Unknown version of Sita

How many times we all have read, listened, and watched Ramayana since childhood? The answer to this question is probably so many times that it's by heart to every single child who was grown up in India.

This book "Forest of Enchantments" by Divakaruni Chitra Banerjee takes you back in Ramayana with a completely different aspect and shows you everything which we might not notice in the normal version. Sita: A daughter, a princess, a queen who was married to "The perfect" Ram. Who was loved by everyone abducted by Ravan and rescued by Ram. The one who has to prove her innocence gets back her family and kingdom and exiled when she was dreaming future of her children. She gets depressed bit overcomes like a warrior. Then one fine day she gets to know that Valmiki is writing "Ramayana" but she is a bit unhappy as it misses the other side of the story, her story.

What makes "Forest of Enchantments" different from other versions of Sita's Ramayana can be stated with the following lines from the very first chapter of the book .

“Write our story, too,” the women characters say in the novel. “For always we’ve been pushed into corners, trivialized, misunderstood, blamed, forgotten – or maligned and used as cautionary tales.”

This is not only the story of Sita but all other women who could not find place in Valmiki's Ramayana. Queen Kaikeyi blinded by love for her son who always portrayed as a villain; queen Sunaina, a wise leader and loving mother of Sita; Urmila, Laxman's long-suffering wife, and Sita's sister; Mandodari, queen of  Lanka and Ravan's wife and even Surpanakha whom I considered the biggest villain for my life but was wronged by two brothers.

In today's world, we are used to word feminism which affects us and slowly one can start hating charterer like Ram for not trusting his wife, for putting responsibilities ahead of family blaming him for every worst thing happened to Sita but what author shows us here is equality of men and women. The author makes us realize that no one is always entirely right or wrong. Everyone does mistakes and trust what they see.

I found Divakaruni's writing like blooming flower, her language is so delicate and mesmerizing and the way she unfolds the story with twists every now and then though we know the plot of the story is truly amazing. One of the things I liked about this book is how characters are being unfolded. Though having some distinct strength each character especially Sita's, shows us so many dimensions that we never thought. Sita comes across as a protective sister, a lover, a helpful healer, a strong mother loving wife, dutiful daughter-in-law, and whatnot.

One thing is for sure once you start reading this book you will want to turn pages and it keeps compelling and hooked us till end. In world like this "Forest of Enchantments" is perfect guide for us on how to treat women and how to not.

LADAKH- A Paradise on Earth

There is say that "Adventure awaits, go find it" and I have found that adventure . Its called

LADAKH

I went to LADAKH in july 2019 and those were the best 10 days of my entire life.

Houseboat, Dal Lake

Day 1: I started my journey from Srinagar. Flied to Srinagar and what extreme good looking city it was! I stayed at houseboats which were created on the famous "Dal Lake". After seeing the house boat the child inside me was awaken to experience this extraordinary creativity of nature.

Zozilla Pass

 Day 2: Next day morning I started journey towards what is India's one of the biggest pride- National War Memorial , Drass.

Kargil town

On my way to Kargil I got to see second lowest temperature point in world. I visited the National War memorial, witnessed the life of soldiers and take a note ,once you visit LADAKH you will have much more respect for them than you ever have



Day 3: I stayed at Kargil that night and started journey towards Leh. Reached Leh in evening. Next morning I visited places like Rancho school, thiksey monestory ,Shanti stupa. The amazing thing I found at these monasteries was silence. The peace you feel at this place can't  be felt anywhere in the world.

Thiksey monestory

Day 4: Next day I traveled for 6-7 hours with amazing view to roads and  most importantly world's highest motorable road ,Khardungla pass. The temperature was pretty low and you could feel low oxygen level but the beauty of these roads and views makes sure that you don't feel that. Finally we reached to Nubra

Nubra valley is something I feel should be a wonder in world. How on earth you could have a dessert at such high altitude. The day at Nubra was the day I had most fun in my entire journey.

"Travelling is best way to experience different culture and explore the world"

Day 5: After the movie "3 idiots" released lots of  people got attracted to this heavenly heaven lake. One can't describe the beauty of Pangong lake in words. Its like mini sea located at such high altitude and surrounded by mountains. However We share this lake with China as majority of lake crosses the border. All you get here is  mesmerizing beauty and long lasting peace.

Pangong Lake

Day 6: The most hidden lake in LADAKH region. Not many people are aware of this nor visit. But it's worth your time and travelling. The road to Tsomoriri from Pangong itself is adventurous and I was lucky enough to experience the adventure of raining on mountains with sand storm.
This lake is somewhat similar to Pangong ,not that big but definitely beautiful with its shades of colors

Sand Storm (Pangong to Tsomoriri)

 And then I started journey my  back to home but wait the adventure is not over yet.
The journey towards Jispa started by then. I crossed the most amazing snowy mountains in between. At Jispa I had a stay and then started journey towards Manali and  what amazing journey it was. All you do is cross mountains over mountains and that is something you have to experience. While heading towards Manali you get to crossed the famous Rohtang pass.If you are mountain and snow lover you should definitely visit this place.

Leh-Manali Highway

At last I reached Manali and took bus to Delhi,took flight for home (only by body,mind and soul were still wandering in those mountains)

Only one suggestion which I want to give ; if anyone is going LADAKH, just keep in mind that you don't pollute its beauty. Keep this untouched paradise like it is and you will get most amazing experience of your life.

Remember: When in doubt, travel 

Breathtaking trek to Rajgad

Before we start  to explore amazing views of rajgad let's have a small background check:

  Rajgad is one of the great forts built by Shivaji Maharaj and was also capital of his empire  It is 70km south-west to Pune. The road to reach at the base village from pune is simple Pune-NH- 4 take turn to Nasrapur and after a while you reach at base village-Gunjavane. This fort has witnessed a lot of things including demise of Saibai, return of Maharaj from Agra and many more. The fort's architecture is massive and somewhat looks like an eagle(as per the old tales). 

There are three machees naming Padmavati(middle), Suvela(one end) and Sanjeevani(other end). Above the all there is balekilla.

         We started to trek at early morning at 5:00 am from Gunjavne village which goes to Padmavati machee. There are other two ways one from Pali door which is easier and another takes you to suvela machee which is difficult and generally not used.The route goes through fort near the fort, after walking around an hour you get to see the fort. After 2 hours we reached at padmavati machee. It was ending of June so it was all fog around. We barely could see things at distinct. At Padmavati machee there is one lake called as same.

After resting for while we started our journey towards balekilla, the highest point of Rajgad. The route to balekilla is bit difficult but we enjoyed it. After reaching there we witnessed  paranormal view of surrounding area. I have never seen such breathtaking view.There is one route from balekilla that will end up you at Torna fort, another amazing fort by Shivaji Maharaj. From here you can spot Fort Torna, Sinhagad, Raireshwar, Raigad, Lingana and Purandar. The view I saw from here cannot be described in words.

balekilla

When we ended exploring balekilla we marched towards suvela machee. Suvela Machee is another grand machee facing east with lots of secret routes and doorways. This one is a double-stepped fortified machee with the steps separated by a beautiful bastioned doorway. At the end of the first step, a hole cuts across the rock; one can sit on this Hole (nedhe). The final (lowest) step like Sanjeevani Machee has a double curtain wall. To the south side of this machee, one can find a beautiful triangular bastion called Kaleswariburuz having an escape door near it. The home of the renowned military leader Tanaji Malusarewas in this machee.

Suvela machee

We didn't get time to explore sanjeevani machee as to explore entire Rajgad one requires at least of two days. Thats how huge it is. After exploring it we reached down at 3 :00 pm and had our lunch.Other than balekilla and machee there are following things to visit at Rajgad.

• Padmavati Temple
• Janani Mandir
• Saibai Samadhi(tomb)

Things to carry 

• Good Torch
• Extra clothes(if travelling in monsoon,it rains heavily there)
• Sleeping Bag(If you wish to stay there)
• A towel or napkin
• Do carry instant energizers like Glucon-D
• Warm jacket as it will get cold overnight.
• Some food as there are very low possibility of you getting it up.

Rajgad is truly a place to visit and remember the greatest Maratha King. One must visit the fort and enjoy the nature and the beauty of the great fort.So bookmark this as your next weekend gateway 😃

                     

The book which takes you to new world

As a bookworm I always wanted to share my experience with books . I have read many books and love mythological fictions. I must say in mythological fiction category one must read this revolutionary book called " The Immortals of Meluha" by Amish.

       This is actually a series of three books called Shiva Trilogy. I personally being mythological fiction reader have found this series amazing. The story begins with Shiva a Tibetan man who leads his tribe called gunas near mansarovar. The story is thrilling and each time you guess something and you get totally unexpected things happens.

    This is unusual story having amazing characters each having their own story . The way this story gets unfolded is promising and continues with another two books.

   Even if you don't like reading "The immortals of meluha" is something which will hold you to read the book and crave for more . You can buy these books online or bookstore near to you.

P.S. This is my first ever blog so reviews are most welcome.