Magical Sunrise at Puri

From the Sun Temple at Konark, we now move to the magical sun rise at Puri Beach in Odisha. Watching the sun rise from a clean, unpolluted and exclusive beach has its own charm. The forest department of Odisha controls the 3 to 5-kms deep and more than 20-kms long stretch of forest along Puri beach. Visitors to the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary are allowed entry in a controlled manner between 8.30 am to 5 pm. Courtesy Toshali Sands (the resort where we were staying), we obtained special permission for early morning entry. A forest guard accompanied us through the forest till the beach head.

We have captured the sunrise in various stages and hues. Apart from the glory of the sun and the surf, tiny crabs also caught our eye. Our story includes few pictures from an afternoon visit to the same beach, courtesy K Gopu, fellow Navy Veteran. Let the pictures and the videos tell the story.

Wave after wave! Watching the sea waves ashore is very soothing. It can be interpreted in many ways. Each wave washes part of the shore. Like wiping off your worries and problems in life! Enjoy a short video below.

Here is how the Veterans felt after the mesmerising sunrise! See the short video

The agility of the tiny crabs is seen to be believed. See the short video clip below.

East coast of India is home to red coloured sand bubbler crabs. Fascinating to watch, they forage for food in the sand. The following stories by Ghumakkad have appeared on the top in Google search for last several years:

Red Crabs of Surya Lanka

Sand Bubbler Crabs and Sand Galaxies 

Surya Lanka Where You Encounter the Sand Galaxies

Sunrise and sunset are the favourite subjects of every photographer. Apart form the sea coast, there are several spots for spectacular views of a sunrise or a sunset. Few of these are:

Tiger Hill, Darjeeling- from where you see the first rays of the Sun illuminate the highest point on earth i.e. Mount Everest

Sunset Point, Mount Abu, Rajasthan

Sunset Point, Hampi, Karnataka. You may browse our earlier story 'Charm of a Sunset' to enjoy the sunset at Hampi.

Some of our other stories featuring sunrise as well as moon rise are listed below. Just click to browse the picture story.

Why do People Shoot the Sun? - Even a nine-year old got up at 4.45 AM to shoot!

Moon's Magic at Sea - Moon rise is as spectacular

The above visit to Puri beach was part of the Golden Jubilee of Navy Veterans of their Commissioning into the Indian Navy (1972-2022). All the stories of the Golden Jubilee Reunion and associated travel can be browsed by clicking the links below:

Magical Sunrise at Puri Beach - The panorama, the waves, the surf and tiny crabs- the story has it all.

Konark Sun Temple - Stories in Stone

Chandrabhaga Beach- The Blue Flag Certified Beach

Sunset Years to Sunrise - Friends Make the Difference

Meet the Navy Veterans- Intro and pandemic positivity video

Veterans' Choice at Puri Odisha - where to stay

Trees by A Railway Line - Learning from the Trees

We close with Gautam Buddha's famous quote superimposed on a picture of the sunrise.

More stories of our Reunion will follow. Thanks for browsing and stay connected.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with K Gopu/ Secunderabad/ 13th Dec 2022

#puri #Sunrise #beach #Odisha #NavyVeterans #Reunion #GoldenJubilee #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #litterfreebeach #forestonthebeach #risingsun #sandbubblercrabs #eastcoastofindia #moonrise #tinycrabs 

Shining Buddha

 Green slopes of a hill, statue of Buddha shining despite muted sunlight.

Give the picture a caption and win KBG-78, the 78th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad, online caption contest.

Here is another copy of the picture minus the contest logo for better visualisation of your caption.

Now go ahead and give a caption to the above picture of Buddha in a garden! Let your imagination run wild!

How to Submit a Caption

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com     
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

So folks, get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may submit more than one caption.

Previous Contest

KBG-77, the 77th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Caption Contest had featured a picture of the Test Results of Covid rapid testing. It received a huge response summarised in our story 'Humour despite Covid'. We are sharing two of the winning captions below:

Hope we have succeeded in diverting your mind away from a world struggling to bounce back after devastating impact of Covid on global economy. After long layoff, Ghumakkad had travelled to Goa recently. We will bring you a story on 'Goa in Monsoon' soon! Till then spread joy and cheer all around like our logo shown below. Thank you Ramya Sriram for such a creative logo.

Now, be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-78! All the best.

Thank you all the readers for your continued support.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 5th October 2022

#buddha #greenhillslope #goa #monsoon #shiningbuddha #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kbg78 #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #takeabreak #captions #creativecaptions #travelfun #learningtogether #travelphotography

Dawn and Dusk PQs

Dawn creates magic. So does dusk.

Yesterday while at the golf course, the dawn was simply spectacular. I could capture its colours in my cell phone.

Later in the evening, while waiting for the movie in RSI open air cinema, the sky after sunset caught the eye. It was dusk and its silent beauty.

Here are two PQs- picturesque quotes on the pictures of dawn and dusk.

The PQ on Dawn is based on Rabindranath Tagore's famous line 'Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark'. We derive strength in our life with faith. Don't we? 

It is the original picture, not photoshopped except for watermarking.

The PQ on Dusk is inspired by Bernard Williams simple words 'It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream'. Dreams are important to move on!

Here are some of the earlier PQs related to sunsets and sunrises.

 

Gautam Buddha had famously said that 'What we do today is what matters most'!

Thanks for browsing.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 24th Feb 2020

#PQs #picturesquequotes #dawn #dusk #nature #tagore #bernardwilliams #sunrise #sunsets #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Remembering Gautam Buddha

Buddha Jayanti-- Gautam Buddha's birthday on full moon day i.e. Purnima पूर्णिमा of 'Vaishakha' वैशाख month is celebrated the world over. Born in a royal family, he denounced the world when he was 29. To seek peace and to get answers to questions about life.

Many of his teachings are as relevant today-- more than 2500 years after his salvation. One quotation which comes to mind is "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think". One of the largest statues of  Buddha is in Bhutan which we photographed in 2012. You can see Neeta, Manik and CP Srivastava at the base of the statue-- looking completely dwarfed! The statue was under construction, that's why the scaffolding.
Ghumakkad presents a PQ- picturesque quote- dedicated to Buddha on Buddha Jayanti 2017.

Another quotation from Budha 'Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without' was featured earlier. The PQ is reproduced below:



Some of the earlier PQs which you may like to browse and use in your writings, talks or presentations are :

Vision is the art of seeing the invisible
Solitude is the place of purification
Life is a reflection of the state of your mind

Buddha also said "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."

Wishing you a life full of peace and happiness.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/Buddha Purnima 2017/ 10th May

Tibet in Karnataka

Tibet in Karnataka-- 2500kms away? Yes, that is how you feel when you visit the Tibetan Monastery in Coorg! Ghumakkad was there sometime back. Picture story for you.

Credit goes to both—the Tibetan settlers as well as the erstwhile rulers of Mysore State—for the ‘Golden Temple’ Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe, Coorg. Once inside the Tibetan village, you can’t differentiate whether you are in Tibet or Karnataka—2500 kms apart. See the map below.

The name ‘Golden Temple’ comes from the golden dome visible from far as you traverse the hilly approach road. The Monastery is a must on Coorg travel circuit-- for its beauty, architecture, remote location and self-discipline! See the picture and the signboard ‘Please keep silence’.

The nunnery is located one km away from the monastery. But the art work and architecture are the same.

The monastery gets thousands of visitors every day and more on the weekends. There is no entrance fee. Parking, a shopping area and paid rest rooms are 200 meters away. See the collage of pictures.

The multi-tier pagoda is truly majestic. See both pictures below.

 

‘Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara’- the main prayer hall is open to visitors. It has intricate art work—in the interiors as well as exteriors.

The gong inside the monastery is also painted artistically.

The monks act as guides for tourists—see Neeta Bhatnagar asking questions to one of the monk-guides.

The paintings on the wall depict the life story of Gautam Buddha गौतम बुद्ध .

The next painting of a devil—what with skull cap and skull necklace—reminded us of the ‘Tandav’ तांडव dance by Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology.

Whereas this one portrays a more somber and composed mood.

Next two pictures show dance-and-romance sequence. Those who have been to The Sun Temple in Khajuraho, do you see a thematic similarity?

The next picture captures the signature line at the bottom of a wall painting. Wonder if it is the name of the painter or some other meaning? Any reader willing to educate us is welcome.

Art work on exterior walls/beams is equally impressive. Next three pictures show the exterior art work.

‘Beauties in Sixties’—both Neetas and Jaya seem thrilled with the exterior art work.

Even the structural beams are painted so elaborately.

The adjoining prayer hall has seven statues of Lord Buddha. The floor is so clean and shining that you can see the reflection of the statues!

The monastery is a blend of modernity and ancient traditions. See the dish antennae on roof top!

The monks maintain a perfect figure. See this tall and lanky monk walking in the monastery.

Before the visitors exit the monastery, in the outer compound there is a scale model of the township as it was conceived. See the detail.

As we bade good bye to the Golden Temple monastery, it left an imprint on our minds.

If you wish to visit Bylakuppe monastery, just drive down south from Bangalore via Mysore. It is a 5-hour drive considering the number of speed breakers between Bangalore and Mysore! Once in Bylakuppe, the monastery will not disappoint you.

Ghumakkad's earlier stories on Coorg can be browsed at:

Dubare- Where Cauvery creates Magic  

Coorg- Go Golfers Go!

Thanks for browsing! Your feedback/experiences are welcome, as always.

                Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 14th June 2015