1000 Awesome Things About India

The Banasurasagar Hydel Tourism is located near Padinjarethara, near Kalpetta in the Wayanad District, on the western most high lands of the Deccan Plateau and hence is also easily accessible from the cities of Mysore & Bangalore. The spillways of the Banasurasagar Reservoir which when open, deliver water to the eastward Kabini River.

With an overall length of about a Kilometer and a reservoir area of 1600 hectares with 40 Islands in it, the Banasurasagar Dam is one of the largest Earthen Dams in the continent. Strolling over the Dam, Boat riding in the vast expanse of the reservoir or just relaxing in the lap of the mythical Banasura hills are all unique experiences of a life time.

The image is the postcard you get when u buy a ticket to the lake. We had to wait 2 hours for half an hour boat trip but it was worth every second! I could not take any snaps from the speedboat (for obvious reasons!). Well,i found Wayanad quite different from other places in the state. With others you have to visit a particular stop to enjoy the natural beauty but in Wayanad, its totally different. You can stop your car anywhere on the road on any way and could just stare into the infinite expanses of Tea Fields surrounded by cloudy blue mountains and wonder if its the same country or timezone . 


The speed boat takes you in midst of the green hills with tea plantations.With clouds from distant mountains descending upon you , time loses its track and you will know that this is the moment that no words, no picture can ever describe! The calm and serenity of the place fills you and in spite of being on a speed boat you will feel a gush of new life-stream  traversing your whole body from the inside like blood in vessels. The cold drops of water on your face will remind you that you are not in any dream but in a real paradise ! Those who seek inner calm and mental peace will finally have reached their destination at this spot.


 My Extra Cent -


There is a resort at the foot of the Edakkal Caves called Edakkal Hermitage. They have a cosy restaurant in a cavern (a natural cave which is part of the Edakkal Caves chain) where at night, dinner is served inside the cave, which is lit by hundreds of candles. It is the only natural cave restaurant in India. 


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• The India Food
• Havelock Island
• A walk in the clouds
  
• Palace on Wheels
  
• Indian Tea
  

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What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the word "LUCKNOW" ? the response of any Indian would be "Nawabs" and "Kababs" I was born & raised 80 Km from Lucknow so was lucky enough to spends many delicious weekends there. The famous and old Tunde Kabas is a "Kabab Shop" in Aminabad,Lucknow. Its a pilgrimage for food lovers.Lucknow is proud of its Kebabs. The Kakori Kebabs, Galawat ke Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili-ke-Kebabs, Ghutwa Kebabs and Seekh Kebabs are some of the others among the known varieties.

I am a vegetarian but still I have been to Tunde Kababs (with friends and family!) enough times to take it as a fact and a non arguable universal truth that "Tunde's are the best Kababs in the Milky Way". Legend has it that a rich Lucknowi nobleman once lost all his teeth, yet couldn’t give up his love for kababs. So he ordered his master chef to whip up a kabab that he could eat without missing his teeth, meaning, the kabab had to just melt in his mouth. So successful was the experiment that the recipe lived on.

Food has history in Lucknow. The famous Tunda Kebab is so named because it was a specialty of an one-armed chef. The uniqueness of this kebab is the masala (home made spices)which is a zealously guarded family secret and prepared by women in the family. It is said to incorporate 160 spices.

I counted it in my list as it denotes not just the Avadh delicacies but a century old tradition of taste that has been an inherent feature of the ‘Land Of Avadh’.

Tunde Kababs on Facebook.

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