Khajjiar - The 'Mini Switzerland' of India

Khajjiar sits on a small plateau with a small stream-fed lake in the middle that has been covered over with weeds. The hill station is surrounded by green meadows and dense forests. It is about 6500 ft. (1981m) above sea level in the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges of the western Himalayas and snowy peaks can be seen in the distance.

Khajjiar is often called the Mini Switzerland of India and was officially baptized thus by the Swiss Ambassador on July 7, 1992. It has a rare combination of three ecosystems: lake, pasture and forest, all in one place.

It is a best place to visit in India.

Jacobite Steam Train...

It’s such a pity there’s no Platform 9 3/4 at Fort William… it’s only a tiny railway station — not a patch on the mighty King’s Cross — and it’s positively heaving with Harry Potter and steam-train enthusiasts.

But, the train’s there all right, looking like a glossy, plump, black-and-scarlet caterpillar, sending up a regal plume of smoke, admired and photographed by dozens of fawning muggles.

Those of us that have sensibly booked well ahead, smugly board our carriage, while others anxiously worry the much-harassed chap at the Scotrail-counter, who sadly has no authority to issue tickets for the Jacobite Steam Train, aka the world-famous Hogwarts Express.

All set — There are plenty of grins when the train pulls out of the station; it’s hard to tell if it’s the Potter-effect (some of the lovely, vintage carriages have actually starred in the movies, though a different red engine was used) or just the mind-blowing scenery that unfolds minutes after leaving the not-particularly pretty town.

Scones and tea — Instead of wizard-world chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes — come around to the first-class (we are slumming it in second), but we are promised a real treat when the train gets to Glenfinnan Station.

But before that, it crosses the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct that featured in more than one movie — remember the memorable bit in “The Chamber of Secrets” where the Weasley’s flying Ford-Anglia chases the train, and performs those stomach-churning loop-the-loops?

Built in 1901, standing over a 100 feet tall, with 21 graceful arches, this concrete viaduct was originally derided for its dull-grey colour, but today, it’s a minor celebrity!

There’s a palpable, electric excitement even as the train approaches the sweeping arches. People are leaning out of windows (though implicitly warned not to), cameras in hand. It’s distinctly chilly up here in the highlands, even without those soul-sucking Dementors, and as a swirling mist blurs outlines, it feels spookily like a film set.

The ‘star’ of the journey - Two ticks later, we’re there… The train obligingly slows down to let us savour the few precious minutes across the viaduct. It’s all incredibly atmospheric — the comforting chug-a-chug of the steam-engine, the breathtaking views across Loch Shiel, with the majestic Glenfinnan Monument at its head, hemmed in by a necklace of towering mountains, all wearing their bright-green shawls of summer foliage. Flashes go off from every window, sooty-smoke gently billows up into a moodily overcast sky, and the grins get markedly wilder.

At the beautifully appointed Glenfinnan Station, the hungry (that’s us!) head to the well-preserved, elegant dining car, while the rail enthusiasts marvel at the West-Highland-line exhibition.

Biting into sumptuous carrot cakes, hungrily inhaling lungfuls of refreshingly crisp mountain air, we board the train for still more impressive coastal views along the way to Mallaig. The 84-mile round-trip is definitely magical, and Mallaig — though a busy fishing port — is, thankfully, far lovelier than commercialized Fort William.

The scarlet Hogwarts Express never comes here, though… thanks to artistic liberty and some serious scrambling of route-maps, it departs from London, heading up to the far North West Scotland, before ending up at the Hogwarts School, filmed at Alnwick castle, in North East England.

But, these trifling details don’t deter Potter-fans, who come here by the steam train, on their obligatory Potter pilgrimage. And, lately, there are so many flocking up to these parts, that we seriously think J.K. Rowling ought to be called the ‘Mother of Scottish Tourism‘, just like Sir Walter Scott, who, back in the early 19th Century was hailed its Father!

Chug along! — The Jacobite Steam train runs from Fort William to Mallaig in the summer months (May to October). For fares, dates and tickets, please visit http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/Jacobite_Details.html

Fort William can be easily reached by train — take the Caledonian Sleeper from London or regular Scot-rail services from Edinburgh/Glasgow.

Look out for the ‘star’ — Glenfinnan Viaduct, but don’t miss the ‘extras’ too — Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, Glenfinnan monument, the carriages, and if you’re really lucky, the conductor present during the filming!.

Look around the skyline of Secunderabad and you will notice the addition of a white dome that stands out for its size and shape.

This is the newly inaugurated Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Begumpet making ours the second city after Delhi to be equipped with this advanced facility in the first phase of modernisation of IMD.

Simply put a Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) is a computerised Radar which scans the atmosphere round the clock and relays information about the presence of clouds, their location, intensit, height within the range of 500 Km radius in and around Hyderabad. Information about general weather such as wind velocity, movement of clouds within a range of 250 Km and the rate of rainfall within an effective range of 150 Km is also recorded.

The radar makes it possible to ascertain the development and movement of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall zones. This in turn helps provide aviation warnings, agro-meteorological advise for the benefit of the farming community in the State, climatology data that is required for maintaining a data base.

“The large dome called a Radome is 11.8 m in diameter and shields the sensitive Radar Antenna. It is made of foam sandwiched fibre glass to allow the passage of radio waves,” says Y.K. Reddy, Scientist, IMD.

The observatory is kept open for school children/public on IMD Formation Day (January 15), National Science Day (February 28) and Word Meteorological Day ( March 23).

Visitors to Digha now have an added attraction — DINOSAURS. The Digha Science Centre and National Science Camp, a satellite unit of the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM), has set up a dinosaur-themed park in New Digha to transport visitors millions of years back in time, when these pre-historic beasts ruled the earth.

Now they almost rule the waves. Along the road parallel to the seashore, a giant T-Rex with huge pointed claws and teeth marks the entrance to the sprawling Science Centre spread over four acres. The 1620sq m Jurassic Park offers a light and sound show on dinosaurs from Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

There are 10 animated dinosaurs to wow visitors at the park, from the bird-like Archaeopteryx, the armoured Stegosaurus and egg-stealing Oviraptors to T-Rex, the strongest, fiercest and most well-known.

“It came up in 2003 but there were no sound or light effects. The models were not well mechanised either. Since tourist movement in Digha is quite high, an audio-visual show would be well received by the nearly 2 lakh visitors who come to the Science Centre every year. It’s meant to be a fun and informative show that people of all ages can enjoy,” said Abdullah Mondal, the curator of BITM, Calcutta, who conceptualised the show.

“The narration is in Bengali, based on the trend of visiting tourists.

One only pray that visitors from Calcutta will not end up throwing stones at the extinct animals, as they do at the zoo.

Location: Digha Science Centre & National Science Camp at Foreshore Road, New Digha

Timings: 5.30pm and 6.10pm daily

Ticket price: Rs 5/- per person

Capacity: 50 visitors at a time

Animated Dinosaurs: Scelidosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Archaeopteryx, Stegosaurus, Oviraptor, Pachycephalosaurus, Corythosaurus, Pteranodon, Ankylosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Location: 19 Diamond Harbour Road, near IIM Calcutta

Scenario: A group of ace military sharp-shooters, with tightened cheat guards and loaded guns dive behind bunkers and take aim to shoot down a group of armed militants.

No, the is not REAL NEWS, but YES, this is as close you can get to become a sharp-shooter!

Brought to town by  Shantanu Saharia, who owns the Savin Kingdom amusement park in Siliguri, this is eXtreme Paintball – A craze in Bangalore and Hyderabad.The combat game priced at Rs 400, with armored teams shooting each other with paint bullets.

Mukti Mittal, 23, who had come from Salt Lake to play Paintball, defines the thrill: “The fear factor is the main thing and the feeling starts as soon as you start dressing up. I felt like I was actually going to battle. And once you get hit, you’re like, I have to get back and shoot someone from the opponent’s team.”

“Our weekends are full, just by word of mouth. Most of the players are college-goers or working professionals under the age of 35,” says Saharia.

But no pain, no game. The players confess that the paint bullets — made of biodegradable vegetable oil — sting when they hit unguarded areas. “It’s a small sting but that’s what makes it extreme adventurous.”

So, load-up and let it rip.