OK I have to admit it. Life offers you something wonderful only when you least expect it. I made friends with these amazing bunch of people when I thought I was over the age of making friends with anyone any more. And these crazy bunch of people took me to one of the most amazing travel experience of my life.After all the funny chaos, and agreements and arguments, We, by which I mean a group of friends decided to have a vacation to a friend's native place. A little village named 'Muktainagar' in the district of Jalgaon, a few kilometers away from the Bhusaval junction. I am specifying the area because its important to the readers to know that it was no where a near-by destination.
Excited : We always are. Prepared : We can never be.
After an amazing journey by the Maharashtra express, amidst all the noises of the general sleeper coach, the shared food, the chaiwalas and all the cold of the month of Jan, We reached the Bhusaval station. And following the quick brunch of steaming hot kachoris and a cup of coffee, we took a cab to Muktainagar. Within half an hour or so, we were received by smiling faces. One- of course of our friend and the other of his Mom. You can see the warmth in the eyes : true.
We washed away our laziness with good,lavish baths and headed of to the kitchen to help Kaku- My friend's Mom. She was delighted but didn't let us do anything at all. And this routine followed for the next five days that we spent at her place.She delightedly showed us all the photographs, told stories of her life and became an instant friend of us. Kaka- My friend's Dad, a retired army man and a farmer by choice, is a big enthusiast. Right from making sure we ate lots of ghee on lunch to roasting crisp Papads for us day n night,from arranging taxi for visiting places nearby to letting us have the coziest bedding, from taking us to his beautiful farm to getting the fresh bakery variety for the tea, he never made us miss our Dad. But his love did :)
I can write an individual note on the food that was served. The northern- Maharashtrian cuisine is versatile and is very unique. It suits best for the Indian taste palettes and trust me, if you like spicy food, you are at a right place. We had the most amazing dal preparation with Indian Wheat bread known as varan poli with the key garnishing of Home-made Ghee. A blend of traditional Indian spices saute with a fried snack popularly known as shev bhaji.The super creamy and healthy preparation of Egg-plant :our good old baingan topped with garlic and lots of green chillies served hot with Puris.Uncountable salad items fresh from farm. Lots of milk and milk products from the in-house dairy and what not. The most amazing part of the cuisine is the simplicity in preparation despite being complimentary to the weather around. May it be the road-side Chinese food served in Plastic bowls or the super healthy and relishing Sheera with lots of nuts-Food is a culture and I loved to have a glimpse. To top it all, more importantly- the hospitality and the way everything was served was unbeatable. I am sure a 5-star treatment is no less. No wonder all of us did put on weight by the end of our stay.
Days weren't definitely sufficient. Muktainagar is blessed with the existence of ancient Muktai temple- A saint and Sister of the Saint Dyaneshwar. The beautiful temple with lots of Varkaris gathered for the Utsav, the bliss and sanity of the surrounding, the calm and intimidating Tapi river,the fun-filled boating, the evening badminton games, ice-creams in the chilling weather, the smiling and helping people all around : What all could we possibly see and visit? We spent an amazing day at Shegaon- A place dedicated to the great Saint Gajanan Maharaj. What astonished us was the cleanliness, the orderliness and the perfection in management without letting the holy atmosphere getting disturbed! After a soothing darshan, we headed of to the Anand sagar garden. Spread over 100 acres, it was the most scenic garden I've ever been to. The lake, the flowers, the trees, the adventure sports, the toy train : It was one hell of entertainment. And with friends around, it couldn't get any better :) Lucky like a duck, The cab driver- Mama as we fondly called him and his little son were extremely cordial and fun-loving , just like all of us. Right from enjoying the Road side Paav bhaji to dancing to the tunes of fevicol, they added to the enjoyment.The beloved Cow whom we named 'Mukta', getting to meet my friend's extended family- all loving and affectionate, his old grand mom made us feel at home.Visit to another friend's place and getting to meet his family and cutest little baby niece was definitely the cherry on the cake :-*.
I've always wondered how people from different parts of the world come together, share a life, share a moment of happiness and contentment. This was one of the most amazing learning experiences of my life.How do we get the chance to receive the love and affection from someone whom we've just met! How can people be so secular to have their Son's friends (female friends to be specific) be at their place for a week when I've seen the so-called urbanized people having negative remarks about this openness! I guess I've to repeat what I always say : friends too are made in heaven.When Chaitanya : who's place and home I am writing about pledged to be a brother to me, I didn't realize, We had earned a family instead. I hope I be a family to someone : like his parents are to us :)
