyrights, please contact us by email  chatrath@gmail.com and those will be removed immediately with apologies.

  A humble request to museums of the world. Please return the heritage art pieces and artifacts stored/displayed by you, whatever be the sources of acquisitions to the countries of origin.  "British museums shine thanks to all the loot from India" ; https://indianexpress.com/article/research/british-museums-shine-thanks-to-all-the-loot-from-india/

Today is my late father's birthday. He was born on 15th April 1905 in Sialkot. He expired in 1982 in Chandigarh. He he did have a Chandigarh connection. He was in the P.C.S. and was posted as Officer on Special Duty to assist Sardar Bahadur Narinder Singh, ICS,  for organising the  Inauguration of Chandigarh by P.M. Pt. Nehru. During that period, he was advised by his friends to apply for allotment of a plot in Chandigarh. He refused saying that since he was posted at Chandigarh it would tantamount to taking advantage of his government posting for personal gain! Yes, he was stubbornly honest. Here are some memories: He was Captain of the Gymnastics Team of Government College, Lahore where he studied. He was fond of hills and this is a photo of him taken during his younger days, some where near Manali. Here he is, third from right, at a reception given to the M.C.C team that played a cricket match in Amritsar in the early Nineteen-Fifties. In the centre in a black suit and