They are the majestic embodiments of pure animal power, sharing a genetic connection with their African cousins. The Asiatic lions thrive in their thousand and a half or so sq. kms of territory, rulers of a shared kingdom.

The distinctive calmness of a moonless night in Sasan Gir National Park in the Junagadh district of Gujarat is sometimes broken by the primeval call of an Asiatic lion which never fails to chill even the bravest of hearts. This fierce and reverberating roar is spellbinding in its majesty, reflecting the spirit of the king himself. Unfortunately, this is the only place left on the planet where you can actually hear the Panthera leo persica. There was a time, when this graceful creature once roamed the lands of Yemen, Macedonia in Greece, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, sometimes even living on the borders of Bangladesh. Of course, now it is confined to a mere 1412 sq.kms.

Popularity: 12% [?]

For centuries, the Indian Himalayas, a mighty mountain chain that dramatically stretches across from the northwest to the northeast of the Indian sub-continent, has struck awe and admiration in the hearts of people all over the world. Indian pilgrims who travelled here in ancient times coined the name “Himalaya”, which is a Sanskrit word meaning “the Abode of Snow”. This seemingly endless chain runs along the northern frontiers of the country and Indian States – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh — from west to east. For the mountain people living in these states, the Himalayas continue to be the predominant force in their lives. Having acted as a natural and political barrier for centuries, the Himalayas have isolated a number of communities, cultures and customs, showcasing Nature in all her resplendence.

Our rediscovery of this magnificent chain begins in the west…

Popularity: 11% [?]

A masterpiece of medieval architecture, the Agra Fort evokes memories of a great heritage. Its visually exciting palaces, mosques, and pavilions reveal the aesthetic sensibilities of the Mughals, reverberating with their royal accounts of life, art and culture.

Every fort has a story to tell which brings to life its architectural spaces. The Agra Fort is a good example. Hidden in the stones of its very foundations, history remains alive. This is perhaps why it would be worth uncovering the past in order to give its physical and aesthetic features a relevance and context.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Great and Little Rann of Kutch, though seemingly inhospitable are lands rich with a variety of flora and fauna. Changing with the seasons, they have survived centuries of upheavals to persist. These vast and pitiless lands represent the very spirit of the people.

A long time ago, deep in the past, geologists are of the opinion that seismic upheavals pushed the land of  Kutch out of the Arabian Sea. As it emerged it appeared almost like the shell of a tortoise, thus earning the name ‘katchua’ or tortoise (as some believe!). The land remained surrounded by water for some time, before earthquakes lifted and tilted it once more, narrowing the distance from the mainland. The sea’s arm stretched in from the Gulf on the western end, up across the north-western, north, and north-eastern side and emerged at the eastern and south-eastern end.

Popularity: 2% [?]

This region offers a baffling variety of architecture and a rich cultural heritage that has not ceased to delight, keeping alive the curiosity and erudition of archaeologists and historians keen to peel away the layers of time to uncover the past.

The district of Bankura in Bengal presents distinctive historical, cultural and artistic features. From the 4th century A.D. rock inscription of Chandravarman atop Susunia hills in the north to the remains of a capital in Pradmanapur and onto the terracotta temples of Bishnupur, the capital city of Malla kings, this district offers a rich heritage.

Popularity: 2% [?]

On the very edge of our national imagination is a world where nature exists in all its verdant splendour – providing a home to an amazing variety of ethnic cultures. Here, the rich diversity of identities has been nurtured by the timeless movement of tribes.

Embraced by the eastern Himalayas on its northern border with China, the remote north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh rises from the Brahmaputra Valley (that it shares with Assam) as an undulating landscape of verdant tropical forests. The elevation varies from 300 metres on the edge of Assam to a staggering 7000 metres on its northern border. It is through the high passes in this region that the first refugees from Tibet entered this part of India, bringing with them their customs and religion. Accustomed to the harshness of the Tibetan Plateau, they chose to populate the higher reaches of Arunachal. Initially isolated, trade compelled them to mingle with people from the plains and this interaction with the Indo-Burmese tribes (who had already inhabited large tracts of Arunachal) created a new sub-group called the Tibeto-Burmese.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The opulent homes of the Chettiar reflect the spirit of a culture and social life now lost in the warps of time. Drawing inspiration from the world they reached out to, they built houses that reflected the age they lived in.

Whilst walking down a street in the heart of Karaikudi, Sivaganga District of Tamil Nadu – part of the area traditionally known as Chettinad, the Land of the Chettiars one notices that the area has an air of settled urbanity and prosperity. The houses, aranmanai or palace, along both sides of the street impart a sense of a long-settled, prosperous neighbourhood. Some of them are huge – rising as they do a couple of storeys off the ground with a vast spread that extends to the parallel street at the back. Others are smaller. However, all of them are notable for their ornate facades of plaster and stucco that feature a tableau of Hindu deities and symbols – predominantly Gajalakshmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Poornakumbham the pot of plenty and Krishna – and western kitsch such as winged angels, British soldiers on horseback, animals, ornamentation comprising foliage and a visually crowded frontispiece. A frontal view of the facade offers a mix of various sculptural styles at different levels, varying colours for each grouping and a curious juxtaposition of the highly traditional South Indian with European styles. As the levels climb any other images that take the owner’s fancy are incorporated. Yet, the assemblage strangely does not jar in the least. The Chettinad style has evolved an idiom that borrows elements of interest from all parts of the world resulting in a mix that is it’s own.

Popularity: 2% [?]

This part of the world is a place where time does not reside. Cold deserts, craggy highlands, ancient river valleys, pristine lakes and a valley of wild roses and lavender – Nature here is at her resplendent best.

The journey from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir is a breathtaking one. Setting off, the road passes through apple orchards and heads for the famous Rohtang La (Pass), moving through mixed forests of blue pine, fir, spruce, deodar, kharsu oak and maple and crossing the landslide infested region of Gulaba and Marhi. The mighty Hanuman Tibba peak, on the opposite side of the valley is visible all the while lying asleep behind a heavy blanket of cloud. One of the most significant transitions after passing Gulaba and approaching Marhi is the disappearance of the tree cover after the ‘tree line’. In this part of the Himalayas, after around 3500 metres (11000 ft.), the lofty conifer trees make way for juniper scrubs and grasslands.

Beyond the Rohtang La, Nature changes dramatically – stark landscapes with unobstructed views of the far away glaciers, mountains and an almost total absence of trees. Upon a closer look it will be noticed that in fact the soil is covered with grasses and numerous colourful flowers, which have just popped out after the snow melts in the summer sun.

Down below is the Chandra River, white as she flows – leaping and bounding over boulders, as if racing against the Bhaga River which too originates from close to the Baralacha La and flows down the South Western slope. Both these rivers eventually catch up at the village of Tandi to form Chandra-Bhaga or the Chenab River. In fact, the Chandra River roars down such a high mountainside wilderness that the first seventy two kilometres of this river has no significant human habitation – till the first town of Koksar. The right turn from Gramphu, below the Rohtang La leads to Koksar and then proceeds to the high altitude Chandra Tal Lake. The road that runs straight on finally reaches the land of high mountain passes. The cold deserts of Ladakh are hemmed by the Himalayan ranges to the south, which form a rain-shadow in this region.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Sumeet Sharma

Exploring the magical world of marine life around the isles of Lakshadweep
Strung out on the waters of the Arabian Sea.
“Forget one by one the everyday sounds. All these noises…
All these symbols of a life that has become modern, urban…
That every day takes us faster… further.

Welcome to the world of Atlantis, the original world.
The love, the tenderness, the rhythm, the grace, the spirit…
Many gifts offered forever by the Sea, beautiful & generous.

Forget everything you know.
Dive.” – Introduction to “Atlantis”, a film by Luc Besson.

Nothing is further from the everydayness of city life than a coral reef. There are no parallels that can be drawn to describe the world that exists under the surface of the sea, a place which has inspired and awed many through the millennia. And there, hidden in its depths, a universe with its own set of rules exists, a privileged place accessible to those who have dived into the belly of the ocean and witnessed the spectacle of the Coral reef.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Dangs

The forests of the Dangs in South Gujarat is one of Nature’s treasure troves. Here the green has survived the onslaught of time and circumstance and preserved to some extent the amazing variety that is the hallmark of this region and creatures of the wild have developed the unusual ability to go quiet and become virtually invisible to protect themselves.

Every forest in the Indian sub-continent has its own special personality – Shivpuri with its multiple rhythms of tree cover, grassland and water bodies, Bharatpur with its mirroring jheels, Mudhumalai with its dense green and brown, the Sundarbans with its dramatic mangrove world…and others too, the variety is awe-inspiring.

Popularity: 7% [?]