R D Mathur's Blog

On a relatively hot late afternoon 5 of us got together in Gurgaon and headed straight to Lajpat Nagar II in New Delhi. Our aim, to explore the by lanes of the Afghan Colony in Lajpat Nagar and enjoy Kebabs.  The location was not a surprise, as after India opened up medical tourism large number of Afghans started visiting New Delhi for medical treatment and today Lajpat Nagar is home to over a hundred Afghan families, including many of whom came to Delhi in the early ’90s to escape the chaos of post-Soviet Afghanistan and also who came for medical treatment but stayed on. To give families a   flavour of their home several eating joints came up, many of them exclusively makes Afghani naans . In Afghanistan, t here is a tradition that families cook the rest of the meal at home but get the bread from a nearby N aanwai (baker).  These N aans are quite different from the M ughlai one we’re used to as they are largely made of fermented wheat flour (A tta ), not maida ...

When visiting Chand Baoli in Abhaneri do not miss to visit Harshat Mata Temple. In 8th century King Chand was the ruler of Abhaneri which was then called Abha Nagri. He built a temple and dedicated it to Harshat Mata. The temple has mandap based on the pillars and the outer walls had carved images of gods.  The statue of goddess Harshat is protected from all sides by boundary made of iron by the department of archaeology. In front of the temple is the Lord Hanuman temple which is between Harshat Mata temple and Chand Baori. The stairs in front of the head gate is formed in such a way that they immediately leads to the surface and also the above shiver of the temple. On the right hand side of the shiver is the Shiva temple including the Shiv-Panchayat situated at the same place. on the other hand, the second shiver is an open round place on middle of which is the cell and Mandap of the temple is established.  This temple was destroyed...

If you are driving to Jaipur from Delhi or back or between Agra and Jaipur or else you can go for a day's trip to Abhaneri in Dausa District in Rajasthan, I promise you will not be disappointed. Chand Baori is one of the oldest step well and most attractive landmarks of Rajasthan . It was built by King Chanda of the Nikumbha Dynasty between 800 and 900 AD in Abhaneri village in Dausa district and was dedicated to Hashat Mata , Goddess of Joy and Happiness upon completion. The village of Abhaneri is believed to have been established by the Gurjar Pratihar King Samrat Mihir Bhoj , who in mythology, is presented as King Raja Chand. It is 95 km from Jaipur, on the Jaipur-Agra road and is located opposite Harshat Mata Temple. It consists of 3,500 narrow steps over 13 stories and extends approx 100 ft into the ground making it one of the deepest and largest step wells in India. Since Rajasthan is extremely arid, and the design and final structure of Cha...

Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest national parks in northern India , covering an area of 392 km. It lies in Sawai Madhopur district of south eastern Rajasthan . Originally, in 1955 Govt of India established it as Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary. In 1973 it was   declared one of the Project Tiger reserves and in 1991 it was enlarged to include the nearby Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries. It is one of the best places in India to see tigers in their natural jungle habitat. There are other wild animals too like leopard , nilgai , wild boar , sambar , hyena , sloth bear and chital but everyone's focus is tigers. We started from Delhi early in the morning to reach Ranthambore by 2 pm. It is about 360 kms from Delhi and we drove via Alwar - Dausa- Sawai Madhopur stopping a little before Alwar for breakfast of Aloo parathas. This route do not have too many places to eat but you can get some exceptional shots of rural life in Rajasthan. ...