HarPiyTravel

Changing Moods

July 19, 2020

Just like we have different moods based on the conditions around us, nature also changes its moods. Nature is no different from us in any way, we are part of it, cruel and dominant one. Sometimes its dull, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, sometimes cruel and colorful other times.

I recently arrived Pune to collect some stuff and meet my wife who got stuck due to COVID at her sister’s home. Their flat is on 11th floor, surrounded by mountains and with beautiful city view. I was home-quarantine here for 14 days as per state laws regarding COVID, which ended yesterday. I spent all these days inside my allocated room, watched beautiful, calm city from the window and took note of changing moods of the city.

My camera accompanies me everywhere, so it was placed on a small table near the window, always ready to follow my instruction. 11th floor provides a great advantage as view covers most of the city including distant mountains. I took various shots all these days, captured the city moods and here they are for you to check yourself :-

Sunny Mood

Rainy Mood

Blue-Color Mood

Misty Mood

Evening Mood

Sun-Set Mood

Filtered Mood

Night Mood

Light-Blue Filtered Mood

Cloudy-Night Mood

Lock-down Mood

Star-on-roads Mood

Bokeh Mood

Tell me which mood you liked most ? Few moods are just the creativity of camera (filter, bokeh or stars), rest are simply nature at her best.

PEACE !
Black Canyon Of Gunnison

July 16, 2020

Since I wrote about my last year’s Colorado trip in previous two posts – Great Sand Dunes National Park and Respite from Heat , I decided to share remaining places we covered. Today I am going to share about another national park in Colorado – Black Canyon Of Gunnison National Park, which was actually first point of attraction of our trip.

The reason of naming it black canyon is mainly due to less percentage of sun-light available to the place throughout the day (only 33 mins). We never visited any canyon before, so it was an amazing experience.

There are two paths to cover this canyon – South Rim and North Rim. While roads on North Rim don’t have a good reputation, South Rim road conditions are better. Both offers spectacular views, so it’s on you which part you want to come through. We chose South Rim based on the suggestions available on web, means entry from Montrose side.

We drove from Omaha to Denver on the first day of trip, reached in evening and spent night at Microtel Inn & Suites By Wyndham. Next day, early morning we started for Montrose. We had booked a hotel there too but planned to go there after visiting Black Canyon. We reached park at around 12 PM, after 5-6 hours of drive, full of Scenic views.

Park Entrance

Trail near Visitor Center

Park vehicle entrance fee is around 25 bucks, you will be provided a map of the park listing all scenic points and routes. There are several hikes each corresponding to a viewing point. Make sure to bring plenty of water as we don’t see much arrangements there, same applies to food. There is not much to eat inside the Visitor Center, but plenty of information about the canyon, it’s geography, rocks, wildlife and history. Unfortunately we didn’t saw much wildlife in the park except few beautiful birds and eagles, even though it boasts to have rich wildlife consisting of black bear, pronghorn, coyote, muskrat, cougar, deer, bobcat etc.

I want to Sing

Sharp and Quiet

Under the Clouds

Caterpillar Web

Parking was not a big problem out there, which may be due to limited tourists. Even if you stop at every viewpoint, you can cover the whole park in half a day, provided that you don’t spend too much time at any particular point. We covered most of the points, did hiking and needless to say, it was very scenic and spectacular. I feel very small in such places, where nature totally dominates us. Washrooms were not too frequent so we had to keep looking for them.

Bench & View

One of the Point in Park

Park is also famous for rock-climbing but only for those with expertise, since canyon is too narrow, steep and deep. Camping is also encouraged but since we had tight schedule, we decided to head towards our hotel – Stay Wise Inn in Montrose. Last hike we did was very long and tiring but reaching at top gave us required boost, due to amazing views. Here are some pictures and videos of the place :-

Narrow Valley with Gunnison River

Rock Formations

Achievement

Sit in Quiet

It was an amazing experience, never seen before. Only regret was, we forgot to collect a souvenir from the visitor center. I guess we have to visit again to collect one and experience the beauty.

Btw, out of 3 places of Colorado, we discussed, which one pleased you most ? Leave your comments.

PEACE !
Deeds & Desires

July 11, 2020

Now as a man is like this or like that,
according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be;
a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad;
he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds;

And here they say that a person consists of desires,
and as is his desire, so is his will;
and as is his will, so is his deed;
and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.

So basically, all this starts from desires. It is commonly said – “What you think is what you become” . Think good, desire for good, do good and then everything around will also be good.

To think good, one has to remain positive. I know there are situations when everything around seems pretty bad and it’s hard to see any good coming. But trust me just by being content with whatever situation (bad makes your character strong) you can be happiest.

Don’t look for shortcuts. Keep working hard till you achieve the desired. Stronger your desire, more closer you are to success. Your actions will build your character and your future.

PEACE !
Domestic Travel In India During COVID

July 6, 2020

Recently I took a domestic flight from Delhi to Pune through Air India Airline. It was my first day outside home, since March. Everything seemed normal but weird, nothing like before. Even though more people can be seen on the roads, shops are open, transport is busy and travelers are moving here and there with their baggage at airport but still something is missing. What is that something ? I guess you know that already 🙂

I wanted to share the necessary details and norms, for travel in India in current situation.

Must Have Items :-

1. Boarding Pass (printed or mobile)

2. Aarogya Setu Mobile App (Government app for COVID assessment)

3. Health Undertaking Confirmation ( Mandatory to fill during online check-in )

4. Government Issued ID (Original – Aadhar, PAN, Voter ID, Passport etc. )

At The Airport :-

1. Bags must go through disinfection machine, just outside airport entrance for sanitation.

2. Airline representative will provide health-declaration form to all travelers. It contains passenger name, contact number, arrival city, destination city, destination address, flight no. , seat no. , medical questions etc to fill.

3. Boarding pass and ID must be shown to security personnel, from safe distance through mirror, at the entrance.

4. Once permitted, body temperature will be checked for COVID test along with Aarogya Setu app installed on traveler’s mobile phone.

If all cleared, you are allowed to enter

Baggage Check-In And Seat Allocation :-

1. Boarding pass needs to be given to airline executive and baggage to be submitted for check-in.

2. Health undertaking confirmation e-mail to be shown to executive.

3. Gate and other details along with physical boarding pass will be provided by executive

Security:-

Not much difference in security, except maintaining social distance.

At The Gate :-

Just before boarding, all passengers will be provided PPE kits which contains mask, sanitizers and face-shield and additional gloves, hair & shoe covers and disposable gown for middle seat passengers.

With PPE Kit

Inside Flight

While boarding, health declaration form, earlier provided, will be collected by airline staff.

My flight had layover of 55 minutes in Indore city, where whole flight was sanitized. We all were sitting inside during the process, while Indore passengers vacated the plane .

Once flight reached at the destination i.e. Pune, all passengers stepped out of the plane, while maintaining social distance, and were provided a form which required information such as name, flight, seat no. , destination address, phone number and health questionnaire.

Social Distance

After collection of the baggage, at the exit gate, same form had to be submitted to the authorized person and he asked the basic details and plans of further travel. He applied home quarantine stamp on my hand.

Quarantine Mark

Quarantine rules differ from state to state, like for Pune it’s mandatory 14 days home quarantine. Make sure to check the rules of the state you are traveling to –

State-wise-regulations

Hope this helps. If you any question or doubt, leave your comments below.

Stay safe !

PEACE
Adios Junio

June 30, 2020

Last week proved to be very busy and tiring, full of deadlines, commitments and responsibilities. Due to busy schedule, I couldn’t get time to write at all, although reading continued.

Anyways as Today is last day of June, let’s do a retrospective (Agile terminology) –

1. Unbearable Heat :- Without mentioning the heat of June, this post is incomplete. So much heat in North Indian region, that going on roof to give water to plants was a challenge. One day you miss to give water to plants and they are close to dead. Temperature was always on rise and same goes with humidity (between 40-50%). Somehow we are able to pass it, let’s see what we have next in July.

2. Lock-down eased :- So finally, lock-down in India is in partial unlock state. There are less restrictions in unlock, that too differs from State to State. Below given are the relaxations provided to us :-

– Domestic Travel Allowed

– Local Transportation Resumed (Taxi, Uber etc)

– Trains Started ( Partial)

– Shops ( Almost all kind of excluding Barber shops, Gyms etc)

– Market ( In alternate ways; few areas one day, rest on other days)

– Work Offices ( Depends on company )

Unlock 2.0 will start soon, probably in couple of days. In next unlock, there will be less restrictions, but gyms, pools, international travel will not likely be resumed.

3. Photography opportunities :- If you have followed this blog, you might have seen my earlier posts related to photography. Even though still trapped inside, got many opportunities for nice shots. Here are few of my favorites :-

Beautiful Flower of my Garden

Pinkish

Smile worth Million Dollars

Life in Corona

Work resumed

4. Meditation :- Everyone knows the benefits of meditation, I need not to talk about that. I always wanted to try it but never had patience for it. During lock-down, I started using Headspace application, initially with 5 mins a day, that too not regular, but after practice I found it really helpful and now a necessary part of my daily routine. From the start of June, I am doing daily 15 mins of meditation and it’s totally worth. Honestly my mind is more calm, active and at ease.

5. Spanish learning :- As mentioned in my earlier post 5 Must Have Apps For Your Mobile ,I am learning Spanish with Duolingo app. It’s unbelievable that I am on 79 days streak. I learned counting, relationships, office formalities, travel communications and read short stories.

6. Reading :- I love reading and probably its the best time to pursue this hobby. I don’t recall when we had this much time for self-improvement. I guess June proved to be most productive so far, as I completed 8 books which are listed below :-

– Red Russia (Rating -> 3/5)

– Devdas (Rating -> 3/5)

– 7 Secrets of Vishnu (Rating -> 4/5)

– Night of the Rat (Rating -> 4/5)

– The Kaunteyas (Rating -> 3/5)

– Immortal India : Articles and Speeches by Amish (Rating -> 3/5)

– 7 Secrets of Shiva (Rating -> 4/5)

– The book thief (Rating -> 5/5)

To read the reviews of all above books :-

My reviews

So that’s how my June went, how about you ?

PEACE !
A Beautiful Relationship

June 21, 2020

I keep myself busy by reading either books or blogs I follow. Recently I came across a post, in which blogger posted beautiful pictures of squirrel and birds of his garden. I got nostalgic for my Omaha apartment. As many of you might be aware that I am stuck in India due to COVID situation and It will take some time for international travel to resume.

Anyways back to our topic, so I was missing my apartment in Omaha, Nebraska. I have a balcony attached to living room which is my favorite place of the house. Couch in room is facing the balcony sideways. I used to sit there and appreciate the beauty of nature. There is a bird feeder hanging from one of the pillar in balcony. It’s a delight watching birds from the window, eating and feeding their kids.

There are 2-3 squirrels (my best guess, they all look same ) living on a tree close to my apartment. Soon they also started coming to eat. When I noticed a squirrel in my balcony first, I was so happy as they look very cute and photogenic. My camera gave me a wink too.

On tree branch

On ground during snow season

I took countless shots during the year and soon she got very comfortable by my presence unlike birds ,they don’t believe us easily. Don’t know, would there be a day when birds will also behave the same. Soon there was a time when squirrel and birds were eating together; birds mostly on bird-feed and railings while squirrel on ground. What a sight !

Wow, nice decor

Eye contact

Hey, What’s Up ?

Lunch time

There were times when I used to open the door and lie down on the floor, camera in hand to take shots, while she was busy eating. Soon this relationship developed and we had more trust on each other. Even if bird-feeder was full, I used to scatters food on balcony floor, just for the sake of squirrel.

Catch me if you can

Busy time

As the day passed, she started peeping inside (intelligent creature) in case of non availability (of food). To welcome her, I used to fetch food for her and then open the sliding-door slowly. She used to move away noticing food in my hands and wait patiently for me to finish scattering. This was kind of a routine for both of us.

Anyone Home ?

Soon she was no longer afraid of me that I can read in her those shiny eyes. But I had confidence, she will never cross her limits. One day, I was working from home, sitting on the couch, laptop on lap. She arrived and didn’t find the food. As usual she peeped inside, kind of knocked hard, getting the signal, I bought food for her. I opened the door and waited for her to move away but she was right there clinging to the door. How could I take the risk of her entrance in my house, so I waited longer. But no, she was not backing down from her place. Furiously, to teach her a lesson (No food today for you), I closed the door and sat back on my couch. I never expected what was coming.

She became restless thus violent and started biting my door-net. Within seconds, she made a big hole with his big sharp (Devilish) teeth in that net. Now she was striking with her tiny paws to my door glass. To be honest, that moment, I was really afraid and was praying mirror to hold enough for her attack to cease. Thank God, glass was strong, she realized that as well. After few more punches, she gave up and went back to her tree house. I felt relaxed.

How to break this stupid glass ?

After this episode, she came around 10-12 times, making hole even bigger and trying to break the glass but couldn’t succeed. I also paid no attention to her, simply ignored her. Finally she stopped coming and this was the end of a beautiful relationship.

Damaged Net

End of a relationship

What I learned from this : –

1. Don’t feed wild animals

2. Even if you wish to, don’t make them too comfortable

3. Don’t overdo anything

4. If relationship gets bad, mostly it’s our fault, not theirs

This episode may have turned sour but still I can’t stop myself loving all creatures and appreciate Mother Nature.

PEACE !
What he is doing ?

June 17, 2020

To start with …

There used to be a king of a very prosperous kingdom. His only worry was his own son whose deeds were the cause of suffering for whole kingdom. Prince never believed in existence of God, so used to punish those who chant the prayers and worship Gods.

King shared this with the ministers of his court. They assured him that time will bring maturity to the prince and he will start to respect others’ feelings & believes.

Finally that day came, when king was prepared for his final destination. At his death-bed, he bid farewell to all and blessed his son to be a good king, gave him instructions to run the Kingdom along with keeping everyone satisfied.

As per the customs, prince was asked to take oath, God as witness, before taking the throne. To the horrors of all, prince simply refused to take oath. His argument was simple though, “I can’t take oath of anyone whom I can’t see or feel.” Everyone was puzzled, how to convince him to follow the age old tradition.

When ministers argued with King, he announced “ I will accept the existence of God and will follow whatever needed, only if anyone will answer these 3 question –

1. Where is he (God)?

2. Where he is looking ?

3. What he is doing right now ? “

Announcement was done in kingdom that the person, who will satisfy the king with his/her answers will be rewarded and If nobody would be successful, all temples will be taken down and nobody would be allowed to practice religion anymore.

Many intelligent and spiritual people came forward but none was having proper answers. Most of them said God is omnipresent and only can be felt by practice and meditation. King was dissatisfied and somewhat happy that no one is able to answer his questions.

Only 1 day was left, before king‘s order for demolitions, so his prime-minister was very sad. Noticing the worried face of her father, his daughter inquired the reason. She, who herself was very spiritual, sought permission to go in court and answer the questions. Reluctantly father gave the approval.

Next day she went to court and asked king to provide a vessel full with milk. Puzzled King asked his servants to bring milk-filled vessel.

She asked to king- “What you see in my hands ?”

King replied – “ I see, milk.”

She said – “But I can see butter, curd and cheese too. Don’t you see them ? Who can deny the existence of all these item ? All of them can be extracted through processing of this milk. Same way God is also present in this body, but can be seen and realised only through meditation by knowing the self.“

King was speechless and to some extent embarrassed. He said – “ Ok, that sounds logical, but what about my other 2 questions? “

She replied – “ To answer your second question, I need a burning candle.”

A burning candle was provided.

She asked – “My dear King, can you tell, where this candle-flame is looking ? “

King replied – “ Everywhere, it’s removing the darkness from all around. It’s not looking at any particular direction.“

She smiled and said “O King, this is the answer of your second question. God is also looking everywhere just like this candle and illuminating the world with his radiance.”

Impressed king said – “Now provide the answer of my last question – what he is doing right now ? “

She said – “To answer that question, we have to interchange our places. I am like your Guru due to knowledge I am sharing with you. So act as a disciple and come to my place. “

Curious king interchanged his position with her and stood in the court.

She sat on the throne and said – “Almighty has made king like you an ordinary man standing in the court and me as your Guru sitting on this throne. This is what he is doing right now. Nothing is possible without his consent.”

Highly impressed by girl, king rewarded her and kept his promise. He gave freedom to all citizens to practice their religions in whichever way possible.

Moral – We should always respect the believes, sentiments and religions of others. Paths are different but destination is same. Even non-believers should not be compelled to follow any particular path. Each one has to discover the ultimate truth by himself.

ओम् नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय !
Great Sand Dunes National Park

June 13, 2020
Recently I published an article about ongoing scorching heat in India. Soon after that, we had decent rainfall and I thought temperature will come down now. But I was wrong, humidity only increased (I live in Northern India) and it appears that Sun-Lord wants to show his full potential to us. While wiping my sweat with orange-colored cloth, “hot” scenes of Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado flashed in my troubled mind.
On the way to National Park
Last year when we covered Pikes Peak, the day before we visited this Dunes national park. When we first saw sand-dunes from distance, we were like, c’mon, we came too far to see this ? Dunes were looking like tiny sand mountains spread across considerably small region. But as we reached closer, we realized our misjudgment.
Distant view of Dunes and Park entrance
Dunes were so huge that people climbing on them were looking like ants carrying food on a slope. There was a long line of cars at the park entrance and as you might have guessed, parking was a big problem. We waited in the car close to 45 min, took the park ticket and to our luck, we got parking space after circling the lot for 2-3 times, when a great soul pulled out his car from the space (for us 🙂 ).
Traffic & People trekking on Dunes
At the entrance, they have visitor center, consisting of informative material, food items (very basic) and models to represent the history of the park. By the way, it has the tallest sand dunes in North America. Dunes are visible from visitor center and one has to pass through Medano creek (Seasonal) to reach at the bottom of Dunes. Believe me, that was a delightful sight to see water just before sand dunes and that too ice-cold, our feet got numb.
Medano Creek
I consider myself Athletic (others might disagree) and I love trekking. I have spent close to 5 years, trekking the famous forts from moderate to difficult level in Maharashtra, India. Sand dunes were totally a different experience all together.

3 things that makes trekking tough on Dunes

– Sand : Movement on it, makes it really hard to proceed. Each step is an addition to the tiredness. Our calves and knees were burning too much while ascending.

– Wind : It’s too windy out there and that too full of sand. It’s hard to see and proceed. Piece of Advice – Don’t go in shorts, I tried that and my legs were paining due to harsh rumbling of sand.

– Slope : Last but not least is the slopes of Dunes which make it difficult to reach at pinnacle. But trekking is all about toughness and strength, so no complaints 😊
Hiking Time
It took more than expected time to reach at the top of chosen dune (there are too many) and we were sweating, panting and smiling. Path may be difficult and painful but success always brings joy to the soul. We sat there and watched other ant-sized creatures climbing up.
Achievement
After spending few minutes there (due to wind, not comfortable), we came down which was the easiest part. Many of the visitors were also involved in games like snowboarding which was fun to watch.
Sand sport & Dog walk
Nature always surprises me and will continue to do so. It was a memorable trip, even though hot and tiring but totally worth of it.

There is a restaurant at the exit of the national park where we had dinner before moving to our next destination.

#travel #photography
Rich June

June 8, 2020

Even though, there are few relaxations in Lock-down, it’s better to be inside. Cases are increasing exponentially in India. Being a photographer, it’s really hard to remain inside. If I would have interest in Still-Life Photography, scenario could have been different, but I love to be in nature and capture its elements through my camera lens.

That being said, it’s also true that when you want something, you get it based on the intensity of your desire. June started on a promising note, providing numerous chances for wildlife shots, in vicinity of my home. Special mention of my Father is needed here, who bought my attention to those little friends.

Here comes my favorite 6 shots :-

Poking Head

Skink

Thirst of Ganga

Stare

Black in White

Rooftop under Toes

These are few of many shots taken. All of them are taken either from my house’s window or door. You just need to be at right place at right time in order to get them. Hope you like the pictures. Share your thoughts.

#photography

PEACE !!!
Who is Animal Here ?

June 4, 2020

Sorry kiddo – I couldn’t give you birth, you couldn’t see the word outside this womb. Yes, I am sad because I failed you but to think other way it’s better you didn’t witness the ugliness of this world. It’s good to avoid the evil.

Let me tell you my story though before we say goodbye to each other.

I live in Kerala’s Silent valley national park which is not silent anymore. They say I am 15 years old though I never kept track of my age. Just one month ago, I found out that you are in my womb. How happy I was, I always wanted a kid. When you travel with your tiny legs and small trunk with the group, between our legs, that sight and feeling of responsibility is just awesome. I also dreamt of taking care of you, making you bath, feeding you and of course loving you.

This May 27, most frightful animal of this planet, known as Human fed me fruits. By the way I love fruits and especially in this condition, it’s good to have such nutrition as it will benefit you my sweetheart 😘. Fruit was looking good but seems like someone tampered it. After consumption, I realised it was containing explosives, oh my poor baby 😞, sorry I never knew else I would not have taken it. I even tried vomit it but damage was already done. Now my tounge and jaws are broken and I am in unimaginable pain. But that pain is nothing in comparison of your loss my love.

I spent my last hours immersed in the nearby river to ease the pain, but I didn’t attack anyone or did anything foolish, because we are animals, we don’t make trouble without cause. You listening ?

This world didn’t deserve you

Rest In Peace 😘

I will be arriving shortly …

Your Elephant Mother

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