Casual and serious thoughts / ಹಗುರ ಗಂಭೀರ ಆಲೋಚನೆಗಳು

Not every journey need to have a destination. When we are in a mood to enjoy the journey itself, it does not matter, what the route is, how the path is, who the co-travellers are and what the destination is. It was with this mindset that my wife (Anita) and I decided to explore this theme of journey for the sake of journey. When we heard about #Cougarmotorsport which amongst others conduct, what is called #DefenderJourneys and in the #Jaguarlandrover #Defender, we were curious and tempted. The Journey We were served with multiple options on enquiry and as I was about to finish a business trip in Europe and found a nice slot in July, we looked for what is organised in that time slot. After all, we were more interested in the journey than  the destination. The journey that we selected was from Leh to Chandigarh drive and from 13th till 19th July. Fellow travellers It is but natural to seek out within the family and friends circle to travel together. I always get intrigued with this H...

Maharaja Sri Ranjith Singh Ji statue with a Sikh in the foreground at Amritsar   When we wanted to do some “Sightseeing” in Amritsar, it was obvious that the Golden temple and the Jalianwalahbagh had to be on our schedule.   When someone suggested to visit the Partition museum ( Partition Museum | Amritsar ) and being interested in history, I needed no second recommendation to do so.  My wife and I decided to reserve 2-3 hrs at the minimum to see this museum.  A visit to Jallianwalabagh was a must and we put that ahead in our schedule to allow more time later for the museum. Jallianwalahbagh Jalianwalabagh memorial in front the site The name evokes the sacrifice done by many in our country. It brings to fore the respect that MK Gandhi ji commanded over the masses during the freedom movement. It brings out the cruelty of the British Raj and their inhumane behaviour, much against their so called Gentlemanly upbringing.  I’ll not dig into the history about World wa...

Lowering of the Flags as the Sun goes down https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attari%E2%80%93Wagah_border_ceremony The name Amritsar evokes different thoughts for an average “South Indian” and history buff like me. Harmandir Sahib in all its glory It’s known for the famous Golden temple, the infamous Attari train station, a twin city to Lahore, and for foodie in me, it is Amritsari Kulcha and nearness to the Wagah border. Pakistan is hardly 25 kms away from Amritsar.  While there was no reason to visit Amritsar and that too in the North Indian Summer, the fact that we were to terminate our Leh - Zanskar valley drive (Landrover Defender journey conducted by @Cougarmotors) at Chandigarh prompted me to decide on a trip to Amritsar as my wife had not seen this place and I had earlier made one, albeit brief visit to this city, but not witnessed the Wagah border ceremony.  So, we drove (driven) down from Chandigarh with a halt in Ludhiana at the “Haveli” for a cold, lip-smacking, calorie...