In Amritsar I was hosted by Bharpur Singh and his extended family. Bharpur is Amritsar personified, beneath the colorful exterior lies a reverent and knowledgeable person. We discussed anything that was worth discussing all the way till the wee hours of the morning. Without his own admissions, he knows the history and geography of the region, culture and religion quite well. He is to be married soon and my best wishes for the future.
My hosts in Ludhiana are a very homely couple Dr. Alka and Rahul Kohli. They have the most adorable and friendly children Bawick and Arusha. Bhawick is a toddler whose best characteristic is to term the computer as tick tick! (an apt distinction for an overtly complicated machine) while Arusha is a smart and intelligent girl in the fourth grade. Alka and Rahul are accomplished doctors and without their own admission, know a lot of what is to be known about Ludhiana. Sometimes I think I should actually sleep outside their house in the cold to feel that I am on a journey, since I am actually very comfortable in their beautiful house as though my own. I had gone so far as dilly-daying the start of the day to get them late for office, but they were very nice to have driven me to my starting point before. Alka doubles up as an excellent homemaker and makes the most delicious Chinese food. My sincere thanks to all of them for allowing me to stay with them while in Ludhiana.
I was kindly hosted by the wonderful family of Harkirat Singh. His family includes his father, mother and younger brother Karanjot. If I can summarize my stay with them, then the only word that comes to my mind is comfortably at home. Of a particular mention is the homemade Makki ki roti, sarson ka saag along with gajar matar ki sabzee- which made my sleep that night! Mrs. and Mr. Singh made for most of the information I now know about Chandigarh. Certain specific trivia which only a botanist or a keep enthusiasts is expected to know has put me on the vegetative path and Mrs. Singh being an eminent professor of Botany at the Punjab University informed me of the secrets of Chandigarh’s vegetative splendor. Mr. Singh kindly pointed me to the direction of easily visiting the city’s visit able sights. Karanjot, pitched in by revealing the coffers of Punjab University STU-C (Students Center) which turned out to be quite a delightful find.
I am guest at the home of my gracious host Rahul Gupta and his delightful family. Rahul and his wife Arti made sure that I am more than comfortable at their abode. I know for a fact that they have gone out of the way to accomodate me for which I am most thankful.
I had an amazing time discussing stories of ancient temples, buried idols and Idol thieves from Rahuls father.
In addition most of my visit further in Jaipur and around will be based on information from him.
My sincerest regards and thanks to them all.
If all the warmth of Rajasthan be accumulated then it will be found at Indrashan - the home of Shri Chandrasekhar and Bhavana Singh. The family runs a paid home stay at Jodhpur but they kindly allowed me to stay as their guest. Bhavana Ji makes the most delicious meals at home. The breakfast are sumptuous, the lunch and dinner are for connoisseurs. Chandraji – was the best source of information and tips in and around Jodhpur. I made a number of friends while staying at their home. I am indebted to their hospitality. The true flavor of Rajasthan! Three gongs for the food.
I am a guest in Hardwar at the home of Mr. and Mrs. D.R. Kohli. The lady of the house is also a librarian at a nearby school and an epitome of a homemaker. Mr. Kohli is now retired from BHEL and can be best described as a storehouse of knowledge - roots of historical knowledge run deep, his passion for music and literature can only be admired if not envied, an avid linguist who can read and speak a plethora of languages including Bengali, Bhojpuri, Pahari, Awadhi dabs of Telugu and Tamil and did I forget to mention that he teaches French? He has been kind enough to show me the innards of Hardwar which are known to him like the back of his hand. Discussions with him ranged from spirituality to local dishes of Himachal Pradesh and in all my talks I have ended up learning more than I could imagine.
However, the key take away was the apple rabri Mrs. Kohli made for dinner today. I ate so much that even on writing about it I am still belching!
What can I say - the neighborhood, the household everything reminded me of home! Be it the naughty kids on the streets (we asked them the address they told us and suggestive said - thank you! we said welome :o) ) - Aunteejee's ensuring one never goes hungry and Uncle Ji's gentle demeanour - it was all a delight staying at the Singhs. Rupina, Silky ,Smally and Little make the family complete.
The three cousins and I went out for a day trip and ended up scaring the hell out of ourselves! I guess I have just made new friends in Udaipur.
:o)
Arpit and his family hosted me while my stay at Baroda. They guided me to the best places there are to see representative of Baroda. I am most thankful to them
Although Goa was transit to Mangalore, I was more than welcome by Ollie. We are virtual friends through a driving e group. He was kind enough to take some time out to spend with me despite hectic wedding plans. I was most delighted to make his company while in Goa for a couple of hours.
Venkatesh is now more of a friend than a host. He took time out to show me the insides of Manglorean life and society. The temples, bakeries eat out. I was most delighted to make his company while I put up in Mangalore.
Patanjali is an old friend from my engineering days. He works and stays in Bangalore with his family. It was nice to catch up to the times past since and he was nice to take some time off to take me around. We chilled out at his pad and recalled old times! It was great to catch up chum!
Mr. Vipul Shah belongs to a third generation of Gujarati family which settled in Kochi. He guided me across my journey through Kerala and introduced me to facets of Malayali life. I owe most of the information on the blog to his knowledge. My regards to him and his family.
PBS is an entrepreneur in Vizag and woks in the area of Organic Fertilizers. Although he had to come over to Delhi during my visit, he remotely helped me find my way around Vizag. It is utterly my loss not to be able to make his company due to mistiming. I do hope to meet him in future. He gave me the contact of Prof. Sudhakar Reddy who provided me some insights into the life of the people of the region.
A delightful house in the foothills of the snow capped Dhauladhars, the toasty warm winters of the mountains and a cat and dog to play with through the day - can it get any better. I chanced to visit some off places thanks to my hosts and see the place from a different point of view. I really dig rural areas of India and chanced to the mountains this time. My sincere regards to them for hostine me.
Anuj is Family. It was nice to catch up with them after so many years. The kids were a delight to play with and I was happy to be talk with the elders. My regards to them all.
As I had said before he teaches architecture at CEPT and is an avid traveler himself. Here is Sachin Soni and his famous Spider. Sachin is a wonderful storehouse of knowledge especially the philosophical aspects of history and culture. A perfect representation of Gujarat and its culture in both a retrospective and modern sense of life. He gave me tips to all the places I visited in addition to the history behind the place. My stay in Amdavad was a belly full and my introduction to the Gujarati night life was complete only due to him. Towards the culture, food and the fervor of CEPT in Amdavad I will dedicate an entire blog soon. I wish to thank Sachin for the wonderful discussion in CEPT that now I am bound to stay in touch.
Mayank my BIL took it onto himself to show me around Mumbai and then some more. We road tripped the konkan coast of Maharastra to discover some of its gems together. Had a great time with him. Make sure you keep the mangoes we bought aerated!