Safaris 5 & 6 on 17.04.26

 

Mamla Gate -17.04.26 - Gauri in the morning & evening:

Our first safari was through Mamla Gate. The forest in the zone was greener than all other zones. Today was the last day of our trip. Our expectations were higher now. We prayed to get some more sightings of the majestic tigers, leopard & sloth bear. It’s a different story that we could see only a tiger once again. 

We went to a waterbody as our guide expected tiger to visit the waterbody to quench his / her thirst and cool off for sometime. There were few more jeeps already there waiting in expectation. However, we all did not see anything even after waiting there for quite sometime. Since we did not hear any alert calls, our guide decided to move on and search elsewhere.

Our guide got a message from other guides that Tigress Gauri has arrived at the waterbody. Immediately our driver swung in to action and he increased the speed. It was quite a jerky drive then onwards. We asked him to go slow, but it did not have any effect on him. They all are tuned like that. They feel that it is their bounden duty to ensure that they give tourists max time to see and capture the tiger / rare animal. 

The jerks , pains, twisting & swaying in both directions of our Ferrari ki Sawari in those 5 - 7 minutes drive after we got the information about Gauri’s arrival, we  all forgot all pains & jerks on seeing the majestic Gauri’s basking on the banks of the waterbody with the sun shining right above her. 

We reached the spot and got a vintage spot where no other jeep was parked. Almost 6 - 7 jeeps were surrounding the waterbody. Everybody thought they were at the best spot, and we were not an exception. Gauri spent about half an hour there and decided to move out. She got up and walked out of the pond and went in the forest. 

Our second safari too was through Mamla Gate. The forest looked lovely in the golden light hours. We headed straight for the waterbody. Gauri greeted us. She was on the right side of the pond this time. She sat down, put her body weight on the front legs, bent her neck & mouth down and sipped water. After about 5 minutes she got up and Turned around, bent her back down first and then bent her front legs, lowered her front body &  sipped water once again. She got up again after quenching her thirst moved around looking for a comfortable spot bent her back down first and then bent her front legs, lowered her front body & sat down. This time around the body weight was on all for legs and her full body rested on the ground. Mostly the tigers sit down in the ponds or on the banks following these two distinct protocols for drinking water & resting. Finally decided to have a nap. 

We waited for sometime but she was least bothered so we too decided not to disturb her and we left the scene. 

We had seen imperial green pigeon during our morning safari. We saw Rufous tree pie, an oriental honey buzzard, a bronzed winged jacana, a purple swamp hen & an Indian roller on our way back. 

Thus we had an event full day with Gauri the tigress. We thanked god for making our 3 day trip a great success. 5 out 6 safaris we saw Tigers / Tigresses and Cubs. Though the Leopards & the sloth bears eluded us, we were all satisfied as the main agenda of my team mates Mr. Nandkumar Ghule,, Mr Abhijeet Bapat and of course our driver Ajit was to sight a Tiger, and I must say they all including me had had plenty of them.

Sighting of the only tiger “ Mama “ from no where, was the Icing on the cake for us all.

Please do not forget to click on the two links , one after the other to view photos of Gauri in Safari 5 & 6:

Link for Safari 5 -          https://photos.app.goo.gl/E6Z13eeb5y5tn9wr9

Link for Safari 6 -           https://photos.app.goo.gl/r47tf1wvTAvQn7Py6

Safari 4 on 16.04.26 from Zari Gate

 Zari Gate - Evening - Safari 4 - K mark tigress with two cubs - 16.04.26

Today two ladies from Mumbai joined us for the next 3 safaris. So our driver Ajit had to opt out from the safaris. I had told him that I would take him for the first three  safaris. I was happy that he sighted tigers in 2 out of three safaris. That was enough for him to carry home great memories with him back home  to tell his children and wife.He could capture the tiger in one safari only where mobiles were allowed. 

We were super excited after our morning trip when we encountered tiger Mama. We had been hunting for K mark with her two cubs in the morning, but in vain. However, Mama gave us more than what we expected. This time our guide took us to the same spot where we expected K Mark with her two cubs in the morning. A couple of vehicle were ahead of us. The vehicle in the front stopped suddenly & every one got up and hissed “ K Mark … “We too got up and saw her for a split second before the tigress moved in the jungle on the left and vanished. Guides of all vehicles decided to track her movements in the direction she had gone. 

After moving in the direction where she could have gone, we reached the expected  spot once again. Already there was a maddening crowd of about 4 / 5 jeeps at the spot. Our driver managed to squeeze in the available space.It was not a vintage spot though. We could barely see K Mark lying under the dense cavity of thick bushes. I could still capture her face and clear see the “ K Mark ”  on the left side of her face, which was visible. The guide told us that the tigress was named so because of the “ K Mark ” on her face.

We could clearly see one cub behind the adjacent bush. I took a few shots of the cub. However I could not capture the second cub  though I was able to see her too. Even manual focusing was not giving me desired satisfaction. Luckily the first cub came out of the bushes and sat on the side of the bush in open , as if she wanted all of us to give photo opportunity. The cub got up after sometime and went near her mother and sat beside her. They both  slept there  for quite a long time. Finally we decided to leave them alone and left as we did not see any activity from them both .

WE decided to call it a day. We carried mixed feelings as we saw the majestic tigers in  three safaris  out of the  four safaris in last two days, but  could not spot a sloth bear or  a leopard. But that is what wild life safaris is all about. We were all happy on the success rate of Tiger sighting till now.

We returned to our hotel with expectations of better ,experience on the last day ahead of us.

Please do not forget to click the link below to view photos: of safari 4

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VHt6xEjVtDAXUPDEA

Safari 1 & 2 on 15.04.26 from Karwa Gate

 Day 1 : 15.04.26 - .Safari 1 & 2 -  Karwa Gate - We met tigress Irina with her two cubs.

We had a very successful trip of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve from 15 - 17 April this year. We had 6 safaris and a success rate of 5 / 6, that’s above 80%.  On day 1, we went through  Kawa Gate in the morning . Our first safari did not result in any sighting of Safari. We all returned to our hotel quite disappointed & dejected.However, we held our nerves & spirits.

Our   second safari too was  from Karwa Gate in the afternoon . We were lucky this time around as we saw the Tigress - Irina with her two cubs. Irina had chosen a shallow pond with very little water to relax and cool off her body. The guide told us that the body heat of a tiger / tigress is high after they have had their meal, so they search a waterbody to cool off their body heat. 

The guide knew that Irina had a big kill a day earlier so he was anticipating sighting at this spot as it was near to the place where she had a kill. We had gone by this spot with out any success  & returned again, after an hour or so, only to find Irina with her  3 - 4 moth old cubs. Irina was not visible to us clearly as some bushes were right in front of us. Still we managed to take good number of shots of  Irina & one of the cubs. 

Finally Irina got up and started moving towards the kill. The one cub which we could capture in our camera joined her mother. They both started moving to the place where the kill was lying. Irina stopped for a while waiting for the second cub. Soon the second cub  came out from behind a bush &  joined  the sibling and the mother. They both started moving towards their kill under the watchful eyes of the protective mother. 

We spent an hour or so after the first show in search of some other mammals, birds etc and returned to the same spot where we first met Irina & cubs. This time around we saw her sitting under the shadow of a tree in the dried but damp swale,  like a patch of a ditch . Luckily We were at a vantage point this time as we could sight her completely. We had a good time clicking the mother & the cubs. Irina got up again  after about half an hour & they all went back to their designated destination.  

We could say goodbye to them all with an ear to ear smile on our faces as our day ended on a fruitful result. Irina & her two cubs had twice given us great photo opportunity to capture them in our cameras and carry pleasant memories with us.

On our way back a giant size Indian male Gaur greeted us right in the middle of the road. It looked ferocious & aggressive. In - fact he was preparing for another Male Gaur coming towards him. The one closer to us breathed fire. We waited for some time in anticipation of a thrilling fight and capture live action. However nothing of that sort happened , but the Gaur in front of us did not budge an inch, as if he wanted a decisive match and not just a threat.

So, we decided to retreat and change our path. Perhaps it was a wise decision on our part because if the fight had taken place, any thing could have happened and either or both could have hit our jeep. So close, we were , from the action scene.. We were happier now to have changed our route to return back and hoped to be luckier on the next two days.

Our inner self said “ ये दिल मांगे मोर - Ye Dil Mange More  “ and why not?

Please  do not forget to click the link below to view photos: of safari 2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zWTzryZPVEMP7m5e8

Life Time Experience during our 3rd Safari on 16.04.26

Safari - 3 - Keslaghat Gate - morning - 16.04.26 

Today we had chosen a new zone through Keslaghat Gate. We were well ahead of time. Our tour operator completed the formalities and got details of our safari jeep, guide & the driver. Guide Pramod & Driver Chandrakant were assigned to us. We first went to a spot looking out for Tigress K Mark & her cubs. We moved from there after some time and searched all the waterbodies & possible spots known to the guide, where tigers could be seen.

Then our guide Pramod gave some direction to the driver Chandrakant and he headed in that direction. All of a sudden Pramod shouted “ Bagh… Bagh… meaning Tiger … Tiger ” & asked Chandrakant to stop. Pramod then asked him to take the jeep back. Chandrakant took the jeep back to a spot where guide asked him to stop.

Pramod showed us the tiger far away in the farms.He told us confidently that the tiger would enter on the road right in front of us and offer us opportunity of taking head on shots of the tiger. Pramod every word appeared to us as if his confidence was oozing out. We started taking pictures as the Tiger moved closer to us. 

Lo !, behold the Tiger entered the road, exactly at the point indicated by Pramod. We all marvelled at Pramod’s brilliance in analysing tiger’s movements its behavioural patterns. The tiger was called “ MAMA”. 

Fortunately we were the first to be there where action unfolded. Mama was right in front of us, hardly 5 mtrs away, and was walking authoritatively. All the camera were making clicking sound. Pramod asked Chandrakant to keep reversing & maintain distance , Reverse …. Stop … Reverse …. Stop … , Reverse …. Stop … As Mama came closer. 

Pramod  asked Chandrakant to keep doing this and told him that if Mama feels that there is an obstacle he would turn towards the farm and vanish behind the bushes. Pramod’s idea worked as he could keep Mama following us like he was following instructions of a Ringmaster in a Circus.

As it happened soon a couple of jeeps came from the other end, but we were having the head on sight of Mama , where as the other jeeps were following Mama from his back side. Mama looked huge and bold. 

Occasionally he growled & snorted as he came almost a hand’s distance from our jeep, but kept following us,  as if,  under Pramod’s invisible instructions. 

We had the best of time as we saw Mama when it was about a couple of kms away in the farm, then it came on the road and followed us for almost 15 - 20 minutes or so. That half an hour or so , right from the farm, was a “ Lifetime Experience ”, a thrilling one. 

The fairy tale was to end and finally Mama took a right turn towards the farm and vanished behind the bushes. 

We all had only words of gratitude for Pramod & Chandrakant. We were in awe of Pramod’s brilliance in studying Mama’s movements, analysing his behavioural pattern and correctly pointing us the point of Mama’s entry on the road and then making it follow his silent instructions. Pramod was the director of the drama and Mama was the hero of the show. 

Above all Pramod & Chandrakant worked in tandem to perfection. Hats Off to both of them for their experience & skills. Today the stars of the show were these two great people & of course Mama. 

Three cheers for Pramod, Chandrakant & Mama : Hip Hip Hurray …Hip Hip Hurray …Hip Hip Hurray…! !

Please press the Link to view photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EbpxwVuGVWHXVc9E9

अनुभूति

 अनुभूति

बहुत दिनो बाद,

एकदम तरोताजा महसूस हुआ

वह उत्साह, उमंग !! अलग ही था सब कुछ!

तन मन में मानो नई उर्जा 

भर आई हो.

क्यों न होता ऐसा?

..

..

..

..

कोठा जो साफ हुआ

इक था बचपन, बचपन के दिन भी क्या दिन थे — भाग 1 - 2

  इक था बचपन, बचपन के दिन भी क्या दिन थे — भाग १

पहले हमारे तीन तरह के कपडे हुआ करते थे, स्कूल के ..... घर के ..... बाहर के....

बाहर के कपडे तो दोनों भाईयों के एक ही जैसे, वो भी सिलवाए हुए, और दोनों बहनों के भी उसी प्रकार के....

मजाक में हमें बेंड वाले आगए कहते थे.

हमने बुरा माना नही ! जुर्रत भी भला कैसे करते. मान सकने की माली हालत भी तो नही थी हमारी....

लडकों के क्रू कट बाल, लडकियों की एक — बहुत हुआ तो दो चोटियां. 

पर आजकल तो .... तोबा तोबा....

पोते — पोतियों के उन तीन के सिवा भी, रात के नाईट ड्रेस, फाॅर्मल, इनफाॅर्मल, स्पोर्ट के अलग, डान्स के अलग, शादी — ब्याह के अलग.... ! अलग तो अलग जूते सॅंडल भी अलग....

उपर से मेंहदी, परफ्युम, लिपस्टिक लडकियों के मिजाज, लडकों के पर्फ्युम.

आज कल तो टेटू की महामारी सी लगी है मानो

सिर भी भला क्यों पीछे रहते? हम तो उन सब स्टाइलों के नाम तक नहीं जानते...

जिन्दगी तब आसान और सुकर लगती थी आज बहुत पेचिदा — काॅम्प्लिकेटेड सी लगती है

ऐसा हमें लगता होगा

पर,......

उन्हें ? आज कल की पीढी को नही.

वह सब उनकी समझ के परे है, फर्क सिफ यह है कि यह हमें लगता है...

एसे ही नही हमारी एक १२ / १३ साल की पोती ने तो हम लोगों पर उन्नीस वी सदी का लॅबल लगा दिया....

जनरेशन गेप भी अब बौना लगता है.

 

इक था बचपन.... भाग २

कहना अतिशयोक्ति ही होगी यदि कहा कि

बचपन में पैसा जरूर कम था,

रहता ही कहां था ?

फिर भी साला उस बचपन में दम था

आज भी याद है, मेले मे जाते समय 

चवन्नी मिलती थी, पर हम उसी में खुश रहते थे

मुंगफली या रेवडी तो मिला करती ही थी!

पर आजकल तो....

 

पित्झा, बर्गर के चोंचले,

हाॅटलों में जन्मदिन की पार्टियां, रिटर्न गिफ्ट...

हम उस स्थिती में खुश थे, आजकल बच्चे इस हाल में खुश हैं

समय समय पर सोच बदलती है

हम जिस हाल से गुजरे, उसी से आज की पीढी  गुजरे ??

हमारा रहन सहन भी तो गुजरे कल सा नही है

फिर बच्चे क्पों वंचित रहें?

बदलते समय में " बदलाव " समय की मांग है

दोनों अंतराल अपनी अपनी जगह ठीक !!

हमारे बचपन में गिल्ली दंडा, दामदडी, पिट्टू, कंचे, लट्टु , पकडम पकडाई जैसे अनगिनित खेल होते थे, बारिश के अलग, गर्मी की छुट्टियों के अलग....

पर आज कल....

घर घर खिलौनों की भरमार, विडिओ गेम्स , मोबाईल गेम्स बस ! चार दिवारी में खेल सिकुड सा गया है खेल ।।

तब जरूर लगता है कि हम कितने भाग्यशाली थे

सच ही तब के बचपन में पैसे जरूर कम थे

पर...

यारों उस बचपन में दम था

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ADqX8J7R17532FKs7

Lucknow - Chambal - Orcha - Panna - Gwalior Trip - Part 1

 Feb 8 @ Lucknow:

We Puneites landed at Lucknow in the evening. We got in our tour  van after collecting our luggage & headed for our hotel. Clarks Lucknow is  a  five star hotel in Narpatkhera, Hazratganj. Anubhav our tour operator score a browny point & succeeded in creating a positive impression about them. Frankly speaking none of us expected such an accommodation on a conducted tour. 

Chetan Risbud, our tour guide greeted us in the lounge & introduced us to our four other members from Mumbai.So now we were 10 ki Toli. Gents, only two of us, were outnumbered,Yes by 8 ladies. We both realised that “ Silence would be the best policy on the tour”. 

We returned to our rooms after a sumptuous dinner and soon hit our beds.

Feb 9 @ Lucknow:

We all assembled in the dining area for breakfast. Excellent spread welcomed us. Idlies were soft & delicious & so was the dosa on the live counter. We Puneites mostly had these items, some fruits & tea. Mumbaites were on a separate table, quite understandable in the beginning. Or, was it silence before the storm? Well there are no prizes for the right guesswork, when you know 8 ladies would be tother for almost 8 days.

Our site seeing began with a visit of bara ( big ) Imambara. It was built in 1784 by Asaf- Ud- Daula, Nawab of Awadh. The design of the complex was obtained through competitive process. Kifayatulla, An architect from Delhi was the winner. He also lies buried in the main hall of the imambara.

It’s also said that the Nawab started the construction work during period of draught to help the poor earn their living. It’s also said that the well to do people too were involved in the construction. However, their work used to be demolished the next day because of poor quality of workmanship and other poor but skilled labour used to construct it again.

Red soft stones and marble were used in the imambara. Another attraction there is the bowdi, a step well of sorts. One can not see down beyond the steps but once you descend one can see the main entry. I personally felt the Rani ki Vav in Ahmedabad is much superior in architecture and intricate & fine craftsmanship. 

The main hall though is a piece of marvel in architecture & construction. Similarly the Bhool Bhulaiya is another attraction there. It has about 1000 passages and 489 gates. It’s fun to be there and find out your way out once you are there, but without a guide. However I did not opt to visit for my personal reasons.

It was already time to move out & make way for the community to perform namaz.

Our group then divided in two smaller groups, one opted for non veg food and the other who opted for vegetarian food. What the veg group had for their lunch is not known.

For the Non Veg delicacies, I had done some homework and made a bucket list of sorts and places to go to. The Veg Group had galuti kabab, parotha, veg biryani etc. Seems they enjoyed the veg delicacies.

As regards the non veg group, Our local guide took Anushri Tai, Smita Tai, Anita Tai & me to Raheem Kucha Nihari , at Akbari Gate first for nihari ( breakfast dish). We ordered 2 plates, as i recommended to all to opt for one by two or two by three to do justice to all the delicacies.  It was a mouth watering dish. we all could have had more, but restrained ourself from the temptation.

Next we went to Tunde Kabab, a hundred year old eatery. Tunde kabab, or mutton galauti kabab is a famous mutton preparation normally eaten with rumali roti like a bread roasted on a reverse conical pan. the galauti kababs lived up to Tunde kabab's reputation.

The Ladies went for sopping of perfumes near the tunde kabab hotel. We got pans packed at the  famous Pan Shop in Chowk area then topped our stomach with mutton biryani at Idris. The eatery is not hygienically maintained, Biryani too was just above average. though it ranks amongst the op biryani eateries in Lucknow. Probably Mashi biryani or the waheed's biryani would have been better.  

Finally .we all took luckhnawi paans. The other group made frantic calls  as they had finished much early. It was decided that we all would meet at the Residency after we finish our biryanis. So we headed for next attraction called residency. The other group joined us soon.   

The residency also called as the British Residency has ruins of many buildings in a common precinct in Lucknow. It served as the residence of British Resident General who was a representative in the court of Nawab. It was constructed between 1780 and 1800 by Asaf - Ud - Daulah and later completed by Nawab Sadat Ali Khan.

The Residency was subject to siege during July to November 1857. it is also called the Sepoy Mutiny or the First war of Independence. started because the Hindu & Muslim sepoys refused use of greased ( with cow and buffalo tallow )  bullets.

The revolt then spread like wild fire. What disturbs me most is that the velour of Begum Hazrat Mahal who lead in Lucknow. Rani Laxmi Bai in Zhansi. Nana Saheb Peshwa led in Kanpur, Tatya Tope & Man Singh in Central India and Kunwar Singh in Bihar, and Bahadurshah Zafar in Delhi are not glorified in our history books, much like Shivaji Maharaj. Bajirao Peshwa & Maharana Pratap. 

Indian History glorifies and presents distorted facts about all these freedom fighters. what a shame.  

Our group enjoyed seeing the ruins reflecting the revolt by Begum Hazrat Mahal. 

We came out and headed for a place after Rumi Darwaza, had Chat which lacked inquality, only blemish on the part of Anubhav. Then we had special kashmiri chaay followed by Makhan Malai, a specialty of  Lucknow then came bace to Chanakya a kulfi outlet near our hotel. Kulfi was really different and tasty. Many of us then skipped dinner and went to bed. 

Our stay lucknow thus ended on a sweet note ( that of Kulfi )

More about our trip some other day.

Trip to Kevadia & Surat - Continued - Jan 19 - 20 - 21, 2024

 

Day 3:

It was comparatively a more relaxed day as we did not have a big list of things to visit. We were to travel to Surat, However, visits to the Datt Madir & samadhi of Tembe Swami was probably  suggested by the ladies in the last minute,  Shri Madhukar strongly recommended  the Nilkanthdham Swami Narayan Temple at Poicha on the way to Surat. 

We, Ganus & Joglekars, had been to the Datt Mandir at Garudeshwar during our Narmada Parikrama. This time around Garudeshwar looked cleaner and better and so was the surrounding near the temple. Construction activities of the Ghat were in progress during our earlier visit, now it all was done, It too was neat and clean. we were pleasantly surprised to see the changes for good. A soothing sight, I must say.

We had a good darshan in the temple and the ghat. We boarded our bus and headed for the S o U. we first visited the Arogya Van. This van has ayurvedic medicinal plants based on each limb of the body. It is a must see location in the S o U complex, in my opinion. We then visited the Miyawaki forest in the same complex. This garden is developed on the lines of unique plantation technique propagated by Miyawaki of Japan. This forest too is an added attraction in the complex.

We then headed for Surat. We took a lunch break at Rajpipla and began our journey to Surat. We reached Poicha to the Swaminarayan temple. The temple complex is quite huge and the temple appeared marvelous, but unfortunately it was closed and was to open at about 3 pm, Since it was quite warm, we all decided to skip  the waiting game. Shri Madhukar brought tasty kulfi which helped us cool inside.

We started our onward journey and reached Surat at about 8.30 PM. We decided to have our dinner immediately after checking in the Rajhans Belliza Homestay apartments. The homestay apartments are good facility. We had booked two apartments. Kotwals and Ganus were accommodated on the ground floor and Gundis, Deshmukhs and Neela tai were accommodate up. Both the apartments were identical but Neela tai had to come and join us downstairs. God knows what the issue was. but finally everything was settled for good. Three ladies decided to sleep in one room and Shri Madhukar & I got in another room.

We had dinner in the restaurant of the homestay. We had a small walk round the homestay     and returned to our respective rooms. Soon we all were fast asleep.

Day 4: 

I had a good morning walk and came for tea in our room. We took tea and little snacks from our kitty and proceeded for Jwari Ponk ( Hurda in Marathi ) center, accompanied by a staff member of L & T. The center has many vendors doing the same business, We first saw the automated system of Ponk making and then came to the restaurant, owned by the same person who took us around his manufacturing unit. The ladies got indulged in tasting variety of shevs  and bought few of them each, by the time the freshly made hot Ponk Wada were served. We had one more different dish. The L & T person had organized tea / coffee too. We had a sumptuous breakfast and were ready for the next part on our agenda. 

Shri Madhukar had earlier asked us about our interests in visiting the L & T Factory at Hajira. Satish & I agreed immediately. He had made arrangements for our visit well in advance. So three of us headed for the factory visit and the ladies with Madhav decided to accompany the ladies for a visit of Shri Parshwanath Temple and the Surat Fort.

What can I say about our visit? It was as memorable one as was our visit to the S o U. Shri Madhukar is a big name there, a founder member of LT factory there. The MAN behind the project. I felt myself lucky to have known him personally through our better halves.  Otherwise, how on earth could Satish & I would have got a chance to visit one the largest Infrastructure Company in the country.

A brief introduction of sorts was done in the conference room, followed by a brief presentation video about the Hajira project. Snacks and tea / coffee was served. Then Satish & I were taken around the factory while Madhukar ji went for his work . 

The set up left me spellbound and overawed. I have refrained from writing in details. We assembled in their conference hall after the factory visit. Again there was brief introduction followed by lunch. What was striking was the fact that most of the staff there had worked under Shri Madhukar and grew up the ladder under his leadership.  Normally I have observed that once a person leaves the organization or is retired, he / she is hardly remembered. But here is shri Madhukar who is respected even now and held in very high esteem.  He certainly must have been a people's man. His persona and brilliance was amply seen on the faces of people in the conference room, without he beating about his own drums. That to my mind is a remarkable quality. 

Lines of song from the film Jewel Thief sums up Shri Madhukar very aptly " Asman ke Niche, Hum Aaj Apne Piche Pyaar Ka Jahaan Basaate Chale, Kadam Ke Nishan Banaate Chale."

Thankyou Shri Madhukar, from bottom of my heart. You made our day memorable once again. 

Satish & I left after the lunch and had a plate of famous Umbadiyu on the way back. We all met and went for dinner with one of Shri Madhukar's colleague and his wife at Hotel Zero. We had a sumptuous dinner there. 

 " Start from Zero "  is mentioned on the sign board outside the hotel.  Sadly we ended our trip there and did not start from there. 

Day 5:

We began our return journey and stopped at Navsari for our breakfast. We had Khaman, Shuddh Ghee Jilebi purchased from Tasty Khaman, Navsari. We gents then went to a big shop named Hungdana nearby, famous for Singdana, Chana etc. did our shopping and stopped for tea / coffee at a thela there. Satish ordered Fafda in a shop near the tea thela. Fafada was packed. We returned to our bus. Ladies protested when they came to know that we had tea / coffee too. I told them all that a tea stoppage is planned on the highway where adequately hygienic toilet / washroom facility would be available. That excuse worked as the ladies did not grumble later. We really stopped at a restaurant on the highway with washroom facility. 

We stopped at Assal Gajali Manor for our lunch. There some of us had non veg and others had veg lunch. That was our last stoppage. 

Countdown had begun. we dropped Deshmukhs first near the Ghodbundar road corner. then we dropped Neela Tai at Thane. Remaining of us stopped on the express highway near the toll plaza. We had snacks and tea / coffee and started the last leg of our journey. One by one our bus got emptied and finally Gundis got dropped at their residence.

Our trip which was planned in a shortest of time, well planned by Shri Madhukar & Madhurata Tai and executed well finally ended on a sad note ( so short a trip )  but with lot of happy memories, which will be engraved in our minds for a long long time.  

I feel we should have more of such trips in future too, decided without much planning. 

Our journey began  again. 

Trip to Kevadia & Surat - Continued - Jan 18, 2024

 

Day 2

We stayed in a home stay - House No/ 153, Madhav in Viraj Residency. Madhav ji & I got ready at 5 am. I went for a morning walk. There were many home stay facilities there. I could see boards of  Shroj, Rudra, Dosti Homestay but there were many more there. Its a good business there in Gaudeshwar & Rajpipla.  I returned at about 7.15 am.

 All others were ready by about 7.30 am. Our attendant bought hot water on our request. we had carried Ready to drink premix powders of Tea & coffee with and without sugar. We had tea, Then we had Gul Poli brought by Neelima Tai and a second round of tea / coffee. We were ready for the day. We reached the entry at S o U, at about 8.15 am. We saw a cabin where booking of 11 seater golf cart was to start at 8.30.  Satish ji could not resist the temptation of getting fresh poha. They say " Kharbuja Kharbuje ko dekh kar Rang Badalta Hai ". How true it was. Another plate, followed by another plate of Poha came and we all had tasty pohas. 

It was almost 8.40 am and still there were no signs of anyone opening the cabin. Madhav, Madhukar & I got restless. The person at Helpdesk came to our rescue. He contacted someone and soon someone appeared on the scene, We booked the cart and had a sigh of relief. Our waiting game did not end even after making the payment. Finally at about 9 am a cart appeared. Unfortunately it was not a 11 seater cart. So we had to squeeze in . Our Sightseeing finally started. 

We started our tour with Jungle Safari. I could get some good shots of avian friends. However, we could not go to the exotic aviary because of paucity of time. All in all we had a good time in the Jungle safari, 

Next on the list was Nauka Vihar starting at 10.30 am . it lasted for about 45 minutes. I got to capture few of the birds on the banks of Narmada and also a serpent eagle perched on a distant tree. I could also capture a purple sunbird as we came up near our cart.

A Cruise drive was next on agenda. our cruise was Unity 2 starting from Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan Jetty to the Statue of Unity. We stopped at Best View Point on the way to the jetty. Really the spot is well selected as it gives full view of the S o U. we indulged in taking few shots. we also took group photos there showing the statue standing tall over us all. The cruise took us around the Patel statue and brought us back. The 20 odd minute cruise was enriching experience as we could see the stature from a close distance. 

No doubt the Statue is a piece of marvel and anybody can hardly take off his or her eyes when you see it from a close distance. It is visible from anywhere in the campus of Ekta Nagar. L & T has done a great job in creating this engineering marvel.

We had a quick lunch in a road side dhaba opposite the S o U. Now we were ready for the grand experience of the visit to the Statue of Unity. Its here we realized how tall is the personality of Shri Madhukar is and how the L & T staff everywhere still hold him in high esteem, even so many years after his retirement.

We all got a quick VIP like entry to the campus of the S o U. A gentleman greeted us warmly and took us straight to a point where a cart took us all to the main lounge. One Mrs. Karnal ( affectionately called Colonel ) came and greeted Shri Madhukar and us all. She took us to the gallery and explained how the S 0 U work was conceptualized, planned & executed by L & T in a record time. 

A separate dedicated blog is a must to give details about the S o U.

We were escorted to the Office Mr. Shailesh Master head of  L & T unit there. A small video about the project was screened and we were served snacks and tea / coffee. We then headed for the Audio &  Laser Show about the stature. Finally we were taken to the exit point by a cart. We then went to the Ghat to attend and experience the Grand Narmada Aarti followed by laser fountain show.

All in all. we had a highly enriching experience got detailed orientation tour of the S o U. It all was possible only because we had Shri Madhukar with us. But for him our visit would have been much like thousands of visitors visiting the S o U.  Yes, we would have seen the statue and tried to assimilate information from the boards on display, but with out minutest details which we got. That made our visit of S o U a most memorable one, which will be engraved in our memory for time immemorial

Thanks giving is too small a gesture to Shri Madhukar Kotwal from us all. 

Three cheers for Madhukar - Hip Hip Hurray, Hip Hip Hurray, Hip Hip Hurray.

In lighter vein three of us gents ( Madhav, Satish & I ) would have said in  style of the movie Three Idiots  - Tohfa Kabul Ho.