An appeal from a village called 'Pranpur' and a place called 'Chanderi'

The weaver's village!

Amraee resort in Pranpur!
The last sun-set of 2008!

Well, this new year (2009) we thought of going to a place that is far from the maddening crowd of non-sense business where even smallest of towns come alive (yeah we have seen that as well) dancing till mid-night after a few pegs of sharaab to some punjabi gaane-shaane (without even understanding a line of it). After much thinking we froze down to this place from a Govt. run initiative under UNDP where they are promoting rural tourism. They setup the system, adopt a village, train the villagers and then hand it over to them to run it! Self-sustainence is the key if we really need our villages to grow! Some places even have a home-stay with the villagers - and a best way to peek into their lives and be thankful of what you have (at least)! And ABOVE ALL spend a couple of days at peace to yourself in the lap of rural earth - without the noise of cities, with no mobiles ringing! We have been to such place earlier as well that I'll cover later. Well, the village this time is called 'Pranpur' in the heart of Chanderi (Madhya Pradesh) about 500 km from Delhi -nearest railway station being Lalitpur (UP). We had read about this somewhere so did some research on stay, places to see around and to reach there. We booked a taxi from Lalitpur. When we reached there, realized we took a wise decision - nothing but a small town! Alright, so the taxi waala a dark-thin man in the typical shirt-pant and pointed shoes with gutka in his mouth was waiting with a hand-written paper read it as placard please - next to his TATA Indica - Sunita Chakraborty from Delhi! He spelt it all correct btw!

Well, the journey started - about 45 mins - roads were good and we entered the resort - Amraee - meaning Mango Orchards - right on the state highway! Yes, the location was little disappointing - as we thought - but the ambience was lovely with just us in the place (We later realized it was inaugurated on 28 Dec and we reached there on 31 Dec, so were the first guests!) Our first love was the room called Atari - a low height room with a terrace - which had a thatched roof, open window for air-flow - in all, a typical village room without any fancy at all and a shared bathroom. Well, we realized it was cold and not sure if we'd be able to sleep we opted for another room which had nice Chanderi fabric curtains that we decided later to order for home! This was closed but the bathroom was still outside :) But the next few days spent here were going to be worth spending every thought of planning this trip!

The land of weavers, the green fields, ever thought of walking through the green fields in the morning, having a nice 'home made poha' in the morning breakfast and a lunch and dinner of bundelkhandi thali where even the 'gujiya' is served fresh out of the karahi, the rooms wihout ACs and rightly named as 'Atari' for it was on the roof top with a chappar to give the effect and without any window to give the way to the breeze from the Mango trees - the rightly named 'Amraee' - the rural resort located in a village called 'Pranpur' - a village of weavers - who weave in day in day out the beautiful Chanderi dress material - light, exotic and gorgeous specially for the lovers of sarees - but get just a few hundrd rupees a month! Yes I bought worth 10k, of course, a few for my friends and families - a few just for the sake of the hardship gone into making it! The village resort - Amraee - is a government initiative to promote the craft through tourism and also providing self-sustainment to the village. The resort is purely run by the people hired from the village(s) and trained - even the cook is a local lad who would make sumptuous meals as requested. Vegetables are grown there - you can help them - choose your choice of vegetables - though there isn't much variety (no non-veg food is server neither is alcohol permitted inside the premises). The people running were nice and were very hopeful that they might get some recognition for the efforts thereby helping the village to grow!
Alright, so coming back to 'tourism' - well, the village is actually a part of Chanderi - the famous bundelkhand dynasty! Places of inteterst are the Chanderi fort, Jama masjid, the hundreds of year of old bawris (quazi ki bawri), the remotely situated battisi bawri (32 steps all corners) -

shahjadi ka rouza (epitome of a love story of a princess and sepoy), the jama masjid, the shiv mandir sorrounded by water - parameshwar taal, the Badal Mahal Gate,

the khooni darwarza, the Mahavir temple - amazingly located and carved out of the sandstone hills, the koshak mahal initially planned for seven floors and has architecture similar to Mandu, the bundelkhand museum - better than so many of better cities of the country, AND the ruins of ISAGARH temples - all those lovers of Kharjuraho - you got to visit this unknown and forgotten remnants lying in a village that none of us would have heard of perhaps - the temples here are older than khajuraho but built in the same 'shaily' (architectural style) - in fact see the photo

doesn't it look like the khajuraho temples in first view.
Believe me there was nobody except the caretaker who hardly knew anything about the temple - a luxury if you visit the touristy places - not much document is available on Isagarh!

Oh how could I forget the unforgettable evening at the crocodile point which was distant but worth visiting for the rock paitings and the silent river flowing - it was scary as there was nobody but us with the guide - the vehicle had broken down due to the terrains but we still moved ahead by foot for alleast 1 km leaving the car with the driver to figure out how would he be fixing it (he did it - was the champion!) - walking past the barren lands, the sarson ke khet and the rocky terrains - telling the difficult story of people staying there (though we didn't sight a single soul) - but the sun-set was amazing - wish could have camped there - but the guide warned us to leave the place as early before the dark - perhaps he was scared!
The last on our itenary was the famous temples of Deogarh -

this is around 40 kms from lalitpur station - a feast for the ones who love the old ruins starting from 3rd century A.D - the famous jain temple ruins - hundreds of statues of lord mahavira and other tirthankars in the middle of a forest (now a National park) by the side of Betwa river. The most spectacular view of Betwa can be seen here where it looks peaceful yet gets ferocious swallowing the villages around during rains!

The hidden carved sculptures - be careful if you really want to see this - you'll have climb down the rock stairs to see these (I didn't go there)!

The hydel pump station which supplies water to the city and the 8 km man-made canal! Worth mentioning is the 1000 yr old but one of the most precious, beautiful, well-preserved and amazingly carved dashavatar!

Lastly, the amazing but simple people of the resort who were naive in their approach of services to run it as a resort yet warm in their hospitality - the manager was nice, the guide was an ambitious young lad trying to take money out of you, the cook was a local lad making just the ghar ka khana, Pragya the local girl who was working with the NGO to help the weavers sell their product - they all had hopes in their eyes and questions for us - will you visit again - do you think people would come here - it must be visited not for the luxury or a oh-so pampering vacation, - but for the people, for the dying art, for the thousand year old heritage (more for the rock paintings) and for the hope of a village that must survive - if anyone of you could visit the place I would believe my travel and writing the story has been worthwhile - it's an appeal to all travellers who would want to spend some time far from the freaking city life, away from the gizmos - under the shades of mango trees, walking through the farms, talking to the villagers, taking a visit to the long-lost history and giving them a hope - after all, this is all that they have in their difficult lives. There are MP Tourism hotels as well but my take will be the Amraee resort but do not expect it to be the fanciful place. Please do visit and am sure you won't be disappointed!

God's own country via God's own route...

Cochin - Munnar -Thekkaddi - Allepey - Trivandrum - Kovalam - Kanyakumari

Well, the next destination was Cochin - we took an overnight train from Goa - we had planned the trip in such a way that we travel the nights and see the place during the day - we were travelling like people who eat for they don't know when is the next they would get food. Ok, Cochin or Ernaculum was hot and humid so much, so that Surender will all of his 95KG stature was always drenched with his own sweat all the time. We checked in a hotel - we had got the list and planned for our stay before hand - and then went for a boat ride into the sea. And for dinner, Surender had already started missing 'Roti' so after we realized we cannot have 'prawn fried in Coconut oil' and Surender cannot have everything in coconut gravy - we decided to check out the 'Taj cochin' and how upfront did Surender ask the 'Guard' at the gate - 'bhai roti milegi' - once he confirmed they serve 'roti' - we had our dinner with some live orchestra playing in the background - naah wasn't a piano or saxophone player - but 4 men sitting in traditional dhotis playing the violin, mrudangam and dholak - yeah yeah it was fun after all we had rotis! Little did we realize (we saw the pictures later) that Taj Cochin is located at one of the most beautiful locations - overlooking the sea~~~ Next day we took a trip to Jew Island, the old Church and the famous Chinese Fishing nets. The next day we took a taxi to Munnar. The drive is one of the most memorable one - and Surender slept throughout. Well, Munnar at that time wasn't very popular so there weren't many people around, we had an amazing time. A small hill station with Tea estates - cool, breezy and GREEN!!! Here we checked in a hotel next to a 'nullah' with a view of the tea gardens. In Munnar, you could travel in taxi or Auto - we decided to take the later one - reason, we met this interesting guy - the auto rickshaw driver who promised to take us to the places where the taxis don't go. He said 9 a.m (or was it 8 am) next morning! We were ready after a good south indian breakfast and waited for him - he was 15 mins late - but he arrived in his khaki uniform, with three lines of chandan on his forehead, his hair all oiled and well combed and the thin moushtaches... he first said sorry for being late and then discussed the travel itenaries for the next 2 days - with a promise of taking us to places where good and local south indian thali are available. Then started the conversation - he asked me if we were from Delhi - I looked at him curious to know what made him guess so - he pointed to the red chuda - saying Delhi wala pehenta hai... he was quite interesting with his bragging of the adventures he had - how he told about the story of a couple - where the man would kiss a wife when his auto lost control - woh usko chummaah diya - and how he saved his wife. Then he clicked our photos making us pose for him - the typical Tamil filmy shtyle - 'mein bahut honeymoon couple ghumaya'. And then I asked him 'what is your name' - he smiled and I said what happened - he said why do people ask my name and then laugh - I said I won't - after much coaxing I managed to convince him that I won't - and he told me and I started laughing - his name was 'Prithvi Raj Singh Chauhan' -
....... To be continued...

Fun at Goa...

Well, not sure of where to go for our honeymoon - we never wanted to be the manali or shimla at the first place - we kept looking for options 8 years back. How the man had asked his girl (then) - I think I like travelling - do you like to travel? - The girl had said - oh yeah very much!!! Never did he realize that the wife (later) doesn't only like but is ready to pack the bag - any day! Oh, how much he regrets for asking this question for he could never rest from there on... it has always been packing n unpacking.


Anyways, the wife had heard about Goa and Kerela - supposedly beautiful - but not many people had visited as traveller (not 8 yrs back - at least Kerela) - Ah, the love for the wife and he decided for a long trip (1st March to 17th March 2001) from Goa to KanyaKumari via Kerela :-) He had told the wife, all for you but you fall sick a single day and we are back - that is another story that the husband wasted one precious day when we could have covered some place because he fell sick - oh how I regret of not leaving him there and coming back :-0


The modes were train, plane and taxi or as available. We started in Mumbai Rajdhani and took a 40 min flight from Mumbai to Goa and both were awe-struck the moment they landed there... In Goa, Fun is in the air - I have been there repeatedly but the feeling is always the same - total fun and chill out ... Anyways we landed up in the VVIP suits of a Sarkari guest house (thanks to the pa-in-law) which was nice and located at a place far from the popular beaches but at a quiet stretch - near Bambolim beach to be precise (btw the Bambolim resort was under construction then). We chose local transport as our mode of commuting here - two wheelers are quite popular but Surender wasn't very keen as he didn't want to go too adventurous on the first trip two-gether. So we landed up there with a nice caretaker who could cook on request - nice and mild home cooked food. We decided to discover on own own, took details from the cook and waited at the deserted bus stop for a bus to Dona Paula and Majorda beach. The first day and after a nice meal of Masala prawn and rice we decided to do some water scooter ride at Dona Paula - I wasn't really scared but Surender was after a couple of beer and he shouted as you do in schools - Hey Sunita, don't be scared (he was as he had taken the ride first) buck up hold on tight and don't be scared - he was shouting and waving and more scared than me... I found it kinda funny - what could just a couple of beer do :))) Oh yes, and how could I forget the 'Bihari' (apologies) lad whom we had asked to click a photo and he said 'Shure' and then he said 'ready' and 'yees, laugh pleeje' and along with pushing the shutter-bug button he too bent his knees and you know what could have happened to the photo... so everytime we click a photo - we say 'laugh pleeje' or something else that I'd cover in Darjeeling trip... Alright, the next 4 days were full of fun when we travelled in the local buses to reach different beaches, temples, churches and museum which houses Asia's longest sculpted Mira bai statue laid on floor. The only draw back, the buses stop plying from 8 pm onwards so if you are stuck and lucky to get an auto then you are at their mercy so they could charge any amount. But as I said in Goa 'Fun is in the air' - you turn insane when you are there... running, eating, drinking on the beaches... the sea always call you - for me, don't ask me to come out of water - who really cares for the tan. After 4 days of fun it was time to move on so we decided to take a tour guide to some places that we couldn't cover and the driver - an AIR employee - who would just mark his attendance and then drive a taxi - took us around and then dropped us at the Margao Railway station for a train to Cochin... our next destination...

Uncover the journey...

I have been thinking of doing 'this' - blogging - for some time now but have always been procrastinating it thinking 'it' - blogging - a waste of time and perhaps too kiddish to get into (people, I accept I am old). However, friends have often been asking me to start doing the same - to create a post or a travelogue - to put my travel notes - and to be honest, of late, my craving to do so had increased - for we are living in such a beautiful country, why not let them know - so here I am, finally, to begin uncover the journey so far in a place called 'Indiaah' - the land much under-estimated by the urban, metropolitan, young Indian clan. And more so, to curb my hunger to express and share my memories and experiences from the places that I have visited within our country! So the journey begins...


It would mostly be with 2 people - Sunita and Surender - who have been travelling two-gether (well almost all of them) since 2001 and have still seen not so many places but whatever 'covered' are all within the lovely and vibrant apna desh - and have left every visit with a promise of returning back and a new list of places around the place just seen - blame it on the land that's so vast that it would take more than a life time to even just skim through. The journey would cover the touristy and not so touristy places from Leh to Kanyakumari and from Darjeeling to Rann of Kuchch - yes, these places included :-) (you'll find lot of smilies ":-)" in there as I love this expression the most)


The first two-gether travel was way back in Mar 2001 just after they had taken their vows :-) The post would begin from there only - from the days when we had the traditional cameras and we were, oh not so net savvy! (neither are we now) - so no documented supplements are available but I would try to dig down my brain cells to bring out the details and the story behind... keep reading but mind you - the journey would be long for I don't really believe in short-cuts ;-)... so please don't shy to get dropped off if you get bored in between...