Weekend Trip to Pune

In February we took a quick weekend jaunt to Pune, an up and coming metropolis about 75 miles east of Mumbai. We heard so much about this city's livability that we decided to check it out with the kids.

When I arrived I was immediately taken by how calm the city felt compared to Delhi. It seemed to have a great mix of cosmopolitan culture yet without the hustle bustle of Delhi and Mumbai. Even so, the city still maintains a strong sense of identity and tradition. What started out as a small agricultural settlement in the 5th century is now a burgeoning hub for IT, manufacturing and higher education. In fact, Pune is popularly known as the Oxford of the East. The population of young educated professionals adds to the city's vibrant character. Oh, and did I mention the temperate climate and proximity to Mumbai. I think I understand this city's livability.

We stayed in Koregaon Park, a hip part of town that boast great restaurants and shopping. The kids loved our hotel, which looked like a cruise ship. Our first afternoon in Pune, Sanjay went golfing with Shailen at the Pune Golf course, one of the oldest golf courses in the country.

The next morning we woke up to perfect Pune winter weather -- sunny, 70's and a perfect warm breeze. It was a nice reprieve from the Delhi winter. We decided to learn a bit about Pune's history so we ventured off to Aga Khan Palace, a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and has strong ties to India's independence movement. The palace was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III, the 48th spiritual head of the Ismali religion. He originally built the palace to employ the famine struck villagers in the surrounding areas.

By way of history, in the early 1900s Pune played an important role in the country's freedom struggle from Great Britain; many of the freedom fighters were educated in Pune and then went on to lead impressive and important battles against the British in this city. Over time, as many important freedom fighters were put under arrest by the British the palace became associated with the Freedom movement. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi was put under house arrest in this palace from 1942-1944. In 1969 the palace was donated to the government in memory of Mahatma Gandhi.

Aga Khan palace is a majestic building with beautiful Italian arches and spacious lawns. Here Priya and Shailen pose in front of the palace.

The museum inside the palace houses collection of pictures and photographs of the important incidents in Gandhi's life.

Here is the room that Gandhi's wife died in, while her husband was under house arrest. The picture shows Gandhi caring for his wife on her deathbed, which is below the picture.

This is one of the earlier renderings of the Indian flag after its Independence. 

This is a picture of Gandhi attending his wife's funeral.

On the back lawns Sanjay poses with the kids in front of the marble memorials for Gandhi's wife and his secretary (who also died at the palace)

Priya and Shailen in front of some of Gandhi's ashes.

Next we went to Shaniwar Wada, the stately palace fort built as the residence of the Peshwas, the rulers of the Maratha Empire till 1818 when they surrendered to the British. The palace fort was built in 1732 and over the years several additions were made to the palace like fortification walls with bastions, gates and court halls. Unfortunately, what was once a seven storied structure was gutted by a fire in the palace. Only the remains can now be seen.

If the entrance gate to the palace doesn't tell you this is a fort, I'm not sure what will. The strongly built Dilli Darwaza gatehouse has massive doors, large enough only to admit charging elephants. To discourage elephants charging the gates, each pane of the gate has seventy-two sharp twelve-inch steel spikes arranged in a nine by eight grid, at approximately the height of the forehead of a battle elephant. Each pane was also fortified with steel cross members, and borders were bolted with steel bolts having sharpened cone heads.

Sanjay and the kids in fron of the gate.

This cannon was actually used during war time. 

On the roof of the only surviving building is where the snipers watched for enemies. 

Here Priya is sitting in front of one of the nooks where the snipers waited to attack. 

The grounds of the palace were really beautiful. 

Here the kids watch as people explore the area where the women of the palace used to bathe. 

In this picture one can see the foundation of the palace that was burned down. 

Some pictures taken in and around the palace.  

Later that afternoon we went to the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo. We had so much fun walking around and seeing the animals.

Loved the Mama monkey with her babe!

Then her baby ran up a tree branch...

...while Mama is relaxing in the shade

Killer snake

Beautiful alligator

Akash was not afraid of the snakes!

Spotted deer

Kids having fun

This is a Bengal tiger, which is considered an endangered species; there are less than 2,000 in India.

A white bengal tiger - there are only 100 in India. 

Later that day we went to the first Hard Rock Cafe in India. It was decorated with all kinds of Rock and Roll Memorabilia. We felt like we were back in the U.S. 

So excited to see an American menu!

The next day we took a trip to Lonavla, a quiet little town and hill station about 40 miles from Pune. Nestled between scenic hills and lush greenery, the town felt a bit like Tuscany.  

A local relaxing

Kids posing as a warm breeze passes by.

It was the perfect way to end our weekend jaunt to Pune. 

Udaipur and Chennai

After the new year we continued our holiday break in Udapiur, a beautiful city in the southern part of Rajasthan that was founded in 1559 by Udai Singh.

Udaipur, known as the City of Lakes, is a very regal city with magnificent palaces and three man-made lakes. The largest of the lakes, Lake Fateh Sagar Lake, was built in the 18th century by the King to enhance the city's natural beauty. Soon after Udaipur became the destination for royal summer palaces.

The city's setting is very romantic; it's set amidst the Aravalli Mountains and is surrounded by picturesque lakes-- and is appropriately called the "Venice of the East".

Our first visit was to the City Palace, the largest palace in Rajasthan. The palace was built on the top of a hill on the lake, giving it a panoramic view of the city as well as surrounding palaces and temples. The palace was built in a flamboyant style in that its architecture is a real fusion of both Rajasthani and Mughal styles. The current King of Udaipur inhabits half of the palace, while the other half is a museum. The Palace was featured in the James Bond film Octopussy.

View of City Palace from the water.

and from the road.

In the picture below one can see the mix in architectural styles of City Palace. The dome is very indicative of Mughul architecture while the arched windows reflect Rajasthani architecture.

This is an exterior view of the corner of the palace. The intricate architectural detail is quite amazing. 

Upon entering the palace museum you are greeted by Lord Ganesh - the remover of obstacles. The ornamental tiles surrounding Lord Ganesh were brought in from Italy and hand painted. 

The museum displayed all sorts of historical relics. I love this photograph as it shows what royalty pursued as sport. The elephants played a sort of "tug of war" with their elephant tusks as spectators cheered them on. 

As we walked through the palace museum we were treated to some rooms that have been left intact for hundreds of years. This luxurious room, called the Moti Mahal, is finely decorated with mirror tiles and paintings to keep the King warm in the winter (lit candles reflected in the mirror causing heat). 

The King and his staff sat in this room to discuss important matters. 

This is the royal swing. 

The courtyard where dancers would perform for the King and Queen. 

After our visit to the City Palace we went on a boat ride on Lake Pichola. The picturesque boat ride gave us a whole new perspective of the city. We not only were treated to the best scenic views of the lake and the mountains in the city, but also some important historical monuments which dotted the lakeside. One such monument is Monsoon Palace, which is perched on the top of the hills behind City Palace in the picture below. The palace was built by Maharan Sajan Singh in the late 19th century to enjoy the beautiful monsoon season in Udaipur. 

The kids loved the boat ride!

Along the lake we saw some very picturesque ghats, with their distinctive steps, still being used by the locals.

The lake side is lined with the havelis (summer mansions) of the nobles, the most prominent being the Bagore ki Haveli.

The most resplendent sights on the boat ride were the island palaces. The 17th century Jagmandir Island Palace is one of the oldest and most grandiose. The elephants below welcomed us as we disembarked our boat. 

Shailen sitting with Jagmandir Island Palace in the background.

We stopped inside the palace for a quick bite and then wandered the lush grounds.

It was so pretty that we lingered for as long as possible.

Akash waiting for the boat...

...that was coming in the distance.

Another beautiful palace on Lake Pichola is the island palace of Jag Niwas, now the Lake Palace Hotel. It was built in the 18th century by Rana Jagat Singh II who constructed the palace after his father told him that if he wanted to live in an island palace like Jagmandir Island Palace, he should build his own.

There were so many great photo opportunities on our boat ride!

We didn't want to leave this idyllic wonderland but our next destination was calling. Next we went to the Garden of the Maidens (Sahelion Ki Bari). On the way I had to capture this camel nonchalantly walking down a street as motorcycles buzz by.

The Garden of the Maidens is one of the most beautiful gardens in Udaipur, famous for its lush green lawns, marble statues and fountains. It was built in the 18th century by Maharana Sangram Singh for the royal ladies. The entrance was especially pretty.

By this time the kids were pooped so we ended our day and went back to our hotel to relax and dine on typical Rajasthani cuisine.

The next day we woke up bright and early to drive to Nagda, a small town about 20 kms northwest of Udaipur, to visit the Sas-Bahu temple (means mother-in-law, daughter-in-law temple). The temple was built in 1092 by King Mahipala who supposedly built the temple for his mother who worshipped Lord Vishnu. When he got married his wife became a devotee of Lord Shiva. He built another temple on the same grounds for her. Another version of the story is that the King's mother and wife did not get along so separate temples were built for them. I think I believe the second version.

The kids posing in front of the main entrance to the temple.

Our first glimpse at the ancient temples. 

This is a shot taken from below. The larger sus (mother-in-law) temple is straight ahead while the smaller bahu (daugther-in-law) temple is to the right.

Akash and Priya in front of the Sas temple. It is believed that the statue of Lord Vishnu was swung from the archway of the Sas temple while hymns were sung in praise of the lord on ceremonial occasions.

The delicate carvings outside the entrance illustrate stories from the "Ramayana" (Indian epic).

The intricate carvings are mind blowing when looked at in detail. As can be seen below, the sculptures are made in two steps, one encircling the other. On the first step, the images of Lord Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are carved and on the other there are images of Rama, Balarama and Parashurama. 

Below is a better view of the Bahu temple. The temple has an octagonal ceiling, which is adorned with beautifully carved intricate female figures.

Inside the temple. 

Akash and Priya posing in front of the Sas temple. 

The backdrop of the temples was one of the most scenic I've seen in all of India. 

Always ready with my camera, I fired away.

As we left the temple we were greeted by locals. 

Afterwards we went for lunch on another of Udaipur's beautiful lakes.

It was such a beautiful day and the scenery was perfect so I made the kids pose once again. They were not happy but they obliged.

After lunch we visited an old friend who runs a school called Shikshantar in Udaipur. 

Shikshantarl is for kids that drop out of school because they don't relate to its rigid structure. It is an integrated school where kids find their passions by exploring all sorts of disciplines. Kids are exposed to sewing, cooking, gardening, music and a host of other activities.

Both Akash and Shailen loved sewing on the old fashioned sewing machine.

Akash made this ipad mini cover!

Priya loved the organic gardening...

...and then making lunch after picking the vegetables.

Priya and Shailen enjoyed making a necklace out of coconut skin.

Here Shailen is riding a bike to motor a washing machine.

The kids had so much fun that afternoon that they seriously did not want to leave! There is a lot of merit to letting children explore their creativity by just providing tools and no structure.  Very cool experience! 

Later that evening we caught a flight to Chennai to catch the semi-finals of the Chennai Open. 

Before we left Chennai we met some relatives. Here the kids are pictured with their great great aunt -- their great grandfather's younger sister.

Here pictured with their great aunt and uncle.

I was so happy for the kids to meet their extended family in Chennai. It was the perfect way to end our vacation! Later that evening we hopped on our flight back to Delhi...and back to school the next day.