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.