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Fanaspada, Kharghar Waterfall – Two wildlings chasing wilderness in a city
In the monsoon of 2017, Kharghar, a locality near Mumbai in India pleased us in many ways. The Kharghar waterfall area has a role to play in it. Our first attempt of getting close to the most popular waterfall in Kharghar failed. So the second time, we attempted getting close to the second most popular waterfall in Kharghar. Husband had been here once before in 2016, so he was very confident it would be a success this time. I know there are people who live in Kharghar yet they have no idea about the existence of this seasonal cascade. Pandavkada, the most popular one is famous owing to its location.…
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Kharghar Hills in Monsoon – Tale of two Bengalis with tummy full of Biryani on a hilltop in the lashing rain
Kharghar is a part of Navi Mumbai, India. Those in Mumbai may frown a bit when I drop the ‘Navi’ and call Kharghar just a part of Mumbai, but for everyone else, it doesn’t matter much. The Kharghar hills wear a coat of green in monsoon. A local train on harbour line from CST (ChattrapatiShivaji Terminus) station of Mumbai takes around one hour and fifteen minutes to reach Kharghar. Technically, it is a valley surrounded by hills; hills with cute heights, not the high ones. The golf course and the Central Park opposite to each other are the lungs of this suburb. The south to north running hills along the…
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Chowmahalla Palace – A date with palatial Hyderabad
Our self designed walking tour in Hyderabad brought us to the Chowmahalla Palace. In the erstwhile era, Hyderabad was ruled by the nizams. Chowmahalla Palace served as the seat of the nizam rule. ‘Chow’ means four and ‘mahal’ means palace; no wonder there are four palaces in the compound of Chowmahalla Palace. Its architecture was inspired by the palace of the Shah of Iran. There is a very interesting story behind the rise, fall and ‘fight back’ history of the palace. I wonder how a movie has still not been made on it. Like many of the royal families in India, the Asaf Jahi dynasty’s surviving heir, or the owner…
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Tasse de Thé – Renaissance of Tea Culture in Mumbai, India
“Tea connoisseur”. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear these two words? “It’s a British thing,” my mind talks back to me. It took me 26 years and a briefing from the son of a true tea connoisseur, to get out of the illusion. Rohak Sheth, son of Jiten Sheth, the founder of Tasse de Thé , explained to me that it was the French who started the practice of having tea as a meal. Under the regime of Queen Victoria, it was introduced in Great Britain. The men behind the brand Tasse de Thé Mr. Jiten Sheth, the owner of Tasse de Thé…
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Bari Village, Maharashtra: Experiencing the three ‘H’- Hut, Hospitality and Homestay
In 2016 the husband went on his life’s first trek. It was Kalsubai, the highest point in Maharashtra, India. When he showed me the humble photos clicked on his cellphone, the first thing I remember asking him was the name of the base village. “Bari village,” he replied. He went on a ‘pre-arranged group trek’ with a gang of around 40 trekkers. The downside of going on group tours is that you miss out on the one-to-one conversations with locals. Locals rarely approach a large group of travellers for casual chat without any self interest. Things are different when you are vulnerable. So on August 2017, me and the husband…
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Kalavantin Durg Trek : The Unplanned Day Trek in The Sahayadris
We never venture out without doing proper research. Our love for research is so great that we may equate the happiness we get out of it with the happiness while doing the actual travel. But, our experience on the Kalavantin Durg trek was different. It was spontaneous, and we had very little idea of what to expect! Where is Kalavantin Durg? Panvel is a suburb of Mumbai, India. It is well connected with Mumbai through local trains. The trail to Kalavantin Durg starts from a village named Thakurwadi. Thakurwadi is about 45 minutes away from Panvel. Auto-rickshaws from Panvel railway station charge near about INR 300 for a one way…
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Bibi-ka-Maqbara —The Aurangabad Taj Mahal, a south Indian twin of the Taj
“Allah-hu-Akbar-Allah”. “Allah-hu-Akbar-Allah”. The sound blared somewhere outside. I rubbed my eyes and pulled myself out of bed. The ticking hands of the wristwatch reminded me it was our last few hours in the hotel, and in the city. We were scheduled to visit the Aurangabad Taj Mahal. My sleepy head husband looked at me with beady eyes. “Come on get ready, we can’t give in to sleep” I said. In a few minutes we were both ready to set out on the auspicious day of Eid to see with our own eyes what ‘a bad copy of Taj Mahal’ (as described by the internet) would look like. Time For History…
