First of all, let me express my heart felt gratitude to my lovely & ever supporting readers before sharing my refections on my two-year blogging journey till date!As I venture to rewind the two years blogging journey, I realize that it has been an interesting world of social media & was great fun exploring & learning together with you all!Many senior bloggers who offered their invaluable guidance & encouragement are my good friends now !Although all my co-bloggers have inspired me throughout the blogging journey, let me mention some of them…Harbansji ,Nitin Singhji, Cdr.Sandeepji, Debasisji ,Divine Royalty, Graceofthe Sun,100 Countries Trek, Travel with me, Suma Reddy, Indira, Soni Cool,Meetali Pandit, Cherryl, Diana, Jhanvi Sharma, Priti ,Leighton travels, Yolanda, Happy Panda, Nils, Patricia, Filarence, May, Rajni, Shruthi, Agata, Angela, Mousumi, ReenaBist, Rekha, Anika,Jane, Coolingstar9 , Aparna …..!

Another important companion in this journey was my old camera (YASHICA, MF2 purchased from Chandni Chowk ,Delhi in 1985)which is still with me though not in use now!It has helped me recall my older travel tours of Gangotri, Khajuraho, Ajanta Ellora, Kanyakumari,Rameshwaram, Pondicherry,Lahaul spiti, Kaza & a few more!Also maintaining photos/detailed diary of events helped me write blogs on those travels performed some 35 years back😯!The Camera as well the Diary are my precious possessions & will be with me for ever!Also I have tried to keep my blogging very simple sticking with the ‘free plan’ as my main moto of the blog is to share travel information/history of destinations with my valued readers!How much I have succeeded in my aim only YOU can tell! I will look forward to your unbiased appraisal!

It has all been a great phase of accomplishment in terms of some exciting stats:- 52 blog posts, Followers-273, Comments-1435, Views -13413 :-Out of the overall viewers from 80 countries, majority are from India-10122 followed by viewers from Netherlands, USA, UK,UAE,Canada, France, Singapur, Germany, South Africa & so on!

My first blog was ‘The Roopkund Trek’ dtd 26/11/2019 & last blog is on ‘our 35th Marriage Anniversary’dtd 18th Nov”2021 !All my wonderful friends have supported & encouraged me throughout this period & I am sure such beautiful 💖reciprocation💕 will continue!All the best all of you! Have a very pleasant,safe & healthy life!

Happy Reading !

With the blessings of the Almighty we tied the nuptial 💕knot on the 18^th Nov.’ 1986 at Narora-Uttar Pradesh-India! We(I & Anupama) recall very vividly that solemn ceremony as per Hindu rites with the scented havan in the holy fire kund while the sacred verses from Vedas were being chanted.The marriage vows to be fulfilled by us with utmost sincerity & faithfulness,were recited!Being travel enthusiasts,we travelled to some beautiful spots-a glimpse of which I am posting here for my valued readers 💖!

The seven vows which are taken in marriages by the two would-be life partners are kind of prayers to the Almighty God :- 


                  
1)To bestow us enough provisions for earning our livelihood so as to sustain ourselves for performing our duties!
                                                                    
2)To bestow us enough strength for performing our daily duties !
                            
3)To bestow us peace & prosperity in order to lead a harmonious life! 
                     
4)To bestow us capability in standing by and supporting all family members!

 5)To bestow us capability in bringing up children with all the good morals, ethics
& the  value system!

 6)To bestow us with good health thus keeping away from illness ! 
                   
 7)To bestow us longevity in the relationship with love & affection for each other
and standing by each other in good or bad times as they come!



     
 
                  
Thanks to the blessings of the Almighty for our 35 years of togetherness!
When sharing and caring becomes a way of life !

When together we can win over any situation with patience !
When problem in the family can be solved using your tact !!
 
When both of us obey the seven vows of marriage with utmost faithfulness!
When we both try living upto the vows right till the last breath of our lives!

                       
May the Almighty Lord , for the remainder of our lives , bestow us with :-
Love& affection for each other, mutual-understanding & respect, peace of mind, happy harmonious life, maintaining good health & healthy relationships!
 Incidently today is the 294th foundation day of Jaipur -the first planned city of India !The city of Jaipur was founded by King of Amer, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II on 18 November 1727, who ruled from 1699 to 1743 !Thank you all my readers for devoting your precious time reading the post & we  are quite sure that your hearty blessings are always with the two💕 of us!



Happy Reading !!

Congratulations on writing 50 posts on ‘Travel and Share‘

Today I received this pleasant notification of my completing 50 blogs on this site with the blessings of maa Lakshmi!All through my blogging journey till date I had the constant support of my lovely readers/Co-bloggers 💕 without whom this was not possible!I thank you all and I am sure that you will keep supporting in the future also !Wish you all a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali !

Travel and Share -Dhirendra S Chauhan.

                 शुभ दीपावली

• 

• 

इस पावन अवसर पर हमारी ये ही प्रार्थना है की जय माँ लक्ष्मी, जय भगवान् धन्वन्तरी एवं जय भगवान् कुबेर की असीम कृपा से आपका प्रत्येक दिन स्वस्थ,सुखमय एवं समृद्धि से परिपूर्ण हो !

• 

माँ लक्ष्मी से यही प्रार्थना है की :

धन बरसे न बरसे —–पर कोई गरीब दो रोटी के लिए न तरसे !

सभी मित्रों को पांच-दिवसीय प्रकाश पर्व पर शुभ कामनायें !!

आप सबसे निवेदन है की इस ख़ुशी के अवसर पर घर की सफाई के साथ साथ मन की सफाई पर ध्यान देना चाहिए क्योंकि जब तक मन साफ़ नहीं होगा हम श्री लक्ष्मी का आव्हान नही कर पाएंगे

• 

• 

इस दीपावली आप सबसे विनम्र निवेदन है की आपभी दिवाली मनाएं एवं औरों की भी दिवाली मनवायें जो की गरीब एवं वंचित है :-

१) चीन में निर्मित उत्पाद न खरीदकर स्वदेशी सामान खरीदें जिससे की भारतीय उद्योग पनप सके और अपने कारीगरों को फायेदा मिल सके !        

२) ओंन-लाइन शौपिंग न करें जिससे की छोटे दुकानदारों को लाभ मिले!          

३) दिवाली पर पटाकों केउपयोग से परहेज करें जिससे की ध्वनि एवं वायु प्रदूषण को सीमित रखा जा सके जो की एक अच्चे नागरिक का  कर्त्तव्य है!सभी इस घातक समस्या के निदान में सहयोग करें!           

४) घर की सफाई के दौरान आपके उपयोग में न आने वाली वस्तुएं,जो की गरीब एवं वंचित लोगों के काम आ सकती हैं, उन्हें ख़ुशी ख़ुशी दे दें!          

५) दिवाली पर कबाडियों को अपना कबाड़ बिना पैसे लिए ही दे दें !       

६) इस दिवाली आप कुछ छोटे मोटे उपहार,भोजन एवं मिठाइयाँ वंचित एवं जरूरतमंद लोगों में बाँट कर उनको कुछ ख़ुशी दे सकते है और उनके द्वारा दिए शुभ -आशीष से आपकी ख़ुशी कई गुना बढ़ जाएगी क्योकि ख़ुशी बांटने से ख़ुशी कम नहीं होती बल्कि कई गुणा बढती हैं !               

• 

• 

इस तरह आप दिवाली को खुशहाली का त्यौहार बनाने में अपना योगदान अवश्य दें !

शुभ दीपावली आप को सपरिवार!

करवा  चौथ  की  हार्दिक  शुभकामनायें

• 

• 

• 

• 

करवा चौथ के त्यौहार का विशेष महत्व है जिसमे सुहागने पति की लम्बी उम्र के लिए निर्जल व्रत रखती हैं !माता पार्वती एवं भगवान् शंकर की पूजा विधि विधान से की जाती है !महिलाएं सोलह श्रृंगार करती हैं एवं करवा चौथ की बधाई देती हैं !चन्द्रमा के दर्शन करने से ,चन्द्र देव को अर्ध्य देने से मिलता है पति की दीर्घ आयु का आशीर्वाद एवं खुशहाल जीवन की मनोकामना पूर्ण होती है !कहते हैं चन्द्रमा होता है मन का कारक ! इस पावन अवसर पर किसी की निम्न पंक्तियाँ काफी उपयुक्त हैं :-

करवा चौथ का त्यौहार लाया है खुशियाँ हजार !
ख़ुशी ख़ुशी मनाएं इसे सुरक्षित रहे घर परिवार !!

व्रत की हर रस्म निभायेंगे, सुख दुःख में साथ साथ निभाएंगे !
एक जन्म नहीं, सात जन्म पति पत्नी बन साथ हम निभाएंगे !!

हमारी यही दुआ है सुरक्षित रहे आप और आपका परिवार !

शुभ करवा चौथ -२०२१

Single Line Story Challenge

Posted on October 20, 2021

First of all I would like to whole heartedly thank- Aparna { Her Blog – My Verselets }

For nominating me for this wonderful chain of challenge”Single Line Story Challenge“. I am highly honoured with the nomination. She says that she tries writing her piece of art in the form of poems but I believe that she has amazing writing skills and has become an accomplished blogger in such a short period of one year! I am feeling very grateful to her as this is my first challenge. Please visit her website…My Verselets.

You will definitely be impressed with her great writing skills…

Rules

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Write 5 single line stories that fall under any of these genres (you can pick which ones you do!):
  • fantasy
  • romance
  • thriller
  • mystery
  • western
  • contemporary
  • historical
  • drama
  • dystopian
  • adventure
  • sci-fi
  • paranormal
  • young adult
• You can choose 5 genres that’s easiest for you, or you can challenge yourself to try something new!
• Nominate 5 blogger/writers who you’d love to see participate and leave an open nomination for all writers!
• You can do this challenge more than once.

My Stories

Romance :- Be it be Kashmir(India) or Jungfraujoch- Top of Europe (Switzerland)both places are one of the most romantic places on Earth

Drama :- Priyanka Wadra says Congress will field women in 40% of U.P. Assembly seats while Mayawati calls it a – ‘pure drama’.

Historical :- The Pride and Glory of Rajasthan(India) echoes with the proud tales of Romance, Valour and the Chivalry of the Great warriors such as Maharana Pratap and Prithviraj Chauhan.

Mystery :- Roopkund-locally called the mystery lake in Uttarakhand (India) at 16,470 Ft.is known for the hundreds of human skeletons found in the lake dating back to the 9th Century.

Adventure :- Tiger Safari at Ranthambhore(Raj-India) for sighting the Royal Bengal Tiger is an adventure in itself.

I would like to nominate:

1)Reena Bist—–Embrace Life

2)Grace——-Grace of the Sun

3)Filarence ——-Words of me

4)Suma Reddy —–Bio Blogger

5)Ritu ——But I smile anyway

And who so ever want to participate and continue the creativity chain..

Thanks a lot for reading dear bloggers..

Travel and Share Dhirendra S Chauhan

Today I have reached a tally of 251 WordPress Followers owing to great response from Co-bloggers & Readers!I hereby extend my most sincere thanks from the core of my heart to the entire WordPress family who have constantly encouraged & supported me throughout my blogging journey of almost 2 years now! I find myself short of words to express my gratitude !Wishing you all my lovely friends a fabulous blogging journey💖 Travel and Share

Dhirendra S Chauhan

VRINDAVAN  :

Vrindavan is a holy & historical city in distt. Mathura of UP ,North India at a distance of 12 km from Mathura located in Brajbhoomi on the Agra-Delhi  NH-44.Its connected to Delhi by the Golden Quadrilateral network. Its one of the most sacred places in the Vaishnavism where the Hindu deity Sri Krishna is said to have spent his childhood .Its home to temples dedicated to Lord Krishna &  Radha. Vrindavan derives its name from Vrinda meaning Tulsi (basil) & Van (Grove) refering to the small groves at Nidhivan and Sevakunj. At Banke Bihari temple & Radha Raman temple , a gold plate beside Shri Krishna signifies Radha! Vrindavan has an ancient past associated with Hindu culture & history established in  16/17^th Century as it is an important Hindu pilgrimage site since ancient times.After a long period ,the essence of Vrindavan was rediscovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! In the past 250 yrs the forests have been subjected to urbanization first by the local Maharajas & then by the apartment builders/developers.As a result local wildlife including peacocks, cows, monkeys & variety of birds have reduced considerably. Vrindavan is a land of Radharani & the city has more than 4000 temples to showcase to the glorious history of Sri Krishna Radha Rani.

Language spoken:Hindi =98.3% & 0.81% =Urdu. In the Braj region, Brajbhasha (devnagri) is spoken by the locals!                           Dance: 1) Raasleela is an integral part of Indian folklore.As per popular belief Krishna danced to Raas with Gopis on the banks of Yamuna.                                                              2) Charkula is a traditional folk dance of the Braj where women balance columns of Deepaks on their head accompanied by Rasiya songs by the men folks.                         Delicacies:Rabadi ,Pedas &malai Lassi are the main items consumed by the pilgrims Common salutation or greetings by tourists & local residents is” Radhe Radhe “associated with RadhaRani. Millions of tourist visit Vrindavan/Mathura yearly to participate in number of festivals.

MATHURA : Mathura is a sacred city & the birthplace of Lord Krishna located in Krishna janmabhoomi complex at a distance of  58 km from Agra, 166KM from  Delhi & 12 km from Vrindavan.It lies at the centre of the cultural region of Braj.The Keshav dev temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna’s birthplace(an underground prison).In ancient times Mathura was an economic hub located on the junction of important caravan routes. It was the capital of kingdom of Surasena ruled by Kansa,the maternal  uncle of Krishna.Its an important pilgrimage centre of Hindus and one of the seven most sacred cities in India.

Main pilgrimage sites in Mathura :

1)Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi temple, 2)Dwarikadhish temple has a carved entrance & a black marble idol of Lord Krishna , 3)Birla mandir, 4)Radha Vallabh mandir, 5)Chamunda devi temple, 6)Mathura museum ,7)Gokul, 8)Barsana- famous for lathamaar holi & Radha Rani temple ,9)Jai Gurudev temple ,10) Kusum Sarover,11) Radha kund & Shyam kund, 12)Goverdhan Hill or Giriraj parvat is located in the middle of the Parikrama of 21 kms which is performed by the pilgrims in two parts –i)Badi Parikrama is of 12 kms is done upto the Goverdhan hill & ii)Chhoti parikarma of 9 km is done from Goverdhan hill to Radhakund, Kusum sarovar & back to Govardhan Parvat.Though Pilgrims can perform one parikrama at a time but it is desirable to complete both parikramas in one day.

Important pilgrim centres of Vrindavan :

1)BANKE BIHARI MANDIR :It was  built in 1864 after the images of Banke Bihari were found in Nidhivan by Swami Haridas.Its located near Radhavallabh temple.Its one of the most revered shrines of India and is among the 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan which also include Sri Radhavallabhji and four others ! Banke Bihari was originally worshipped in Nidhivan under the name of Kunj Bihari.

                                                                                                                                                                     2)KRISHNA BALRAM TEMPLE :It was built in pure white marble by ISKCON with the principal deities  as Krishna & Balram with Radha-Shyamsunder & Gauranga-Nityanand alongside.Adjoining the temple is the Samadhi of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON.There are 108 lotus flower pictures on the floor and one has to chant –‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare’ ,Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare !Very serene atmosphere!    

3)RANGJI TEMPLE :Its dedicated to Lord Shri Goda Ranagamannar –a south Indian Goddess & Lord Ragannatha-an incarnation of God Vishnu, the temple follows a south Indian architectural pattern from inside but north Indian style from the outside  

4)PREM MANDIR or SHYAMA SHYAM MANDIR :It was established by Kripalu Maharaj , built in year 2012 in White Marble alongwith lushgreen gardens !Its maintained by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.Figures of Krishna cover the main temple! 

5)RADHA DAMODAR TEMPLE :It’s a Gaudiya Vaisnavism temple dedicated to Radha Krishna constructed in  1542 CE    

6)RADHA VALLABH TEMPLE was constructed in 1585AD in Red sandstone  7)GOPESHWER TEMPLE

8)LALABABU TEMPLE (KOLKATTA) 

9)ANCIENT MEERA TEMPLE

10)MOTE GANESHJI TEMPLE

11)KATYANI TEMPLE

12)KESIGHAT ,YAMUNA

13)KRISHNA SUDAMA DHAM

14)PAGAL BABA KA MANDIR

15) SRI VRINDAVAN CHANDRODAYA TEMPLE- It is under construction in Vrindavan & will be completed in 2023!Its planned by ISKCON ,Bangalore !Once completed it will be the tallest religious temple in the world at 213 mts height!

Note please :My readers may kindly point out any misinformation in the writeup on this site which will be duly corrected!I am very grateful to the Wikipaedia & The Hindu for some information & photo Credit of the pilgrim sites!I & my wife were blessed with darshan of Lord Krishna & other deities during our recent visit to Mathura/Vrindavan during 25/9/21 to 28/9/21. Happy Reading dear friends!

• 

• 

• 

• 

On this 20th Anniversary of the terrorist attack(11th Sept.2001)on the twin towers of New York,the financial capital of the USA, we the residents of this Earth must come together and resolve , single mindedly, to wipe-off terrorism from the entire world community.Lets keep our heads high without losing hope,not giving up & rising strongly against the culprits of the crime against humanity to eliminate terrorism completely from the face of the Earth !

On the somber occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Sept.11(8:46 AM) ghastly terror attacks by militant Islamic terrorist Al Qaeda masterminded by Osama Bin Laden & Ayman al Zawahiri,the United nation reminds one & all of the solidarity, unity & resolve expressed two decades ago when the four hijacked commercial jets (out of which two flew into the twin towers of the World Trade centre(NY), one flight struck Pentagon(Virginia) & the fourth flight which probably targetted the US Capitol or the Whitehouse was partially diverted through the intervention of the Passengers & crew members which eventually crashed in Pennsylvania meadows.

The U S President Joe Biden, on this occasion was making an appeal to the nation to claim the spirit of Cooperation.He said,‘to me the Central lesson of Sept.11 Tragedy is-‘In Unity is our greatest strength’ & is the true spirit of National unity.

Borris Johnson,the UK Prime Minister said, ‘while the terror threat may not have been eliminated,9/11 terrorists failed to shake belief in the Democracy.That we are coming togethertoday in sorrow but also faith and resolve which marks the failure of terrorism .The tragedy which pulled our world apart has also brought us all together.

Barack Obama-One thing that became clear on 9/11, has been clear ever since is that America has been home to heroes who run towards danger in order to do what is right.He lauded the heroes engaged in the rescue operation of the 9/11 tragedy !

Narendra Modi-the PM of India :As per him-9/11 is a date in the history of the world that is also known for the attack on humanity.But this date has taught a lot to the whole world that a permanent solution to such tragedies can be found in human values. For this he cited the instance of the same day in 1893 when Swami Vivekanand had introduced to the world-the human valuesof India during his address at the parliament of Worlds Religions in Chicago.

Indian PM,Narendra Modi chaired the 13th BRICS Summit attended virtually by the 5 major economies; India ,Russia, China, Brazil & South Africa ! BRICS stands for Cooperation for continuity, Consolidation & Concensus which is the basic principle of BRICS partnership!Modi & other spokespersons centered their talks on the Afghan crisis, Counter terrorism, Defence & Security ,Trade deficits and action plan post-Covid! Modi highlighted the Afghanistan issue-a new crisis!He stressed that Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbours, a source of terrorism & drug trafficking! Also Covid-19 pandemic concern was raised for its containment rather than ‘Locking down’ which should only be the last resort!

My readers may kindly point out any misinformation observed in this writeup. It will be duly corrected!Some contents sourced from the NYTs!Happy reading!

Life is beautiful💖 lets savour on our great memories of happier times

Life is a mystery to be lived & not a problem to be solved!

Life is not about waiting for a storm to pass,                                                                              It is about learning to dance in the rain !

Purpose of life is to be happy as you live only once,                                                                but if you can do it right once is always good enough!

You are the artist of your own life,therefore                                                                                do not hand the paint brush to anyone else!

Never regret a day in yr life as good days give U happiness,                                                Bad days give you the much -needed valuable experience!

Life is about balance & balance is not something u find,
Its something u create with Self, your family & office!

Nothing can be achieved without enthusiasm in life,
If u never try u will never know what you are capable of!

A smile puts you on the right track,it makes world a beautiful place,                              Whenever  you lose your smile, you lose your way in chaos of life!

Always be grateful to all those who make us so happy,                                                         they are those charming  gardeners, who make our souls blossom!

Happiness in life depends on quality of our thoughts,                                            Forgiveness helps repair broken relationships in life!

your promises don’t make you a better person, your commitment does!                          You cant start the next chapter of life if you keep re-reading the last one!

When you focus on the problems you have more problems,
when you focus on the possibilities you will have more opportunities!

Never stop learning because life never stops teaching!

The best way to realize your dreams is to first wake up !
Wake up with determination, go to bed with satisfaction!

Life is like riding a cycle, you don’t fall off unless you stop pedalling!

No matter how long you have traveled in the wrong direction ,
you can always turn around and make amends!

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase,
There is no elevator to success in life , you Have to take the stairs!

If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down!
Do’nt be pushed around by fear in your mind, be led by dreams in your heart!

Life is like a mirror, smile at it & it smiles back at you!
Smiling is definitely one of the best beauty remedies!

Live your best ,act your best each day as there may be no tomorrow🤣

My readers may please note that I have compiled these motivational  quotes & thoughts from the works of great thinkers & writers to whom I am so very grateful for inspiration ! Happy reading 💖!