My Unforgettable Tour to Mughal Gardens

I developed a special feeling for flowers after I visited the Mughal Gardens in Delhi this year. The bright sunny weather played a perfect host and did not mundane my day with the occasional rain that had been disturbing the capital city since the last few days. 

Colorful, picturesque and splendid; these are the adjectives that describe the flowers in the Mughal Gardens at New Delhi. Red, orange, yellow and white were the colors that ruled the Udyanotsav. I could not have found out a better weekend stress buster other than visiting this sporadic place. I was totally elated by the sheer beauty of the flora at the 15 acre Mughal Gardens.

 Every year, the month long flower fair is held where flower lovers and other people visit in large numbers and this year was not an exception. As per the media reports, the number of visitors crossed 2.86 lakhs in just a span of two weeks. The continuous gathering of people was a reassurance in the fact that beauty of flowers can certainly supersede the beauty of anything in the world.

The constant announcement of the security officials to avoid using of cameras inside the flower fair, first of all broke my hopes, but later I managed to get some clicks after talking with them. So, I began my flower tour at the Mughal gardens by entering a lawn which had flowers on both sides arranged in a beautiful manner. Brahmi, Isangol, Geranium, Fenugrek and many herbal plants were put on display with a small board placed next to them, which said about the properties and uses of each plant.

I proceeded towards the Bonsai Garden. There were 80 varieties of Cactus flowers that bloomed here such as Marigold, Dahlia, Gerbera, Calendula and  Linaria. Rose Queen Elizabeth was a flower which attracted my attention here, though the name was Rose, but the appearance of this flora did not compliment it’s name. However, I found it quite visually attractive. Take a look at the flower below

Moving on, I came across a flower mat which was made from Krishna Genda flower and tulip. Words would fall short to describe it, hence I have put the picture for you to enjoy its sheer beauty.

My next stop was at the Circular Garden. As the name suggests, this garden is circular in shape and is dotted with different kinds of seasonal flowers like Marigold Stock, Viola, Clarkia, Allisum and Sweet Willium. Walking through the kind I felt as if I am a Royal Prince and is welcomed by a group of flowers. Really, the feeling was excellent.

Thus, the day finally ended in a flowery mood.

Eight Countries where Holi is celebrated

This is that time of the year when Holi celebrations all over India is at its peak. People smearing colours on each other’s face and exchanging Holi greetings; kids throwing gubbarre on each other and spraying colours on others with their waterjets- this is the situation where you can see when you visit each state of India. But did you know that a somewhat similar situation exists even outside the country?

Yes, you are right. I am talking  about the celebrations of Holi outside India. You will be amazed to know that this festival is celebrated with equal fervor in some countries other than India too. Take a look below and know how is holi celebrated in these countries.

Guyana: Holi is known by the name of ‘Phagwa’ here. The festival kicks off after planting a castor oil plant known as Holika. Chowtaals which are special holi songs, are sung by people in groups. Since, Hindus constitute about 33% of the population here, Holi is declared as a national holiday in the Guyana.

Mauritius: The country may be famous for its exotic beaches, but when it comes to Holi celebration, it leaves behind all other countries in the world. With an Indian population of 63%, people here celebrate this grand Indian festival by exchanging sweets and putting coloured tikkas on each other’s forehead. The festival also marks the beginning of Spring season here.

Pakistan: The festival might not be as big as it is in India, but it is celebrated by following all the Hindu rituals. Lahore and Sindh region have the maximum Indian population and hence people here flock at the Hindu temples and offer sweets in the form of Dahi Badas and Gujiyas to all the deities.

South Africa: One million Indians reside in South Africa and the majority of the population is Gujarati. Even in a conflict infested country like Africa, the celebration of Holi is an effort to bring together people of all religion and celebrate the festival.

Surinam: You might not have heard the name of the country to often. It is located in the north-eastern Atlantic Coast of South America. Indians, mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have migrated to this country. Here, Holi is celebrated here to commemorate the victory of good over evil by burning an effigy of Holika.

Trinidad and Tobago: It might be a tiny island, but when it comes to celebrating Holi, it is really big. This festival was started in the year 1845, when a large group of workers migrated to the country.

United Kingdom: Leicester City is a place in the United Kingdom, where Holi is celebrated in a quintessential Indian style. People throw colours at each other, eat sweets and visit the homes of the family members. Even here, Holi is a national holiday.

USA: Dance performances from Bollywood stars, musical concerts by top Indian rock groups and fashion shows are a catalyst which increases the excitement and adds to the excitement of the festival. Visiting New York won’t make you feel as if you are away from India.

My First Ever Visit To The Delhi Book Fair 2014

It was my first visit to the Book Fair in New Delhi and I must say that it did not disappoint me at all this time. My love for books is like an unending love story. I love reading them, whatever the subject is. Going to a place full of books is something which I would eagerly wait for throughout the year and would definitely not give a miss.

Last Sunday, I went to the oldest book fair of India. Before proceeding any further, let me take you through a walk back memory lane and tell about its history. The first ever book fair held in Delhi was held on 4^th April, 1972. The fair was inaugurated by the then president of India, Shri VV Giri. Since, the time of its inception, the book fair is held every year in February at Pragati Maidan. Each year, book lovers from all parts of the country throng here in search of their favorite books.

The Book Fair is held every year with a theme and this year was not an exception. This year, Kathasagara, which means celebrating children’s literature, was the theme. Hence, I could see a number of tiny tots holding the hands of their parents crowding the book stalls. This reminded me of my childhood days when I along with my parents and grandparents used to visit the Book fair in my mother state, Agartala.

I did not have a specific stall in mind as I completely had no idea about the publishers who had put their stalls, but I must say that I had an invigorating experience at the Book Stall after watching such a huge gathering of people and the enthusiasm with which they were purchasing books. This reassured my firm belief in the fact that- Books unselfishly deliver knowledge to everyone irrespective of people of any age.

So, I started my book tour in the book fair by visiting a stall by Orient Black Swan. Books from diverse fields like Social sScience, Media & Arts and Engineering were present here. Social science and engineering were not something that would interest me, hence I decided to flip through the pages of few books related to the media which talked about the Indian Film Industry and its historic journey. 

Moving on to the next stall, I was delighted to see the name ‘UPKAR PRAKASHAN’ at the entrance. I was taken aback to my school days when our General knowledge teacher used to ask us “Did you purchase the GK book from Upkar’s Prakashan?”. Even today, I have a collection of General Knowledge Books from this publisher in my house.  As I entered the stall, I was amazed to see how a group of youngsters curiously searched for some books. The shelves were all stacked with books for various competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, Bank clerks, CAT, IBPS and many more. It was good to know that even after so many years UPKAR continued to be the leader of the competitive exams.

 

My next stop was at the Author’s Corner. This was the first time when I watched an author giving a live interview. It was Mr Taj Hassan, an IPS officer cum Joint commissioner security, who was talking about his recently released book-The Inexplicable Unhappiness of Ramu Hajjam. He talked about his inspiration to write the book and for whom he has written it. 

Once, me and my friend moved from the author’s corner, it was time for some photo shoot. Yeah! You heard it right, photo shoot. A large plywood banner with the pictures of different books and animated characters was put on display, which served as a surreal background for a good picture. All were busy taking selfies and pictures standing in front of it. Hence, I also did not miss the chance of getting clicked.

 

Once the photo shoot was over, we continued our journey and started to loiter around until we found our next interesting spot at another hall, where the guest country Polland had put on display  various books. I went up to one of the representatives who was in charge of the stall ‘Warsaw book Fair’ (the annual book fair, which is held in Poland) and had a conversation with him and inquired about the timings of the fair.

It was time to call it a day as my expedition for books finally came to an end. I really had an interesting time at the Delhi Book Fair 2014 and would love to come back at this place again and again in the years to come.