Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • Westward Ho ! Bhuj and Beyond

    Westward Ho ! Bhuj and Beyond

    To Bhuj : Day 1

    It was a chance remark during a Diwali lunch that led to a wonderful trip to Bhuj, a place I’d long wanted to visit.

    It was almost a month ago that I got onto a propeller plane at the crack of dawn with four other intrepid travellers to BHUJ
    After a short nap, I began noticing wind turbines and fields of Dragon Fruit and Date Palms
    Desperately hungry we insisted on a hearty breakfast before setting out on the exhaustive tour organised by Mr Mithul Jethi of Jethi Travels
    The only breakfast available was on the street stalls and we greedily dig into a sumptuous Daal Pakwan , the regional specialty
    3 km to the North East of Bhuj is the Khari Nadi gorge. This deep ravine created by water erosion thousands of years ago is worth a visit for it stunning rock formations
    The different layers of rock exposed by the erosion due to water . The gorge is easily accessible on foot but we were scared to start our journey with a fall or sprained ankle .
    It was cold even at mid day there was a nip in the air but it didn’t deter these two lovebirds from having a shoot down in the ravine.
    Our next stop was the maharaja chattardi, a park that has memorials built for the rajas of yore . This beautifully domed memorial with mosaic is one of the few left undamaged by the earthquake
    The memorial to king Lakhpat with his 15 wives who committed satee on his funeral pyre which took place a few metres away .
    A close up of the dome
    Despite its rich heritage the historical information is badly collated as can be seen from this signboard
    The remaining columns and beautifully carved plinth of the red sandstone chattardi of raja Lakhpat
    Another beautiful cenotaph damaged by the earthquake of 2001
    A water body alongside the Chattardi makes Bhuj a birder’s delight
    Hotel Hill View Resort is a well appointed hotel with a warm hospitable staff that even packed a breakfast for us before our flight back home !
    Resuming our tour, we went to the city Museum that was formerly a prestigious Alfred High School
    However, we found the museum was shut on Wednesday so we sipped some cool coconut naturally chilled water on a cart across the road .
    Our next stop was a very disappointingly dirty and pretty unimpressive step well – Ram kund that was nearby the museum.
    We then went to the largest palace called Prag Mahal . It is situated in the same complex as the old Palace ( Aina mahal) and made in the Gothic style familiar to colonial India
    The magnificent Darbar Hall with its stained glass windows and Belgian chandeliers
    The Clock Tower is a replica of London’s Big Ben

    After this we made a pit stop at the Excise Department to get a liquor permit as well as buy some liquor.

    In case you want to drink in this dry state remember to take along your PAN, Aadhar and another Govt ID like a Driver’s License or Passport. Equally important is the boarding pass or train ticket to prove that you are a recent entrant to the city . Liquor permits are only issued within 48 hours of arrival so make sure you don’t dilly-dally.

    Normally this job takes around 15 minutes (according to the resourceful Mr Mitul) but with our geriatric minds working in unfamiliar territory it took us a good 45 minutes that ate into our lunch time!

    Eat your heart out

    However, that didn’t deter us from enjoying the local flavours at JALEBI where the fine bajra rotis and crispy, hot jalebis were served by warm hospitable wait staff.

    This sumptuous lunch was washed down by the local brew or CHAAS, a popular, watery buttermilk that is a favourite any time of day.

    As we left the eatery we heartily rang the bell outside to show our satisfaction !

    Mandvi : A shipyard and a Palace

    The weather was still pleasant in the afternoon while we made our way to the sea. Suddenly we came across a half built wooden craft that reminded me Of the delightful book “Behram’s Boat” .These boats made entirely of wood are made in the traditional way and are sturdy oceanfaring commercial ships.

    The magnificent VIJAYA VILAS palace set amidst a chickoo orchard has beautifully kept gardens and allows visitors a glimpse into royal life, replete with stuffed animals and well appointed living rooms.

    One of the Chattris atop the palace. This palace is well maintained and truly gives a glimpse into a Royal lifestyle of tiger hunts, exquisite furniture and past splendour.

    Mandvi is famous for another culinary delight the DABELI which sadly we were unable to try because we were stuffed to the gills.

    So we made our way back to the Hotel for a night’s halt before we carried on with our trip.

    Ciao,

  • Flying loose , flying high

    On Makar Sankranti the sky is normally filled with kites. But today the sky is still bare. Perhaps they will start flying in the evening when the sea breezes start coming in.

    I love watching the kites soar high into the sky, riding on thermals taking them up as high as the eye can see before finally breaking free and vanishing forever. Or come crashing down in mid-flight mercilessly cut down by men and boys chasing them as prized trophies.

    Thanks to the return of the Overseas Indians I am celebrated out. From December we’ve done nothing but meet and eat or eat and meet! It’s always fun to meet family and friends and catch up with old memories while making new but finally the wining and dining has taken its toll on my body that has begun to grumble and groan .

    Possibly most of my compatriots are feeling the festivity burnout which is why Makar Sankranti has lost much of its shine. After all, with Diwali sweets, Christmas treats and dozens of meets with friends and family, flying kites is not for the faint of heart.

    At one time I would buy kites for my young girls to fly and would make the traditional tilache ladoo ( a toasted sesame seed and jaggery confectionery) that is exchanged with wishes for letting bygones become bygones. (Tilgool ghya ani gode bola) .

    This wonderful sentiment is a great way of starting the New Year with fresh thoughts and kind words for everyone ; I sentiment that I wholeheartedly endorse and would seriously like to implement.

    Why do we carry the burden of grudges, often imagined slights and emotional hurts when it so easy to forget them and get on with our lives. After all no two moments are alike and we accept them with equanimity, so why can’t we accept each others’ baggage?

    But obviously this is easier said than done and on this day, even though I’m not flying kites and not sharing tilgool I do hope I have it in me to let go of past grudges and restore fractured friendships.

    Ciao

  • Goodbye 2022

    Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow. My necessaries are embark’d: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.

    Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

    I was reminded of these lines when the Little Po asked his brother who Shakes Pare was. They were reading Romeo & Juliet in their drama class where they were learning how to read with expression. Little Po could be excused for asking who Shakes Pare was because his exposure to literature was limited to his previous obsession with ‘Supa Strikas’ the animated football show on YouTube where Shakes is a major player.But Wow Dinga who had already heard of the Bard since he is older and wiser immediately put things in context and mockingly corrected him with the right name .

    More than being amused at this mix up, I was astounded by the fact that the Second Graders were already being exposed to plays that I had read as a teen . ‘Romeo & Juliet’ was our prescribed English text book in Inter Arts ( or Senior High School as it would be known today).

    However, these lines remain etched in my memory for one is always saying goodbye to one thing or another in one’s life . And 2022 seems to be a year marked with changes where I said goodbye to many things.

    Today I will be saying goodbye to a way of life that I have known for the past three decades because Hubby Dear will be retiring.

    From the beginning of this year, Hubby Dear’s retirement has been looming ahead of us and throughout the year, there were frequent discussions at home about what likely scenarios would play out in our lives. On good days we saw good times ahead and on the days we felt low we saw nothing but gloom. After all, shifting gears is never easy.

    It was also the year when Prima Donna’s break said goodbye to her 12 year long association with a company that she loved working for. Like her father, she will be looking for new avenues.

    We said goodbye to Anna Shetty and her family when they relocated to a new home. Though she still remains close by, it feels strange to look at her now former home across the road and find it empty. The emptiness is further compounded by her infrequent visits home and the boys’ absence that we feel. For ten years their lives were intertwined with ours and now we see them only on a Saturday.

    However, there were many reasons to celebrate: like birthdays, a wedding in the family and the addition of another little one. Schools began after a lull of two years and we met cousins from abroad and re-connected with old friends.

    Health wise, we all had a brush with Omicron and a terrible scare when Little Po was rushed to the hospital with acute ITP. Those were the worst moments of our life but thankfully we came through.

    So it would seem that 2022 was a year like every other year with its ups and downs without any earth shattering changes for the good or the bad . For this I’m grateful yet at times it felt like we were living in a limbo and I’m glad to say goodbye to 2022.

    Though 2023 begins with no plans in place , I hope it will be the start of new beginnings at a kinder, gentler pace.

    Happy New Year and thanks for visiting.

    Ciao

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started