Wednesday 1 April 2009

Trip to India - Photo post

This is a long overdue post.. that had been languishing in my drafts, incomplete, thanks to my to laziness and daughter's refusal to let me sit at the laptop...Anyways, finally, here it is..


I had to do a travelogue of my vacation.. Thought it would be fun to do a photo post, given the fact we actually travelled across India - even though we did not do too much of sightseeing - it was a very family affair :)


We started off from Mumbai. We had just a day there but we did manage to go around. One of the places we went to was the Powai Lake.. Some shots of Bombay's roads, no doubt, this deserted as it was a Sunday and the Powai Lake..


The next stop was Harda, MP. The day we reached was a special day - I forgot what exactly it was and there was a place on the banks of the River Narmada, where people came from all over for a dip. Here is the scene from there.. It was the first time that I had been to a place like this.. It was a totally different experience for me.. So many people, all excited at the just the thought having a dip in the holy river.. Though I found it very difficult to identify with, it was a revelation, to see how many people believe in these things so strongly.. There was also a very old and very beautiful temple on the banks of the river and people were going in there to pay their respects after bathing in the river.




The next place we went to was a village where another of my husband's Buaji lives..It was a little village an hour's drive from Harda. We went to a 'khet' there. It was very, very pretty.. The weather was wonderfully mild, not cold, not hot..just perfect for a picnic - if only we did not have to rush back. I had a tough time getting snaps without people! We all wanted to pose out there :)



The next stop was Bhopal where my in-laws live.. It was just some time to relax, after all the running around earlier...I really wanted to eat some chat.. which ever since my parents left Jamshedpur - I never seem to be able to get. We did have chat - but sadly fell short of my expectations :( Now I have decided to stick to homemade ones - I seem to enjoy them far more!

We did not get a chance to take too many snaps here.. Just a few snaps on our way to Bhopal and the last 2 are of the view from the terrace of my in-laws' place.



From Bhopal, off we went to Bangalore, with a hop at Mumbai.. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Mumbai Domestic Airport had been majorly revamped from the last time we had been there.. All swish and swanky.. especially in coomparison to the International Arrivals...


Bangalore, sweet Bangalore.. For some reason, Bangalore feels like home, even though we've lived in London, longer than we did in Bangalore.. Is it because we started off our married life here? Not sure, but I just love Bangalore.. We stayed at my Aunt's place, met a bunch of friends, including a newborn daughter of a dear friend and had a wonderful time.. The snap below is of the new road from the Bangalore International Airport - looked wonderful, until we reached the city :) And a pic from some tree-lined streets in Bangalore.. We always used to find the amount of colour on the streets amazing... There are always pink, orange, and red flowers blooming on the streets of Bangalore....



Final Stop - Wayanad.. My parent's place... A place where I can relax, hand over my daughter to her grandparents and be sure that I don't need to spare a thought for her:) My husband had just a week there - he still has a job :) So we did some marathon sightseeing, before he left..
The pictures are from a few places we went to in Wayanad.. I have been going to Wayanad every year, since I was little and we had never really done any sightseeing.. in the same way, that after living in London for 4years, we never went to St Paul's Cathedral... Now that we moved out of London - I wish we had...




And then, before we knew it, it was time for my husband to return, so we went to Kozhikode to see him off. Going to Kozhikode meant that he had to go to the beach, so off we went. So here's some snaps on our journey down the ghats and daddy and daughter enjoying on the beach.





After Husband dear left, it was more of a stay at home and relax kind of vacation, with the only place we went to being the Mookambika Temple in Karnataka for my daughter's vidyarambham (initiation of education). It was a 10 hour car drive, through some beautiful places, through Kannur, Mangalore and Udupi.. Very picturesque. I didnot click too many though, the 10 hour drive was enough to drain all my enery. The last snap is a pond at a temple, we visited on our way back.. There was something very amazing about it.. I could not capture the true beauty of it...


After all that fun, it still felt that the vacations were too short.. Guess it will always feel that way :) Now we're waiting for the Easter long weekend - when we are off to Wales!

31 comments:

kanagu said...

you have travelled a lot Smitha.. in 7 weeks.. phew...
I can never imagine this kind of hectic schedule..
and you are right.. if we stay in a place, we will never know the importance of some buidings there..
There are some places in Chennai.. I am yet to watch...
the photos are really nice :)
I loved the photos which were taken in the evenings and the temple photos.. :)

OG said...

yeah Smitha, you certainly seem to travelled a lot.... :)

you know what Smitha, I hate Powai lake.... :)
it is because, when I am in mumbai, I have to see it "everyday" and the traffic is bad during the week days..... :) especially in front of IIT powai..... :)

Harda looks beautiful and so does the village..... :)

but the best is undoubtedly Wayan ad and Kozhikode.... :) I have fond memories of Kozhikode..... :)

Pixie said...

nice... :)
your parents live in Waynad? lucky you!
I still think that it's one of the most beautiful places ever!
And of course, no arguments about Bangalore either! :P

The Bhopal pics are also lovely...

vimmuuu said...

The travelogue is finally up !

Nice pics, especially that of the khet and the wayanad ones.

Solilo said...

Smi, You managed to visit so many places. All beautiful with beautiful pictures.

How did Poohi take to the trip? Looks like she had lots of fun at the beach.

Indyeah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Indyeah said...

Whoa!!You sure travelled didnt you?:))
so much:)must have been tiring like you said :)and yet amazing!

loved the travelogue:)

you sure do take awesome pics!Loved the green collage the most:))

Beautiful pics so I can imagine the memories that have already become a part of you by now:)))

(((Hugs))):))

SD said...

Wow! Looks like you had a grand time Smitha! And so many cities. Hey you know, the office where I worked was very close to Powai lake!!

Vinod_Sharma said...

Great snaps Smitha...you sure seem to have taken in many shades of the old and new India and the thread that links them.

Saritha said...

Lovely snaps smitha.Great u visited so many places.When i go for vacation i hardly get time to go out of hyderabad.
Ur kid might had a good time.
Lovely snaps,i liked the pond snap and i am not able to view few snaps.Will come back again to see.
cheers.

Smitha said...

@Kanagu, Yes, I travelled a lot. It was a lot of fun especially getting to see so many diverse places and cultures..
Yes, we always end up not seeing things in our own part of the world, don't we? Most of the snaps were taken by my husband - he is really good with the camera.

@Ajit, yes I did - travel a lot :)
You hate Powai lake! Traffic - oh oh.. Luckily we went on a Sunday so the roads were practically deserted! My husband is an IIT alumini, so he wanted to 'relive' his college days:) Unfortunately, there was some event going on, so we could not really see much of the campus - so we went to the lake instead..

Kozhikode - ahave you lived there as well? It was always transit point for us, we had to travel through Kozhikode, back and fro from Wayanad..So my memories have more to do with Yummy ney-roasts or Chicken Biryanis :)

Smitha said...

@Pixie, Yes, Wayanad is quite pretty and the best part is that its just a 6 hour drive from Bangalore!
You agree about Bangalore? A lot of people just complain about it - but for me somehow - I love the place..

@Vimmuu - Thank you!

@Solilo, Yes, we did travel loads.. We were all exhausted at the end of it.. Luckily Poohi and I had time to relax and refresh, my husband had to get back to work..
Poohi had a wonderful time! She is totally a people's person! She loves meeting new people and had the most lovely time, with everybody doting over her, and loads of cousins to play with! She just had a tough time with food - but that never bothered her - just her mother :)

@Indyeah, Yes, we did travel! Was tiring - but totally worth it.. It was lucky that we had 7 weeks - would have been difficult to do in 3 weeks.. you know! Hugs to you too. You know, you should do a travelogue - am sure you will be fantastic at it!

Smitha said...

@Goofy Mumma, Yes, did have a grand time! You have a Powai connection too? Ajit was mentioning the same thing :) It was 'down the memory lane' time for husband - trying to relive his college days :) I do find it amazing that there is so much greenery, even in a city like Mumbai!

@Vinod, Yes, it was a very diverse vacation. It is especially amazing to see how different lives in the same country can be, you know! But again, that is the beauty of India, don't you think?

@Varunavi, It is not so hectic everytime! Normally we do a quicker, Mumbai -> Bhopal -> Bangalore -> Wayanad trip. This time was slightly more elaborate :) And I guess you are lucky enough to have everybody in Hyderabad :)

hitch writer said...

Waaah... from west to central to west to south... a lot travelling...

gee u came to maro Madhya Pradesh too !!!

gee.... thats a lovely post...

that khet is simply the best !!

I hope to have a khet soon some day and retire doing kheti !

Smitha said...

@Dhiren! I thought you were busy :) Yes, the Khet was definitely very nice... We hardly have any more Khets in Wayanad because paddy farming has become very non-lucrative.. So are you planning to do Kheti? My dad has started looking after our coffee plantation after his retirement and he loves it - keeps him busy and fit :)

manju said...

Great pictures, Smitha! Mumbai looks more attractive in your photos than it usually is!:)

OG said...

LOL Smitha,

I have neverlived in Kozhikode but I have been there so many times because of friends and relatives.... :)
yes, I love the Chicken biriyanis and the shawarmas from there.... :)

Sandhya said...

Nice photographs. Kerala is always beautiful, greeny. You must have been doing the talking most, I am sure! My niece does that! She is in the UK for the past 20 years and when she comes here, she doesn't like to sleep, but talk talk, talk. She misses this talking, even now!

Good travelogue!

Smitha said...

@Manju, Yes,most of the places look better in snaps:) But when we were there - it seemed extremely quiet - probably coz it was a Sunday morning :)


@Ajit, I have never had shawarmas.. Have to try it out.. But Biryanis - yum!

@Sandhya, Thank you! Yes talking - I certainly miss that! My daughter is the same.. she talks non-stop and loved it there - she had such a captive audience :)

Winnie the poohi said...

Such beaaauuuttiiiful pictures!!

loved them!!

Smitha said...

@Winnie the Pooh - Thank you!

Hip Grandma said...

You have jamshedpur connections?Wonderful.When were you here?And why do I get to know it sooo late??

Smitha said...

@Hip Hop Grandmom, I do have a Jamshedpur connection. I grew up there - in Telco. Was last there in August 2006, just before my parents shifted out.. Still my favourite place in the world.. Feels so bad that I will never probably be going there:(
Apologies for not letting you know:)

Renu said...

loved this post, Bhopal...the best place for north India vegetarian food, we still miss it:)
In a hurry will write in detail later on:)

Smitha said...

@Renu, Welcome here! Looking forward to your comments :)

Anonymous said...

OG -- how can you hate powai lake ?
when you live in mumbai - you drink the water at powai.

when i lived in powai for some time i never got tired of the lake -- inside the campus there is a guest house ( i think it is still there -- one can go and sit down there and enjoy the quietness -- and there is no sound of the traffic outside at all !!

i have to agree with manju ... mumbai looks much better in pictures !!! than it really is ---

kochuthresiamma p .j said...

wow! thAe's quite a vacation.

used to live in bangalore suburbs some 30 odd years back-went to b'lore recently. it bore no resemblance to the B'lore i knew then. what a change, and a sad change.
am surprised u didnt feel the change!

Just Like That said...

Was the temple pond at Peralassery, by any chance? Its lovely, isn't it?
And Whew+Wow! That was some traveling, wasn't it?

Smitha said...

Yes, JLT, it was ! Fancy you recognizing it :) And it was gorgeous.. I'm afraid the pic does not capture the entire beauty :)

Yes, it was quite a trip - I did get to relax in the last 2-3 weeks..

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