National Geographic Traveller India April 2015

APRIL 2015 • `150 • VOL. 3

ISSUE 10

BERLIN BUZZ

A GUIDE TO THE HIP AND HISTORIC GERMAN CAPITAL

IRAN ROMANCE WHERE POETRY PREVAILS OVER LANGUAGE AND BORDERS

MASTER PAINTER

BOTERO’S ART & THE SPIRIT OF

BOGOTÁ

The Changing Face of

CITIES

GEORGIA EMBRACING THE FUTURE COPENHAGEN COOL, CREATIVE, CAREFREE

April 2015

WINNER OF

ia's ler Ind travel o e g G in ll Nat Storyte Travel est 2014 t n Co

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Contents

Volume

3

Issue

10

N A T I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C T ra v eller I n d ia

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Tbilisi, Georgia

52

63

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A Toast to Georgia

Bogotá’s Renaissance Period

Danish Modern

In a country pulsing between traditions of the Caucasus and the glittering future of Tbilisi, one constant stands out: Georgia gets under your skin

Colombia’s capital emerges from its dark ages with a swirl of forward momentum and a flair for preserving its character

Life is easy, breezy, cool in Copenhagen, where design is within reach and even the chocolate transcends

by JEFFREY TAYLER Photographs by RAYMOND PATRICK

By BRUCE SCHOENFELD Photographs by SISSE BRIMBERG & COTTON COULSON

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92

104

At Home in Iran

paradise lost and found

Stripe Spotting

Although change is everywhere, the past still lingers. And the music of Iran’s poetry prevails over language and borders

In Kenya, there once was a lake in the crater of an extinct volcano. Is it still there?

Everybody in Ranthambore National Park has a tiger story to tell

By David Lansing photographs by peter mcbride

By Diviya Mehra PHOTOGRAPHS by aditya ‘dicky’ singh

by TARA ISABELLA BURTON Photographs by MASSIMO BASSANO

Journeys

by Ayreej Rahiman

4

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | april 2015

jose fuste raga/corbis/imagelibrary

In Focus

APRIL 2015 • `150 • VOL. 3

ISSUE 10

BERLIN BUZZ

A GUIDE TO THE HIP AND HISTORIC GERMAN CAPITAL

IRAN ROMANCE WHERE POETRY PREVAILS OVER LANGUAGE AND BORDERS

MASTER PAINTER

BOTERO’S ART & THE SPIRIT OF

BOGOTÁ

The Changing Face of

CITIES

GEORGIA EMBRACING THE FUTURE COPENHAGEN COOL, CREATIVE, CAREFREE

On The Cover This artistic rendition of the Mona Lisa, by Colombian painter Fernando Botero was photographed by Víctor Robledo. The lady is a resident of Museo Botero, in the La Candelaria neighbourhood in Bogotá’s historic centre. The museum was started after Botero donated over 200 artworks to the country.

10 Editor’s Note  12 Inbox  120 Big Shot 122 Inspire  128 Travel Quiz

42

Voices

34 Detour

14 Tread Softly

Birdwatching at Thol Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat

Bera’s leopards remind us that the wild should be left alone

36 Book Extract

16 Slow Travel

Smart Traveller

A cup of tea to make a traveller feel at home

42 Money Manager

18 Crew Cut

Navigating edgy, provocative, and hipster Berlin

An international border is a cheery white and yellow bridge

47

Wild Fire by Valmik Thapar



Navigate



Experience

20 20

Soaking in Budapest’s grand healing baths 24 A night under the stars in the Thar Desert

26 The Collection 36

Loafing through Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum

28 

Urban Explorer

Talking statues in Copenhagen, London, and Manchester

Get Going

110 Adventure A tough cycling trip through the Nilgiris

112 Active Break Hiking with children in Kerala

The Souvenir

Fountain pens worthy of nawabs in Hyderabad 

Luxury Check In

The American spa grows up

National Park

India’s newest wildlife reserve

30 Go Now The world on your plate at Expo Milano 2015

32 Local Flavour Kolkata’s meaty kathi roll

Short Breaks

116 From Delhi Gooey plum cakes and the whiff of adventure in Dehradun

Stay

118

Forget the modern world in a verdant Kolkata institution 119 An Ahmedabad haveli embraces the community

april 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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oliviero olivieri/robert harding picture library/dinodia (pool), rainer martini/look/dinodia (wall mural), Photo courtesy: aleph: sivilingam and r. prakash (animals), Víctor Robledo, Museo Botero/Banco de la República (cover)

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Editor’s Note | niloufer venkatraman

Nowhere’s Too Far

It wasn’t the kind of trip that yields party stories, or one that invites likes on Facebook and Instagram

our mission National Geographic Traveller India is about immersive travel and authentic storytelling, inspiring readers to create their own journeys and return with amazing stories. Our distinctive yellow rectangle is a window into a world of unparalleled discovery.

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national Geographic Traveller INDIA | april 2015

then 3.5 years old, because I wanted to spend time with my friend.

We didn’t go sightseeing; we didn’t make exciting plans; we just hung out in our pyjamas and chatted, ate, and caught up on life. It wasn’t the kind of trip that yields party stories, or one that invites likes on Facebook and Instagram. It didn’t allow me to tick off another destination from my dying-to-visit list. But it gave me a chance to renew a friendship, to pick up where we left off, to build fresh memories.

A few days ago, that dear friend from Flint passed away unexpectedly. His departure brought back a flood of memories. Of lazy hours spent at his kitchen table, always laden with delicious food; of a morning spent repeatedly throwing a blue ball for his dog Kimchi to retrieve; of him secretly buying my daughter a doll she wanted and catering to her every whim.

Why I made the trip to Flint makes even more sense to me now. There are times when the place you’re travelling to doesn’t matter, because the only motivation is to touch base with someone you care about. Every act of travel does not need to be an expedition to the unfamiliar, or into a world of discovery. Sometimes we just need to go where the heart directs.

steve konz/illustration works, inc./dinodia

W

hen I’m trying to figure out my next travel destination, I often pick a place that’s unfamiliar, that has something exciting, or exotic, or different to offer. Most of us have a list like this at the back of our minds, of places we want to visit someday because they’re intriguing, mesmerising, or like no other.

But there are instances when I pick a holiday spot that’s tried and tested, one that isn’t going to produce any challenges. Now and again, I want to stay in a hotel with room service, spotless cotton sheets, and a sunken bathtub with fabulously scented bath products. Not because that’s how I live at home—but precisely because that’s not what I’m used to. I want, at times, to enjoy the luxury of coming back to my room to find the toilet paper miraculously refilled, the tub scrubbed down to perfection, a choice of pillows, and even a sweet treat on my neatly turned-down bed.

And then again there are other times, when I’ve made the choice to travel to places I don’t really want to see at all. I have on occasion crossed great distances to arrive in one-horse towns or obscure cities not on any tourist map, only to visit a friend.

In 2009, during a visit to the U.S., I made such a trip to the North American city of Flint, Michigan. Until a dear friend moved there to teach anthropology at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus, I had never even heard of the town, let alone harboured a desire to go there. My research revealed that Flint topped America’s list of cities with high crime rates and the most homicides.

It had a declining population, and was, at best, a dying city, yet another victim of de-industrialisation.

At the time I wasn’t fully convinced I should go. Still, I went with my daughter,

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TRAVELLING FOR GOOD Two women, seven mountains, seven continents­—how the Dehradunbased Malik twins scaled the world’s highest peaks to raise awareness about the plight of the Indian girl child.

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On a recent trip to the Durtlang hills in Mizoram, I came across K.V. Paradise, or Mizo Taj Mahal as it is popularly called by locals. The snowwhite building is a memorial built by K. Chhawnthuama for his wife Rosanpui Varte, who was killed in a car accident. It doesn’t have the scale of the Agra wonder of course, but it is a tender memorial to love and loss, full of images of the lady, their wedding

day, and curios she filled their home with.

—Suparna Ghosh Bandipur has never failed me. The reserve in Karnataka was where I spotted my first tiger, and I have returned many times.

On my last visit earlier this year, I saw a gaur and a bear near one of the reserve’s many ponds. The bear scrambled away the minute

we arrived, but we decided to stay still for a while and were rewarded for our patience and silence when it popped its head out of the thicket. We also saw a party of Hanuman langurs, and just before leaving, we sighted the prince of Bandipur: a majestic tiger yawning lazily in the forest.

It was a brilliant beginning to the year!

—Prasad Changarath

Visit us at www.natgeotraveller.in april 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

11

Kunal Gupta

am keen to share this relatively unknown beach I visited recently. Anjarle is a small coastal village in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra (about 250 km from Mumbai)—a ribbon of sand set between endless rows of palm trees and the lovely waters of the Arabian Sea. There’s hardly any accommodation, save for a few rustic homestays, but this is precisely its charm. You have the beach to yourself (apart from the entertaining seagulls) and the regional seafood cooked here is scrumptious! —Kunal Gupta

Navigate 24

Experience

sleeping al fresco in the Thar Desert

26

the Collection

Loafing through Bata Shoe Museum

30

go now

taste the world at expo milano 2015

36

Book Extract

Wild Fire by Valmik Thapar

Europe’s largest public bath, Széchenyi, is also the only historic one on the eastern side of the Danube River.

Bath-hopping in Budapest

“M

y mother has a doctor’s prescription for the Gellért Spa,” Blanka, the young woman running the guest house where I was staying, told me on my first night in Budapest. “She gets a massage there every week for very cheap.”

Spa culture has been an integral part of life in Budapest since the 16th century, although the tradition of public bathing in the region’s thermal waters dates back to the Roman period. Today, there

20

are six major historical baths throughout the city, most of which are located just off the western banks of the River Danube. The baths are considered as therapeutic as they are recreational.

Dips in the warm mineral-rich healing waters are frequently prescribed by local doctors— and subsidised by the country’s national health system.

“Each bath is different,” Blanka explained, pouring me a shot of palinka—a local fruit brandy—

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | April 2015

I giggled like a toddler, letting the stream carry me in circles until too dizzy to continue

before producing a tourist map and a highlighter pen. “The Rudas baths are beautiful, but women are only allowed in on Tuesdays and weekends,” she continued, circling the bath’s location on the map before distractedly sweeping a fluorescent green trail along the western banks of the Danube.

“And Király is very good… very traditional,” she continued. “But if you have to choose, go to Széchenyi. It’s the most fun.”

The next morning, I headed to

bachelet bruno/contributor/getty images

Soaking in the city’s past at its grand healing baths | By Margot Bigg

Navigate | experience the Gellért baths in Buda, in the western part of the capital. The waters of Gellért spring had been used for therapeutic purposes since at least the Middle Ages, the current bath complex dates back to the early 1900s (although much of it was rebuilt after being damaged in WWII). The main lap pool is housed in a glass-roofed hall flanked by twin rows of Corinthian columns. On one side of the pool, elderly bathers in disposable shower caps waved foam weights over their heads as a sprightly water aerobics instructor chanted instructions from the edge of the water.

Past this and through a maze of lockers was a periwinkle-hued room with ornately mosaicked walls, a nod to Gellért’s art nouveau heritage. I descended into one of the two pools, claiming a bit of bench space between a cherub statue and a plaque that read “36°C”, and soaked, until the pads of my fingers shrivelled.

The next day, I headed to Király on Ganz Street. The Turkish-style bath was established in 1565, when present-day Budapest was an Ottoman possession, and was rebuilt at the turn of the 19th century. I joined groups of Hungarian grandmothers, steaming away bouts of rheumatism while chatting quietly; “very traditional,” as Blanka had said. I spent the

People come to Budapest’s baths for health reasons, as well as to relax with friends, discuss politics and business deals, or play a game of chess.​

following morning watching the winter sun filter through the multicoloured skylights, like pinpricks in the dome of the Rudas baths, creating kaleidoscopic designs on the surface of the octagonal tub.

My last day in Hungary was devoted to the Széchenyi baths, an ornate Neo-baroque complex with exteriors the colour of egg yolks.

The structure dates back to 1913 and is considered the largest bath in Europe, with three outdoor pools and over a dozen smaller indoor tubs, steam rooms, and plunge baths. Despite the cool of winter, there were plenty of people

ATLAS

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest’s first settlement was called Ak-Ink. In the language of its Celtic Eravisci inhabitants, it means “abun­ dant waters”.

in the outdoor pools. Local men declared checkmate across floating chessboards while European backpackers flirted in multiple languages. Shivering, I slid into the first pool I saw and doggypaddled over to the “lazy river”, a loop with an undercurrent that forces swimmers around in the aquatic version of a never-ending moving sidewalk. I giggled like a toddler, letting the stream carry me in circles until I was too dizzy to continue. Blanka was right— each bath I visited left me feeling relaxed and at peace, but Széchenyi was certainly the most fun.

Tips for Navigating the Baths Swim or shower cap If you plan to swim in the lap pools at Géllert or Széchenyi, you will need a swim cap, even with short hair. Disposable plastic shower caps are sold on-site.  Swimsuit As most baths allow both sexes, proper swim attire is required (swimsuits or bikinis for women; swim trunks or briefs for men).  Towels & toiletries The baths do not provide towels, shampoo, or soap (except for purchase), so it’s a good idea to bring your own.  Water bottle Although bottled water is sold at the baths, you can save money (and taste the mineralrich waters) by bringing your 

where to go

own bottle and filling it at the drinking fountains.

What to expect Electronic lockers/cabins Visitors can choose from lockers in gendersegregated areas or pay extra for a private changing cabin. Lockers and cabins are opened using waterproof electronic wristbands.  Massages Massage treatments can be booked ahead or upon arrival. Treatments are conducted by a therapist of the same gender and are clothing-optional.  Children Children under 14 are not allowed at Király and Rudas. Most other complexes allow potty-trained kids to enter at parental discretion. 

Gellért Daily 6 a.m.-8 p.m.

Entry From HUF4,900/`1,100 per day Metro Szent Gellért tér  Király Daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Entry From HUF2,600/`585 per day Metro Batthyány tér  Rudas Daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m.; Mon, WedFri: men; Tues: women; weekend: both Entry From HUF3,100/`700 per day Metro Vörösmarty tér  Széchenyi Daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

Entry From HUF4,500/`1,000 per day Metro Széchenyi fürd Most baths allow men and women, but some have separate slots. Weekend prices are higher. Discounts for seniors and students available (spasbudapest.com). 

April 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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richard baker/historical/corbis/imagelibrary

What to bring

Smart Traveller 42

MONEY MANAGER

A HOLIDAY IN BERLIN FOR `80,000

47

LUXURY CHECK IN AMERICAN SPAS GROW UP

Berlin’s scars run deep. The city’s troubled past finds release in the cutting-edge art that fills its galleries, the gritty graffiti on its streets, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (pictured), a deeply moving monument in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust.

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The Berlin Formula HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE EDGY, PROVOCATIVE, AND HIPSTER GERMAN CAPITAL | By NATASHA SAHGAL

B

erlin’s past is a big part of its present. The remains of the Berlin Wall are covered with messages rallying against builders who want to replace the city’s old structures with modern buildings. From a baroque-style Prussian castle, to severe Soviet housing and Nazi bunkers, each bloc that historically controlled the city has left its mark.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | APRIL 2015

On my first day in Berlin I entered an old margarine factory to attend a classy art show. That evening, I walked down a steep flight of stairs into a musty underground room that used to be a brothel.

A small audience of 50 sat on upturned buckets and listened to indie musicians from Italy, France, and Germany.

Later that night, I peeked into several

MAREMAGNUM/GETTY IMAGES

This is National Geographic Traveller India’s handy guide to Berlin, Germany. We’ve designed a midlevel holiday with a mix of activities and dining options that range from gourmet meals to fast food. Here you get prices for everything, so you can plan and modify your trip depending on your budget. On the basis of this itinerary, the cost for a three-day holiday in Berlin for two adults is `80,000 without airfare.

Trendy Berlin and full of nightclubs, bars, and hip restaurants. It’s easy to spend a lot of money here, but it’s also easy to make the right choices and enjoy an affordable holiday while still experiencing the city’s vibrancy, cosy café culture, and hipster vibe.

GETTING AROUND Buy a 72-hour ABC Berlin WelcomeCard that allows unlimited use of all public transport and discounts on entry fees to cultural monuments. Berlin’s train system, which includes the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, is extensive and reliable. Maps are displayed at every station and pasted inside trains as well. Trains run 24 hours on weekends and pause from 1-4 a.m. on weekdays, when buses ply the routes instead. There is also a tram system that covers the eastern part of the city.

I tended to opt for the unhurried trams more than the trains, because I enjoyed the views they offer. If you have the time, tramline 68 follows a very picturesque route (www.berlin-welcomecard.de/en; €28.70/`2,100 for 72 hours; three children under 15 free per card).

Tip To save time when commuting distances of under 2 km, hail a taxi moving in the direction you want to go and say “Kurzstrecke, bitte” (pronounced “koortzshtrekah, bittuh”) to avail the discounted short-stretch fare of €4/`270.

SLEEP I recommend looking for accommodation in the central district of Mitte,

Among Berlin’s cultural sites is Parisez Platz, a square behind the Brandenburg Gate (top right), and Pergamon Museum (top left) on Museum Island, which houses Greek and Roman art; Murals on the Berlin Wall depict Holocaust horrors as well as messages of peace and hope (bottom).

where most of the city’s historic monuments are located and the streets are dotted with hip cafés and bars. Art’otel Berlin-Mitte is dedicated to German artist Georg Baselitz and displays his original artwork. The hotel’s excellent location makes up for the small size of its rooms (Wallstraße 70; artotels.com; doubles €80/`5,600). Ibis Berlin Mitte is a standard well-priced hotel with a good view of the city (Prenzlauer Allee 4; accorhotels.com; doubles from €69/`4,320). If you’d rather indulge, go to Hotel De Rome. This restored bank is a now an extravagant hotel where the jewel vault has been turned into an indoor swimming pool (Behrenstraße 37;

www.roccofortehotels.com; doubles from €330/`23,000). Neighbouring Kreuzberg also has good options. Michelberger Hotel is an old factory building that has been refashioned into a boutique hotel.

Room sizes vary from tiny closet- to comfortable family-sized (Warschauerstraße 39/40; www.michelbergerhotel. com; family room €160/`11,200). For a more local experience, pick a Berlin apartment on Airbnb; the site offers hundreds of rental options in these areas (www.airbnb.com).

DAY 1 MEMORIAL SERVICE If your hotel tariff doesn’t include breakfast, ask around

APRIL 2015 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA

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ADAM EASTLAND/AGE FOTOSTOCK/DINODIA (STATUE), WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES (BUILDING), ADAM BERRY/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES (MAN)

old Soviet-era buildings: one of them was covered with pink lights while a DJ played punk rock.

For visitors, Berlin is a fantastic place for a holiday. It also provides easy connectivity to major European cities. Visit the German capital to be awed by its old architecture, disturbed by its war stories, and welcomed by a new generation of artists who have taken over the city.

In Focus | urban renewal

A toast to

georgia

From the dynamic capital of Tbilisi to remote villages in the Caucasus, the wine-fuelled feast means one thing: When you’re here, you’re family

georgia The author and friends watch as performers show off a traditional sword dance at Tbilisi restaurant Phaetoni.

april 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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In Focus | urban renewal

BY TARA ISABELLA BURTON PHOTOGRAPHS BY MASSIMO BASSANO

T

HE TABLE IS SET for the supra, the traditional feast around which all Georgian life revolves. A pig’s head—pickled and stewed—stares up at us from the splintering wood. Bottles of pineconeinfused moonshine outnumber our plates.

Here in Ushguli, a community of 200 said to be the highest continuously inhabited village in Europe, tradition is paramount.

While the rest of Georgia has been shaped by centuries of invasion—Russian, Turkish, and Persian neighbours have all left their marks—the remote, insular mountain province of Svaneti holds a mythical place in the national imagination as the real Georgia: untouched by time.

Our geriatric hosts, husband-and-wife proprietors of Ushguli’s Chajashi Guest house, are mid-maelstrom: shouting at each other in a dialect so obscure even my Svan friend Giorgi Naveriani struggles to understand. I ask him what they’re fighting about. “They’re not fighting,” he shrugs. “They’re just Svan.”

Giorgi has been entrusted with the toast. This is no mean honour. The orations of the tamada—equal parts best man

A baker in Mestia makes tonis puri bread with the help of his son.

and high priest—are the lynchpin of the supra. Their order and content, fixed as a liturgy, connect each supra to the centuries of supras that have come before.

The guest house owners, Yaroslav Jincharadze and his wife, Rezi—“Wicked Rezi,” her husband calls her—have never met us before. It doesn’t matter. Giorgi is Svan; tradition is in his blood.

Giorgi swallows nervously before asking the Virgin Mary to bless us all. Wicked Rezi wails in horror. The Virgin only

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national Geographic Traveller INDIA | april 2015

blesses women, she cries. St. George blesses men. What has he been doing at university in Tbilisi, so far from home, that he has forgotten this basic tenet of tamada lore? She goes on chopping tomatoes with extravagant fury.

Giorgi rolls his eyes. “It’s always like this in Svaneti.” Sometimes, he says, it’s easier to pretend to be a tourist than to bear the burden of the prodigal son.

Yaroslav takes over the toast. His voice is resonant, rhythmic, oracular. Giorgi translates. We are drinking to roots, to families, to the pasts that bind us, to Giorgi’s Svan heritage and my own American lineage. We are toasting tradition and blood.

We are toasting Georgia: eternal and unchanged.

THINGS MAY NOT CHANGE in Yaroslav’s Georgia, but everything is changing in Giorgi’s. When I first encounter Giorgi in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, he is sporting skinny jeans and tie-dyed T-shirt, his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. He is the quintessential Tbilisi hipster: more at home deejaying in the city’s dive bars than presiding over pigs’ heads in Ushguli.

“When I was growing up in Svaneti,” he tells me, “people said I was a Satan worshipper because I liked rock music.” Neighbours locked up their cats. “I couldn’t wait to leave.”

In Tbilisi—artistic, chaotic, dynamic—Giorgi is not bound by tradition’s rules. He can be himself. The city embraces change— maybe too much so.

I’d spent three years off and on as an expat in Tbilisi, freelancing from a garden flat in the city’s old town. I only reluctantly left to attend grad school in England. But there’s a saying here: Those who get Georgia in their blood never truly leave. And so I’ve found myself back here, trying to uncover the source of Georgia’s hold over me. The city I first fell in love with—a labyrinth of crumbling art nouveau palaces and decaying, overgrown balconies—is now a pulsating metropolis of about 1.2 million, transformed virtually overnight by a wave of foreign investment and the aggressive building projects of former President Mikheil Saakashvili and his rival, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. A new funicular carries tourists up to the ruins of the ancient Narikala Fortress. A glass-walled casino hulks over the Kura River, its LCD screens casting an uncanny glow on the water. Meidan Square—once home to silversmiths and icon-makers—now overflows with the city’s sleekest bars.

After years in Tbilisi, I thought I’d grown used to the constant change: the pop-up art galleries and underground

georgia In Ushguli, Caucasus peaks loom over defensive towers that have withstood centuries of clan vendettas.

In Focus | urban renewal Near Kutaisi, Byzantine frescoes cover the walls of the Gelati Monastery, where visitors come to pray and kiss the icons.

georgia

cafés that open, become habit, and close; the streets rerouted for construction so often that I forget where they originally led. But after almost a year away, the city’s glittering chaos shocks me.

At first I wonder if Georgia is changing too quickly for my liking. The places in fashion a year ago are now overrun with what Giorgi calls “those Georgians”—traditional, nationalist, homophobic; the artists and activists have decamped elsewhere.

Giorgi takes me to a self-proclaimed “ethnic” (read: international) bar called Canudos, dubiously located next to a strip club in the shadow of the Radisson hotel. The front garden, curved around a Soviet-era fountain, brims with Buddhist prayer flags, frayed hammocks, and what looks suspiciously like a Star Wars droid. A Georgian electro-punk band called Kung Fu Junkie—“my friends,” Giorgi grins—is playing on the radio. The crowd is a mixture of expats and artsy locals—tattooed, uniformly in black. A teenage girl cradles a stray kitten.

A young man rushes in, waving a pistol in the air.

For a moment, we are silent. The memory of Georgia a decade ago, with its bandits, its lawlessness, is palpable.

Then everyone bursts into laughter.

“Bang!” His friends mime death with varying degrees of melodrama. “Bang!”

“Of course it’s fake,” Giorgi says, incredulous at my fear.

“They’re playing a game.”

The music gets louder. The kitten continues to make the rounds. “This place has gotten so mainstream,” Giorgi says with a sigh.

GIORGI’S TBILISI IS relentlessly modern. But as I wander through the backstreets of the 19th-century Sololaki district, I discover the beauty—and history—that first inspired me about this place. Some of the buildings I have loved, such as the famous blue house on Gudiashvili Square that was once home to Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, have been razed to make way for new projects. But others remain, touchstones of memory: The brick “mermaid house” in the Jewish Quarter, its wrought iron balconies moulded into fishtails; the yellow Ottoman-style palace on Lado Asatiani Street, girdled by pomegranate trees; the brick bathhouses in the largely Azeri Muslim district of Abanotubani. Each house is a testament to a city shaped by centuries of foreigners who have, like me, come to make this place their own.

Across from the Ottoman house, an elderly man supervises the renovation of an art nouveau mansion. He tells me that he is transforming the ground floor into a high-end coffee shop, to sell “the good stuff ” to discerning Tbilisians.

The location has a special meaning for him, he says; he had an apartment here while at university, rare in a culture where most young people live at home until marriage. It made him very popular, he says, winking. He has lived in Germany for years, but now it’s time to return. The lure of this country is too strong to resist.

I tell him I understand.

BUT EVEN FOR GIORGI, Tbilisi is hardly the “real” Georgia.

The essence of Georgian culture instead lies in the mountains, april 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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Journeys | the essence

At H om e

Iran in

alThough change is everywhere, the past still lingers. And the music of Iran’s poetry prevails over language and borders

As we roamed

WINNER

the city of Persepolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 70 kilometres from Shiraz, Iran, my friend Ali gestured at the millennia-old ruins around us. “If you look at the carvings on the wall,” he said proudly, “you won’t find a single sign of hatred. All these were built with love, where everyone was holding hands or had a hand resting on the other’s shoulder; where people brought silk, wool, cattle, horses and other gifts as tokens of friendship. There is not a single expression of violence here. That is our history.”

I could appreciate the warmth of the sentiment, though of course Iran has had its share of ancient and modern struggles for power and control. In its prime, the Persian Empire was the greatest on Earth, extending from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea. With a history that can be traced back to the Bronze Age, this region has seen dynasties rise and fall.

Its ancient grandeur is amply visible at Persepolis, which was built and used as a capital city by the Achaemenid Dynasty that ruled Persia between 550 and 330 B.C. With rulers like the Achaemenids, the Parthians, the Sassanians and the Safavids,

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Iran is a historical feast, a jewel box full of architectural gems.

It is also the wellspring for much of India’s finest architecture, constructed by the Mughals. To my surprise, India’s most beloved architectural marvel the Taj Mahal, was also designed with the help of an Iranian mind from Shiraz.

When I travelled to Iran, I didn’t know what to expect of it, besides the usual stereotypes: strict Islamic governance, fatwas against writers, compulsory hijab, public hangings, and antiWest demonstrations. My plans to spend ten days backpacking there last July were met with worried incredulity. Questions I was asked ranged from “Is it safe?” to “Are you out of your mind?”

For me however, there is something romantic about waking up in a city where no one knows your name. And I wanted to go because I have always been fascinated with Persian architecture and history. I was glad to learn that Iran’s many shared historic links with India extend into the present—from Iranian cuisine to architecture and to the warmth and hospitality extended towards visitors. *** Tehran, the capital city appeared familiar, but not in any romantic, inter-civilisational way. Rather it resembled Mumbai to me—a metropolis, choked, polluted, but vibrant. Every-

AYREEJ RAHIMAN is the winner of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA’S first TRAVEL STORYTELLING CONTEST. His story was selected from hundreds of entries received. The final story published here is an edited and slightly longer version of the original.

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | april 2015

persian graphic studio/shutterstock

By Ayreej Rahiman

iran

Ayreej Rahiman

Forty eight monolithic pillars dominate the shabestan, or the night prayer hall of Vakil Mosque in Shiraz. The mid-18th century structure is a testament to Iran’s Kurdish past.

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1 1 Each Persian rug is a work of art. Prices are determined by the carpet’s authenticity, finesse of the knots, and the intricacy of design. 2 Two lamassu, an Assyrian protective deity with the body of a bull and the head of a bearded man, guard the the Gate of All Nations at the city of Persepolis. 3 The interiors of Isfahan’s Vank Cathedral are a blend of Persian and Armenian aesthetics—frescoes of Biblical stories sit next to floral motifs characteristic of the Persian miniature.

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one was in a hurry. Tehran’s population exploded in the last century. The city is still growing and, at first glance, is somewhat repellent with its chaos and the traffic jams. A closer look revealed its charms: amazing museums, art galleries, theatres, some well-tended parks, and a bustling young population, which contributes to its frenetic energy. As someone who loves people-watching, my favourite experience here was sitting in the city’s chaikhanas, or tea houses, sipping tea with a qaliyan (shisha pipe).

Compared to the rest of the country, Tehran’s architecture is rather modern and cold. However, Tehranis make up for this with their warmth and friendliness.

One of the major attractions of the city is the Treasury of National Jewels, which houses the imperial crown jewels of Iran and the trophies of conquests by the Safavid and Afsharid dynasties since the 16th century. Numerous crowns, tiaras, aigrettes, bejewelled swords, shields, and a staggering number of unset gems are heaped up behind fortified glass. Among other exhibits sits the Daria-i-Noor, a 182-carat rare pink diamond originally mined in Kollur, Andhra Pradesh. The rock was seized by Nader Shah Afshar, along with the Koh-i-noor and Peacock Throne, from the Mughals. As I stepped outside the museum, I found the landscape reflected the trinkets within the museum. In the winter, the snow-capped Alborz Mountains that overlook Tehran appear to be the city’s crown.

After three days I left for Isfahan. The Persians often say, “Isfahan, Nesfe Jahan” (Isfahan is half of the world). The proverb dates back to the 16th century, during the time of the Safavid dynasty, when Isfahan was the world’s biggest city and the capital of the Persian Empire. I found it to be astonishingly beautiful, with its mosques and palaces, its Naqsh-e-Jahan square—another UNESCO World Heritage site—and the gorgeous murals on the domes of its Armenian churches.

One of the most memorable evenings I spent there was on the Pol-e-Khaju, or Khaju Bridge, where people sat watching the sunset. A few poets were singing ghazals to a crowd that hummed along.

It was magical, watching the tangerine sky and listening to the music of a language I did not comprehend, but which seemed to speak to me.

The echoes of recited poetry followed me to Shiraz, my last destination. Un-

iran

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Ayreej Rahiman (carpets, reader & cathedral), paule seux/terra/corbis/imagelibrary (women), michele falzone/passage/ corbis/imagelibrary (stained glass), mattieu paley/corbis news/ corbis/imagelibrary (crowd)

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4 Vank Cathedral is located in Isfahan’s Armenian quarters. The 17-century church’s plain facade belies the startling beauty of the interiors. 5 The prayer hall of the 19thcentury Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz looks extraordinary in the morning sun. Because of the multicoloured shadows cast by stained-glass windows, it is also known as the Pink Mosque. 6 Impromptu performances by musicians and other artists often lead to informal gatherings under the arches of Isfahan’s Khaju Bridge. The Zayande Rud River, over which the bridge was constructed, dried up a few years ago.

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iran

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like Tehran or Isfahan, however, Shiraz was a ghazal unto itself—an enchanting town where every citizen seemed to be a bard. In a chaikhana outside the Bazaare-Vakil, I met an old man with a silver beard and wrinkled forehead. With prayer beads in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, he recited Hafez to me in a meek voice, in Persian (I understood the meaning later, from Henry Wilberforce Clarke’s translation): The subject tonight is Love And for tomorrow night as well, As a matter of fact I know of no better topic For us to discuss Until we all Die!

ly moved by the sight of people, young and old, reciting his poems at the tomb.

How better to honour a poet who died 625 years ago? As I opened my copy and began to read, I felt more overwhelmed than I had in Tehran or in Isfahan, beneath the domes of the Masjed-e-Shah, before the murals of the Vank Cathedral, or at the deserted, Sassanid fire temple.

I might have been romanticising it, but

Shiraz is the birthplace of many great poets including Hafez and Sa’adi. The former is such a revered part of Iranian culture that the old man had suggested I carry a book of his poems to Hafezieh (Tomb of Hafez). According to a local belief, whenever a person faces a dilemma or is at a crossroads, they should turn to this book of poetry. The first line that the reader’s eye falls on is the “Fal-e Hafez”, or the solution to their problem.

At this place of pilgrimage, I was deep-

I felt that I had made my way to Iran for some reason, even if I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I was only able to pin down that feeling a little later: It was easy to feel at home in Iran. In fact this journey proved more spiritual than recreational for me.

Iran is one of those places that leave a lingering flavour long after you have left, overflowing as it is with history, amazing landscapes, architecture, and wonderful people. More than a few times, people

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If you look at the carvings on the wall, you won’t find a single sign of hatred. All these were built with love

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on the street asked me for directions in Persian. When I told them I was from India and didn’t speak the language, many smiled—“Hind!” they remarked— with a twinkle in their eyes. I seemed to have befriended half a dozen people like that. We spoke, without reservation, about Indian films, music, education and politics, about Game of Thrones and Clash of Clans, and about history. And most were optimistic about the future with their new president Hassan Rouhani in charge. “Change,” said one of my new friends, “it has already started.” But there is one thing I hope that will never alter: The recurrent feeling I got, that I was connected to the tea vendor outside the Shiraz bazaar, a traffic policeman in Tehran, or the stranger who became a friend in Isfahan. We all had a lot in common, even if we spoke different languages. In the poetry of this land I saw what a friend once told me: we’re all mirrors and everyone is merely a reflection of us. When Ayreej Rahiman is not consulting for telecom companies, he travels, takes photos, writes stories, and reads ghazals. He is obsessed with history and secretly dreams of backpacking the Silk Route.

Veronica Garbutt/getty images Previous spread : Ayreej Rahiman (Dome)

Tea houses or chaikhanas are an integral part of Iranian culture. A server (top) at a tea house on the grounds of Tehran’s Milad Tower.

Previous spread: Isfahan’s spectacular Masjed-e Imam is an enduring masterpiece of Persian architecture, distinguished by its seven-coloured mosaic work. An image of the mosque appears on the country’s 20,000 rial note.

iran

The Guide ORIENTATION The Islamic Republic of Iran is located in western Asia, and shares borders with Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey. The capital city Tehran lies close to the Caspian Sea. Isfahan lies 460 km/5 hours south of the capital, while Shiraz is another 500 km/6.5 hours south from Isfahan.

GETTING THERE Iran Air has direct flights from Mumbai to Tehran twice a week (Tue and Fri). Other gulf carriers offer flights to the Iranian capital from various Indian cities with a stopover at a Middle Eastern gateway like Dubai, Muscat, or Doha.

Azerbaijan

N Turkmenistan

Need to Know

Caspian sea

Tehran

Afghanistan

what to READ In Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (2005), acclaimed British historian Tom Holland accords wonderful insights into the Greco-Persian wars from the 5th century B.C. Nineteenth-century English author Henry Wilberforce Clarke was the first one to translate Divan-e-Hafez, and his version is still considered one of the most reliable.

Hafez, who lived in Shiraz in the 14th century, is one of the most revered poets of Iran.

Don’t be surprised if you find Iranians reciting his poems from memory.

Isfahan Iraq

Iran Shiraz

Persian Gulf

declaring them free of HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis; travel insurance; address of accommodation in Iran; and an approval code given

at the time of online application. The visa fee is around `2,500 and the process usually takes 7-10 days, so it is best to apply at least 30 days in advance.

Iran follows a strict dress code. For men, short-sleeved T-shirts and shorts are not permitted in public places.

Women are required to cover their head and hair; a loose scarf or dupatta over the head should suffice.

Legs must be covered until the ankle, and tops must be loose-fitting and cover the arms and hips. Some cities are more conservative than others, so you might have to dress accordingly. You may be requested to follow the dress code from the time of boarding the flight.

STAY Tehran has a wide variety of accommodation options to suit every pocket. Always confirm your reservations prior to arrival. For five-star service, head to Espinas, which also has a gym and Wi-Fi facilities (Keshavarz Boulevard, Tehran; +98-21-8384 5000; www.espinasho tels.com; doubles $103/`6,470). Golestan Hotel has clean, comfortable rooms, and is in the city’s historic quarter (No 14, Hafez Street, Hassan Abad Square, Tehran; +98-216671 1418; www.gollestanhotel.com; doubles $48/`3,015).

In Isfahan, go to the atmospheric Abbasi Hotel, a former caravanserai. Be sure to book a room in the grand old wing (Isfahan Street, Amadegah; +98-31-3222 6010; www.abbasi hotel.ir; doubles $140/`8,800). Totia Hotel is a clean and cheap bed and breakfast, about a 20-minute walk to Naqsh-e Jahan,

the city centre. The breakfast is a typical Iranian spread that includes eggs, fresh cucumber, and nan-e lavash (Masjed Seyyed Street, Isfahan; +98-31-223 7525; doubles $23/`1,445).

Niayesh Boutique Hotel in Shiraz is located in the heart of the city, overlooking the Shah Cheragh mausoleum. The hotel provides clean dormitories or private rooms and the restaurant in the courtyard serves great Shirazi food (No. 10, Shahzadeh Jamali Lane, Namazi Junction, Lotfali Khan-e Zand Street, Shiraz; +98-93792 57105; www.niayeshhotels.com; doubles from $44/`2,765). The Chamran Grand Hotel is a little away from the city centre, but the upper-floor rooms have a splendid view (Chamran Boulevard, Shiraz; +98-21-8531 4101; www.chamranhotel. com; doubles from $141/`8,860).

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urmimala nag (map)

VISA Indians were earlier allowed visa on arrival in Iran, but that facility has been withdrawn.

You can apply for the visa at the Embassy of Iran in Delhi (011-4355 0359, 2332 9600\1\2; newdelhi.mfa.ir/ index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid= 328&pageid=16810) or the consulate office in Mumbai (022-2363 0073, 6688 7070; www.iranianvisa.com/ consulates/mumbai.htm).

The visa application form can be downloaded from newdelhi.mfa.ir/index.aspx ?fkeyid=&siteid=328&page id=30382. Visitors are required to submit their documents, including three passport-size photographs; medical reports

Get Going | nilgiris

Adventure Intensity The Tour of Nilgiris is extremely demanding and requires cycling up steep slopes, often in the searing afternoon heat.

758 Easy Moderate

In kilometres, the distance covered during the trip.

Demanding

The Tour of Nilgiris involves 7 days of pedalling more than 100 km each day, through fields, towns, and hairpin bends that wind around the highest points of the Nilgiri Hills.

A tough cycling trip through the Nilgiris sets a personal challenge by aditya daftary

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A

s a cycling enthusiast, I like to watch the Tour de France as much for the glorious landscapes the riders pass through, as for the arduous race. My own cycling circuits are duller: Mumbai’s Worli Sea Face or, on particularly adventurous days, coughing through the exhaust smoke of trucks and buses on the highway to Lonavla or Pune.

About a year ago, my soon-to-be-60 cycling companion, an orthopaedic surgeon, asked me if I’d like to join him on the Tour of Nilgiris, a 700-odd-km bike ride from Bengaluru to Munnar. I’d never heard of it, but the eight-day trip sounded like just the challenge I needed in my fortieth year. Before long we roped in other colleagues and friends and became a motley crew that included a bank CEO, a super-fit but noncyclist sports scientist, and a spine surgeon.

ray photography

Dream Ride

Scenic pit stops are part of the experience. Cyclists halt at tea stalls, small eateries, and for neera, fresh palm toddy (bottom) served with palm fruit; Occasionally, the riders would encounter cycling locals, who seemed like they could give them a run for their money.

Vital stats Duration 8 days Calories Burned 21,830 Distance 757.8 km Uphill 10,274 m Downhill 9,798 m

forests near Mettupalayam, and ended with a flat section through palm tree-laden green fields at Palakkad.

The companions riding with me changed often, but I experienced a sense of camaraderie throughout. On the long ride from Palakkad to Valparai, we had just scaled a steep climb, and stopped at a tiny tea stall in a small town called Waterfalls.

One of my co-riders had a small speaker on his bike, which he used to get through the most fatiguing afternoons. Suddenly Celine Dion’s “I’m Alive” rang out of it, and all of us spontaneously started singing and dancing along. The moment captured the joy of collective suffering and sense of achievement that the tour brought out in all of us.

The group of dedicated volunteers who planned the tour, also travelled alongside on motorcycles or cars to ensure everyone was hydrated, fed, and in good spirits. An ambulance, mechanics, and regular well-stocked rest stops were all available

for backup. The rest really was up to the cyclists, who formed a great support system for each other. I don’t think there was a single day that I got off my bike without a sore butt and aching legs, wondering how I would survive another day. But as we approached the hotel at the end of each day’s ride, riders still found the energy to gather around and laugh together, sharing the trials and tribulations of the day with a beer, no matter how dingy the bar. No one cared how fast you got there or how tired you were.

What mattered was that you endured, as did everyone else.

The Tour of Nilgiris isn’t easy.

For me, it was a nice way to achieve something spectacular in my life last year. I think anyone who sets their mind to the challenge and begins training early can do it. Registration for the December 2015 ride starts early, on 1st May and tends to fill out very fast. Once you’ve enrolled you’ve got eight months to get your act together (www.tourofnilgiris.com; 16-23 December 2015; registration opens 1 May 2015; route goes through Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala; cost `35,000 Bengaluru to Bengaluru).

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ray photography (cyclists), Aditya Daftary (man)

We soon realised that what we had signed up for was no easy task. The Tour of Nilgiris was in its seventh year and its organisers had set up a hard course.

Each day involved pedalling more than 100 km, traversing the high points of the Nilgiri Hills. At least we had seven months to rally together to train, building strength and endurance.

Yet when we flagged off at Mysore on 16 December, I had not fully imagined what we were in for. The tour’s 65 riders came from all walks of life, with all kinds of bikes, some with their biker spouses and friends, some alone. While I had ridden long distances and run the occasional marathon, I wasn’t sure how my body would deal with the daily rigour of the long rides. For me, the toughest instalment was the route from Valparai to Munnar. It was long and extremely hot in parts, and the only leg of the eight-day trip during which I harboured the thought of giving up. Had it not been for the many friends along the way who continued to push themselves and encourage others, I might have buckled.

Everyone rode mostly at their own pace. Though there were short 10 to 15 km race sections each day, the tour is not really a race, and we had time enough to stop off for the occasional appam and stew, or coconut water, neera, and filter kaapi. Young children would run out to greet us at different points, high-fiving us as we struggled up or raced down vertical inclines.

One of the great rewards of this trip was the scenic routes. We passed villages, paddy fields, tea gardens and spectacular stretches of forest. My favourite section of the expedition was the 160-km section from Ooty to Palakkad. It began with a downhill zip through foggy Ooty, into the splendour of clear, green

Doon Valley’s Hidden Delights Boarding schools, gooey plum cakes, and the whiff of adventure—Dehradun is an Enid Blyton storybook come alive | By Ambika Gupta

2+ DAY S

Peace pagodas or shanti stupas are shrines to world peace that have been built in various places around the world. This one, set amid beautifully landscaped lawns of Mindrolling Monastery, is one of the largest.

The beautiful city of Dehradun is India’s unofficial boarding school capital. The colonials set up elite insti­tutions in this quiet valley and sparked a trend that is still going strong.

Traditionally, Dehradun has been little more than a thoroughfare to the giddy thrills of Mussoorie. If you stop for a look around, locals will point you to the salmon-pink colonial building of the Forest Research Institute. This Greco-Roman structure, set within a massive estate of 1,100 acres, has six museums and is the most recognisable Dehradun icon. In fact, when Prince Charles visited the

valley, he was made to cut a sponge cake scale model of this historical masterpiece.

If you press them to divulge more “sights”, Dehradunwallahs will inevitably direct you to the crowded waters of Kempty Falls, which is closer to Musooorie, or in a desperate moment, show you the Tibetan market, a scrawl of tarpaulin-covered stalls. But the better way to discover Dehradun’s delights is to simply follow the townsfolk around. In their daily routine they visit places far more interesting than the obvious tourist attractions. A visitor is bound to understand the fuss about this town’s laidback charm.

The Vitals

Dehradun is a 250 km/6 hour drive north of Delhi. It is well connected by bus and train. Jolly Grant Airport is located 22 km/30 min south of the city.

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ruthchoi/shutterstock

the insider

Short Breaks | from delhi

dehradun

four ways to explore HIDDEN TREASURE

The oval shaped, meltin-your-mouth rusk is a speciality of Doon Valley and a perennial favourite. Locals also swear by the chutneys, jams, and preserves of A. Prakash & Sons. The familyrun establishment’s store is in Landour, but you can visit the factory on New Cantonment Road. Peaches, apricots, apples, raspberries, gooseberries—all the divine delights of Uttarakhand converge here to be washed, sliced, boiled, and packaged.

Sharp, tangy aromas fill the air as succulent fruit, fresh from the orchards, is turned into bubbling vats of sticky-sweet syrup (House 15 E, next to Punjab National Bank; 97569 04833).

Robbers’ Cave is a local haunt where colourful umbrellas and plastic chairs are anchored in a pebblestrewn stream. Visitors sit with their feet dipped in the ice-cold, gurgling water as they feast on soupy Maggi. You can get to the underground source of the stream by wading in hiphigh water through a partial gorge. The rock walls glisten with trickling water while sunlight filters through the green canopy overhead, bathing the passage in an ethereal glow. As the name suggests, Robbers’ Cave was once a hideout for stolen treasures, and it still makes for a great adventure. It is spine-tingling to feel your way around the rocks underfoot as you slosh through the water in the semi-darkness. Don’t go alone and do be careful (about 4 km from Governor’s House on New Cantonment Road; entry `20; Maggi `40, tea `10).

The Mindrolling Monastery in Clement Town houses the “Great Stupa of Buddha’s Descent from Devaloka Which Liberates Upon Seeing”. With a

promising name like that, who wouldn’t want to visit? The stupa is one of the world’s largest. It is spread across 100 sq ft and towers 185 feet high. The structure is adorned with richly coloured murals and a serene Buddha statue at the top gazes out at the city below. At one end of the monastery is a cluster

Windlass is a unique

Dehradun is a repository of grand adventures like wading through ice-cold water in Robbers’ Cave (top) or handling menacing battle gear, such as this plumed helmet, a replica from the historical drama Spartacus, at the Windlass factory (bottom),

of eateries that serve Tibetan fare. For great street food though, head to Mussoorie Road at the opposite end of town, where you will find Maggi stalls every 20 feet. Dehradun has a Maggi fetish unmatched by any other city; it even has a hotel named Maggi Star.

Enjoy this ubiquitous snack along with steamy momos dipped in fiery red-chilli chutney at local favourite K.C. Point (stupa open Tue-Sun 9.30 a.m.-12 p.m., 3.30-5.30 p.m., Mon

2.30-5.30 p.m.; 2nd floor terrace open only on Sun; mindrolling.org).

TUCK IN The abundance of boarding schools might explain the bewildering array of bakeries in town, some of which have become local institutions over the years. You can score colonial-era treats like sticky jaws, gooey plum cakes, and chewy toffees from Ellora’s Melting Moments and Sunrise in Paltan Bazaar.

steel­crafts factory that manufactures ceremonial swords, replica medieval battle gear, and old armour for military forces across the world. Hollywood and fantasy-fiction nuts will be most impressed, since Windlass also produces life-size replicas of helmets, bodysuits, and weapons used in the popular Game of Thrones television series and blockbusters like Iron Man, Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, and Troy among others.

Visitors can observe the manufacturing process from start to finish. The factory is located 10 km outside the city on Haridwar Road.

Ask any resident to direct you to the “khukri factory” (0135-2686623/4; windlass. com; contact director I.K. Chaddha to arrange a visit between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, except Sundays).

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dinodia (man), Ambika Gupta (metal helmet)

SERENITY AND SNACKS

CALL TO ARMS