Ancient forts of India – The Devgiri fort or the Daulatabad Fort

I had planned to visit the city of Aurangabad for a long time and the city was a surprise package indeed. While I was always intrigued by the caves that had been built over a 1000 years ago at Ajanta and Ellora (Ajintha and Verul as known originally in Marathi), I had no idea that the city held much more history.We reached Aurangabad after a comfortable early morning train journey that ended at lunch time. After refreshing ourselves at the really nice Lemon tree hotel and even having a dip in the really big pool, we headed out to start our exploration of the city with the impressive Daulatabad or Deogiri fort.

Built over a 1000 years ago as well, the Deogiri fort has seen multiple dynasties rule over it from the Yadavas of the 9th century to famous rulers such as Alauddin Khilji, Mohd. Tughlak and later the Ahmadnagar sultanate and Mughal empires. Situated quite strategically, Devgiri was later renamed to Daulatabad by Mohd. Tughlak who even moved his imperial capital from Delhi to Daulatabad.I had gone here with my family ranging from 6 to 60 year old and I must say, the fort was very doable for everyone. While the older generation enjoyed the history on offer, the 6 year old, enjoyed prancing about on the steps and ‘exploring’ and climbing every where that could be climbed!

The Daulatabad fort is quite an impressive monument and merits several hours of exploration. Situated on a hill, like all forts,one can marvel at the structure that was built hundreds of years back and still stands the test of time. Even as quite a bit is still in ruins, there are several impressive structures that still stand proud and imposing.As we enter the grand gates of the fort, we walk on a gentle incline interspersed by a few steps and pass by several structures including temples on the way to the main fort. All along, we can gaze a this tall tower that looms before us at a distance.While the Bibi ka Maqbara, in Aurangabad is the most famous monument that has been inspired by the Taj Mahal in its design and architecture, the Chand Minar in the fort complex has been inspired by the Qutub Minar at Delhi in height as well as its reddish hue. . At 63 meters in height, the Chand Minar is visible from every corner of the fort and is very pleasing to the eye.

We go along, and marvel at the cleverness of the fort. Like every fort, there are several clever means to stop enemy intruders from entering the fort. First, the steep hillside (much of it even cut to make it smooth an steep), can prevent the enemy from climbing the fort. The next layer of protection is the surrounding deep moat which once was teeming with lethal reptiles (and now with dumped bisleri bottles) and a single drawbridge that can send enemy soldiers to a an ignominious end. The single entrance if they do breach the fort ramparts is built particularly cleverly in the form of a befuddling maze ‘Andheri’ in dark passageways that can send enemy soldiers hurtling to their death from the hill or een be burnt by hot oil being poured on them from secret holes. I can almost hear their cries and marvel at the brilliance of the architects and even the enemy soldiers who managed to breach this almost impregnable structure.To reach the top of the fort, one needs to climb 750 odd steps and be rewarded with phenomenal views of the surrounding countryside and town. On the way you will see several interesting structures including the Bharat Mata temple, the Chini mahal, kacheri, and other buildings. The Mendha Cannon was quite a cool relic. One of the biggest cannons in India, the Mendha cannon employed by Aurangzeb has a Ram shaped head and can swivel to point everywhere but the mother fort itself in case enemies access it. For the cannon buffs (I am sure there are), this cannon is a must-see!Overall, the fort is decently well maintained, and is clean. The ‘Andheri’ passage and the surroundings could be better maintained as there is a terrible stench of pigeons / bats roosting in ‘Andheri’…unless the smell was designed to make the most intrepid faint even back then! However, some paths are treacherous and one can trip and fall especially if one ventures in the dark alleys of the fort. A definite feedback to have some lights in dark areas where tourists venture or warnings to use a torch if you do venture.There are even ramps for wheelchairs for quite a distance in the fort, which is something I noted for the first time in a fort.All in all, a superb fort and a day well spent. The cloudy weather certainly helped as well and we had a pleasant trek up the fort. If you do venture when it is hotter though, a water bottle is well advised.To make the trip more enjoyable, hire a certified guide who can point you to the different structures and their significance in the fort or atleast purchase a tourist guidebook that you can refer to and make the story come so much more alive as you envisage what it must have been in its heyday.Well that is the end of day 1 at Aurangabad.Some more pictures for you.

Mumbai Cycling Diaries

Fitness has been on the top of my agenda for this year and I have finally won bragging rights on achieving my goals! It has been an interesting journey starting with a crash diet that completely backfired and I gained weight instead of losing it! There on, it was all about eating healthy and going all out to shed those kilos. And I was surprised that it was fun all along thanks to Cycling!

Cycling around Mumbai as many of you know has been part of the journey. And what a great ride it has been. While the cycle was purchased purely with errands in mind almost 5 years ago, I took to cycling for fitness only this year.

And as usual, with everything one does, there are bouquets and brickbats! But my takeaways from them –

• No matter what they say, one can’t be too old to do anything, including cycling.
• If Indian roads are unsafe for cyclists, they are also unsafe for pedestrians, motor bikes, cars and buses. Just get the right gear – a helmet and a flashing rear light at night are bare essentials and you will be set. 
• If you cycle, you tend to discover amazing breakfast places that serve authentic cuisines at great prices. And trust me, that breakfast after a long ride is the most satisfying and guiltless as it can get! You can dig into that extra buttered pav at an Irani café in South Bombay, hot steaming batata Vadas at a Maharashtrian joint in Dadar and have extra helpings of the sugary filter coffee at Matunga all in a day.
• The urban jungle may suddenly seem greener and cleaner as you discover quiet shady neighborhoods with signs of ‘Birds twittering, quiet please’ or the like, secret massive gardens that nobody knew about and nooks that have amazing views.
• It is possible to be motivated to wake up at 5 am in the morning to go for a spin. I usually still get the feeling of anticipation of a Himalayan expedition the next day.
• Go Solo. One does not need company for cycling. Solo cycling means you can ride at your own pace, feel the wind in your hair and do all that introspection. Although it is great if you have the company for breakfast.
• Random bikers and rickshaw wallahs will come and tell you to not ride the cycle even if you are on the extreme left of the road on a straight path. Incessant honking will happen even if you were an inch away from disappearing into a wall riding on the leftmost inch on the road. Claim your space and learn to Ignore. 
• Join a cycling group for that extra push, learning and great breakfast sessions. There are many such groups budding across the city. They are great avenues for getting to know different people, learning much from them and great company for breakfast!

And while you ponder over if it is a great idea for you to start cycling, here are some pictures of roaming around Mumbai on the saddle. 

If you need any further motivation, let me know!

Ahoy Arabian Sea

The iconic David Sasoon Library

Early morning rays on a Victorian building

A sneak peak at the Queen’s necklace – Marine Drive

Hearty breakfast time

A weekend trip to Nasik

Where next? …The Ramayana Trail at Panchvati, Nasik

It is better to make plans to local places that work rather than grand plans to exotic places that don’t work.

With that as the motto for a long weekend, we embarked upon zeroing on a place at drivable distance from Mumbai that wouldn’t have us paying an arm or a leg or at least a very fat undeserved amount!

We zeroed in on the not-so-sleepy city of Nasik at an easy driving distance from Mumbai to be our first quick vacation distance. Nasik is a city at about a 4 hour fabulous drive from Mumbai.

My memories of Nasik from the days bygone, was a place I had visited before I got married to ward off the evil eye and basically indulge my parents in eliminating the evil ‘Kal Sarpa dosh’…some terrible planetary alignment that would have made my marriage prospects really bad! And all the evilness foretold could be done away with a mere Pooja at the holy city of Nasik at the ancient temple of Trimbakeshwar. That simple! Well, if it were not for superstitions, I guess, half the religious tourism wouldn’t be what it is today!

Religious tourism aside, Nasik has a lot to offer in terms of non-religious place to see as well, and one can easily spend 2-3 days exploring the city.

Fun facts about Nasik –

• Nasik has one of twelve Jyotirlingas at the famous temple of Trimbakakeshwar – A Jyotirlinga is considered to be a manifestation of Lord Shiva. It is believed that the Jyotirlingas are columns of fire piercing through the earth.
• Nasik is the largest wine producing district in India with the most well-known Indian brand Sula. Also home to winefests such as the SulaFest during harvest season
• The Currency note press and the India security press are located at Nasik to print Indian currency notes and government stamp paper
• Houses a unique Coin museum
• Is one of the four destinations in India that hosts the largest peaceful religious congregation globally – the Kumbha Mela
• Panchavati in Nasik is the setting of one of the most loved epics in India – the Ramayana
• The father of Indian Cinema – Dadasaheb Phalke was from Nasik. You can visit a memorial in his name here

 

Religion/Mythological sites –

The Kumbh Mela

Legend has it that the nectar from the famous churning of the ocean by the Devas and Asuras had fallen in four of the places, where the Kumbh mela is held today. These include Ujjain, Allahabad, Haridwar and Nasik. The Kumbh mela is touted to be the largest congregation of religious pilgrims in the world and has put Nasik on the global map for religious travel. The city is replete with temples, some really ancient, some less so and some really quite new to fool gullible tourists into parting with their money under the guise of religion.

Ramayana trail

In addition to the Kumbh Mela, Nasik is where the most important parts in the Ramayana played out. Panchavati and Tapovan where the trio of Rama, Sita and Lakshman had made their home is a part of Nasik. Earlier the picturesque forest, Panchavati is now alas, yet another urban jungle. In Panchavati, there is an entire Ramayan trail which traces the ‘Aranya Kanda’ (Book of Forest) from the Ramayan. On the trail, you can find out where Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana had stayed while at Panchavati, the location of the infamous cutting off of Surpankha’s nose, where the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ had been etched by Lakshman and where Sita was carried off by the evil Ravana. You can also see the banyan trees which give the forest its name of being the forest of the Panch or Five Vata (Banyan) trees.  Another spiritually significant place is the Ramkund, which is a holy tank where Lord Ram and Sita used to take a bath during their exile. This is a place where ashes of the deceased are immersed to help them achieve liberation. However, I would take most of these supposed spots with a pinch of salt or kumkum or whatever! Apart from a few, many of these seem to have cropped up as modern structures in a concerted effort by all the tourist stakeholders in Nasik to add to some spots worth viewing. Of all the places on the Ramayan trail, I frankly liked only the spot on the banks of the Godavari below. Who’s to say it is real or not. But I don’t think the GPS really existed at the time, for us to be able to drop pins on where exactly these purported spots are.

A warning to those uninitiated into the religious travel – Most ancient temples in India are super crowded – probably seem to be more real than the modern ones. The temples of Trimbakeshwar, Someshwar, the Sita Gupha (cave) are ridiculously crowded with throngs of devotees lining up for an exalted ‘darshan’ or viewing of the Lords for ‘blink and miss’ facetime lasting roughly between 2 seconds and 10 seconds depending on how strong you can be to resist the pushes when you least expect them. So for a 2 second darshan you can expect to be in the queue for 2 hours and yet be contented after the darshan. You can also try paying your way (Rs 200 per person at Trimbakeshwar) into an express queue that will still take you 1.5 hours for the darshan. Thankfully, there are plenty of people manning all the queues and with the numerous barricades there is little possibility of breaking the queue and starting arguments.

Trymbakeshwar Temple (Wikimedia commons)

Popular religious places at Nasik are the

1. Trimbakeshwar temple where the river Godavari originates. This temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlings in India
2. Ramkund
3. Kalaram temple at Panchvati,
4. Someshwar temple
5. Muktidham temple
6. Sundarnarayan temple
7. Kapileshwar temples
8. Sita Gumpha at Panchvati

A point to be noted is that most of these religious places do not allow photography, so whatever pictures I have are from wikimedia commons.

Wine tourism

Nasik is now purported to be the wine capital of India. One of the warmest regions in the world to create wines, Nasik offers in India what Napa offers in the US. A wine tourist destination (if not the finest wines in the world)! As late as the 1990s an entrepreneur Rajeev Samant, set up the first vineyards in Nasik noting its conducive climate and soil. From a few acres in the 1990s the Sula vineyards are now a whopping 1900 acres of land and one of the biggest wineries and brand of Indian wines. The Sula vineyards now offer wine tours, wine tasting and a snazzy resort with lively restaurants. Expect hordes of tourists on all weekends!

Other attractions

The Coin Museum – The Coin museum set up in 1980 is a vast collection of coins tracing India’s evolution and history through the ages through its various currencies, dynasties and rulers.

The Pandavleni caves – These 2000 year old caves are a group of 24 buddhist caves built atop a hill. You need to climb about 200 steps to reach the caves and also feast on picturesque vistas osf the city below. These caves may not be as grand as the Ajanta-Ellora caves at Aurangabad, but they are quite amazing to visit if you are around.

The Pandavleni caves (Wikimedia commons by Mrunal12)

There are also plenty of other places around Nasik that are picturesque to visit. Amongst these are

1. The Saputara hillstation
2. Dudhsagar falls
3. Bhandardara hillstation
4. Bird Sanctuary

All in all, a great weekend destination from Mumbai/Pune with plenty to see and do. Not much to do for kids, but well, one needs to just find a park to keep them entertained.

Gleaming Whites on Glimmering Waters – The Narmada

Rippling waters, gleaming cliffs, a cool breeze and imagination galore…that is what the boat ride on river Narmada is all about.

Continuing with my previous blog on the pictursque Bheda Ghat near Jabalpur, a trip here is incomplete without a boat ride on the river Narmada. This was a boat ride unlike any other I had ever taken before.

Boat rides have always been fun and more so, if the views from the boat ride are scenic. Some memorable boat rides I have taken were the river Hudson showing off the glamorous skyline of New York, the river Potomac in Washington displaying pretty Cherry blossoms in full bloom, and the Chicago river cruise to see iconic buildings and bridges. On Indian lakes and back waters, common sights are people washing clothes and bathing on the banks of the river, trees swaying in the wind, little villages on the banks and farms on the banks of the rivers. The Narmada ride showed me none of these! It instead showed me what I had never seen before…

We glided into the tranquil waters of the Narmada away from the noise of the dock and as the boatman rowed us away, we entered magical waters, tranquil and sublime. Gone were the farms and villages. No scenes of washing clothes and bathing assailed us. As we floated down the ethereal river, large cliffs and mountains loomed large…no ordinary cliffs, but cliffs of solid Marble. As we went deeper inside, the marble became whiter and the cliffs higher.

The Marble rock formations were the highlight of the day and as we floated down the waters, the rock formations assumed interesting shapes left to our imagination and interpretation. In some formations we saw the Nandi bull paying obeisance to Shiva on another rock. A tiger loomed large on another rock while a hermit in marble sat meditating on one more. As we went further along, the boatman and guide became more and more animated as he regaled us with tales of Bollywood romancing (on) the river. It was a mercy that the river had been spared largely by litterbugs and the river was mostly clean with strict instructions from the boatmen to not dirty their livelihood.

The 50 minute boat ride takes tourists to the Bandar kodini point where the rocks are so close that a monkey can jump from one cliff to another.

This boat ride can also be taken at night. I can only imagine how heavenly it must be to be on shimmering waters, with glistening marble cliffs, a starry sky, and a full moon…

Here are some pictures..

The River Narmada

Rock formations on the River Narmada

Between narrow marble cliffs

Gliding along the River Narmada

Rock formations on the River Narmada

Wedding bells and River Warbles

It was wedding season and a big gang of us were visiting the city of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh for a fun wedding.  North Indian weddings are usually in the evenings leaving the day free, with the main wedding going on till wee hours in the morning. We reached a day before the wedding after a long train journey from Mumbai to Jabalpur. After a night of partying at the Sangeet a day prior to the wedding, we decided to visit the nearby Bheda Ghat and see the river Narmada.

Mount Abu – Keeping cool in Rajasthan (Part 2)

This is a two part series on Mount Abu. This post includes some more sight-seeing places at Mount Abu and tips for travelers. See my earlier post on Mount Abu here.

We continued with our leisurely excursions of Mount Abu on Day three.

Like every hill station in India, there were ‘points’ that offered panoramic views. These included the ubiquitous ‘Sunset point’, the ‘honeymoon point’, and Guru Shikhar. I must warn you that though the Sunset point though offered lovely views, was extremely crowded and dirty with people eating and dumping their garbage right where they stood.

Views from the Honeymoon point

Other points of interest include the Mount Abu wildlife sanctuary, a fort ‘Achalgarh’, and the ‘Achleshwar temple’. The Achleshwar Shiva temple built in the 9^th century has an idol of the Nandi that is made of five metals and weighs 4 tons. Near the temple is a lake which has the idols of 3 buffaloes which were supposed to be demons in disguise. Legend goes that the lake was once filled with ghee <although I have no clue how that is possible!>

The Buffalo trio near the Achaleshwar temple

The Four Ton Nandi at the Achaleshwar Temple

Mount Abu is also the headquarters of the Brahmakumaris spiritual university, an organization that teaches spirituality and meditation. The Brahmakumaris have several centers at Mount Abu that host visitors from all over the world in their residential programs. They also have a fabulous garden with an exquisite display of roses and other flora.

A Brahmakumaris center

Mount Abu also has a little known museum with several artifacts and sculptures in it not far from the Nakki Lake. However the condition of this museum was not very good. Most of the artifacts were carelessly kept without proper labeling or descriptions. We were the only ones in the museum for quite a while and the caretaker had to literally switch on the lights when we reached there. Inner rooms of the museum (that were open) revealed what must have been ancient artifacts dumped and dust laden.  The sheer callousness was apparent in the whole upkeep of the museum and it was quite sad.

Dumped artifacts at Mount Abu museum

Other information

Mount Abu certainly makes for a weekend or an extended weekend excursion. With convenient modes of transport cheaply available to Mount Abu and for local transportation, and hotels to suit all pockets, Mount Abu can certainly be included in a budget travel destination list.

Accommodation – Most resorts and hotels are around the Nakki Lake. For those looking out for boating activities or prefer to be near the market, restaurants etc., there are a large number of hotel options around the lake that would suit all pockets right from Rs 1000 a night to Rs 10,000 a night.  We stayed at Hotel Hilltone, which was an excellent resort with good facilities of a garden, game room, swimming pool, and good restaurants. Rooms in several formats were available and the service was quite good. I would highly recommend this resort to families.

Food – Being a tourist destination, most eateries offer a pan India cuisine from South Indian to Punjabi and even Indochinese. However, it was nicer to eat some of the traditional Rajasthani fare of Dal Baati and Churma which was much less unhealthy than the rest. ‘Baatis’ are baked/roasted tandoor balls of wheat flour dough that are broken up to eat and dipped in warm ghee (clarified butter) with the spicy dal or lentil soup. Churma comprises of broken baatis mixed with ghee and jaggery to make for a simple but delicious dessert. It was funny that the eatery owners on the way called out to us to grace their restaurants exactly when we were out to have our dinner and ceased to call us when we had finished! Another couple of things Mount Abu claimed were famous there was the ‘Rabdi’ (thickened flavored milk) and the Softy ice-cream. The Softy ice-cream easily available in the market at Mount Abu came in all flavors and toppings and was quite a delight!

Traditional Gujarathi meal

Getting around – Tourist taxis are available for about Rs 1,000-1,500 to be rented for a day and they typically show you everything that is to be seen. These taxis can also be shared.  There are options of bus tours and jeeps that are quite easy on the pocket too. Bikes can be rented for about Rs 100-500 depending on how much time you want them and the make of the bike. Getting to Abu road station from the top can set you back by Rs 500 in a private taxi or one can opt for the much cheaper shared jeeps that stuff them with passengers for a much smaller amount.

Tourist Information – A Rajasthan tourist information office is situated next to the hotel Hilltone and the police station. One can get information on what to do at Mount Abu, get maps and other information.

Reservations -A train reservation office is also present in the same building as the tourist information office. We booked our return tickets in a Tatkal booking so this office was God-sent to us with the train booking IRCTC site always super slow or down! There are also several tourist offices near the market that can make reservations and transport arrangements for all modes of transport.

To read my first post on the primary two attractions of Mount Abu -click here.

Mount Abu – Keeping cool in Rajasthan

Leaves droop, dogs lie languidly in the middle of roads, birds come by the flowerpot in the balcony attempting to siphon off the few drops of water that haven’t yet evaporated, Taxiwallahs sigh as they use their napkins to wipe off that unending stream of perspiration, and the only happy person that seems to be quite happy with the oppressive heat is the ice-cream vendor where a  steady stream of people make their way to at all times during the day.

A few days away from this sweltering heat is what I wanted!  With a few holidays in sight, we explored options to go to near Mumbai for an extended weekend to a nearby hill station other than Matheran, Mahabaleshwar and the other usual suspects of Lonavala-Khandala that have become as bustling as Mumbai itself during summer. I also longed to go somewhere clean, green and a place that had good roads. After much procrastination, we finally zeroed on the hill station of Mount Abu in the state of Rajasthan which seemed to offer peace, fresh cool air and relief from the sweaty dirty megapolis. Mount Abu is the highest point in the Aravalli mountain range at about 1220m above sea level making it a cool getaway from the searing summer heat in Rajasthan, nearby Gujarat and Mumbai!

Getting to Mount Abu

Mount Abu is accessible by excellent roads, trains and is about 3 hours away from the nearest airport at Udaipur. Mount Abu is conveniently located at about 750 kms from Mumbai (11 hours by train or road), and at about 230kms from Ahmedabad and 170kms from Udaipur. One can have their pick of mode of transport of trains, driving down, taxis and buses from major cities.

Mumbai to Mt. Abu – courtesy Google Maps

After a hasty tatkal booking, we were finally on our way to Mount Abu one evening.  The next morning the train chugged along to Abu Road station which seemed to be quite a busy station with several tourists like us getting off and on.  On getting out, taxiwallahs immediately hounded us to take us up the hill station. A few minutes later, we grouped up with a family going the same way and we were on our way for Rs 500 for the taxi.

A few curvy roads later, we reached our hotel and were content in whiling away our time for the rest of the day at the peaceful resort in the very pleasant weather.

A leisurely stroll down the road took us to one of Mount Abu’s main attraction, the Nakki Lake. The market near Nakki Lake is a bustling hub of activity where one can get everything from traditional jewellery, garments, bedsheets, artifacts and souvenirs at good prices.  Plenty of restaurants dot the little market and all seem to do brisk business!

The market side of the lake is in no way tranquil or peaceful with hordes of tourists, eateries, hawkers and boatmen creating plenty of noise. However, a walk around the lake brought us to several peaceful perches from where we could smile at the hullaballoo on the side of the twinkling lights of the market place. For suggested walking and trekking routes/maps visit the Tourist office nearby.

Our day ended in the hotel sitting outside in the evening without the ubiquitous mosquitoes bothering us and enjoying the cool breeze. The holiday was just as it was meant to be – relaxing and cool!

Peace at Nakki Lake

Catch me if you can – by Nakki Lake

Fun at Nakki Lake

The next day, after a morning of lazing around, we decided to venture out to see what was touted to be even more beautiful than the Taj in its interiors – The Dilwara Jain temples. These breathtaking temples were ‘paisa vasool’ for the whole trip! On the outside, they seemed to be like any other, but once we entered the sanctum, we were awestruck by the magnificence of the artwork.  I have never seen such intricate workmanship ever before. Such finesse, such grandeur and such beauty carved in marble.

The Dilwara temples were built between the 11^th and 13^th centuries and consist of five major sections or temples devoted to the five tirthankaras of Jainism. Each temple is decorated with intricate marble carvings of Jain saints, flowers, petals and designs on ceilings, pillars and temple walls. One can get quite a crick in the neck staring up at those gorgeous chandelier designs on the ceilings! Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the temple and you have to be content with memories and bad quality picture postcards.

Here are a few glimpses of the Dilwara temples courtesy Wikimedia commons.

A door opening into the inner sanctum of a deity, Dilwara

The gorgeous Dilwara temple

Ceiling on Dilwara

More on the other places at Mount Abu and tips for travelers in the next post of this two-part series. To read click here.

Mighty Chittorgarh and Blasphemous Indians

Massive, Mighty and Magnificent.  I loved Chittorgarh fort.

Morons, Miserable, Miscreants – Those Indians who desecrated its walls.

I speak of the Sunils who love the Nehas and are joined by that cupids arrow through the heart on the Ramayana etching, Chandraketus who visited the monument on July 7, 2009, Swapnils, Pankajs, and Rahuls who found it fun to use a permanent marker to scribe their names and present their autographs to the grim 1000 year statues. I speak of the Rams and Mohans who left their legacy on Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb.

I speak of the mother who instructed her kid to throw away the pepsi bottle in a corner of the monument and not carry it out to throw in the many dustbins stationed. I speak of the vile pan chewer who spit on most marvelous engraving in the fort.  I speak of the snacks vendor at the Rana Pratap memorial who discarded his trash outside his window on a hill which he thought was not visible to tourists. I speak of the literate but uneducated girl who did not think twice before throwing out tissue paper out of her car on the road after seeing the monument.

 Can we even remotely call ours a civilized society?  We harp about the ‘Mahaanta’ of Bharat and the rich culture and heritage and in the next instant trash it with our waste.  I am so indignant and disgusted at this apathy and this lack of reverence.

I had trekked earlier this year to a wonder of the world named Macchu Picchu to see some ruins which I have described in an earlier blog.  Those ruins, mere walls of stone, have been preserved with utmost care by Peruvians.  Peruvians who are from a similar poor country, are proud of their heritage and have not taken it for granted as Indians have.  In eras older than the Inca empire of the Peruvians, our emperors and kings were far advanced in their art forms and built structures which withstood not just battles and attacks but the test of time.  I could go right upto the Victory tower and I could only gaze in wonder at the art forms in the masonry and sculptures that were not valuable enough for the British to plunder.  But can we say that we have preserved them well enough? Sure, the Architectural Survey of India (ASI) has done a great job in digging out similar structures and maintaining them.  But what about the vast majority of the people who do not understand how privileged they are to be able to see them?

 I almost feel India and Indians are not worthy of this rich heritage.  All these beautiful ancient monuments and gorgeous art forms would have been preserved far better in countries such as USA or in Europe where people admire, appreciate and respect them.

Merely studying history is not enough.  Can we inculcate enough pride in our heritage so as to only be able to at least very mildly respect the wonderful history that still stands today and not desecrate it? If this cannot be imbibed, can more punitive action be taken against the cowardly sociopaths who carry out their ‘rebellious’ pranks covertly? Perhaps a fine of Rs 500 to be enforced by a wiry thin watchman standing at the entrance may not be the right way.  Can the government have CCTVs which are monitored and enforce more stringent action, say a non bailable imprisonment?  Is there anything we citizens who love and value our country can do more than turning away indifferently for fear of getting into arguments and then tsking tsking behind their backs? In this blog I speak of only our tourist places, but on a broader level, I question, why is it that the very same Indians who break all rules in their home country are able to even pick their dogs shit with their hands to throw it in the dustbin in another country? If only, everyone respected in their own country what they did in foreign lands, India could come somewhere near being called a civilized society.

A few glimpses of the magnificent Chittorgarh fort below –

Vijay Stambha (Victory Tower)

Hanuman ‘Pol’ (Gate)

Carvings in Victory Tower

Carvings in Victory Tower

Kumbha Shyam Temple

Trimurti

Padmini Palace

Jain Temple of Mahaveer

Meera Temple

Picturesque view near Gaumukhs Reservoir

This blog is republished from my other blog – Richland Talk

Kolkata Kaleidoscope

Thriving markets, speeding metro trains, boating on the Hoogly, calming Ganges, ferrying to Howrah, marveling at Howrah Bridge, colonial Victorian architecture, picking up trinkets at New Market, eating out at Park street, whimpering beggars, clamoring at vegetable markets, congested streets, sights and smells at the flower and fish markets, yummy roshogullas, Maa Kali fervour, art and literature, dusty roads, crumbling dilapidated buildings, annoying languor…….were my first thoughts as I reflected on the so called city of Joy, Kolkata that I recently visited.

When I sought to experience this East Indian city that the East India Company chose as its headquarters to leave a huge legacy after, I was not expecting much.  Though the city has its merits, this is one blog where I will not be raving only about the place! Though I hadn’t much time to explore the city while I was there, however, from whatever I could glean in the few days that I was there, I just felt, the city just needed to get going.  It was completely mired in the old age and is where it was all those decades ago.  It started the metro, and well, it hardly progressed beyond that.  It built that awesome engineering bridge, the Howrah Bridge, but couldn’t repair its dilapidated buildings.

During Pujo

Victorial Memorial

Racing on at the great big Maidan

When I first ventured out in the city, I found myself looking for a city as I traveled from Salt Lake! Well, I continued to look for it in vain.  Seriously, the whole place felt like a great big village with some urban trappings.  Perhaps I associate a large metro with large buildings, which were few and far between (some one told me, it was because of the silty nature of the soil that didn’t permit tall buildings),  good roads which large cities are supposed to have and Kolkata lacked, and a fast pace which the city did not have.  There were also few avenues of entertainment apart from those at Park Street.

Well, there certainly seems to be a lot more room for improvement where infrastructure and facilities are concerned. To add to the woes of the city, there apparently are constant bandhs and strikes that reinforced the lackadaisical image of Kolkata.  Why, in the week that I was there, there were 2 holidays declared, one for some puja, which was fine, and the other because a politician died at the age of 95.  Another thing I noticed while I was there, I could be wrong, but I really missed seeing young faces that I see at Mumbai.  I mean, has the young population of the state been forced to move for lack of better options of studying and employment?

Well, enough of the criticism.  I ‘ll come on to my more pleasant experiences now.

I saw the Kali ghat temple which is quite famous.  In Kolkata, the religious fervour of the people for Maa Kali and Durga is well known.  I wish I had the chance to visit during the  ‘Pujo’ days, where the city would become a grand spectacle, with pandals and the festivities everywhere. The Kali temple was like any other religious place that I have been to, with the rows of shops arraying their religious paraphernalia of photos, models, cds, cassettes, flowers, sweets etc, the throng of people and the chaos.  I have put two snaps, one in Maharashtra at Mahur and one at the Kalighat..see the resemblance, you’ ll see what I mean.  The similarity continued when the numerous touts hounded me offering me easy access to the deity and proceeded with putting the tilak on my forehead and demanding a cool 200 bucks for doing so..which I ran off from of course. J  Though crowded, it was an interesting experience all the same.

I enjoyed using the public transport too at Kolkata.  Though old, the metro was quite efficient and fast as compared to using the road and the expensive cabbies and I knew where I was as compared to using the roads that had a complete absence of signboards giving directions.  It was funny to see the trams that probably moved slower than I walked.  I was surprised to see the hand drawn rickshaws , which I had thought were obsolete.  Despite all this progress in the world, it was rather sad to see human beings acting no better than mules drawing heavy loads.  

The map at the metro station

The old world Tram

The ferry to Howrah was also a pleasant ride, though I thought the boat would sink when a huge throng of people who I had seen marching in a morcha or something to that tune, all jumped on to the same boat!  The river Hoogly, was as expected extremely dirty, after journeying its way from the Himalayas, through UP, Bihar and Bengal, it had enough waste dumped into it.  I wonder how the people who were bathing in the river, expected it to clean them even if they were using soap!  The old Howrah bridge was quite picturesque with its several trusses and old world charm.

The old Howrah bridge

The new Howrah Bridge

Shopping at Calcutta and eating out at Park Street was a pleasure.  Everything there was half the price that is at Mumbai and there was a phenomenal variety in the trinkets and accessories at all the local markets.  I absolutely splurged at New Market, Garia Haat and Shobha Bazaar.

Where eating is concerned, oh Man….Mishti Doi was absolutely yummy as were the unique Rasgullas or rather Roshogullas made of jaggery.  Folks back home savoured the different varieties of shondhesh which have funny names such as Bhimnag sandesh and Kheer Kadam.  Mishti Doi incidently that sounds very easy to prepare, well isn’t.  Very simply, its essentially made by using milk evaporated to half added to caramalised sugar and converted to dahi by adding some yoghurt to it in an earthern pot for that amazing earthy flavour.

After all that gorging and shopping, I reckon, it isn’t a bad place after all!  IT companies and manufacturing companies have already started making a beeline for this eastern city, and things are looking up. With so much great history and culture behind it, with so many intellectuals from this place, be it artists or revered writers such as Rabindranath Tagore and newer Bengali writers such as Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anurag Basu etc, I am sure, the people of Bengal will not have their beloved city languish. Hopefully, things will improve and this place will catch up with the rest of India!

Richa

Royal Rajasthan – Udaipur

Rajasthan – a state that was truly royal.  A trip to Udaipur and Jaipur left me feeling proud of the heritage we have and increased my wanderlust in exploring more of India.

Udaipur  – a charming city with shimmering lakes, ancient architecture, grand mansions and plenty of folklore.  We got off the airport and were able to promptly avail taxi services at the airport.  Our taxi driver and guide Rais Khan started our trip with taking us to the famous Nath Dwara mandir which is a temple of Krishna and more popularly Srinathji in those parts.  We had around two hours to kill before the gates were opened to the hordes of devotees.  The area was like any other religious area really.  Rows of shops with artifacts to be used for worshipping, plenty of silverware, idols, marble besides the paraphernalia of the photos of Srinathji ofcourse, along with religious dvds etc.  We had the most wonderful chai that we have ever had at a little chai tapri there.  The chai vendor’s secret ingredient was Mint leaves!  I tried it back home immediately, and I highly recommend it! Well, we waited and waited, with the throng of devotees, right upto 15 minutes before the gates opened.. and then, much to Sandeep’s chagrin, I freaked out from the charging crowd, and I actually backed out! Oh well, I tried My Lord!  I hope we still have his blessings!

Near Nathdwara temple

Near Nathdwara temple

Battle of Haldighati site

Udaipur and Jaipur, we found were cities replete with plenty of stories.  We were told stories of grandeur of the existing royalty of the family owning whole huge palaces, dozens of vintage cars, private jets, and even private airports! We heard stories of how Kokilaben built an entire town around a new temple she built adjacent to the Srinathji building, stories of the many filmstars weddings that now favor the grand Udaipur palaces for venues.  Particularly interesting was the tale of the two royal princes of Udaipur in which we were told that the elder heir to throne had been thwarted in ascending the ‘throne’ and hardly received anything from his ancestor whereas the younger brother got all the wealth and title of King.  Our driver told us how the people of Udaipur still stood by the wronged elder brother and respected him as King even though he had not received all that his brother had.  In Jaipur, the story was of that of the young teenage King whose princess mother had married a driver or commoner, and hence, her King dad, passed on everything not to her and her husband, but to the little prince.  These stories were all set in the modern day.  Besides these were the stories behind each building, each mansion, and each structure in the forts around these cities.  Where Rana Pratap and his loyal horse Chetak, were the subject of stories, memorials, and statues in Udaipur, it was Sawai Mansingh and Jaisingh who left their legacy at Jaipur.

Rana Pratap Memorial at Haldighati

City Palace

Palace near Lake Picchola

Dudh Talai near Lake Picchola

We boated on Lake Picchola and marveled at the gorgeous landscape with grand palaces, mostly now heritage hotels, in all directions. Particularly spectacular was the lighted up Taj hotel in the shimmering waters of Lake Picchola.  Being monsoon, the lakes were full, and it was surprising to note that the desert state of India was probably more verdant than Kerela!

Taj Lake Palace

Bagori ki Haveli dance

We proceeded the next day to visit the City Palace, still owned by the Maharaja of Udaipur.  After a tour of the mansion, we banked for a bit on the shores of lake Fatehsaagar which was close to our hotel, had more chai, and then went to Bagori ki haveil to see some folk dances.  As a pointer to future tourists, the show is from 7 pm to 8 pm and is certainly worth a visit!  Our last stop at Udaipur was the lofty fort of Chittorgarh which I shall keep for a separate blog.  In very few words though, Chittorgarh was one of the most impressive forts I have ever seen. On the downside, it was disconcerting to see the number of cows  on most of roads left stray by their owners to fend for themselves in order that they did not have to waste precious space on them.  Apparently if the cows got rounded off, the owners were happier since the expensive cattle feed got taken care of at the shelter.  Thus, sadly the government stopped catching the cows, and the owners had their own way.  It is little wonder that foreigners have this pathetic image of India with cows sitting all major road junctions without batting an eyelid! On visiting Udaipur, I finally see why!

Rolls Royce at the Vintage Car Museum

For pointers on where to eat, our driver unfortunately did not take us to the kind of places we would have liked, but the one place I would recommend is the lunch with a vintage touch at the vintage car museum.  The Rajasthani thali was delicious and the vintage car collection incredible!  We also had an animated guide who quizzed us on Vintage car trivia and made our experience fun! All in all, a wonderful trip, and we left for Jaipur in the convenient night train with memories of the shimmering palaces around the tranquil lake Picchola.

This post is republished from my other blog Richland Talk.

The Nizam city of Hyderabad – What to see in 2-4 hours

The Nizam’s city of Hyderabad is famous for many things. Biryani, Chandrababu Naidu, Satyam, the Charminar and the Golconda fort. I have visited Hyderabad several times for a day’s trip to the corporate Hitech city so aptly named for all the major IT firms that are housed there.  However, I never had the opportunity to stay for more than a day at work.

The past week however, I got a chance to go around seeing this buzzing metropolis of Hyderabad and getting a feel of what it was even if it was for just a few hours in the wee morning.  Hyderabad is divided into five parts – east, west, north, south and the central zone. The picturesque Hussain Sagar lake with its tall misty fountains and the Buddha statue in the middle is at the center of the city. Most affluent neighborhoods such as the Banjara hills, Jubilee hills etc. lie around the lake in the central zone. The old city of Hyderabad lies at the south of the Musi river and is vastly different from the cleaner Hitech city, Banjara hills, and cantonment part of Secunderabad.

The tranquil Buddha in the Hussain Sagar lake

For the couple of hours I had, and with the couple of foreign visitors accompanying me, I decided to go to the Charminar, the Birla temple and the Hussain Sagar lake. Charminar is much touted as the symbol of Hyderabad and is displayed magnificently on travel posters at the airport and outside. Quite honestly, as I neared it, I was totally not impressed. Apart from creating a hype about it the Andhra Pradesh government has done nothing to maintain it the way it should be. This ancient structure which was built by Sultan Qutb Shah more than 400 years ago is in the sorriest part of the town. From the outside, its walls look crumbling and dilapidated and a tiny not-very-old temple is built right adjacent to it and sadly is the cause for many riots.  The market is not clean, and hawkers, and beggars throng the streets jeering at and harassing tourists.  The day after my visit, there apparently were even riots and police firing happened around there.  It is a pity that such a highly touted tourist spot is in such a sensitive area to scare away any tourists and is simply not secured or preserved well enough. Even taking photos wasn’t as simple as it should have been with the milling traffic and crowd.

A romanticized photo of Charminar

The market nearby, the ‘Laad Bazaar’ was just opening up when I went and I hear there are lots of bangle shops, pearl shops and in season, kite-maker shops.

The old mosque, the Mecca masjid near the Charminar looked much more ancient and charming than the Charminar itself, but again, we could not go in because of much scaffolding and maintenance work going on there.

Charminar amidst the morning chaos

Our next stop at the Birla temple was much nicer.  The Birla temple in Hyderabad was built of lovely pristine white marble. The temple on a hill offered panaromic views of the city in several directions, and one could see how the city of Hyderabad had grown in size over the years.

Birla Mandir courtsy wikimedia commons

We took a final round of the city around the peaceful Hussain sagar lake before we returned to the hi-tech city.

This is what I did in the 3 hours I had at Hyderabad. If you have the same time constraints if you visit, I suggest you visit a few alternate places

• The Golconda fort – check the lights and sound show in the evening which is supposed to be quite good (and really as told by other tourists and not just as advertised).  The fort will take a minimum of 2 hours to see.
• The Chowmahalla palace in the old city is a great place to see and I had many recommendations to visit this.
• If you are a museum fan, the Salar Jung museum, one of the biggest museums in India is the place to go to.
• For a whole days visit, the Ramoji film studio is a fun theme park to hang out and see different film sets from different eras. Guided tours can be booked right from the airport.

Eating options – Being a modern city, Hyderabad has plenty of places to eat for all palates. Hyderabadi Biryani is particularly very famous. To eat the best biryani, do go to the immensely popular ‘Paradise Biryani’ at Secunderabad where they even pack the biryani in special packages for travelers! Don’t forget to pack baked goodies, particularly dry-fruit biscuits from the 60 year old Karachi bakery to share back home. On the way back, I particularly enjoyed the ‘idlis’ of Idli Factory at the airport with all their accompaniments of different ‘chutneys’.

Idlis of Idli Factory

Overall, I was quite impressed with most areas I went around in. The Hi-tech city, with all its IT software parks, beautiful roads, hardly felt like the dusty, grimy India that is better known!  The Banjara hills and the Jubilee hills are a verdant mass of foliage and beautiful houses.   I wasn’t exactly wowed by the 2-3 touristy places I went to, but I liked the overall feel of the city to want to visit again.

Local Tourists at Maximum Mumbai

Busy days, late hours and horrid traffic left me and hubby SS exhausted on the Friday evening. Thus came many pleasurable and contented ways of spending our weekend. That of ‘relaxing at home’, ‘chilling out with a dvd’ and getting chores done.  With the onset of winter and chill in the air, we finally decided to finally get out of our contented monotonous chilling at home and explore what was closest to us – the city of Mumbai. What first came to our head was the symbol most popularly associated with Mumbai City – The Gateway of India and and decided to start with areas around it.

The Taj and the Gateway from the Sea

Colaba Causeway

It was walk down memory lane for me as I passed the legendary Regal theatre and the Alibaba Restaurant that was adjacent to an office where I once worked right after my engineering on the way to the Gateway. It was wonderful to walk on Colaba Causeway and hear the vendors speak expertly in English and French and still see them target only the white tourist population and almost ignore the brown skinned locals!  The array of gaudy necklaces, trinkets, scarves, marble and wooden showpieces that have not changed for a long time now continued to be there and continued to fascinate me. Only most of them were pretty pricey targeting a dollar audience dollars and not for local Indians!

The Taj Hotel

Right across the Gateway of India, The Taj has stood like a shining beacon of lovely architecture in Mumbai city and a balm to eyes tired of filth, peeling paint, slums and box like buildings with matchbox apartments. From the Gateway it looked grand as always and a testimony to what Mumbai has withstood, repaired though not healed. The luxury hotel has attracted distinguished visitors in Mumbai and it was always a pleasure to enter its luxurious, and rich interiors even if it was for just a cup of late night coffee or for a conference in one of its grand ballrooms.

Wah Taj!

The Gateway of India

Coming back to the Gateway of India, my earliest memories as a kid were walking right under the Gateway and buying puzzles, tricks and such paraphernalia from a thriving market of encroachments even back then.  Now, amidst security concerns, there is a large police barricade and siege with elaborate screening, constant security vigil and a heightened awareness although it was fortunately pervaded by much laughter and photographers asking couples to make various funny poses to hold the Taj and the Gateway.

The Gateway of India

The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay back in 1911, a 100 years back from the approaching March 11, 2011. The last of British troops to leave India also passed through the Gateway in 1948. In earlier times, the Gateway was the first glimpse of Bombay that visitors arriving by Bombay would get.  The architecture of the Gateway is Indo-Gothic representing the cosmopolitan culture of the city of Mumbai even today.

Elephanta Caves and the Ferry ride

Our next destination was the famous Elephanta caves, which are on an island across Bombay, reachable by a ferry ride in the sea from the Gateway. It is funny how most locals including us have never seen these caves despite residing in Mumbai for so many years. It never helped that that those who had visited only disparaged the place saying there were just a few broken idols and little else to see. Well, but look at it this way, it really is fun to be a tourist in your own city and see things from a new perspective, understand history and see where the roots of your city indeed lie. The Gateway is one part of understanding the city, the Taj another and the Elephanta caves set in an era long bygone adding yet another dimension to this huge city.

Cruising in the Arabian Sea on an hour long ferry ride, fanned by a cool zephyr, watching the Mumbai skyline recede and trying to make out major landmarks in the city all added to our really touristy experience.

We reached the Elephanta Island by boat and clambered on a toy train which really ran the distance of a 5 minute walk but was again, a part of the experience! We then had piping hot tea from the ubiquitous tea stalls and then proceeded to clamber the many steps up the hill that led to the caves. As usual, the entrance all along the steps was lined by a huge market of souvenirs that sold everything that can be found at any souvenir market in India I suppose. We saw rows and rows of endless ‘handicrafts’ that we had bought foolishly in Rajasthan at high prices  as something unique and refused to buy more ‘unique items’.

Toy Train to Elephanta Caves

We finally reached the caves and found a guide (unauthorized guy since there were no official guides!) to tell us the history of the place instead of us looking blankly at the statues. We learned that the Elephanta Island as it was now known is known originally and referred to by locals as the Gharapuri Island which means literally island of caves. The island consists of Hindu and Buddhist caves with the Hindu caves depicting tales from the life of Shiva.

The Portuguese called the island Elephanta on seeing its huge gigantic statue of an Elephant at the entrance. The Statue is now placed in the garden outside the Jijamata Udyan at Byculla in Mumbai. This cave was renovated in the 1970s after years of neglect, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork and is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. If the Portuguese used the sculptures for target practice blowing them up for most part, Indian ruffians scribbled and carved their names and declared undying love to their beloveds and desecrated the statues. ASI has done a good job however in cleaning up a majority of these names, though on close scrutiny, one can still make out English letters in the haze.

The guide told us several interesting stories about the sculptures most of which could be confirmed by the guidebook or Wikipedia. The ones I liked are Ravan lifting Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailash, Wedding of Shiva, Shiva slaying a demon named Andhaka, and the most famous one, the Trimurti. The Trimurti is a 20 ft rock sculpture that depicts a three headed Shiva manifesting creation, preservation and destruction and thus the three important deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively.

The Trimurti Idol

It took us around 2 hours to go around the entire place, take photos and listen to stories besides indulging in chai, and look at knick-knacks in the souvenir market. The ferry service starts early in the morning and continues till around 5:00 pm in the evening in winters. I suppose this time gets extended in summers.

The ride back thrilled us again as sea gulls swept up and down, and in circles with their cries over the lapping waters. We disembarked at the Gateway and headed back into the chaos of the city. With a few hours left to kill on that perfect weekend, we ate pav bhaji at one of the tiny restaurants at Colaba Causeway, ate a really yummy looking pan and watched a movie at the historic Regal theater.

I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who wants to become a tourist at Mumbai. Go Out Mumbaikars and take that ferry ride!

A Glorious Sunset

This post was re-posted from my other blog Richland Talk

Eating out at Indore

I recently visited Indore, the commercial capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Indore is possibly the food capital too. Of all the highlights of the visit, eating blurs out all other memories!  Indians are overly fond of snacks and sweets and at Indore more so.

I had taken the Duronto Express train from Mumbai to Indore. The cheerful looking colorful train set the mood for a fun visit and I was not disappointed. I reached Indore at about 11 a.m and was welcomed by family with steaming chai,warm jalebis and ‘Alu Kachoris’ and Poha.  After this heavy meal, I was surprisingly hungry in about a couple of hours again and ready to eat!

I am told the ‘Indore ki hawa’ or atmosphere at Indore is naturally stimulating to eat more and food gets digested faster! Well, I don’t think I disagree as I almost always had room for more for each of the meals and the variety of food I had.

One of the highlights and must-do’s of Indore is a visit to Sarafa. Sarafa is an area in the old town on Indore near the Rajwada or palace of the Holkars. Originally a market of jewelers, Sarafa is now known as the foodie bazaar. Late in the evening at 9 p.m when businesses start closing down, jewelers down their shutters, Sarafa starts getting festive. Smells of gulab jamun, and hot frying oil start wafting and appetites are aroused.   Traditional ‘Chaat’ houses open and sweet sellers sit with their huge assortments of freshly made gulab jamuns, rabdi, kalakand and malpuas.  One can see people gorging on ‘Kachoris’, ‘Samosas’ and ‘Tikkis’. Along side the traditional chaat places, a slew of cuisines have set up shop in the form of Indo chinese stalls, Sandwiches and Pizza stalls.

For the uninitiated, NRIs or foreigners, it is hard to actually explain what ‘Chaat’ is. Well, Chaat is a variety of food that encompasses a range of savories that are usually sold at roadside stalls.  Most savories also have a motley of ingredients in them with a variety of spicy sauces.  Some popular ‘Chaat’ varieties in Indore are –

• ‘Samosa’ chaat – Samosas are dough stuffed with a spicy potato filling in triangular shapes and fried. Accompanied by a chick pea gravy, onions, coriander and tomatoes, makes it a ‘chaat’!
• Dahi vadas – Vadas are fried savories that can be made of many varieties of flours. Fried and then dunked into yoghurt sprinkled with chilli ‘chutney’ and tamarind chutney makes for delicious dahi vadas
• Pani puri – Known by various names in different parts of the country, Pani puri is one of the most popular dishes found at the roadside stall. Thin hollow dough crispies are stuffed slightly with a potato or boiled chick pea filling and dunked in sweet and sour spicy water, one at a time. Each individual stuffed puri is eaten whole at a time.
• Alu Tikkis – Potatoes are a favorite ingredient for all chats. Mashed potatoes roled into balls or chopped potatoes, are deepfried, sprinkled with spices and served hot.
• Papdi chaat – Dough crispies, this time flat, are know as papdi or puri again. Loaded with potatoes, onions, puffed rice and some sauces and ‘sev’ make for a papdi chat.
• Kachori -Kachoris are round dough balls stuffed with ‘masalas’ and some base ingredient of mashed peas or lentils or potatoes. Kachoris can be eaten dry or with the usual chat accompaniments of onions, tomatoes, coriander, ‘sev’ and chutneys.

Bustle at ‘Samosa’ chaat house

Frying Kachoris

Namkeen Sev

Well, chaat is ubiquitous in all of India, but Indore certainly had a fabulous ambiance that made us want bite into sweet and spicy savories.

Apart from the chat and the roadside stalls, Indore is also very famous for its ‘Namkeen’. Namkeen is a term given to long lasting savories made of flour and subtly flavored with cloves, garlic and several spices.

Even more tantalizing at Sarafa were the sweets that were sold openly. Mostly made in pure ‘desi’ ghee, even looking at them was a feast to the eyes.  You can get notably jalebis, imartis, gulab jamuns, malpuas, rabdi, kulfi, kalakand, and cold or hot drinks made of milk. A unique drink was known as ‘Shikanji’ which was a veritable mix of all the goodness in milky form there can be! Shikanji is made of evaporated milk, rabdi, shrikhand, and dry fruits making it very delicious.  With the advent of winter, a host of other goodies such as mattar or pea kachoris, ‘gajaks’ and hot milk products are also available and must-eats!

Delicious Gulab Jamuns in Sarafa Bazaar

Milky goodness – Rabdi and Kalakand

Moong Dal Halwa in Desi Ghee

My favorite! – Piping hot Malpuas dripping with ghee

Apart from Sarafa, another popular hang out  for youngsters in Indore is ‘Chappan Bazaar’ which originally consisted of chappan or fifty six shops.  Although the variety of food was similar to that of Sarafa, the feel of the place was new and less charming as compared to Sarafa.

One would think we would end up with upset stomachs at the end of all that feasting, but thankfully, we all returned well satiated. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I soon have a chance to go back again just for those steaming hot kachoris and melting-in-the-mouth malpuas.

If you were to visit Indore, some suggested places and food are –

At Sarafa –

• Alu Patis at Vijay Chat
• Dal Kachori near Vijay Chat
• Rabdi at Bhairavnath
• Jalebi and Malpua near the end of Sarafa near Bhairavnath

Some non Sarafa and Chappan Bazaar places are

• Aspee on Racecourse road for ‘Mirchina’ a local drink not unlike a spiced up Coke but milder and Icecream Soda
• Hira Lassi – near Shri Krishna Talkies
• Ravi’s Aloo Kachori – Anand Bazaar
• Damu Anna’s Kachori at Sikh Muhalla

My advice if you are planning a trip to Indore is to be that glutton you always wanted to be and have a feast!

Guest post for the Cybernag – Ganapati Bappa Morya

Zephyr is one of my favorite bloggers for a long time.  She writes about social issues, families, kids and a host of things that will  make you sit up, take notice and react.  She gave me an opportunity to do a guest blog on her famous blog ‘The Cyber Nag’ and I was thrilled to do just that!  Here is a snippet of what I wrote on the Ganapati Festival in India- 

The festival of Ganapati is around the corner and the entire atmosphere is suffused with festivity. Shops selling Ganapati have cropped up all over the city of Mumbai, from main markets to narrow alleys, where rows upon rows of painted and unpainted Ganapatis of various sizes and shapes sit, waiting to be taken home. Kids and adults wander about looking for the one they want to install in their homes.

To read the rest of the blog go to http://cybernag.in/2012/09/ganapati-bappa-morya/

P.S.1  – This post was selected by BlogAdda as its Spicy Saturday Pick  🙂 .

P.S 2 – This post was published in the newspaper DNA, Mumbai edition on Sept 24. 🙂

Crawford Market at Mumbai

Sale! Discount! Unbeatable deals!  When it comes to unbeatable deals at wholesale prices, it’s gotta be the wholesale market itself! For the uninitiated, Mumbai’s biggest wholesale market is the Crawford market that draws eyeballs, pockets and mindboggling quantities for plenty of shopping.

I stood outside the Crawford market taking the scene in. Cars screech, Bikers honk, people get on and off buses in a cacophony.   A tourist bus screeches to a halt as sunburnt tourists stand in a file gaping at the chaos. People walk around with large sacks. Some like me frenetically click pictures in black and white, sepia and color standing at weird positions across the road trying to keep the chaos out and the market in!

Crawford Market – the main building

I entered the Crawford market expecting more madness. Instead of chaos I found and insane number of shops and goods selling their wares perfectly peacefully!

Aisle inside the Crawford Market building

Why you should visit Mumbai’s Crawford Market

• Go there particularly if you are shopping for a party of any kind. Go beserk on buying Party decorations, Diwali decorations, Christmas decorations for a fraction of what you’ld pay in your neighborhood
• You think your neighborhood mall has a lot of ‘imported’ and exotic foods? Check out Crawford market for the sheer variety of things you can buy – types of pastas, sauces, exotic dry fruits including pink cashewnuts and green cashewnuts, chocolates, cheeses, oils of all kinds and cookies from around the world.
• For a long time, elite south bombayites visited this market for imported perfumes, toys, accessories, luxury soaps, detergents, gifts and cosmetics. It is interesting to still see Persil detergent boxes, the array of perfume shops and the beauty products.
• Go there just for the heck of seeing how big a market can get!
• Go there just to check out one of Mumbai’s popular landmarks
• Go there to check out a piece of history
• Go there to see another example of architecture after seeing the jhuggis and jhopdis in Mumbai.
• If you think, the building is not enough market, venture outside into the maze of lanes and by lanes for an even bigger market. Tiny alleys with ramshackle buildings might have the most interesting of things you want to buy. We even came to a shop of magic tricks and one where they sold ammunition! (See pictures below)
• Visit it to go to another piece of history – the Badshah Juice center which stands there since 1905. You cannot miss out on their famed ‘Falooda’, the rose/saffron flavored drink with vermicelli and jelly and ‘sabja seeds’ at the bottom and laced with icecream  and nuts at the top.oooo. yum!

Fast Facts

• Crawford Market earlier named after the first Municipal Commissioner of the country, in the spirit of renaming all that sounds ‘British’ is now officially named as the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule market after the social reformer.  However, the powers that ordain these things have not been successful in getting anyone to call it anything but the Crawford market!
• The Crawford market building was the first to be lit by electricity in India
• The Crawford Market used to be the primary wholesale market for fruits and vegetables. However, in 1996, the fruits and vegetables market shifted to Navi Mumbai
• A Grade 1 heritage structure, the Crawford market was designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of the famous novelist Rudyard Kipling.
• This building is a blend of ‘Norman’ and ‘Flemish’ architectural signs designed beautifully to allow plenty of natural sunlight, air and shoppers!
• Don’t miss the impressive frieze on the main entrance that delineates peasants in fields or the charming clock tower.
• The Crawford market occupies a prime piece of land that is much eyed and sought after by builders, developers and politicians. Fortunately, citizen groups and some sane people in Mumbai have managed to keep these roving eyes away atleast for a while from here, while plans of renovating it are underway

At the Dryfruit store. Check out the pink cashews!

There are chocolates and there are paan chocolates

An Oil shop at Crawford

Blazing guns!

The famous Badshah Cold Drink restaurant

The Yummy Kesar Special Falooda (Yellow) and ‘Royal’ Falooda (Pink) from Badshah

The roadside Magician in an alley

 

How to get to Crawford Market

• The market is located in South Mumbai near the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)  opposite the office of Commissioner of Police of Mumbai
• Take a local train or Bus to CST) and cab it after that.
• If you insist on taking your car, try and park far away and then cab it since parking can get expensive (Rs 80 per hour!) in peak hours.

Tips

• Carry lots of cash, since paying by credit card might not be an option.
• Carry cash for yourself not others. Be wary of pickpockets in the milling crowd
• Buy in bulk for better deals
• Haggle. Haggle. Haggle. Even if you think you are getting a good deal. It can get sweeter.
• Try to go earlier in the day around 10 a.m. after they are done with the loading and get away before it gets chaotic in the evening

 Happy Seeing, Shopping and Saving!

Going back in time with a Sepia look for the main Crawford market building

P.S. – This post was published in DNA in its column ‘Around the Blog’.