Photo Gallery: Flying Pegs n Paraandas Trip

Morning of 07th of March..

a morning flushed with activity...

a morning full of excitement...

CATS were set for an adventure of a different sort altogether :)

The assembly point was already abuzz with activity

by the time I reached to set the counter for registration process...

Out of 21, a dozen were about to experience their

first ever CATS activity... with 6 kittens around, CAT Kulwant

took the honours for being the eldest of the pack while little Abhishek

was the youngest to fly that day :)

We quickly got into the bus once the registration process

was complete... to head towards Patiala,

an erstwhile princely state of Punjab.

The day which had begun on a warm note, suddenly turned

into a bitingly cold morning as our bus picked up pace

on the highway...

most of us were not carrying warm layers

and were soon diving into each other's comforting jackets, stoles and even hugs ;-)

We reached our first destination, Gurudwara Dukhniwaran Saheb

by 8.20am, well within our schedule.

The villagers of Lehal donated land for the modest Gurudwara

built on this elevated site, said to have been visited by

Guru Teg Bahadur. The legend is that anyone who prays at this Gurudwara

is relieved of his suffering ('dukhniwaran').

With our heads covered and bare feet, all 21 of us quietly and

humbly entered the Gurudwara premises...

The inner sanctum was peaceful despite the number of devotees...

CAT Tanbir stood guard to give directions to some CATS

who had gone astray from the main hall... distractions distractions ;-)

A novel way to accept 'ghee' which is recycled and offered back to the devotees...

A huge sarovar (pond) with fresh clean water lay

just behind the main hall of the Gurudwara...

Wonder what our kittens are upto here?

Touching, caressing and feeding the fish!!

It was fun to spend time with the massive sized fish

in huge numbers in the pond :)

A faithful, taking a holy dip in the Sarovar...

while keeping an eye on the bag carrying his clothes!

CATS doing a prakarma of the sarovar...

It was heart warming to see CAT Aman leading the kiddie brigade, Vrinda especially ;-)

CAT Surabh messing around with CAT Rana...

CAT DeepInder taking charge of the first timers in the gang..

The magnificent Gurudwara in the backdrop of a crystal clear sarovar...

It was nearly 8.45am by now, time for our breakfast...

CAT Gopika leading the CATS into the langar hall...

for a partial self-service of a different kind :)

Young we might be, but we surely know how to maintain the decorum

giving due respect to the places we visit...

CATS sat quietly in the queue to wait for the breakfast to be served to them...

A brief information sharing session was held post breakfast...

A Bhai ji of the Gurudwara was kind enough to share the history

and CAT Tanbir had found from his family that the localites

used to suffer from a skin diseases. Hence they sought a remedy

when 9th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Angad Dev ji visited this place

on way to Delhi. Gur Sahebaan suggested a holy dip in the sarovar

to treat all ills. Since then, anyone who's skin disease gets cured

after a dip in the sarovar, offers a packet of salt and a broom at the Gurudwara.

It was 9.20am by now... time to put our shoes on and head

towards our next destination - Patiala Aviation Club.

However, as everyone put their shoes on, our little Vrinda

realised that her shoes were missing. After looking through the

shoes room for the third time, as we decided to buy a fresh pair

from the local market for her, a Gurudwara came running

towards us with another pair to offer to CAT Vrinda.

He apologised for the confusion leading to the shoes going

missing, but insisted that we accept this pair instead of walking

away without shoes from the Gurudwara;

Guru Ka Dwaar...

With much ado, we accepted the shoes and hopped onto our bus..

we had planes to fly you see :)

The first sight that greeted us was not very encouraging, I must admit!

The final resting place of the planes which have been put out of service...

each one with has a name printed on its' cabin...

each one has a story to tell..

each one still has spare parts to offer to the still in service planes!

We gingerly moved towards the Patiala Aviation Club office...

This line up warmed out hearts a little...

This line up is not bad either..

what say???!!!

Capt Mangat explaining the working of the Aviation Club

as well as the Cessna planes we were about to fly..

He patiently answered all queries from CATS...

The weather report clarified that ALL IZzz WELL for us to fly...

MEOW :)

It was 10.30am by now... and time to have a little experience of

the Cessna cockpit.. in the simulation room...

The Simulation Room has the cockpit exactly as in the actual Cessna 172...

You first get training in this cockpit, which gives you the feel of actually flying a plane, but all from the comfort of this room!

All the controls work as in the real cockpit...

and this screen in front gives you an amazing virtual flying experience..

You can afford to make all the mistakes in this simulation room,

you can dive down, spin around, do twists,

touch down off the runway, all in your first attempt ;-)

The actual cockpit of the Cessna 172...

not much difference eh?!!

We know what all those guages, knobs and buttons do :P

To save time, it was decided that instead of taking off

from this point, we should rather head towards to far end of the runway...

We all hopped onto our bus again to travel another

half a kilometer to the point where we were given clear instructions

on maintaining the distance from and decorum at the runway...

Cessna 172 is a 4-seater plane. With one qualified and

trained pilot taking up one seat, 21 CATS were divided into

teams of 3 for a total of 7 sorties.

While 3 CATS went off to kiss the skies...

17 of us waited by the side of the runway for their turn.. PATIENTLY :)

Humari baari kab aayegi....

CAT Amanat, CAT Vandana and CAT Vrinda all excited while waiting for their turn...

Oye... aaa gyaaa!!!!

How can any amount of words ever describe the sheer excitement

these two CATS were experiencing at this precise moment :)

All strapped up...

and OFF WE GO..... MEOW :)

CAT Pranav and CAT Lakshay are perhaps wondering...

Ufffff yeh larkiyaan!!!

and here is another proof of how much fun it indeed was...

CAT Gopika jumping around with fun...

CAT Kulwant was left speechless by the experience

CAT Ashish trying to do a 'setting' with the flight attendant to check

if he could fly once more ;-)

and this is reason what was making everyone so full of beans...

The experience of seeing the princely state of Patiala,

high enough to see everything in miniature,

but close enough to feel that if you reached out of the window,

you could actually touch them!

The grand Qila Mubaraq spread in acres in the middle of the town,

which we were to visit later in the evening..

Another historic building with pristine manicured lawns..

Gurudwara Dukhniwaran Saheb, with Sarovar

which we had visited earlier in the morning...

I wonder if someone can tell us what this is....

Yet another historic building of Patiala..

YPS School, the venue for eventually cancelled CommonWealth Games of 1938...

and lest we forget...

the concrete jungle that our towns and cities have become...

The old and the new CATS jelled magnificently during this flight of their lives..

and it was courtesy this boy,

Capt Walia that CATS had such fun that day...

All of 21yrs, this fully qualified and trained pilot ensured

each one of us had the most memorable time during the flight...

right from giving us the controls when he felt comfortable

with our skills, sudden rise in height to sudden drops followed by

some nice acrobats in the air..

Boy.... you really missed not being there!!!

Our Cessna 172 being towed back in.. by hand!!

It was nearly 12.30pm and time for us to move onto

our next destination... which was not in our itinerary actually..

First timer CAT Zubin suggested why don't we stop by at the

Yadvindra Public School along the way... We had a quick vote

by show of hands and off we went to YPS...

'NO ENTRY - YPS' board greeted us at the entrance ;-)

Since we were getting close to our lunch hour,

CAT Tanbir helped in ordering the lunch for the

hungry CATS at our selected venue - The Garden Retreat.

CAT Zubin in the meantime took charge of the CATS brigade

to share the stories behind the school...

sprinkled with some dramatic anecdotes..

and this was his moment of truth...

CAT Zubin got us to walk through the rear end of the stadium of

YPS rather than the front door, since this gives a much more

grand entry to this beautiful co-ed school...

Now let us share the story behind the Olympic Rings

rightfully being painted here at YPS...

The reminder...

Yadavindra Public School, Patiala popularly known as YPS Patiala,

is an English Medium Co-Educational Boarding-cum-Day school

founded in 1948 by the late H H Maharaja Yadavindra Singh.

It was good to interact with a senior teacher of YPS, Mrs Jaswinder Saberwal (Matron P.H. House)

who welcomed our impromptu visit to the school..

Yes.. this is a gift from an old student of the school :)

It was nearly 2pm... and time to move onto our next

destination... Kali Mandir..However, not before we had driven through

the Baradari Gardens.

The Baradari gardens surround the Baradari palace located in

the north of old Patiala city, just outside Sheranwala Gate.

The gardens, laid under Maharaja Rajindera Singh were planted

extensively rare trees and shrubs, dotted with impressive

Colonial buildings and a marble statue of Maharaja Rajindera

Singh and the Fern House. The 19th century Fern House, a replica of

the one in Calcutta forms a unique attraction along with quaint Rink Hall.

Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was inspired to build this temple

and bring the 6-ft statue of Kali from Bengal to Patiala.

This large complex attracts devotees, Hindu and Sikh, from

distant places. A much older temple of Raj Rajeshwari is also situated

in the center of this complex

The view which greets you as you enter the temple premises...

Smoke emanating from a little recess

in front of a huge portrait of Kali Mata...

and the reason behind the smoke is that this is one of the

few temples in the country, where alcohol is offered as 'prasad'

by the devotees once their wish is fulfilled..

Devotees get a little of the 'prasad' in return also!

CAT Aman could not reach up to ring the temple bells.

CAT Sorabh noticed this and immediately rushed forward to

hold him higher so that he could toll the bells :)

CAT Aman and CAT Sorabh might have bumped into

each other hundreds of times at their school, but it was nice

to see their camaraderie at the temple!

CATS offering respects at the temple...

Pandit Ji gleefully receiving some more liquid 'prasad' ;-)

Pandit Ji explained to me that the first Maharaja of Patiala,

Baba Ala Singh had brought this flame barefeet from Jwala Ji,

which has since been kept alive by constantly feeding it with ghee.

This claim however was refuted later on the day at

Qila Mubaraq, so we are not entirely sure!

Temple also has a Sarovar (pond), which unfortunately was not very clean.

The team from the temple which escorted CATS through

a very busy temple, to save us hungry souls some precious time!

2.30pm and CATS were practically lifeless by now...

It time to pounce upon the sumptuous lunch

which was being laid out for the famished CATS..

Having had a lovely lunch, CATS moved onto their next destination..

where CAT Zubin offered to clean up a little food which got spilled in the bus..

Lead by example :)

Started during the reign of Maharaja Narinder Singh,

Old Moti Bagh Palace was completed under Maharaja Bhupinder

Singh in the early 20th century. The Old Moti Bagh Palace now houses

the National Institute for Sports (NIS). The facade has Rajasthan-style

jharokas and chhatris, and the palace is set in a beautiful garden

with terraces, water channels and a Sheesh Mahal.

A sample of the beautifully laid out gardens..

which when lit up at night leaves you speechless!

Need I say more...

and the train compartment in question!

It was complete with a little kitchenette, a washroom with

broken wc and sink... and ofcourse, the main room to sit and

sleep while travelling... it must have been luxury on wheels

during its' hay days.

Unfortunately, being Sunday the museum at the Old Moti Bagh Palace

was shut and we could not visit any of its' magnificent buildings

from inside. However, an old friend of CAT DeepInder gave us a

guided tour of the entire complex for which we are grateful

as it would have been no fun going around like a deaf visitor!

Done with exploring the Old Moti Bagh Palace, hands on the watch

declaring the time to be 3.40pm told us that we had to move on.. again :)

The Sheesh Mahal or the `Palace of Mirrors` was built by

Maharaja Narinder Singh in 1845 behind the main Moti Bagh Palace.

The Palace was built in a forest with terraces, gardens, fountains and

an artificial lake. The lake has two watchtowers in the north and

the south, and is connected to the Banasar Ghar, a storehouse

for stuffed animals. The Sheesh Mahal, which was a residential palace,

has a suspension bridge that is a copy of the Lakshman Jhoola

at Rishikesh.

One had to patronise the one higher on the rung..

but can't imagine why would Maharajas of Patiala would

need to atleast half a dozen larger than life statues of

Queen Victoria all around the artificial lake...

An odd Maharaja thrown in to claim some local flavour to the park!

As if the statues were not enough, Maharajas had stationed these

all around the lake too.. CAT Sorabh wondering what has

CAT Amanat found of interest in it ;-)

CAT Kirti LOVING IT ;-)

Maharaja Narendra Singh was a great patron of literature,

music and fine arts. He invited many painters from Kangra and

Rajasthan to paint the walls of Sheesh Mahal. Their works depicting

the vision in poetry of Keshav, Surdas and Bihari, both in line and colour,

are a treat to the eye of the beholder. The themes of these paintings

embrace mythology, legends, Raga-Ragni, Nayak-Nayika and

Bara-masa in Rajasthani style. These walls and ceilings are also rich in

floral designs. The interior casts a Kaleidoscope

phantasmagoria of myriad images and multi-coloured lights.

The museum has a rich collection of miniature paintings of

the middle of 19th century. Themes of these paintings are

based on the Geet Gobinda or Jaya Deva's poetry.

The Kangra paintings depicting the, Krishan Lila reflect the highest professional and delicate taste. Paintings displaying the Raga-mala of the

Rajasthan schools and that of the Mughal give a visual meaning to the Ragas.

Yes.. it was all closed for repairs!

With the clock ticking at 4.30pm, it was time to move on to the

last destination of our action packed day - Qila Mubaraq

Qila Mubarak is an imposing structure located in the heart of Patiala.

It is believed to have been built by Maharaja Ala Singh in 1764.

Originally this building was a mud fort. Later it was raised

into a sprawling double storeyed structure with a massive gate

having beautiful arches. Two painted chambers are seen inside

the fort, illustrating the scenes from Hindu mythology and

portraits of Sikh gurus in Patiala style.

The fort has two portions namely Quila Androon (the inner fort) and

Quila Mubarak (the outer one). Decorated with geometrical and floral designs,

the gate of the Quila Androon is made of lime plaster.

The imposing entrance gate to Qila Mubaraq...

The restoration work being carried out at Qila Mubaraq by ASI..

heaven help us!

The out building which houses the museum now..

The stately gatepost building of Qila Mubaraq which

takes you deeper into the labyrinths of the fort...

Portrait of Maharaj Ala Singh greets you as you enter the fort..

'Tera Ghar Mera Asse'

I wonder if any of you would like to translate these four words...

A double height beautifully carved mirror frame with Belgian glass

welcomes you as you go past the main entrance foyer.. sadly ill kept :(

The lime plastered door which leads you inside Qila Androon..

The architectural style of this inner palace is a synthesis of

late Mughal and Rajasthani. The complex has 10 courtyards

along the north - south axis and each courtyard is unique in

size and character, some being broad, others very small and

still others mere slits in the fabric of building.

Though the Androon is a single interconnected building,

it is spoken of as a series of palaces. Each set of rooms makes

a cluster around a courtyard, and each carries a name:

Sheesh Mahal, Toshakhana, Jalau Khana, Chand Mahal,

Rang Mahal, Treasury and Prison.

Ten of the rooms are painted with frescoes, or decorated

intricately with mirror and gilt. In a tiny portion of the complex

is a little British construction with Gothic arches, fire places

made of marble and built-in toilets perched on the

Mughal Rajasthani roof!

The walls of this walkway were painted beautifully;

we, ofcourse saw only the remains peeking through...

This is the original 'jot' which apparently Baba Ala Singh had brought

bare feet from Jwala Ji around middle of 18th century. It is said that

he was blessed by the Sikh Guru saying that till this light 'jot'

was kept alive, his lineage would would florish.

Burj Ala Singh, where Baba Ala Singh used to pray and meditate.

This is an extremely private area of worship for the royal family and

is usually not open to visitors. It also houses a small Gurudwara

where no currency donations are accepted.

Walking through one building to another of Qila Androon,

CAT Kirti found this jharokha to peep through...

CATS could not help wondering how lively this fort now

lying in ruins, must have been during its hay day...

Crows and eagles perch atop the brass fittings,

which must have glistened in sun once upon a time...

Special European style structures were merged into

the palace to keep the European Queens well entertained in India!

Grass still surviving amongst the ruins of a manicured lawn courtyard..

The heather or the junipers perhaps did not survive in

this courtyard with no once to look after..

Kings and Queens no more..

its the land of Republic of India now...

Where democracy rules not Aristocracy..

Where every voice is heard..

Where every one has a right to vote..

Freedom of speech..

CAT Sorabh reflecting in this hand painted Verandah....

Do we really have that freedom?

The fort also houses a little temple, which we could not visit

since its' priest was busy waving at the crowds at the entrance of Qila Mubaraq ;-)

6pm it was.. CATS were given 20mins to browse through the

local market and be back in the bus by 6.20pm to head back home...

Curiosity indeed killing all the CATS on the bus...

We could not wait to reach home and exchange the photos..

We had to have a screening there and then.. in the bus :)

and indeed... what a memorable trip this had been..

Sun does set.. eventually..

Things wither apart..

People do parish..

But one thing remains..

The Legend!

- CAT Supreet