Bonnville Pontiac 1958

Recently, while coming out from a guest-house lobby after a meeting, my eyes got glued to this and could not resist to request the client if I can spend some time with this brilliantly detailed scale model of Bonnville Pontiac... A quick run to grab the camera bag and some shots of the beauty :)












Bonnville Pontiac is quite popular as a collector's edition. This particular 2 door convertible is 18+ feet long and is among one the heaviest cars produced in that time. It was powered by a V8 6100cc and 300hp engine with 'Star Chief' body style.

Spread LOVE :)

Sewing Machines ;)

Today evening, while walking through the lanes of Mehrauli, I just came across with this shop who repairs 'Sewing Machines'. I realized after walking few steps ahead and stopped to take the camera out. Those rustic old machines there for repair and maintenance were quite interesting to me. Some shots from street after long :)

I was so much in an impression that these are out of use... sigh. And it also reminded me my dissertation days, when I bought a 'Hosqueverna' fully automatic sewing machine for some 200 GBP and took over a week to learn how to operate it. The funniest thing was, it took numerous replay of an YouTube video and some 3+ hours to put the first thread... Huh. It really was fun to add parameters to various fabrics and to use them to create pre-cast concrete blocks. Should post them in a separate post sometime ;)


The owner of the shop... Mr. Surya Prakash Bhatia.













How many of us do remember this this thing... May be one in your Grandparent's home!!!

Information:
The invention of 'Sewing Machine' is quite controversial and the STORY starts from 1755. A German immigrant Charles Weisenthal took a patent in London for a needle to be used for mechanical sewing. And the machine by a young British inventor Thomas Saint in 1790 is believed to be the first real sewing machine.
And the story line kept moving back to Germany, Australia and then America.

Another Evening...

Today, after long I was out, holding a camera in hand and without any clue what to click. By that time the sky was overcast after a sprinkle here in Delhi. I do miss the blue sky and the play of clouds often and probably just run to the hills when have little time, but today it was totally different and I was seated over a historic monument and wanted to say Goodbye to Sun and to surprise the sky showed this shade. An April sky here in Delhi could be no Better...

Event: Delhi JAZZ Festival

Delhi hosted its 3rd International Jazz Festival from 13th-18th March 2013 at Nehru Park, ChanakyaPuri.

Few glimpses from the closing day of the event... Its better late than never :D

Travel: Narkanda again ;)

The recent development in our relationship (me and Himachal Pradesh :D) is definitely making me happy and I believe, it will not take long to patch things up and get back to the days of strong bondage. Almost 2 years and away from the hills of North was definitely unexpected, but all thanks to some priorities of life where travel (read aimless and unplanned travel) takes the second place, but it is good and refreshing to be back...

Last weekend again, out of nowhere I did hit the road without any idea of destination. The only thing I knew that it should be Himachal so had to hit NH1 and 3+ hours to think on the destination. The first thing in mind was Dharamshala as it is yet to be explored and with 48hours in hand it would be hectic, so decided to move towards Shimla and further. Some 32 hours and I was back home from Narkanda and Hatu Peak after experiencing Rain, Fog, Snow and a small trekking... Also discovered a new place to eat at Ambala Cantonment.
I always hated to stay at Shimla and somehow avoided it always, but this time had to make the night-halt in the outskirts because of the tired travel companion and the night drive ended at 10.30pm :(
Next day only, the travel route was Narkanda via Naldhera and then Hatu Peak. The snowfall at Hatu made the trip successful and gave the energy to reach back delhi in 9 hours flat with a dinner stop at Puran Singh, Ambala Cantonment :)



Nocturnal always ;)


Waking-up in the Hills...


And a brilliant morning to start the day with...












Snow started from Kufri... though settled and dirty.


Approaching Hatu Peak...


No way to drive beyond... So Trek :)







More and more Snow :)


Travel Information:
Distance: 430 kms from Delhi vis Himalayan Expressway
               65 kms from the hustle-bustle of Shimla
Road Condition: Excellent
Driving hours: Is easily doable in 8-9 nonstop driving hours
Best time to Visit: Throughout the year (The roads only get blocked in Dec-Jan due to heavy snow)
Accommodation: HPTDC Hatu and 1-2 private standard accommodation options availavle. And there also is a option to drive back to Shimla for Luxury.
What not to miss: The Hatu Peak (Awesome panoramic view of snow peaks and Hatu Mata Temple) and the apple and cheery orchards along way. Narkanda is famous for its quality Apples which are mostly exported.

Travel: Naga Sadhus at 'Maha Kumbh 2013'

Naked body covered only with ashes, unshaven hair and a thick smoke of marijuana in the air around...

Aprilia Tuono V4; Just Another Machine ;)

With a small price tag of 15 odd Lakhs, is not it amazing!!!
People say it BRUTAL, who rode it... This liter-class produces 167 bhp to reach 270+ km/h and it is Insane.

Every tempting bike reminds me the story, how my parents sold-off my bike in my absence and without letting me know. It was their way to get rid of unwanted worries for me by seeing the current road conditions and also to prevent my touring... No complains though they succeeded in the later and noone has control over their first worry. 2+ years have passed since I rode a motorbike but it hardly took me away from being a biker... How does it matter if you don't own one! It should take its own time to getting back to the life you wanted to live like, all thanks to the changing priorities of life... Is not it! But somewhere in the remote corner of the heart there is a voice, there will be a bike and it will BIG. I was in Gurgaon Aprilia showroom recently to see a friend and got to meet this guy and thought of sharing :)

Travel: Kuldhara Ghost Village, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

An abandoned village and 100s of years since anyone lived... And there are many stories from words of mouth to describe it... All of them pretty interesting, without knowing the truth.

Kuldhara was a village of 'Paliwal Brahmans', who were very knowledgeable and rich. Some people say, the daughter of village chief was so beautiful that the king of Jaisalmer eyed on him and wanted to marry her forcefully. And being a Brahman, it was intolerable to them but had to say nothing infront of Power. And as a solution, all the villagers emptied the village overnight and traveled beyond the reach of the ruler.
People even say, as the Brahmans were really really rich, they have stored Gold underneath all the houses and there is a very old snake in the village protecting it.
According to an elderly guy I met there, the Brahmans emptied the village some 400 years ago because of the heavy tax impounded by the King of Jaisalmer.















This is the old Temple in the village... Unworshiped and Government is getting it restored for the tourism purpose.


Travel Information:
Distance: 800+ kms from Delhi
               20+ kms from Jaisalmer on the way to Sam Sand dunes (around 7-8 kms off the main road)
Road Condition: Excellent
Best time to Visit: Aug-Mar (and prefer the evening time)