Travel With a Couple

This is not an automobile review blog. And we are not automobile experts to review a car. As travel lovers, the recent drive on Grande MK II came as a pleasant surprise. It’s a pleasant surprise because whenever we book a  vehicle for travel, we make our non-preference of Sumo clear to the travel agent.

First thing that strikes us about the new Grande MK II is its majestic size. Park it near an Innova and see what we mean by majestic. Ok! Comparison with Innova might have a few eyebrows raising. All we want to convey is an image of standing with its head proudly held up high.

Maybe, the size is deceptive. We have been driving the small Tata Indica for long and were apprehensive about handling the big brother. Grande is as easy to drive in the city as it is on the highway. We drive through the chaotic by-lanes of Mumbai for an hour or so before hitting the highway. Nimble, agile, and easily maneuverable on city roads, Grande is perfectly stable on the highway and the ghats. Even at 120–130 kmph, handling is smooth and easy.

The powerful AC and the spaciousness—both have become characteristics of Tata vehicles. A six-footer, I found myself comfortably seated on the third row. The claim of ‘best in class third-row seating’ is absolutely valid. Fold the third-row seat, and there is enough space to dump everything required for a week or more of camping outside. Maybe, even a bicycle. We dump a few potted plants and some garden furniture. Voila! It’s as good as a balcony (by Mumbai standards).

Being quintessential travellers, we use various modes of transport. On long weekends, we travel in the range of 300–500 km from Mumbai and with a group of friends. Many a time, our non-touristy destinations are accessible only by unpaved, rugged roads. Grande MK II now seems to be the perfect fit for such travels as we don’t have to compromise on luxury during the drive or the uniqueness of our destinations.

As the advertisement claims, it is ‘More than meets the eye’ indeed.

Tadoba has a rich bird life with over 160 varities either  residing or visiting seasonally. The main lake in the middle and couple of other lakes mean that there are a fair amount of water birds as well – Cormorants, herons, ibis, storks, varieties of ducks, bar-headed goose, buzzards, eagles, quails, purple swamphens, bronze winged jacana, lapwigs, common redshank, common and wood sandpipers and many more…

A little cormorant by the side of the Tadoba lake (above)

The red-wattled lapwig (above)

Black Ibis (above)

Green bee eater (above)

We watched these three rose ringed parakeets (above) playing hide and seek. It appeared as if the two outside was feeding the one inside.

Yellow footed green pegion (above)

The bar-headed goose (above) is one of the world’s highest flying birds, flying over 30,000 feet. It migrates to India to spend the winter.

We spotted a good number of birds, and Shravan our guide being a bird enthusiast helped us.

Atul Dhamankar, a wild life enthusiast and avid bird watcher who is based out of Chandrapur has published a very informative book on the birds and mammals of Tadoba. We picked a copy of it from the guide and came handy while identifying birds.

On our second safari at Tadoba, a few kilometers inside from the starting point, this  board welcomed us.  As if to temper our expectations. This was at the border of Tadoba range and Moharli range where there is a small settlement.  Soon after this however we did spot a tiger.

The year 2010, hopefully augurs well for us in travel. After the good start in the new year week, one of us had a solo trip to Bangkok, while the other had a solo to Coimbatore and Kerala. But the most awaited trip of January was to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. The planning had started in November itself.

The tourism/forest department calls Tadoba the real land of tiger. Perhaps rightfully so. For the first time, we spotted the big cat. Albeit for a short while without giving us enough time for clicking. With multitudes of Maruti Gypsies following, it quickly vanished into the jungle.

Tadoba is the only sanctuary in the country that is open throughout the year and is also the place where sighting chances are very high. That perhaps explains why we came across so many professional photographers in one place.

Spread across 625 sq km, the mixed dry deciduous forest with bamboo, teak, dhvada, and many other trees is home to a wide variety of mammals and birds. We had done advance booking with MTDC for stay and 3 safaris. Safaris in open gypsies are organised by local operators. Private vehicles are also allowed inside accompanied by a guide.

An hour-and-a-half delay at Nagpur as our train reached late cascaded to rest of our schedule and we reached Tadoba only by 3.15 or so in the afternoon. The safari was to start at 2 and we effectively lost an hour. On reaching MTDC, we just ensured the rooms are indeed booked in our names and hopped into the waiting gypsy, without even checking in.

For the next one-and-half days, Shravan, our enthusiastic local guide lead us through many trails whetting our appetite for nature, birds, and animals.

Through the first half of the morning safari on the second day (till about 8.30), we were literally shivering due to the chill. There was a short break at the forest check post at the border of Moharli range and Tadoba range. We tucked in the packed poha (riceflake upma) from MTDC and sipped hot tea offered by a local family at the check post.

The vast Tadoba lake at the middle of the sanctuary was a delight. Deer and sambhar thronged the banks, unmindful of the huge croocodiles waiting for an opportunity. The forest department initially had a rest house on the banks of the lake, but later dismantled it to avoid human interaction at the core area. The crocodile breeding centre also is now discontinued as there is sufficient number of crocodiles in the lake.

More on Tadoba soon…

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Chandrapur is about 150 kms from Nagpur. The Moharli range entrance to TATR (where MTDC has a resort) is about 27 kms from Chandrapur. The tiger reserve is open throughout the year. But during summer temperatures might exceed 45 C.

The year 2010 also began on a good note. After a packed last weekend of 2009, we were in Bangalore on the first weekend of 2010. Though this time, it was catching up with cousins whom we have not met for over 10 years and some friends after 5 years.

That meant not much of travel.

Yet, we did a little bit of star gazing – albeit a little different. We have never been to a planetarium – which most people would have visited in their school days.  The Nehru Planetarium in Bangalore was our destination on Saturday, January 2, 2010.

Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) is barely 70 kms and is connected by good roads. Not a wise idea to combine both these places on the same day as you are unlikely to do justice to both the places.

Mamallapuram is a 7th century port city built by Pallavas and is supposeed to be named after the Pallava King, Mamalla. Mamallapuram is classified as UNESCO World Heritage site. With some of the rock cut temples resembling the Buddhist/Jain architecture, it is believed that the Pallava kings bought artisans and sulptors from central India after they won over the Chalukyas.

We unfortunately missed the most important site – The shore temple, which was closed by the time we reached. We had to limit our explorations around the rock cut temples. The annual Mamallapuram Dance Festival was on we caught a glimpse of some folk dance.

Mamallapuram is on the Chennai – Pondicherry East Cost highway (ECR) and connectivity is not an issue. Tamilnadu has one of the best bus network in the country and the deal just got better with the introduction of new Volvo city buses connecting Mamallapuram with Chennai city.

The year 2009 ended on a good note with a packed weekend. We were back to Chennai after 5 years for a family get together. But we did manage to plug-in an active one-day travel.

It is a matter of shame that we lived in Chennai for 7 years and not even once we visited Kanchipuram or Mahabalipuram. We were not in our elements then for sure.

So it was Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram. We planned the timings so that we will be at Kanchipuram Saravana Bhavan for breakfast.

Kanchipuram is known as the city of temples and is one of India’s seven sacred cities, second holiest after Varanasi. The temples were built by different dynasties as the city changed hands. The Pallavas from 6th to 8th century AD, followed by Cholas and the Vijay Nagar kings. Kanchipuram is also unique in the sense that it is a seat of the two sects of Hinduism – Vaishnavism and Saivism. The Varadaraja Perumal temple is a centre for Vaishnavism, the Ekambaranathar temple is a Saiva centre, with the Kamakshi Amman temple tucked in between.

It requires a minimum of one full day to explore Kanchipuram completely. And yet again – at one more place, we made a promise – to come back.

Most often, one misses the simple pleasures and beauties near home.

We knew Uran had something to offer for bird watchers, but had never ventured.

So in one of our short treks to Vyagreshwar, Nature Knights decided to pack in an early morning birding. And it was worth it.

Ibises, coots, whistling ducks, bee eaters and many more unnamed birds gave us company 0n a winter morning.

Solapur was once a bustling textile town. The Solapur chadder is famous even now, though the number of mills has dwindled and many of the looms have moved out of the town.

We wanted to visit one of those looms and speak to a few people and made our enquries, but only to realise that there are only show rooms and not any mills/looms around the town. So we were directed to the largest and the most popular one – Pulgam Textiles. We were not disappointed for there were some unique cotton bedsheets. The chadder certainly has its charm, going by the crowd thronging the shop, spread across three large buildings. The salesmen were friendly and had a knack of selling. And, we ended up buying a few.

Solapur chadder once got the fashion world sit up and take notice. James Ferreira, a Mumbai based fashion designer featured a fashion range at the Lakme Fashion Week 2006 and the models walked the ramp wrapped in Solapur chadder.(Photos from Sify)

(Solapur is 405 kms from Mumbai, via Pune)

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.