The Bhimashankar Temple is located 127 km from Shjivai Nagar of Pune in Maharashtra in the Ghat Region of Sahyadri Hills. It is a hill fort and a hard trekking spot. It is located 3500 feet above the sea level. There is a belief among people that sweat fallen from Lord Shiva made the river Bhimarathi.

Temple of Bhimashankar was built according to Hemad Panthi style. The temple is around 1000 to 1500 years old. One can find beautifully carved statues and beautiful paintings on the roof of the temple. It is said that the temple was formed during the war of Bhima and Shiva. Shiva killed Bhima and the latter was turned into ashes by the former one. On request of all the Gods, Lord Shiva transformed himself into Jyotirlinga of Bhimshankara. The Bhimashankara Temple  consists of old and new structures in the Nagara style of architecture. Excellent display of skills by ancient Vishwakarma sculptors can be seen. It was a modest temple but yet a graceful one. The sabha mandap was developed in the 18^th century by Nana Phadnavis. The shikhara was built him as well. It is said that the great Maratha ruler Shivaji made endowments to this temple to facilitate worship services. Saint Jnaneshwar is said to have visited Tryambakeshwar and Bhimashankar.

In front of the temple, a unique bell in Roman style can be seen. The bell has an idol of Mother Mary with her son Jesus. The large bell was presented by Chimaji Appa, who was the brother of Bajirao Peshwa I and uncle of Nanasaheb Peshwa. One can find Buddha style carvings of Amba-Ambika, Bhootling and Bhimashankar in the hills of Manmaad near Bhimashankar situated at a height of 1034 meters. Places that can be visited in this area are Hanuman Lake, Gupt Bhimashankar, origin of river Bhima, Bombay Point, Nag Phani, Sakshi Vinayak and a lot more.

Bhimashankar is a reserved forest which comprises of area of 130.78 square km. The forest was declared as wildlife sanctuary in the year 1985. This sanctuary is a part of Western Ghat, so it is very much rich in floral and faunal diversity. A variety of birds, animals, insects, plants can be seen in this zone. A rare animal Malabar Giant squirrel which is locally called as “Shekaru” can be found in the deep jungle. Bhimashankar is worth visiting tourist spot for jungle lovers and trekkers as well as for pilgrims. This temple is very popular in Pune and people from all around the world come to visit this temple. The Bhorgiri Fort is situated close to Bhimashankar. There is a shrine called Kalmaja near the Bhimashankar temple. Kalmaja is a goddess who is dedicated to a tree named Kalamb. It is a local tribal goddess and many other stories were formed after the influence of Hinduism religion to this region. The Mokshakund thirtha is located behind the Bhimashankara temple, and it is associated with the rishi named Kaushika. There are also the Sarvathirtha, the Kusharanya thirtha where the Bhima river begins to flow towards the east, and the Jyanakund.

There is so much to discuss the beautiful Bhimashankar Temple of Maharashtra. It takes pages after pages to explain the artistic features of the architecture and its surroundings. This is a must visit spot for a trekker or a photographer. Please do visit the temple and enjoy the aura of it.

Raees directed by Rahul Dholakia and starring Shahrukh Khan is a fascinating story of a rise and rise of a small time bootlegger, into one of Gujrat’s notorious liquor baron and also ironically into a revered Robin Hood like figure. If you ever wondered what the lovechild of a staunchly realistic filmmaker and Bollywood’s most unabashedly populist star might resemble, you should watch Raees. Dholakia who directed and wrote deeply affecting film Parzaniya, which was about a Parsi family which was caught in the Godhra riots of 2002, brings the thorough understanding of the times and the landscapes that the film is set in.Shahrukh meanwhile who is also a co-producer of this project seems clear about the tone he wants to take. The result is a mostly compelling drama that is fast paced despite feeling over plotted and bloated at times. Now we are first introduced to our protagonist as Raees as a young boy in Fatehpur in the 1970’s. He is poor but industrious and works as a runner to a local bootlegger. The signs are all there, he has a short temper, holds on to grudges and resents being referred too as battery, although he wears oversized spectacles. By the time he is older and has some practice in the field, he starts smuggling alcohol in and out of the state and branches out to set up his own business which was emboldened by his mother’s teaching that no job is too small. He is also reassured by a mentor that he has got a ‘baniye ka dimag’ and ‘miabhai ki daring.’ The film’s first half is riveting stuff as we watch our anti-heroes expand enterprise on the strength of Raees’s quick thinking and sheer ruthlessness.

These are the precise qualities that makes him such a magnetic figure. But post interval, it appears like the makers decided to trade his grey shades and blunt his edges to make him more likable. By now Raees becomes angel for his people. The monster with a heart of gold, the staunchly secular humanist. The plot too sinks into repetition and predictability and characters like the corrupt ministers and other venal characters come out as caricatures.

It is the presence of Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Majhmudaar, as an incorruptable police officer who was obsessed with taking raees down. Chilling interplay between both men keep audiences invested despite these bumps. Exploiting his relationship with powerful political figures, Raees repeatedly thwarts Majhumdaar’s plans, but the cop remains steadfast in his force. The scenes between both these actors which features terrific clap-trap repertoires are easily the best trips in the movie. Nawazzuddin who appears to be having a blast, cast against type seems to have really sink himself in the part, and once again improves his gift of vastly improving a film by merely being in it. The other supporting cast does not have it as good as Nawaz.

Mahira Khan is confident as Raees’s love interest but her role does not need much heavy lifting. Meanwhile a consistently reliable Mohommad Zeeshaan Aayub suffers on account of underwritten role which is reduced to a side kick as Raees’s loyal friend. The movie expectedly is powered by a star wattage by Shahrukh Khan itself, as most of his movies are. From his entry scene which shows him lacerating his back during a Mohorram scene, to a shootout featuring all guns blazing, to his many moments simmering with rage, Shahrukh commands viewer’s attention. In more pensive moments and a quiet breakdown scene, he reveals the actor behind the star.

Evidently the movie is inspired by the true life of Abdul Latif who was the illegal kingpin of liquor king of Gujrat, who was charged with involvement of 1993 blasts of Gujrat, this movie shrewdly steers clear of naming names and only hints at true events. Still the movie excels due to the director’s quality of having a keen eye for period and atmospheric details. As a throwback to those thrilling gangster films from the seventees, many of which starred Amitabh Bachchan and scripted by Salim Javed.

All in all, Raees delivers ample bang for your buck!

These beautiful words by Abraham Lincoln “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters”, have encountered me with a thought that elections are very important for a country’s democracy. Without elections  we can’t expect good governance. So there is cyclic chain between election-democracy-good governance.

India is one of the biggest democracy of the world. But still there are so many citizens who didn’t have voter id card . About  one fifth of people don’t vote because of various reason like no voter id card, laziness and bad weather, loss of faith in governance etc. Some of the people vote in order to click selfies and  post them on various social networking site, so that they can show off in front of their friends. There are so many people in India who vote according to their family’s choice without having their own choice.

its the biggest reality of our nation that there are so many people who don’t even know about the election’s date and list of candidates who have stood in the election. These people are those only who criticize government law.

Now lets get to the point ,This year there will be  elections in 7 states of India . These seven states include Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand. Now let us discuss each and every state one by one so that we would have the rough idea about the elections in 2017.

• GOA-The Goa Legislative Assembly election, 2017 will be held on February 4, 2017 to elect the 40 members of the Goa Legislative Assembly, as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on March 18, 2017. This time there will be 4 parties i.e. BJP, INC, MGP, AAP.
• GUJARAT-The fourteenth legislative assembly election will be held in 2017 to elect members of the 182 constituencies in Gujarat. This year also the Elections might take place in November-December 2017. There are 2 major parties BJP and INC.
• HIMACHAL PRADESH-The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, 2017 will be held in late 2017, to elect the 68 members of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on 7 January 2018. There are two major parties INC and BJP.
• MANIPUR-The Manipur Legislative Assembly election, 2017 will be held on 4th March & 8th March 2017, to elect the 60 members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on 18 March 2017. Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used along with EVM in four assembly constituencies in Manipur.
• UTTAR PRADESH-The 17th Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election will be held from February 11 to March 8, 2017 in 7 phases. There are 4 parties that are battling in UP i.e. BJP ,BSP ,SP alliance with Congress.

• PUNJAB-The Punjab legislative assembly election, 2017 will be held on 04 February 2017 to select the 117 members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The results of the election will be announced on 11 March of Punjab Legislative Assembly. There are 4 major parties BJP along with Akali Dal , Congress,BJP and AAP.
• UTTARAKHAND-A Legislative Assembly election will be held on 15 February 2017 in a single phase for the 70 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in the state of Uttarakhand in India.There are only 2 major ruling party INC and BJP.

Patriotism doesn’t mean fighting on borders . We all can’t go to borders and show how much we love our country. If we seriously love our country we should respect our governance and the rights that our government has given to us .There are so many countries in the world where people are fighting for democracy . We are very blessed that we are born in that country where government is for the people, of the people and to the people. So don’t waste the sacrifices for this right and choose whosoever  is best according to you. Please Vote and show what public can do. Remember every vote counts.

The precious time  of our life that is our college life . Everyone knows that the worlds of high school and college couldn’t be further apart. But, what parallels can be drawn between the two? From childhood to adulthood, high school allows you to gain a sense of what it will be like to be an adult. On the other hand, college allows you to fully take ownership of your time, responsibilities and who you want to become. life in college is incomplete without fest .

Being a Delhi university student,First three months of the years are the best because its the time when all the fest held in different colleges of  DU. Here is the list of top 10 fest of Delhi University which you wont be missing

• Mecca- Hindu college –The Annual Cultural Fest of Hindu comes to you this month from 25^th-28^th February. Mecca acts as a choir of various musical events, ranging from sufi to pop and rock-n-roll, literary events, fashion shows, etc. to name a few. The past years have seen the grand success of the fest because of the participation of mind boggling number of students.

• Crossroad-Shri Ram College of commerce-The largest cultural fest of DU that sees a footfall of over 10,000 people a day. With just a few weeks left for the fest, there is already a lot of conjecture around the campus as to which celebrity will burn the floor this time. The fests organised by SRCC have always been a part of the “Do Not Miss” list. With the huge variety of food and other events, this college does not fail to attract maximum attention towards itself.

• Renaissance-Kirori Mal college –The fest is scheduled to be held from February 23-25. Renaissance 2015 has a long list of events lined up. KMC’S fest is known for being one of the best in North Campus. It has a huge turnout, no restricted entry and amazing performances.

• Tempest -Miranda House -The annual fest of Miranda House is looked up to every year with a lot of excitement as it hosts the best star performances in campus. It caters to a wide variety of audience as well as participants from top institutes all over the country.Miranda House (being an all girls college) is a major attraction in North Campus, for obvious reasons. Despite that major advantage to up their entry ticket sales, they always have quality events and performance that are well organized.

• Confluence-Hansraj College -Confluence is all about the music. It really is. With performers such as RDB , DJ Barkha Kaul , Jazzy B , Jasleen Royal and singer Neeraj Shridhar it is much like a carnival of great tunes and rhythms. Two of their main attractions in terms of events is the DJ Wars and Solo Song.

• Ullas-Kamla Nehru College-Spanning over two days, the fest has a plethora of activities and competitions. It is a culturally active fest and all college societies’ work really hard together to take this show to another level.Caricature, Tattoo Making, T-shirt Making, English Debate ,Choreography , Indian Dance , Poster Making and Card Making… these are only some of the many events hosted by Kamla Nehru College.

• Nexus -Shri Venkateshwar College –long recognized as a premier cultural festival of Delhi University, continues to draw high levels of talent and participation from colleges and institutes across Delhi. The Battle of Bands and One Act Theatre event are highly appreciated and enjoyed immensely by all.From the variety of events hosted, the guests invited for performances and the amount of money and effort put into it, Nexus has a lot to boast about. 2013 saw a milieu of interactive events that students could participate in including some rather interesting ones such as Chocolate Eating , Karaoke , face painting , western music and Hindustani music.

• Reverie-Gargi college -After a series of back to back enthralling fests over the years, Gargi College presents its Annual Cultural Fest – Reverie 2k15, Labyrinth of Life. This time, experience the magic that makes life an illusion at Gargi College. One of the best fests of DU, Reverie establishes a yard stick for the rest. This ‘all girls’ college is a perfect example of how good organizers women are. Their fest this year had been remarkable and ‘in the talks’ for so long. The shows put up by their dramatics society were a treat to watch.
• Tarang-LSR-With events , activities , competitions and performances spanning over 3 days , Tarang is one of the festivals that highlight and exhibit aptitude and talent. With a number of literary , dance , music , photography and art competitions the gala attracts students from not only the colleges around LSR but also the colleges in North Campus and sometimes , even participants from Gurgaon

• Harmony-St.Stephens-Harmony, the annual cultural festival of St. Stephen’s College is a festival where students can let loose completely. Their events include Face Painting, Tug of War, Battle of Bands, Wall Climbing, Food Tasting Competition, Treasure Hunt, Karaoke Night, Scavenger Hunt, Pottery Workshop and Movie Screenings.

I guess people have realized this fact that, when we were teens, we were very desperate to have sex. Now don’t deny please, this is a fact. Having sex when we were teenagers is something like achieving a great success for us. But being a teenager, we barely have any idea about sex. So most of the teenage sex stories results in getting pregnant. So for all those teenage who are reluctant to share their problems, this is the solution for you. Before jumping into bed, make sure you are ready with prevention.

1. Male Condom

The male condom is a thin sheath of rubber that slips over the penis. It provides a barrier that prevents pregnancy and STDs by keeping semen from entering the vagina.

2. Female Condom

It is a pouch with two flexible rings, one fitting inside the vagina and the other on the outside. When it is inserted into the vagina, the closed end shields the cervix, the sheath lines the vaginal walls, and the ringed open end hangs outside the vagina to cover the labia.

3. Birth Control Vaginal Ring

The birth control vaginal ring (NuvaRing), is a small flexible ring that a women put in her vagina for three weeks every month. It’s easy to obtain with a prescription and is very effective. It works by releasing progestin and estrogen, and therefore has many of the same benefits and side effects as the pill and the shot. It may also cause increased vaginal discharge, vaginal irritation or infection.

4. Birth Control Pills

Pills are one of the most popular forms of birth control because they are effective, convenient, safe to use and easy to obtain with a prescription. Girl take one pill each day, which delivers hormones that prevent eggs from leaving ovaries and make cervical mucus thicker, which keeps sperm from getting to the eggs.

5. Birth Control Shot

The birth control shot (Depo-Provera) is a good option for girls who aren’t good at remembering to take a pill every day, since the injection is once every three months. The shot contains the hormones progestin to help prevent against pregnancy by working in the same way that birth control pills do.

6. Contraceptive Implant

This is a thin, flexible plastic implant (about the size of a matchstick) that contains a hormone and is placed under the skin of the upper arm. But the implant doesn’t give protection against STDs. So I guess you need the condom too in this process. About 1 of every 100 girls using this method will get pregnant. So it is a highly reliable method I think.

7. Contraceptive Patch (Ortho Evra)

This method is a non harming way. This patch contains hormones that are absorbed through the skin and prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg. It needs to be replaced once a week for three weeks (basically that week is the period week). One demerit is it also doesn’t provide protection against STDs so condom should be used. The failure rate of this method is 9%.

8. Intrauterine Device (Iud)

In this process, a doctor inserts the small, flexible, T-shaped birth control device into the uterus. This process also doesn’t provide protection against STDs. Out of 1 in every 100 women using this process, will get pregnant so the failure rate is about 0.2%-0.8%.

Erzurum is the largest city of the Eastern Anatolian Region in Eastern Turkey. Situated 5766 feet above sea level, at the outskirts of Palandöken Mountain, the city has found great importance to be the hub of winter tourism in recent years. From rafting, to trekking, and skiing, The Rock can’t refrain people, from all over the world, from visiting the city. So, pack your bags and rush to engulf yourself into the adventures of Erzurum.

Things to do at Erzurum:

River Rafting:

The Coruh River, one of the top ten white water rivers in the world, serves as the perfect venue for adventure when it comes to river rafting, as the high volume of river water is fed by the melting snow from the eastern Black Sea Mountains in north-east Turkey. As it flows through the rugged mountains and the Turkish countryside untouched by people, let yourself get drowned in the peace and tranquillity of nature as you enjoy the adventure.

Trekking:

There are many mountains, hills, plateaus and valleys which have pathways offering the trekkers unique views of natural beauty. The trek with the trail going through thick pines, waits full of adrenaline to offer a visual feast of nature to the eyes. There are suitable  tracks for this kind of activities on the peak of Palandöken, in the towns of Uzundere  and İspir. There are many trekking paths passing among yellow pine forests, lake and waterfalls with deep valleys and plateaus on Uzundere Valley.The Kackar-Kavron Summit, at an altitude of 12,933 feet is the highest point in the Kackar Mountain range.

Mountain Biking:

The rugged and dramatic terrain of mountains surrounding Erzurum offers sure and exciting biking trails to the adventure lovers. The beauty of the countryside, flora and fauna and Turkish lifestyle is best experienced on a bike’s seat as you meander through lush green hills and dales. This is another sport that Erzurum boasts of and many have lured by the exiting thrills of this outdoor fun. There are routes with different difficulty levels in İspir, Tortum and Uzundere  which are ideal for Erzurum geography, including Ahlatlı-Zarnıç (hard), Uzundere  Yaylası (hard), Serdarlı – Pehlivanlı (hard), Derinpınar Yaylası – Serdarlı (hard), Engüzek  Castle (mid-level) and Yıkıklar (mid-level).

Skiing:

The Palandöken Mountains provide an excellent skiing experience owing to their great height which makes for long descents. Being one of the highest altitude positioned provinces of Turkey, Erzurum has the coldest of climates, remaining covered with snow for 4-5 months during winter. The vast open spaces, snow clad mountains and the height of skiing slopes are enough to pump up the adrenaline in any ski enthusiast. The Palandöken Ski Centre situated in southern Erzurum, lies in the east-west direction the summit at a height of 3185m.

Paragliding:

Ever imagined flying like a bird? And imagine you are flying, with the Turkish mountains in the backdrop. And as you fly high, the beauty of paragliding at Erzurum remains incomparable. The picturesque views of the rugged terrain, the valley and the mountains, and settlements give thrill and amusements with breath taking experience. As you look below, you will see the rows of local houses like tiny dots on the mountain landscapes, and if look along the horizon you can trace the coastline for hours. There are proper and specific points for paragliding around the city, particularly in and around Palandöken Mountain Ranges and Tortum Lake.