इश्क़ इश्क़ है

 इश्क़ इश्क़ है 

कोई काम नहीं कि मुश्किल या आसान

जो निभ जाये तो आसान जो बुझ जाए तो मुश्किल 

जो मिल जाए तो बेक़द्री 

जो ना मिले तो बेदर्दी

वक़्त निकल जाता है हाँ तब ये ख़याल आता है!!!

 जब वक़्त निकल जाता है तब ख़याल आता है,

जो हाथ बढ़ा देते तो आज ज़िंदगी बाहों में होती,

जो बढ़ के रोक लेते तो ख़ुशियाँ यूँ रूठी ना होती...

जब वक़्त निकल जाता है तब ख़याल आता है,

जो निगाहे यूँ सर्द ना होती तो आज तमन्नाएँ यूँ ज़र्द ना होती,

कुछ तो कहा होता की ज़ुबां यूँ ख़ामोश ना होती...

जब वक़्त निकल जाता है तब ख़याल आता है,

जो बारिशों को पिरोया होता तो ख़्वाबों की नदियाँ यूँ प्यासी ना होती,

जो रंगों को सुखाया ना होता तो अपना भी एक धनक होता...

जब वक़्त निकल जाता है तब ख़याल आता है,

जो तिनके ही बिखेरे ना होते तो घरोंदा आज भी उसी शाख़ पर होता,

जो कफ़न को “अपने” ख़ुद ही सिया ना होता तो वो किसी का दामन मेरा सरमाया ही होता...

जब वक़्त निकल जाता है तब ख़याल आता है,

कि जो नशे में प्याले यूँ तोड़े ही ना होते तो मयखानो ने यूँ मूँह मोड़ा ना होता,

जो मुट्ठी को बंद ही ना की होती तो वक़्त यूँ दरारों से फिसला ही ना होता...

वक़्त निकल जाता है हाँ तब ये ख़याल आता है!!!

कांच की मिट्टी से बने ये रिश्ते

 कोई रिश्तों की दुहाई देता रहा 

कोई रिश्तों से रिहाई लेता रहा

देखो तो मुलायम छू लो तो खुश्क

कांच की मिट्टी से बने ये रिश्ते 

हर तरफ़ है इंसानी बसेरे 

ढूँढो एक तो निकले मकान घनेरे

लेकिन घरों के अंदर रहते 

बेजान रूठे ठंडे से लगते

कांच की मिट्टी के बने ये रिश्ते 

रगों से जिनकी बनते थे रिश्ते 

आज वहाँ सिर्फ़ नमक है बहते 

जिस्म भी सूखे रूह भी रूखे

आँखें भी हैं नमी के भूखे 

कांच की मिट्टी के बने ये रिश्ते

ना माँ का प्यार ना बच्चे का दुलार 

ना पिता का साथ ना भाई का हाथ 

सब कुछ है नोटों की बात 

साथ है सिर्फ़ जब तक देते वो हाथ

आख़िर कांच की मिट्टी के बने ये रिश्ते

ना मोहब्बत ना वफ़ाएँ

कौन किसका प्रीतम यहाँ पर

ज़िंदा यहाँ मुर्दा हो जाए 

खरा यहाँ कुछ चलता नहीं है

सबने सिर्फ़ हैं सोने के परत चढ़ाए

कांच की मिट्टी के बने ये रिश्ते

हाथ लगाओ बिखरते चले जाएँ

आशिक़

आशिक़ आशिक़ी से नहीं मिज़ाज से होते हैं 

धड़कने दिलों से नहीं नज़रों से बढ़ती हैं 

ज़बान देख कर जिनको अंदर ही रुक जाए 

लफ़्ज़ उनकी आवाज़ सुनते ही जो गूँगी हो जाए 

आशिक़ ऐसे ही जनाब नहीं बनते

कमबख़्त उनके गली के चौराहे पर मार खा खा कर ही बनते हैं 

अगर उसके भाई और अपने बाप का डर ना हो 

तो मजनू की तरह कपड़े फाड़ कर

लैला-लैला गली में पुकार कर आशिक़ बन जाते 

लेकिन क्या करें अब तो लैला को भी आशिक़ मजनू जैसा फटेहाल नहीं 

एकदम फ़िल्म स्टार जैसा चाहिए 

आशिक़ी हो ना हो बस एक आशिक़ मिज़ाज होना चाहिए

बाक़ी सब तो उसके पास होगा ही 

मोहब्बत का क्या है वो तो आज एक माँगो  कल कई मजनू आकर दे जाएँगे

आशिक़ी के दौर आते हैं और आशिक़ के चेहरे भी बदल जाते हैं

पहले वो दर पर मेरे सुबह 5 बजे ही फूल लेकर आते थे

अब  शाम को 5 बजे दूध की थैली लिए आते हैं 

वो भी एक आशिक़ी का दौर था और यह भी एक आशिक़ की कहानी है

तब लबों पर मुस्कुराहट थी और अब पेशानी पर सलवटे हैं

आशिक़ी तब रूमानी थी और अब ज़िम्मेदारी है

आशिक़ी के दौर आते हैं और आशिक़ के चेहरे भी बदल जाते हैं

  

यह युँह ही बस

क्षितिज

 चलो लेकर ऐसे ही क्षितिज के परे

जहां धरती के चलन ना हों 

और आकाश के भी भरम ना हों 

जहां ज़माने के रस्मों रवायत ना हों

बस सिर्फ़ वो मोहब्बत हो जो इंसान की बनाई ना हो 

वहाँ ना तो पैरों की वो चुभन हो ना सीने की वो जलन हो 

बस फूलों की महकती हुई डालों के दोलन हों 

चलो लेकर ऐसे ही क्षितिज के परे 

जहां धरती के चलन ना हो 

और आकाश के भरम ना हों 

जहां ना कोई बड़ा हो ना छोटा हो 

जहां समता का कोई पैमाना ना हो 

चलते हुए को झुकना ना हो 

झुकते हुए को टूटना ना हो 

जो टूट भी जाए कोई तो सम्भालने वाला दिल “छोटा-सा” ना हो 

अपना ना हो ना सही लेकिन कहीं से बेगाना भी ना हो 

चलो लेकर ऐसे ही क्षितिज के परे 

जहां धरती के चलन ना हो 

और आकाश के भरम ना हों 

जहां आंसुओं की कोई जगह ना हो 

जहां किसी का कोई दोष ना हो 

जहां कोई भी रोष ना हो 

जहां किसी के आने की ख़ुशी का समय ना हो 

ऐसे रुक जाए समय वोहि 

कि किसी के जाने का ग़म भी ना हो 

ऐसे रुक जाए समय वोहि

कि ना तुम गुम हो जाओ और ना मैं ही कुछ भूल जाऊँ कहीं

ऐसे समय रुक जाए वोहि 

चलो लेकर ऐसे ही क्षितिज के परे 

जहां धरती के चलन ना हो 

और आकाश के भरम ना हों 

अजनबी राही

देखे जो सपने साथ साथ वो जी ना सकें हम, 

कुछ नींद से ऐसे जागे कि सपने बिखर गए,

कुछ तेरी वो ख़ता कुछ मेरी वो वफ़ा,

ना जाने कब हम राही से कुछ अजनबी से बन गए!

सीने पर बोझ, तेरे इश्क़ का, लेकर के चलते रहे,

ना जाने कब वो मोहब्बत थम गए, और बोझ बढ़ते चले गए।

कभी जो मुड़ कर देखा भी तो धुंधला था इतना समाँ,

के अपने ही कातिल के साये को अपना मसीहा समझ लिए।

दिल की नादानी तो देखो कि जब माहजबिं ने दामन छुढ़ा लिया,

उसको भी उसकी मोहब्बत की अदायें ही समझ लिए!

चाहत की इतनी चाह थी कि ख़ूने दामन को लेकर के लड़खड़ाते रहे हम,

उसके हरेक ज़हर को मरहम ही समझ लिए, 

राही जो बनके चले थे हम कुछ अजनबी से हो लिए!

माना के तेरे साथ की चाहत बहुत थी लेकिन तेरे साथ की क़ीमत भी बहुत थी, 

पहले ही ज़ख़्म के बोझ थे बहुत, के और क़ीमत चुकाने की तहम्मुल ही नहीं थी।

टूटते हुए हौसलों में कुछ इतना भी ना बचा था, 

कि अपनी ही रूह को गिरवी रखके तेरे सदके ही कर देते!

राह थी वोहि लेकिन राही वो नहीं,

इतना टूट गए के अब तो, नए राह की गुंजाइश भी नहीं,

राही जो बन कर चले थे कुछ कदम, अब वो अजनबी ही हो लिए!!! अब वो अजनबी ही हो लिए!!!

एक “आम वीर”

वीर चला है घर से अपने पथ पर चलने को, पीछे छोढ़ चला है जीवन के अपने रत्नो को , रोज़ है चलता सुबह सवेरे दिन का बोझ उठाने को, 

घूँट घूँट सपनो को पीता, बच्चों के पंख बढ़ाने को,

कहीं किसी से बातें सुनता अप्रिय शब्दों की जाली से,

रोज़ है कड़वे घूँट वो पीता पेट की आग बुझाने को,

जब थक जाता दो घड़ी सुस्ताने को, 

अपने ही हाथों अँगोछा लेकर पोंछे अपनी ही  पेशानी को,

ग़र खड़ा हो कहीं जो मुश्किल सीना ताने आगे से ,

उसके आगे बहुशाली बनकर वीर खड़ा हर क़ोने में!

वीर रस की कई कहानी कहता हर कोई सरहद पर,

घर से निकलो झांको अपने बगलों में,

घर के आगे सरहद होगी, वीर मिलेंगे चौराहों पे,

कहीं खड़े हैं सिर को बांधे, तो कहीं है हाथों को,

वीर सिपाही खड़ा यहीं है, लड़ता “समता” के पैमानो से!

कोई कहता आगे बढ़ जा, कोई खींचे बाहों से

नहीं है आसां किसी जंग से, “जीवन का जीवन जीने में”

सरहद पर खड़ा वीर है, लड़ता केवल दुश्मन से 

जीवन के वीर तो लड़ते है अपने ही खून के नामों से 

नहीं है कहता वीर कोई उनको, ना ही तमग़े मिलते हैं 

ना कोई कहता कविता उनपर 

मरते लड़कर जो अपने जीवन से!

लाक्डाउन लाफ़्टर

यानी लाक्डाउन वाली हंसी

लेकिन सवाल यह है की किसकी हंसी?

हंसी तो फँसी वो हंसी?

या चल हंस ना बे वो वाली हंसी?

चलते चलते छाले पढ़ गए उस दर्द की हंसी?

या भूख से बिलखते बच्चे को हंसाने वाली हंसी?

या फिर उस सत्ता पर बैठे लाट साहिबों की हंसी 

जो हंसे तो भी कहते है कमाल है साहब क्या हंसी है 

इनके तो हंसने में भी देश प्रेम का रस है 

बाक़ी सब तो लाक्डाउन में रोने का नाटक कर रहे हैं

असली देश सेवा तो यह भक्त कर रहे हैं!

क्या तलाश है तुझे एक बार तो बता

  (पूछा किसी ने) क्या तलाश है तुझे एक बार तो बता 

भटकती हुई रूहों से जो करता है बातें 

(मुझे) इंसानो की बस्ती में ना मिला कोई 

तो रूहों से करता हूँ बातें 

जीते जी जो सुलझे ना सवाल  

शायद रूहों को मिलते हो उनके जवाब  

यही सोच कर हर रात जागता हूँ

चल देता हूँ शमशान की तरफ़ 

रोज़ करता हूँ बातें उन शब्दों की तलाश में

लेकिन उनकी चुप्पी से डर जाता हूँ 

मरने से ख़ौफ़ खा जाता हूँ 

क्यूँकि अगर जवाब वहाँ भी नहीं 

तो त्रिशंकु ना बन जाऊँ कहीं 

जवाब के लिए जान देकर 

खुद ही सवाल ना बन जाऊँ कहीं 

इन रात के गलियारों में कहीं मैं भी भटकने ना लगूँ 

कोई ज़िंदा नज़रें कहीं मुझ को ढूँढे 

और सवाल करे वोहि 

जिसके जवाब की तलाश में 

आज भटकता हूँ कहीं

भीगी भीगी रातें

 भीगी भीगी रातें
कुछ हम कुछ तुम करो बातें

सुबह तक जागते रहें

कुछ तुम लो कुछ हम लें साँसे 

ख़ुशबू उस रात की नमी तेरे हाथ की

कुछ हवा नरम सी थी कुछ साँसे गरम सी थी 

दूर आसमाँ पर सितारों की बारिश 

उस पर खिला वो  चाँद

तेरे केसुओं की घटा से झांकती वो चाँदनी 

कुछ कहने को तरसती तेरे लबों की वो खामोशी 

कुछ शर्म तेरे गालों की, कुछ शरारत तेरे आँखों की

भीगी भीगी रातें 

चलो फिर से तुम करो कुछ कुछ हम करें बातें

शतरंज की कहानी

दुनिया एक शतरंज की बिसात 

कोई हाथी, कोई ऊँट, और कोई घोड़ा

सबसे ऊपर राजा, फिर रानी

सबसे नीचे प्यादा

प्यादा चलता एक ही चाल 

लेकिन बनता वोहि है ढाल 

बिछ जाता आढ़े हाथ 

राजा की जान बचाने को

हाथी ऊँट है पहरेदार

लेकिन दिखती उनको एक ही धार 

सीधा तीरछा चलते चलते 

वो भी देते अपनी जान 

उस एक राजा की जान बचाने को

घोड़ा है कमाल का

चलता है ढाई घर 

उसको किसी ने पूरा भी ना दिया 

बस ओढ़ा दी चादर ढाई आखर प्रेम की 

लेकिन काम है उसका भी वोहि

देनी अपनी जान है 

वो उस राजा की जान बचाने को

रानी, रानी, ओ मेरी रानी 

देखो कितनी सयानी

सुंदर, सुशील और गुणी

चलती देखो कैसे बलखाके

सीधा, तीरछा, दायें-बायें

हंसती फूलों की झड़ी

रोती काँटों की लड़ी

लेकिन क़िस्मत से जुड़ी 

उस राजा के ही भागों से

सबसे कठिन है यह प्यादा

कोमल भी है आग भी 

समझना इसको थोड़ा कठिन है 

पिघल जाती है बस एक आह से 

उसको भी तो यही कहा है 

जीवन है तो राजा का 

तुझको भी तो मरना होगा 

उस राजा की जान बचाने को

अब देखो इस राजा को 

सब गए फिर भी है इतराता

पाले उसने इन सब को 

अपने “मैं” को सहलाने को 

एक एक कर दाव लगाए 

बस अपनी जान बचाने को

सदियों से है वही खड़ा 

कितने ही प्यादे कितनी ही रानी

न्योछावर इस राजा के सम्मोहन पर 

जादूगर है यह रोज़ नए 

हाथी ऊँट घोड़े और रानी 

निकाले अपने बस्ते से 

ऐसा क्या है इसकी आँखो में

जो पाले इसको अपने सीने में 

खेल कमाल का समझे हर कोई 

लेकिन फिर भी आता है हर कोई 

अपनी जान देने

उस एक राजा की जान बचाने को

देखो अपने चारों ओर

और देखो फिर अपनी भी ओर 

तुम हो कौन इस खेल में 

ढूँढो खुद को अपने में 

शतरंज का खेल तो

दुनिया जब की बनी तभी का बिछा

तब से खेल चलता रहा 

प्यादे रानी बिछती रही 

राजा देखो वही खड़ा

वो चला था कल घर की ओर

 वो चला था कल घर की ओर

मन ही मन सोचता हुआ 

घर जाऊँगा माँ से कहूँगा रोटी खिला

भागवान से कहूँगा आ बैठ कुछ अधूरी बातें करें

बालक को जी भर के देखूँगा, संग में लुका-छिपी खेलूँगा 

इसी उम्मीद पर चलता गया

संग दस थे राह में, कुछ चंद रह गए 

चलते चलते ना जाने कब थक गया

आँख लगी और सो गया 

सपनो में बस चलता चला गया 

इसी उम्मीद की किरण में

ना जाने वो कहाँ खो गया...

उम्मीद की किरण फिर से चला

सूरज से चला, धरा पर ढला

कोंपल बना, गुलों में पला 

नैनों में बसा, सपनो में सजा

दूर कहीं एक चाँद खिला

लो उम्मीद की किरण फिर से चला

कहीं हंसी, कहीं कोलाहल

कहीं उदासी, कहीं आंसू

कहीं सुबह की महक

कहीं साँझ की झलक

कहीं अपनी ही ख्वाहिशों का शोर

कहीं दूर तक सिर्फ़ भीड़ का मखलोल

वो देखो सूरज फिर निकला

लो उम्मीद की किरण फिर से चला

Sunderbans - the fascinating home to the Royal Bengal Tigers

Pronounced as Shundor-bon – in bangla Shundor means beautiful and Bon means Jungle or Forest – so it means Beautiful Jungle, the mangroves of Sunderbans delta is true to its name. Always intrigued by the mystery of the jungles of Sunderbans which is home to the ferocious Royal Bengal Tigers, I had always wanted to visit the place. The tigers here are said to be man-eaters by birth – reasons vary with different theories. So I was really excited when we (me and my husband) decided to plan for this destination.
We were not sure of how the place would be, but we were more than cent-percent sure that this is going to be one exciting and memorable trip and we weren’t disappointed. Another excitement added was the modes of travel – we were travelling by Air (flight from Delhi to Kolkata), by road from airport to Gosaba and then a boat to the Sajnekhali - the island where we had booked our stay. The return was the same way and then a train to New Jalpaiguri for another destination – so practically covering every possible mode.
Though we had started our day very early, around 3 a.m. for the early morning flight, but I wasn’t sleepy during the 3 hrs bumpy taxi ride through the narrow village roads to Gosaba for the sheer thought of going to a place, that we being jungle lovers, have been dreaming of. Finally we started with the boat ride to reach the destination. The mechanized boats, as they are called, are motor operated boats that run on diesel. These are also mode of transport for the people living in the villages strewn around the islands – a very crude Venice experience I must say. We were enjoying the ride as we were the only ones and the excitement of being in such a surreal place was hitting us truly. However, after a while the smell of the diesel started hitting us rather badly!!!
I got talking to the men running the boat seeking on how and what arrangements for travelling around and gained much information required. The first thought when we saw the steps going up the gate of the island where we were to stay, was WOW – this is another world in itself. We forgot that we had not eaten anything since morning and asked the boatman to wait for us while we unload our luggage to take us for a small tour around the islands. To top our excitement while going towards the lodge, we found a huge monitor lizard sun basking near a small water body. We happily clicked and it happily posed. The stay – Sajnekhali Forest Lodge provided basic wooden rooms as in forests with a small canteen. I played my role of speaking to the people in Bengali, had a quick grab of fish-rice and then got ready for our boat ride. We were hopeful of getting some shots of the birds and the sunset, and if lucky then the tiger too! This was one amazing ride that we had with beautiful kingfishers sitting on the hanging branches of the mangroves, the sun setting against the water was just brilliant but the narrow creeks were little scary. There were net barrier across all these small marshy islands around 8-9 ft high – primarily to keep the tigers restricted of jumping off and swimming across to the nearest inhabited islands.
Next day, the whole day was planned for cruising along the river. We booked a boat, hired a guide (mandatory) and the two young men to sail. First thing you need to do is go to the next island, buy raw material for food including vegetables, salt, oil, rice and dal and kerosene oil – hand over the stuff to the boatman. And you are all set to go. We decided to sail through the narrow creeks where the chances of spotting birds and tigers are high. All excited we perched on to the red plastic chairs, keeping a close vigil on the islands passing by to spot every moving thing. My idea of going to a tiger reserve is not only to see the tigers but to soak in the environment and see the other flora and fauna of the area, so I am never disappointed – if I get to see a tiger that’s a bonus anyways. So we started clicking around, the families crossing the river on boats, people selling objects and transporting material across the river, and the beautiful kingfishers, egrets, Eurasian curlews, sandpipers etc. sitting on the trees and on the marshy shores. The deltas are not just home to tigers but the crocodiles as well – and as again they say, the crocs here too are man-eaters. Theories suggest the salty water is one of the reasons (human blood is salty too) or because of their co-existence with humans on the same land so they take humans as any other prey. We saw a few of crocs basking in the sun and they were huge, clean and smart  of all the crocs we have seen. The moment you try to go a little closer to the shore for getting a better shot, they would slip away into the water and disappear in seconds. They looked ferocious but shy. After a while, I thought of trying my hands in sailing the boat as it seemed easy and the boy was too happy to hand it over – it just had a driving wheel to navigate – rest I could not find any breaks  and the motor was somewhere behind the boat – all I need to care for was that I sail it slowly and in the middle of the river, avoid leaves that get stuck in the motor wheels and that’s about it – I was happy, the boy was happy to take a break! So I was the sailor for next hour. The phones were not working, the breeze was cool and the ride was smooth and No traffic at all!!! And then we landed on an island with a watchtower – it was nice to click to some of the crabs – there’s a variety of crabs including red fiddler, hermit crab and mudskippers. They look tiny and cute. Back to river, we had our lunch – it was simple feast of rice, daal and vegetable, all cooked on the boat on a kerosene stove by the boatman. While returning we sailed through the narrow creeks and that was scary especially against the setting sun backdrop. We saw pumarks indicating the tiger was nearby – the excitement rose high but we were little scared at the back of our mind because of the documentaries that suggest that they could swim and attack the boats. We couldn’t spot any tiger but saw beautiful birds and animals like kingfishers, eurasian curlew, crocodiles, deers etc. By the end of the day we were tired but astonished by the ecosystem that survives here – harmony between nature and human where co-existence is the key to survival. We returned to the mainland following the same trail and amazed that the island and steps that we could see while coming were all under water now for the high tide. A journey here is a lifetime experience and to be cherished forever. I must go there again for sure and this time I dread to walk in the jungle, if that’s allowed!!!

Evelyn's Own at Panchmarhi

There are quite a few places in India which were once the cantonment during the British raj and are now left with the colonial buildings against the quiet hilly backdrops – walking past through them just gives you a tingling feeling of old charm of the English Era. You know Britisher's have enjoyed and explored (and exploited) India most and the best way! Think of all the beautiful places and check out the history - and you'd find they were ventured by Britishers long long ago we don't even visit them now!

One such beautiful place is Panchmarhi - the highest and only hill station in MP. Yeah, it's a cantonment with colonial buildings strewn around - some belong to military and some owned by private people but I guess mostly these are retired defence personnel. We decided on this place again in Monsoon season when the Satpura hills turn green - by the way, Satpura jungles are evergreen! Mythologically, the place got it's name from the Pandava brothers of the great epic Mahabharta. It is said that they were hiding here during their vanavas.

We reached Bhopal early morning by Bhopal Express and took a bus to Panchmarhi from MP Tourism hotel at around 7 a.m. in the morning. It took 3 hrs to reach Panchamarhi. The drive through the ghat, forest and hills was very nice and quite soothing to the dead and tired souls. Here again, MP tourism hotels are good and over-booked but we try to look for heritage places to stay! Though these hotels too are heritage but we settled for another 125 yr old building called 'Evelyn's Own' - owned by a retired Col from Army who sold his house in Delhi to settle there amongst the quiet hills of Panchmarhi. He and his wife run the place and have converted a part of the house into a hotel but they do not allow everybody into the place as they call it a home and not hotel. So they always like to know who is checking in and if not suitable they have a record of asking people leave their compound as well :) so only serious travellers are allowed here! The place was quite nice located at one corner and bordering the Satpura forest - the whole Panchamarhi is situated within the periphery of Satpura forest! The food was simple and home cooked - yes, it's the same food that they cooked for themselves was served to us!

We made a special friend there, a black dog, let's call it B&W (black n white)! He was there on day 1, when we arrived there in the hotel and picked special fondness of us! We checked in and after freshening up, we decided to take a walk around the place and B&W decided us to guide through to the places. He walked along with us to all the places and made sure we returned to hotel safely :)!

So, it had rained so was a bit humid but not deterring us to take a walk in the afternoon when the Sun was not so bright! The walk through the quiet and lazy lanes where even the telephone booths are run by Army people made us feel like a 50 yr old couple out for a walk post-retirement! The place itself is very small and you can just walk around to see the Pandava caves - Buddhist Stupas with brick-cave! And the Bison lodge - oldest house in Panchmarhi - a museum with the flora-fauna of the place listed. Since it's a forest area there were trees and trees and trees around. And this is the place where you get the gorgeous Jamuns and Mangoes - you can have so much to your soul's desires without shelling out the big bucks!
The next morning, we fixed up for a Jeep ride to the famous Satpura tiger reserve! And as again, we were the only ones to take that ride in the Jungle. We reached there early in the morning and found the gates were closed and watchman was missing. The driver tried to create a mystery around it when he called up his wife to check about his whereabouts! He told us he had not returned since last night and now he's worried if he is alright because of the tigers and leopards! While we were waiting we collected some mangoes and yes, we saw the amazing, colorful and huge Indian giant squirrel! This one was living on the tree at the gate and it was a sight to see it jumping off the road to collect fruits and then running up the tree! We tried clicking but aha - who says it's easy to make a squirrel sit quietly to give a pose - specially this one! Anyways, after waiting for almost an hour, the guard showed up!

Though there were not many animals that we saw in the jungle but the views were just amazing! See the backdrop against the hills, the green trees that looked just so beautiful! Nope we couldn't see any tiger but just like any other jungle trip, the drive was exhilarating! Nothing beats the morning drive in a jungle - all the better if you are alone (without any other vehicle I mean). As in most of the jungles, there are people living inside and using the resources often stealing the resources. We went to the middle 'Nimghan' where the chaukidar served us with tea and we saw some tribals collecting Mangoes. Then we saw the Cave paintings in the jungle - the proof that there were humans thousands of years ago living in the deep forests and living in harmony with the nature. Currently, it is under the protected sites of the govt but as the guide told us most of it is in ruins for the inquistive hands of visitors who would scratch these to check if these are genuine! We returned and after breakfast, we decided to start with our tour to the places around.

Our guide for the next couple of days, Bahadur, was trained tribal who would take us to the jungles, the water falls, temples and some of the places that not many tourists would flock - the cave paintings in the middle of the jungle. How could a cantonment be without a church!!! Well, well, there we were in front of the Christ church that was closed but we could peek into the church through the windows! Panchmarhi is situated amidst the rocky, sandstone hills and gorges making it a perfect place for waterfalls - there are many the famous being Bee fall, Rajat fall, Duchess fall etc and the pools thereby! Walking to these falls itself is a journey and could be tiring for their locations! You can take a dip in the pool, bathe in the falls - it's all done and fun! There were some that were visible to the eyes but only the dare-devils could access it for it would take hours to walk down the hills to reach the bottom of the falls!

Panchmarhi is also famous in MP for religious beliefs. There are many old temples and places around - the Mahadev and chota mahadev caves, Jata Shankar where the maze of loose stones looks like the locks of Shiva hence the name, and similar ones!

The Priyadarshini or Forsyth point is worth mentioning, as this is the point from where Capt. Forsyth had discovered Panchmarhi in 1857. The view of the valley from this point is breath taking. Britishers then developed this place as their cantonment and resort to beat the heat of MP. Handi Khoh or Andha Kho (As it is called by locals) is a 300 ft deep ravine which has steep sides and you can't see the end so is the name! Another story that one of the british capt had committed suicide for his failed love! The Reechgarh - aptly named caves where as they say the Reech (Bear) would take shelter in rains. These were dark and dingy and natural.

Coming to the most beautiful part of the leg, Dhoopgarh – the highest point of not only Panchmarhi but of entire MP. This is also the sunset point for the tourists. The magnificent view of the surrounding hills, valleys, river and the sunset is just out of the world. The drive to this place has some amazing view points! The Dhoopgarh has a sarkari lodge where you could stay with prior booking but I guess – it would be difficult to get the bookings for obvious reasons. Also, must tell is that the point is inhabited by the slithering reptiles – snakes. I wanted to take a round on my own when the guide warned me not to walk on the grass for the snakes – as he said so and as I looked down before placing my foot on the leaves that were strewn around – I saw a small one slithering out of the leaves – the guide ran towards me and said ‘Oh it’s a bachccha tree snake’ while I captured it in my shutter bug happily. Alright, the final few moments spent here was watching the Sun set against the hills and the amazing views of our lifetime that are etched in our mind for ever!

We returned with some of the wonderful memories of yet another place. BTW before I close, I must tell you about the deal that we proposed to Col. Rao! We liked the place so much and inspired by him for leaving the fancies of the city and settling for such a quiet place that we wanted to buy a place here! Unfortunately, most of the places were sold, the left-outs were beyond reach and banned by the govt for sale. So we offered Col. Rao to sell the room where we were staying to us and He smiled!

Sham-E-Sarhad - Ek shaam sarhad par!

Sham-E-Sarhad (Evening at the border) – the aptly named resort – a rural resort again! We spent our New Year eve (2008) here – thousands of kms away from Delhi – in a resort that perhaps none of the people around us would know about (now they do :-)) – this is the far west of India in the salt deserts of Rann of Kuchchh, Gujarat!
Not sure of where to go on the New Year chutti, we planned for this place in a jiffy and decided the best and shortest way of reaching this place by 30 Dec (2007) – so there were multiple modes to take on this journey – an afternoon flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad, an overnight (6 hrs) bus - the ones which has sleepers on top of seats like the bunker beds; first time for me :-) - from Ahmedabad to Bhuj (yeah the place got its fame for the worst ever earthquake of the country) and an early morning (5.30 am) taxi to reach the destination – village ‘Hodka’! All the delhi people, remember the ladies selling mirror-word items on the pavements of C.P. – this is the region where these are done!

The village was chosen by UNDP under the rural development through tourism. The core is self-sustenance by running a place for livelihood and promoting the local culture and craft. Ok, so the identified village was ‘groomed’ to run a resort (in their own style) so the owners of the resort are the villagers. The resort suddenly appears after taking one of the narrow, dusty by-lanes off the main road – situated in the middle of barren, dry and no-man land. The rural resort has the amenities of any of the other resorts that you might come across in the other destinations but in a rural surrounding and architecture. There are swiss tents and the mud-rooms called ‘Bhungas’ – the round shaped huts that the kuchchi people live in. They are shaped like this for the climatic conditions here that’s very dry, hot and mind you dusty – when I say dusty – it means very-very dusty! The ambience was just perfect and upto our expectation though we stayed in the swiss tents – they said ‘bhungas’ were occupied!

The people of this place are like the ones as seen in the movie ‘Sarfarosh’ – yeah the long beard, kohl eyed men in pathani salwars! Feels like a different region altogether but they are very warm and hospitable. We reached there early morning at 6-6.30 am and the tent was not done so we had to wait till people check out! It was cold morning – very cold – as the sun rose the warmness in the air could be felt – we had our cuppa tea and then Surender as usual started clicking around! By the time the tent was done, we were dead tired with the travel but we had captured much information from the staff about the places around!
The tent was spacious – actually there were two tents – the second one was the bathroom! The food – ‘kuchchhi food’ – was pure vegetarian and cooked by the locals – had the local flavours – we often over-ate!

This is a nomadic land with the scattered villages, long runs of salty deserts, wet lands and of course, the place where the tropic of cancer passes by! And not the least the famous Kala Dungar where the wild jackals come for food when they hear the bells of the temple ringing – yeah saw it live and not on TV! So after taking some rest and meal, we were ready for day 1 trip and that was a trip around the resort to see some man-made wells and the nearby marsh area and the hodka village. The vehicle - :-) an open ‘chakhra’ – it’s a motor operated rickshaw that is heavily used in the area – much like the ‘jugads’ here! The guide an old man (my favorite) – ‘Paanki kaka’ and the local lad who would run the vehicle! They told us not to take the same but we didn’t pay attention to the warnings and were ready to dare the ‘dust’! After 10 mins of drive we realized why they were saying so – the drive through the dusty barren lands had tons of dust that landed up on us and inside our lungs – even the nostrils had turned white and we felt breathing in fine dust! But then as we are – we really enjoyed it and were ready to take on more!

Ok, so there we were standing on the dried salty lands where the only vegetation were small shrubs that could survive the salty land! But the view was amazing! From there were again driven back to the village to meet the locals – here in such a remote area where you’d hardly find educated people, I found the most enterprising and daring women! And above all, the most beautiful ravishing beauties! They have learnt English and Hindi in their own style, almost all of them have displayed photos with foreigners (they call them friends or sisters – I too made on ‘Birma Ben’) and then showcase their work – you can buy them! When a girl is born here, she prepares her own dowry which consists heavily of the embroidered dresses, bed sheets and other things – she would stitch those for years and store these in trunks till they reach 17-18 yrs of age (officially they say so) and then take them along – very beautiful and vibrant pieces I must say! Though mind you the prices are not cheap if you wish to buy – they are used to the dollar spending clients! They were really amused to see me stiching and asked me from where did I learn the same – oh how they think we are just good for nothings :-)! Another popular art here are pottery, lacquer work and leather work!
We were back at our resort by the evening for the wonderful dinner! The local artisans had come to play the local songs along side the bon fire. The night was so quiet that it was scary to go to the loo which was another tent as you could hear the hyenas and foxes howling throughout the night (though the staff said they were far away but their noise didn’t seem so distant)!

Next day, we decided to explore the wetlands of Chhari Dhand – a small wet land which sees migratory bird and some of the rare bird sightings can be done here! I was excited because this is where you could see the flamingoes – oh how long had I been wanting to see those beautiful birds – though I still would want to see them dancing as they say!

But as they, Rann of Kuchchh (like other deserts) is a place where you shouldn’t explore on your own unless you know the routes – why ? – we knew when we went there with Paandi kaka! The interesting person – 58 yrs, wrinkled old man who has seen the Rann for last 58 yrs and knows the place very well – couldn’t speak hindi properly but had such charming kohl eyes that looked mysterious! He was 6+ ft tall and thin and was always ready to pose for the photos! It was under his guidance that we had taken the trip to wet lands. There were no roads but mud tracks that were pointing to multiple directions and the driver would look at kaka and wait for him to point his fingers to the direction that we need to go! Though it was December but the car had AC and even inside the closed car we could breath in the fine dust that the wheels were throwing! On the way, we saw ‘families of wolves’ – so easy to spot for the scanty vegetation and guess what, we saw nomads – the ones we read about in school text books. There were men with herds of camel – hundreds in number moving across the desert – perhaps to the destinations not-known or known but certainly less travelled!
Alright, finally the banni wetlands – though we couldn’t see many birds but we could see some egrets, herons and ducks but no flamingoes L! We spent some time there in the quietness of the place and on the watchtower – nature can do amazing things – a wetland in the desert! The other places of interest that we saw were some of the villages like Dhordo that were adopted under PM schemes of rural development and ladies would welcome you in their houses, showcase their products and quietly put these back if you do not buy – mind you the prices are just the same as quoted for tourists! Of all the things, the best were to see the Bhungas with mirror work on the walls done by the ladies of the house.

The trip to Kala Dungar and India bridge are never to be forgotten. The sepoys on the India bridge - The last Civilian point of India-Pakistan Border - were so happy to see us as this is the last post allowed from where the border of Pakistan starts so nobody is allowed and all you could see are the vast lands of desert – the salt desert – where if you get lost it would be days that somebody would find you. And the sepoys, specially in summers, spent 2-3 months without seeing a single human soul other than their fellows guarding the bridge! After saying hi-hello to them, we went to Kala Dungar (Black Hill in local language). This is a small hillock overlooking the Rann and you can see lights from Pakistani homes on the border. You could go there in the evening to see the sun set in the Rann and visit the Dattatreya temple and above all a miracle of nature’s law being defied. Here in the temple, for years the pujari feeds the wild jackals – it was amazing to see the jackals appear at a designated place when the Arti began with the bells ringing – they come, eat and go back into the wild. Well, people are allowed to see this from a distant place – they don’t want to take any risk but it was amazing. They were looking at the temples as if listening to the sound of the bells. A truly amazing and ‘wild’ experience.

Well, finally on our way to Bhuj and Than Monastery – I got my first glimpse to the Flamingoes – so many of them with their peachish-pink bodies and red beaks they looked elegant – least to say! I simply awed the birds – there were so many in those small poodles of water. Than Monastery can be skipped as it was a temple though located at a quiet place amongnst the hills.

Moving on to Bhuj – unlike our perception – this place rocks – has some of the wealthy marwaris living and making money here. This has one of the best palaces that we saw – remember the ball dance from the film ‘Lagaan’ – this was shot here in the Bhuj Palalce hall – the magnificent palace got shattered during the earthquake and the Raja moved out to some other place and opened this for public visit – best way to recur the maintenance cost :-))
Some of the best chandeliers and artifacts can be seen here and in the museum. Rajasthani rajas knew how to live in splendor! Then to the Marwari food – though the kuchchhi thaali at the resort was the best – but nonetheless the Marwari food was no less – wonderful and cheap!
Star gazing!
The resort stay was ultimate and quiet and before I forget I must mention what did we do on the new year eve – it was a perfect quiet new year eve with the resort people organizing a star watching show with an amateur club of astronomy. They had come with telescopes and tried to explain and show us the wonderful stars and satellites. You won’t get such clear sky in Delhi even on the best of the days! We saw, we discussed, we had food (and no drink :-) Gujarat remember!) and off to sleep just like a normal day. Perfecto!
What a place and what an experience. The return was just the same – a taxi to Bhuj, a bus to Ahmedabad, overnight stay in Ahmedabad and then early morning flight off to Delhi and back to the grind the same day in office! Go guys – a place must visit but only for those who can dare the dust – as I say!