Meandering through Shirdi, Mumbai and
Goa
29-Dec-2019 – 07-Jan-2019
@Vagator Beach, Goa
Travel Diary
Compiled by: Chinmoy Bhattacharjee
29th
December 2018
At last, it was finally the day we were waiting for –
waiting for quite some time. It wasn’t the best year for me at work, and it had
been a long while since we had gone for a family vacation. The planning had
been going on for weeks. Tickets had been bought, then more tickets had been
bought just to be sure, and finally surplus tickets had to be cancelled.
Accommodation had been booked – with some trepidation, as I was venturing into
Airbnb territory for the first time. For road travel, www.savaari.com was shortlisted and
then cancelled due to negative reviews. To be truthful, I do not think I have
read as many travel blogs and reviews in my entire life as I had done in these
past few weeks. I had even constructed an hour-by-hour itinerary (with due
research and planning of course) and created a booklet for the same. I honestly
think this will give package tour operators a run for their money.
As you can therefore imagine, a serious level of
anticipation was building up. Most of last night was spent packing, including
freshly bought swimwear from Decathlon. And since morning, I was earnestly
waiting for my RAC tickets to magically change its status to CNF. There wasn’t
really a doubt – Rajeev’s cousin never really failed. And around noon, when the
magic really happened, I was relieved beyond measure. Our Rajdhani tickets were
now confirmed and all our seats were together.
The journey to NDLS was uneventful. We started from home
around 2:30 PM and reached Paharganj around 3:45 PM, well in time for the 4:25
PM departure. There were a few anxious moments though, when we were stuck in
traffic and getting delayed. Moni is inevitably the first to panic – and he
immediately determined the reason to be me, for starting late! His firm advice
was, when we knew about the traffic conditions, we should have started at 2:00 PM
instead. There was a mid-journey destination recalibration too. The Uber driver
advised going to Paharganj instead of Ajmeri Gate. That probably saved us
another 15 minutes. In the end, with the help of the friendly neighbourhood
porter, we were all comfortably seated by 4:00 PM. And at 4:25 PM, the Rajdhani
Express chugged off. We were finally off and away on our long awaited vacation.
The train was clean, not too crowded and comfortable.
Food supplies were in plenty and Arjun kept us amused and entertained for a
while. I spent an enjoyable half hour with him on the upper berth, watching
cartoons, clicking selfies, making faces and lying curled up inside the warm
blankets. Conversation between the rest of us were fairly limited. I guess we
were all soaking in the environment and ambience. And often enough, Moni would
be pulling Chuttomashi’s legs, much to our amusement. Soma continued her
valiant, but in vain, efforts to ensure Arjun is stuffed to the neck with food.
And Arjun, steadfast and strong, mounted an admirable defence – refusing
anything she offered while tucking in to loads of chips and packed juice.
Snacks and dinner were duly served and we all ate – all except Arjun of course.
I guess, for him, vacation also means freedom from regular food.
Around 8:30 PM I helped lay out the berths and the
bedding. Moni hopped on to the upper berth. Jaya and Soma took two middle
berths. And Arjun shuffled between them, moving from one berth to the other,
whichever fancied him. Chuttomashi and I took the two lower berths. Before
long, we all started dozing off. Stations whirred by – Kota, Nagda, Ratlam,
Vadodara and then Surat. The train chugged on furiously and the rocking motion
soon lulled us into a deep sleep.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
Interesting
Addendums:
1.
Late
at night, cops woke us up and advised to keep phones and bags away from common
view
2.
Arjun
wanted to perform his potty in the train toilet – but the speed of the train
scared him off. He eventually decided on the reliable old diaper
3.
Arjun’s
urination was done on the toilet wash basin – and I was the culprit behind this
idea.
30th
December 2018
The morning’s first rays welcomed us into the outskirts
of Mumbai. Watching the red sun rising over the eastern horizon is a novelty
these days. When you wake up early enough and gather up courage to brave the
cold winds of wintry Delhi, the smog and haze ruins your experience. For a
change this sighting was warm, clear and joyful.
My viewpoint of a good sleep is at variance with common
worldly opinions. I stumbled into and out of sleep often. I lay awake as the
train halted at its designated stops, and then as it rolled out of the
platform, I lumbered back into a hazy world of blissful slumber. I woke early
and lay curled up inside the warm blanket – refreshed and lazy, awaiting the
dawn – myriad thoughts in my mind. A sound sleep without any of these
interventions is not a good sleep for me. You miss all the experiences of the
night.
Anyway, we all rested well and by 6:00 AM was up and
awake. Chuttomashi, as usual, was first out of bed and amidst her sprightly pan
chewing, promptly asserted that she had remained awake nearly all night. In our
family, the art of not sleeping holds high esteem and therefore you may forgive
our valorous assertions of how little we slept and how watchful and awake we
remained all night. Moni steered the discussion towards snoring, and for a few
minutes, the discussion evolved around the quality and volume of snoring.
Amidst all these, breakfast was served – and bed tea 15 minutes earlier, for
the lucky few who were up.
Many of our fellow citizens generally have very bad
toilet habits – and they take great pains to ensure that they leave common
toilets virtually unusable after having used it. I sometimes wonder, in what
condition these people leave bathrooms at their homes! As you can imagine, I
wasn’t able to use the toilet and had to forego my breakfast, to prevent adding
further stress to my bowels. Arjun, resolutely declined the omelette, but ate
one solitary butter sandwich. And while we were eating the train rolled into
Boriveli. We were close now.
I made one more attempt at the toilet. Fortunately, it
was cleaned up now (thanks to the tireless staff) and I could relieve myself in
peace. As familiar names reeled off in the form of station names, Jaya and Soma
enjoyed the sight of Mumbai’s skyscrapers. And before long, right on time, we
reached the iconic Mumbai Central Station (MMCT), earlier known as Bombay
Central Terminus (BCT).
Our first group photo was beside the train station
signboard. After that, as we walked towards the concourse – we saw a large
goat. I am pretty sure none of us had seen such a huge goat in our lives. That
however did not dissuade us from opining as to what breed this fellow hailed
from. It was a monster – almost as big as a cow. It was a pity we couldn’t take
photos – the owner perhaps thought that the goat was shy. I just hope it wasn’t
being taken to be slaughtered. It was such a beautiful animal.
Our cab driver was held up in traffic – and we decided
to wait at the main MMCT concourse. Jaya decided to inspect the toilets there
while Moni continued to debate the pros and cons of doing so. Meanwhile the
rest of us whiled away the time in photo-shoot sessions.
Our designated driver, Subhash Tiwari, was a congenial
middle-aged man. He apologised profusely for being late, while I assured him
that it was perfectly all right. It would later be evident to us how nice he
actually was – and the fact that he was one of the major reasons for us having
a wonderful trip. Anyway, his car was perfectly clean and we all packed
ourselves in comfortably. And before long, we were streaking across Mumbai
through the Eastern Expressway. Subhash kept up a lively conversation and I
attempted to showcase my familiarity with Mumbai, by pointing out some of the
key locations that we passed through.
We stopped for a brief luncheon at Bhiwandi. We had our
fill, rested for a while and Moni triumphantly found a pan shop as well. The
rest of the road trip was largely uneventful. But I must confess, though I had
travelled by road on the Western Ghats earlier, the views this time round were
simply mesmerising. Around Kasara, the road starts winding up and ascending the
Deccan plateau, through the Ghats. The views of the weathered old mountains
were a sight to behold. Somewhere beyond the Ghoti bypass, we came across
numerous windmills. Jaya and Soma wanted to stop for photos but I dissuaded
them with a solemn promise that we will do so on the way back. At around 4:00
PM, seven hours after we had started from MMCT, we reached our hotel at Shirdi.
We weren’t really hungry – the lunch at Bhiwandi and
another halt at a village closer to Shirdi where we stopped over for fresh
fruits and sugarcane juice had ensured that we were well fed. Arjun had slept
through most of the journey and was therefore spared of the travails of motion
sickness. But after the long journey, we all badly needed the rest. The hotel
was nice and comfortable. A little distance away from the hustle and bustle,
nestled among a Telegu speaking populace, this little oasis resembled serviced
apartments. I was not disappointed.
After a good rest, at around 7:00 PM, we set off for our
darshan. We were advised of immense crowds and restrictions on the items one
can carry to the temple. In the end, we decided to leave everything behind at
the hotel, including our mobile phones. There were restrictions on vehicular
traffic – and Subhash left us midway towards the temple. From there, we took an
autorickshaw (which was allowed) closer to the temple. The darshan itself was
peaceful and solemn. Although our booked slot was at 9:00 PM, they let us in
early. Overall it took us approximately 45 minutes for the darshan of Sai
Baba’s Samadhi Mandir. Yes, there were immense crowds. Yes, we could only spend
a few moments before Sai Baba. But it is for these few moments alone we had
travelled so far. Outside the temple, away from the crowds, all of us spent a
few moments in His divine presence, bowing in reverence. A little later, we
walked away – carrying back some Ashirvaad flowers, a piece of cloth and loads
of memories.
Later we visited the Baba Chavadi, Dwarkamayi Temple,
Gurusthan Temple and the revered Neem Tree. I must admit that Arjun handled the
strain of the journey and the crowds remarkable well for a boisterous and
excitable three year old. We had always noticed that the Sai Baba temple is one
of the few temples he likes, right from the time when he was much younger. But
even for him, I daresay, a 4 hours push through the general queue would have
been too much. In retrospect therefore, the advance booking was very helpful.
We finished off our dinner soon after in one of the
restaurants close by. Arjun wanted to eat Maggi, so we walked around quite a
bit until we found it. And one of the restaurants thankfully agreed to cook it
for us. It is somewhat strange that a product that is so commonly available
otherwise is somewhat rare here.
After dinner, a quick autorickshaw ride brought us back
to the hotel. We chatted briefly, reminisced about the day and soon retired for
the night. It was a day well spent – and His darshan topped it all. May Sai
Baba’s grace be upon all of us. Om Sai Ram.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
@MMCT Station
@Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi
31st
December 2018
Hotel Apple Sai Residency was rather nondescript. It
appeared more like a newly constructed apartment building in a developing
locality. Once you step in however, it appears more like a hotel. It did not
have a functional restaurant. But it amply made up for its shortcomings through
its spacious rooms, good attendants and tranquil location away from the bustle
of the Shirdi marketplace. We had opposite rooms on the fourth floor, at the
end of the corridor and so the group never really felt separated. Chuttomashi
had industriously purchased a clothes hanging line the previous evening and
this was suitably utilised through copious amounts of washing.
We had all rested well. And after everyone had tucked
themselves into a quick bite of hot idlis, and Arjun had eaten his Cerelac, we
set off for Shani Shingnapur at around 10:30 AM. After driving for an hour or
so, we stopped for brunch at a roadside eatery. It had a children’s play area
alongside and Arjun enjoyed a lot over there. Making him eat was another thing
though. While he did take a few bites here and there, he largely remained
unfed. There were vast onion fields behind and it was quite a pretty sight.
Arjun liked it so much there that he decided that it would be a better idea to
spend the entire day there rather than move ahead. We literally had to drag him
screaming back into the car. It was quite some time, and after much cajoling
that he finally calmed down.
Maharashtra is India’s sugar bowl and the vast sugarcane
fields and the long line of vehicles filled with harvested crops will not
really leave you in any doubt. We saw plenty of onion crops, pomegranate,
grapes and guava plantations as well. There was also a good stretch of 25 – 30
km that was under construction and consequently, had bad roads. Which was all
very fine – as I was getting rather discomfited that an entire state (and a
large one at that) had finished its road building projects much unlike any
other state in India.
We finally reached Shani Shingnapur at around 12:30 PM.
There was some drama in finding the ‘right’ parking place – but eventually, all
was settled. Before long, we were standing in serpentine queues, pushing and
shoving ahead for a moment’s darshan and His divine benediction. This temple is
one of its kind and among one of the most revered Hindu places of worship in
India. This is virtually an open air temple – without any intervention or
solicitation of priests. Jaya and Soma had initially decided against entering
the temple as this was earlier barred for women. Activists and courts had
intervened to change this age old tradition. Finally, both changed their minds,
and did enter the premises for His holy visit. Unlike us though, both of them
only circumambulated the temple and made no offerings.
After the visit, we rested for a while in the temple
precincts and finally got into our vehicle for the return journey. Legends say
that this town has no doors, not even the post office. We really did not
explore the town to verify this claim. It was rather hot and dusty and we were
all very tired. The few shops we saw around the temple complex however had
doors and shutters.
The return journey to Shirdi was uneventful and
comfortable. We reached our hotel around 4:00 PM. The door lock of our room (#
305) was faulty and it took quite some effort and support to get it temporarily
fixed. We mostly rested in the hotel while Soma and Jaya explored the
surroundings. At around 7:00 PM, we moved out for a walk around the city
markets. It was pretty late the previous evening and we did not have our
mobiles with us. Therefore, to click some photographs around the Sai Baba
temple was this evening’s major objective. And then of course, some mandatory
souvenir hunting. The evening began well – we had an interesting tonga ride
which Arjun enjoyed heartily. Moni found another pan shop and had a good chew.
Arjun stuck to Jaya like a Velcro kid – he only needed his favourite ‘Bu’ to be
around him all the time. We walked around a bit in the very crowded bazaars and
bought some souvenirs. Moni, Jaya and Chuttomashi bought plenty of medallions,
while Soma bought some statues and pens. We tired easily – it isn’t really
convenient to shop in extremely crowded markets. Even window shopping isn’t as
much fun amidst all the jostling. We soon found a place to eat. Arjun as usual
was very enthusiastic – he was the first to walk into the restaurant. He chose
his seat and even his menu item – veg noodles. It is another matter though that
after the first few morsels he simply refused to eat. It never ceases to amaze
me as to why it is so difficult to feed him.
We returned back to the hotel by 9:30 PM. Soma ordered
some boiled milk, which she managed to make Arjun drink. The door lock played
games with us again and at about 10:30 PM, we found ourselves locked out of the
room once again. After much efforts of pushing, hammering and endless stream of
advice from Arjun, the hotel staff managed to pry the door open. We pledged to
simply not leave the room until we check out tomorrow. Our patience levels with
this door lock was running thin at this point.
Soon it was time for all to go to sleep. Soma and Jaya
retired with Arjun. I followed suit to ensure he sleeps early, I had thought of
going back and having a long conversation about nothing in particular, after
Arjun slept off. But sleep got the better of me, I know not when. Chuttomashi
later said that she and Moni waited for a while and eventually assumed that I
would not come and slept off themselves.
With this day, the first phase of our vacation was
drawing to a close. By God’s grace, both the darshans went off well. And
alongwith Shirdi souvenirs, we collected a few from Shani Shingnapur as well,
including horse shoes. And adding to it is our store of memories – priceless,
of pilgrimages, of togetherness, of doing something as one. May Shanidev
continue showering his benediction upon us. Om Namah Shanishwaraya Namah.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
@Shani Shingnapur Temple
@Shani Shingnapur Temple
01st
January 2019
To begin with, a very happy new year. Like most other
years, this one was very low key as well. I simply slept through the hour when
the Julian calendar changes its most significant digit. So did all the others.
The new year found us fresh and awake at Shirdi after a good night’s sleep. The
morning was spent completing any left over packing from last night and
freshening up – readying for the journey ahead. After a quick bite of hot idlis
and the usual cerelac for Arjun, and a couple of group photos for memories, we
set off on our journey to Mumbai at 10:30 AM.
As we were driving beyond Shirdi limits, Subhash stopped
for fruit supplies. He wanted to buy a bagful for his home. Moni joined in and
got for himself quite a bit of guavas and grapes. Fruits here are awesome.
There was one that we had eaten on our way to Shirdi. It resembled a wood
apple. But within the hard shell was a mass of fibrous tangy fruit pulp –
almost similar to tamarind. It was different and tasty. Arjun had also enjoyed
this fruit, standing tall on a tree stump, waving at some cooped chicken
nearby. Anyway, after the fruit purchases and eating a few enroute, we
continued our journey. Before long we were zipping across wide smooth roads
with glorious views of the Deccan mountains. Arjun slept off, Chuttomashi could
barely keep herself awake while Soma was all excited to do some on-the-spot
trekking and mountain climbing. We had earmarked one mountain that seemed quite
close to the highway with a temple built on its slope and as we passed that, we
veered off the highway for some off-roading.
We stopped where the dirt track ended and the gang (all
but me and Arjun, sleeping on my lap) stepped away for a trek through
grasslands. The mountain was perhaps 700 meters away. Soma dashed off towards
the mountain, with Chuttomashi in hot pursuit. Moni continued for a while but
gave up midway on account of the prickly grass irritating his legs. He remained
upset for the remainder of the time there, scolding Soma and Chuttomashi for
this inexplicable expedition. Jaya caught hold of a Marathi peasant and engaged
in lively conversation. I do not understand Marathi – Jaya claims that she
understood most of it. But it was fun, watching the old peasant animatedly
explaining something and Jaya nodding her head (entirely in agreement) with
appropriate (and, in her opinion rightly timed) punctuations. Eventually, the
patient old man gave up, sauntered over to the driver and gave him the
directions with equal gusto. By then Soma and Chuttomashi were charging up the
hill, with nothing less than a summit victory in sight.
We tentatively reversed the innova in precarious
conditions and off-roaded again through rocky mountainous terrain for another
half a kilometre or so. It was simply not possible to drive beyond that.
Subhash was puzzled as to what Madam (Soma) wanted to do in the mountain in the
first place. Moni could not agree more with the consternation, and further
invigorated, waved at the both of them furiously while repeatedly calling them
on their mobiles. Further angered that there was no answer, he declared that
both of them, in addition to being foolish, were also hard of hearing! In this
melee, he did not realise that both phones were ringing away in the car – Soma
and Chuttomashi had inadvertently left them in the car. I did not have the heart
to disclose this fact to Moni then – and instead watched the fun from the car.
Eventually, the frantic waving caught the attention of the unlikely
expeditioners and a reluctant retreat began. The hour spent there was awesome –
warm and sunny, with birds in plenty and some of the most fabulous views you
will ever get to see.
Once we were all back, we set off again. 15 minutes
later, we veered off the highway again to drive close to the giant windmills. I
thought Arjun would have loved the sight and woke him up from an incomplete
sleep. That eventually turned out to be a big mistake. Anyway, we enjoyed an up
close and personal view of the giant windmills, spent some time with a local
shepherd family and finally started back.
The rest of the journey was unpleasant and extremely
trying for the dauntless kid. Arjun suffered from motion sickness and was
repeatedly vomiting. I think the grapes did not go well with him either.
Whatever he ate, he vomited. Eventually Jaya advised Ondem, after which he
stopped vomiting but continued to feel uneasy. We kept him hydrated with sips
of water and stopped frequently whenever he felt uneasy. After descending from
the Ghats and when we were about 70 Km from Mumbai, he slept off, completely
exhausted. I let him sleep until we reached our apartment in Mumbai, late in
the evening around 7 PM.
Once home though, he was fine and ate a little. The
apartment was tastefully decorated and everyone simply loved it – most of all,
Arjun. The caretaker cooked up a good dinner, with Pomfret, lentils and
cauliflower. Moni and me walked around the Andheri markets. So did Soma, Jaya
and Arjun. Chuttomashi chose to remain at home and rest. The caretaker, Rakesh,
had offered to wash clothes and we thoroughly took advantage of the situation
and unloaded heaps of clothes for him to wash. Rakesh was nice guy – congenial,
always smiling and readily available at every beck and call.
We ate early and after brief discussions and casual
chitchat, retired for the night. It was a long and tiring day – perhaps a
trifle too hectic for a young three year old. In future, we should not pack too
many destinations in one vacation. Making it less hectic should be the key.
Tomorrow would be Mumbai darshan day.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
Leaving Shirdi
Somewhere in the Deccan Wilderness
02nd
January 2019
It was a bright sunny morning. We awoke to the sounds of
the train hooting away as it sped across Andheri and a warm indulgent sun
peeping through the partly drawn curtains, urging us to rise and shine. I must
confess that until I had stepped into the Airbnb apartment last evening, my
fears and apprehensions had persisted. One look though, and all anxieties were
laid to rest. The 10th floor apartment was, in one word, splendid.
Everything that you can think of was there. The master bedroom even had LED
fluorescent lights on the underside of the bed for an ultra-cosy feel! The only
drawback, if any, could be its size – but in Mumbai space is always a premium
luxury. From here on, Airbnb has won my trust.
As usual, we awoke late, slowly got through the morning
ablutions and easily missed our target of starting the day early at 8:30 AM.
Rakesh was transferring to another apartment in Goregaon as caretaker later in
the day, and I was sorry to see him go. He promised however that he would
finish all washing of clothes before he left. He introduced us to the new
caretaker, Rahul and cooked some delicious parathas and upma for breakfast.
Last evening, Moni and I had bought some sweet amla chutney along with some
sweets and a garlic chutney from Thakkar’s at Andheri. This served as a perfect
accompaniment to the hot parathas.
We also experienced our first hitch of the day. Vikas
Rana from Varun Travels had promised to send the same driver, but reneged on
his word and sent a new driver instead. I was angry, upset and had half a mind
to chase him away and look for alternate transportation instead. But
eventually, good sense prevailed and I didn’t do any such thing. It would have
been a knee-jerk reaction and extremely unfair to the new driver.
It was almost 10:30 AM before we were able to finally
start our tour for the day. Our first stop was at the magnificent Siddhi
Vinayak temple. Ganesha is much revered south of the Vindhyas and expectedly,
it was very crowded. We had to stand in two queues – first for the ‘Mukh
Darshan’ from a distance and the second longer queue for a moments darshan and
worship at the inner sanctum sanctorium. After the visit, we drove off to the
Gateway of India, driving across the magnificent Worli Sea Link – Mumbai’s
iconic bridge over the sea connecting Bandra with Worli. Along the way, it was
the famed Mumbai skyscrapers that caught the attention of the first time Mumbai
visitors. And we caught a sneak peek of Antilla as well – the home of the
ostentatious Ambanis. It was rather hot. The Gateway was very crowded. And
Arjun, awoken from an incomplete sleep, was cranky. It wasn’t the most pleasant
of starts. Thankfully, there were pigeons aplenty. And nothing cheers Arjun up
more than the prospect of feeding birds. As expected, before long, he was his
cheerful old self. We took plenty of photographs of the gateway and the iconic
Colaba buildings, including the magnificent Taj Mahal Palace hotel. We had
decided earlier that the Elephanta trip would be off the itinerary this time
round. It would have been very tiring for Arjun. Instead we opted for a quick
lunch at a Colaba restaurant. And then decided to walk across to Nariman Point.
You can never really identify yourself with a city unless you walk its streets,
haggle in its bazaars and eat its street food. It would be foolish to claim
ourselves to be thoroughbred Mumbaikars after this one walk. Nevertheless, it
was a walk to be cherished. From the markets of Colaba, to the iconic building
of South Mumbai – this part of Mumbai is an experience never to be missed. Jaya,
with a penchant for the dramatic, tore her sandals midway. Ever the martyr, she
offered to walk that way for the remainder of the path. And I was determined to
not let this martyrdom happen. Soon, I found a friendly neighbourhood cobbler
who managed to fix up the shoe quickly. It remains to be seen how long this
repair lasts. Arjun walked, jogged, ran, rode piggy back, rode on shoulders and
laps all the way. In essence, he had fun. We clicked photographs near the Air
India building, Mantralaya building, the Oval Maidan and many other spots along
the way. One building, a public study centre near the Mantralaya was rather
interesting and caught our interest. It was amazing that we saw hordes of
students actually studying there. Sadly, and rather inexplicably, we did not
click any photographs near the Leopold Café.
Before long, we were at Marine Drive. For a first time
visitor, the Marine Drive is awe-inspiring. And Soma, Jaya and Moni were deeply
impressed. (Chuttomashi had been here before). Walking down its beautiful
promenades, or simply sitting on the raised culvert and watching the Arabian
Sea is a mesmerizing experience. We spent a long time there – enjoying the
view, walking around or running with Arjun. Arjun also had his portrait done
and Moni enjoyed a mouthful of the famed Bombay bhelpuri. Eventually, we called
the driver over from the parking bay outside the Gateway and set off for the
revered Mahalakshmi temple. In contrast, the crowds here were lesser than I
expected. And our darshan was rather quickly done and without any major events
– if you discount Arjun suddenly deciding that he wanted to go with me and
almost bringing the roof of the temple down with his shouting at being denied
this opportunity. Once he was with me however, he let peace reign over the
temple precincts all over again. After our darshan was done, there was a panic
moment when we realised that I had left my phone in the car to be charged and
nobody else had the driver’s phone number. At that point, in the sea of
traffic, finding him seemed a herculean task. Thankfully, after a tense walk,
we did find him and set off for your next destination – Haji Ali. It was
already late afternoon and everybody was tiring – so we opted for a distant
viewing of the monument. The walk back and forth from the coastline, across a
narrow ledge of rocks, to the monument is a good 3 km and nobody seemed up for
it. So we parked along the bay and took lots of photographs of the 600 years
old monument – a mausoleum of an Uzbek Sufi Saint, Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.
The only drawback that actually put us off was the unbearable stink. All piety
disappeared under this murderous olfactory onslaught and we beat a hasty
retreat. Our next planned destination was a sunset viewing from the Juhu beach.
But Mumbai’s traffic played spoilsport. Navigating the traffic took far too
long and it was already dark while we were still on the way – still some
distance from the beach. Eventually, we called it off and changed route to
return back to the apartment at Andheri. We had an early morning train to catch
the next day and Arjun was getting quite restless. The rest of us were very
tired too.
We reached the apartment around 8:00 PM. Soma and Jaya
went down for some shopping which included a couple of suitcases. (Soma finally
let go of her emotional attachment with her torn and broken suitcase). Moni and
me went for a stroll – to frame the portrait and grab some pan for Moni. The
photo framing shop was an eye opener for me. A pious Muslim shop owner had
framed photographs for all faiths in the store – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian
and Jewish. His employees were all Hindus. He was respectful and detached,
easily identifying Hindu deities. An example, as perfect as can be, of a
society that is tolerant and respectful of diversity. I regret not clicking a
photograph of this unique shop – I was reticent, shy and afraid of appearing to
be condescending and patronising. We however got the portrait of Arjun’s sketch
framed there (at a much reduced price as compared to Delhi, I might add) and
that will always remind me that we have an option. And it is easy to live
without hatred, bigotry and prejudice.
Soma’s cousin Rohan paid us a visit later that evening.
He came all the way from his home at Malad. We spent a couple of hours over casual
conversation and enjoyed dinner together. Finally, around 11:00 PM he bade
goodnight and left. Arjun continued to be upset and irritable through the
evening. He hadn’t eaten very well. And had regurgitated most of the milk he
had drunk. I finally took him downstairs and walked around the apartment
complex courtyard for some time. That calmed him down and he finally slept on
my shoulders.
It was nearly 1:00 AM by the time packing was completed.
We were due to leave by 3:00 AM so there wasn’t really any time for some
shuteye. Moni was asleep by then. Chuttomashi and Jaya were resting on the
Sofa. Soma had slept a few minutes ago. And around 1:30 AM, I went to bed to
stretch my aching back for 30 minutes. Soon it would be time to set off for Goa
– our third and most awaited phase of the vacation.
Mumbai, the maximum city, offers so much that it would
take months to soak in all that it offers. In this one day, I had wanted us to
have a glimpse, a taste of Mumbai. I earnestly hope that the group enjoyed this
brief visit to (perhaps) India’s most enigmatic city.
So long and until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
@AirBnB Accommodation, Mumbai
@Marine Drive, Mumbai
03rd
January 2019
It isn’t really a new day. The previous day had ended a
mere 30 minutes ago. Chuttomashi, Moni and I had our quick baths. Arjun would
travel in his pajamas – the little fellow had barely slept for three hours now.
I somehow managed to get him to wear a sweater without waking him. It was like
walking on egg shells every moment – trying hard not to wake him.
Raju, our driver from the previous day, reached the
apartment complex around 3:00 AM and by 3:15 AM we were off to VT (Victoria
Terminus), now christened CSMT (Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus). The
caretaker dutifully helped us with our luggage and bade us farewell and with
hardly any traffic on the streets, were at the station in 40 minutes. I am not
very familiar with Mumbai Railway Stations and had done some reading and map
study earlier to understand that Mumbai Central Terminus (MMCT) was more
familiarly known by its old name Bombay Central Terminus (BCT). Similarly what
is CSMT now was VT earlier, The driver told us that there were two entrances to
the station, about a kilometre apart, but within the station was all
interconnected. He took us away from the more iconic and familiar Clock Tower
Victorian age constructed (UNESCO World Heritage Site) entrance to a more
modest entrance that opens to Platform number 18. He said this is the preferred
entrance for long distance and inter-city trains, i.e. trains going to
‘bahargaon’ (literal translation – trains going to villages outside the city).
Apparently, platforms 1 to 7 serve suburban trains while the remaining
platforms serve long distance trains.
We were all very thankful for that. He saved us a lot of
walking. The special holiday train on which we were due to travel was already
parked at platform 18 – just 50 metres from where Raju dropped us off. But
there was initially a lot of confusion about the train and its destination and
current location. Some of the people we asked advised that this wasn’t the
train, some suggested that it was due to arrive at another platform. And to top
it all, the railway enquiry counters were completely unmanned. Jaya and me
walked the length of the platform; while the train had the right markings
(number, name, destination signboards) it resembled a ghost train with
virtually no passengers waiting to board. The IXIGO mobile application on which
I was so dependent, failed to synchronise and give us real time data. And
chasing us relentlessly was this gnawing fear – are we at the right place? At
about 4:25 AM, the PA system announced that our train would depart from this
platform. That settled our nerves somewhat. Around 4:30 AM, some porters woke
up and I requested one of them to help us with the luggage. These chaps are
some of the most knowledgeable folks as far as the Railways are concerned. They
know everything about trains – everything. In a amoment he assured us that this
was indeed our train, that this train would cease operations in another 2 – 3
days since the new year holiday period is now over, the onward journey would
literally be empty while the return journey would be packed. All of these, we
later realised, were almost proverbial. With no difficulty, and under the
porter’s masterful guidance, we were comfortably seated well in time. And at
5:00 AM on the dot, the train left Mumbai. We were on the move towards Goa.
Our compartment was only about 30% occupied. And we had
an entire coop of 8 seats completely to ourselves. The three remaining sets
were unoccupied for the entire journey. So we had plenty of space. Arjun,
largely slept through all this.
The best way to travel from Mumbai to Goa is by road or
rail. The Western Ghats offer spellbinding views and the Konkan Railway is an
engineering marvel. And as the train crossed Ratnagiri and coasted southwards,
we weren’t disappointed. We crossed innumerable tunnels (some of India’s
longest railway tunnels are on this line) and as the train rounded across bends
on bridges across valleys with pillars made of very long stilts, it is hard not
to feel wonder and joy coarse through the veins. For about 20 – 30 minutes, I
stood on the door of the compartment to feel the wind on my face – something I
had not done since my college days. In more ways than one, I felt much younger
already!
The train was delayed by nearly three hours. That threw
a spanner on our plans to spend our first evening on the sands of Candolim
beach watching the sun melt away into the seas. But we more than adequately
made up by having fun on the journey. And Arjun thoroughly kept us entertained
with his antics. He also enjoyed the tunnels (and the momentary darkness that
it casts upon the train) a lot. He called it the “day and night” game!
Finally, at about 5:00 PM we chugged into Karmali – our
final destination. It is a small station, resembling a relic from bygone days.
Almost straight out of a Malgudi Days setting. It is visiting these places that
reinforces the conviction that beauty most often lies in simplicity. I hadn’t
pre-arranged local transportation here and this turned out to be a mistake.
There were only a few taxis available which were doing rounds. This cost us a
full hour of waiting outside the Karmali station. A rickety old EECO van became
available only at 6:00 PM. And after an hour or so, we finally reached
Candolim.
We crossed the beautiful Mandovi river on the way, saw
some swanky bridges and elevated roads being built to bypass Panjim and crossed
a few picturesque Portuguese towns and villages on the way. There was not a
hint of pollution, no traffic mess, little or no dust, no overcrowding and
pleasant greenery all the way. Quaint villas tucked away in small charming
villages, with little chapels, offered us a beautiful Goan welcome. It was more
beautiful than we had expected. Our Airbnb hosts (Ann and her husband, Carlos)
were constantly on the phone, guiding us to the apartment. We had no difficulty
in finding the place at all. And the apartment was a real beauty – a sprawling
2 BHK apartment on the first floor, with every amenity that you can think of. A
large balcony with a pool side view was icing on the cake. The hospitality of
the hosts was beyond expectation. It is not difficult to understand why Goa is
India’s most preferred holiday destination – both to domestic as well as
international tourists. After settling us in, Carl, our host left for his home
in Panjim. And as the others got busy in unpacking and refreshing, Jaya and me
walked to the nearby Lawande supermarket and bought ourselves a bagful of
provisions.
After some light snacks, I decided to explore the town
on my own. And before long I found myself walking towards the beach. The call
of the sea is hard to resist. The beach is about 1.7 Km from the apartment – a
good 30 – 40 minutes’ walk. On the way, one would walk through the heart of the
town – its bazaars, cafes and restaurants. Music peeling off the walls of cafes
and bars, and the lively chatter of tourists combined to create a unique
symphony of joy. The Christmas and New Year lighting and decorations were still
on creating a surreal experience. And as you neared the ocean, the sound of the
waves crashing on the shores would give you an adrenalin rush that is difficult
to experience elsewhere. This town apparently is a favourite haunt for British
and Russian tourists. Almost all shops I saw had English and Russian signage.
Soon, I was walking on the sands of Candolim beach towards the Arabian Sea. The
coast was well lit with many beach shacks and the sights and sounds of
merry-making emanating from them complemented the oceanic roar in a magical
way. Without any hesitation, I decided that even though we missed our sunset
viewing today, we will not miss experiencing the sea tonight. Our fist dinner
in Goa would be by the sea.
I called home and asked the folks to be ready and
quickly walked back to the apartment. A short while later our entire family was
trudging along the streets of Candolim. My initial scouting foray was well
worth it, as I could now guide the group to the beach without any difficulty.
Arjun refused to do any walking and remained perched mostly on Jaya’s lap.
And as we stepped into the sand, Soma with a wide smile
asked if we had reached the beach already. With a sense of pleasure, I acknowledged.
I remembered at that instant, my joy of experiencing the sea for the first time
(a long time ago) when I was at an age at which I could remember and express.
It is an unique moment – a moment to be treasured. This particular moment was
hers. In mere moments, we were within touching distance of the Arabian Sea.
Arjun expressed his joy by pointing out the sea to me and exclaiming “So much
water!”
I had earmarked a couple of shacks that were reputed to
have good food. But these were some 200 – 300 metres away. Nobody was in the
mood for any more walking though. So we picked out the nearest – Bobby’s Shack,
for our first family dinner by the ocean.
We spent an hour or so walking along the beach, watching
the waves break on the sands and the distant well-lit ships. We experienced the
joys of partying hordes of tourists, the tranquillity of the deep waters and
the warm pleasure of wetting your feet on the onrushing waves. Most excited
among all of us was Arjun – running towards and away from the waters, playing
with the sand and generally irritating everybody with his childish pranks.
Chuttomashi also bought him a fluorescent torchlight toy with which he had
great fun. Later, much later, we sat down for dinner.
The food wasn’t really exceptional though – it did not
measure up to the exceptional ambience. Moni did not like the Goan fish curry
that was dished out. Arjun only had mushroom soup. And the rest of us finished
off the remaining food. After having spent nearly two and a half hours on the
beach, at around 11:30 PM, we finally started back for our home in Goa. (It
would not be nice to call that place anything less than home). Arjun, exhausted
beyond the limits of his tender age, slept on my lap and I carried him back all
the way. A steady quiet was descending on the streets. Shops were downing
shutters and people were walking home. Without experiencing any fear or
hesitation, we calmly walked back home. Never for a moment did it occur to us
that we were in unfamiliar surroundings in an unknown town. This inherent
reassurance is what is perhaps Goa’s greatest strength – its ability to welcome
one and all, without prejudice, without insecurity. This alone is a great
lesson for our very own North East racked by identity and ethnic conflicts –
and consequently, grossly unrealised tourism potential.
It was well past midnight when we finally retired for
the night – bringing down the curtains on our first day in Goa. It is a day
that will be deeply entrenched in our memories for a very long time.
Until tomorrow, with more Goan experiences,
Chinmoy.
PS: True to their
nature, Soma and Jaya, busy in their conversation, totally messed up the
directions home. They missed the lane for our home and continued marching
ahead. Chuttomashi, followed suit. I was bringing up the rear and when I turned
right, Moni realised the mistake and called the erring party back on track,
unhesitatingly sharing his views on how directionless they all are! Chuttomashi
protested vehemently. She insisted that she knew the route very well and was
simply following Soma and Jaya!
Arrived @ Goa, Karmali
Dinner @ Candolim Beach
04th
January 2019
It was a late and lazy morning. What is a holiday if you
do not experience gastronomic overindulgence and sleep until late in the
morning. Moni these days rises early in the morning (when I was much younger,
Moni usually used to be the last person to wake up). He spent several minutes
extolling the virtues of early rising and why it is particularly important to
do so during vacations. Soma as usual was the last to get ready, while in
parallel vehemently asserting her ‘unblemished’ record for punctuality.
The watchman in the apartment complex, Guru, had shared
the phone number of his nephew, Dilip, who offers an Innova for taxi services. I
had spoken to him last evening. He seemed to be quite a reasonable fellow and
his quote was well within my estimated budget. I simply did not have any
patience to seek out others and compare quotes. So I had confirmed my booking
with him late last evening. Deadened by sleep, he probably hadn’t registered
that. When no car was available until 10:00 AM, when we were all finally ready
– I called him up. He apologised immediately and promised to send the car with
his brother as chauffer within 10 minutes. To his credit, the car was indeed
available in 10 minutes – and finally at 10:30 AM, we were all aboard and
raring to go.
I had actually wanted to do a self-drive rental and
enjoy driving on the streets of Goan towns. But I was gently dissuaded out of
this and the reasons were genuine. While GPS is perfectly all right for
navigation, parking is often tricky. Moreover, insurance cover for accidental
damages are not very well covered here or explained clearly enough. A chauffer
driven vehicle, while undoubtedly more expensive, gives us peace of mind and I
eventually opted for that. In fact, even Carlos, had recommended this route
although his parking was available for use if we so desired.
We made some last minute adjustments to the planned
itinerary. Instead of starting with Fort Aguada, we decided to go straight to
old Goa. Old Goa, or Velha Goa in Portuguese, was the old capital of the
Portuguese colony until its abandonment in the 18th century due to
plague. Located close to the current capital, Panjim, it retains several
Christian monuments and UNESCO world heritage sites. But very little remain
from the Muslim Bijapur dynasty that first built this city. The Portuguese and
Spaniards in those days were adept at destroying local civilizational imprints
in their ultra-fundamentalist Christian beliefs. But all that is now history.
It was exceptionally hot and sunny – but Arjun loved the
freedom that getting out of the car provided. Our first visit was to the
magnificent Basilica of Bom Jesus (Bom means good in Portuguese). The
architecture is fantastic as are the murals and paintings. This UNESCO world
heritage site is one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in the
world today. It also holds the mausoleum and body of St Francis Xavier. I had
done a lot of reading before this trip and enjoyed my role as a guide,
explaining certain aspects of this great institution – such as the meaning of
the IHS inscription or what does the figures in the altar depict. History and
politics have always fascinated me. We spent a long time in this 400+ years old
church and even enjoyed a light and sound show, which described the life and
times of Jesus Christ and St Francis Xavier. Soma offered flowers and bought
candles for all of us, which we lit in devout piety.
We next briefly visited the millstones and canons of the
old Portuguese era gun powder factory and then stepped into the Church of St
Francis of Assisi. This magnificent church is apparently no longer in use for
active worship – and is therefore much quieter and sombre. The interior of the
church was more worn out and faded here. Yet it spoke volumes of its grandeur
in the days gone by. There were three striking things that we couldn’t fail to notice
– the beautiful wood carvings and paintings that decorates the heavily gilded
walls and ceilings, the huge arch that supports the choir, with floral
paintings, standing opposite the altar and the intricately carved pulpit from
where sermons were once delivered. The barricaded portion of the church had
lots of stones with Latin markings – perhaps they are the resting place of
former Portuguese royalty.
Our next stop was at the Se Cathedral, dedicated to St
Catherine and built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the
Muslim army and the capture of Goa. This place was still used for worship – and
a sign outside requested tourists to ensure modest dressing before entering.
Directly opposite the main entrance stood an imposing statue of Jesus Christ.
The cathedral was assymetric in that it had only one (left side) bell tower.
Apparently, the other tower had collapsed in the 18th century after
being struck by lightning. In the tower that stands, is stored the ‘Golden
Bell’, the largest in Asia and renowned worldwide for its rich baritone. This
bell is also infamous for its tolling during the trials of the notorious Goa
Inquisition, when non-Christians, mostly Hindus, were tortured and executed
outside the church, often by burning alive at the stake. Surprisingly, this
bell and the sarcophagus of St Francis were the two things that Chuttomashi
vividly recalled from her prior visit to Goa. The inside of the church is quite
simply, imposing – very long and very high. It is today, the largest church in
Asia. The interior is however very plain while the altar with heavily gilded
reredos offered six compartments where the life of St Catherine were carved.
This was absolutely beautiful and awe inspiring. The other notable thing in
this church were the four chapels along the walls at both sides of the altar –
two of which had screened doors preventing entry. One of this was the chapel of
blessed sacrament and the other is the chapel of the Cross of Miracles. There
is a legend that shepherds had built a cross on a hillock of old Goa, and
apparently, it grew bigger with time. Witnesses also saw visions of Christ
hanging on this cross. A church was then built on this exact spot after moving
and storing the cross elsewhere. However, when the time came to move the cross
inside, it had grown bigger again and could not be fitted through the door.
Subsequently the cross was moved to this chapel and remains to this day one of
the most sacred sites in Goa among Christians. I saw Soma sitting in front of
this chapel (perhaps praying) for a few minutes with Arjun. I daresay she did
not know what altar she was praying in front of. If she reads this chronicle
she will perhaps know – I hadn’t spoken about this to anybody. Sheer
coincidence – or an inexplicable divine tug? You are the best judge.
We continued walking towards our next destination – the
church of St Cajetan. On the way we stopped for refreshments of lime soda,
coconut water and sugarcane juice. Moni and Arjun bought cowboy hats and
hand-in-hand, the two cowboys walked the remaining distance to the only church
built by the Italians on Portuguese soil, modelled after the St Peter’s
Basilica of Rome. What is most puzzling here was the presence of a large stone
altar directly below the cupola (dome) in the centre of the church. I have
later read accounts of how this was possibly a covered well in what was
originally a Hindu temple that was razed to build this church. We spent a long
time in this church. It was hot outside and the cool interiors offered a nice
place to rest. Arjun liked this place a lot and after a long rest, had to be
coaxed out of the building.
A short distance away was the Viceroy’s arch, a symbolic
gateway of the times when the entry to the city was from here on the banks of
the Mandovi river. Jaya read through the ASI plaques and explained to the rest
of us how Adil Shah’s stunning palace was torn down and only a raised gateway
remains of the times of the Bijapur Sultanate. A little distance away was the
pier on the Mandovi river, where a boat was getting ready to ferry passengers
to the Divar island. We were exhausted by then and I called the driver over to
pick us up from here as none of us had the energy to retrace our route back to
the parking nearly 3 Km away in this oppressive heat. Before long, the driver
appeared and we set off for Panjim. Arjun had eaten a little – from what we had
packed for him at home, so he was just tired. The rest of us very hungry too.
Putting on hold further sightseeing for the time being, we drove to a famous
restaurant in Panjim called Mum’s kitchen. This was on my must visit list, and
with pleasure, I acknowledge that all praise it has received online were well
worth it. It is a quaint little place adjacent to the Miramar beach – and
specializes in Goan cuisine. The place however was jam packed and an hour’s
wait was expected for an empty table. I looked around for an alternate eatery
and finding none, called the driver to set off and try another place. But by
then everybody had decided to wait. Thankfully, in about 30 minutes, we were
seated. Moni finally decided to let his hair down and helped himself to a
chilled beer. And we took the opportunity to sneak in a round of coconut feni.
Any trip to Goa is incomplete without savouring this locally brewed specialty
drink. We ordered food in plenty and ate to our fill. The food was delightful.
Soma finished an entire crab by herself. Thankfully we weren’t staying in Goa
very long otherwise the poor species would be driven to the verge of
extinction. Arjun, completely unruffled by all that was going on, slept through
the entire luncheon.
It was almost 4:00 PM by the time we finished.
Abandoning all further plans of whiling away time or sightseeing in Panjim, we
headed back to Candolim. Approximately 30 minutes later we were on the glorious
sands of Candolim’s pristine sea beach. The swimsuits were pulled out and
donned – even Arjun was excited about wearing his teeny weeny bathing trunks.
The next hour and a half were pure bliss. We frolicked, played and bathed in
the Arabian Sea. Arjun enjoyed his “so much water” experience more than anybody
else. His squeals of joy and laughter added immensely to our pleasures. Moni
and Chuttomashi joined in for a while; Jaya stuck around mostly with Arjun and
as far as Arjun could go. And Soma, with considerable initial fears, followed
me into slightly deeper waters. Feeling the sand slip away from under your feet
and the waves ramming into you gives you a thrill beyond explanation. No wonder
so may tourists spend their entire vacation almost entirely on the beach. You
don’t really need anything else.
A little after 6:00 PM Arjun started feeling a little
cold. So he came out of the water and was wrapped around in clothes soon after.
Meanwhile, the lifeguards started signalling us out of the water. Quite
reluctantly, around 6:30 PM we finally dragged ourselves away. We spent the
remaining daylight hours lying on the rented beach beds, watching the crimson
sun melt away in a sea of gold. There wasn’t too much talking – all of us were
lost in thoughts as we witnessed a beautiful sunset on the sands of Goa, beside
the Arabian Sea.
It was almost 8:00 PM when we finally called the driver
and drove back home. Arjun hadn’t eaten anything in the beach and his mother
more than made up for it by stuffing him with milk followed by noodles in
double quick time. The poor fellow was too tired to mount any serious defence
to this food attack and meekly surrendered. Later we enjoyed a father-son bath
to wash the saline water away. Chuttomashi, with inexhaustible stores of
energy, repeatedly swept the floor clean of all the beach sand the rest of us
dumped wherever we walked and setting up a quick and light dinner at the same
time.
Jaya however wanted to go out again for a Portuguese
dinner. And so, Soma, Arjun and I accompanied her back to the Candolim market.
Quite clearly, our day wasn’t done yet. Moni and Chuttomashi would have nothing
to do with it and opted to eat at home and rest. At the restaurant, Jaya and
Soma had their Bloody Mary while I enjoyed a couple of Hoegardens. This time,
Soma went for a mackeral dish – a near foot long fish with plenty of
accompaniments. Jaya chose a chicken pasta dish, while poor me had the only
vegetarian option available – a Thai noodles dish. Arjun wanted some soup, but
turned up his nose after a few spoons and refused any more.
Thankfully, autorickshaws were available today – for
both to and fro journeys. Otherwise the prospect of walking back would have
been dreadful. It was well past 11:00 PM when we finally reached back home. And
soon after, hit the sack, blissfully exhausted. I guess we were too tired to
even dream.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
Thought for the
day: “What will it profit a man to gain the
whole world, and lose his soul?” – St Ignatius Loyola to St Francis Xavier
Miss of the day:
We forgot to take pictures of the chapel of the Cross of Miracles
Question of the
day: Why did the Cross stop growing once it was
housed in the Se Cathedral?
James Bonds @ Old Goa
@Se Cathedral
Fun and frolic at Candolim
05th
January 2019
Soma woke up to some tummy trouble today. There was
intense debate around the house as to what could be the reason behind it.
Everyone had some opinion around it. I think the root cause could be an ethnic
conflict between crabs and mackerals. These two species probably do not see eye
to eye.
Be that as it may, we continued our saga of late and
lazy mornings on this our last day in Goa too. For today’s itinerary, we
skipped the option of travelling to Ponda for a spice farm visit and decided on
the beach hopping option instead. For one, it would require lesser car travel.
And more importantly, beaches offered greater possibilities of spending quality
time together.
After breakfast, Jaya, Arjun, Soma and yours truly
donned swimwear – for this was how we intended to tour all day. Arjun
remembered to carry his beach ball that day – the one that he had carefully
selected from the Decathlon store in Gurgaon. And around 10:00 AM we set off in
style for Fort Aguada. In between, there was still time for some poolside photo
sessions as well.
Fort Aguada is impressive, built by the Portuguese to
protect the entry to Mandovi riverhead, after a Dutch blockade that shockingly
laid open their frailties in defence. It is the last remaining Portuguese fort
in India – all the others are in a state of desolate ruin. The ramparts offered
panoramic views of the river mouth entering the sea. Sadly, the lighthouse has
been closed to visitors. The views from the top of the lighthouse would have
been truly stunning.
It was bright and sunny, there wasn’t a speck of cloud
in the sky. It was truly a glorious day if you would discount the heat. Our
driver, Dilip (his brother didn’t come today) suggested that we take a dolphin
sighting trip. The idea seemed exciting and it wasn’t too far off. So without
any hesitation we agreed. It wasn’t very crowded and consequently, we didn’t
have to wait at all. And before long we were all comfortably seated in a motor
boat, lifejacket adorned, and chugged off to deeper waters to view the friendly
and enigmatic dolphins. Before boarding, I had asked the boatman about the
chances of an actual dolphin sighting. He was confident that we would see quite
a few. And after about 15 minutes or so, quite magically, we spotted our first
dolphin. It was exhilarating to see the fun loving creatures jump and skip over
the water – their trademark snout in ample display. After that for the next 10
minutes, we saw several more – mostly black or grey. It was great fun. None of
us had ever seen live dolphins before and seeing these magnificent mammals in
their natural habitat was a memorable experience. The boatman sailed us around
the estuary for a little while longer and we got to see the now abandoned
Aguada Central Jail and the millionaire’s mansion. This opulent palace, built
along the rocky coastline is truly an outstanding palace and a treat to watch.
It is apparently the private residence of a reclusive Parsi rubber and shipping
tycoon, Jimmy Gazdar. All we could do however was take long distance
photographs. For some reason, Arjun decided it was the birthday of the boat,
and regaled all of us with his “happy birthday dear boat” song!
After a memorable hour on the boat, we were back on
mainland – and all seated again, we set off for our next destination, Baga
beach. While Calangute, adjacent to Baga, is more popular, we skipped this one
due to the huge crowds. In contrast, Baga had lesser crowds. This beach too was
clean, sandy and blessed with pristine blue waters. Arjun decided against any
clothes this time round and charged off immediately to the sea. Moni too
couldn’t entirely resist the temptation and bought himself a pair of bathing
trunks and sun shades. The next three hours were heavenly. We sported, bathed
and swam to our heart’s content. It will be difficult to name the game, but
Arjun and I invented our own little game of throwing the beach ball far into
the sea and allowing the waves to furiously bring it back. We would then dive
around to catch it – often missing, and falling headfirst into the waters while
drinking in mouthfuls of brackish water. Everytime either of us missed, his
laughter would know no bounds. Arjun even made friends with another toddler and
they shared some fun moments too.
Meanwhile, food was ordered and much against our will,
we had to trudge back to the rented beds. Arjun, ever the gentleman, decided
against urinating in the sea. But his young three year old bladder couldn’t
hold on much longer. So he at last went – right there, in the middle of the
beach, much to the amusement of the tourists. Soma, embarrassed, dashed off in
the other direction.
The food was good. I sun-bathed in the warm sands for a
while. Chuttomashi caught some quick shuteye and before long, some of us were
back in the waters. And after yet another hour, we were all very tired and
wearily made our way out of Baga beach – to move on to the next. Anjuna was
next on the itinerary, but being mostly rocky in nature, we bypassed it and
moved further north to Vagator.
Arjun, by then was fatigued and slept off. Meanwhile,
the rest of us explored the beach. Vagator has expansive coastlines and immense
flat sand beds. Earlier this was mostly the haunt of European tourists; now
quite a lot of domestic tourists also flock to this area. Soma and Jaya wanted
to experience jet skiing at Baga, but weren’t able to do so there. This beach
offered the opportunity once again, and with some goading from my side, enjoyed
a thrilling ride at high speeds on the waves of the Arabian Sea. I joined in
too but Moni and Chuttomashi declined. I guess they had enough of the sea for
this time. Here too, we bathed and frolicked in the water for some time, but a
sighting of the deadly jelly fish brought about a premature end to our water
games for the evening.
Vagator is bordered on the eastern front by high
mountains, and on the top of the cliffs one can see the ruins of the Chapora
fort. This fort has been immortalised on the big screen by the blockbuster
movie Dil Chahta Hai. We walked along the beach for a long time, collected sea shells,
photographed the fort and generally enjoyed the serene ambience. Soma and Jaya
had a twin sister moment when I photographed them wearing similar swimwear. It
was funny and brought about memories of an episode from an old Television Soap
called Wagle ki Duniya – where the entire family made dresses from the same
cloth, and having leftovers yet, used the remaining for curtains and tablecloth
too. It was hilarious. Jaya simply couldn’t understand if we had to buy the
dress for her, why couldn’t we buy one that had a different print.
Later Moni and I lazed around in the shack beds, while
Chuttomashi, Jaya and Soma explored the Shiva Rock and other coastal rocky
formations nearby. Once Arjun woke up, I took him for a walk around the beach.
He did not seem very inclined to get back into the water – which was good as
the sun was going done and I didn’t want to risk him catching a cold.
There really wasn’t time to go anywhere else. So we ordered
food and drinks and watched the sun go down on the Arabian sea. Sunrise, we
were told, is better on the Southern parts of Goa which is why we slept through
the sunrise hours and compensated with sunset viewings. Moni happily downed
another beer. I opted for a Margherita, while Jaya and Soma sipped some cool
Mojito and Pinacolada. Arjun and Chuttomashi enjoyed some freshly squeezed
orange juice. We downed these with copious amounts of fried potatoes. Moni, in
a playful mood, called up Soma’s mother to describe Soma’s water expeditions
with liberal amounts of exaggeration. My mother-in-law is easily frightened and
she must have panicked quite a bit. Soma kept on loudly saying no – she was
dutiful and obedient, never once leaving the beach. It was all nice fun. There was momentary panic too - when Moni realised that his wallet had lost significant weight! He had kept it with Chuttomashi for safekeeping and when it was finally time to settle the bill, he realised that the bulk of the cash he had in his wallet had done the disappearing act. The crisis was averted when, a thoroughly perturbed Chuttomashi handed me my purse (which, incidentally, I had also given to her for safekeeping) to demonstrate that both purses were safe in her bag and I realised that she had handed me Moni's purse instead!
It was almost twilight, when we finally ambled out of
the beach. Our neighbouring shack bed occupants, a portly Russian couple, had
by then woken up from their deep alcohol induced slumber and were indicating
their penchant for moving on to dinner, and possibly more alcohol. We, on the
other hand, boarded the cab and headed off to Arpora village, for the Saturday
night market – our final itinerary for the day.
Moni found his second pan shop outside the parking bay
at Arpora Saturday Night Market today. Earlier in the morning, he had inquired
about pan shops from our apartment watchman. There apparently were a few, but
quite far. He gave the appropriate directions to Dilip, who had then driven us
to the shop, where Moni relished his first pan of this Goan odyssey. He was
triumphant. He was convinced that it is impossible to not find a pan shop
anywhere in India. At Arpora too, with due guidance from a balloon vendor, he
had his second pan (and of much better quality, we were told, than the first).
His opinion, undoubtedly, stood vindicated.
We walked around the huge bazaar, mostly window
shopping. Jaya and Soma did most of the shopping – while Arjun got himself a
bubble spraying gun. Soma also felt the need to inspect the quality of toilets
in the market and this gave us the opportunity to see the main stage area and
enjoy some live music. (The toilets were behind the main stage area). I heard
some fantastic guitar pickings and a couple of soulful Portuguese melodies.
Later we continued our shopping spree and walking around the market place. It
was almost 9:30 PM when we could walk no longer and finally bid adieu to Arpora
and headed back home.
Back home, we bathed and cleaned up and had a light
dinner, which Chuttomashi and Soma had energetically prepared. Jaya and I took
one last walk around Candolim, withdrawing some cash and buying some Feni as
souvenir. We also bought some sweets and bread for tomorrow’s breakfast. It was
almost midnight, when fatigued beyond belief, I crashed onto the bed for a well-deserved
sleep. I don’t know how long the others remained awake to complete the packing
– I simply couldn’t muster up any strength to help.
It is unbelievable how quickly time flies. It seemed
just yesterday when we were still planning for the trip. And here we are at the
fag end already. Even this morning, when Jaya had arranged for a maid for
housekeeping, it seemed we were just settling in. But that I guess is what is
life all about. All good things must also come to an end. So has this vacation.
What we will take back are our memories – of the times we laughed together, ate
together, quarrelled together, played together, chatted together – and felt as
one family. With a firm resolve that we will do these kind of vacations more
often, I am signing off tonight.
Until tomorrow, when we shall start the long journey
back home,
Chinmoy.
@Fort Aguada
@Baga Beach
@Vagator Beach
06th
January 2019
We awoke early and were all ready on time. Arjun had
some milk for breakfast and the rest of us had some bread and butter with tea.
I spoke briefly to Ann our host and thanked her for everything. She advised me
to leave the apartment keys on top of the refrigerator on our way out. And after the last
rounds of checking our luggage and some final photography, we departed for
Madgaon at 8:00 AM. By 9:00 AM, we reached the station.
The Rajdhani express was already queued up on platform 1.
We boarded and were comfortably seated well in time. As scheduled, at 10:00 AM,
the train started its journey to Delhi, northward. The return journey was largely
uneventful. With some rearrangement of seats, we were comfortably on our way.
Moni spent most of the day relaxing on the upper berth. Chuttomashi relaxed on
the adjacent side lower berth and the rest of us shuffled around the remaining
seats. One of our travel companions was a Navy commando trainer and he regaled
us with stories of his armed forces days and counter insurgency operations in
Kashmir where he also took a bullet injury. At Panvel, another lady joined us
in our coop.
The Rajdhani express hurtled across Maharashtra and
Gujrat through the night. We all slept well after dinner. It isn’t too far now.
Tomorrow we will be home.
Until tomorrow,
Chinmoy.
@Candolim AirBnB accommodation
Leaving Goa from Madgaon
07th
January 2019
Another companion joined us at Kota. Since I was on her
seat, I vacated and sat with Chuttomashi for a while. The Sikh navy commando
trainer woke up later and moved to another compartment, which was where his
seat us. He had changed his original seat with another person who had a
reserved berth only till Kota. After he had moved to the other compartment, I
took that berth and slept some more.
There isn’t too much to write. The journey was again
uneventful. And enthusiasm levels are also on the wane. We all had our
breakfast and waited to arrive at Nizamuddin. Finally, at around 12:45
(approximately 5 minutes behind schedule), the train arrived at our final
destination. After that, we took a cab and was home by 2:00 PM.
It was a great holiday and I enjoyed writing this
chronicle. Years later, when our memory fades, perhaps this little travel log
will help remind us of the magical vacation we experienced in the winter of
2018-19.
Thanks for everything,
Chinmoy.
Homeward bound
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