It’s also known as ‘ Vijaydashami ‘ which means Vijaya over these ten bad qualities.
Dussehra, also marks the culmination of the nine-day Navaratri celebrations. On this day, Lord Rama killed Ravana, his son Meghanatha and brother Kumbhakarna, and hence the day is celebrated as the victory of good over evil.
Bara Bungalow Amer located at around 240 kilometer from Delhi, 27 kilometers from Jaipur Airport and 22 kilometers from Jaipur railway station teaches the art of living a rich life amid the lush green locales!
Located in a serene natural rural surrounding in Natata village of Amer, it is quite close to Jaipur’s places of interest.
As we have been living our lives rushing and running on day-to-day, month-to-month and year-to-year basis, we feel like going slow at some stage of our life and want to spend our life amid lush green nature where the word ‘pollution’ remains a foreign entity and the sounds of chirping of birds is an integral part of the life!
The harsh honking is no where around and serene wind keeps blessing our senses each second!
Wanna know where can we find one such soothing place to relax your senses? It’s in Bara Bungalow, situated in Amer in Jaipur which is situated far off from city lights and gives a rustic rural feel located amid green surroundings.
The pristine building reflects the old-world charm and has been owned by Rajasthan’s former chief secretary Salauddin Ahmed.
“I bought this land long time back and had planned to live a soothing life with ‘sukun ke pal’.
His study area is situated in an open ground which is covered by dense trees around where squirrels can be seen playing hide and seek, sparrows keep juggling and other birds are also eager to show their presence to any new guest.
Speaking on tall trees spread around, the former CS says, “It’s drip irrigation which helped them to grow higher in last few years.”
The temperature remains a little lower here as compared to the city in summers while winters give a wonderful time!
Basking under sun is an ultimate experience while partying under starry nights during a get together is yet another distinguished feel. Also bonfire in winters creates yet another marvel memories, he says.
Not all can afford this luxury. People these days love the packed lives in flats, but the ultimate experience of spending life in an open space to be amid nature is quite wonderful!
May be, post the COVID-19 era, people shall prefer living in an open space, says Ahmed.
Sambhar Lake situated in Rajasthan near Jaipur, seems to be sobbing silently, for its sorrowful tale seems to be going unending and unheard. Neither the government nor any concerned authorities have come to heal its wounds which it attained after seeing thousands of bodies of birds flushed out from its own water last year.
Despite been the pristine venue where emperor Akbar married a princess from Amer as per historians, this lake has not been preserved as a historical site or a natural lake, but has been used by salt miners to extract the most out of it. The lake has been a quarry for salt manufactures since time immemorial.
Each year, Sambhar lake receives nearly 20,000-30,000 Flamingos during winters; thousands of migratory birds settle here as they get their desired feed in plenty.
In fact, last year, Sambhar Lake garnered world attention when around 20,000 migratory birds were found dead here!
Coming from the Rann of Kutch where they breed, these birds were found lifeless on the southern and western fringes of the Sambhar lake and till date, there is no clue if they died of a disease, virus, or any other malady.
When govt planned to script the climax…
The Government of Rajasthan was at pains to rescue ailing birds, removing carcasses and seeking answers from best of experts as to what led to such a catastrophe at this Ramsar Site wetland, the largest brackish water habitat (about 200 sq. km) in India. The animal husbandry and virology experts came out with certain decisions. Forest departmt buried dead birds in a pit and set up a make-shift nursery to rehabilitate ailing birds indirectly declaring the end of the story.
The episode of en masse mortality would have been buried for ever had the Rajasthan High Court not taken a suomotto cognizance of this strange predicament at Sambhar. A double bench started hearing. So the authorities had to dig in heels to search answers, as genuine as possible.
Team TWSI with stakeholders at Sambhar Lake
Sambhar Salt Ltd: An all-round loser
Sambhar Salts Ltd is a public sector undertaking that has nearly 90 sq. km area of this lake to make salt. Its production is much smaller tons as compared to private operators. The turnover is about Rs 40-crore only. The company is reeling under losses and is under huge debt. Yet it is operating as it is a government undertaking. Its employees have a tale of woes: salaries not paid in time, wage-bill is of 1992 level, no action plan to tilt the corner and draw new business through diversification, etc. A tourism model developed there almost was in tears as foot falls were absent. Yet a big amount was spent in creating some new mansions to lure tourists.
Suggestions pour in but not even one implemented
What next? Wildlife experts have come up with a new suggestion: how about setting up a separate Sambhar Conservation Authority as an independent entity to aim at conserving both Salt and Birds, in particular the brackish habitat that shelters each one of them? Orissa’s Chilika Lake Development Authority is cited as an example having conserved that lagoon-lake and also provided new avenues to local villagers to earn good wages through fishing, boating, tourism, etc. What is the problem?
Sustaining salt and birds together? See how!
Anil Gattani and Kesha Ram Lore are Presidents of two different Salt Manufacturing and Refinery Associations and based at Nawa. They plead for a Salt Policy to be scripted to accord priorities for this sector. Both told this portal that Sambhar is second largest salt producer in India yet its problems have not been heard by the Government. Let us lay down a pipeline between Jayal and Sambhar to draw water lying in huge quantity at coal pits, to augment need of this lake. Salt and birds shall sustain only if there shall be water in Sambhar!
Who will bell the cat?
Who will bell the cat? Hon. Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Ashok Gehlot? Yes, it is learnt that he has sensed a new perspective and is expected to crack the auspicious coconut in favour of Sambhar. Only after Dussehra celebrations are over. Is it?
The Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, one of the most recognisable Taj hotels in the country, has been rated #1 in the Top Hotels in India and #15 in the Best Hotels in the World categories of the prestigious global Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2020.
History of Rambagh Palace Jaipur
Rambagh Palace, often called the ‘Jewel of Jaipur’, was originally built in 1835. It was the home of the queen’s favourite handmaiden and then became a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge. In 1925, Rambagh Palace became the permanent residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur.
In the finest tradition of Rajput hospitality, Rambagh Palace offers its guests a taste of royal living – a luxury and extravagance that was once the sole preserve of kings.
Its elegantly appointed rooms, marbled corridors, airy verandas and majestic gardens set in 47 acres echo with history.
And the team head says…
Ashok Rathore, General Manager, Rambagh Palace, Jaipur says, “It is an honour to win this prestigious global recognition.This will help focus on Rajasthan and Jaipur as popular destinations for tourists from all around the world including India. These awards are a result of the dedication of the team over the years.I would also like to thank all our guests who voted Rambagh Palace as their favourite hotel.We look forward to welcoming them once again.”
About the awards
The global Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards are presented annually on the basis of votes from readers of the magazine for the best that the travel world has to offer. The 33rd Readers’ Choice Awards represented the first time that the voters picked their choices, even when not travelling when most of the world has come to a pause.
Also read: https://ebnw.net/travel/a-jaipur-allegory-look-out-the-elephants-coming/
Rahul Tewatia is the most-talked out player in the IPL 2020 who showed his talent during his recent matches. Let’s find out who this player is, from where he belongs and what are his goals and objectives?
Age: Tewatia is 27-year-old legspinner from Sihi in Haryana.
Best score: His best score is the first class figure of 7/98 in 2019-20 Ranji session
He likes: Tewatia is the Manchestor United Fan.
Matches he played: He has played over 49 T20 matches and has taken 33 wickets at an average of 18 and an economy rate of over 7.
He started with Ranji representing Haryana: In the domestic circuit, he played for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy.
A surprise package: Tewatia was one of the surprise packages of the 2018 Indian Premier League auctions. His base price was just Rs 10 Lakhs however, within minutes, the price soar to a massive 2.5 crores.
DD bought him at 3 crore: Although his previous team Kings11 Punjab were after him but Delhi Daredevils bought him at 3 Crores.
Finally he was picked by RR: In the last edition, he was picked by the Delhi franchise. However, in IPL 2020, he was picked by Rajasthan Royals
Tewatia has been around the senior cricket level in India since 2013, when he made his first-class debut. He marked an IPL presence – at times – over the years, playing 20 matches across five seasons for various teams since 2014. Undoubtedly, he looks like a man on the mission!
StoryBy Harsh Vardhan: A Black Kite from Thailand flew over Myanmar, and all over East India to finally stay in Maharashtra, taking up a five month long journey.
The East-west migration of birds, is not quite common while the North-South migration is almost 100 per cent in record for birds all over the world.
Good news for bird community!
Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, a bird expert in Thailand, conveyed this message to the global bird watchers’ community.
The message was picked up by Jaipur based Harsh Vardhan, as part of such efforts. Chaiyan came up within hours over email to provide details:
“The photo shows my graduate student holding the Black Kite, after we mounted the satellite tracker on its back, and prior to placing it back in the nest on April 9 , 2020 in Nakhon Nayok province in Central Thailand. This bird had hatched in Feb 2020. This Kite tracking project is led by Kasetsart Raptor Research and Conservation Medicine program which I oversee. It is supported by the Raptor Research Fund for Conservation, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Thailand. It is a juvenile bird designated as R96 (code givebn to each tagged bird, or named as Naga), tagged with GSM/GPS logger and has provided very interesting post-fledging movement.
A Black Kite tagged in Thailand, photo courtesy Chaiyan
The Kite took Flight of Fancy from Myanmar
“After being tagged in February 2020, it started flying towards Myanmar, Mizoram and roamed over Dacca (Dhaka) in Bangladesh on 11 June 2020. Eight more, juvenile and adult, are to be tagged next breeding season.” A bird expert in Dhaka, Hasa and his friends reported to Chaiyan that there was a Black kite roosting site in Ramna park in Dhaka University Campus in Bangladesh. Naga would have been roosting in this area as recorded by its coordinates between 10 and 11 June 2020.”
A proud Chaiyan told Harsh, “On 14 June 2020, this bird was staying at Ulhas River in Maharashtra and made around 5,000 km journey from Thailand. (See attached maps to better understand the tracking map.)
Here comes the citation as well: Hasa, MH.S, A.M.M.K. Ahedin, A.. Sirker. H. Saher. 2018. Roosting site selection of Black Kite (Milvus migrans). In Proceeding of 21st Nature Conference and AGM2018, Bangladesh, page 87.
What a surprise!
The bird is in Maharashtra where a good number of bird watchers make hay in this practice and no one could observe it though the transmitter is too visible over its back!
October is recording peak in bird migration. The Rajasthan High Court has nominated three experts (28 September 2020) to join government officials to study causes of a massive bird mortality during 2019 at Sambhar Lake and report to it within a month: Dr. Ajit Pattnaik (Orissa’s Chilika Lake), R.N. Mehrotra (tiger relocation expert) and Satiya Salem (animal botulism expert). The authorities did not set up the committee by 3rd week of October. What can India expect from officials on bird conservation? Will they be inspired by Thailand’s example, their bird living in India!
Black kite is a fairly common bird in India found hovering over waste dumps and standing over branch-less trees. It is known as a scavenger bird. The Thai bird belongs to the same species. Some photos are reproduced here to let readers better understand.
Here comes a Navratri 2020 gift for devotees from Vaishno Devi Shrine Board during COVID-19 pandemic times!
A new app has been launched through which the devotees can attend live Aarti and can also do live darshan of Vaishno Devi while sitting inside their houses.
Shri Vaishno Devi Shrine Board CEO Ramesh Kumar said that the app will soon be launched at the iOS platform too. In a special feature, the devotees can also attend the ‘Hawan’ live. Earlier, the Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has also started home delivery of the offerings (prasad) to devotees in association with the Department of Posts.
To get the prasad delivery at your home, the booking should be done on the website of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. According to Kumar, “When one makes a booking for the prasad, it will be offered to Maa Vaishno Devi in his name. Then this prasad shall be sent to the person within 72 hours. The packaging of the prasad is available in three prices- Rs 500, Rs 1100 and Rs 2100.”
It’s the start of the holy period of Navratri 2020 and the tales of miracles remain incomplete without the mentioning of the World Famous Karni Mata Temple, Deshnok, Jodhpur (Rajasthan), also called as the Rat Temple where thousands of rats live along with the deity.
Devotees are amazed to see rats crawling on the deity’s statue, floor, temple bells and just everywhere. In spite of thousands of rats, plague has not touched this holy miraculous temple, but people suffering from plague are brought here and they get miraculously healed. Such is the power of divinity.
Let’s take a thorough sojourn to this temple:
1. The renowned Karni Mata temple or the “temple of rats” is situated at Deshnoke, 30 km ahead from Bikaner in Rajasthan in India.
2. The temple has over 20,000 black rats which are revered, considered holy and are called as “kabbas”.
3. Many people visit this temple from distant locations just to pay their respect to these rats and get their ‘darshan’. In fact, the temple witnesses a huge number of visitors as well as the curious tourists from all over India due to the presence of these miraculous “rats”.
3. The temple has been designed in Mughal style with a beautiful marble facade consisting of doors of solid silver which is built by Maharaja Ganga Singh. Across the doorway, many more silver doors with panels speak various legends of the Goddess.
4. The inner sanctum has the shrine of the Goddess. In 1999, the temple was beautified by the Hyderabad based jeweler Kundanlal Verma who donated the marble carvings and the silver rats to the temple.
5. According to the folklore, once upon a time, an army of 20,000 soldiers were deserted in a nearby battle and they came to the village of Deshnoke. Karni Mata, after learning about the sins of desertion, spared their lives turning them into rats. The soldiers paying gratitude in return, promised the goddess to serve her forever.
6. There are a few white rats among those black rats who are believed to be Karni Mata and her four sons.
Karni Mata Temple’s History
The temple is famous for the legendary stories and folklores and is believed to be a place of high faith where people come to seek the blessing of the goddess. It is believed here that if a rat is killed by someone, he should replace it with a silver rat. The temple construction was completed in the early 20th century.
How to get there
Buses, trains and taxis are available to reach this place. Even the road towards the temple is comfortable and accessible.
Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur, a Member of Parliament from Rajsamand constituency in Rajasthan, has been taking big leaps in her career by taking up her tasks diligently while accomplishing them with elan. Earlier she served as the Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from Sawai Madhopur and hence she reflects a befitting account of vertical progression in her leadership to the Bhartiya Janata Party that rules India presently.
Let’s take a sneak peak to know how this princess ensures best talents are being shortlisted as the recipients of the 2020 Sawai Awards…
By Harsh Vardhan
Diya Kumari, the Jaipur princess and Rajsamand MP, enters the square-shaped drawing room with joined hands to wish and receive greetings from others with whom she is attending a meeting.
“Less than ten minutes as I have another meeting soon after” she drops a busy-time-bomb and settles comfortably with a sheaf of papers carrying names of proposed recipients of the 2020 Sawai Awards. It is the last meeting to finalise some 30 best talents to be conferred with a certificate, a replica of a metal urn in which a Maharaja had carried the Ganges water to England for daily use, a shawl, a certificate, and some cash besides a book containing all about awards. Despite the virus reasons, she is keen to sit, face-to-face with members of the jury board to carry out business.
Her quest to find more talents
She questions, “Are there more names to be discussed? Are there even better candidates? What about the youth? Females from different strata? Those less privileged? How to accord the awards to the best deserving ones?” It is full throttle tempo. She means business. And mind you, no gaps left.
She takes lead in suggesting new names
And she also picks up name of the some one whose background was inappropriate. At such an impromptu dissection, no answers are served. She suggests new names. How about Akshya Patra? Did any one think over RANA, based in New York and serving the Indian society in various ways? Who will find out the contact details? The decisive pace is quickened as she seeks more details and also adds her own mind for each award. She spends double the time than what she had set apart for this event. At end, a member remarks: You have taken the “class” today. She smiles to add: it is a team work.
Makes another big announcement of a book release
As she proposes thanks to jury members, another news-bomb is explored. A book will be released this time. “It will be on my father”, Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh, a renowned polo player, served the Indian Army to receive Maha Veer Chakra, and remained an envoy for India, among other feats. The annual award ceremony takes place on his birthday (22 October). This time, the event will be through video-presentation. Pity that Jaipur’s City Palace would not be agog with a charming gathering of old and young, traditional and modern, to applaud the winners.
Meet this woman of substance balancing professional and personal commitments
This Princess-turned-politician is rubbing shoulders with crafty and wise in the Indian parliament. She has been renewing contacts with diplomats, many been thickly associated with her ancestors, tapping new sources to enlarge her who’s-who diction, keeping a track of the political developments and is visiting the constituency while balancing social and political cadres and managing the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust. Besides these, she has also been giving tips to her two sons and a daughter and also spends quality time with her mother, Rajmata Padmini Devi.
Member of Parliament Diya Kumari exchanging greetings with Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister
Meet this balanced and matured politician
A female amidst male-dominated circumstances, she is a politician who is now a much-balanced, matured and astute personality. People are her darling while the constituency is like Ram Charit Manas for her. Priorities are charted out on priority basis as she is not in hurry. Circumstances have tanned her career however she is more confident and is gradually getting better placed to occupy an enviable position in politics. Matter of years. A different phase of life to dawn after January 30, 2021.
With the start of Navratri 2020, devotees throng to offer prayers to different temples Maa Durga and seek her blessings.
Tanot Mata Temple History
On this holy occasion, let’s take a sojourn to Tanot Mata Temple in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district which speaks stories of miracles, legends and surprises. The bombs dropped from the neighbouring nation, Pakistan during India-Pakistan war in 1965, failed to destroy this holy temple which is situated near the Indo-Pak border, 120-km North West of Jaisalmer city in Thar Desert of Rajasthan.
Let’s study about this temple in detail:
1. Nestled in the quaint village of Tanot in Jaisalmer, Tanot Mata temple speaks stories of faith and utmost devotion of local people
2. According to the locals, Pakistan Army dropped over 3,000 bombs on this temple with an aim to destroy it along with the Indian Army. However, none of the 3,000 bombs could even touch the temple premises or the Indian soldiers.
3. Similar story was repeated in the War of 1971 when the BSF’s coy repulsed an attack from Pakistan.
4. Tanot Mata (goddess), according to Charan literature, is an incarnation of Hinglaj Mata.
5. The temple’s location is near the battle site of Longiwala of the India –Pakistan war of 1971.
6. Due to the miraculous sacred powers of this temple, the locals have immense faith in the goddess.
6. Do visit its museum where the unexploded bombs are still kept. The museum is managed by BSF teams.
7. This highly revered temple was constructed in 847 AD and the idol of the deity was also installed at the same time.
8 The construction of this temple began soon after Bhati Rajput King Tanu Rao made Tanot as the capital of his kingdom.
9. Later, RAC started maintaining the temple and then BSF took over the temple’s responsibility, in 1965.
10. The temple has beautiful surroundings, all covered with yellow sand dunes of the Thar Desert which give a striking contrast to blue vistas of the sky.
