Sagameshwar, Tulapur Pune

Friday evenings are probably the best evenings in the life of working professionals. Every one starts planning their week end to break free from the monotony of the office work. I also fall in this category but with a difference. My usual planning of weekends includes the quest for a new place; to get up early morning and have a nice photo shoot.

This time after much of rumbling and toiling the internet, I zeroed on to Tulapur. Not very far from Pune, it is a small hamlet associated with the last moments of Chhatrapati  Sambhaji Maharaj, son of the great Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj. He was captured and executed here by Auragazeb and his body parts hacked and thrown in the river.

The people of the village despite the treating of Auragazeb retrieved the pieces of his body, and sewed them together thus getting the name of Shewle (literally meaning those who stitched in Marathi).

Tulapur is located at the confluence of Bhima River and the Indrayani River and was originally known as 'Nagargaon'. The Sanagameshwar temple dedicated to Shiva is located at this very place in addition to the Samadhi of great King.

Getting there is very easy. Start on the Pune - Ahmednagar road and travel till you cross Wagholi and Lonikand. Once you cross the village, to your left you would see a sign board mentioning about this place. Travel straight for next 7 km and before the village of Tulapur starts a small road leads to this place.

 

 

This place has been recently renovated and is well maintained. Morning breeze by the river side and watching the sun coming up in the horizon makes its a good place to see.

 

 

Once you enter the place there is a very garden and statue of Sambhaji Maharaj. Since we were there in the early morning the flowers in the garden were fresh and they looked beautiful

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the other end of the garden is the Samadhi place where Sambhaji was executed.

 

 

 

Temple at the banks of the confluence of Bhima and Indrayani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a whole a short trip but a fulfilling one, a place which reminds us of our glorious and rich history.

 

 

Ramdara : Loni Kalbhor, Near Pune

With rain Gods parting away for this year, my focus on visiting places also now is shifting away from passes and lakes to picturesque landscapes. With lazy Saturday kicking in, I decided to get up early and reach Ramdara for an early morning photo shoot. 

It is a perfect place for those who does not want to drive long and wish to be in a place which is calm and serene. In fact if you have a 3-4 hours to spare any time during the day, you can make this trip and come back.

This place is located off the Pune-Sholapur highway in Loni Kalbhor. To reach Ramdara, take the Sholapur highway from Hadapsar and cross Manjiri to reach Loni Kalbhor. You will have the Bharat and HP Petrolium on your right as soon as you enter Loni.

Once you cross these depots you will come accross a small bridge. Immmediately to you left after crossing this, you have a road which leads inside the village market. Follow this road and come out on the other side of the village. The road leads only to Ramdara through the fields and a railway line passing beneath.

Temple is built on a pond site and this adds another dimension to the surrounding nature. 

Ramdara is primarily a Shiva temple but is widely know for Ram, Lakshman and Sita. It is also the samadhi place and ashram of  Shri Devpuri Maharaj commonly known as Dhundi baba. There are other deities present in the temple complex with a special mention to marble statue of Nandi which is very pristine in built. 

This place had very large number of over grown trees and they provide a very good green cover all over the place. Over all, a good place to start my day with a dose of spirituality!

Durga Puja: Celebrate victory of Good over Evil

Being a Bengali Durga Puja has always been a special occasion in my life. I still remember my childhood days where in preparations used to start one month earlier and how we used to go on a shopping spree and would demand the latest in fashion at that time.

Come Puja and our day would typically start with fasting followed by Anjali (prayers) in the morning. It used to be a gala event in the evening with all sort of cultural programmes conducted. It used to be puja pandal hopping for one to two days to see the pratima of all the Benagli eccentric venues.

Fast forward, I am in Pune due to my current work engagements for the last 8 years. Every time during Durga Puja I used to really miss the fun fare we used to have during childhood days. This time with wife stressing to explore more from our usual 2-3 venues, I dig the internet. 

To my surprise, an article in a leading English daily, I learn that there are more than 10 lakh Benaglies living in Pune and there are around 12-15 venues where you can get the mini Bengal feeling during Puja. A little more googling and I decide on the venues.

With the start of Puja our Pandal hopping too starts. It started off with Viman Nagar. The pratima there had a theme of Rannachadika.

One at Nagar Road opposite to Four Points by Sheraton:

This one is of Koregaon Park. As usual their Pratima it always a treat for eyes. The distinct feature of this year's Puja was the thermocol  decoration.

Pandal at Congress Bhawan was also on similar lines to that of Koregaon Park

No Puja celebration is complete without Dhaak (a traditional drum from Bengal) and I bet the drum beats would definitely provoke your feet for a dance.

Pandal at Dhanori, Kamala lawns

Pratima in Kalyani Nagar, Opposite Bishop's School.

Pandal at Khadki Kali Badi. This was their Platinum Jubilee year and the pandal decoration and partima was really very good.

Every Bengali is a foodie at heart and I am no exception to that. An integral part of the Puja pandal is the several eating out options doling out right from Chinese to Bengali, Punjabi food. Forget about calories, go get your heart out on those tasty rosogullas, mishti doi and sandesh.

Durga Puja is that time of the year where you go out,enjoy and of course the most important aspect: seek blessings of Maa Durga. Celebrate the feminine powers victory of good over Evil . Bolo Bolo Durga Mai ki Jai .....

Maharashtra's very own : Valley of Flowers, Kaas

One of my personal favorite places for must visit during September - October is the very own Maharashtra's Valley of flowers: Kaas. I have been visiting this for the past 3 years in a row and I must admit, when this place is in full bloom pretty sure you will fall in love with this place. The very sight of the flowers will make you dumb struck with the wonders of nature.

The fact that makes this place as special is the that flowers bloom naturally here and no one cultivates them. They grow of their own and post monsoon for 2-3 weeks only. No wonder why so many nature loving people flock in numbers to see this wonder.

Located in Western Ghats  25 km up hill from Satara City this place is connected by roads and they are in decent condition. To reach from Pune you need to take the Bangalore highway and proceed towards Satara. Once you cross Satara city, cross it diagonally to reach the tunnel. The road through the tunnel will take you to Thosegar - Sajjangad. If you take the road to right climb uphill for next 25 km approx to reach Kaas.

The drive from Satara city til Kaas is very less on traffic but the surrounding beauty is just unparalleled. Best time to visit Kaas is soon after the monsoon in mid September when rain gods take a break and Sun is out shining brightly.

As mentioned earlier, these flowers come up of their own so you would not expect them to be similar to Roses or Tulips. In fact they belong to an altogether a different genre. They grow as small shrubs but the what makes the place special is that the entire plateau gets covered with flowers and where ever you can see it is filled with flowers. It seems a as if nature has laid down a carpet of flowers.

The entire Kaas plateau is declared as an Eco sensitive zone. You will not be allowed to park your car in the plateau but once you cross it, after a small down hill descend, you have ample parking space. You need to walk back to the plateau which itself is very fun filled as you get to see the entire plateau while walking back.

There is a nominal parking and entry fee to this place. A humble request for those who visit this place: please do not litter and throw away paper or any plastic bags/bottles in the valley. It is such a wonderful place that you least expect it to turn into a garbage bin. Also when flowers in bloom do not walk over them and destroy! Just enjoy the pristine nature and come back with lots of wonderful memories.