Himalayas

Shivalik  Range 

The Shivalik range of the Himalayas is the lowest level of Himalayan mountains also considered the outer Himalayas.

 In India, it varies from the Indus river to the Brahmaputra river (i.e. from J&K to Mizoram).

Paranomic View of the Himalayas from my Rooftop

 The Shivalik range of the Himalayas in Dehradun, has a vast area,

as from the seen the picture, it views an area from Herbetpur, Selaqui to Narendra Nagar, Rishikesh.

the whole area comprises many small villages and specially Mussuriee.

From the foothills of Mussoorie, Jakhan (starting portion of Rajpur )can also be seen 

from on the spot.

Some portion of these mountains is also a part of the Himachal range( 2nd layer/level of the Himalayas)......   

Mussuriee portion in the Himalayas

The picture also depicts that is this Tsunami waves.........
makes you thrill too

The City and the Himalayas

The above picture is showing one portion of the Shivalik range

Dehradun is a valley where 2 sides are the mountain ranges while the 2 are enriched by the famous 2 rivers i.e.the  Ganga and  the Yamuna

Forest Research Institute (FRI)

History

Founded by Dietrich Brandis in 1878 as an imperial forest school under British Raj.

It was re-established as Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906, built in Greek Roman Architecture.

It is widely acclaimed as one of the oldest forest institutes in the world.

also, consists of 6 museums... 

Back view of the main building

The institute has a vast history as it evolves and develops scientific forestry, not in India only, but over the whole Asian sub-continent. With the lush green arena, the estate is spread over 450 hectares, having a Shivalik range of Himalayas at the back and the Vasant Vihar at the front. The main building is built in Greco-Roman and Colonial styles of architecture within an area of 2.5 hectares.

Side tower and the front garden

The Institution has its own Printing Press and Experimental Field area for Forestry Researches also it gets equipped with Laboratories and Libraries listing many books on Forestry, Herbarium, manyArboreta, nurseries much more, making the institution a different of its own kind resulting that the institution is the biggest forest based training institute in India. 

Side tower at the premises

The main building is the prime attraction to the tourists here which is larger than Buckingham Palace London. It is Six huge museums, names are- Social Forestry Museum, Pathology Museum, Silviculture  Museum, Timber Museum, N.W.F.P Museum and Entomology Museum, displaying many things related to forestry and its products which includes Plants, Animals, Insects, Animal Skins, Wooden Craftwork by the locals and different tribes from various parts of India and many more.

 Way inside to the corridor

One of the main attractions is the "Timber Museum", which consists of many attractive things like:- The Chair of President of India, Vice-President of India and Governor-general of India; which are made up of Timber. Some miniature models of daily house needs and hand-carved paintings and models, also have some miniature models of timber plantation, cutting section and preservation section.

Office area of FRI

The museum has also one major attraction and that is a 700 years old tree trunk that scientists have found in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.




                                                        
                                             The gigantic pillar, made in the Greek-Roman architecture

The institution provides training to the Forest Rangers and officers through IGNFA( Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy), and also provides a scenic and green area to students for their research, as the institution has thirteen research divisions and disciplines some of them are Forest Pathology, Forest Products and Genetics, Non-Wood Forest Products, Tree propagation and Forest ecology and environment.

Backyard way to the building

Facts about Buddha Statues

Buddha Statue

With the contribution of Buddhism to world religions, we have also found some beautiful contributions of arts and statues by them. At present time we have found some big and gigantic statues around the globe. These statues are known as Buddharupa ( An awakened form), which actually adorns the Buddha temples.

The Great Buddha Statue

In the Buddhist tradition, Buddha doesn't simply represent the god, it shows a person who achieved self-liberation and enlightenment.  Many Buddha statues have shown the original Buddha who taught the lesson of kindness and love and showed the path to Nirvana. In the basic Buddhist practice, followers need to visualize Buddha as  "Buddha Padmasambhava " to confer blessings on the world. In the practice, these statues were not held or used anyhow but followers used to chant mantras in front of statues as they serve as the source of energy and peace for the practitioner. 

The Prayer wheels

A basic Buddhist shrine mainly consists of three Buddha Statue, these are the three states of Buddha, in the centre, there is the most known figure of Buddha i.e. Buddha Shakyamuni, To his right, there is Green Tara i.e. the Buddha of Compassion, to his left, there is Buddha Padmasambhava i.e. Buddha who purifies and shows the way to enlightenment.

The Prayer Flags

The statues of Buddha we have seen all through the world, have been seen while giving a pose which actually shows particular teaching of Theravada ( core Buddhism ), where the hand gestures are known as "Mudras".

Some of the Mudras are:-

• When Buddha is sitting and his right hand is raised up and his left hand extends outwards having his palm facing upside with two middle fingers which are bending slightly showing protection and overcoming fear.
•  When Buddha gets seated with either crossed legs or one leg resting on the other and both the hands in the lap and the face with little outward position shows the Buddha in the Meditation.
• In Thai temples, Buddha is in a pose known as " calling the earth to witness " which signifies the Enlighted Gautama.
• When Buddha lying on the right-hand side of the tabletop showing his last moment before death. 

Back view of the Great Statue

Front view of the Great statue

A small Gateway behind the Statue

The position in which we see the Buddha Statue in the Buddha temple is in " Abhaya Mudra " which signifies strength and inner security and actually shows fearlessness to others. this pose was the immediate pose of Buddha after attaining Enlightenment. In this mudra, the right hand is generally raised upside near to shoulder resulting bend of the arm and the left-hand stands straight down with a facing palm to the front.

The prayer wheel on the premises

In the conclusion, we can say that using the Buddha statue by Buddhists is because of maintaining their role model in their own conceptualization which puts them on the path of enlightenment. they are also placed by many peoples in their lobbies and waiting rooms as they are an essence of peace and serenity to the environment around them. 

Mindrolling Monastery

Facts about Buddha Temple

 Buddha temple also known as Mindrolling monastery, built in 1965 is a Tibetan Monastery by Kochen Rinpoche and a few other monks, created for the promotion and protection of the Buddhist culture.

The temple complex was made in the "Name" style (as per the Tibetan religion school ) and built in the Japanese style...

  

Main Entrance of Buddha temple

As can be seen, many Buddhist temples are located near forests, hills or remote areas because it has been known that the hills and the forests are associated with positive and spiritual vibrations, even the monks in the earlier time were persecuted by people hence the forest gave them safety. While the temples are often in the middle of towns in China, Japan and Thailand.

The centrepiece of the temple

 Stupas symbolize the Universe concept of the Buddhist tradition. The dome of the stupa stands upon a square or circular base, the square base represents the earth, representing the dome-shaped sky joining the world mountain which enters the dome to form a balcony at the peak of the hill. There is a pole at the centre of the dome that signifies the axis of the earth.
It is considered that the shapes of Stupas may have been got inspired by the staff and the begging bowl used by Buddha during his wandering.

Small Stupas on the right side of the main temple

The main temple or stupa has some small stupas also known as "Eight Great Stupas". They gave information about the 8 main events of the Lord Buddha.

1. The Lotus Blossom Stupa symbolizes the birth of  Siddhartha later known as Buddha. The step on this stupa are round and decorated with lotus petals.
2. The Enlightenment Stupa symbolizes the stage when Siddhartha achieved Enlightenment. The steps here are rectangular and undecorated.
3. The Stupa of the turning wheel of Dharma symbolizes when Buddha began to turn the Dharma wheel and starts giving initiation to people. The steps are adorned with doorways i.e. opening the doors of Dharma.
4. The Great Miracle Stupa symbolizes the event when the Buddha got challenged at Shravasti to demonstrate his realization. Here each step has four directions having a central extension. 
5. The Stupa of Descent from the Tushita heaven symbolizes the event when Buddha came back from the celestial realm to continue his teaching. Actually the mother of Buddha i.e. Mayadevi, get reborn in the celestial realm called Tushita heaven, Buddha spent three months there teaching her the path to enlightenment to repay her kindness. Each side of this stupa has a staircase on four steps.
6. The Stupa of Reconciliation symbolizes the reuniting of the monastic followers of Buddha after the disagreement. the steps of this stupa are octagonal  in shape
7. The All Victorious Stupa symbolizes the event when Buddha extends his life by pleading with one of his disciples. The steps of this stupa are round
8.   The Parinirvana Stupa symbolizes the true peace to Buddha which is beyond death. There are no steps at this stupa

A Tibetan Lion

The grassy portion behind the Great Buddha Statue

The temple usually contains many Buddha Statues. The main or the central statue of the Buddha is getting surrounded by the Offerings like incense sticks, fruits and flowers. Some of the contain ashes or bones of a noble holy man.
The temple has usually get directed towards facing to south or sometimes east, but it never  faced towards north or east as they were regarded as Unlucky directions according to Chinese Feng Shui

Amazing woodwork was done by the artists on the temple entrance door

Small Dragon craved on the temple gate

A Buddhist temple is also called a " Vihara ". It has also a school, here you find a shrine room with a large Buddha statue and the statue of his disciples. We also find some relics and manuscripts as well as a meditation room, a lecture room and a library.

The Holy mantra of the Tibetan Tradition Written on the walls is " Om Mani Padme Hum "

The walls of the temple are also get decorated with beautiful paintings inside the chamber the temples which describe life, his teachings and the miracles done by the Lord Buddha, adding another amazing feature to the temple and giving a peaceful soothe to the worshipers who came theirs for worship.

Offerings......

Flower Offerings

A small Gratitude is given to the Lord at the stairs........ Flowers.

 From the very early time, flowers were being used as an offering to the Lord, even in the Hinduism
 " Puspanjali ",i.e." Act of Flowering to the Deity" was done from the ancient time.

It has various points which signify the why? they have been used so...

• Beautiful: - As we know that flowers are beautiful, hence they were used to offer a beautiful gratitude to the Lord.

•  Natural and pure: -  Flowers are natural and pure as well and to offer the deity only natural and pure offerings are used, so that deity gets impressed from it.

• Sweet Fragrance: -  Flower booms the arena from their fragrance, therefore they were used to spread the smell in the worship place.  

•  Devotion: - Offering flowers to God is also a sign of our devotion to God and one should do so with all his heart, this way we are giving a part of our soul to the Lord.

Lord Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Lord Buddha, earlier known as " Siddhartha ", " Gautama "or " Sakyamuni "  is the prince of "Kapilavastu"( a region in Nepal now) and the founder of Buddhism is a famous saint whose teachings get spread to the world which includes," The unification with the Lord ", "Ahimsa(non-violence)", "Equality among various levels of Society" and many more.

He was born between the 4th and 6th century B.C., that time was a time when the world is moving with the belief fewer rituals led to the slaughtering of insane animals for the worship of Deities, and differences arose between people regarding their levels in the society. With the emergence of Buddhism, Lord Buddha gave many spiritual teachings to the world and as a result of this emergence, many Kings and Emperors bow to the saint and adopted Buddhism and moved to the way of Ahimsa.


With the birth of Siddhartha, it was predicted by scholars that the boy would become an emperor or a saint. King Suddodhana gets frightened by the prediction hence he put changes in his capital.
 He shifted all the poor people out of the town and also give restrictions to the servants in the palace so that nothing bad or sad thing came close to the prince as he didn't want that his prince would become a saint. The king gave a luxurious life to his prince but the God's will gonna happen one day the prince move out of the palace and saw many different things in the town and he gets chased by the search for "Truth", as a result at midnight he left his wife and baby in the palace and moved out of the palace for the search of the eternity.
   

A Gigantic Statue of Lord Buddha at Mindrolling Monastery

He move and wandered for years but didn't find what he is searching for. He met with various scholars and sages but no one satisfied him with their words. After searching for years one day he sat under a tree in meditation and promised himself that he wouldn't up to meditate until he got enlightened. He sat for 49 days and got succeeded and then he gave his first sermon ( spiritual talk )to his five disciples.

He further gave the Four Noble Truths which express the basic orientation of Buddhism and provide a conceptual framework of Buddhist thought and proposed the Eightfold Path to end the suffering of the soul and get unified with the Supreme soul.

Some of its famous quotes are:-

" The secret of health for both body and mind is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly " 

" In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? how deeply did you let go?"

Front view of the Statue

Lord Buddha died at the age of 80 years in "Kushinagar".He died of food poisoning after accepting an offering of food that had gone bad. The texts don't agree with the context. Some say it was spoiled pork, others poisonous mushrooms. As the news that the Buddha was dying spread, his grief-stricken followers gathered around him to hear the Buddha’s final teaching before he left the world forever.

His last words to his disciples were, " I exhort you: all compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness ".

White elephant

Elephant Guard

The elephant on the premises of the Buddha temple is considered to be a guardian of the temple and of Buddha himself.

A magnificent  white elephant guarding the temple

Also gives a depiction of the birth of Lord Buddha. According to the ancient texts, one night the Queen  " Mayadevi ' ( mother of Gautam Buddha ) dreamed that from heaven a white elephant entering her womb. From that very night, the queen conceived that the child is magical and powerful.

Later on, the queen give birth to the baby without feeling any labour pain during delivery and when the King " Shuddhodana " saw the baby child, he named him " Siddhartha ".


In Buddhism, there is an emphasis on the symbolization of Animals
Therefore, Elephant has the main characteristics of being strong and steadfast hence it becomes a symbol of physical and mental health and strength as well as responsibility and earthiness.

The Prayer Wheel

The Prayer Wheel

The Prayer wheels, Mantra  Om Mani Padme Hum are written on them, made of wood and metal at Mindrolling  Monastery.

The Wheel also known as the "Mani Wheel", has the main concept of " turning the wheel of Dharma".
According to previous traces found in history, they are founded by Indian Master "Arya Nagarjuna".
It is used by the people to purify the soul and accumulate the Good Karma from the Negative Karma.
Practitioners spin the wheel as many times as they would like to repeat the Mani Mantra, making the Practitioner calmer and more peaceful.


The mantra invokes the spiritual power and blessings of "Chenrezig", the collection of compassion.  In the words of one  Chenrezig are the awakened nature of each being's own mind, the love, and compassion present in the dharmakaya. Chenrezig is within us because love and compassion are not qualities added to the mind," but are inherent in our true nature.  

Prayer Flags

Tibetan  Prayer  Flags

 It is basically a rectangular coloured cloth used usually by the people to bless the surrounding areas.

They are basically found in Tibetan societies near some hill peaks and ridges. It is believed that the flags have originated with "BON"(Bon, also spelt Bön, is a Tibetan Religion). Traditional prayer flags include woodblock-printed text and images.

Prayer flags at Mindrolling Monastery

Each of the colours is having some meaning depicting earth like:- 

•  Red signifies Fire    
• White signifies Air
• Green  is water
• Yellow is Earth
• Blue is wind

It also symbolizes the direction of the Earth.

The Mantra " Om Mani Padme Hum ", which is get written over the flags also depicted a deep meaning with is actually a combination of richer values and ethics. It is said that these flags emit positive vibrations which were carried by the winds resulting in silent prayers and that's why they were held above high altitudes.
There are mainly two types of flags either they are horizontal or they were vertical. The horizontal ones are known as" Lung ta"(means wind horse) while the vertical ones were known as" Dar Cho". 

It is rightly a good decision to gift prayer flags to your friends as it results in their luck in their life as well as positive vibrations to their surroundings.

These flags can easily be seen over the various parts of the Himalayas like Tibet, Nepal, China, Bhutan and some north-eastern states of India. Every year on the Tibetan new year these flags were get replaced with new ones as it is also a fact that they should be hung on a good astrological day otherwise they spread negative vibrations until they flew by the wind. 

Lung ta flags shows a horse bearing three flaming jewels on its back which symbolizes the three cornerstones of the Tibetan tradition, these are- the Buddha, the Dharma( lord Buddha's teachings) and the Sangha( Buddhist community).

Manav Kendra

Man Making Center

 Manav Kendra or Man making Center is a spiritual centre Formed by Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj in the foothills of Dehradun on 6 February 1970, having facilities of Langar(food), Hospitality, School and Old Age Home for all the needy persons irrespective of their caste, culture, creed, and religion.  There are some aims for which the Manav Kendra was created:-

A view of Kothi at Manav Kendra

• To know and practically realize the real nature of the native self.
• To become a true citizen of the world is a useful member of humankind.
• To cast a man into a real and actual human for universal love at its supreme.

In short, the objective behind the creation of Manav Kendra is to create a centre for the integration of all humanity and human needs so that it becomes helpful for them to reach their supreme spiritual goal.
         

The Kothi (main mansion) has three trees growing through the middle of it.

As the Kothi(main mansion) was about to build, the architect asks the Master that we have to cut the trees for creating the Kothi as it will create a problem in making the roof of it and also would bring danger that it may get fell and destroy it whole. The Master replied-" there is no need to cut the trees, this place is the home of these trees and the creatures live here and you want to put them out of their homes, it is not correct. You should build the roof  without cutting the trees." 

Even when small bushes get cut during construction, people find snakes and other small creatures the master said -" there is no need to kill these creatures, you just carry them and leave them at the remote site."

A huge tree on the premises of Manav Kendra

The Master serving langar to the sewadars

All through the construction, the land where the construction was to be done, the area gets quenched and muddy in the rainy climate which makes it difficult to observe as well as to work, but still, the master stands there sometimes he sat under the tree or sat in his car even the sewadars said that they didn't felt any tiredness although they had worked for hours and due to this dedication and effort the work gets completed in only two years. Even the master used to feed langar to the sewadars with his own hands. That was such a grace given by the master over the arena that until today the area got its smell and vibration from the master itself.

A picturesque of the Sarovar at Manav Kendra

  There is also a Sarovar(man-made pond) and a water tank made in the Manav Kendra which is used to supply the water all through the centre but it was considered a miracle because at the time when it was created, the city has a shortage of water and the water was also supplied to nearby areas.

It was told by the Master that earlier here, when Guru Gobind Singh was travelling to Hemkund Sahib, his horse's leg get stuck in a small pond after which he sat down a tree and rested for a while.
hence the master suggests creating that pond in a bigger form and with the decision the Sarovar was created, which was the largest oval-shaped pond in the whole of Asia.

A portrait of Master, giving Darshan to Devotes at Manav Kendra

The master gave Satsangs here every day and many of his followers from across the country came here to listen to their Satsangs which give them peace and realization of inner aspects of spirituality.
Once he concluded his all teachings and gave a slogan -" Be Good, Do Good, Be One".

Random clicks

Random Clicks

Poll Light outside my home.......
showing rays Scattering from the tree.
The way light looks behind the leaves gives lines of light
showing the beauty of electronic light, it's not always nature who is giving the love of beauty to others.
Sometimes it also comes from man-made gadgets..........

DAV PG COLLEGE

Dayanand Anglo Vedic

 One of the old colleges at Dehradun, DAV PG.......

In the year 1892, the Arya Samaj evening school from Meerut get transferred to the Doon valley which further gets developed as D.A.V. School, gradually grew and get extended into Dayanand Anglo Vedic Post Graduate College.

The premium support the college get is from Thakur Puran Singh Negi, who donated his property to the institution which makes the college develop. This development makes the college emerge as one of the premium institutions in Northern India and after independence, it becomes the biggest college in the state having all the main studying streams viz. SCIENCE, COMMERCE. ARTS, LAW & B.Ed.  

Entry gate of College

Light and the Sky

As the sky grew darker , showing the incoming of storm........................

A Beautiful view of street light,outside  my home............................

Clock tower

Clock Tower

 

The most renowned landmark, the clock tower at Dehradun is six-faced hexagonal tower architecture, standing with heritage values at the centre of the city.

Clock Tower, hiding behind a tree

Its original name is " Balbir Tower ", built to commemorate the Independence of India.
It gets laid down on 2nd July 1948, by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh at the time, Sarojini Naidu further it gets completed in 1953 and was inaugurated by the second Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri. It was built in the honor of the freedom activists, who sacrificed their lives for the independence of India.

Earlier, its chiming  was much louder than it can be heard from the near hills, but nowadays it is
 non-chiming.


Another historical concept behind the construction of the tower is that it was created by Britishers during colonial rule, as it is a common thing that should be built in the city so that everyone will be able to know the time from anywhere in the city.


In the present time, the clock tower is getting surrounded by the General post of Dehradun, Food and Entertainment City Mall, Indramani Badoni Memorial Statue, Allahabad Bank (Main Branch) and many more.

The road gets trisect from the tower one goes to Chakrata, the other goes to Rajpur and the remaining one connects to Haridwar Bypass further get connected to Haridwar and Rishikesh



 

Monsoon at Doon

Rainy day

As the doon valley lies in the foothills of the Himalayas, it has generally moderate temperature which gets cooler in winters and warm in summers.

At some higher altitudes in doon, you can also feel cold, as temperature varies from altitude.

In summer the temperature varies from  36℃ to 16℃, with bright sunshine during the day and a breeze in the evening.

In winter the temperature goes out from 15℃ to 5℃ and to the freezing point sometimes.

In both the major seasons Doonities get rain showers at small intervals as the region receives an average rainfall of 2073.33mm in the Monsoons between June and September. In winter some showering may be received in December and January but the maximum rainfall is received from July to August.

Water droplets on the glass window

Dehradun become a scenic attraction spot for travelling during monsoons. The environment becomes cool and humid all around and the cool breezes flow throughout the city. It looks so freshly just like the city getting bathed and worn out the green suit. Although it is not a good time for outdoor activities still you can feel the warmth of a blanket with the cold climate outside the window     

 Dark Clouds in the sky 

 In the year 2013, Dehradun received the highest rainfall in the entire country i.e. about 370mm in June. Annually the city receives a rainfall of 1896mm which makes it one of the prominent rainfall cities in India.

panoramic view of clouds 

The moment when clouds cover the city

The pole light gives an essence of another sun beneath the dark grey clouds

The Himalayas get covered by clouds

                             

 Generally in Uttarakhand, monsoons arrive at the end of June but sometimes it came up with pre-monsoon showers with actually good for the city's agricultural activities. During monsoons, thunderstorms and hailstones are common in precipitation which creates a moment of joy and happiness in the valley, making the valley beautiful and scenic.

Tyndall from the sky

Light from the Sky

Doon and its weather, you can't say anything about it.
It may change according to its mood, sometimes it leads to a pleasant breeze or changes to strong winds, but it never harmed to anyone.
Like in the above picture, the light gets scattered from the clouds,rays coming from the small pores of
clouds, giving a pinch of beauty to the evening of Dehradun.  

"The  Tyndall Effect, also known as Tyndall scattering, is light scattering by particles in a colloid or else particles in a very fine suspension ".