Mahabaleshwar. Just as the rain recedes. The last few days of whispering between clouds and the hills.
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In the past three years or so, we have visited a few places in Maharashtra. One thing that has been common in many of these visits was MTDC ( Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) resorts that offer reasonable boarding and lodging. We have now become a fan of MTDC resorts albeit it’s difficult to get accommodation without advance booking. (Mahabaleshwar) MTDC is present in most of the important tourist places in Maharashtra. Simple and basic accommodation. Clean toilets. No fancy stuff. Will fit any backpackers / travel lovers’ budget. Some of these resorts are leased out to private contractors, who have…
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This sounds very pessimistic. Yes, we lost our optimism after a trip to Mahabaleshwar recently. We were there in the last week of September. Being off-season, it wasn’t crowded at all. But the amount of plastic waste strewn around was shockingly beyond our imagination. Plastic bottles, cups, wafer packages, pan packets, beer bottles … Every tourist spot, main streets – virtually every nook and corner. Even the back-of-beyond places were not spared. While tourists were there at the common sight-seeing points even during off-season, most seemed to give a miss to Connaught Peak point. As per our usual practice of…
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It started nine years ago (in the year 2000) from an Internet café in Chennai. Not too many net cafes. Even fewer internet connections at homes. And hardly any one had heard about matrimonial websites. While searching for jobs in www.naukri.com, the girl clicked on the banner ad of www.jeevansathi.com out of curiosity. Little did she know of the life-altering events that were about to happen with that one click. She registered her profile (was free at that time) with no expectation of anyone even giving a second glance as her demands – no dowry, simple marriage and such –…
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Traveling and blogging have opened up a whole lot of interesting experiences for us. Of which, one we cherish the most is the blogger friends. After interacting with them online for some time, meeting them in person (that too unexpectedly) adds to this pleasure. Thomas and Shilpy of Walkthewilderness (http://walkthewilderness.blogspot.com/) is another couple-blogger like us. Passionate about wildlife and photography, their blog is a visual delight. Thomas has been generous to us with his tips on photography. We were looking forward to meet them at the auditions for the Great Driving Challenge. After three fun-filled days, the exuberant Thomas and…
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One of the stories from our TGDC trail was about our search for old Jain temples in Wayanad in Kerala. There are a few of them, either taken over by ASI or left to crumble, like the one we managed to visit. After visiting the place and reading a little more about Jain temples in Kerala, a realisation dawned on us – Most temples in Kerala were earlier Jain or Buddhist temples. We had earlier read that the famous Sabarimala temple (with close to 5 crore visitors a year, it is supposed to be the second biggest annual pilgrimage after…
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After our last post on Top 12 results of the Great Driving Challenge, we haven’t updated on Top 3 results. Soon after the announcement, we had to pack our bags from Royal Palms and get ready for the journey. So here is the video of Top 3 announcement. [HTML2] We started our 10 day trip through the heart of Western Ghats on 7th morning and had a great time.
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The clock is ticking. The next action begins on 3rd August. Till 5th, the next D-Day. But action for us has not stopped. We now have to start blogging on the TGDC website and we have done that. And we need followers too. So here is another request. Open this page, http://www.greatdrivingchallenge.com/ee/index.php/nomines/blog/unny-bindhu/ Click the Follow Us link and sign-up. Keep cheering us.
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We can’t express what are we feeling now. We have made it to the Top 12 from over a thousand contestants. This challenge is getting interesting for sure. The 12 contestants will now meet for a ground event somewhere near Mumbai for three days. 3rd August to 5th August. The Jury is expected to grill us on all possible skills. And 3 will make it to the final round and get to drive 3000 kms. Once again thanks, friends.
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The first hurdle is over. We are in the race. As one among the 100. Thanks for everyone who voted for us. As the digital clock ticked seconds on the TGDC website on 20th July, we anxiously waited hoping that as it turns 1.00 pm, the home page will transform into a list of names and we have to search through the 100 names. But Sandip had one more trick up his sleeves. Sure the home page changed. But to some 100 blocks of letters. One had to click each of those letters to find whether he/she is in the…
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The hills and mountains that cover the entire western part of Maharashtra have many forts. Most of them have seen hectic activities from 1400 to 1900 AD (an average, and an assumption). After the Mughals, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Marathas and the Britishers finished their party, what was left were more often only rubbles of forts. Except in very few cases, where the government has taken up maintenance for archeological reasons or those maintained as places of worship. From 21 century onwards, it was the turn of city slickers to lay hands (and legs) on these forts. People who…
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The history of orange says that the fruit has its origins in India. And perhaps most of India’s oranges come from its centre – Nagpur. So somewhere in back of our minds we knew that a trip to Nagpur cannot be complete without a visit to an orange farm. While planning for trips, we provide for on the spur changes in the itinerary and explorations. Yet visiting an orange farm was not part of our Pench plan. While we had some intention to peek into some farm while returning to Nagpur, we did not expect that we almost could go…
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Mitsubishi, with its Indian partner Hindustan Motors is organizing a contest open only to couples. Couples who love travel, who can blog, photograph and drive. We have jumped at it. Close to 400 couples are in the list now and a 100 will be shortlisted based on the application forms. Shortlisted people will have to go through a second and third round of evaluation – details of which are not known now – and a final three teams will be selected. These three will have to travel 3000 km during a 10 day period, blog about it with videos and…
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As the dawn was breaking the Sambhur belled Once, twice and again! And a doe leaped up and a doe leaped up From the pond in the wood where the wild deer sup. – The Jungle Books, Rudyard Kipling Every morning, Mowgly and his friends perhaps would have woken up to this scene. We too were hoping for the same. The early morning drive from the Maharashtra side of Pench Tiger Reserve to the Madhya Pradesh side of Pench was filled with expectations. Never mind the rattling of the old Toyota Qualis and the chilly wind. We had to cover…
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One of our early treks was to Karnala. Karnala, with its thump-shaped pinnacle on its top cant be missed when you take the Mumbai-Goa highway. An easy climb. Till the pinnacle. Conquering the pinnacle calls for technical rock climbing. The trek is more interesting as it is through the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. If you can combine early morning, keen eyes, and luck, you will spot many winged creatures. In our first trip we spotted a crested serpent eagle and an owl. This time, on May 1, we decided to celebrate Maharashtra Day by taking an early morning hike through the…
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A rubber factory is an unlikely place to be written about in a travel blog. And certainly not a rubber factory in Harihareshwar, a quite village known for its temple and pristine beaches. Harihareshwar for sure did not have a rubber factory. But we did find something closer to that. More like a factory’s waste yard. A little away from the beach, on the rocky coast, we saw loads of abandoned, worn-out, damaged pieces of footwear. Laced with a few plastic bottles as well. Plastic bottles are no surprise, since they already form part of our natural environment, nurtured carefully…
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Meet Sraddha. She is about 12 years old and stays in a one-room house along with her parents and siblings. The sparkle in her eyes perhaps hides the difficulties of her daily grind. Since the past five years, she is experiencing a new life. Apart from her school, she now tries to fast track her learning of English and Maths. And hopes to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer. Thanks to Akanksha, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation working in the field of education. Akanksha’s core belief is that giving a strong educational foundation, self esteem and values to the…
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After the Divine tree darshan, let us take you to this tree we came across at Pench National Park. This is not the first time we are seeing a Ghost Tree. But something that can let your imagination fly – is the first time. Ghost tree is called so because its bark gives a ghostly appearance in moonlight. Ghost trees are often found in the Sahyadris. Known as Sterculia Urens by its biological name, and as Gulur, Kadaya, Karaya etc in Hindi, this is cultivated in some parts of northern India for its gum. These trees grow in dry deciduous…
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With countless number of Gods & Goddesses (83 million by someone’s estimates or 830 million?), roadside stones and trees turning to temples is not new in India. There is no rural-urban divide in these phenomena. All that matters is faith. This interesting tree apparently has a mild resemblance to Lord Ganesha’s trunk. It is clear that the clever and creative painting is what brings it live. Nevertheless, the Ganesha tree has already started attracting attention of travellers and is listed in the ‘must-see’ places in and around Bordi. We saw this in the Bordi-Asavali road, about 2 km from the…
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If you can’t travel or drive too much and all you need is a quite weekend getaway from Mumbai, then you can try option no #85, Bordi. That’s what precisely we did. When a family friend wanted a weekend break to introduce their one-year old son to outdoors, we scoured our maps, books and internet to pick a place. Bordi has a 17-km long beach. Chikoo and vegetable farms dot the quiet village. Hills towards the east and a small dam. More importantly, we haven’t been there. And, MTDC has a resort in Bordi. A perfect combination. At about 180…
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At first glance he would pass off as an uncle next door. Ever smiling, but certainly not the patronizing ones. His nimble body is deceptive of the exceptional feats it has accomplished. Scaling more than 120 peaks in Maharashtra. An unbreakable record of 40 virgin peaks. And 40 odd new routes to some of the known mountains. Meet Pradeep Kelkar, affectionately called as Pradeep Sir by mountaineering lovers in Maharashtra, a winner of many national and state awards including Shiv Chhatrapati Award. If humility can be measured in heights, one has to add up all the mountains he has climbed…
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A Ram temple that looks well protected by a Mughal fort. And some one who will solve all your ‘love marriage problems’ advertising in a Ram temple. At a time when Ram Sene wants to change the world! Ramtek was not in our initial itinerary, while we planned the Pench trip. Like it happens in many of our trips, Ramtek turned out to be an interesting detour. We do not have much historical information and background of the place, though we tried gathering some from the information boards inside the temple. The story goes that Lord Ram rested at this…
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Among the few books (other than a whole bunch of maps and road atlas) that we use as travel guides, there is one called ‘Offbeat tracks in Maharashtra’. Written by Milind Gunaji, a Marathi actor and photographer, this is an interesting and handy book when one wants to do the ‘non-touristy’ travel. We take tips and pointers from it and mix our own ‘de-tours’ to get some interesting variants every time. Nandur–Madhyameshwar was one such find. Being somewhere closer to Nasik, we put this in our Nasik itinerary. Nandur–Madhyameshwar is popular only among avid birders and is known was Maharashtra’s…
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While Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy weaved magic with their vocal chords, guitar strings and drums, the façade of Asiatic library had its own way of being the part of the magic. Two smart guys (they were introduced at the podium, but we forgot their names) behind the stage (in fact perched at the top) were managing this extraordinary show. Various colourful patterns were projected on the wall. Our national flag and flags of other countries, heart symbol saluting the Valentine’s Day, and a variety of images were simply beautiful.
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Someone wrote in a travel note recently that “as you climb the curving stone steps towards the reception of the Asiatic Society library you feel you are ascending into loftier, ethereal regions”. We have not been to the inside of the library. But ascending to another world – yes, sometimes it is possible. Especially when the steps turn into an amphitheatre to watch the captivating performance by some of the best talents from the world of music. This time it was Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio. We wonder if the Asiatic steps ever acted host to so many people. When the steps could…
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A new addition this year is the Studio Potter’s market. Studio Pottery is about modern artists working as individuals or groups. Typical studio pottery is mostly table ware or cook ware, but artists explore many non-functional or sculptural items. The potter’s market threw a variety of artifacts. Vinayaka seemed to be the flavor of all times. (and perhaps all artists). He came in various postures and various sizes, limited only by the sculptors imagination. Crawling, lying supine… Playful pottery by someone was about funny cartoon characters moulded into puppets and clay animals. Studio potters work with various clays – terracotta,…
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At 13, Altamash Gaziyani is just like any other neibhourhood boys. Except that he does a few things more than an average 13 year old. He loves reading Tintin and Shakespeare at the same time. And its not just cooking that he loves to do with his hands. It is also about some magical poetry in clay. That’s why he was there at Kalaghoda 2009. Clay Magic was where Altamash preseted his creations in clay. Altamash was excited to be there in the festival. The twinkle in his eyes while demonstrating, making his wares and selling it says it all.…
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This year Kalaghoda Festival started literally on a high for us. Perched on the open upper deck of a double-decker bus, we went on a heritage ride through the city (the southern part of Mumbai and the original city). And we enjoyed every moment of the ride. Starting from the Regal circle, near Prince of Wales Museum, the ride covered some of the best-loved landmarks – the Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai University, Marine Drive, Asiatic Society… The trip was organised (as part of Kalaghoda Festival) by The Bombay Heritage Walks team, founded by two city-based architects…
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The Sula Vineyard Tour It was there all the time. But never captured our interest until when a three-day weekend came and we had not made any plans. Driving to a nearby place became the only option, and the toss fell for Nasik. In Nasik, what? Of the many things we planned to do in and around Nasik, there was one obvious choice – Sula vineyards. Rajeev Samant’s return from the US and setting up a vineyard & winery and making it a success is now a sort of legend atleast in the corporate circles. But raising a toast to…
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Pandavleni is another slice from history worth visiting. Though not as grand as the Ajanta Caves (and therefore lesser known), Pandavleni is similar to those caves in Ajanta, Kanheri, Karla etc. Considered to be over 2000 years old ( 1 BC to 800 AD), the caves served as Viharas/monastries. Pandavleni is about 8 km from Nashik City on the Nashik-Mumbai highway. Trekking up the hill takes about 20 minutes. The uphill climb is easy as steps are constructed. At the base is the Dadasaheb Phalke Smarak park with recreation facilities run by the municipal corporation. Next time if you are…
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Trimbakeshwar is perhaps no different from any other pilgrim centre in India. Considered very sacred, it is one among the Jyotirlingas and also the origin of the sacred Godavari river. Trimbakeshwar is about 35 kms from Nashik city, on the Nashik – Jawahar road. A few shots from Trimbakeshwar
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“20 acres of farm land… garden flowers, coffee plants, black pepper plants, ayurvedic medicinal plants… ” Enough to generate a great deal of expectations. But it seems we are getting it wrong every time with farm stays. Initially it was at Dandeli, where it was a farm house devoid of any farms. And now at Nashik. Typical agri-tourism initiatives are where farmers with significant land holdings and agriculture often extend a room or two in their house for tourists for a home-stay experience. That was our expectation. What we got was a 20-acre farm, with rooms, play areas, dining area,…
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Next time when you turn your lens to that early morning golden rays of the sun or the mist drop at the tip of the leaf or the mystical eyes of the kid staring at you through the window, remember that you might be in the throes of making history. Yes. Making History. Make History Foundation (technically De Metri Foundation), a non-profit initiative along with Lee launched a Photography contest last year in Europe. After some stunning photographs which found its way to Lee’s fashion book and storefronts across Europe, it is now in India. The contest is now in…
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The surprise element in the three-day Ratnagiri mountaineering camp organised by Nature Knights was the ‘Snake familiarisation’ session by the Ratnadurg Mountaineers. For some of us, it was a pleasant surprise while for others it was perhaps a dreadful one. A bagful of snakes. All captured/rescued from the human habitat around Ratnagiri town, and ready to be let out to the forests. The session was to make us, the city folks, understand and appreciate the ‘other’ friends around us. There were a few varieties of them. Some of us touched them, felt them, and almost all of us allowed the…
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If you happen to be in Ratnagiri and looking for good eating joints, here are some really compelling options. If you are a vegetarian, try Hotel Mithila. Excellent is perhaps an understatement. What we did was a breakfast and what we tried of course were the basic south Indian fare – idli, masala dosa, upma, vada, and sheera. Yet, it was simply awesome. Incidentally, some of their family members run an Indian hotel somewhere in the US, which is supposedly very popular. For the non-vegetarians, try Hotel Amantran. It was a dinner affair for us here. True Konkan fare. Fish/seafood…
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“Soon the district administration discovered itself to be in possession of monies sufficient to build the King his long promised palace. A mansion had appeared on the hill side that faced the Residency. It came complete with a durbar hall, a gallery, outhouses, running water and a garage… All of Ratnagiri turned out to celebrate the move. Cheering crowds lined as the Royal Family drove out of Outram house for the last time… Its upkeep was found to require a small army: twenty seven gate keepers, ten peons, six hazurdaars and innumerable other attendants, cleaners, sweepers and ayahs – a…
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Did you know how well they make modular kitchens in Belgaum ? Well, a copy writer who wrote this advertisement copy for this brand in Belgaum seem to know. And a passionate copy writer he/she is. We saw this on the back cover of Belguam-Dharwad-Hubli Yellow pages, published by a private publisher in Belguam.
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A five-light junction. A cow and a calf wandering around. A small bus stop. A public tap. Two or three shops. A slice from the enchanting Malgudi town was coming alive, at Kulgi barely 12 kms away from Dandeli town. Arun Bandekar’s Hotel Apoorva is an extension of his small, non descript shop selling some snacks for the school children and perhaps a bit of grocery for the locals. Arun, who came from Sawantwadi in Maharasthra to Dandeli some three decades ago, runs his enterprise along with his wife. The Bandekars’ hospitality and culinary expertise eventually made Hotel…
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In two days , we were done with the touristy stuff (the safari) and the explorer stuff (the extended crocodile trail). Yet there was a feeling of incompleteness. Two days in a forest country! The ever fascinating western ghats and rain forests. And yet! Something was missing! While we contemplated leaving Dandeli for a drive to Karwar, through some more dense forests and the Anshi National Park, on the advice of our guide, we checked at the Kulgi forest camp on the possibilities of doing a deep jungle trek. The camp in charge, Mr Naik was helpful and gave us…
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Crocodiles, it is said, prefer dirty water. And the West Coast Paper mill at the banks of Kali River in Dandeli is pushing it down the river all the time. We are parking the environmental debate aside for the time being. Rajesh (our guide) had been warming us up on the idea of a short trail spotting crocodiles in the river. So we set aside a half day for this. A little over a kilometer from Dandeli town is a small village temple by the banks of the river. We started our trail through private farm lands, moved along the…
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There is a warning board which says ’12 dead till now. Please do not add to it’. And there is a lone watchman by its side – Lost in his thoughts and bidding time looking at the ferociously flowing water deep down. Deep inside the jungle, in the middle of nowhere. . Syntheri is a good 30-km drive from Dandeli town. The narrow and pot-holed roads meandering through the forests rarely have sun rays touching the ground even on sunny days. Apart from langurs and monkeys, all we saw were a couple of snakes crossing the road. But trampled bamboos…
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As we decided to go to Dandeli pretty late, all the popular resorts were full. On our first day, we managed to get a room at the State Lodge in Dandeli town. As we explored the ‘things-to-to’ in the next three days, we thought it would be a good idea if we could stay in a place close to the forest rather than in the middle of the town. The friendly manager at State Lodge suggested the Tree-House at the Hornbill resort. He called up the place, but it was full for the next few weeks, even at an exorbitant…
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We prefer the subdued Diwali celebrations in villages rather than the high decibel gala in cities. So last diwali (2007) also saw us packing our bags, and this time it was Lonar that caught our fancy. An overnight bus journey to Aurangabad, and we were 145 km away from Lonar. After a 2-hour fruitless wait for the state transport bus, we caught a bus that took us a little closer to Lonar. One more bus, and 2 taxi-jeeps, the last one packed beyond imagination, and alas! Lonar was just a few kilometers away. The last stretch was covered in an…
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While Outlook Traveller gives us 52 options to de-stress our weekends, in reality, the permutations and combinations of plans one can make out of that is far too many. So, if you are a travel lover, have two days and can manage your own conveyance, here is an option that will leave your senses rejuvenated and spirits recharged. Best done in September as the monsoons are just receding … A long drive from Mumbai through Pune (Chakan) to Narayangaon. From there, it is country roads through the fields and vineyards to Junnar. Climb the Shivneri fort. Stay in a…
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Every trip of ours in Maharashtra reinforces MTDC’s marketing byline ‘Maharashtra Unlimited’. Be it treks, road trips or backpack trips. Numerous options that emerge from the combination of the long coastline and the Sahyadris running parallel to it, in fact gives one an unparalleled experience. Not to mention about the options in Central Maharashtra, which we are yet to touch. Last Christmas, we did a road trip that featured kissing the beaches, then climbing the hills, and hugging the clouds. A 4-day road trip with spur-of-the-moment detours, searches for a place to stay, warm hosts at homestays and much more……
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Only in the world of blogs, editors and authors enjoy a non-conflicting, symbiotic relationship. Painstakingly written material never finds its way to the basket underneath the editors table. So now when our first article moved from bits and bytes to ink, we did feel some narcissistic pleasure. We have now started writing occasional travel pieces for Mumbai Touchdown, the magazine of Mumbai Airport Next couple of issues are also expected to…
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Ask any biologist or an expert in ducks. They will tell you that there are a variety of ducks. Appleyard, Crested Ducks, Indian Runners, etc. But what is a Cabel Duck? Even experts are at a loss. We found this board in a hotel in Mangalore. If you can guess this, leave a comment.
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It is unlikely to see really energetic animals in a zoo. Especially the big cats. We don’t recollect any images of healthy animals from the zoos we have visited earlier. But Pilikula Biological Park in Mangalore surprised us with its exuberant tigers. There were four of them. And it was the mating season. Understandably, excitement abound. One pair was frolicking in the water and the other on the land chasing each other and taking a few breaks to watch the ones in water. For a change, some lively tigers in a zoo instead of the usual sad, emaciated ones! …
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A travel snippet of a different kind… some Bisleri moments. Brought to India in 1965 by Signor Felice Bisleri, bought over by Parle in 1969, ‘Bisleri’ has become another name of bottled water. Wasn’t there at least one Bisleri moment in everyone’s life? Reportedly, Ramesh Chauhan, the person responsible for building the brand and making it synonymous with the product, wants to buy back the Limca Book of Records from Coca Cola and rename it as Bisleri Book of Records. Coca Cola got the rights to the Book when it bought out Limca and a few other products from Parle…
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A Sunday morning. A motley crowd in their 20s to 40s. A mighty mountain – Gorakhgad. We cribbed about the hot sun and the lack of rain only to realise later that descending would’ve been difficult had it rained. The wind at the top was strong enough to blow one away. One of us was reluctant to remove her backpack fearing she might lose her balance. Climbing down was a little hard at a few points especially for the first-time trekkers. Sliding down was the choice of many. But as usual Nature Knights pulled it off. A dip in the…