Rajesh Prabhu
THE INDIA INSIDER
Rajesh Prabhu loves to travel, explore and capture what
he sees on camera. His blog, My India Travels, chronicles
his offbeat travels across the nation
When and how did you start blogging?
how did your blog GROW?
I love to travel across India. When
searching for information about places
on the Internet, I realised that all you get
is bits and pieces. I wanted to tell people
about other places. So I took to travel
blogging in December 2007, but started
contributing actively only from 2009. The
blog grew popular only when other travel
bloggers started visiting my site.
Rajesh Prabhu
“My visit to Tanirbavi
Beach near Mangalore
in Karnataka was very
relaxing. Also, my
stay by the riverside
in Orchha, Madhya
Pradesh was very
soothing”
78 Travel Secrets September-October 2015
What has been your most relaxing stay
experience in India?
Unfortunately my travels are usually a
little bit hectic, but there are definitely
moments of relaxation. For a person like
me from Bangalore, away from the sea any
trip to the beaches is most enjoyable. One
such was a visit to Tanirbavi Beach near
Mangalore in Karnataka. The clean beach
was very comforting. Also, my stay by the
riverside in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
was very soothing.
An offbeat Indian festival that deserves
to be seen
Gauri Pooja, which married couples
celebrate just a day before Ganesh
Chaturthi. As part of this ritual, married
women decorate fresh and large coconuts
with kajal and sindur. These coconuts
are arranged on a huge plantain leaf
supported by mounds of rice in batches
of odd numbers. The earthen lamps are
placed in front or top of each of the
coconuts. Here coconuts symbolically
represent Gauri (Parvati) mother of
Ganesha. This pooja is performed either
by a family or by all the married ladies in
the area together. The function concludes
by exchanging coconuts. Attending such a
celebration is a great way to experience the
local culture and people.
Which camera do you use? Please pick a
favourite shot from your travels and tell
us the story behind it
I started with the film camera Canon
RebelG, then moved to Canon EOS
500D. One of my favorite shots is that
of Qutub Minar taken using Rebel G.
This picture clearly shows how gigantic
the tower is in comparison with anything
around it. I wanted to capture its size in
proportion with surrounding structures.
The people standing in front of this
second largest minaret in India looked
ant size. It is one monument that one can
shoot from different angles and directions.
Each one is a beauty in its own right. This