Rookie Journey

 The BMC Building is an architectural marvel in Mumbai. In an area which has other superb examples of architecture like the Victoria Terminus and the General Post Office, the BMC building holds its own with its head held high. Architecture wise the majority of this building is constructed in Indo Saracenic though some elements of Venetian Gothic is also visible. Though the exterior is overwhelming the interior of the building is superb in its details of construction. Though not open to the public, I had joined a walk by Khaki Tours, Mumbai and had the privilege to be taken inside the building. Below are some photographs, which is just an indication of the scale and finesse of the BMC Building. (all photographs by Redmi Note 7 Pro) The CSMT Railway Terminus as seen from the foyer Details of one foyer column The first dome on top of the stairs The griffon protecting the staircase. It has a lion, a bird and a serpent. This symbolises rule of Land Air and Sea Stained glass in o...

Simple and beautiful Rangoli welcome in front of one of the village houses This is the story of a small coastal village in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra called Velas. It was a sleepy little village which went about in its ways till one day, the villagers decided to do something for a very special visitor of theirs, the Olive Ridley Turtle. The Velas beach is one of the few beaches of the western coast of India where the Olive Ridley Turtle lays its eggs. The egg laying congregation occurs between February and April. When the eggs are laid by the mother, the Forest Department along with the local NGO Sayadri Nisarga Mitra takes steps to protect the eggs. These eggs are under threat from mainly dogs, humans and hyenas. The Forest Department prepares a turtle hatchery which is surrounded by hard mesh boundary. The eggs would be dug up, and re-buried in the sands of the hatchery, with a marker showing Number of Eggs, Date of Laying and some other parameters. The Olive Ridley Turtle ...

Situated in Poinsur Hill, and carved out of it, the Mandapeshwar caves date back to around 550 AD. Bombay (now called Mumbai) has a number of caves, mainly carved out of the rocks by Buddhist monks. (Poinsur Hill, or Mount Poinsur is supposed to a be a derivation of Mandapeshwar, "Mount Poinsur" = "Mandap Eshwar" phonetically so similar!) Situated at the banks of the Dahisar river, Mandapeshwar Caves were connected to Kanheri Caves by the riverway. (The river has since changed tracks and instead of the navigable waterway it has become a nullah). On entering the complex, from afar you are greeted by the frontal pillars of the Mandap. These pillars are worn off, but still somehow gives the feeling of supporting the rocks above. The main cave or the Mandap Though the Mandap is the largest complex, there is a smaller complex to the left of it. This smaller complex is roughly hewn into the rock and bereft of any carvings. On all probabilities it was used as residential q...