Alwar - an encounter with the Cat!

I had wanted to write about Madurai today, but when I checked my Hard disk, I realized the photos are missing and it’s no fun writing, unless I have pics to share. So instead, I will write part II of the Rajasthan Series.

So, Alwar it is today. I have spent 3 years of my life in Alwar. However, that was when I was 6 years of age and so I really don’t remember much from that era.

However, I revisited Alwar, around a year back, sometime in January.

A small town, situated amidst craggy, old rocks of Aravalis, in North-east Rajasthan, the place is in some sort of time-warp, as nothing really changes here and if not for the natural beauty of the place, one would have hardly heard about it.

What to do, if and when you are in Alwar:                                                                                                                           

•  Visit the beautiful Sariska Palace and the Sariska Reserve. The big cat is a resident of this place and if you are lucky you may get to meet them - up, close and personal. 

This reminds me of an incident that happened, when I was an engineering student. Myself and a friend were being driven from our college to Delhi via Alwar, in a Wagon-R. We had started out quite late and were passing through the Sariska reserve at around 9 PM, and like all girls, were talking nineteen to a dozen, when the driver suddenly put the brakes and then simply froze.

We did not know what had struck him, so simply looked in the direction he was staring into and then terror struck. It was a TIGER, in all it’s magnanimity, staring right into our eyes. The driver told us to simply do nothing and keep waiting and so after what seemed like a long long time, the tiger just as randomly walked off the road, as it had appeared. We told the driver to just dash off and he did. I still remember that cat. I really do! If it was to happen today, I would have thought of it as an adventure, but at that point of time, it was just a big scare.

• Visit Siliserh Lake, picturesquely set amidst the forested slopes of Aravalli hills. The open terraces of the Siliserh Palace provide a mesmerizing view of the water spread of the lake and its surroundings 

• Pandupol, which is said to have been a resting place for Pandavas, during their hide-out years, is a beauty in the monsoons, although at the time I went, it was only good not great

• If you have a sweet tooth, then do try the milk-cake - a local favourite

·          And now for the pictures:

The Siliserh Lake

The Siliserh Palace 

 A cow-shed on the banks of the lake