Ghumakkad in Hindi means 'the wanderer'. That is what I am. On the move any time anywhere!
This blog chronicles Ghumakkad's travels/teachings/learnings around the globe as picture stories. In addition, there are Picturesque Quotes (PQs) created using my pictures. Enjoy it.
If you have also been to the places/topics described here, please feel free to add to the content.
Your comments/ suggestions are welcome.
Internet counts in millions of pageviews. So, should Ghumakkad rejoice?
Yes, we should. Not because we have crossed 250,000 views but because we have brought a smile on your faces during otherwise gloomy period of the pandemic. Our sincere gratitude. Like the rose petals in the picture below.
Ever since we reached 200,000 milestone in July 20, we have made an endeavour to post stories with a positive message. Some of these stories are listed below. Click to browse.
We feel thrilled that KBG- Kaun Banega Ghumakkadonline contest- continued to receive your active participation throughout the pandemic. Based on your feedback, the KBG Contest underwent a format change. One of the readers a well known cardiologist, remarked to Ghumakkad that 'your KBG questions are tougher than the MD entrance exam!' Though in a jest, it set us thinking. So, instead of quizzing you about flowers, plants, grasses, trees, birds, forts, monuments and places KBG now reveals the picture apriori. All you have to do is to give the picture a caption. Best captions are the Winners. Some of the winning KBG entries are given below.
Our Growth
Following screen shots depict the steady growth in our readership.
Our posts during the pandemic added variety and portrayed a spirit of positivity. See the sample below.
Please note the post on Brahma Kamal flower which blooms at night, has attracted the readers steadily.
Lighthouses are mariners' saviours at sea. Day or night, it gives a sense of security to the mariners. It warns the mariners of rocks, reefs, hills, wrecks and such features to be avoided.
We bring you a picture of a Lighthouse. Suggest a caption. You may win KBG-69, the 69th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad.
Here is another copy of the picture without the contest banner for better visualisation of your caption.
And yet another picture of the same lighthouse during the day!
How do you relate a lighthouse with the world around you even if you are not a mariner? Go ahead and give a caption for the above picture fast! Both the the pictures of the lighthouse on the coast pf California are courtesy our daughter Akanksha.
How to Submit a Caption
For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:
Leave a comment on this post
Send email to hbindia@gmail.com
Respond on the FB post
Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb
Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.
Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.
Previous Contest
KBG-68, the 68th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Caption Contest featured a picture of a Grey Heron, landing on its nest. It received 42 captions from across the globe. Few more pictures of grey herons along with the winning captions of KBG-68 are featured in the story 'Heron- A Picture of Grace'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:
Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid and Omicron boredom to some extent.
Now, be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-69! All the best.
Thank you all the readers for your continued support.
Stay connected, stay safe.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 15th January 2022
"Seventy is getting old, yet not old enough." Do you agree?
What did Ghumakkad do as he turned 70? More so during the Covid/ Omicron pandemic?
Well here is a flashback of what all I did as I entered the week of my 70th birthday.
Firstly I learnt how to crush sugar cane with manual labour! Yes, it was fascinating to take out fresh sugar cane juice at a road side kiosk. Manned by a lone middle aged lady from nearby village, the kiosk is 100% eco-friendly. No electric motor or petrol pump. Just two wooden rollers operated by hand! See the picture below.
There was not one but many such manual crushers on the stretch of the Karimnagar highway between Hakimpet and Thumukunta. See the 20-second video clip below to feel the energy required to take out just two glasses of sugar cane juice. Hat tip to the lady for all the manual labour everyday!
Talking of technology, look at the bevel gears made of solid wood. Am sure the village carpenters must have created it generation after generation! The geared rollers are eco friendly as well as hygienic. See the pictures below.
Secondly, I continued my manual labour by peeling 10 kgs of sweet peas! But don't ask me what happened to the most tender peas while peeling?
As you can see in the picture, the peas were being peeled in our garden. This 70-year-old loves shooting the flowers specially with the morning glow!
Thirdly, I explored the country side near our area. Whether a papaya plantation, Cheeku orchard, a village lake or a road blocked by a herd of goats, Ghumakkad's lens kept clicking.
The road goes past the College where Ghumakkad presently teaches. That's what keeps me going- to learn togetherwith the students!
Fourthly, being an eternal nature lover, I spotted a snake skin of a longish rat snake. It was shining in the noon sun in a plotted layout not frequented by the owners. The snakes are known to shed their skin every 3 months or so. Since we had a snake skin at home, I did not disturb it and left it there. Pictures below.
Fifthly, I continued to enjoy morning golf. Whether on a foggy morning or a clear day, being on a golf course is always a bliss.
Readers may browse our earlier stories on golf listed below:
Sixthly, 70-year-olds love sweets- even during the breakfast. See the picture of Gajar Halwa (Carrot pudding) on crisp toast with butter!
Lastly, I celebrated the birthday with friends and family both online and offline. Sharing two pictures of the face-to-face celebration first.
Being the 70th birthday, our children put in lot of effort to organise not one but four different online calls. Each of these online celebrations brought lot of nostalgia and warmth. It also put the birthday boy on the mat by asking him live questions! What fun it was! The messages sent by family and friends can be seen in the video links given below. The background score in all the videos is by our grandson Ansh in Chennai. Ansh has his YouTube channel, do subscribe to it.
The second video contains messages from near and dear ones including two of my former students.
The third video has Ghumakkad's Naval family. It includes two specially composed pieces one each in Hindi and English. Do browse.
And the last video contains messages from some of the BITS buddies and pieces of my heart.
We thank each and every member of our family and friends for their warm messages. It was simply overwhelming. Your love and blessings keep us going!
In addition, Nikhil our grandson in California played Rasputin by Boney M on his drums specially for me. See the YouTube clip here.
Not to be left behind, Anuva our 9-year-old grand daughter in Chennai who is learning piano, played the Happy Birthday tune for her Dadu.
May God give such loving and caring family and friends to everybody.
There was only one regret- the pandemic prevented people from travelling. God willing we hope to have your blessings again on the 75th birthday in 2027!
Thanks again for your presence, calls, messages, posts, pictures and those who forgot- thanks for having me in your thoughts. We close with the motto of an Infantry Division in India which says 'Bash on Regardless'.
Here is some cake for you!
God bless and lots of love
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/9th Jan 2022
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder said Pluto. Our picture of a Grey Heron landing on the thorny trees on the edge of a small lake- conjured up the imagination of our readers. KBG-68, the 68th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad- the online Caption Contest- attracted more than 40 entries. Before we announce the results, here are few more pictures of the Grey Heron shot around Yapral Lake in Secunderabad India. Whether in flight with legs tucked in, or landing or take off, is the grey heron not a picture of grace?
The Contest attracted more than 300 readers out of which we received 42 captions. We thank all the participants listed below for sending their creative captions.
Our Jury has selected the following four captions as the Winners of KBG-68. Congratulations to all the winners. We are happy to share their profiles below.
Jaishankar, a former Colonel of Indian Army, loves adventure sports and hiking. Widely travelled he has an interesting blog. He is a regular participant in KBG Contests which he has won several times. His caption brought out that grey is not a drab colour and was the Jury's first choice.
As a Naval spouse, Kausalya Govindan has taught life sciences and mathematics to high school students across India. Now as a senior citizen, she says that "Am trying to accept everyone and everything as they are and finding peace always." Her simple caption 'Take off or landing? All in your eyes!' was appreciated by the Jury.
Trixie Asirvatham has an MA in Psychology from Lucknow University. From an English teacher to a copywriter to a Creative Director of leading advertising agencies in India, Trixie's creative pursuits continued with web design companies. She enjoys singing, playing the guitar and writing songs and poems. Her simple caption 'Uplift. Inspire. Take a leap of faith.' appealed to our Jury instantaneously.
Veeky Baths, PhD heads the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at BITS, Pilani Goa Campus. His research interests include Brain Computer Interface, Consumer Neuroscience, Brand perception and Pattern Recognition. He has been a regular reader of Ghumakkad's blog and loves travelling and writing. His caption in Hindi अभी अभी मैंने लांघा है समुंदरों को, अभी तो पूरा आसमान बाकी है means 'I have so far traversed only the oceans, am yet to conquer the skies' showed the confidence of a grey heron. And the lesson it has for all of us!
We thank our Jury Anchita Nidhindra and Akanksha Bhargava for taking time off during the winter holiday season in USA. We once again congratulate all the winners.
One of our readers Shyamola Khanna, an author and a painter, created a water colour based on the contest picture. Reproduced below with the permission of the painter.
We close with a PQ picturesque quote of a Demoiselle Crane in flight and shot in Khichan Rajasthan which says 'If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down!'
Hope we were able to take your mind off the damn Omicron and its rising numbers! Be safe but go out to see the birds, trees, flowers and Nature. It will sooth your frayed nerves.
Wishing you a Covid-free year!
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/5th Jan 2022
