John Steinbeck once said, “what good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness”. The idea is true to a certain extent. Winter sure does wonders for a writer’s soul. But as someone who’s spent a fair share of time dealing with the national capital’s bitter temperature, in addition to tackling eye-burning smog every year, I, unfortunately, have a love-hate relationship with the season.
A week before Christmas I found myself en route to Jammu. It didn’t matter that the place I was heading to was colder than Delhi, covered in a blanket of snow and had recently experienced massive landslides.
The destination was about 100 kilometers from Jammu airport. I was headed to what many call ‘poor man’s Gulmarg’—Patnitop, a small hilltop town in the Udhampur district of Jammu. Set atop a charming plateau in the Shivalik belt, it rests at an altitude of 2,024 meters. As per folklore, Patnitop is a distortion of ‘Patan Da Talab’, which loosely translates to ‘Pond of the Princess’. The legend goes that a pond once existed in the lush meadows of the region, and the princess of the ruling kingdom back then bathed in it.
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
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Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Chutneys For Every Season
GROWING UP IN JHARKHAND, I've always been enchanted by the state's culinary landscape. Here, the local cuisine never fails to surprise with its depth and variety.
BADGE OF HONOUR
IN THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE of tourism, where greenwashing often taints sustainability, certifications can help distinguish between genuine efforts and marketing gimmicks. Green certification systems encourage businesses to enhance their environmental credentials.
WHEELS OF TIME
IN 1947, TRAINS CARRYING REFUGEES ACROSS THE BORDER WERE SYMBOLIC OF THE TUMULT OF THE PARTITION.
RAILS OF THE Raj
FROM ITS CONCEPTION TO ITS ROLE IN THE NATION'S HISTORY, THE BRITISH INDIAN RAILWAYS IS A PHENOMENON MARKED AS MUCH BY MARVEL AS AVARICE
THE RHYTHM OF BOLLYWOOD
FROM THE RAILROAD THRILLER MISS FRONTIER MAIL 1936) TO SHAH RUKH KHAN DANCING ON A TRAIN IN DIL SE' 1998), TRAINS HAVE GIVEN UNFORGETTABLE SONG SEQUENCES TO MANY HINDI FILMS
MEMORY'S OASIS
REMEMBRANCES OF GROWING UP IN SEALDAH RAILWAY OFFICERS COLONY IN KOLKATA
A FAREWELL × TO FLAVOURS
FROM CUTLETS AND RAILWAY MUTTON CURRY IN DINING CARS TO THE UNREMARKABLE FARE AVAILABLE TODAY, THE JOURNEY OF FOOD ON THE INDIAN RAILWAY IS FASCINATING
HERITAGE ON THE TRACKS
THE ICONIC DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY, FONDLY CALLED THE TOY TRAIN,' HAS HELD ITS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS SINCE 1999
HIDDEN LIVES
SPANNING 65,000 KILOMETRES THROUGH DENSELY POPULATED INDIA, THE RAILWAYS ARE A BACKDROP TO COUNTLESS STORIES. 'THE UNRESERVED' BY FILMMAKER SAMARTH MAHAJAN CAPTURES A FEW
JOURNEYS WITHIN AND WITHOUT
FOR IMTIAZ ALI, TRAIN JOURNEYS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE, OFFERING GLIMPSES OF INDIA'S DIVERSE SOCIETY AND ITS MANY CULTURES AND RELIGIONS
