.@IndiAves
That is my Gharwali (in the left pic) and her childhood friend, posing and clicking around some very unusual looking structures.
Well, these unusual structures with conical roofs are called Trulli (singular is Trullo.), and are of immense heritage value.
(1/n) The pictures are from Alberobello, a small township, from city of Bari in south of Italy.
This place was declared a UNESCO world Heritage site in 1996, for its dense cluster of Trulli, which date back to 18th/ 19th century, when they served as dwellings for the peasants(2/n)

.@IndiAves
#Matheran #RambaugPoint
The sun had just set…leaving us to walk thru a pitch dark jungle road without any street lights. Vicinity of a crematorium and a Parsi dhakma made it all the more eerie ! Thankfully half a km down, we could see some lights.(1/n) On reaching the circle of light, we were relieved, and also were pleasantly surprised to see the roadside vegetation acquire a surreal look under the light from sodium vapour lamps! Was it due to white balance going awry? No idea. To me it looked good !
Here is the pic !(2/n)

@IndiAves #Matheran
Nostalgic charm of the old dilapidated houses & bungalows of Matheran.
Belonging to the English, Parsees and Bohras from the late 19th/early 20th century, most of these old houses are now in stages of decline and neglect not withstanding their heritage value! Forlorn they stand today,but they were hubs of opulence in the era gone by. Peering at the bungalows you can picture scenes of evening parties, with their the laughter and the music,the clinking of the glasses and cutlery, and bustling about of the liveried servants and butlers !

@IndiAves #Sikkim #Gangtok #NE #NEnostalgia
Road along the River Teesta, eventually takes you into the clouds!
To the city of Gangtok!
Beauty of the gurgling mountain streams as we crossed bridges over troughs and valleys on the way was simply mesmerising ! (1/n) On reaching the RH, family members rushed to the mobile chargers, or to the toilets , जैसी जिसकी श्रद्धा !
But, I rushed to the windows to click pics of the valley down below !
Here are the pics.......(2/n)

@IndiAves #indiwild #indiAves
The huge Peacock had adopted our house as his territory ! He sensed that human tenants on his territory were nice ! They would offer wheat and and other tidbits to eat !
He also brought along his harem of around 5 peahens ! (1/3) His active love-life eventually bore fruits! Umm...rather, bore eggs .
One of the hens chose the leaf-covered top of a large crate to lay eggs on ! Here she is seen sitting on the eggs!
My family waited patiently for days to see the chicks come out ! (2/3)

Just 20 min or so into the flight from Guwahati, you start approaching Paro.
The plane swerves and weaves through the mountains like it's no one's business! Druk Air pilots must be having guts of steel. (1/n)
@IndiAves #indiAves #Bhutan #Paro The plane wings seem to scrape the sides of the valleys and the heart seems to jump around ! Then, you land at one of the most enchantingly beautiful airports, the Paro airport, lovingly nestled in a bend in the Paro river.
For security reasons, no overview pics !
(2/n)

Came across this book 'The Irrelevant Indian' by Shantanu Basu. What a thought provoking eye-popper ! His take on NPAs, loan waivers, food imports, coal and spectrum scams and the shambles of our public finances and what not, makes you sit up and take notice. ..2.The articles on the environment bring out the battering Indians take on their health from coal-fired power plants. He weaves humour and sensitivity into issues like inter-community relations, defence purchases and life of civil servants.