Christmas & New Year Celebrations @ Sobha Palladian, 2019.

I had planned to publish this post at 12 noon on the 25th Dec, 12 hours after The King was born. But my grand daughters chose that day to barge in.

At eight years and six and a half years, they have unbounded energy. And very soon I found myself sucked into a vortex of their ‘eat calories - burn calories - eat calories - burn calories' cycles. 

And they had packed in a birthday party and a mall visit as well, into their one day visit here.

So it took me some time to recover and get back my bearings, my senses and my house in order.

Here we go …

Christmas came to Sobha Palladian early again this year.  On 14 Dec, Saturday night we celebrated Christmas!

The Christmas Carol practice started a month before.

And our Block 2 Lobby resounded with wonderful music each evening!

The elders and the young ones all practiced and sang with josh and enthusiasm – initially with more josh than with rhythm and rhyme. And very soon they turned into ‘Pro’ material!

Because Minu is a strict conductor and a perfectionist. And she would make them sing over and over again until she was satisfied.

Preeti and Sony joined Minu is coaching the kids and they picked up much faster than their elders. And the kids just loved their practice sessions.  All 22 of them.

 And they sang in unison, Little Drummer Boy -   a somber number about a poor drummer boy who has no gifts to bring for Baby Jesus other than the music on his drum. And with enthusiasm they sang ‘Pa rum pum pum pum’!

 

And they switch over to an upbeat ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’, reminding children to be on their best behavior for Santa Claus.

You better watch out!

You better not cry
You better not pout, I'm telling you whySanta Claus is comingI mean the big fat man with the long white beardIs coming to town

And they belt out this song, with all their energy, swinging their hands, wriggling their hips and jumping up with their hands high over their heads!

Especially the last part, I mean the big fat man with the long white beard is coming to town.  

And the elders practiced will equal vigor and enthusiasm!!

Our Christmas celebrations was scheduled to start at 6PM. The sky had been cloudy the whole day and we were desperately hoping it would clear in the evening.

But no luck. At 6.07PM sharp, it started drizzling and a light rain followed.

But I was happy to see a few volunteers spring into action, moving the 100 odd chairs to the basement, wiping off the water and arranging them, setting up the lights & sound system and the stage. And very soon we were back in business!

And the program kicked off with Diny welcoming the gathering and announcing the first performance.

And when was the last time you saw Venki in a full pant and a formal shirt?

And a red tie to top it???

And his rich baritone rang out wonderfully 8 times as he sang ‘Five Golden Rings’.

Dwani, an apt name for that wonderful drummer girl!

Dwani sounds like the Sanskrit word Dhvani = Musical sound / tone and Dhun = a musical tune.

And Hari on the keyboards reminded me of Ray Charles, who pioneered the soul music combining Blues and Gospel music!

And these two were an awesome combo. And along with the carol chorus team, the entire SP basement sounded like a symphony performance @ Albert Hall!!!

And when Diny announced that the snack bar was open, I quickly rushed to the counter to grab a mouth full.

Only to get disappointed when I saw the big QR code stuck on the wall besides the rate card!

And with a heavy heart I realized that nothing ever comes for free.

Yes Folks. Nothing comes free!!

Not even the stuff that Dear Santa brings to your home. it’s not absolutely free.

You know why?

Because even the big Santa comes with a small ‘Clause’ !!!

Our Sobha Palladian Santa was just amazing!!

He seemed to have slimmed down a bit since we met him last year. Maybe he could not get hold of a fluffier pillow this time??

But what he lacked in weight and girth, he made it up adequately in his enthusiasm energy and charisma.

And he danced with the kids, hugged some, and scared a few as well.

And he had real fun and enjoyed himself thoroughly along with all of us.

Because he was jovial.

Real Jovial as in Jovial Raj @ 3004!!

And after Santa’s antics, it was time to shake and groove. And the young folks were amazingly talented and put up a wonderful show!

Ahana, Anandita, Suhana, Ealisha and Vaishali choreographed their own dance !!

You make everything feel Bright; Like its Christmas!!

 And then the younger ones came up with a zesty MIA - A hip hop ‘Urban Dance’ by  Zaynah, Akaisha, Ved, Aarna, Gauri, Bibaas.

Action wonderfully captured by Manoj!!

 And finally, the big girls and boys were not to be left behind.

Cheap Thrills. And they danced to this Bouncy and Reggae tinged beat. By the way this song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Pop performance/Group performance.

 And finally Food!! The cultural committee promised good food this time. And food was good!!

A separate fare for the children – Pasta & a variety of sweets!

Feliz Navidad!!

Not sure if you folks had noticed. 

While the front row of singers looked serious, and stood in attention, the back-row singers appeared more relaxed, swinging to the beat and rhythm of the music!

And finally a BIG Thank You and sincere appreciation to all you folks in the cultural committee for pulling off yet another fantastic event!

And to all the participants, on stage and off stage artistes, especially the young kids for making this event so lively.

And of course,as usual, Manoj's photography is Par Excellence!

And, other than this wonderful Christmas event at Sobha Palladian every year, do you know what else I love best during Christmas??

Those endless stream of delicious plum (soft plums soaked in rum) cakes that the good folks in SP give us. And the crunchy cookies and the marzipan and the traditional Indian mithais as well!!

Keep them coming folks.

Even my Diabetes cannot stop me from eating them!!

  

Krish..

Dwarka, Somnath & Gujarat

Dwarka = Sri Krishna

So, two stories on Sri Krishna as narrated by our Pundit and guide, Shri Bhavesh Bhai.

At the Dwarkadhish temple, we can see the shrines of all of Krishna’s relatives, his gurus, his kula mata, Ambika and his son & and grandson.

But no shrine for his first wife Rukmini. Here is why.

Once Sri Krishna and Rukmini went to Sage Duruvasa’s ashram some 30 miles from Dwarka and invited him to their palace to have food and bless them.

By the way Sage Duruvasa was well known for his intense Krodh (anger). And he also had a very short fuse!

The Sage agreed, but on 2 conditions.

One that he would ride in the same chariot that they came in.

And two that he did not believe in causing pain to animals. So, Sri Krishna must take off the two horses and he and Rukmini must pull the chariot themselves.

Sri Krishna accepted, unhitched the horses and he took up the left harness while Rukmini took up the right harness and they started pulling.

As they were nearing Dwarka, Rukmini felt exhausted and very thirsty. So, Sri Krishna tapped his right toe on the ground and a small spring emerged. Rukmini drank the sweet refreshing water and Sri Krishna also had a few sips.

But Sri Krishna had made one grave mistake! He did not consult the Sage.

And Duruvasa’s fuse blew and he got enraged, “How dare both of you refresh yourselves with water without offering me even a single drop?? “

And he cursed them, “You both will not live together for long! And Dwarka will not have sweet ground water anymore!!”

So, Rukmini’s temple is situated 2 kms away from the main shrine and the ground water in Dwarka is brackish and not potable!!

Second story.  

Satyabhama was one of Sri Krishna’s wives.

(Sri Krishna had 8 principal wives and 16,100 junior wives, those that he had liberated after killing Demon King Narakasura.)

Satyabhama’s father was King Satrajit who was very wealthy. So, Satyabhama came with a lot of Gold, jewellery and precious stones.

And she came with an attitude (and ahankaar) as well.

And she proceeded to throw her weight around, and a lot of gold as well.

And she thought she could become Sri Krishna’s favourite with all her gold and riches.

Sri Krishna soon came to know about this and wanted to teach her a subtle lesson. One day he causally asked Satyabhama, “Can you please present me my weight in gold?”. Satyabhama readily agreed and happily set up a small event and put up a big weighing scale. And people in the palace all gathered to watch this weighing ceremony (tulabharam).

Sri Krishna sat on the left pan. And Satyabhama asked her aides to place bags and bags of gold coins on the other pan.

And the needle did not even budge!

She then collected all her jewellery and all her precious stones and added to the pile. Still nothing moved. In frustration she removed all the jewellery from her person and put them too. Still no luck.

And she became embarrassed and was about to breakdown.

At that moment Rukmini stepped in. She pulled out a small gold ring from her little finger and placed it on the pan. And the pan immediately came down lifting Sri Krishna high up in the air!!

A good lesson!

But I am not sure if Satyabhama really changed her behaviour after that.

Because, whenever a young girl gets difficult and throws a tantrum, my patti would scold in Tamil “Satyabhama Pannadhey!”, “Don’t act like Satyabhama!!”.

And if two of my sisters start fighting, my patti would say, ‘Look at them fighting like Rukmini and Satyabhama!!”

And now our Gujarat trip, in a chronological order…

On Board Indigo flight Bangalore – Chennai – Ahmedabad:

The 7-year-old boy with a fancy mushroom haircut sat 2 rows ahead of us with his mom and dad.

And he had a loud resounding voice and spoke spasht Tamil in a typical brahmin accent

Our flight took off and, attained its cruising altitude and a peaceful calm settled inside the cabin.

And his voice rang out, ‘Amma, Pashikarudhu. Edhanu kudu”. Feeling hungry Mom. Give something!

And after a few minutes his voice rang out once again, in a higher pitch and with frustration, “thayir sadam vendaam! Verai ehtanu kudu”. No curd rice!! Give me something else!! Not sure if the mom had a biriyani backup or something equivalent.

And at Chennai, when the aircraft smoothly touched down and taxied to its parking area, we heard his voice again, “Amma, Enakku Kaadu valikkavey ill-laye!” Mom, my ears did not hurt at all!!

Gujarat = Rann of Kutch, Indian Wild (& White) ass.

Gypsies in colorful dresses. Gujarat tourism brochure shows sandy desert and ladies in bright colorful dresses leading a train of camels, sandy beaches in Diu, dry Gir forest & wild animals on golden brown dry parched grass.

And my other mental picture of Gujarat was one of huge Reliance petrochemical factory, Gujarat Alkali plant, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, GFCL and such likes.

Never did I ever think of the Gujarat country side being covered with acres and acres of lush green fields, wet black fertile soil, endless rows of cotton fields interspersed with equally large fields of freshly harvested groundnut , huge mounds of groundnut bushes waiting to be shredded,  millions of shrubs dotted with white fluffy cotton balls as if tons of white confetti has been sprinkled all over these fields.

And huge plantations of sugarcane and banana and coconut groves!! And endless rows of yellow tops of toor and chana daal shrubs. And cauliflower fields and green spinach to feed cattle.

And mango orchards. The Kesar Mango grows here and is exported as well.

And we saw just that all throughout our 6-day road trip.

And we were also not prepared to see so many cows and bulls everywhere! Goshalas (cow-barns) everywhere, herds of cows (all A2 brown variety) grazing peacefully. And being herded by the patient turbaned lean & tall Yadavs.

And bulls. They were everywhere. Especially on every street corner and street junctions, around the temple complex, and on the highways and trading centres.

And they were healthy, majestic with their huge curved horns, symmetric on their heads, and a prominent hump!!

Sri Krishna’s place. So, cattle must be found. And no brainer that we have Amul here as well.

 And the chai tasted consistently great everywhere. Pure fresh milk, strong chai-patti, grated ginger and local expertise! An unchallenged combination!!

Ahmedabad to Dwarka- 450 Kms of smooth well tarred 6 lane/4 lane highway. With good watering holes (restaurants and facilities) every two hours.

We exit Ahmedabad and for the next 90 min its only factories, big and small on both sides of the highway. Pharmaceutical Industries and drug manufacturers and number of small-scale industries.

And trucks and tempos and tractor trolleys piled high with goods.

 And after that it’s just fields and fields all the way. Cotton & ground nuts occupy most of this landscape. And we see freshly tilled black soil ready for the next planting cycle. 

And we see trucks and tractor loads of groundnut bags queuing up in front of the government procurement centre.

WM-101: Windmill Basics (As taught by our Driver Sokat Ali)

We zip past a couple of those tall structures on our way from Jamnagar to Dwarka and Sokat points out to them and exclaims, “Dekho Saab, Pawan Charkha!!”

Very tall, 150 to 180 feet. Each wing (Pankh) is 50 to 60ft long and costly 1 to 1.5 Crores each, he says.

And I ask him what does it do?

Saab, there is a generator on top and when the wings rotate it generates electricity and it charges the transformer down below. When transformer gets filled the DP switch trips. Automatically the wings will stop rotating – no point in wasting electricity and heating up the transformer.

Also, the government will know this DP has tripped it and it will pull all the electricity and push it on to the Grid. 

The wings will again start rotating!!

And all the windmills are privately owned but the ground underneath them is leased from the Farmers.

@ our Hotel restaurant in Dwarka:

@ breakfast, a smart 6-year-old girl in a long ponytail and a pink jacket marched in with her granddad and grand mom.  And as soon as she settled down at her table, she announced she wanted masala dosa only.

And there was no masala dosa that day.

Granddad offered puri/upma/paratha/ bread with jam and what not. No way!  She stood firm. Masala Dosa or nothing!!

Grand mom got tough and scolded her in English.

Granddad again tried to reason it out with her, only to get a curt reply from her, “Dadaji, hum par jabardasti na karo!!” Do not force me!!

And then the mom came. Took her plate, filled it up with a bhatura and some chana and plonked it in front of her. And she ate everything without a sound!

And we were thoroughly impressed. “Poonai maadri shapadaradu, paar,” my wife commented. ‘Bheegi Billi’, like a wet kitten!!!

Dwarka Temple:

Bhavesh Bhai takes us around a tour of the Dwarkadhish temple. Very clean and well maintained. Even the huge 150 ft temple’s gopuram structure appears to be well cleaned and renovated. Difficult to believe that this structure could be more than 2000 yrs. old! Some believe the original temple was built 5000yrs back by Sri Krishna’s Grandson.

The temple looks majestic on the bank of river Gomti. And just a few hundred feet away from the temple Gomti flows into the Arabian sea. A wonderful sight especially during sunset!!

The temple aarti started at 7 PM and we joined the packed queue of devotees. Even though the crowd was less than 100, the pushing and jostling was still intense and in the first round we had to fight our way thru and had a short glimpse of the main idol.

15 min later, there was no crowd and we were rewarded with a much better and more relaxed darshan.

The temple environment is very calm and peaceful with many shrines of Devaki (Sri Krishna’s mother), Jambuwati & Satyabhama ( HIS two wives), Sri Krishna’s Kula mata Ambika, Guru Dattatreya & Rishi Duruvasa.

And of course, Sri Krishna’s ‘prermika’, Radhika!

The temple prasad is first offered to Radha and then only offered to Sri Krishna! Power of love supersedes devotion, Bhavesh Bhai says with deep reverence.

And there is a shrine of Pradyumna (Rukmini’s son) and Anirudha (HIS Grandson)

 Straddling Gomti river is the Sudama Bridge that connects Dwarka mainland to the small beach and the small estuary.  And that is the ‘chowpatty’ of Dwarka!

The colourful ship of the desert being challenged by motorised buggys.

And we rented an 8-seater for our camel ride.

Powered by a 6-year-old Moti and driven by his master Heera.

Yes, a true Heera-Moti partnership!!

Dwarka gullis !!  Shopping all along the narrow roads adjoining the temple is an amazing experience! Everything here has a Radha – Krishba motif !

A riot of colours and a fascinating variety of dresses!! And food and milk sweets everywhere.

Bet (Beyt) Dwarka: this was Sri Krishna’s residence, our guide announces. So main Dwarka temple is his office and he is the king there. Here in Beyt Dwraka, he is only a husband! So, the ladies rule this place!!

Scary boat ride.

Packed full and overflowing, no life jackets, and a choppy sea.

So even if you are not a true bhakt, by the time you reach the shore safely you will definitely become a true believer!!

Each way is a miracle ride.

A miracle that only Sri Krishna can perform consistently 100s of times each day and for 100s of years.

Some interesting sights here!!

Gitu the Chaiwala was born here and he worked in Muscat before returning back to brew some awesome chai for the pilgrims. We both had refills.

Dwarka to Somnath:  The crop pattern changes drastically, from low lying cotton and groundnut shrubs, we see huge Banana plantations & coconut groves.  And cotton and ground nut fields continue to occupy a fair share.

       

And we drive thru Jamnagar Relaince Factory, a 4 km stretch on the highway.

And we drive thru vast stretches of salt flats owned by Tata Salt in Mithapur. (mithu = salty in Gujarati)

And Sokat says, they pump all the sea water here.  And once it dries, they collect the salt and send it to the factory there.

And there they mix Sodium and other chemicals and then powder & pack it.

And all this while I thought that Tatas added just iodine to their salt (NaCl, Sodium Chloride)!

Porbunder:

Mahatma Gandhi was born in a house adjacent to Kirti Mandir located in a narrow road here. The ancestral house has 22 rooms! And he was the fourth child. Nice place well documented!

Surprisingly all the pictures and posters focus on Gandhi alone. Reflecting back, I do not remember seeing even one photo or mention of his other siblings. Did I miss a room??

Somnath: 

This temple of Shiva was reconstructed by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. Very beautiful and intricate carvings! Good crowd management and a satisfying darshan of the deity here.  The original Jyotirlinga is housed in a smaller old temple next door. And this is where Abhishek is performed on a large Shivling. All members of a family sit all around and perform abhishek here.

The view of the Arabian sea and the sunset is breathtaking!

And there is a small shopping complex nearby selling everything from clothes to seashells to idols and photos of gods and handbags.

And lots of food!!

 Jugaad!!

A unique multipurpose three wheeler that we saw all along our way..

On highways, on farm tracks and a number of them parked at those small chai shops. And in Dwarka and Somnatrh too. And they ferry passengers, school children, live stocks. And they carry heavy loads of grains and every other material that you can imagine!! Many brightly painted with bells and whistles and some old ones in battered conditions.

And these are locally made in Rajkot. Powered by a water pump-set diesel engine, front wheel taken from a motorcycle and the two back wheel from a regular automobile. It can lug 2 tons of load (rating is 1 ton only), go @ 50 Kmph and deliver 30 Kms per litre!!

And they make a huge racket.

Some rich and brand conscious farmers have retrofitted their Jugaad with Royal Enfield engines too!  Chk it out!!

 Diu: There was nothing  worthwhile for me in Diu. We spent two and a half hours driving thru bad roads from Somnath.  And we saw one abandoned fort, one Church, a small Shiva temple and a bad beach.

Diu is the watering hole for all of Gujarat. Booze flows freely here ( you need to pay, of course). Gujarat is a dry (and predominantly vegetarian) state and all those thirsty Gujjus converge here to slake their thirst and appetite as well.

And the first building that welcomes you once you cross the check post is Bharat Bar and Beer Restaurant!!

The big Portuguese fort is a wonderful place for all those mobile photo clicking fingers. Every arch, every corner, every pillar/parapet/turret/steps & staircases,   and anything and everything that looked old, dark and mouldy is a fantastic photo opps!!

Lots and lots of families, scores of young couples/newlyweds, busloads of school children, huge packs of teenage boys and coeds.

Romeos in tight jeans, bright shirts, mushroom tops and fancy reflecting shades. And Juliets with extra makeup & eyeliners, high heels, designer jeans, smart goggles and floppy hats.

And each one of them with a smart phone. And I noticed a few latest iPhone and One Plus models too. Rich Gujju kids from affluent families having a great time!!!

And as we move towards the sea front, we notice …

First, the young hubby takes a pix of his wife perched on a ledge overlooking the sea, then they interchange places and the wife takes his pix and then the two of them look around anxiously. And I volunteer to take a pix of both of then perched on the ledge!

Interestingly we see a lot of palm trees with branches!

And the popular Nagoa Beach is black sand and damp and disappointing. Water scooter and sand buggy rides are the only saving grace.

Diu to Somnath: We left the highway and drove thru fields and villages and stopped for Chai frequently.  And we saw sugar cane getting crushed, their juice fed into huge boiling vats. And we saw the thin juice turn into golden yellow lava bubbling under the heat. And then get poured into large earthen trays for cooling. And then into big

tins and small 4 kilo tubs priced at Rs 150/-. And we were invited to wash our hands, dip a finger into the steaming gur lava and taste it.

Heavenly!!! Better than any sweet or chocolate that we had tasted anywhere in the world!!!

Gir Safari, Sasan Gir: 

The only interesting and exciting things we found here were at the souvenir shops and the T-Shirt shops.

The 30 min forest safari in a crowded bus yielded 3 cheetals (spotted deer), one Neel Gai (buck) three lomdis (foxes) and three very bored lion/lioness lazing under a shady tree. Not enough light to take a good picture, only a dark outline shape at best.

But the crowd inside the bus was absolutely thrilled! and they happily clicked away on their mobiles. And they hotly debated, in Gujarati, guessing the sex of each of those three canines 40 feet away.

And when I tried to zoom in my camera on the big one, he just snubbed me by turning his face the other way and then lay down fully stretched on the ground.

And that was what our driver Sokat had predicted.  “Sir, you won’t see any real   Sher– Ver here at this time. Only some lomdi and cheetal.”

But Sir the forest afsers (officials) are very smart. They gather a few old and wounded Shers that are brought here for treatment and park them under those trees.  So, tourists feel happy.

Not me. I paid Rs. 300/- for the two of us.  Very poor ROI of 100/- per sleepy lion!!

But on the positive side, it was fun to be packed amidst a group of 30 excited and animated Gujarati folks, all chattering away all thru the 30 minutes, in their sing-song Gujju accent!

Sabarmati Ashram:

A wonderful place on the banks of Sabarmati river. Such a beautiful location and no wonder Gandhi chose this place to set up his ashram.

And I read his quotes and his letters with interest.

And a few thoughts struck in my mind.

Gandhiji must have studied in a good public school (maybe a Christian missionary school?)  He had learnt his cursive writing very well.

He had a florid handwriting.

Slant words and bold strokes. And the final stroke of one word flows smoothly into the next word.  And big legible letters.

And he wrote his mind in clear precise and unambiguous manner. And I particularly liked these two statements!

 Definitely a great personality! Wish we have many such people in our country today.

And once again, the ashram covered his political and personal life.

Not a single mention of his 4 sons nor a picture of any of them.

And did you know that Mahatma Gandhi’s youngest son Devdas Gandhi was the managing editor of Hindustan Times? And he fell in love and married Lakshmi, daughter of C Rajagopalachari, the last Governor General of India?? 

And now I must read a few books written by the famous Raj Mohan Gandhi, the grandson of the Mahatma and Rajaji!!

Krish..