Hey there: It appears as if I am turning into a lazy-bee, and if that is not the case, I should be surely taking up too many things at a time? You cannot imagine how many times I had to reschedule posting of this blog or change the starting paragraph before this final version? This is so when I had finished seven-eighth of this write-up in first sitting almost a month back, right after returning from the trip. In order to maintain the essence of my original writing I have left the following lines untouched:
Lately, I had been leading a pretty mundane existence in my work life and was constantly craving to do something really awfully exciting of what, surprisingly, I had no clue. Of course, I have been realizing all this time that my life is coming to a full-circle. Having reached this point I found a number of things I so wanted to do and ironically, got neither a chance nor even a thought of doing. So, with a conscious effort I decided to haul myself out of the office to take the family to a place that was not too far off from where I lived and yet remained so non-existent to us for years. The place was a resort called Neemrana Fort-Palace, about 100 km off from New Delhi, in the Alwar district, on NH8. A still and serene locale, concealed in the lap of the horseshoe formation of a hillock amidst the Aravali ranges, this fort stands tall with its regained glory. This 15th century fort coming from the direct lineage of the great Prithviraj Chauhan earns the credentials of being India's oldest heritage resort, restored and converted to a resort-hotel in 1986. Half of the existing premises of the fort-hotel is an extension made at the time of restoration.
We started early in the morning. It's gradually becoming a habit with me... is very exciting and rewarding... to wake up at 05:00 for an early-hour drive... ever since I became conscious that travel-photography was my favourite pastime. We broke our journey at the Heritage Village –another midway resort, for breakfast. These guys have tried to imitate the reminiscences of our past and blend it with the modern lifestyle, but in an effort they seem to have failed either way. To me it has to be either this way or the other way.
Heritage Village resort on way to Neemrana Fort, at NH24
Ever since I’ve picked up the camera as a serious photo admirer, I have been mindful that all the good images have already been taken. To be able to do something worthy of acclaim in this field, while having to shoot pictures of the same common subjects around me, I need to go above and beyond the images that have already been made by people who were anyway better than me. So, my exploration is becoming more of looking beyond the visible. But, for you it is important to remember that I am still learning. :-)
The Law of Photographic Opportunity says that you'll always need the one thing you forgot to bring. ;-) This time it was my camera tripod. Inside the fort area, where they have made light to play a vital role in the interiors, especially in low light areas, I kept cursing myself for not being a thinking ahead kind. Somehow, I managed the consistency of quality by taking multiple pictures of the same subjects so that at least one could turn out good. I could also put to test the endurance of my hand against a camera shake, and to my surprise, it wasn’t bad even at shutter speeds as low as 2.0 sec / 100 ISO. I deliberately didn’t use a higher ISO in order to avoid any compromise on quality.
Neemrana fort at night (yes, I needed a tripod here)
(and here, too)
Calling the stay comfortable will be an understatement. The hospitality was in pure Rajputana style..... and they made us feel like kings (well, for a night... at least). This was for the first time we all could get to stay in a real fort-palace. We checked in at 09:00 hrs instead of 12:00 -the universal check-in time- and they gladly and instantly accepted us and didn’t think twice in handing over the keys. The suite was named as Surya Mahal (literally translated as The Sun Palace). In early March the temperature had just started looking up, following a moderately cold winter. I call it the best time for going out. But one thing we really missed witnessing and that was their weekend musical –a regular feature. Perhaps this is how they tax you if you are running away from work on a weekday. ;-]
Neemrana Hotels –the parent chain has acquired and developed a dozen more heritage properties across the country. All in all we are willing to spend a few more weekends at a variety of their venues, as soon as the time permits. Our next destination, whenever it is, should be Pataudi House (you guessed it right; it had been the ancestral property of Nawab Pataudi), again on the NH8, en route Neemrana Fort. And that should inspire me to write another uninspiring travelog…. LoL.
So long,
-PG
