Rockstars...more like cavestars!

As three of the best examples of rock cut architecture and art, Ajanta, Ellora and Pitalkhora stand tall deep and beautiful in our neighbourhood. 

 As promised, black-swan/art2day venture yet again, to bring you to the stories from the proverbial horse's mouth, along with Dr. Pradhan, noted artist and archaeologist and an expert on Ajanta paintings, we take you on a journey like none before.

 On the 10/11/12 February 2012, we travel, to learn, absorb and frankly, ogle at these massive testimonials to human endeavour and dedication. 

 These caves cut and detailed within the rock that forms them, are truly level one rockstars!

 Itinerary:

 9th Feb 
6 pm - leave (from art2day, Tilak Road, Pune) (overnight stay in Aurangabad)

10th Feb
Ajanta

11th Feb 
Ellora

12th Feb
Pitalkhora
(Return to Pune)

Book your seats with: 
 Shishir on 
+91 98221 32092

or email to knock@black-swan.in

or book@travelanotherindia.com

Discover lesser known Rajasthan and Royal Story Telling art forms on IndiaOffRoads (a responsible travel company run by friends of Travel Another India) next trip

Stories of Royalty and Royal Stories: Lotwara – Bassi –Bijaipur – Begun - Kaavad- Phad- Kathputli http://www.facebook.com/events/197109320384900/

Once there was a brave king – and he had brothers, warriors and district heads. All of them had huge palaces and havelis and were royalty in their own right. IndiaOffRoads takes you through the lifestyle of each of them where we experience the similarities and differences.

The king was a patron of arts – the Royal family loved stories – stories of heroes and mythological Gods. The stories took different forms – painting, puppets and wooden theatre. On this trip, we will experience these different ‘story-telling’ styles.

Join us on this royal cultural journey to the not so visited parts of Rajasthan. We will stay in a royal abode with the descendant of king’s family, in a fort palace and in a district head’s humble lodge. Folk music, visits to forts and other archeological wonders make our journey more exciting.

Travel with IndiaOffRoads during the long weekend – 17th to 20th February to unravel these beautiful stories.

When: 17-20 February, 2012.
How much: Rs. 23,000 / person inclusive of:
- accommodation on twin sharing basis at royal family/descendant run palaces, forts and havelis.
- All meals including 3 royal meals.
- all story telling performances.
- all trip transportation (trip starts at Jaipur and ends at Udaipur)

Special:
- Groups of 4 & more: 10 % discount.
- Early bird 5% discount on first 4 confirmations received.

Booking:
RSVP on our facebook event http://www.facebook.com/events/197109320384900/ 

or

email us at bookings@indiaoffroads.com for more details.

For more details and bookings:

Write to us at suviena@indiaoffroads.com; kishan@indiaoffroads.com
Or
Call us at 9818995691/9899559771

or book@travelanotherindia.com

Pranpur - by our first guest!

Two to Tango in a place called 'Indiaah'

Travel in India!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

An appeal from a village called 'Pranpur' and a place called 'Chanderi'

The weaver's village!

Amraee resort in Pranpur! The last sun-set of 2008!

Well, this new year (2009) we thought of going to a place that is far from the maddening crowd of non-sense business where even smallest of towns come alive (yeah we have seen that as well) dancing till mid-night after a few pegs of sharaab to some punjabi gaane-shaane (without even understanding a line of it). After much thinking we froze down to this place from a Govt. run initiative under UNDP where they are promoting rural tourism. They setup the system, adopt a village, train the villagers and then hand it over to them to run it! Self-sustainence is the key if we really need our villages to grow! Some places even have a home-stay with the villagers - and a best way to peek into their lives and be thankful of what you have (at least)! And ABOVE ALL spend a couple of days at peace to yourself in the lap of rural earth - without the noise of cities, with no mobiles ringing! We have been to such place earlier as well that I'll cover later. Well, the village this time is called 'Pranpur' in the heart of Chanderi (Madhya Pradesh) about 500 km from Delhi -nearest railway station being Lalitpur (UP). We had read about this somewhere so did some research on stay, places to see around and to reach there. We booked a taxi from Lalitpur. When we reached there, realized we took a wise decision - nothing but a small town! Alright, so the taxi waala a dark-thin man in the typical shirt-pant and pointed shoes with gutka in his mouth was waiting with a hand-written paper read it as placard please - next to his TATA Indica - Sunita Chakraborty from Delhi! He spelt it all correct btw!

Well, the journey started - about 45 mins - roads were good and we entered the resort - Amraee - meaning Mango Orchards - right on the state highway! Yes, the location was little disappointing - as we thought - but the ambience was lovely with just us in the place (We later realized it was inaugurated on 28 Dec and we reached there on 31 Dec, so were the first guests!) Our first love was the room called Atari - a low height room with a terrace - which had a thatched roof, open window for air-flow - in all, a typical village room without any fancy at all and a shared bathroom. Well, we realized it was cold and not sure if we'd be able to sleep we opted for another room which had nice Chanderi fabric curtains that we decided later to order for home! This was closed but the bathroom was still outside :) But the next few days spent here were going to be worth spending every thought of planning this trip!

The land of weavers, the green fields, ever thought of walking through the green fields in the morning, having a nice 'home made poha' in the morning breakfast and a lunch and dinner of bundelkhandi thali where even the 'gujiya' is served fresh out of the karahi, the rooms wihout ACs and rightly named as 'Atari' for it was on the roof top with a chappar to give the effect and without any window to give the way to the breeze from the Mango trees - the rightly named 'Amraee' - the rural resort located in a village called 'Pranpur' - a village of weavers - who weave in day in day out the beautiful Chanderi dress material - light, exotic and gorgeous specially for the lovers of sarees - but get just a few hundrd rupees a month! Yes I bought worth 10k, of course, a few for my friends and families - a few just for the sake of the hardship gone into making it! The village resort - Amraee - is a government initiative to promote the craft through tourism and also providing self-sustainment to the village. The resort is purely run by the people hired from the village(s) and trained - even the cook is a local lad who would make sumptuous meals as requested. Vegetables are grown there - you can help them - choose your choice of vegetables - though there isn't much variety (no non-veg food is server neither is alcohol permitted inside the premises). The people running were nice and were very hopeful that they might get some recognition for the efforts thereby helping the village to grow!
Alright, so coming back to 'tourism' - well, the village is actually a part of Chanderi - the famous bundelkhand dynasty! Places of inteterst are the Chanderi fort, Jama masjid, the hundreds of year of old bawris (quazi ki bawri), the remotely situated battisi bawri (32 steps all corners) -

shahjadi ka rouza (epitome of a love story of a princess and sepoy), the jama masjid, the shiv mandir sorrounded by water - parameshwar taal, the Badal Mahal Gate,

the khooni darwarza, the Mahavir temple - amazingly located and carved out of the sandstone hills, the koshak mahal initially planned for seven floors and has architecture similar to Mandu, the bundelkhand museum - better than so many of better cities of the country, AND the ruins of ISAGARH temples - all those lovers of Kharjuraho - you got to visit this unknown and forgotten remnants lying in a village that none of us would have heard of perhaps - the temples here are older than khajuraho but built in the same 'shaily' (architectural style) - in fact see the photo

doesn't it look like the khajuraho temples in first view.
Believe me there was nobody except the caretaker who hardly knew anything about the temple - a luxury if you visit the touristy places - not much document is available on Isagarh!

Oh how could I forget the unforgettable evening at the crocodile point which was distant but worth visiting for the rock paitings and the silent river flowing - it was scary as there was nobody but us with the guide - the vehicle had broken down due to the terrains but we still moved ahead by foot for alleast 1 km leaving the car with the driver to figure out how would he be fixing it (he did it - was the champion!) - walking past the barren lands, the sarson ke khet and the rocky terrains - telling the difficult story of people staying there (though we didn't sight a single soul) - but the sun-set was amazing - wish could have camped there - but the guide warned us to leave the place as early before the dark - perhaps he was scared!
The last on our itenary was the famous temples of Deogarh -
this is around 40 kms from lalitpur station - a feast for the ones who love the old ruins starting from 3rd century A.D - the famous jain temple ruins - hundreds of statues of lord mahavira and other tirthankars in the middle of a forest (now a National park) by the side of Betwa river. The most spectacular view of Betwa can be seen here where it looks peaceful yet gets ferocious swallowing the villages around during rains!

The hidden carved sculptures - be careful if you really want to see this - you'll have climb down the rock stairs to see these (I didn't go there)!

The hydel pump station which supplies water to the city and the 8 km man-made canal! Worth mentioning is the 1000 yr old but one of the most precious, beautiful, well-preserved and amazingly carved dashavatar!

Lastly, the amazing but simple people of the resort who were naive in their approach of services to run it as a resort yet warm in their hospitality - the manager was nice, the guide was an ambitious young lad trying to take money out of you, the cook was a local lad making just the ghar ka khana, Pragya the local girl who was working with the NGO to help the weavers sell their product - they all had hopes in their eyes and questions for us - will you visit again - do you think people would come here - it must be visited not for the luxury or a oh-so pampering vacation, - but for the people, for the dying art, for the thousand year old heritage (more for the rock paintings) and for the hope of a village that must survive - if anyone of you could visit the place I would believe my travel and writing the story has been worthwhile - it's an appeal to all travellers who would want to spend some time far from the freaking city life, away from the gizmos - under the shades of mango trees, walking through the farms, talking to the villagers, taking a visit to the long-lost history and giving them a hope - after all, this is all that they have in their difficult lives. There are MP Tourism hotels as well but my take will be the Amraee resort but do not expect it to be the fanciful place. Please do visit and am sure you won't be disappointed!

Hogennakal Waterfalls – Beyond Bliss...

This is one place that you should never miss… especially if you are on either side of the border… Across the Tamil Nadu / Karnataka Border, you can go and visit this place… Beautiful falls where many movies have shot their panoramic scenes, Roja for one… Remember Dil Hain Chotta Sa??

To get there I rose early in the morning and decided to head towards Hogennakal. The best way to reach there is to catch a direct bus from Salem Bus station; else you also have an option of going to Dharmapuri and from there to Hogennakalu.

P.S It’s also the place where Veerappan used to dwell somewhere in the deep jungles near the Karnataka & Tamil Nadu Border…

My early morning breakfast, where I ate a really amazing double dosa & some Malabari Parota with Kadala Curry :) Yes I was that hungry.

 Ramesh Anna, preparing hot Dosas...

While I was doing that, this guy 'Ramesh Anna' was like a ‘Masterchef’ dishing out some Malabari Parota… He was so quick in making them that you would just awe at the whole experience…

    Malabari Parota in the Making

                                        Malabari Parota & Kadala Curry

 First up was the visit to the Aquarium, right near the Bus Stand… This is quite a place before you get to the waterfalls. A must visit as soon as you reach Hogennakal,  after about a 3 hours ride on the bus from Salem which, by the way just costs Rs.  26, thanks to the truly inexpensive and amazing Tamil Nadu State Transportation :)

                                                                          Tiger Shark

                                            Gold Fish

Next up is the Crocodile Park & Rehabilitation centre. This is one thing you have got to visit… You can see the crocodiles up close and personal, is a completely different experience… A lot of them are severely injured… Of course, due to fights amongst themselves. But the real fear of this animal strikes you in the eye… even though they are lazy and slow, they are some creatures not to mess with… P.S Entry to this centre is Rs. 1. 1 Km from Bus stand…

Crocodile Park & Rehabilitation Centre

Once you are done with the crocodile park, head straight to the Main falls… On the way, you can take a few pics of scenic falls, but really, don’t bother as you will get great views when you go down and take a ride in the single oar boat… They also serve cold drinks and chips on other boats around you.. :)

                                             Hogennakal Waterfalls

                                                              The Waterfalls up-close & personal

All in all, this experience is certainly a must do if you want to relish the beautiful serene waterfalls along with some natural beauty around the waterfalls. If you are a nature lover then you will certainly enjoy this trip.

Srinivas Kulkarni

Srini2k7@gmail.com

Discount! Discount! Discount!

As a thank you to all you lovely people

a 5% discount 

at select destinations this holiday season

book@travelanotherindia.com

or call +91 9900 193 873

We are hiring!

We are looking for a Marketing & Sales Lead.

“Travel Another India is in the business of providing a unique experience to discerning clients exploring another India, rich in diversity, of cultures, cuisines and comforts, while enriching lives along roads less travelled.”

We promote Responsible Tourism with travellers and hosts through supporting village communities set up Responsible Tourism Ventures (RTV). We support on sensitising on Responsible Tourism, planning the experience, bringing in technical and financial resources, reaching out to guests, ensuring appropriate capacity building, facilitating learning across RTVs and identifying allied livelihoods that can be enhanced. (www.travelanotherindia.com)

Marketing & Sales Lead – Travel Another India

The position is based in one of the metros – Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai reporting to the CEO.

Profile

-          Understands Responsible Tourism

-          Two years experience in marketing of services

-          Good understanding and experience of online marketing

-          Has travelled extensively in India beyond home state

-          Willing to travel 15 days in a month (not always comfortably)

-          Fluent in reading, writing and speaking English and Hindi and speaking in one other Indian language

-          Willing to think out of the box

-          Not afraid to dirty one’s hands

Job Description

-       Finalise the Marketing Strategy for next three years (keeping in mind that TAI is a start-up company with a limited budget) and implement it

-       Prepare a marketing strategy for each destination as it is set up

-       Work with the Destinations Managers to implement these strategies

-       Put together a network of green tour operators, travel agents and holiday planners across India

-       Develop online presence

-       Getting each destination on to various websites and guide books

-       Preparing a profile of guests by analysing existing data on guests and keeping this profile updated

-       Ensuring the newsletter goes out every two months

-       Co-ordinate with travel writers

Outputs will be mutually agreed upon within a month of joining and will be very specific related to the room nights sold.

There will be a fixed gross salary of Rs.30,000 per month and an incentive related to performance that will bring in a maximum of Rs.20,000 per month.

If interested, please go through our website and write back to me with a one-page note on how you see yourself marketing TAI and its destinations over the next year and what resources you would need for that.

Short-listed candidates will be informed within a week of receiving the application and a mutually accepted interview date will be set over the next week.

Gouthami

gou@travelanotherindia.com

We are looking for a Destinations Manager.

The work will be upto 6 days per Responsible Tourism Venture per month.

Provide support to the Responsible Tourism Venture

·         Ensure maintenance of standards in accommodation

o   in food

·         Ensure high hygiene standards

·         Identify need for training and organise it

·         Constantly update the “experience”

·         Work out and implement marketing strategy (both online and offline)

·         Go over the accounts during each visit

·         Maintain guest database

·         Obtain and share guest feedback

·         Ensure participation of the Tourism Committee or principal owners

·         Represent Travel Another India at Venture

·         Other activities as they arise

Profile

• Understands Responsible Tourism
• Passionate about travel in all seasons
• Has travelled extensively in India beyond home state
• Has at least six months experience working with a rural community
• Willing to travel 15 days in a month (not always comfortably)
• Fluent in reading, writing and speaking English and in one other Indian language (excluding Hindi)
• Can write well in English
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders
• Willing to think outside the box
• Not afraid to dirty one’s hands

Outputs will be mutually agreed upon within two months of joining and will be very specific.

There will be a fixed gross salary of Rs.20,000 per month and an incentive related to performance that will bring in a maximum of Rs.10,000 per month.

If interested, please go through our website and write back to me with a one-page note on how you see yourself working with any one destination on the website over the next year and what resources you would need for that.

Short-listed candidates will be informed within a week of receiving the application and a mutually accepted interview date will be set over the next week.

Gouthami

gou@travelanotherindia.com

Chanderi Ka Chand

For the coming full moon weekend, Travel Another India invites you to Pranpur, a beautiful village with clean cobbled streets and colourful houses. The"click-clack" music from the weavers' loom will welcome you as you enter the village. You'll be amazed at the intricacy of the art. You'll visit Babu Da's place - to make some pots. It looks easy until you give it a try, but it's great fun to say the least!

Stay with us at the Amraee guest house in Pranpur, set beautifully amidst a mango orchard. Amraee, which stands for Am (mangoes) and Raee (Bundelkhandi folk dance), is owned and managed by the residents of Pranpur village. The guest house is built in traditional Bundelkhandi architectural style, but with no compromise on comfort.

Did we tell you we'll be driving up to Chanderi fort to see the full moon?

Chanderi and the sari are synonymous till you get there. Then you discover history in a way no book ever taught you. You can explore Chanderi and all its history, wander in the village where time stands still, ride on a bullock cart and sit by one of the ponds nearby to relax all your taut muscles... or just unwind and relax at Amraee with a book :)

When: 10-11 December, 2011.
Where: Pranpur, Madhya Pradesh. Our trip is Ex-Lalitpur.
How much: Rs 2800 / person, inclusive of accommodation, food and travel for 2 days.
Booking: RSVP here with your contact details, email us at book@travelanotherindia.com, or call us at +91 88602 23456 or +91 9900 193 873