Pune Round Two September 2, 2010
Posted by admin in : India , 1 comment so farAfter an epic time in Omkareshwar we set off back to the bus station, in conditions that were much quieter than when we arrived. The journey back on the bus to Indore was a little squished this didn’t phase us now and we managed to get off the bus before the final stop, on a busy roundabout, as we knew where we were going, which made our lives easier- all the benefits of knowing what is going on! We caught the train easily and experienced perhaps the most restful journey into Pune where we also felt like we were now in familiar territory. Unfortunately we were due to be picked up from the station and go back to Umesh’s but we had to do this alone. This is fine as we now have experience at shouting at people at 8am, but it is something you’d rather not do. After Umesh giving direction’s to a rickshaw “wallah” (or ‘man) he decides we are too much hassle so tells someone else to go. 6 rickshaw drivers circle around shouting prices and our assumed final destination at the same time to give an Dolby surround effect reminiscent of a car crash you do not need at 8am. I have a cigarette, but Laura shouts louder and ultimately informs them we are not usual tourists and that we are not getting ripped off. After 25 minutes arguing we leave to Kotrud out of town to Umesh’s.
It is mad to be back in a place that we were at 3 months ago. My beard having taken hold and definitely looking a little more ‘rough around the edges’ let’s say. It is great to be in an apartment with AC possibilities and where the cook ensures they provide ‘luxury’ food, like eggs and meat that you can actually trust. It is great to see Umesh and Yash again, although something is amiss. The day we arrive Yash has started feeling really ill, cannot focus or stand up straight. Through a series of situational twists and turns reminiscent of Neighbours where we almost went to Goa, had no one coming to the farm with us, to everyone coming to the farm with us, including Umesh’s daughter who was studying in Mumbai until the next day, we headed to the farm in convoy. Being driven out of the modern city of Pune out into the country we drove through dusty towns that you’d really not like to live in and past vast tent complex’s that people have erected I assume to live in temporarily whilst building the fly over that is being built, that look like asylum camps we finally see how much greener the area is after the main monsoon rains. The rolling hills suddenly start to look like England with beech tree forests and luscious grass.
The farm is even better, with a massive lake that has been filled with the monsoonal rains, surrounded by hills on all sides except the road side that was surprisingly loud and slightly damaged the tranquillity of the area. That night was spent working out family drama and was draining- certainly not what we had expected, but then from the last experience we had grasped that things tend to not happen as they are intended in the Athlekar house!
The next day we hear about a winery up the road, called Chateaux Indage, which does food and are delighted when we are asked if we would like to go, as we had been looking at going wine tasting in Nasik if we hadn’t gone to Omkareshwar. Again going with the flow of things tends to deliver all you want in life, although we are sceptical whether we will make it or if plans change again. They don’t however and we make it up the road to taste 12 wines of white and red varieties, while eating chicken kofta- a real treat. The Indian wines are far more acidic than other wines and are expensive to buy, so ultimately not anywhere near the best wine growing area, as you need to pay around 10 pounds for a good bottle of merlot to get anything of real quality. Either way it was an ace trip out before the family left us on the side of the road and headed back to Pune without us.
The farm was much busier than the other we visited, but we were told to just relax and enjoy for 10 days, which was ace as we were being housed and fed for free and all we had to do was swim in the natural lake, walk around and chill. How we landed on our feet and really appreciated that! What was better was that the monsoon line had now advanced north and so the rains in Pune had now subsided and we were just left with good weather that was not too hot or cold, but still sunny. We were also in the company of the same guy who we met and stayed with for 8 days on the last farm, with his mother who did the cooking at Umesh’s house last time. She loved Laura and despite the language barrier treated her like a daughter for the whole time we were there and Sachin, who had his quirky, childish difficulties was at least predictable now. This place is also a lot more comfortable than the last and ultimately luxurious. We had a bed and a fridge, with electricity most of the time. The place was a new build that was being turned into part of a meditation resort, which has fantastic potential to be something really special. However when Umesh was revealing his plans we suspected that he was going to damage the balance between a natural landscape that benefited the meditation centre’s aims, with also trying to build a place for local kids to come and enjoy. These two markets are in conflict and would not work together well, so when we were told about water slides leading to the lake and a fully landscaped and walled in complex we were disappointed while glad to be there when this had not taken hold. Umesh did tell me that there was land to be bought there and that he had looked into it for me (due to a previous conversation of me buying land in India) and the price was Rs12 lakhs for 1.5 acres (1.2 million rupees or 17 thousand) is good, but not what we would want if we had to look at a fully developed, squeeky clean hotel complex with a wall/ barbed wire surrounding.
For our purpose of staying in a place with a bit of comfort though it was perfect. Days ended up rolling together, each morning carrying a matress down to the side of the lake and planting it on a tiled area that in future is meant to be a tent pitch. Armed with my Yoga books I had swapped in Varanasi, the ipod now with charging capability and a warm lake to swim in we developed a great holidayesque routine reminiscent of Goa, when we started the trip. My yoga practice that I was so determined to continue after the lessons we had in Varanasi but failed to do so was now adopted with a renewed vigour and my stretching 6- 8 times a day eventually led me to be able to pull off some of the “advanced” postures, which was satisfying as India was certainly the place to learn yoga! Laura didn’t fair as well, but was enjoying the peace without feeling like you are about to snap- fair enough.
The whole time turned out perfect, as it meant that we had started with a holiday ended with a holiday, with an exploratory holiday in between! Each morning we would watch the fisherman walk down to the lake with his rubber ring and “set sail” with his bag of fishing net on his lap, sat legs akimbo on his rubber ring and paddle off using his flip flops, dropping his net strategically across different parts of the lake. There were big fish in there, so one day we decided to go fishing. The rods were unsurprisingly bamboo with a fixed line and yes we used uncooked chapati as bait. There are many tribal people who come down to the lake to go fishing. The fisherman stocked the lake himself, but as these tribes people have no house nor job come down to steal or collect food from the land as much as possible. Most people actually just use a crab line and chuck it as far in as possible, so we were quite sophisticated with our float etc. Either way we caught nothing as the line was too short to reach the depths and the hook too big to catch any of the little fish that were nibbling on the bait. It’s the taking part that counts though right?
The only real issues we really had was with the farm hands and the food, which we feel about as we were being given this, and as we should do, feel bad to raise this as a problem. As in the first farm the food was very rural Indian in nature. It consisted what Laura and I ultimately named “Pannee Masala”, which means spiced water. The eating method is the same, vegetables cooked with Tumeric, chilli power onion and perhaps garlic, this is eaten with chapati, then comes the block of rice, which is the main event and this is eaten with a watery dal or another sparse vegetable combo. To be fair it was more variant than the last farm as the vegetables that were used were more plentiful and so had a greater range than just Okra and green beans, but there is only so much rice, spice and veg you can eat in a row when you are eating three meals a day, especially for Laura whose stomach was playing up. In fact for the first few days we ensured she ate a plain noodle dish to try and shift whatever was still giving her grief. Again this sounds ungrateful, but it is not, it is just difficult to eat so many times in a row when you are used to a wealth of different foods including meat. It was great to see how rural Indians ate and talk to the guys about how much English food cost vs India and how much meat we ate. We are sure that these guys could never face and English diet, while we were managing. We will always have a firm in print of what “real Indian food” is all about though and you will not find it in a UK takeaway!
The only other small problem was that we were supposed to be guests on the farm, according to the owner, Umesh’s wishes, but as soon as he left the guys would change from really helpful to lazy. It is interesting to see how much time and lethargically they would work and the little attention that was paid to the details of a job. For example they entirely covered the wooden dividers and dado rail with newspaper immaculately and neatly with tape, but so little attention to the painting that it ran down the grooves onto the wood anyway and then failed to sandpaper it off later, so that ultimately the wood was covered in paint anyway! They would also expect us to come and get food and chai at designated times that suited them instead of offering us what we needed as would happen when Umesh was around. I would also get told how to eat and have pretty much non-stop “No!” and “Baad” (Marati for ‘bad’ literally), which gets annoying when you actually don’t want to be told to eat a second block of rice when you are incredibly full. Either way these were minor points compared to the benefit of the beautify scenery and the value that we were being given without giving anything in return.
This whole relaxing, swimming, reading and taking in the country routine was only broken up by a walk around the hills and scoping out the view over the green valleys below, watching the water buffalo chill out in ‘our’ lake on the other bank listening to the farmer shouting medieval sounding “Huuuuut hiyaaaa!” like sounds to jee them up and scouting out wild peacocks that are native to the area, but too shy for us to see. Peacocks do sound like crying cats though- I didn’t know that! We were also invited to the local village temple again for “puja” (meaning ‘prayer’) and sat with the locals with kids literally open mouthed staring at us. We ate the free food that is given out at these events, comprising of a similar meal that we had been eating but as it is a special occasion they had jeera (cumin) rice and a dessert of sweetened coconut.
On one of the last days Umesh came to pay the farm a visit and said that he would be back tomorrow evening with some chicken to BBQ. Great! Some meat! So dutifully we built a brick bar-b-que in preparation, but were a little skeptical whether it would happen given that everything else we had been told had changed and not happened for a variety of reasons. We put faith that it would happen but prepared us for if it didn’t. When it didn’t happen however we were a little annoyed and disappointed, but kept telling ourselves that it didn’t matter and to go with the flow, exactly what you have to do when travelling and especially when you visit India. It was about being given expectations and then let down, not about what we were going to get out of it. Either way we were promised eggs the next day for omelette, which would just be there. We were not surprised when the farm hand looked at us blankly and made it hard for us to get the eggs through asking, but eventually these turned up and we made great omelettes using the BBQ we had built the day before.
So the next day we were due to leave and again another problem arose that meant our lift back to Pune couldn’t happen either. Now we needed to catch a rickshaw with all our bags and then a bus, we were put a little out of place with this, but were convinced to go to Umesh’s to see him for one last time as he was on his own. We arrived and he wasn’t alone, but again we are now used to what is claimed and the reality being completely different. Either way Umesh was a legend and treated us to a tandoori chicken meal in the form of making up for failing to turn up the other night and going with the flow panned out again, even though we were put out of joint more than we had wanted, but hey changing your personality takes time and we are both sticklers for people not delivering on their word. It was great to spend time with Umesh without the girls and we sat up until 2:30am drinking and chatting about Yoga, religion and everything in between. A pleasurable, comfortable final night before we left for the UK.
The next day came and went with Internet chores and soon we were on a rickshaw to Pune station and a general class seat to Mumbai. The usual questions came from a man sitting next to me, but this time could have some kind of half meaningful conversation in my “Engdi” and his “Hinglish” combined. I even found out how to get to the airport quicker and received more compliments on my Hindi skills- sweet!
In no time we were blasting up the Mumbai backbone road to the airport and sat on the plane. The last day and time always disappears and we realised that already we are 25% through our global adventure. Time… it always goes in a combination of seeming to go slowly when you are there and then quickly when there has been time already passed.
From the farm back to reality and onto Auragabad June 6, 2010
Posted by admin in : India , 1 comment so farFarm back to reality
Following a week at the Mango farm we need to get back to Pune to catch our train to Aurangabad which leaves early in the morning of 28th May. Umesh collects us midday and invites us to stay at his for the night. He is such a great host, we a balled over with his generosity. With the promise of chicken and beer, great company plus an A/C room it all seems too good to be true!
For dinner, Al and Umesh go ‘shopping’ for the chicken at a chicken farm nearby. They select the plump bird of their fancy and from what I heard killed and feathered it in a pretty inhumane way which consisted of chucking it into a machine that shook it around. I would just like to say at this point that I said before I leave that I would be veggie whilst in India. After a week of eating 2 meals a day (both consisted of Roti, rice and predominantly ocra) made by the local villager; so I was gagging for some protein. No more ocra…please! I think in any other situation I would have thought twice about aborting my vegetarianism. The other point on this is that everyone tends to be vegetarian and only eats meat at home, or where they are absolutely certain on the methods of how the meat is being cooked and where it came from. Also, if the host eats meat, so do I.
Al, being interested in collecting recipes, was in heaven as Umesh teaches him how to cook the dish. Also we discover that ‘masala’ actually just means spices. There was I thinking it was a particular type of dish…King prawn Masala for example.
Once the food was prepared, we tucked into several different appetizers and a few bottles London Pilsners. Umesh also got some chicken tandori take-away to have as a snack with the beer. It was so delicious- best tandori I think I have had, although I was starving so I think most things tasted particularly good!
After many hours of chatting, Umesh suggests eat. Hehe. I was ready for bed! I had forgotten that we hadn’t even had the main course yet. The chicken stock he had made was heavenly and the chicken killed for the occasion was certainly cooked to perfection. With time having been so warped, I glanced at my watch and noticed the date was wrong on it. When I commented on this, it transpired that Al and I were both a day out of keel and actually our train was not due to depart the following morning, it was due the day after that! Oops. Umesh was more than happy to put up with us for another day though (thank goodness), so this meant we had an unexpected day in Pune to do some touristy stuff. Fantastic!
As highly recommended for our unexpected extra day in Pune, we headed towards the Patalshvara Cave Temple with the intention of having an explore around this side of town. Possibly venturing into the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.. We hopped into an autorikshaw who took us at speed down the highway to J.M Road.
The Patalshvara Cave Temple is cut into the rock, it’s small and unfinished but dates back to the 8th century. Such an amazingly calm, tranquil and shady place. It was so nice to sit there and chill. A guy near us was reading the paper in the temple, which made me wonder why we don’t use our churches as a place to be calm in our lunch breaks back in the Uk?! I don’t think you have to be religious to realize the potential of such places. As long as respect is made to those who are around you.
Next door to the Patalshvara Cave Temple, was the more recent Jangali Maharaj Temple. This seems much busier with people dropping in for a quick payer as well as ladies sitting for hours chatting quietly. We hung out in the temples for a good hour and be time I left, back onto the very busy J.M road I felt peaceful and full of energy for the rest of our day.
One thing I have noticed about Pune is that it is a lot cleaner than Mumbai. The people seem more cosmopolitan too. J.M Road definitely reflected these thoughts. The street, although with the usual hectic vibe and zillions of rickshaws was broad with many up market shops and cafes. Al noticed a KFC joint that he could not resist trying out. For those who don’t know: Al loves fried chicken and has tried KFC in Poland, Bankok, Vietnam and other places around the world and has noticed their menu varies depending on where he is. Indian KFC has a ‘masala’ topping on it – very nice- tasted like spicey tomato flavour.
For the rest of the afternoon we wondered around and soaked up the people, place, shops, traffic, smells, sounds, tastes, etc. I tried my first fresh cocnut- which I have always wanted to do. Very tasty milk, but I much prefer the flesh to be hard. With the coconut being so fresh is was a bit of a slimy texture of which I wasn’t too keen.
We had intended on walking towards the museum, but discovered that Lonely Planet was out of date and it had moved a few months back. Nevertheless, we enjoyed walking all the way down J.M Road (very long). Near the end we came across what seemed to be the wedding district. Every shop was either silk, clothing or gold shops. I was pretty cool to see all the dowry gold on show.
That evening we hang out with Yash (Umesh’s daughter). We go and eat street food with her. Her favourite is pane puri, so of course that is on the menu. Along with a few other pulse dishes that are bloomin spicey (but tasty).
Finally, the 28th arrives and we jump into a rickshaw to get to Pune rail Station. My gut is not happy and I think that may 3 different pulse dishes from the street vendors was a little optimistic. Hey ho, it is bearable, just a bit grumbly.
Our train departs at 8:45 sharp and isn’t overly busy which is great. We opted for AC this time, as the journey will take 9 hours through the heat of the day. It is comfortable, if not a little cold. A very sick man (we think diabetic) was in one of our bunks, so we willingly use the top bunks instead. Also, there is a bunk on the other side of the aisle which has a window next to it. So we were more than happy. I spent the whole journey reading about Indian history and looking out the window. The view for much of the time was of the Deccan Plateau…VERY arid. I could see where water would normally gush was completely dried up. Bring on the monsoon- the villages need it badly.
Arriving at Aurangabad we are confronted with the most rickshaws I have seen so far! How on earth do the ALL make a living??- Al had pondered. We selected one who hadn’t bugged us and drove to our pre-booked hostel. Rs70 for a dorm room…can’t go wrong. Although, I don’t think I have ever stayed in such a scummy place before. I don’t think the floor has ever been cleaned in its whole existence! The toilets don’t flush and when I chucked a bucked of water down instead, I learn that the pipes have holes in them! Ergh. It is all good though, the girls dorm was completely empty- so just me in a big room to myself. Al’s dorm has one Chinese guy staying- and that is it! I guess most sensible travelers don’t come to Aurangabad when it is 42c. Or if they do, they get an AC room. The Chinese guy told Al that there are loads of mozzies, so we promptly get out mosquito nets up. Although my effort was a bit of a blond moment…I didn’t turn the fan off first and as I stood on the bed to hang it up the fan took a chunk of skin out of my finger, OUCH. Really clever Laura. It’s ok though- not much blood- just an achey bruised knuckle minus a bit of skin. Lucky really!
Sleeping in the hostel wasn’t too bad so we are going to base ourselves here for another night at least. Tonight we are meeting up with a business contact of Als, who is keen to tell us the best places to go. Of course in the next few days we will be visiting the Ajanta Caves- very excited about that. They are apparently very well preserved considering how old they are.
Today we are having our 1st Month travelling day. A day to recoupe, take stock, do laundery and have an explore around Aurangabad. First impressions though; Auragnabad is hot and dusty and the men seem a bit more sleezy here..
That’s all for now folks. Namaste.
Post written by Laura
khatpevadi Valley Mango Farm June 5, 2010
Posted by admin in : India , add a commentAt 5pm on the 18th May 2010 a yellow rickshaw approached us on the roadside and Umesh appeared with a smile and helped us jam our bags into the rickshaw. It seemed strange being picked up by someone you have met online, to a place you do not know. Yet having done exactly that in the US I am confident and excited to see what will unfold. A 20 minute ride through sticky, dusty Pune we reach Umesh’s house and meet the family. A suburban area of town in a clean, modern apartment block we are due to stay here for 1 night before heading off to the farm. It is bliss to be staying somewhere with AC for the first time since Mumbai and actually is a little cold (never satisfied!) Umesh’s daughter Yash and Anuradha are lovely and instantly start making plans for what we need to see/ do.
Tonight is swimming at the local outdoor pool, but we need a membership. No worries thouugh as Umesh knows the local politician who owns the pool. Despite being questioned as to why I am wearing ‘outside clothes’ (my swimming shorts) it is lovely to cool off and watch the Indian, not so good swimmers and do a few laps with bats circling over head. We are getting used to numerous eyes being fixed on us and as I am not self-conscious, don’t really care. It is great to meet Umesh and his family as it meets our aims of getting to know local people and see what people are doing first hand. These are great guys also and sitting down over a dry shrimp curry that Umesh shows me how to make we sit together eating on the floor, with a few large Kingfisher beers, discussing Indian politics, ‘backshish’ (blackmail and corruption) stories and commenting on Indian music videos. Family life in middle class India is good and with a family helper makes those chores that much easier.
The next day we set off to the farm. We were due to go to the meditation centre, but Umesh warns that it is far too hot and that lack of wind makes it intolerable. People are working for 4 hours a day in early morning and evening only there, so we head to the Mango farm where at least the burn is subsides with the breeze. This place really is in the middle of nowhere.
20 miles SE of Pune the local village has a population of around 70-100 people and 2 sparsely stocked shops. This is not a problem though as a villager visited twice a day with food, which meant we just needed any other items we could pick up. It soon became clear that this was Pepsi (Rs23), crisps (Rs10) and buscuits (Rs5). No beer or any alcohol, so Gold Flake cigarettes (Rs48) was my only vice. It turns out that most people in India chew tobacco as it is only Rs1 per packet, compared to 1 small cigerette (they are sold in small 6mm or large 8mm sizes), which costs Rs3. That said they do also smoke “beedies”, which consists of a small amount of tobacco wrapped in a leaf of some kind. They taste pretty good, but are apparrently twice as bad for your health than cigerettes and do not have a filter. The chewing tobacco is not like the US version, which is prime leaf tobacco however, but the offcuts of the plant, including stalk and other remnants, which is then flavoured by some kind of artificial flavouring. The great thing about the farm is that you can begin pondering this kind of pertinent issue!It is beautiful here though, even being in its arid state. Sitting on the verrander looking across the rows of Am (Mango) peards (trees), surrounded by hills and a temple being built in the mid distance. Surprisingly however it is not too peaceful. The 3 dogs that guard the farm bark at most things, as guard dogs would, but this means regular wake up calls throughout the night. There is also an air force base over the hills so the MIG fighter jets also cut through the stillness with their supersonic roars. At night, 10pm there is often the low thuds of that crazy dance music stuff… weddings in India are loud and the music from them can be heard from the town 2 miles away. We settle into the routine fairly quickly. Waking at around 6- 7am, watering the 10 Mango sapling trees by bucket (15mins work) and then waiting out the heat of the day until around 4-5pm when we water the Mango trees again. The rest of the time we spend reading, pondering, or if you are me making things. This is the first time I have produced an effective dustpan using ductape as the lip- it’s a keeper and even Sanchin (the current caretaker is impressed, which is good as mostly we receive ‘no’s to most actions and suggestions!) Communication here is interesting as it involves sign language with everyone mixed with the odd word of English, Hindi and Marati (the Maharashran language).
The only thing that was not met by any sort of “No” was cut down 11 trees that has died through fire. The task was to cut them down, chop them into 1/2 meter lengths and carry them back to the farmhouse. It was baking and sweat literally poured off leading to serious, pee burning dehydration. I was on a mission though and even when Laura couldn’t go on continued until everything had been cut down and into lengths. Apparently I am a ’strong boy’ as Sanchin commented watching me having finished watering the 10 trees an hour earlier (Indian work ethic even Umesh agrees with). The next day it was time to stack and carry back. Laura couldn’t face it so I conceive a plan of carrying back the wood using dried reeds, which was useful as we had run out of kindling for the fire. On the last bunch of reeds, yes I cut my finger halfway to the bone and blood is pumping out of my finger and coats my whole hand. I see the fat under the skin and know it is deep. Damn. Back at the farmhoue we then realise that despite carrying a ridiculously large amount of medical supplies that gauze is not one of them. So rigging a wound dressing out of plasters was interesting at best. Iodine still hurts, but certainly does the job.
As the days plod on our love of the farm wears into slight dispair. Being told no without a reason constantly and a lack of understanding of reason makes it diffcult to appreciate what is going on and this has a negative on your perceptions of general living. The food is fine. Fine in that it is food and it is a 2 course meal. However spiced Bindi/Baji/Vegetables (all the same thing it turns out) with chapati or Roti and then a gravy based dish with plain rice becomes wearing, especially when the same veg and main dish turns up every 2 meals. There are generally 4 options of a meal:
Chapati or Roti with Ocra or green beans
followed by
Watery Dal Fry or Aloo Gobi (a little potato and cauliflower with a thin sauce)and rice to soak up the thin sauce.
This is always washed down with the water from the well which is the only water supply here and actually very good.
Don’t get me wrong this is all “ok”, but that is all and having eaten some of the best food in the world I start to dream about ribs and all kinds of food I miss, followed by feeling very ungrateful, spoiled and ultimately realise that it can be a curse to know what is out there. When you do not have it you miss it, where everyone here is more than happy with this everyday. The monotony of this meal structure was broken thrice.
The first time was after a few days of being on the farm alone when Umesh turned up in the evening with chicken and rum… what a good man! We sit between the Mango trees and are served dinner by a rabble of different people. 6 hours later, 2 meals, 2 bottles of rum and an emotional chat about death in families, spirituality, Reiki and morality in life we retired to our usual sleeping position on the veranda to catch the evening breeze.
The second time when on a Sunday the lady brought a treat- eggs, which were then curried. Lovely…
The last time was when we were invited to the village gathering at the temple a day before departure. A time when everyone gets together once per month for people to make offerings to the gods and pray for what they want in life. This is followed by a similar meal structure, but with the rice being Pilau and the curry sauce having a greater variety of vegetables and more complex spicing. This really was heaven for Laura and I, who sat together in our ‘Ethnic’ (as the Indians call it themselves) clothing. This is VIP treatment as the ladies are not able to sit with the men and the elders eat first, which we are also not. This was a fantastic experience and honor to see the gods communicate with the village ’spiritualists’.
