A Tour of Udaipur

Just yesterday early morning, I came back from a sleeping train, in which I had an extremely peaceful sleep. Everything in this good night sleep was perfect, except my dream about middle school. And it was filled with BAD neverending worries. Anyways, we were were coming back from Udaipur (also known as the City of Lakes), a scenic city in the state of Rajasthan, India. As our family is a family full of excitement and talk, we reached to a train station before the one that we intended to go to. Thankfully, this station was located in Udaipur, our destination, and the drive to the hotel only took about five minutes. We thought that this trip would be ordinary and somewhat spectacular; what we didn't know was that we entered a city that would stay in our memories forever and ever.

That very day, our large family of nine explored Udaipur's major places, including Monsoons Palace, City Palace, Pichola Lake, and Jag Mandir. We comfortably sat in a Tempo Traveller. Our first stop was Monsoon Palace, a beautiful palace which belonged to Maharana Udai Singh. His original palace and home was City Palace. However, as Monsoon Palace had beautiful, lush green sceneries, the raja went there during monsoon season, when it was most beautiful.                                                                  

                                                                                           

A message to the visitors about the Raja's graciousness. 

A beautiful view with wet green plains and sloping
mountains. 

A birdhouse peeking out from the view, telling me
         that the beautiful scenery is genuinely
                               a reality. 

                   

Our second stop was to Shilpgram, a traditional Rajasthani town. Immediately, when I spotted a camel, I had a sudden wash of urge to ride it. My wish was fulfilled, as I got an opportunity to ride on Prabhu's (the man taking care of it told us the camel's name) big body. After that, almost all the members of my enthusiastic family (I am not really enthusiastic) (I admit it, I a serious and I should talk and laugh), including me, got dressed in traditional Rajasthani costumes. We all had a sort of crop, and photos of us were taken by the photographer who dressed us. I was having metal plastic bangles in my hand, a colorful dress, and jewelry. My granddad was wearing a turban, a men's costume, and holding a sword; he looked the best of all.

          Prabhu! I personally find him looking like a curious camel. 

                                       Rajasthani girls dancing in a traditional dress. Then, after exploring Shilpgram Village, we headed down for lunch at around 2:00 P.M. Man, was the place so crowded! We went to the wrong "restaurant" that we intended to go to. Instead, we ended up in an overly crowded snack shop. However, the good thing was that I got to eat four of my favorite Indian sweet, made of only milk, sugar, and cashew. ;D After devouring snacks, my family and I reached City Palace, the original home of Maharana Udai Singh, as mentioned earlier. There was a museum tour; therefore, I learned numerous amounts of information regarding Maharana Udai Singh and his wife Rani such as their belongings and wars fought in their kingdom. City palace had many beautiful and intricate windows, similar to the ones in Islamic art. Lying in the river bordering the mansion, Lake Pichola, their laid a beautiful white palace called Jag Niwas, also owned by Maharana. I got amazing shots, as it was on an island in a beautiful lake. 

                      Parts of the large structure in City Palace.

Observe the windows carefully. They have extremely         well-handcrafted and skilled designs.

                                           

The white palace on cool Lake Pichola.

We then went boat riding at Pichola Lake; the cool water soothed my senses sensationally. During the ride, we took a stop at Jag Mandir, which included beautiful gardens. Udaipur's natural features really stand out from other cities in India. India is well-known for its copious amounts of pollution, but Udaipur is at least a little maintained by preserving its landforms and sceneries. The government is most probably encouraged by its picturesque and vivid beauty.  

                                            Amazing and unbelievable view from Jag Mandir.

For the night, we stayed at a hotel called Padmini Palace, and in comparison to other Indian hotels, this was the best. However, the bathroom was VERY dirty, and I was not a bit surprised... The very next day, we went to Mount Abu, a mountainous region near Udaipur. The ride in the car was 8 hours going and coming; I didn't realize how long it was because I was deeply sleeping with my mouth open. Mount Abu wasn't as interesting as Udaipur but the Jain temple Ranakpur was a highlight from the rest. It was beautiful decorated and carved with marble stone, The ceilings were intricately designed with domes, and the temple was filled with images of Adinath, the traditional founder of Jainism. The beautiful temple is dedicated to him. Because of Jain beliefs, photography was prohibited;consequently, I was unable to take any pictures. That very day, we left for Noida at 6:15 in the sleeping train, having a wonderful night's rest.

My trip to Udaipur was fantastic. The ability for me to treasure nature's beauty may have changed me as a person, by God's grace. I have so many memories, and right now it feels so good to type it on my blog, to share it with everyone. This was by far one of my best trips; I enjoyed views, took photos, gained interesting knowledge, and most importantly, I spent time with family. If you ever visit India, be sure to check out Udaipur, and the gifts it offer as a city.     

One Picture Can Change Everything

This Pulitzer Prize winning photograph that portrayed Sudan's starvation changed everything. It changed the way we look at poverty, it changed the way we feel for others, it changed people's hearts in good and negative ways. You might be confused after reading that sentence, but after reading my views on this picture, you would truly realize the truth behind poverty. Kevin Carter, the photographer of this photo, was born in 1960, the year Nelson Mandela's African National Congress was banned. As his parents were religious Roman Catholics, Carter often argued with them about African rights and why they all couldn't do anything about it. Even as a teenager, he clearly believed in righteous and just issues. Kevin Carter struggled finding the right job numerous times. However, he finally became a journalist, taking pictures with a group of Caucasian men who wanted to expose the ferociousness of apartheid and discrimination in parts of Southern Africa. They were arrested a couple of times, but they never gave up in what they genuinely believed in. On a trip to tropical Sudan,Carter took this influential yet extremely cruel photo shown above, careful enough not to disturb the vulture in the setting. After taking the photo, he flew the vulture away and just watched the little girl struggle to reach to her feeding center. Carter then sat under a tree, cried, and prayed to god. Silva, his partner, recalled that Kevin kept on saying that he wanted to hug his daughter, most probably the one that he never ever saw. This photograph of carelessness was then added to the New York Times on March 26th, 1993, but thousands of people were under criticism at Kevin Carter because he took no initiative to help the starving girl. He was depressed, frequently doing drugs, and having weak, negative thoughts. For example, when his friend Ken was shot, Carter told his group of friends that the the bullet should have been shot in him. And at the young age of 33, Carter committed suicide. His suicide note was dark and haunting. He wrote, he was, "depressed . . . without phone . . . money for rent . . . money for child support . . . money for debts . . . money!!! . . . I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain . . . of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners . . . " And then this: "I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky." Carter had a intellect and a desire. His mind told him to sincerely help the young child, but his weak desire told him to hurry and go back to taking more shots of starvng people. Unfortunately, he listened to his desire, the one that was so weak that it simply and eventually dissolved into depression, darkness, and death. 

Read more at: http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html
(suicide note of Kevin Carter and facts and information taken from there)

Citation of Image: 

"Iconic Photos." Iconic Photos. N.p., Scott Macleod. Web. 31 July 2013. <http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/vulture-stalking-a-child/>.

A Beautiful State: Some Amazing Shots of Uttarakhand and Details of my Trip

On the 26th, my family and I departed from Noida on a night sleeping train. We were all comfortably sleeping, with someone deeply snoring at night. Even then we enjoyed our journey greatly because it was the first time each and every member of the family went on a trip together. We were going to Uttarakhand, a scenic state in India filled with mountainous areas such as the Kumaon  Hills and parts of the Himalayas. This state has lush green nature and important landmarks all the way, which made our trip shine out from the rest. Moreover, Uttarakhand is full of thriving Kumaoni culture.

First, my large family and I reached the city of Haldwani, a busy city in Uttarakhand. After this city, natural areas and small towns start to arrive up north. From Haldwani, we went on two comfortable cabs to a very small village called Dhalonga (pronounced Da-lon-jaa.) Dhalonga is my grandfather's (nanu's) ancient hometown, and he wanted to show the whole family how life was like when he was really young. We made this trip for my grandfather's elder son and daughter because unlike my grandfather's youngest son, they have still not seen his hometown at the age of 41 and 38 respectively. My grandfather lived there for fifteen years, right from his birth. His traditional Kumaoni house wasn't remodeled or improved for over 150 years, but it still remains special to him and all of us because it treasures his childhood memories. 

Beautiful Mountains near a cool river..

 Kumaon Hills.. So many shades of green.

And so many shades of blue .. If you look carefully, you

can see spots of houses lying across the plains.

My grandfather's traditional Kumaoni house. A lot of
intricate woodwork is done, especially near the windows
and outer doors. 

After arriving to my grandfather's old house, we headed to a temple named Devi Dhura honoring a goddess called Barahee Devi, which held great significance because it was one where my grandfather often went to pray. There is an old legend in this temple that in every year, men throw stones at each other. Long ago, it is believed that boys were sacrificed and one by one, from each family, they died. One woman, in particular didn't want to leave her only son;therefore, she prayed to the goddess. The goddess then declared that every year she would receive the blood of one man. That is why this stone fight is still held today, and blood is sacrificed. Numerous amounts of people get severely injured. I was shocked and surprised by this tradition. My family and I received blessings at the temple, and then we drove to Almora, a breathtaking city near the Kumaon Hills. In Almora, I got amazing shots even from the hotel's balcony.

Beauty in the sky..

Sunset.. you can see a bit of the porch.... hehe.. I had to

reach out the camera to get this pic.

That very night, we slept at the hotel, and the very next day we head to another famous temple near Almora called Golu Devata. This such temple was filled with bells, and it certainly was very fun ringing them.

People also put requests in paper, and tied a bell to their request. They believed that God would fulfill their wishes. No offense to these people, but some of these requests were really funny and ridiculous. For example, one letter said "Please give me 93% marks because I will work harder." :)

 

Then, after visiting this temple, we proceeded to the train station at Haldwani, and we boarded  the train at 9:00 P.M.. We only stayed for one night exploring Uttarakhand, but due to my grandfather's happiness and the desire of his children visiting his hometown, we covered so many places. The most significant fact was that my grandfather always had a smile on his face throughout the trip; he was so joyful standing on the soil where he and his ancestors grew up.

:)

Citation for Images of Bells:

 Web log post. Http://4.bp.blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2013. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ChFtdNgYz4fwsLHI0ByMKLW3Av-dWl73-hDifofu0Sp-AkKudJLNvOg3pZqeRzTtOiNiTxsNL_Tk5Jm16wWSucuaOkPeumgabZhlletbiJCdo3sCpiovAfuDmQNeKbvrQvVqUxcsXCA/s400/chitai+temple+bells+Almora.jpg>.

 Flickr.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2013. <http://farm1.staticflickr.com/55/144629202_35d1b48050_z.jpg?zz=1>.

Reading Scenes

Have you ever gone to a fascinating place where you like to read in peace or in excitement? Well, here are a list of some places I would love to read in (or places I currently read  in.) 

1) On the rocks near Merced River in Yosemite (I have been there before, but I only read for a minute)
The soft yet crashing currents and the large trees give a peaceful person an amazing read!

2) On my tummy in my cozy bed
Even though this is not a fascinating place, it is cozy to cuddle up with soft blankets and hot cocoa. 

3) Under a shady tree
This experience gives you some thought and morals over your book. Try it, it works!

Now, for the fun stuff: 

4) Vatican Library in Vatican City, Rome
This library gives you an ancient feel, as it is one of the oldest libraries in the whole wide world. 



5) Stuttgart City Library in Stuttgart, Germany
This library is very modern and made of a nice, pretty material.



6) Niagara Falls
With the foamy, crystal clear water, Niagara Falls is the best place to read in for nature-lovers.



7) Alaska 
Alaska is the best place to read books with fantasy elements because it is a very snowy, icy, and magical place.



What other places do you like to read in? 

Citations (for images):
Theorange.co. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 July 2013. <http://theorange.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Vatican.jpg>. 

Emptykingdon.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 July 2013. <http://www.emptykingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/librar-1.jpg>.

Web log post. Http://3.bp.blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 July 2013. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1uNAdX078zLSw1fRiWrvvE4EWeC0Rud0SZLayZ042CtVY4G5HKTc05yLPsQz5gKj9xe32JiRCJbHd2JewSxIPQwr_zukIiMvA-D8HOiPFmsiq4FmAFDYrvngDE01XOgaHngiYcaUQA/s1600/Niagara+Falls.jpg>.

Http://lerablog.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 July 2013. <http://lerablog.org/wp-/uploads/201content3/05/alaska-mountains.jpg>. 

Beautiful View

This is a beautiful view I took a picture of while I visited Alcatraz Island, the federal 

prison in San Francisco. The heart of the city is linking together with the Bay Bridge.

This small photo tells me that even from a place so horrible, beauty can be seen from within. 

House of Hades Cover!!!!

I know that I am late to post this, but a few weeks ago, the new House of Hades cover came out! It is so beautiful, and it makes me want to read it very badly. Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus and it is obvious that they are going to face troubles and monsters along the way. Based on the cover, I am also wondering a LOT about Nico.. I hope that he is mentioned more frequently in this book.

So beautiful!!! The colors are breathtaking!!

Citation for image: (book cover):

Riordan, Rick. "The House of Hades." Rickriordan.blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2013.