Some travel to get away from their routine life, while others travel to explore the unexplored destinations. Whatever be the purpose, travelling and enjoying the journey is what its all about!  Anita Nandini, a freelance HR & Training consultant shares her experiences from her recent visit to Bidar..

Bidar is about 135 km from Hyderabad. It is an  interesting place to visit with vast landscapes & fascinating  monuments. In fact it is one of lesser explored Gems of India. It has the Bidri Fort ,Ashtoor Tombs,Gagan Mahal,Rangin Mahal , the Solah Kambha Masjid to name a few. The periphery of the Bidri fort premises is 4.1 km and it houses a Beautiful Mughal Garden that is a stark contrast to the regular terrain ( red, dusty, and hilly).

The Ninth sultan of the Baihmani, Ahmad Shah, moved the capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1422 Before this time, Bidar was merely a local city of the Baihmani Dynasty. After the transfer of the capital, he went on an expedition to various places and brought religious and political prosperity to Bidar. He constructed the foundation of the city of Bidar and constructed the palace of Persian style.

The fort was constructed in 1427 AD by Alla-Ud-Din Bahman. The Fort is famed for its unique triple moat which  you will see as soon as you enter through the Gumbad Darwaza.

Located  nearby is the Rangin Mahal. The Rangin Mahal walls are adorned with tiles that have mother of pearl inlaid in them in different designs.The idea is that this palace would true to its name shine when the sun was at the 11 am and 4 pm position and the entire palace would look like a Rangin Jewel( colourful Jewel).

You can see proof of the same in the decorative work on the doorway of an inner room and in small measures across the palace. The view from the Top is quite breathtaking. A little surreal but breathtaking nevertheless ( it is a bit like looking at an inhabited Mars).

The 10th sultan of the Baihmani Dynasty, Ala ad-Din, succeeded Ahmad Shah 1436. He built his father’s mausoleum in Ashutur in the eastern outskirts of Bidar and a mausoleum for a saint, Shah Khalil Ullah, between Ashutur and Bidar

The Ashtoor Tombs are situated 4 kms east of Bidar. They are impressive in structure and design. One of the tombs has semi caved in and looks like a serpent with its hood up. Its quite some site. It is the  tomb of the eleventh Sultan Humayun (reign 1457-61).

The irony of the tombs is that it is located in a busy thorough fair. The roads surrounding the tombs are buzzing with people and  vehicles whizzing past. In a sense, it is where modernity meets antique/history.

In all, Bidar is a place that offers a lot more than what is heard of . It is a must visit for those who are eager to visit the unexplored and learn about history !!

Schools never seem to tire of giving children projects for the weekends or to be done during holidays. But then, when a child gets projects regularly, it can become quite daunting for the parents. They are constantly trying to come up with ideas and innovating forms of creating scrap books and charts- to keep the child interested and to make the project unique & special.

Off late, many of the schools are taking different approaches to getting the children to learn about families and loved ones. What they ask the child to do is

1. Collect pictures of family members- their parents, siblings, grand parents, uncles aunts or others who are part of the close circle.

2. Stick the photographs on a book or chart

3. Label them with the names of all those present in the photograph

Instead of simply pasting all the images on a sheet of paper and labelling, these days parents seek out interesting options to make the project more alive…

Snapfish has brought forth various options that one can choose from….

The most popular being the  Notebooks.. There are 12 designs to choose from..

General Specifications

• 6.5″X8.75″ size with durable laminated cover
• Choose from lined or blank formats
• Includes space for personalized dedication
• Notebook 6.5″x8.75″-200pages;
• A4 Notebook-100pages

What do you need

– You have your child’s picture on the cover, or create a collage of pictures

– The pages can have different designs/patterns

– Choose colours that your child likes

–Add a personal touch to the pages

— Encourage your child to write a story or something about each of the members in the photograph

– And then, place the order and voila, the beautiful Notebook is ready to be submitted in school!! Not only is this different from the usual books, it is also easier to do and complete..

The benefits of using Snapfish’s product are-

No messiness

No fear of whether the images would stick or not

You dont need hard copy of the photographs, just the ones that you have on the computer will do

And finally, you can play around with the images and graphics to create a customised Notebook for your child

In case you have any queries or issues, simply check out the extensive step by step guide on how to create a Notebook.

Not only are these Notebooks fun for a School project, but they also make for an ideal gift….

M: Aarti, this is the Common crow... They seem to be romancing and lost in their own world 

Me: oh yes, how pretty… I dont think i’ve seen these before.

Ani who was walking ahead with her son exclaimed..  ‘Hello, we see the common crow all over back home, what is wrong with you both” *gave us a stern “stop being children” look*

Me: Ahem, Ani, this is not a crow… this is a butterfly di.. it is called the Common Crow

Ani: Oops.. my bad, was wondering why you girls are gushing over the boring crow…

During our brief stay at the Coir Village Resort, we saw quite a few Butterflies, but i remember the Common Crow, which is quite uncommon in other parts of the country.. It became a game of sorts, we would keep a look out and start signalling for the others to join in whenever we spotted an interesting butterfly, bird, insect, or bug. At the end of the trip, we dint know who was a child, the actual 2 year old or us 4

The beautiful butterfly called ‘Common Indian crow” we saw quite a bit through our stay at the Coir Village Resort in Kerala.

Wiki: It is found everywhere in India, right up into the mountains till 8000 feet. Occasionally it swarms in the low, wet jungles of South India due to the abundance of its food plants which are spread over three orders of plants.

Every day is a brand new day, one that lures people into making the most of it and exploring their lives through. Aarti Krishnakumar, a freelance writer from Chennai shares some of her fond memories from her travels across the country….

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
~ Carl Bard

While in Kerala, we visited the Krishnapuram Palace in Kayamkulam. The palace is a replica of the Padmanabapuram palace in Trivandrum. As the sun was beating down on us, i managed to capture a shot of the Palace from beyond the pond, catching the reflection of the palace in the waters…

Krishnapuram Palace, Kayamkulam

As the road wound around the cliff, the ocean below lashed against the mountain as if trying to grab our attention. We looked down to see the mountain covered in plants and moss, amidst which a flight of stairs caught our eye. We decided to sneak away and walk it down to get a closer look at the ocean… What a sight it was.. Totally worth the risk!

Varkala Beach, Kerala

After the long walk on a hot summer day, we had finally reached… Auroville, few kms ahead of Pondicherry! The place was infamous for the Matri Mandir and various boutiques in the center of the place.. These days, they dont allow visitors to enter the Matri Mandir without prior permission. So, we picked up our tickets, and walked the 1.5kms to the view point and soaked in the place with several others vying for a piece of the place..

Matri Mandir, Auroville, Pondicherry

Time to say Good bye.. Until next time.. I wonder where the road takes me next..!!

June brings with it the Monsoon and we brought to you the “Monsoon Photo Contest” !! An opportunity to post the best monsoon pictures taken by you along with a 1 line caption! A Chance to win cool Snapfish products.

From the  contributions, we have shortlisted 3 photographs from the 1st lot that we and our Jury have liked . The contest will run till June 25th, so please keep sending in your  entries

Aditya Dang – Rainbow in the sky

Seeing this Rainbow for the first time this season along with my 5 yr old was a pleasure in surprise for us after the heavy downpour few days back..it was a Beautiful view from the terrace of our apartment..

Bhaskar Dutta -Monsoon at Coorg

Gopi Shah -Friends dancing in the rain

The best buddies, at the best place, during the best season, Monsoon… dont got Soon…

Snapfish is going to be running the Monsoon contest for a few more weeks… Dont forget to contribute~!

Also, do share this post with your friends and others in your circle. The photograph with maximum comments could become the winner as chosen by the Jury!~ Do remember that on Snapfish India Facebook page, the picture with maximum likes will also win a prize!!

Enjoy the rains…  Keep clicking! Keep Sharing! Look out for more such posts and pictures…