Goa

How was Goa?

Will come to that shortly

We will rewind to the time in January when Nandu - Srinath  were with us in Mumbai and Kutch.Was informed about Ramani-Radha visit to Goa in Feb and Sumee and I made up our minds to go there for a short stay.Keep it under wraps and let us surprise them I told DV.

Prudential Pristine

Srinath-Nandu reside at Prudential Pristine in Colva.Set amidst paddy fields and in the proximity of Colva beach sits this resort-like housing complex with its large swimming pool and Gym.It is perfect to suit a laid-back living style... the very essence of Goa.

Mohinder Amarnath stays not so far away and makes his "selectors are buffoons/jokers" comments from there

So we entered the threshold of his apartment that evening to find Ramani quietly strumming the guitar and Radha chatting with Nandu.The surprise was writ large on their faces and after some back slapping and hugging we sat down to chat and joke while DV kept our wine glasses full.The party broke up at 2:30AM.

Just to make sure that we are indeed close to the Sea,next morning we viewed the Sea from the terrace with a para-sailor lifting off.A zooooom lens was used for this pic.

We had plenty of breakfast and coffee and Ramani finally made it to the pool at the conclusion of its elaborate cleaning.This is the view of the pool from the flat.None of the others ventured and we continued from where we were yesterday on gossip and such.

 It was Valentine's day and the restaurants were chock-a-block with guests and our lunch - augmentation order did not arrive. Repeated calls made were to no avail.So we made RR sit and finish some hasty lunch to catch Alli and his car to take them to old Goa for a half day tour.



DV said "we will have autentic Goan food in the evening man" spoken like a paav-wala.  Just sample this.

"Bugger don't yap ok.One bloody kaanpatti youl get no,youl see stars in da day man"

So we all crammed into the Wagon R...that is when we missed the good old WBE 816.
All is well that ends well and the journey was enjoyable and so was the food ordered.The restaurant owner was happy to chat with us and share the ups and downs of his business.He favored us with this pic.

The girls of the group went for a walk in the beach the next morning and we the boys were doing Moi in the flat .


Later we preferred a round of  work out at the Gym while they went to attend an exhibition/demo  of Bengali Kantha work somewhere nearby.

Remember "autentic Goan food"? and so we got into the vehicle...and away we went to Vasco beyond  BITS Pilani,Goa,beyond the Dabolim Airport to where a beautiful church stood on Sao Jacinto island connected by a road bridge from the main road,a distance of mere 200 yds.

Jacinto island and church from Sheela

At this point the car stopped behind many others who had made it their business to eat the "aut..." at this restaurant called "Sheela Bar and Restaurant" who provides no menu cards but only modest plastic chairs in an open balcony from where you can stare at the sea while you sip your beer and enjoy melts-in-the-mouth fish,chicken,prawn and what have you.Absolutely delicious!!What a treat!!! Yet what a bare bones place without any Ado

So after this tummy fill what did we do?
We walked slowly to the island...the weather was good and so was the company.
Spent a few minutes in front of the church and hopped into the car for a look see of the neighboring posh locality. By now Ramani had gained access to Radha's Madi and that made it comfortable for the rest of us.

A great pic taken by Nandu

 


Back home Srinath offered to treat us to movies he has recorded and so we sat down,relaxed and watched two movies that evening.We took a break after the first and went out to a nearby eatery for some take-away dinner for DV and me.

 A visit to Johncy for lunch was a fitting finale.A beach shack restaurant catering to the tourists galore.We had our fill and returned home only to pick up our bags and start for the airport to catch our evening flight to Mumbai...the others continuing on their holiday

Autentic tanks to Srinath and Nandu for da wonderful trip......

Kutch

Kutch nahi dekha tho kuch nahi dekha... 
I decided to join when my nephew and his wife  agreed to accompany us to this remote and arid corner of Gujarat.In recent times Kutch is being promoted by Gujarat tourism and they are running this Rann Utsav for the past three years very successfully.Another reason to visit as curiosity kindled


Traveled to Bhuj by the early morning Jet flight which delivered us at 8'o and the temperature was announced as 6C...but the walk to the terminal was Cooool and not Co-oh-ld as one would have expected.No wind chill.
 

Got into the Swift and our thought foremost was breakfast and as we reached the not so clean environs of Bhuj city we began to explore our options. Past 9'o shops and  restaurants were still shut... was it hectic kite flying the previous day? And then when we did find one  he says he can give us only Dosa!!!!We smell fresh Dhokla and Dabeli nearby which we had for starters.Then moved to a cart across the street for fafda, chutney, mirchi and jalebi...a..mouth watering combination. Now we were more than ready for the hour's journey to Devpur homestay

Devpur Darbargarh is an early 20th century edifice built by the Jadejas and currently managed by Krutarsin  a mild mannered guy and his wife with royal lineage...and they welcomed us with garlands,tilak and a cup of refreshing  elaichi tea.Built around a central court yard with a small lawn for sit out,four tastefully decorated rooms are let out .The family also run a full fledged HSC school within the 2 acre plot

Mandvi was our first port of call. Go back 200 or more years...  teeming with merchants and seamen, trading with East Africa,Persian Gulf and the Malabar coast with exports far greater than imports.

A word about the condition of roads.Wherever we traveled on this short trip,the roads were in mint condition.We were a happy lot free to engage in small talk and watch the cattle graze in the arid conditions while many a mile was covered without stoppage and incident.

Vijay Vilas Palace is the summer retreat of the Kutch royalty for the past 100 years.It is not very large
as Palaces go but very tastefully designed.

Red sandstone structure set in the middle of well laid gardens with water channels and marble fountains.Impressive domes, exquisitely carved features and lattice work make it worth your while and the balcony at the top affords a superb view of the surroundings and the distant sea.

From peace,quiet and splendor we drove into the decrepit and bustling Mandvi town for lunch.For want of a better option feasted on the ubiquitous Thali with its accouterments in the OSHO restaurant which is the talk of the town.

Mandvi continues to build small ships and Dhows for local and Int'l clients and the lament was that Guj Govt. is not offering incentives to promote this age old enterprise. We took another good-road drive to Shyamji Varma's (freedom fighter) monument/museum and returned to our Haveli to complete our first day.

Day 2

The morning is crisp and cool and we have all rested well to take on another day in the wilderness. We visit Nirona, a dusty and dry handicraft village,at an hour's drive.We were introduced to the Khatri brothers who are specialist Rogan artists, one of a kind fabric art only to be found in Nirona, Kutch.
The process is time consuming. First the Rogan,which takes its name from the Persian word ‘oil-based’ is prepared by heating castor oil to boiling point over three days, cooling it and then as it thickens, mixing in appropriate amounts of colors. The pastes of yellow, red, white, green, black and orange are kept in earthen pots with water to keep them moist. Khatri demonstrates by holding a thin iron rod, flat at both ends, in which he takes a bit of paste.He touches the end of the rod to a cloth and deftly manipulates the stringy paste stream to form patterns.He drew this for us.


So the ladies were enamored
and they bought some of his creations and posed for this picture.





Located in a small dirt floor room whose main light source was the open door, was a  man with a flowing beard,who was quietly demonstrating the craft of making copper coated iron bells to a bunch of young tourists.We joined them.
A rectangular strip is beaten and shaped into a cylindrical hollow. A cap is formed by pounding metal into a die. An iron strip shaped like a horseshoe is then pushed through the cap and the ends twisted and locked, forming the clasp loop at the top of the bell.There is no brazing involved. The metal is then buffed to create a lustrous polished tone. A shaped piece of dense hard wood is then hung inside to create the clanger.At the end of this crude process it was amazing to hear the wonderful tonal quality of the bells.
                                 

 

Next we walked to a place where lacquer work was being demonstrated.

After turning the wood on a rudimentary lathe, the surface is smoothed on this lathe using an oil-soaked cloth before applying the mix of natural colors and lac till  a unique pattern of colors is formed.

We picked up a Belan each and walked back to our car.


From Nirona we drove towards Khavda to reach Kala Dungar (black hill). In an hour a distance of 70 Kms. was covered comfortably and  found ourselves at a Resort for lunch.Looking at the horizon from here we could see the flat Rann at a distance and there was Pak border too! On the road and towards the Dattatreya temple at a slight elevation, we found our first and only  traffic jam.We gave up the temple visit and turned back.

Rann of Kutch

The Rann of Kutch, also known as the Great Rann of Kutch (there's a Little Rann of Kutch as well), is a remarkable place. It's the world's largest salt desert, measuring over 16,000 square kilometers. What makes it even more amazing is that it's underwater during the monsoons.When the water evaporates it leaves behind up to six feet deep salt. It's best approached from Dhordo, approximately 90 kilometers from Bhuj, which is being developed by the Gujarat government as the Gateway to the Rann of Kutch.

For a real cultural extravaganza,visit during the two months long Rann Utsav, which usually begins in mid-late December. The government sets up hundreds of luxury tents on the edge of the Rann of Kutch for visitors. 

I stood  in line at the Guj.Police check post to obtain the entry pass for our visit to the Rann at Dhordo. Meantime members of my party were enjoying Bhunjelo Mavo freshly made by this vendor. while I stood there jostled by the crowd.Can you guess what it is by the way he is poised over the cauldron?

Eventually we made it to the BSF checkpost and to the spectacle  awaiting our exploration. A sea of humanity was out there and  the white salty marsh extended much much beyond and all around them upto the horizon.

We saw this group performing the traditional Kutchi folk and stood there listening to them.
They are seated on a platform on the surface of the Rann while you can see people on the raised area,which is a long pathway built to facilitate walking without getting your feet into slush which is present at various points on the vast expanse.

 For the next half hour we walked training our camera and I-Pads on anything interesting.

 
 

  Now feast your eyes on this

At Sunset

In the moonlit night

We got into our car and parked near the food court for a bit of snacking and departed the Rann

On our return we picked up more of the condensed milk sweet ... stopped at the tropic of Cancer and returned to our Haveli






Day 3
 
After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Krutarsin and his wife  who were now busy readying the rooms for their next set of guests.
We proceeded to Bhuj city for seeing the sights of the city...notably Aina mahal and Pragmahal Palace,

The Prag Mahal is a 19th-century palace  designed  in the Italian Gothic style.What is notable is that it is not being maintained at all but for some work that has been done at the entrance.It has also been ravaged by the earthquake of 2001 as evidenced by the cracks and deep fissures on the structure.
The main hall is filled with decaying taxidermy and Durbar hall with broken chandeliers.Overall, the palace is in a forlorn state 

                                                 Next to it the Aina Mahal is a 18^th century palace.I suppose it was  a wonderful specimen of mirror-work and glass-work.We explored the Mahal  only from outside...the facade and foliage and noticed the intricate carvings. This palace is also in ruins now after the earthquake.

Our last call before lunch was the handicraft shops  at Bujodi, recommended highly for ladies apparel and shawls.
 Shopping concluded another Thali lunch was  consumed and we were ready for the airport but not before purchasing Thepla and stuff. We left the ladies behind to spend two days at the Rann Utsav and came back to Mumbai

Photos from Rann Utsav site

A view of the tent accommodation 

Fine embroidery by this young girl

     

Dining Hall

At night