Zipping@Neemrana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf7bhhcl-uw

Memoirs from "my yaadon ka idiot box".. hope u will lyk it  :)

Surajkund International Crafts Mela

Feb 1 to Feb 15,  is the time for all Delhi-NCR people to enjoy the MELA and tap their feet with the beats of enthralling folk dancers across the country.

Yes..its the Surajkund International Crafts Fair organised every year in Surajkund, Haryana by Haryana Tourism Department . This Mela is the celebration of unique diversity of Indian tradition & culture with the splash of vibrant colors, rhythm of drum beats, folk dances and authentic foods. It is the platform for many talented artists from India and across the world to showcase their exquisite handicrafts and hand-looms of their respective state.

In 2013, this mela was upgraded to an international level and over 15 countries participated in this mela to show their regional crafts and traditions. Every year, there is one theme state and one partner nation, which is the highlight of this Mela. This year, Chhattisgarh and Lebanon are the highlights of it.

Because of the benefit of staying very near to the Surajkund, I always manage to visit there almost every year. I still remember the Surajkund mela of my childhood time..when there was a large circular kund (lake) in the center of ground and we used to have play, eat and enjoy around that lake. but now that area was blocked because lake has dried up. sometimes it looks like pale shadow of past glory :( but still this past glory is maintained by the talented artists from all over the country :)

Here are the some glimpse of Surajkund Mela

Dance performances by school kids.. they all were looking so fabulous in different attires and one special thing about these kids was the smile on their faces which makes everyone to smile.

Always ready to pose

Theme State "Chhattisgarh" known for their tribal heritage and culture & famous for the Bastar art.

And here is the Partner Nation "Lebanon", a republic in western Asia. They present their skills, crafts and cultural troupes which is really enthralling.

Few more attractions of mela

a mela is incomplete without these rides

 decoration on trees

Chaupal has been always the main attraction of the mela, with visitors enjoyed every bit of national and international performances being stages by the folk artists. I really enjoyed alot this part of mela.

"Kud" dance form by J&K dancers

Peformance by Srilankan dancers

artists waiting for their performance

Africans performing on 700 yrs old dance form

awesome dance of Krishna-Radha from Mathura

Rajasthan food stall

An exotic look of Surajkund ground in evening

Mom & Me

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A memorable Trip to Udaipur- Day3

Here we started our last day with prayers to God at Jagdish Temple…

This temple was very near to our hotel..so we preferred a walk to this temple..

Jagdish Temple is one of the large hindu temples in the middle of Udaipur, built by mahraja Jagat Singh in 1651..

Now its the time to say bbye to our Hotel...When others were busy in check-out from the hotel as this was our last day in Udaipur… I somehow managed to go Bagore ki Haveli one more time ( its within 5 minutes of distance from our hotel ) & clicked some pics of beautiful & wonderful puppets..

Puppet's Rajya-sabha

Next up was the Maharana Pratap Memorial…This memorial pay homage to the great  Rajput Hero Rana Pratap and his loyal mount Chetak..

Maharana Pratap on Chetak

This pic depicts the historic battle between Maharana Pratap and mughal emperors in haldighati..

That place in Haldighati  gives a nostalgic feeling as this was the same place where Chetak, the heroic mount of Rana Pratap, breathed his last after leaving his master to a safe place. 

This statue reminds me of the poem which I have heard in my school days..

      Aage nadiya padi apaar, ghoda kaise utare paar..

      Rana ne socha is paar, tab tak chetak tha us paar !!

Now, it was the time for some fun and adventure…so our next move was towards the Fateh Sagar Lake…this lake was also as beautiful as Lake Pichola..

Here we do motor boat ride, water scooter ride n had lots of fun..

its me enjoying water scooter

But tale not ends here....d most important part of this trip is still left..any guesses ???

its the SHOPPING for gals.. :)

Udaipur gives you the ample of opportunity to shop…So we went to the Rajasthani Government Handicraft Museum… there you can buy many handicrafts and Clothing and Metal works pieces at amazing prizes. Best thing about it is that you can anytime return the product which you bought from there with the return value of  around 90% of its bill value even after 10 years in any condition or 50% of the Saree value even after wearing it for 5 years. Its really amazing..I also bought a saree for my Mom !!

But gals still wants more shopping …and its also obvious that boys would never be interested in it...

So here we decide to split d whole group... boys went to see the vintage car collection n gals went for shopping... And both had enjoyed their parts alot...

After that...late by dis evening..we all reached Udaipur station on tym to catch the train for back to Delhi...

And here comes the non forgettable part of dis trip... dance performance by my manger ( I would never imagine him to dance lyk dis n that too in train),, but its really worth to watch his performance followed by few more young boys of our group... 

I can bet you that we could charge gud enough amount from audience for these performances.... Hahaaa... :)

This was followed by non stop songs which we sang altogether until few co-passengers in train told us (actually scolded us ) to stop it...

In early morning next day...we reached our home place Delhi...having a collection of lots of gud MEMORIES.

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A memorable Trip to Udaipur- Day2

We wake up early in the morning and boarded our bus for Ranakpur…. We stopped at a dhaba on the way for having the breakfast… I am sure that Dhaba wala would be shocked by seeing us as he have to prepared the breakfast for 50 people..

Till the time breakfast is getting ready…lets pose for some pics… ;)

After having delicious breakfast of maggi, poha, bread butter, stuffed parathans and garma garam tea..we moved further to Ranakpur..

Ranakpur  Jain Temple is acclaimed world-wide for their intricate and superb architectural style. This temple form one of the five major pilgrimages of the Jains... Over 1444 marble pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support the temple. These pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same.

Its majestic beauty takes it to the path of nominees for  top 77 wonders, while deciding the new 7 wonders of  the world..

Ranakpur Jain Temple

This place fascinates me so much that I wish I could stay here for some more time and click  few more pictures of  those beautiful carvings on pillars…

Here is my little effort to capture this beauty in my cam….

Rooftop of the Jain Temple

Our next  and final destination for this day is Kumbhalgarh Fort..it is the birth place of greatest warrior Maharana Pratap Singh…

Kumbhalgarh fort is the second important fort of Rajasthan after Chittorgarh…. It is the largest and most elaborate fort extended in the 36 km.. Its wall is the second largest wall in Asia after the Great wall of China..

After that, we returned back to the Udaipur and had dinner at Food Court, a restaurant situated on the bank of Lake Pichola.

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