MoAnRa Travels

Enjoy our other Blogs -  MoAnRa Stories  |  MoAnRa Speaks "A palace which gave the original a run for its money" by Rajib Deysarkar Often skipped by tourist in favour of its more popular cousin the Faluknama palace, the Chowmahalla palace which was built as a replica of the Shah's palace in Tehran, Iran, was rumored to have surpassed the original in it's grandeur. Recipient of the prestigious UNESCO Asia Pacific Merit award for cultural heritage conservation in 2010, the Chowmahalla Palace whose restoration are still going on, is one of the must to visit tourist spot while you are in Hyderabad. Though the older Southern part of the palace is still undergoing renovation but the Northern courtyard and "Khilwat Mubarak" which is open to public is enough to make you understand the splendor of the palace in it heydays with central fountain and pool and the adjoining greenery and buildings which were mirror image of each other. The "Khilwat...

Enjoy our other Blogs -  MoAnRa Stories  |  MoAnRa Speaks by Moutushi Ghoshdeysarkar Singapore was once a small fishing village, then Singapura (Lion City), then an important settlement in the 14 th century (evidence from archaeological excavations) and finally “great ruins” by the time the Portuguese came in the early 16 th century. Sir Stamford Raffles identified Singapore as a natural harbour with not more than 150 people living at the mouth of the Singapore River and merely a 1000 in the whole island, as he landed in 1819. The Dutch and Portuguese dominated the ports on the trade route between China and British India levying high tariff. As Opium trade was vital for the British, Sir Raffles planned to replace the dominance of other countries and establish a port in Singapore. He declared Singapore to be a free port and soon traders started flowing in. By 1824 Singapore was an important trading port surpassing the earlier established ones by trade v...

Enjoy our other Blogs -  MoAnRa Stories  |  MoAnRa Speaks by Moutushi Ghoshdeysarkar Of Haveli’s and forts and temples we talk, as we try to picture Rajasthan, but we forget that the most used snacks without which the drinks gets boring is also a gift of Rajasthan, mainly Bikaner, within 200kms of Pakistan, amidst the desert. Bikaner was called Jangladesh, it is in the Thar desert and was completely baron but the one thing which made it an oasis on the trade route between the Gujarat coast and central Asia, were its natural springs. Rao Bika was the eldest son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathore clan of Jodhpur and wanted a kingdom for himself. So he built a fort in Bikaner 250 kms north-west of Jodhpur and established a city. As any city in the trade route, Bikaner prospered but it was not until the times of the sixth Raja, Rai Singhji, when the city’s fortune flourished. Raja Rai Singhji w...

Enjoy our other Blogs -  MoAnRa Stories  |  MoAnRa Speaks by Moutushi Ghoshdeysarkar December is pleasant everywhere in India, well almost. Except for the extreme north where temperatures dip to sub zero, it is the time of the year to definitely book a trip. I wanted to revisit Golconda Fort and my hubby acquiesced. After having travelled for so many years and living in one or the other city in India since birth now he feels that yet another Indian city is not worth visiting, and second time is out of question. Yet he agreed, was it something to blush blush!! Or some architecture which he found was not covered last time, I wonder now?? A three day trip was planned. If possible we prefer trains as our son has flight allergy. It is not just the load of sickness bags that we would like to avoid it is also the inconvenience caused to the other passengers owning to the horrendous sound accompanie...

Enjoy our other Blogs -  MoAnRa Stories  |  MoAnRa Speaks by Moutushi Ghoshdeysarkar The living fort as it is called by many is a destination of a life time. That is not to say that one cannot or would not like to revisit this one of a kind place. One of the oldest forts in India it is a place where history lives. I have been there twice. Long back as a pure tourist with my parents and recently to feel the history. Living within the fortified walls of the fort is distinctly different from visiting it for a day or half a day tour. Ludavra, 16kms north west of Jaisalmer, was the stronghold of the Bhati Rajputs who had captured it from the Ludarva Rajputs. This ancient city (Ludavra) was on the connector route to the maritime international trade route popularly known as the Silk Route , in the 1st to around 6th century and then other important trade routes till the time of the British raj, when the ports of Mum...