Stony Silence

 'Stony silence- but waiting to tell a story!'

'Charm does not decay'

'खंडहर हूँ , पर इतिहास हूँ। '

These are some of the prize winning captions in KBG-54 captions contest. The contest featured Jahazpur Fort which is partly in ruins. 

The picture of the hill fort fired the imagination of the participants with more than 30 interesting captions coming in! The renewed format of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad online contest as a caption competition has been accepted very well by the readers. The 54th edition of the contest was however, plagued by global outage few days ago. It disrupted major email and messaging platforms across the globe.

Jahazpur Fort

The fort built during 15th Century AD overlooks the Tehsil town of Jahazpur (also spelt as Jahajpur) in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan India. It is a hill fort in Rajasthan. Located 200 kms south of Jaipur, Jahazpur is not really on the tourist map. Readers may browse our earlier story 'The Ruins of Jahajpur Fort'. We are preproducing below few pictures for quick reference.

Isn't the ruinous fort so captivating? Watch the 30-second video clip to 'feel' the stony silence.

Captions Contest

We received more than 35 entries for the contest. One caption was suggested by five readers. The following table lists all the captions. The winning captions have been highlighted. We thank all the readers and congratulate the winners.

KBG-54 Winners

The Jury found the captions very interesting. We are delighted to share the winning captions along with a brief intro of each Winner. Thanks are also due to both the Jury Members- Joyshree Banerjee and Neeta Bhargava. Joyshree is an Air Force spouse and an expert chef. Fond of gardening and stitching, she is a happy-go-lucky person. Neeta is a Naval spouse and loves travelling and gardening. A compassionate Nature lover, the 40-odd Silverbill Munias which feed on her bird feeder cheer her up every day.

Sujata Das is an alumnus of BITS Pilani who lives in Canada. She loves Nature and gardening and has a passion for creative writing. Her caption in Hindi खण्डहर हूँ, पर इतिहास हूँ means 'May be a ruin, but I am history', caught the attention of the Jury members.

Dammalapati Vittal is an alumnus of Bharati Vidyapeeth Pune and BITS Pilani. He lives in Chennai and his first love is fruits. Likes to study scriptures at heart but works for a Fintech company for a living. His caption 'Yes I am a WoW, Witness of Wars!' reflects Vittal's creativity!

Amandeep Kaur holds an MBA(Fin) and works with a US company in India. She loves to interact with people. She has won the KBG contest several times. She wrote the caption on behalf of the Fort. Catchy indeed. क्या गुज़रती होगी उस किले पे, जिसने रौनक नहीं देखी सदियों से which means 'What must the anguish be for that fort which has not seen any life for centuries'.

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 'Charm does not decay' was much liked by the Jury.

Manik Srivastava is a former teacher whose students love to network with her even after decades of graduation. A Nature enthusiast and keen traveller, she has been a Jury Member of several KBG Caption Contests. She lives in Secunderabad creating Tanjore paintings and tending her garden. Her caption 'Stony silence- but waiting to tell a story' is simple yet appealing.

Once again, we congratulate all the winners and thank all the contestants. Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent by giving you a virtual tour of Jahajpur Fort. We will continue sharing our travels and adventures and test your creativity in the upcoming KBG Caption Contests.

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote on ruins and the cycle of life.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 25th March 2021

#ruins #hillfort #rajasthantourism #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #captions #travelfun #historylovers #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #jahajpur #hillfortsofindia #virtualtravel

Trust Me

 "Trust me!"

"It takes both sides to build a bridge"

"Suspend(ed) over calm waters"

These are some of the creative captions given by the readers of KBG-53 Contest. The contest featured a picture of a Cable stay Bridge in Laknavaram Lake in Telangana India. The picture fired the imagination of the participants with almost 50 different captions coming in! The renewed format of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad online contest as a caption competition has been accepted very well by the readers.

Cable Stay Bridge

Laknavaram Lake in north eastern part of Telangana was built in the 13th century by Kakatiya rulers for irrigation of surrounding areas. This 40 sq-km lake apart from acting as an irrigation source, is now a popular tourist resort. We had visited the lake in 2019. The readers may browse our detailed story titled 'The Lake that Charms You'. KBG-53 had featured just one picture of the bridge in the lake that connects one of the thirteen islands. Other islands are accessible by boat. Here are few more pictures of the lake and the bridge for our readers.

For those not familiar with the geography of the region, see the route map from Hyderabad to Laknavaram. 220 kms, 5 hrs by road on NH-163.

Caption Contest

We received close to 50 captions for the KBG-53 Contest. We appreciate the creativity of Ghumakkad's readers. The complete list is given below for wider readership.

KBG-53 Winners

The Jury found the captions very interesting. We thank all the contestants. We are delighted to share the winning captions along with a brief intro of each Winner. Thanks are also due to both the Jury Members- Manik Srivastava and Neeta Bhargava.

Amandeep Kaur holds an MBA(Fin) and works with a US company in India. She loves to interact with people. She has won the KBG contest several times. Her caption is simple and appealing.

Mukul Bhargava runs his packaging industry in Bangalore. Fond of gardening and travelling, he is a second time winner of KBG contest. His Hindi caption means "Life is as tall and as deep, and melodious like a harp".

Greh Bhushan Sethi is a former Colonel of Indian Army and holds a PhD. He has headed several educational institutions in Hyderabad and been advisor to many educational trusts and societies. I keen golfer he livens up any gathering with his wit and humour. His two worded caption "Trust Me" was much appreciated by the Jury. The bridge is telling us 'trust me' for safe passage across!

Ranajit Sen, Pharmacy graduate from BITS Pilani has been on the Board of several pharmaceutical compnies besides being member of Advisory Councils set up by the Govt of India. He has a great sense of humour.

We share two other PQs- picturesque quotes- on the same bridge but not part of this captions contest.

We end with a quote by Edgar Allen Poe about spending time around a lake.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent. We will continue sharing our virtual travels and test your creativity in the upcoming KBG Contests.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 16th March 2021

#nature #laknavaramlake #telanganatourism #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #captions #travelfun #naturelovers #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #laknavaram #cablestaybridge #virtualtravel

Giant Coconuts of SE Asia

Tender coconuts which you can't hold in one hand?

Coconuts which contain almost one litre of tender coconut water?

A single coconut which quenches the thirst of two or more people? Like a 'family' pack?

Ever seen such coconuts?

That was the question we asked in Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Contest No. 48 short title KBG-48. The quiz picture was taken at a tourist spot in Malaysia which was correctly identified by one of the winners. But tender coconuts of similar size and style of peeling/chopping are also available at tourist spots in Thailand and Cambodia as well. How come?

As we all know Indonesia is the largest producer of coconuts followed by Sri Lanka and India. However, the giant sized coconuts are grown in Indonesia and exported to neighbouring tourist countries. See the map below.

Malaysia is a popular tourist destination along with Singapore. Kuala Lumpur the capital and Genting Highlands which have casinos, attract hordes of tourists. The ropeway to Genting Highlands is one of the longest in the world. Two pictures of Kuala Lumpur and the ropeway ride are given below.

Coconut water is a rich source of Potassium and Sodium. Except for those with a kidney disease, it is good for everybody. Most tourist spots in SE Asia have coconut kiosks doing brisk business. KBG-48 Contest showed a picture taken at Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. Batu Caves attract thousands of visitors everyday. Few pictures for you.

Reproducing the quiz pictures, clues and the correct answer below.

One of the winners Ramanand Baliga shared the pictures of giant coconuts from Thailand and Cambodia. Thanks Ramanand.

Winners

KBG-48 saw good response but not as many participants as in the previous editions of KBG. The correct answers came within few minutes as in the past. We congratulate the first three winners who have all been there and tasted the king sized coconuts. A special prize goes to Chaitanya Shiroor for guessing the place by interpreting the dress of the lady shown sipping the coconut water. Winners of KBG-48 are profiled below:

1. Ramanand Baliga, MTech IIT/K, retired as Director of IBM in India, now spends time playing Bridge, Drawing & Painting, learning to play Guitar and Mouth Organ. Keen traveller. Lives in Bangalore.
2. Kinnera Murthy, PhD, former Dean ASCI Hyderabad. Strategy consultant, invited speaker and travel enthusiast. Passionate taking up social causes for betterment of the society. Lives in Hyderabad.
3. Aditya Bhargava MBA(Marketing) from University of California. Fitness enthusiast, works with HP and lives in Bangalore. Has a keen eye for observation of the world around him.

As we close the year 2020, Ghumakkad thanks all the readers and participants of KBG contests. Your support took the contest to 48 editions in two years! In 2021 we will bring a summary when we run the 50th contest!

Thanks for browsing.

Stay safe and stay connected to stay healthy.

Happy New Year 2021!

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 18th Dec 2020

#travelchallenge #coconut #virtualtravel #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #funwithtravel #learningfromtravelling #travellers #tendercoconut #choppingacoconut #malaysia #thailand #cambodia #batucaves #gentinghighlands #pattaya

Where is this Fountain?

From buildings and horses, Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Contest now moves to fountains.

Where is the fountain shown in the picture below? 

Need a clue? See the symmetry of the fountain and the stones behind it! It is a big give away.

Not got it? Then see the next picture taken around the fountain.

Still not got it? See another picture below.

By now you should have got it. Shoot your response. First three correct answers will be the Winners of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-47!

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 FB
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.

The timing of the KBG Contest is chosen to suit the readers in most of the time zones across the world.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Those who missed KBG-46, the previous edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad, we had featured the Golden Horses at a hotel in Dubai. It generated keen response. Many readers however, confused the golden horses with another hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Quite a few readers identified it correctly. See the winners announcement below.

Thanks for participating and all the best for KBG-47!

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 1st Dec 2020.

#travelchallenge #identifythefountain #virtualtravel #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #funwithtravel #learningfromtravelling #travellers #fountains