An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

the Best Hill Station of Gujarat

Saputara literally means Abode of the Snakes. But don’t panic. Saputara is not a place full of snakes.
There is a sacred snake image on the banks of the river Sarpagana worshipped by the Adivasis (tribal people) during festivals.Saputara is a beautiful, planned, hill station in Gujarat.
Not too well known, it is clean and not too crowded.
The cool climate; its motorable distance from Mumbai, Nasik, and Surat; and the beautiful roads make it a place worth visiting.

Location

Saputara is located at an altitude of 1000 metres atop the second highest plateau in the Dang forest area of the Sahyadri range in Gujarat.
The hill station is surrounded by dense forests with Adivasi villages.    

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the World’s Most Expensive Spice

If you visit tourist places in Goa and Kerala, you can visit spice gardens.
Some plantation owners have improvised their spice gardens into tourist attractions.
You can see a variety of plants where different spices come from.

The guide will answer your questions and clarify your doubts.
Your host will serve you authentic local meals in virgin surroundings and arrange a traditional dance.

Background

We Indians use a lot of spices in their daily food.
But most of us do not know where the spices come from.
Someone suggested that I should write about the spices in my blog.
So here we go.

This one on Kesar (Saffron) is another in a series on Spices of India.
India produces the world’s best Kesar (Saffron).

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Unique Wildlife Sanctuary

According to the Ramayana, Lord Ram himself stood at this point and carried out reconnaissance of Ravana’s kingdom in Sri Lanka just 48 kms. away.
A stone slab at Ramarpatham (meaning Rama’s feet), the highest point of Point Calimere, bears the foot prints of Ram.

Now it is a unique wildlife and bird sanctuary.

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Second largest Mangrove forest in the world

Almost two and a half decades ago, when I was working in Chennai, I first heard of the Mangrove Forests of Pichavaram – 14 kms. from Chidambaram.
I did not really know what Mangrove forests were and what Pichavaram was like.
I requested my friends to organize a visit.

After my visit, I wrote about Pichavaram in the Swagat (inflight magazine of Indian Airlines) and a number of other magazines.
To this extent, I take credit for increasing its popularity.

Since then, I have visited Pichavaram several times.
My last visit was a few months after the Tsunami of 2004.
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Unique Temple of the Formless Shiva

I have visited Chidambaram several times for three reasons.
· To meander through the Mangrove Forests of Pichavaram to the beach beyond.
· To visit, attend or give lectures at the Annamalai University.
· And to visit the Chidambaram Temple.

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Spices of India

The oldest spice known to us

 

If you visit tourist places in Goa and Kerala, you can visit spice gardens.Some plantation owners have improvised their spice gardens into tourist attractions.You can see a variety of plants where different spices come from.The guide will answer your questions and clarify your doubts.Your host will serve you authentic local meals in virgin surroundings and arrange a traditional dance. Read the rest of this entry »

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Murud Janjira

Murud is a beautiful fishing village on the western coast of India – about 5 hours drive from Bombay (Mumbai). Since it has a municipality, water supply, schools and hospitals, you could even term it a small town.
It has a beautiful beach ideal for swimming, bathing and water sports. The beach is fringed with swaying coconut trees, a variety of palm trees and casuarinas. Unfortunately, the only water sport presently available is boating, sailing and deep sea fishing.
Murud is historically important because it was the capital of the Janjira State (area – 842 sq. kms.). The Nawabs of Janjira ruled the area around from here. The Janjira Fort is located 2 kms. into the sea – about 6 kms. from Murud.
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Matheran

Matheran is a no-vehicle zone… so go ahead and walk in the clouds at this hill-station.
Prized, protected: Rain clouds, dense mist
It is the only hill-station where any kind of public or private transport is prohibited by law; and the prohibition enforced effectively. Besides the buses, cars and other four-wheelers and two-wheelers such as motorbikes, even bicycles are not allowed inside Matheran.
As for the plastic bottles and carry-bags littered by irresponsible tourists, this hill-station tackled the problem long ago. In November 2002, Prof H.Y. Mohan Ram, Chairman of a Government Expert Committee, declared Matheran clean and free of garbage, and the cleanest hill-station of India.
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Have you heard of the Adansonia digitata tree, the Upside Down tree, the Monkey Bread tree, Dead Rat tree, or the Bread Fruit tree?

These are all different names of a most unusual and remarkable tree – the Baobab tree. It was given the botanical name Adansonia digitata in honour of Michel Adanson (1727-1806), the French Naturalist, who first saw it in Senegal in 1749.

It is called the Monkey Bread tree because monkeys eat the fruits like bread. It is called the Upside Down tree because when it is leafless, it looks like a tree planted upside down. It is called the Dead Rat tree because its furry fruits look like dead rats hanging down on their tails. And it is called the Bread Fruit tree because its fruits can be eaten like bread.
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Mahabalipuram

Site of a lost City

On 26th December 2004, the killer Tsunami waves struck the shores of Mahabalipuram. When the waters receded, there were rumours that they had left behind some statues, rock carvings and remains of what could be the work of human hands.
All this stirred up expectations. Once again, archaeologists, historians and scientists began wondering whether there indeed was an ancient city which now lies buried under the sea.
The Archaeological Survey of India and the Indian Navy have just completed joint underwater excavations for this year. Alok Tripathi, a Deputy Superintending Archaeologist from the Archaeological Survey of India, and leader of the expedition team, told the media that the Tsumai had given Mahabalipuram a lot of publicity but nothing in terms of archaeology.
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