The empty canopy being India Gate – a reminder of the British Raj
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The empty canopy being India Gate – a reminder of the British Raj

8th September 2002 marks the day in history of India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 30 feet grand statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose under the empty canopy along with inauguration of “Kartavya Path”. Before this lakhs of visitors to India Gate used to ask the question, why an empty canopy. Let us…

Shaheedi Park – India’s first outdoor museum park, New Delhi (Photographer friendly and open late night)
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Shaheedi Park – India’s first outdoor museum park, New Delhi (Photographer friendly and open late night)

You would be amazed how much amount of scrap is collected by the city authorities in Delhi NCR. But you will not be amused to find out what the authorities do with it. Nothing! Sometimes the scrap keeps lying around for years, wasting precious warehouse space. So when in 2019 when someone came up with…

A 350 year old connection of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Pandit Laxmikant Dixit performing Pran Pratishtha of Ram Mandir Ayodhya
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A 350 year old connection of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Pandit Laxmikant Dixit performing Pran Pratishtha of Ram Mandir Ayodhya

22nd January 2024 will witness the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a ritual performed by Pandit Laxmikant Dixit as a head priest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the mukhya yajman or the main host. Laxmikant Dixit is the direct descendant of Gaga Bhatt who performed the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj on 6…

Fujifilm X – S20 paired with Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD – Initial review with sample images
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Fujifilm X – S20 paired with Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD – Initial review with sample images

There are two rules while doing research for any new camera gear. First rule is never believe what photographers say on social media. They are paid influencers. Second rule is “never lose focus from the first rule”. I recently discovered this while deciding or not deciding to buy the Tamron 18-300mm for APS-C mirrorless cameras….

Sai Nagar & Tulsi Nagar Ayodhya – Pin Code 224123 will become the most visited address in 2024
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Sai Nagar & Tulsi Nagar Ayodhya – Pin Code 224123 will become the most visited address in 2024

Shaheed Marg is a small road moving from east to west joining Kanak Bhawan Road. This road splits the locality in two parts, Tulsi Nagar (towards North) and Sai Nagar (towards South). Together these two localities house the holiest of temples of Ayodhya including the Shree Ramjanmbhumi Temple which will be consecrated on 22 Jan…

Independence Day – night scenes at Prayagraj Junction Railway Station
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Independence Day – night scenes at Prayagraj Junction Railway Station

While photographing the railway station at night, two people walked up to me and asked me whether I am a reporter. Now here is a problem with street photography in UP, especially Prayagraj. Everyone thinks you are a reporter. They also ask you, as if to confirm the same. I, on the other hand get…

The history of Ayodhya
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The history of Ayodhya

Note from the author :- If you search for Ayodhya on Google, the first ten pages will only talk about Ram Mandir. Even the next ten pages will not say anything about the history of Ayodhya. This detailed article will be an attempt to collect the different fragments of history at one place. This article…

What do people buy while visiting Triveni Sangam Prayagraj

What do people buy while visiting Triveni Sangam Prayagraj

Baring the odd sweet shop or a couple of tea stalls, most of the shops in Triveni Sangam, Prayagraj are selling articles religious in nature. There is a huge ecosystem and parallel economy for this. People come in large number to visit Sangam and perform the religious rituals. If Maag Mela is jam packed, then…

Guptar Ghat Garden, Ayodhya Cantt – A world class recreational garden in the spiritual capital of the world
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Guptar Ghat Garden, Ayodhya Cantt – A world class recreational garden in the spiritual capital of the world

Note from the Author – The name of this place as marked on Google Maps is “New Company Garden” where the word ‘company’ represents “East India Company”. There are many parks in the major cities of Uttar Pradesh which are named either company parks or company bagh and that nomenclature continues. In fact in Prayagraj,…

Dev Diwali or Dev Deepawali – Diwali of the Gods Triveni Sangam Prayagraj

Dev Diwali or Dev Deepawali – Diwali of the Gods Triveni Sangam Prayagraj

Dev Deepawali is celebrated 15 days after Diwali. The festival of lights as we all know began with the return of Lord Rama from his exile to Ayodhya. Dev Diwali marks the culmination of the Diwali celebrations which is considered to be the grand finale when Gods descend on earth. It is celebrated in a…

Fujifilm X-S20 Film Simulation Recipe Kodak Portra 400 Sample Pictures – Delhi Street Photography
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Fujifilm X-S20 Film Simulation Recipe Kodak Portra 400 Sample Pictures – Delhi Street Photography

Fans of Kodak Professional Portra 400 Film are trying to replicate the warm and grainy look captured by a film. The Delhi streets offer an opportunity at capturing yellow hues. What is Kodak Portra 400? Released in 1998, Kodak Portra was a professional grade film meant specially for wedding, fashion and portrait photography. Soon photographers…

Kanwar Yatra at Prayagraj – Shiv Shakti at an ancient city
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Kanwar Yatra at Prayagraj – Shiv Shakti at an ancient city

Prayagraj is known as the Sangam city, more specifically Triveni Sangam or the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati. Prayagraj is home to the Magh Mela also known as Kumbh/Maha Kumbh. So any reference to this city is mostly connected to the largest in attendance and scale of preparation. People have used tech like satellite…

King Udayan of Kaushambi – A romantic king and his military conquests
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King Udayan of Kaushambi – A romantic king and his military conquests

When Brahma created the universe, he also created seven human races to rule the Earth. One of his favourite race was the Kuru clan. The great epic Mahabharat is the story of different generations of the Kuru Dynasty. After the death of Krishna, the Pandavas left their massive kingdom in the hands of Parikshit, son…

Dadhikando Mela – A historic protest against the British rule going back more than 100 years ago
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Dadhikando Mela – A historic protest against the British rule going back more than 100 years ago

It was 1890 and a group of revolutionaries decide to come up with a unique way to protest, they organised a religious fair. Any kind of gathering was prohibited under the British rule. But these revolutionaries were confident that a religious mela will not be objected to by the British. They also calculated that once…

Sujavan Dev Temple – A mystery and distant link to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
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Sujavan Dev Temple – A mystery and distant link to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

On the outskirts of Prayagraj straddling the banks of river Yamuna is an intriguing temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is visual delight unlike anywhere seen on earth. It is also relatively away from the tourist circuit. Every year during the peak of monsoon, the hill becomes an island and the temple is accessible only…

Garhwa Fort, Shankargarh, Prayagraj District – mystifying temple within fort walls
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Garhwa Fort, Shankargarh, Prayagraj District – mystifying temple within fort walls

No one really knows but this fort might have been built to secure the ancient temples within the complex. The fort was built in the year 1750 but the temples within the fort complex could be more than 1000 years old before the fort was constructed. A fascinating part of history recently restored by the…

Paarijaat Tree, Sultanpur – Historic, Mythological and Majestic
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Paarijaat Tree, Sultanpur – Historic, Mythological and Majestic

What makes something holy or divine? Some faith worship symbols, others worship the elements. Sometimes there are objects like a holy book and for most of Indians, there are idols and pictures. There is an old saying “Faith can move mountains”. Here in Sultanpur, the Paarijaat Tree is the focus of devotion. While visiting such…

Settings for night trails using GoPro Hero 11 Black
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Settings for night trails using GoPro Hero 11 Black

With introduction of “Vehicle Lights” mode, GoPro literally has made light trails a cakewalk. But today capturing light trails has been made easy on almost every mobile. Settings for night trails GoPro Hero 11 has three main modes – Video (main mode which opens in centre as default), Photo and Time Lapse mode. Once you…