SimplyMyPleasure

Republic of India: Brief Intro  India, officially the  Republic of India,  is a country in  South Asia.  It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country (with over 1.2 billion people), and the most populous democracy in the world. Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500 years.  During the Vedic period (c. 1700 – 500 BCE), the foundations of Hindu philosophy, mythology, theology and literature were laid, and many beliefs and practices which still exist today, such as  dhárma ,  kárma ,  yóga , and  mokṣa , were established.  India is notable for its religious diversity, with Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism among the nation’s major religions.  The predominant religion, Hinduism, has been shaped by various historical schools of thought, including ...

Recently, in my city, people were very much disappointed with the schools depriving the kids by not giving enough holidays during the much awaited winter break. If you think that’s a matter of concern, come let me introduce you all to Oymyakon’s solitary school that closes only when the temperature falls below -52°C. Obviously the next rapid fire would be “Am I kidding?” It’s been a while now since I have been wishing to visit Oymyakon but the thought of living through the extreme conditions makes me shiver. Located in the eastern Yakutsk region in Russia, also known as the ‘Pole of Cold’,  Oymyakon   valley is the coldest place on Earth ! They say the lowest temperature recorded here was -71.2°C with the average being -50°C. Imagine, coldest, I understand but inhabited, that’s the strange part. Freezing at -52°C | Photo credit: Bolot Bochkarev/askyakutia.com Seriously it’s a matter of wonder for me to think how a population of approxima...

Rajasthan is renowned all over the world for its formidable forts and princely palaces. These magnificent masterpieces attract travellers from different parts of the world. To see it once is not enough for them, so tourists come here again and again. Most of these splendid palaces have turned into Heritage Hotels giving tourists a chance to experience the royal living of the erstwhile royalties.  Let us take a walk through some of the significant forts and palaces in Rajasthan. Amber Fort – Jaipur © wikimedia.org  Amber Fort – Jaipur Image credit: wikimedia.org Situated atop a hill, Amber Fort offers a panoramic view of the Aaram Bagh, Maotha Lake, the Kesar Kyari and the old historic town down below. A steep uphill path is the approach to the Palace Complex, which is popularly traversed on elephant back. The huge courtyard Jaleb Chowk is the entrance to Shila Mata temple on one end and the Palace on the other. There is a spectacular Diwan-e-Aam and the glass ...

Located in southwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region, northwest China, Taklamakan desert is bounded by the Kunlun mountains to the south, the Pamir mountains and Tian Shan to the west and north, and the Gobi desert to the east, also known as “Place of No Return”, more commonly interpreted as “once you get in, you’ll never get out” or similar. The Taklamakan Desert has an area of 337,000 km 2  (130,000 sq mi), making it slightly smaller than Germany, and includes the Tarim Basin, which is 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long and 400 kilometres (250 mi) wide. It is the world’s second largest shifting sand desert with about 85% made up of shifting sand dunes ranking 16th in size in a ranking of the world’s largest deserts . Because it lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Taklamakan is a paradigmatic cold desert climate. Given its relative proximity with the cold to frigid air masses in Siberia...

Case Study 1: United Kingdom Hungerford Massacre 1987: 16 people died by a lone gunman. Result: semi automatic and pump-action weapons banned. Registration mandatory for owning shotguns. And the bucks doesn't  stops here: Dunblane, Scotland 1996: One unspeakable coward bastard (sorry for my language) entered the gymnasium of a primary school (yea friends primary school) and  opened fire from his handgun resulting to the death of 15 children aged between five and six along with their teacher. Outcome: UK lawmakers, resulting in some of the toughest anti-gun legislation in the world, passed a ban on the private ownership of all handguns in mainland Britain. Though it took 18 months! Case Study 2: Australia Port Arthur massacre : After the tragic incident, former Australian President John Howard said, " We have an opportunity in this country not to go down the American path." And the opportunity was taken: weapons that can kill many people quickly _ semi auto...

Wilderness backpacking “ Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar Wanderer, there is no path, the path is made by walking ” —Antonio Machado, "Proverbios y cantares XXIX" Carrying everything you'll need to get along for several days in the wilderness isn't everyone's idea of a "vacation", but if you don't mind including some physical effort and additional inconvenience in your travel time, it's an ideal way to truly "get away from it all", and hopefully see some truly majestic scenery. Based on my experience and sharing the common passion with my fellow hikers, collectively we share few tips and points to be taken care off.    Landscape Before taking off on a backpacking trip, assess what kind of territory you'll be traveling through. Distances on a map never look that hard to cover, but once you find yourself staring up at a 400-foot ridge standing between you and tonight's camp, it...