MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE BAR-HEADED GEESE AT PONG DAM LAKE,KANGRA VALLEY.

PONG DAM, well known as MAHARANA PRATAP SAGAR DAM, is an earth filled embarkment dam on R. Beas, just upstream  of Talwara city in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The lake created by the dam,became a renouned bird sanctuary. Pong Dam lake is the largest man made wetlands in the foothills of the Himalayas and is the home to around 43000 barheaded geese, probably half their number globally.Pong dam lake was declared a Ramsar Wetland site on account of its rich waterfowl diversity ,for conservation & sustainable use of wetlands. The large reservoir and its strategic location in the extreme NW of the northern plains have attracted migratory birds from the plains of India and central Asian countries & Siberia during Nov'-Mar'.The stretch of the Pong wetlands is 307sq kms.

Pong Dam Lake, Kangra Valley(H.P)

Pong Dam Lake View.

Pong Dam wetlands site.

As We walked ontop the wetlands site leaving the vehicle behind in the wheat field.

        Since mostly people around are not that familiar with the site, hardly someone attempts to make a visit.

NORTHERN PINTAIL.

The Barheaded geese ,at Pong dam lake wetlands.

It was a fine day in the month of feb'2014 , we thought to drive down 207kms from Jammu city to enjoy the beauty of these migratory birds. We started quite early in the morning around 7am  and drove down to Pong Dam ,via Kathua, Lakhanpur, Hajipur,Talwara ..... We were not aware that a permit is required to cross over the Pong Dam . We had to take a termporary permit from the gates,which allows only 20mins to cross over the dam & its flood gates as a hydal power station is located there. But our intentions were strictly to go to the Pong dam lake & enjoy the birds in their natural habitat. Since it was very cold & raining we were bit upset as we crossed over to the other side of the dam.(photography is strictly prohibited on the dam)...... Soon ,after we crossed the dam ,we could located the lake ,but kept wondering ,how to go close to the lake waters....
We had to struggle a bit to find out the Ramsar Wetlands site of the Pong Dam Lake ,which is almost 19kms from the Dam . As we crossed thru' a bridge we could locate the exact position & the tough job was to go up to the waters in the marshy stretch. Somehow , our friend could drive in his endevour vehicle but had to stop amidst the wheat fields on the Ramsar Wetlands site of Pong Dam Lake.... Now our job is to come out into the muddy stretches & start walking down .... It was an awesome experience; Shoes getting stuck in sticky mud , Raincoats flying off ...chilly winds &Umbrellas finding tough to pave thru' the windy stretches, above that the rains continuing its work of constant pouring....................... But my mind was fixed on to capture the moments in my lens....

 What an amazing site.... its very difficult to keep counting their nos................... But the muds were very difficult to pave our way forward.... Many a time it so happened that ,my shoes got stuck in the mud & i could not pull my legs out....& looking a the condition of our sneakers, our heart broke....should have come in gumboots ,i felt at heart.. But those amazing birds  just stole my heart away.Soon ,my husband & his friend,spreaded the tent on these wetlands stretch....Oh , God!!!!! untill U r that crazy of Nature , U can think of this amidst mud/ water/ rain . They were planning for cooking Maggi & soup.................... Just too ,romantic a moment on Valentines Day. The Soups were a blessing gift in this chilling condition, followed by hot plate of Maggi .... Cann't ask for anything more in midst of this wilderness. Just loving it ,as i recall those moments on 14th Feb' 2014 afternoon. Now , we had few more hours to keep enjoying these birds, Before we would leave back for our homes in Jammu City.

Just had an amazing Valentines Day ; would keep cherishing this memories in the years to come....................


*******ROUTE :- JAMMU CITY- KATHUA-LAKHANPUR- PATHANKOT-HAJIPUR-TALWARA-PONG DAM.

*****NOTE:- Should alway carry atleast 2 pairs of shoes & dresses and also, raincoats and sufficient food stuffs along.

****** TOTAL DISTANCE FROM JAMMU CITY:- 207kms (one way).

The Serene Beach of Ganapatiphule in Maharashtra.

There are  lot of beaches across the huge coastline of India ,besides few exceptionally good ,untouched beaches along the coastline of Karnataka, My most loved beach site in India is the not so well known GANAPATIPHULE BEACH in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Since , i prefer calm , tranquil, clean & serene beach ,not very crowdy . Its preferred to have prior bookings at MTDC beach resort ,Ganapatiphule for its best location on the beach & beautiful surroundings...There's other private beach resorts ,of which Krishnali's location is also too good. As one drives in from Ratnagiri city & crosses Arr-

Beautiful sunset at Ganapatiphule.

The Ganapatiphule beach (a view from the MTDC resort).

The view of the MTDC resort, Ganapatiphule.

Myself , in a leisure mood at the MTDC resort, Ganapatiphule.

The Saumbhu Ganapati temple on the beach.

The view of the Arraywarry beach from the hilltop as one drives from Ratnagiri.

The Arraywarry beach, Ganapatiphule.

aywarry beach ,the road goes uphill & gives a feel as if  one will end up into the waters Arabian sea...The beaches around are too serene & the only golden sand beach in the Konkan belt.There's a saumbhu Ganapati temple on the beach & is a must recommended visit site.

The serene beach of Ganapatiphule,

Just love the beaches here.....away from all hassles of mumbai.

The Arraywarry beach from top of the hill drive...

As one drive uphill from the arraywarry beach.

The Konkan Railway ,cutting across the western ghats.

MY VISIT TO THE NABAGRAHA TEMPLE OF GUWAHATI(ASSAM).

As we mention the state of Assam in India ,the first thing that comes to our mind is theR. Brahmaputra & the famous Kamakhya temple...................... But there's another famous temple in Guwahati City ie. The NABAGRAHA temple that's dedicated to the 9 planets that governs our life's cycle......Very few of us frequent the temple that's located ontop of a hill,from were the whole Guwahati City looks very pretty. Mostly people having problem with Saturn in their  horoscope tries to make sure to visit & pray here.... Since it was our 2nd visit to the City ,I wanted to make a visit irrespective of any such believe of planetary effects....... Since the road upto the temple complex passes thru' narrow bylanes across the hill, one should start early for the darshan orelse will get stuckup in the traffic on the way itself. There's no pull/push of the pandits like that of Kamakhya temple. After purchasing the dalli( puja items including Prasad) ,we climbed up the stairs to the temple grabagraha( main temple). The 9 planets are depicted  as 9 shivling structure & placed in a circular arrangement. One can pray on their own orelse can hire a pandit to arrange for the puja. Mostly ,I saw people doing strict & elaborate puja at the Shivling depicting SATURN or SHANI God.......................... But , I preferred to do my prayers alone with heart & soul as I hardly understand those Sanskrit mantras. It was truly a great experience in whole ,So I thought to share my views with others ,who might feel good to get the divine blessing from the Nabagraha temple darshan.

Myself, infront of the Nabagraha temple ,Guwahati.

The view of Guwahati City from theNabagraha temple complex.

Inside the main Nabagraha temple sanctum.

The Nabagraha temple , Guwahati, Assam.