A workshop for enthusiastic travel writers!

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TRAVEL WRITING WORKSHOP
Do you want to convey the wonder, passion and life-lessons of your travels to others? Would you like to be a published, well-fed travel writer?
Join Travel Secrets Editor and well-known author Shubhra Krishan on a 3-week Travel Writing Workshop.You’ll receive a certificate, and your travel stories and photos will be published in Travel Secrets magazine—putting you on the fast-track to a writing career!

Once you become a part of our team, your stories will fetch you a fee, helping you recover your investment on the workshop!

Small batch. Selection on the basis of a test.

Workshop Begins: Sept 3, 2012

Duration: 2 sessions a week, 2 hours each

Location: Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

Fee: Rs. 3000/-

To get the details, email travelsecretsmag@gmail.com.

 Shubhra Krishan
Editor
Travel Secrets magazine
Grapevine Media
New Delhi 70
www.facebook.com/travelsecretsmag
Twitter:@secrets_travel

Author of:
Essential Ayurveda (New World Library, California, 2003)
Radiant Body, Restful Mind (New World Library, 2004)
The 9 to 5 Yogi http://amzn.to/vKTnGk
Thinner Dinner (Westland Books, 2011)

From Gethia- With Love

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New journeys and new places always open up minds. More than anything else they bring forth new experiences and new people who make so much of a difference in making all those memories unforgettable and that is the single most redemption of a journey.

My trip to Gethia has been special not just because the rain gods were kind but also because of some of the wonderful people i met(and a few animal friends that i made along the way!!) who made this journey so much more enriching and worth its while.

Enroute I met Prakash- a young boy of 22 years, aspiring to join the Indian Airforce. We just got talking. He told me how he lost his father a year back and was now the only earning male member in his family. He was currently working at the local temple in Gethia to earn a living. With a mother and two sisters to take care of, he was striving hard. But I loved his spirit. It was commendable. Positive and zealous, there was no sign of resignation in him. He also got me introduced to his li’l friend, Stuart, a tiny white mouse whom he reared!

 

Our stay, in particular at The Two Chimneys lodge in Gethia was something that will always be etched in my memory. Manju Jukariya, the manager of the cottage deserves a special mention here. She and her team ensured that we were thoroughly pampered.The chef treated us with a Continental fare which was absolutely delightful. I woke up early morning to witness the most splendid sunrise from the resort’s Machaan. A three sixty degree view of the Jeolikote and Bhumiyadaar valleys was breathtaking. I had my usual cup of Earl Grey for company and ofcourse my new friend, ‘Bijli’- the resort’s very own gracious doggy! Bijli and me almost struck an instant connection. She happily devoured a packet of ‘Parle G’ biscuit from me and looked rather happy and satiated. She never left me from that time, trailing me, wherever I went!!

Our early morning breakfast on the Pool deck was quite an elaborate experience. It had the works- three kinds of cereals and muesli ( for the health conscious), fresh seasonal fruits available locally and ofcourse some home-made ‘Poha’ and ‘mint chutney’!

As dusk set in, the birds called it a day with their frantic chirping and the cicadas took over. After a good round of Table Tennis at the gaming room, we headed to the old world style dining room of the cottage, looking forward to a sumptuous Continental fare that awaited us. And yes it was my favorite!! Roast Chicken, Sauteed Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes and Rissotto! As if there was no end to gluttony, I rounded off with a generous portion of mangoes and cream!! A perfect meal to end a perfect day.

Warm and cosy with a feel of a typical jungle lodge, Two Chimneys was a lovely combination of warm, personalised, home style service and feel that is manged very professionally at the back end.

The next day brought in clear blue skies. We headed straight to Nainital. By the time we set our footprints there, we were welcomed with a heavy shower but we had no complaints. Rain lashed roads, no tourists, just a stunning Naini lake enveloped in white clouds, there wasn’t anything more one could ask for. I had no qualms about the fact that my jeans got soaked and that i roamed in wet flip flops all day, watching a local soccer match in the grounds and stopping by at good ol’ Sakley’s Bakery for a cup of Darjeeling and a Cheese Croissant!

 

As we roamed around the Mall road aimlessly, breathing the scented wet air, we stumbled upon a unique Bengali restaurant in the middle of nowhere!! Hotel Bengal and Mouchak restaurant it was called. Run by a 78 year old bengali gentleman, Mr.Sadananda Mazumdar, it was apparently the only bengali joint in all of Nainital. The first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘So why in Nainital would you need to open a bengali restaurant????’  The gentleman rightly assured me to say that in season time, almost ninety percent of the tourists who come to visit Nainital happen to be bengalis hailing from not just Kolkata but different parts of West bengal! A modest meal for two, consisting of ‘bhaat’, ‘maach’, ‘daal’ and ‘aloo posto’ cost us only two hundred rupees!! 

After a hearty bengali meal, our stomach satiated, we moved ahead towards Pangot and Kilbury and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the oak forests in that area. The drive was perhaps one of the most awesome drive of our lives. Thick forests, occassionally showcasing the snow clad peaks made way for numerous waterfalls and cliffs that were wrapped in velvet robes of moss. I never realised how much time had gone by. The Lichen on the barks of the Oak trees basked against the bright ochre horizon and I knew it was finally time to head back…

We got back to Two Chimneys late in the evening, and almost felt, as though we were home…A nice warm shower, a comfortable bed and the Willow tree outside our window wishing us Good Night….

We left the next morning for Delhi…promising to come back soon…

‘Photo Mentors’- Interactive Photography Expeditions and Customized Photo Tours

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I must confess, much as I have always been a huge photography aficionado, I have never considered myself anywhere above average! But I am certain that persistence will pay off some day! I never fail to irritate all my generous photographer friends with my list of inane questions about picture composition and other technical jargons of the trade which I do not understand. But I must say…they always happily oblige! 

 

One such friend and a highly acclaimed photographer in his own right is Dheeraj Paul. And he truly deserves a mention for his newest venture, which I thought was an initiative that was so unique. Founder of Photo Mentors/ Indian Photo Tours, he curates and conducts Photography Workshops, Guided Tours and Photo Expeditions across India, Nepal & Burma. The dedicated Digital Photography Workshops train the vision to capture the myriad riches in the world and arm the participants with the power of self-expression.

Special itineraries are created for the best visual sights in the best times of the years at the best destination across the Indian Subcontinent, duly assisted by an operations team to ensure a safe and exciting learning environment. During the Photo Expeditions, Dheeraj personally guides the participants, inspiring them, motivating them and teaching them the finer nuances of photography, picture composition, perspective, viewpoint, digital workflow and much more. His tyle of teaching is easy and interactive. The expeditions are planned at suitable locations that provide amazing landscapes, people , portraits & also cover major religious and spiritual events, fairs and festivals across India . The photo tours and expeditions always consist of a small group so that each participant receives the attention they need to develop at their own pace. This also enables each group to travel unobtrusively, enjoying genuine contact with the places and communities that are offered as subjects for photography. 

Dheeraj was born in a family of skilled photographers. Trained under the strict guidance of his father Mr. S. Paul, who till date is one India’s most awarded photographer. Dheeraj has been working for over two decades as an editorial & advertising photographer. His specializations are People & Travel, Industrial, Fine-Art Photography, Still-Life, Food and Architecture. He also teaches Advance Photography to Post Graduate students at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre and Faculty of Fine Art at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi.

Sone of the forthcoming photo tours of 2012-13 cover destinations like Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and also Varanasi. The religious fairs and festivals of Holi in Barsana, Pushkar Camel Fair, Kumbh Mela 2013 at Allahabad, the Mewar Festival at Udaipur and the one of its kind Durga Puja at Kolkata are all on the itinerary. If you are interested in Wildlife Photo Tours, then enroll for the tours heading to Bandipur, Ranthambhor, Corbett and Bandhavgarh. 

For more details or to enroll for any of the impending Photo tours, contact– 

Indian Photo Tours

(M) +919910903636/+919811044788

E-Mail : travel@indianphototours.com

URL: http://www.indianphototours.com

Sharing some of the amazing photographs clicked by Dheeraj (in this blog) on his photo tours!

Happy clicking !!!