Tea Time India - Tea & Snacks

Tea and Snacks go hand in hand in India. You can describe them as fritters or pakoras but there are many more to relish.  Snacks are something which is part of life here, in between meals you can call them. They are had with tea, with drinks and cocktails, or just any time any moment.   

India is a diverse country and probably all things are steeped deep in diversity. So are the yummy snacks and min boggling variety of tea blends. From chai stall snacks of samosas, aloo bondas, and pakoras the choice extends to sophisticated home finger foods that are churned by elite restaurants with some phoren recipes.

One of the snacks that have a Western origin is the sandwich which is followed by burgers and whatnot. Cutlet is another popular snack especially available in Indian Coffee Houses and Tea Lounges. This delicacy is not known to Westerners...before you get the notion.

Tea in India comes in thousands of blends some as masala chai or spiced tea. The variety of leaves available offers the common mind-boggling flavors of the tea. Chai, as it is called in the country, is consumed not only in the morning, and with high tea, it is drunk the whole day long. 

Photo Courtesy:   Wagh Bakri Tea Company

Tea & Snacks

Cardamom Chai

Darjeeling Green Tea

Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge

   

Some of the snacks can also be consumed as full meals. These Dahi Vada, Idli, Vada, and Dosai are part of a meal be it lunch or dinner. In some big towns, people snack late at the night a habit that has a disastrous effect on health.  

In the images below you will find chai and snacks appealing enough for you to head for the kitchen. 

Sev Usal

Dosai

Idli

Dahi Vada

Photo Courtsey: Nandita Amin

Destination Bandhavgarh - A Wildlife Lover's Delight

Tucked away in remote access of Central India Bandhavgarh is the land of the tiger. Things do not end here the destination offers some of the most ancient and exotic architecture amidst the overgrown wilderness. Dating as far as 2000 years back numerous artifacts and structures are lying untended all over the place.  

Fort Entrance

The fort built by the Gond Rulers is called Bandhavgarh hence the name of the park. The idols and structures are an archeologist's delight albeit the fort is no more only scattered remains exist. There is an ancient Ram Janki Temple facing the park.  

The gate a looming arch is suggestive of a large encampment that must have been manned by a retinue of sentinels always at war with the invaders. The zoomorphic idols of Lord Vishnu are a treat to discover. Made of igneous rock they depict Vishnu in form of animals    

Temple at Fort Complex

The remote location and inaccessible terrain must have acted as a hideaway for the numerous dynasties that came to rule over its dizzy heights. A mile below the campus is Shesh Shaiyya a reclining idol of Lord Vishnu beside a fairy pool surrounded by verdant greenery in betwixt the dense forests on the slopes. The Charanganga originates from the mountains and drops down to the plains. It creates slushy meadows as it meanders between the low-lying hills covered with dense vegetation. This is the land of the tiger and leopard the big cats that roam Central India. The climb to reclining Vishnu is steep and needs experts to drive up. The erstwhile Maharajahs of Rewa Estate nearby were regular visitors to the Fort. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was the shikargah of their domain and hence received a lot of protection.       

Ram Janki Temple

The hunting preserve was declared a protected area in the year nineteen sixty-eight. It was given the status of a National Park and eventually brought under the aegis of Project Tiger.       

Bison were relocated from Kanha National Park after the original stock had died down due to disease.   Other animals to be seen here are the dhole, leopard, sloth bear, nilgai, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, and four-horned deer.  Wild boar, peacock, and langur are a common sight among many avian species.

Sesh Shaiyya

ManMade Reservoir

Male Tiger

Tiger

There are more than two hundred fifty bird species to be found in the tiger reserve. Reptiles are nocturnal but on rare occasions, a python could be seen. Other nocturnal animals and the less seen ones are ruddy mongooses, small Indian civets, pangolins, toddy cats, and ratel to name a few. 

The park is open from  October 16 to June 30th every year. Most tourists prefer winter months for tiger safari. But a lot of holiday crowd arrives during summer whence tiger visibility increases slightly. 

Tiger in Water

The preserve is located in Umaria District about four hours' drive from Jabalpur Airport and Railhead. Road connectivity exists in many nearby towns.

Tourism is well organized in the park. For accommodation, there are many wildlife resorts in Bandhavgarh which are economic. There are many luxury hotels that are expensive but preferable. A couple five stars and three hotels also provide accommodation to the upmarket crowd.   Government accommodations are few and reserved only for state employees and VIPs.

Khajuraho can be reached from here which is about eight hour drive by road. About 45 km from Khajuraho is the Panna Tiger Reserve another tiger heaven.
 

India Ancient Delights - Through Lens of Amateur

Temple

Chhatris at Orchha

Chattris

Orchha Fort

Fort Complex 

Ganesh Idol Khajuraho

Photographer at Jehangir Mahal Orchha

Kalinjar Fort

Kanlinjar Fort gate

Kalinjar Fort

Kandariya Mahadev Temple

Khajuraho Dence Festival

Mural at Orchha Palace

Mural at Raja Mahal

Orchha Cenotaph

Fort View Orchha 

Orchha Garden

Rajah Mahal Corridor

Murals

Raneh Falls Ken River Chhattarpur

Maintaining a travel blog means just that ...travel. Well I cannot afford to do that so often hence I publish images of my face book friends with their knowledge. 

Over a period of time I have realized that one need not be a professional photographer...for what you do with passionate zeal. It brings out the best in the images. The photographer Nandita Amin from Baroda I believe is an avid traveler and a foodie, both the passions go side by side as I realize from her face book activities.     

Here are some of her travel photos from Central India.  She has exquisitely portrayed images of  ancient monuments a memorable record of one among many of her exotic journeys.      

Kerala Holiday Lens - Vishal Bhasin

Vishal Bhasin

Market at Cochin

Cochin Street

Dam at Munnar

Fishermen

Flower Seller

Poovar Beach

House Boat

Kathakali

Fishing Net

Street Food

Homestay

Market

Kerala Martial Arts

Periyar National Park

Indian Ocean

Tea Garden Munnar

Vivekananda Memorial

People travel to far-off places on holiday but few care to record the event through their cameras. More so the images here portray the holiday that happened rather than a professional and artificially planned photo shoot. Here are some of the images taken by the photographer on tour to Kerala.

Vishal is also experienced in the travel business and has worked with major companies. He is now having his own travel company and manages a website for package tours in India. He is fond of travel and visits interesting places on holiday with his family.