On The Road... I Phone Tourism

The Muse commanded me to move on from China. Modern times, for a while, it said. Anyway, so here's a short bit on a day on the Indian roads, in the Western state of Maharashtra.

We spent 10 hours on the road two days ago. We left Bombay, or Mumbai as they call it now, at 6:30 in the morning, and headed North-North-East towards Nasik, and then beyond. Getting out of Bombay was fun.

They say that you can see the Great Wall of China from the Moon. Well now, you can see the potholes of Bombay as well.

Movie goers chant: "It's a bird, it's a man, it's Superman...."

The Old Man on the Moon said. "It's a crater" Then he paused, and chanted: "It's a pot, it's a hole, it's a Bombay pothole!!". He felt at home in Bombay...

 

After we left Bombay, the roads steadily improved, but not completely. The journey was uneventful, except for the steady drumbeat of snores. To drown this out, I took out my IPod, and switched on to a brilliant song called "Stargazer", by the rock group Rainbow.

Then, we slowly climbes up the Western Ghats towards Igatpuri. Oh, blessed mist. It set of waves of nostalgia within me. Nainital, where I did my schooling was a misty paradise during the monsoon period. Of course, Igatpuri is a lowland, only about 700 or 800 metres above sea level, whereas Nainital is in the foothills of the Himalayan range, and is 2,000 metres above sea level. But, I love Nainital. I think that I should take my kids there one winter.

We stopped over at a place called the Manas Resort, and I had buttered toast, which I gleefully dipped into masala chai, or masala tea. There is something amazingly earthy about buttered toast dipped into masala chai. It is, at once, very basic, yet something that a true gourmand really appreciates. Away with you, ye celebrity chefs. Thou hast forgotten the simple pleasures of our rural roots.

Sit in a misty place, feel the freshness, touch the moss, and dip buttered toast in masala chai. You, mein celebrity chef, will get a small taste of heaven in a tea cup.

Passing on from Igatpuri, we passed Nasik, and arrived at this factory in rural India. Work done, we decided to move back, in a south westerly direction towards Pune.  Modern windmills were put up in the country side, and I thought. "Hmm, India is on the move". But then, we passed this village, one of the many thousands that dot India, and I though. "Hmm, and parts of India are not on the move".

Shirdi, which we passed through, presented us with an oppportunity, to stop by at the sage's temple, and to absolve our souls of all our sins. The brokers on the roadside promised us instant nirvana. I am sure that the sage - Sai Baba of Shirdi - would not have approved of the commercial loot that is going on in his name these days.  He was a true saint. Yet, we want commerce.

Money is our true God these days.

Good for me, that I have no soul...

And then, the sun broke out! The rest of the trip was uneventful. Yet, the sun light, after the rain, seems fresh, as if it has had a bath. if the Heavens above can so throroughly clean the atmosphere of all the smog that we throw at it, maybe we should pause and think: if Nature can do this so well, then maybe we should help Nature by not mucking up the Celestial Creation we call our home - Earth.

Entering Pune was a pain. Traffic jams clogged the highway. People were leaving the city, people were entering the city. The festivals of Id and Ganpati, following each other in quick succession threw up waves of humanity going home, or leaving for pilgrimages.

The smog was back, and Mother Nature cried. Pollution in the name of God seemed a good way to start the festive season.

I was lucky, however. I got a picture of a freshly bathed Mother Nature.

Comments

[shilpa]

Love this piece Rajiv! Encore! and please continue to write on India! :)
Shilpa

[vidur vohra]

Great pictures and a good read.

[echo]

Doesn't India look at China? All of them, except the last one with great sunlight and column clouds