Magic of Sandstone KBG-73

What is common between the Red Fort in Delhi, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Sonar Quilla in Jaisalmer, Havelis in Khichan, National Art Gallery in Edinburgh, Dallas County Courthouse or The Delicate Arch in Utah, USA?

They are all built using the sandstone! Except The Delicate Arch, all are man-made structures/buildings. The Arch on the other hand, has been created by Nature's own forces of wind, snow and water. According to Wikipedia, Sandstone is a clastic (denoting rocks composed of broken pieces of older rocks)  sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. 

Why Sandstone: It is used for making buildings because it is suitable for both indoors as well as outdoor areas. Due to their sedimentary nature, they are adaptable stones ideal for ornamentation and façade cladding purposes. Sandstone is a natural stonework which is affordable for everyone. It does not require any special products for cleaning. Inalterable colours that last over time. Resistant to fire and heat. No wonder most of the Forts and Palaces in northern India were made using the sandstone because of ease of availability from Rajasthan.

Colours of Sandstone

Does the sandstone come in only one colour? No, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and white. The Arches National park has the red sandstone. Ghumakkad shares below few pictures of the yellow and red sandstone structures from Jodhpur, Khichan and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India. 

The Delicate Arch USA

"Nature's Namaste!"

" Bending and touching mother earth’s feet makes me stand strongly"

"We might be far apart but, we will meet at the top"

These are some of the captions that the readers gave for a picture of The Delicate Arch. Located in the Arches National Park, Utah USA, the sandstone arch is Nature's own creation. All the pictures featured here are courtesy our daughter Akanksha who had visited the Park recently with her family and friends.

The Contest

The picture below was featured as KBG-73, the 73rd edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad captions contest. 

The Contest received more than 50 captions listed below from the readers round the globe.

No.	Name	Caption for KBG-73 Contest
1	Aayush Paroolkar(11yrs)	Old is gold…oops, sandstone.
2	Aayush Paroolkar	There was an arch, but no bridge.
3	Ajai Bhumri	प्रक्रिति : अजेय
4	Amandeep Kaur	Paradise's gate is made of red rocks!
5	Avinash Tiwari	A new biginning
6	Avinash Tiwari	Agey bhi janey na tu!
7	Avinash Tiwari	Aao dildar chalo, arch ke paar chalo!
8	Bharat Ladha	Entry gate to the world of Nature.
9	Bharat Ladha	Toofano ke baad bhi khade hai seena taan!
10	BR Natarajan	God alone can a tie a string to this arch to shoot an arrow on the lions
11	CD Sawant	Nature's victory
12	C Raghuram	Stand tall, bend only in humility. Don’t let anything erode core values.
13	Deepak Jena	Without stones there is no arch.
14	Deepak Jena	An arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.
15	Geeta Bhargava	Depicts humbleness. Bending to receive blessings from Mother earth.
16	GR Sreenivasan	A grand spectacle created by none other than Nature itself.
17	J Ramamoorty	Tender image of our wonderful past
18	Jaishankar	Gateway to splendour
19	Kapil Bhargava	Life is a balance of holding on and letting go…!
20	LS Bhargava	Existence of Arch technology in ancient times.
21	Manju Khaitan	To be an artist to be in life.
22	Poonam Bhargava	Welcome gate of nature!
23	Pradeep Siwach	Gateway to Heaven
24	Prashant Jadenavar	No matter what passes through me, my penance is unshakeable!
25	PRR Rao	God's gateway to hills
26	Radhika Sareen	Double edged door..
27	Radhika Sareen	CEO's Office....open door
28	Radhika Sareen	A broken glass ceiling
29	Rajendra Singh	Nature, the supreme architect!
30	Rakesh Bajaj	Gateway to happiness.
31	Ranajit Sen	Perfect 10
32	Rashmi Bhargava	Who knew paradise was made of red rocks
33	RB Dhavare	Gate-way to Nature's Beauty & Bounty.
34	Ritu Bhargava	Perfect art by God
35	Ritu Bhargava	कुदरत ने तराशा है, इंसानों ने संभाला है।
36	Ruma Purkayastha	Gateway or getaway? The beckoning archway.
37	Shereen Sultana	Nature's selfie booth!
38	Supradeep Sen	Creator's beauty lies in the arch
39	Susmita Ganguly	Holding up the sky.
40	Susmita Ganguly	Welcoming Gate.
41	Swayam Misra	A Panoramic view of nature
42	Swayam Misra	We might be far apart but, we will meet at the top
43	Tejaswini Artworks	A dinosaur waiting for it’s egg to hatch
44	Unknown	Bending and touching mother earth’s feet makes me stand strongly.
45	Unknown-2	We may call delicate arch .But the arch shows the strength by bending and uniting. And also showing that how delicately one can allow people to cross the arch and reach their destination without any obstructins
46	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature's arms greeting mankind.
47	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature's Namaste!
48	Vanita Vandan Singh	Nature greets Humans
49	Veeky Baths	My silence is  it not a weakness, the beast in me is sleeping
50	Vinay Prasad	Lovely arch
51	Vinod Dhanuka	Balance in Life is Welcome
52	Vinod Dhanuka	Persistence makes Lasting Impression
53	Yogesh	Mehra-be-khas

KBG-73 Winners

Our Jury has selected the following five winning captions. Congratulations to the winners.

Avinash Tiwari loves golf, gardening and music. A former Colonel of Indian Army, he is a War Veteran of 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. Having done enough route marches with his troops, he detests long morning walks except on the golf course. He is a regular contributor and winner of KBG contests. His  caption 'Aao dildar chalo, arch ke paar chalo!' आओ दिलदार चलो , arch के पार चलो based on a popular Hindi song means 'Come hearty, let's go across the Arch!' was the Jury's immediate choice.

Ruma Purkayastha is an educator  and wellbeing coach who learns something from her grand children  everyday! She majored in psychology and was Principal of a leading school in New Delhi. Her caption 'Gateway or getaway? The beckoning archway!' captured the essence of the picture and its location. Ruma has won the KBG Contest previously also.

Shereen Sultana appreciates Nature and has been a past winner of several KBG Contests. With an MBA in finance she applies her creative thinking in life. Her caption 'Nature's selfie booth!' was short and sweet.

Kapil Bhargava holds an MBA and has worked with leading telecom corporates. As a Covid survivor, he has been taking motivational cum encouragement session pro-bono for the last two years. Kapil is a free lance trainer for personality development and anti-tobacco awareness. His simple caption 'Life is a balance of holding on and letting go!' appealed to the Jury.

Vinod Dhanuka is former CEO of IL&FS. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, he is fond of travelling and music. Ever willing to lend a helping hand, he lives in Mumbai. His short and crisp caption 'Balance in life is welcome!' was much liked by the Jury. He has won the KBG Contest in the past also.

We thank our Jury Anchita and Akanksha for taking time off from their hectic schedules in California. Thanks are also due to Vijay Gulechha of Khichan for research inputs.

Magic of Sandstone

We hope we were able to illustrate the magic which sandstone can create. Magic which has lasted for centuries. Do visit some of the sandstone forts, palaces and buildings featured in our story. You may share the names and pictures of more sandstone structures which you have visited. 'Sandstone Tourism' as Ghumakkad calls it, is a fascinating way to learn about Nature's building materials and creations. We hope to bring you 'Marble Tourism' story some other day.

Thanks for browsing.

Stay connected, more KBGs and other picture stories are coming your way!

      - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 29th April 2022

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