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For the past few years, I have taken to Himachali music. I first got introduced to it during my wedding, when a constant background music of women singing Himachali wedding songs, made the simple ceremony even more beautiful. Since then, I have been introduced to several Himachali songs that I have come to love. And this also gives me a great advantage - when I sing these in family gatherings, VJ's side of the family is unfailingly impressed by a non-Himachali knowing so many Himachali songs :-P.  

Recently I was attending a story-telling workshop and there was an exercise about telling a story from my life or something which will remain a memorable thing for me. I don't know why this experience came to mind and I thought of noting it down on my blog as well. I literally get goosebumps when I think about this experience and not sure if I will be able to express it in same way through this blog. Let me attempt and share through comments, if you could relate to it.

It was my first sabbatical after completing 5 years at Adobe systems and I had no clear plan. During an evening, Aneesh called to share about his new bike and we started talking about what is he planning. On that phone call, we decided that we will go to Spiti Valley. Decided dates on same call, I booked my ticket from Delhi to Shimla. We didn't reach Spiti valley, which you may have figured out from title of this blogpost, but things we did on our way were very special and now I highly recommend some of those experiences to folks visiting Shimla and Kinnaur regions of Himachal Pradesh.

Sprawling green meadows, dotted with virgin snow and glaciers that give birth to several milky streams meandering through the grasslands – the name “Peer ki Gali” can never prepare you for this ethereal sight. And there are so many wonderful places like that on Old Mughal Road. Secluded and isolated, Peer ki Gali lies at the highest point of the Old Mughal Road at approximately 11,500 ft, connecting the Kashmir Valley with the Poonch and Rajouri Districts. Cutting through the majestic mountains and the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, this is perhaps one of the most rewarding routes in terms of the pristine scenic beauty. During our road trip, this was the place which made us change our plans of the trip. So let's start with knowing more about Peer ki Gali and then move along the Old Mughal road and other awesome places of Kashmir valley in India.

Taj Mahal of Delhi in red stone is Humayun's tomb, although the real connection between Taj Mahal & Humayun's tomb is more interesting. When Taj Mahal was built, the inspiration for Architecture came from this beautiful tomb in Delhi. Certainly the size of Taj Mahal is huge in comparison to the Humayun's Tomb and other basic difference is kind of stone used. Taj Mahal is made up of white marble when Humayun's tomb is in Red Stone. Both of these beautiful monuments are symmetrical and built on top of a square platform. Look at the monument from any of the four directions and it will look the same.