Orange City Diaries

Khindsi

2009-01-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

Please note: 1. The views presented in this post are of the author's and the author's alone.
2. Some of the images shown may seem disturbing to some people (especially the studious nerdy types). Viewers discretion is strongly advised.
3. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
4. The owner of this blog (that is the great-master-all-knowing-philosopher-mystic-and-you-know-who...) will not accept any lawsuit filed in any court over matter published in this post.

With most colleges around the city going into 'picnic mode', I thought a post about a picnic spot would just be perfect!

Khindsi Lake is around 40Km from the city (5Km from Ramtek), and can easily be reached by road. The scenic road journey is itself a sight to behold, especially if you have a cruiser bike. And yes, Khindsi is exactly like the Goldilocks of picnic spot - not too near, not too far...just right!! ( TTip - Goldilocks is not the girl in the yellow/pink dress who does not stumble upon 3 bears )

Only a single restaurant is available; however, it's spicy, tasty, and cheap :) Apart from that, your group gets to sit in a thatched-roof hut. The place boasts of good boating facilities with all types of boats available (pedaled, non-pedaled, motor, large, small, etc., etc., just to satisfy your curiosity). It has enough space allotted for volleyball, badminton, football, and of course Cricket. And, as i realize that my post is getting too theoretical, i would let pictures do the talking!

Khindsi in Pictures:

This view reminds you of the journey downwards :(

These huts give a unique feel to the place

'Bhel' the perfect food for times like these

People 'enjoying' a boat ride

Play of Light & Darkness

The L-O-N-G walk home

They have had a really good time!!!

That's All Folks!!

Our Forté

2008-11-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

Diwali season is finally over. It has been a time of festivities, sweets and fireworks. And Nagpur has its own special way of celebrating Diwali - 'Fort Making'!!

The tradition of Fort making during Diwali is as old as the city itself. It's a passion shared by kids and adults alike. They make all kinds of big and small forts in their courtyards. Something that strikes you about all forts is the attention to detail. No matter how tiny the fort is, you will always find a well laid-out entrance path, gates, walls, etc.

Some 'experts' ( TTip - People who always seem to have a lot of mud in their finger nails ) go on to make exact replicas of famous forts of yore. These forts are generally submitted as entries in various Fort Making competitions across the city. A fort made by my neighbour:

End Of A Fort

Forts built by kings were never supposed to fall...they withered only with time. However, forts made during Diwali die in a more spectacular way. They are Bombed (and blowup) by using bombs ( TTip - These are fireworks with extremely creative names ranging from 'atom bomb', 'laxmi bomb' to 'Mallika Sherawat', and so on...contact me for a complete list of names! )
This is the only officially supported way of unmaking a fort; other ways may to be too simple and thus may risk eroding Nagpuria sense.

Make Your Own Fort

Requirements:
1. Fine Soil
2. Mustard (sarso) seeds
3. Base Material - bricks, earthen pots, sand, stones, etc.
4. Decorating Material - oil paints, thermocol, lights, etc.
5. And ofcourse, some Intelligence!

Procedure:
- Think up a basic design of your fort
- Arrange the base accordingly
- Smear with mud
- Sprinkle mustard seeds wherever greenary is required (Don't forget to keep water the fort)
- Finally, go for decoration. Let your imagination run wild here!

Street-Food

2008-07-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

The ubiquitous nature of street-food vendors in the city does make one wonder about its unvarying and consistent nature of occurrence. However, there are subtle differences.
You will find particular type of dishes and stalls in specific areas of Nagpur. Street food in the city is quite common and varied. It blends well with the city's culture of diverse peoples under a thin membrane of uniformness.
One more characteristic of street-food is that the stalls, selling similar items, are always to be found in clusters; be it the Bhutta-wallah's(roasted-corn sellers) at VNIT main gate or the Pani-puri Wallah's of Bajaj Nagar.

Ice-Gola to beat the heat

Bajaj Nagar PaniPuri Stalls
Mornings at ShankarNagar Poha!

Get Ready

2008-06-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

A recent proposal by the Government of Maharashtra would make it compulsory for all hotels, hospitals, malls, multiplexes, etc. to display their names on sign boards in Marathi ( source: "Nagpur Times - June 16, 2008" ). If such a proposal does get through, we need to get ready to view some of our city's famously 'English' names in Marathi!

आइनॉक्स

इटर्निटी मॉल

क्रॉसवर्ड

बेल्लेज्ज़ा

दि टाईम्स ऑफ़ इंडिया

दि सेंटर पॉइंट हॉटेल

पिरैमिड

(Note: If fonts are not being rendered properly, you need to upgrade your settings - click here)

Monsoon is here!

2008-06-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

Arrival of Monsoon Clouds over the city!

First rain of the season!!

Gold Rush

2008-05-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

There will be a large conference at Nagpur on the 18th of this month. It will focus on MIHAN (Multimodal International Hub At Napur) and investment opportunities that accrue from it.
MIHAN is supposed to be that first experiment that will initiate the process of Nagpur's epic transformation. I hope this post serves as a catalyst!

Though you will get loads of official and government content on the internet, here is my first-hand account on the blazing speed of development. Hectic construction activity is on to get the infrastructure ready at MIHAN. Here are a few snapshots:

From Mihan

Construction work at MIHAN

I am primarily going to focus on the real estate investment opportunities – The Gold Rush (TTip - meaning).
Last five years have seen land prices skyrocketing in the city. Appreciation in the value of real estate, in and around MIHAN, has been mind-boggling.

Even then, most of the current rates of land/plots are very much affordable. This, coupled with an easy monthly EMI (Equated Monthly Installment) offered by many investment firms, forms a perfect long-term investment plan for middle/higher class families. Many people consider real-estate a safer and better bet than investing in gold or mutual funds.

Nagpur is currently a sweet spot for investors with places like Wardha Road and MIHAN being synonymous with Gold Mines. This Gold-Rush will surely continue for another 10 years, and I invite all ye Forty-niners to be a party to it!

Survival Toolkit

2008-04-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

I should have named this blog-post "Survival Guide", but then Toolkit is a more computer-friendly term and i am gonna discuss more about tools than techniques (for survival!)...

Weather

If Las Vegas ( TTip - A city in USA, universally known for its casinos and *** ) is famous for being a city in a desert, then Nagpur is a desert in the city. This is true especially in the long summer afternoons when the city wears a deserted look. Survival in such type of dry and simmering temperature (around 45 °C) requires special tools.
1. Scarf/Gamcha

A long, white (multi-colored, as shown in the image, are also available), cotton scarf or Gamcha (as it is called locally) serves as a shield to insulate your face from the heat. It is necessary if you are traveling outside. Ideally it should be worn so as to cover entire face and head area; but with the new law passed this summer, it is illegal to cover your face. Covering your ears properly will serve the purpose.

2. Water

You have probably heard this before ‘Water is Life’. Drink lots of water to beat the heat. Always keep a small bottle of water with you when you go out.

3. Onion

This humble little vegetable serves as an effective coolant for the human body. Include onion in your daily salad to avoid nose-bleeds due to the heat. Also keep a small onion with you always while going out. It is useful to stop a bleeding nose anywhere – just crush the onion with your hands, and hold it near your nose while breathing.

Gang-Wars

Nagpur has its fair share of petty gang-wars. All of these have a familiar setting – Two guys...one girl...evening time...some place (TTip - anyplace with ample space for parking many bikes)... final showdown... ”potto ko bulau kya?” ...guys call their respective mobile-phone-callable boys – ‘POTTE’ (TTip – these are groups of boys who are eternally free and specialized in the art of ‘instantly arriving at anyplace’ on the whim of a (missed) call) ...some more hectic phone calls...more Potte pour in...and some more...someone from this side recognizes someone from that...peace brokered...war ends...two new guys...same old girl...and the story continues...
A mobile phone is the most effective tool to survive such gang-wars.

Corrupt Police

Throughout the world, police are generally corrupt. However, there is a strong case of exception when it comes to Nagpur City Police because they are exceptionally corrupt (TTip – pun intended!!). This is especially true for the Traffic Police department, which comes up with various ingenious ways to rob citizens – from making helmets compulsory to the ban on covering faces with scarves.

Tools for survival are easy:

1. Wad of 10 rupee notes – when caught, just pretend that you have only 30-40 rupees. Police will accept it and let you go. In no case should they be allowed to see a hundred rupee note or more.

2. Medical Certificate – you get this by paying Rs.10/- at Government Medical College. Use this certificate whenever you are caught for covering your face.

3. Commonsense (TTip – this is not for people who refer to TTips) – Use your commonsense. This depends on the exact nature of your situation. I cannot help you with it!

TTip - Please click this link if you have not already done so!!

12 Months...

2008-04-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

They say that the true value of a city is only known when you go away from it.
Well, I have one more year before I leave this beautiful place. In this time, I would like to write about my city - its past, events, places, memories, and just about anything else that makes it so special to me and so many of its residents!

Nagpur is a city known for its juicy oranges, blistering summers, and lazy afternoons. For visitors from metros, life at Nagpur seems to be frozen ( or baked !!) at a point of standstill. It's a young city (just over a 1000 years of age ) on the threshold of being transformed. It offers a fine balance of a small-town place where you can reach anywhere within twenty minutes, and the high-class comforts of a metro, complete with malls and multiplexes.

For so many of us this fine balance is everything that makes living elsewhere unimaginable!! And I would like to capture the essence of it here, in the following 12 months.