Travel With a Couple

For a valley city whose name symbolizes wealth and abundance, peace certainly was in not in abundance. Decades of strife, uncertainty, and violence perhaps has taken its toll.

The calm and serene Dal lake perhaps belies all. The quite witness. Taking care of hundreds of families who are dependent on it. Colorful shikaras silently offering rides for the travelers. The shikaras, the house boats and the trade are still the main source of income.

Dal lake lies in the catchment area in the Zabarwan mountain valley, which surrounds the lake on three sides and is a part of a natural wetland and covers over 22 sq kms. With its basins, interconnected causeways, houseboats, houses, floating gardens, Dal lake is rich in fauna and has been a regular tourist attraction for many years.

After a short ride in a colourful shikara, a sumptuous lunch awaited us in the traditional but well-furnished deluxe house boat. Kashmiri dum aloo and other curries tasted better with the Kashmiri masala, unlike the pungent Punjabi masala that often passes of as north Indian food in other parts of the country.

It’s already jingle bells time at the ITC Grand Central! Last week was the ‘cake mixing ceremony’ – mixing loads of dry fruits with spices, honey, and fruit extracts. The mix is let to ferment for a month or so, for baking those delicious plum cakes for Christmas.

This year, the students of Akanksha Lower Parel Centre were invited for the cake mixing ceremony at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. Saroj maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons were the celebrity guests for the event.The kids were so thrilled and charged up that they managed to convince their teachers to allow them to leave early from school. They were restless even while watching cartoons during the short wait time.

The excitement was palpable as they got ready for the ceremony in the ball room. As about 30 kids got into the act, wearing Christmas caps and palms duly tucked in gloves, the room soon got filled with a heady aroma of fruits and spices. The colourful mixture and the sweet aroma was enough to give an idea about how yummy the cake would be! The exhilaration soared as the kids fished out the two hidden coins from the mix.

Food cooked and served by women always has that special taste. We experienced this at Hotel Amantran at Solapur. The restaurant at Hotel Srikamal International where we stayed was undergoing renovation. The hotel manager gave directions for some good Maharashtrain fare and a certain Hotel Kamath for the typical Shetty food. We chose to have a Maharashtrian dinner.

When we entered the hotel, it was a pleasant surprise to see women taking orders and serving. The semi-open kitchen showed women cooking too. Only mini thali and limited meals were available. We ordered one each and relished the soft chapathis, rice, and vegetables.

The array of laddus too looked tempting. Since we already had our fair share of Diwali sweets, we chose to give it a miss.

Updated on 14th. Photos of laddu