Dear friends,
Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Have a Date with Dashing Preet! - Read 'Just Not Meant For Marriage!
Mount Abu - In Seventh Heaven! (Part 2)
| The pleasing courtyard of Shree Ganesh Hotel - Mount Abu |
The Shree Ganesh Hotelwas clean and small, but the hearts of its owner and staff were large! The owner, Sri Kanaujiya went out of the way to make our stay comfortable. He provided us with tips for our itinerary, arranged a very reasonable sight-seeing trip at Rs. 100/- per head and gave us directions like a seasoned elderly person. He insisted on our seeing the beautiful Brahmakumari Museum and Nakki lake. His son who ran the Baba’s cafeteria was smart and helpful. The cook and his assistant were two brothers. Helpful, cheerful, prompt, courteous, sincere and with a delightful sense of humor! We enjoyed our light-hearted banter with all of them over our meals. The tea that they served was out of this world!
No room service charges and fancy tariff rates assailed our senses here, as is generally the norm with big hotels. We felt very cozy and protected. The warmth of the people added to its homeliness. We wished that we could’ve stayed a little longer there. But, there is always a next time, isn’t it?
Our worst experience while staying there?
It was appalling to see men lugging hand-drawn sledges filled with tourists, uphill to the Sunset point. Since the sledges were obviously too heavy, they had to literally run along with the sledges. Around 2 to 4 men were needed to pull the sledges. It was disheartening to see this inhuman practice still being followed in the 21st century. To add to their misery, people were haggling over the measly prices too! Yes, poverty abounds in India as does inhuman behavior. We could only hope that the Government does something radical to alleviate their lot.
| The Majestic Ambaji Temple |
We got an opportunity to visit Ambaji, a place about less than an hour from Abu Road Station. It boasts of a breath-taking, temple of the Goddess Durga and a ropeway to a hill-top shrine named Gabbar, which has an earthen lamp, burning eternally. The main road is a shopper's delight, especially for the ladies. Garments, accessories, artefacts, etc. catch one's fancy here. The 'Ambika dharamshala' attached to the temple complex is very reasonable, with rates starting from Rs. 200/- onwards. Delicious, unlimited meals can be had at the 'Ambika bhojanalay', at a 'peanuts' price' of Rs. 10/- No, I'm not joking. It's just too good to be true.
Mount Abu - In Seventh Heaven! (Part 1)
| Twilight delight! |
We had looked forward to visiting Mount Abu for its famed Dilwara Temples and scenic beauty, since a decade. Just being there gave us a high. Reaching the highest point in Mt. Abu, Guru Shikhar, with a beautiful Lord Dattatreya's temple, perched on a majestic huge rock, took us straightaway to seventh heaven! So this was heavenly bliss! We could feel the Divine aura envelop us in its cozy warmth.
We purchased beautiful, dirt-cheap, framed prints of exquisite Rajasthani, miniature paintings as mementoes of our visit. We bought a set of 8 paintings titled, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, after each note of the classical music, which were (according to the enthusiastic salesman), to be hung on the wall, in that particular sequence only, shaped like the high and low keys of the harmonium!
Our hearts were already singing in unison! A snap clicked by our affable, smart, tourist guide, is treasured by us. It shows us in ethnic splendor, a Rajasthani ensemble complete with baubles and other accessories like the odhni and turban. Hubby and I resemble a local Rajasthani couple, in all that traditional finery.But one has to be really fit to see Mount Abu as most of the places in our itinerary were located atop high hills, where one has to trek up and down hundreds of steep steps. Phew! As all of us managed to see all those places, our energetic guide declared that all of us were used to eating desi ghee, and were hence as fit as a fiddle! His certificate bolstered even the faint-hearted amongst us, like a fragile newly- wed bride and her over-solicitous husband!
| Guru Shikhar - The highest point in Mt. Abu |
The Nakki lake was bewitching with all its twinkling lights at night. A restaurant shaped like a motor launch, at the edge of that vast lake, added zing to the experience.
This travelogue had been published in the Spice Edition of Sakaal Times, dated 1st June, 2014.
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Priya's Vision Academy's Online/Offline, Creative/Content Writing Classes-cum-workshops
Priya's Vision Academy's Online/Offline, Creative/Content Writing Classes-cum-workshops
Yes, you can also become a professional writer.
Kindly contact: Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan
Please call: 9067138313
Priya's Vision Academy - Makes Your Life Blossom!

Wednesday, 26 November 2025
'God's Will' by Priya Ramesh Swaminathan - An Excerpt
Dear friends,
Read on to find out, in my engrossing novel titled God's Will - (All the way...)
Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Sadhu T.L. Vaswani's Birthday - 25th November - International Meatless Day

Image courtesy: https://sadhuvaswani.org/pages/sadhu-vaswani
The great visionary, poet, writer and educationist Sadhu T.L. Vaswani, founder of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, was born on 25th November, 1879.
(By the way, why not make every day meatless?)
My review on 'Darshan', as follows, had earlier been posted on www.tripadvisor.com.
Darshan - An interactive 3D show on Sadhu T.L.Vaswani's life and mission
The copyright of this review is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
Monday, 24 November 2025
God's Will by Priya Ramesh Swaminathan - Kindle Discount Offer, November 2025
Collage created by me with the help of Canva.com
Dear friends,
Read on to find out, in my engrossing novel titled God's Will - (All the way...) set
in picturesque Kerala. Roja Kutti and Babu eagerly await you with offerings of fresh
fish and coconuts...
This e-book will be available for just $1.99 from 25th to 30th November, 2025
Hurry!
Have a traditional 'sadhya' meal and settle down for a relaxing and enthralling reading
Here are the links to both e-book and paperback versions:
God's Will: All the way...
Kindle Edition- Print length
- 75 pages
- Publication date
- July 11, 2019
- File size
- 1.4 MB
- 75 pages
- Publication date
- July 11, 2019
- File size
- 1.4 MB
- Print length
- 73 pages
- Publication date
- June 9, 2019
- Dimensions
- 6 x 0.17 x 9 inches
- ISBN-13
- 978-1079213225
God's Will: All the way...ISBN-13978-1079213225
The copyright of this book is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
Plagiarists, BEWARE!
You, (as well as anyone who aids and abets you), will be prosecuted for Copyright Infringement.
One such case is already on its way....





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