GLOBETROTTING WITH HARI

 DAY 2 (10 MAY 2025) PART 1

SATARA- PANDHARPUR- TULJAPUR (261km) 

Satara-Tuljapur

We were ready bright and early at 06:00am on day 2 of our trip. The hotel was a disappointment early that morning.  We had been told at check in that room service of tea would be available but when we called and enquired they told us that the chef hadn't come and deep cleaning of the kitchen was in progress. Quite annoyed at not getting our morning caffeine fix we left with the intention of stopping en-route to enjoy some desi tea. 

Desi Chai

idli breakfast

Having travelled extensively in the south I am used to seeing small stalls and shops open, serving piping hot tea and coffee along with fresh sambar and steaming hot idlis.  Maharashtra on the other hand is laid back and has a slow start to the day. So, although it was almost 07:00 am there was no sign of any food or drink on the road.  We did find a restaurant that was open at about 07:30. We stopped there for some idlis and tea. The food was fresh and tea was to R's liking which was evident from the fact that we had a total of 4 tea's :). Back on the road Baby H was entertained with these spinners that were suctioned onto the back passenger window. All I had to do was spin them and he would look at them in awe. 

enjoying the view

While on the road we noticed boards for Pandharpur.  Pandharpur is famous for the temple of Vitthal and Rakhumai. The Pandharpur Wari which an annual Hindu pilgrimage involves carrying the paduka of sant Dnyaneshwar or Tukaram or the saint in a palkhi from their respective temples to Pandharpur. Over a million devotees take part in this pligrimage. 

Huda at Pandharpur

Zhago at Pandharpur

We decided to make a pit stop and visit this famous temple. We reached at about 11:00am and decided to only do the Mukh Darshan as the line to go inside the Sanctum Santorum was quite long and we had some distance left to cover that day.  There are some things to keep in mind when visiting the temple. Small bags are allowed but no electronic devices are allowed inside. There is both a body and bag scanner at the entrance. There are lockers outside the temple entrance to store your stuff. They charge around Rs.20/-. 

R, Baby H and myself at Pandharpur

After a quick darshan we came out and had refreshing sugarcane juice. The atmosphere around these temples is quite charged, with devotees rushing towards the Lord, traders selling their wares and pooja essentials in abundance. Once we were done we quickly got back on the road and headed towards Tuljapur. On the way we stopped at a brand new restaurant that had been open only a day. The ambience was good and the food was tasty and seemed hygienically prepared. We ate roti with a paneer dish and had buttermilk as an accompaniment. We finished our meal with an ice cream but it was so hot that the ice cream melted by the time we even began eating it. 

Paneer

The rest of Day2 will be the next post.

Until next time ... Adios Amigo.

GLOBETROTTING WITH HARI

We have embarked on an ambitious journey. R and I with the 4.5 month old who has a mind of his own and already refuses to listen or reason. Spanning 6 days with travel almost everyday and 3 temples, it’s new territory. Travelling as a family with my parents and brother has always been memorable, hassle free and fun. But what I didn’t take too seriously is the amount of planning that goes into hassle free fun travel. R hasn’t travelled much by car and as of now BabyH is not averse to it but he doesn’t know how to handle the cramped space yet. Which is why we decided to limit our travel to approximately 250km per day. Everyone thinks we are crazy for taking so many stops and not covering a larger distance but where would the fun be in that? R is cranky, baby H is cranky which in turn means I am irritated. What does that amount to? A recipe for disaster.
Anyway getting back to the point, this is Baby H’s 4th trip but oh boy! Is it different from the rest! He’s grown bigger in size and in age which means he is more awake and wants more entertainment. We were armed with his car seat for travel safety, his baby carrier for temple safety and lots of toys and patience for a fun time.

DAY -1 (9th May 2025)

Mumbai - Satara (263km - 05:00)

We left Mumbai early on the 9th at 6:30am and headed to Satara. Our first stop was the food mall just after we crossed Lonavala at around 8:45am. I had a misal pav while R had a classic cold coffee from McD. Baby H just chilled and took in the new and different sights and sounds. After that we were back in the car. It was at this point that things went completely downhill. Baby H started howling. After a lot of cajoling he went to sleep. When he woke up the crying continued. This was when I realised that he needed a diaper change.

We stopped en-route to realise it was no ordinary diaper but a poopy diaper. Once changed we had the happy baby back. We reached Satara at about 12:00pm. We were booked at The Fern Residency, but they didn’t have a room for us as their check in time was 01:00pm. It’s peak summer in India. Temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius at times but at that moment it rained like it was the monsoon. Temperatures cooled down instantly and that made baby H happy. He doesn’t seem to be someone who likes the heat. We decided to head to Kanase punjabi dhaba for a meal of the local mutton curry, the cashew curry and jowar bhakri with refreshing Solkadi.

After we were done we headed back to the hotel checked ourselves in and hit the bed faster than anyone could say good night. But once we woke up we were quite refreshed. We headed into the city to buy some kandi pedhe which are the speciality of Satara. We went to Rajpurohit which is near the hotel and the quality of the sweets is good there. They also have other snack items to purchase.
We called it a night by eating dinner in our room. Mutton sukka, roti and Hara bhara kebab. All in all a good first day of a memorable trip.

Until next time… Adios Amigo.

REBIRTH

When I sat down to write this post I wasn't too sure if I wanted to write this. Would anyone be interested?
But then I thought why not! It will serve Baby H a good memory.

Baby H was born on the 17th day of the last month of the English Calendar.  Everyone says, "The mother is reborn when she gives birth". This is the story of his birth. The days leading up to the 17th were happy and full of joy. R and I had just celebrated our birthdays and were quite juvenile in our happiness of not having to share our birthday.  

Let's start at the beginning. We checked in, into the hospital bright and early on the 17th. We had left home at 630 am after a quick tea brekkie for me as I was to be on a liquid only diet for 12 hours and almost empty stomach. Getting a room wasn't too much of a hassle and the hospital staff was quite kind. What did work in our favour was that we had come when I was not in labour and it was early before the hustle bustle of the day set in. 

Before we met Baby H

Once we had settled in, the nurse came by to insert an IV line and to take a blood sample for some preliminary tests. On doctors orders we also had to check the fetal heart rate using a special device. I had to press a button every time I felt a kick. The most unpleasant thing they did was give me an enema.  By now it was almost 1000am and it was time for the doc to stop by. The plan was to induce me as Baby H was growing bigger day by day and the doc felt that a natural delivery was the safest course of action for us. Just as we were wondering what to do, our doctor came and there was a flurry of activity. They were attaching a saline bottle to my IV and the fetal heart monitoring needed to be done again. 

She was quite happy with everything and induced me then. Right after that the wait began. The wait for food more than anything else. The nutritionist dropped by and decided that dal water and a juice was my diet for the day. R decided to go home for lunch as mama had come. We talked for a bit. By then R was back and mama decided to go home rest for a bit and be back in the evening. 

R and I decided to play a game of uno to pass the time and then we took a nap. In the meantime I had had a bowl of dal water and was waiting to see when my juice would come. By the time it was 0400pm R had gotten bored of sitting in the room. He suggested we take a walk outside in the corridor. I wasn't feeling any pain apart from some minor back pain here and there which mama had dismissed as nothing because "You will know when its a contraction, this is nothing!"

We began our walk with a slight discomfort for me but nothing serious. Mama was also back and we were waiting on the doctor who was going to come and check on me at 0430pm. After 10 mins of walking my lazy self got bored and we decided to come back and relax! we had just entered the room when I felt a shooting pain down my back. I paused and look down to see and feel a gush of water. I immediately exclaimed that there was water and everyone jumped into action. R did initially think that I was joking and took a minute to go and call the nurse, inspite of me shouting for him to call the nurse. As luck would have it, just as the nurse was called the doctor walked in. 

I was assisted onto the bed and it was found that I was already 7cm dilated. I was swiftly wheeled into the O.T. It is nothing like a Grey's Anatomy O.T scene, People are Talking loudly. Everyone is everywhere. There is order in their chaos. I remember asking for water and the doctor just asking me to push. In all honesty I don't remember how long all this happened for, but the next thing I know there was a mass on my stomach and the doctor did crack some joke that I most definitely did not get. 

Baby H had arrived. 

First photograph with H

He was whisked away to get checked. My first vivid memory of him is looking to my left and seeing his black eyes staring at me. Its a scene I hope I never forget. His jet black eyes staring deep into my soul. It was surreal. He was weighed and things settled down a bit. It was now my turn to crack jokes. All the training and information that I had gotten from Grey's Anatomy was put into full use. I remember being quite concerned about the fact that he hadn't cried too much. I told the doc to crosscheck and count all the gauze they had used. I asked all the questions I had about the OT.  What they said I don't remember now.

After a long time I was wheeled into the recovery room and Baby H was placed next to me. R, came in and saw his son for the first time. My mama came in and saw me first, her baby. It warms my heart to know that she came looking for me.  In turn everyone else came in. After sometime both of us were shifted to our room and thats when it sort of struck me that H was here, forever. 

Until we meet again  💚

CAMERA CHRONICLES

 Being sick is a feeling that is never welcome and one of the prerequisites of having an enjoyable, stress free vacation is to be sickness free. I have been down with a severe form of indigestion and it took me back to this trip. Why? Well I honestly don't know.  This was back in 2017 when I travelled to Kaziranga National Park to spot the famous one horned rhino. The food I remember wasn't top notch. Having said that I did not fall ill. 

Indian Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros is found along the Indo-Gangetic plane and is the second largest Rhinoceros species. They are characterised as a vulnerable species and are very commonly exposed to poaching. When I went, there was a lot of awareness about it and the park officials had taken stringent measures to try and prevent the poaching from becoming rampant. This photograph could be deceiving as they are only second in size to the Asian elephant. 

A morning in Kaziranga.

The Kaziranga National Park is beautiful and serene in the mornings and a definite must visit. Everyone talks about Tadoba, Bandipur or Jim Corbett National Parks for their Tiger population, but the Rhinos are no less impressive when you see them in all their glory. 

Unlike other national parks I couldn't live inside the park, but this view en-route the morning safari was worth the travel. Everyone should visit, enjoy the atmosphere and have no fear, cause the food is definitely safe. 

Until we meet again. 💚

GLOBETROTTING WITH HARI

 Gondavale - Maharashtra

Part 2 -

So far we had left home early in the morning and reached Gondavale around noon. We had successfully finished the darshan. 

Having come so far we decided to eat the prasad. The temple premises are spacious and clean. The only scope for improvement would be adequate signage to guide the devotees. We asked some of the devotees sitting around, the way to the Annapurna hall. They were kind enough to guide us but no one was very sure and we were directed in a general direction - " It's somewhere that way". We had to walk quite a bit behind the many rest houses and the kitchen before we could hear the clanks of the plates. We figured that we had reached the Annapurna hall.  

They had a system in place. The hall was lined with tables and stools for people to sit and eat. There were plates and Sevak's were serving khichadi, sweet lapshi and watery buttermilk. After we were done we had to place the plates in a large tub. The hand wash was outside the hall. Once we stepped out we realised that, had we walked straight ahead from the samadhi temple, we would've reached the Annapurna hall. 

By now Baby H had woken up. He was hungry, cranky and the sun was definitely getting to him. We headed to the car and switched on the AC for him and settled in for our return journey back home. On the way we stopped to pick up some vegetables that were being sold by farmers from the villages nearby. We also stopped to have the most refreshing sugarcane juice with a hint of lemon in it. 

 Learning 1- Dress Baby H in light clothes while travelling in a car during the afternoon time in summers. He had turned red and was feeling quite stuffy in his full sleeve clothes and the rexine of the car seat. We did a quick dress and diaper change and were off on our way. The first half of the journey was quite uneventful. the real fun began after our tea break at Riverside hotel on the banks of the Koyna river. 

We had been on the road for close to 9 hours now. Baby H had started to lose his patience. He was starting to become cranky and needed some open space. As we reached Chiplun which is about 35kms from home, he began howling. No rhymes, bhajans or stories could pacify him. Not even his favourite song -  Kabhi Kabhi Aditi.  I had never heard him cry like that. We just kept patting and comforting him. 

Learning 2- 12 hours in a day with the summer sun making the car a furnace during the afternoon could be avoided. We finally reached home at around 8, almost 12 hours after we had left. It was definitely a successful trip and I am sure Baby H enjoyed it too. 

Until next time... Adios Amigo. 

GLOBETROTTING WITH HARI

 Gondavale - Maharashtra

Part 1 - 

After Baby H completed 2 months, we decided to take him to the Gondavale Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Gondavale. It is approximately 137kms from Mundhar and takes about 5hrs 30 mins by road. We started our day bright and early at 06:00am. Strapped up ready to travel 11 hrs in one day, baby H began his journey by sleeping through the first 2 hrs. He woke up just as we stopped at Suswad Veg restaurant for a typical maharashtrian breakfast of Misal Pav. The food was mediocre and the service quite slow. We carried baby H into the restaurant in his carry cot - thats just his car seat that can be removed to ferry him around securely. Overall the road was quite good sans a stretch where the condition was very bad. 

misal pav at suswad veg restaurant 

We reached the Samadhi mandir at about 12:00pm, just in time for the afternoon aarti. With the sun beating down upon us we sat under the shade of a tree just outside the main temple hall, hoping to beat the crowd present there and take the darshan once the crowd had dispersed. to our surprise a temple sevak started ushering people towards the temple entrance. He didn't say anything to us as we were with a small child. 

After the aarti everyone was made to form a line. With no clear cut instructions we were under the assumption that everyone who had stood outside for the aarti would be let inside for the darshan. We again waited for the line to move ahead so that it would be less crowded when we went. Having just sat there for sometime and when the crowds started dwindling we realised they had closed the main entrance of the mandir after the aarti. Baby H's grandmother went to enquire and we realised that there was a completely different line for the entrance and the long line we were waiting for was actually the line for prasad. 

All cozied up for the long journey in his car seat

We immediately queued up in that line. the sun was beating down on us but thankfully baby H had slept through most of it. The people in the queue were quite taken to the carry cot, maybe they had never seen anything like that before. Someone even asked me if it was easier that way. It definitely was, especially cause baby H loves movement. We could just rock him whilst he snoozed in the carry cot. He was also lighter than what he is now. Given the combined weight it's impossible to carry him in that anymore. 

The people in the line were very kind and accommodating and let us bypass towards the end so that we didn't have to wait in the heat. We had finally reached the Samadhi. We placed our offerings, said our gratitude and prayers and were out of there without incident.  So far it had been a wonderful and smooth journey. More about what happened in the next post.

Until next time... Adios Amigo. 

CAMERA CHRONICLES

It’s been a while since I have posted any camera chronicles. This particular one isn’t a DSLR chronicle but a phone camera chronicle. Although the DSLR has its advantages, it is impossible to carry everywhere in anticipation that an opportunity to click a photograph will reveal itself. What do you do then ? Simple, turn to the most handy and ever evolving (the only thing bettering itself) device our generation has seen. 

The phone came about in 1876 and has now become an indispensable part of our lives. From phones that were rejected to rotary dial to push button to now smart phones that are smarter than us. Sorry!! I digress… coming back to photographs, an opportunity presented itself when I got the chance to visit the holy place Puri. A town in the state of Odisha in India. 

It is one of the Dhamas, because of the temple of Lord Jagannatha..... 

WHY do you ask is this incomplete? simply because, these thoughts came to me back in 2022, almost 3 years ago and 10 years from the time I got the DSLR.  I am revisiting this post because I had the same thought again last night. Does that not show the psychology, complexity and rigidity of the human mind? But thats for us to discuss another time, for now let's delve into what this is actually about, photographs. 

Technology has surpassed us. It has changed photo taking for us. By us I mean the common homosapien. Phone photography has become a thing especially with social media taking over life. Here are a couple of pictures that truly make having the convenience of a phone worth it. 

Mt. Fuji 

Riding the shinkansen is truly an experience. You know the speed at which the train travels, but does your brain do the required math as quickly as it should? Definitely not. I got lucky that I was able to make full use of the seats that we had so specifically requested for, just so that we could get this view. I say I got lucky because my math failed me in my time of need. I was keeping track of how far Mt. Fuji was on google maps. What I did not account for was the scale of Mt. Fuji. Right at this point this volcano is more than 11 kms from us and the train is travelling at almost 300km/hr.  Right now would a dslr have been my saviour? Hell no.

Gion, Kyoto

I personally love this photograph. Everything came together perfectly and the idea in my head was translated to photo. The sun is the main model here, highlighting the architecture, with the tree, cobbled path and angles playing the supporting actors perfectly. Can a seasoned professional photographer find mistakes in this photo, cent per cent, but for me this photograph is near perfect. 

I am not averse to using the DSLR for clicking some photographs, it's just that I haven't quite mastered the art yet. Do I give up? or start afresh?

Until we meet again. 💚