Ice- cream scoops in Saputara

Saputara, a small hill station located at  Mumbai-Gujarat border. From Mumbai it's 225 km which takes around 5 hours by road to reach. The NH3 roads are amazingly form to drive, without any potholes and blessing for drivers and bikers. After about 180 km pass Nashik, the climate become bit cooler and breezy as this place is situate at the altitude of 1000 m. It's a part of Sahyadri range and surrounded by densely forested area called the Dang forest. It's a small beautiful place and suggested to explore the city on foot.

Usually, I plan my getaways during off season. This makes me closer and to discover the city.

Ariel view of Saputara

"Let's find some beautiful places to get lost " - Hans Anderson.

Fountains on every junctions

Recently visited this charming place glorified with framed fountains which are known junctions in the city.There are altogether 3 - 4 fountains placed with articulated small roads for the excursions.
We studied the map several times prior, which help us in planning our sight seeings pleasantly.Our stay was pre-booked in Savshanti lake resort, though it was off season (always organised). There are many other hill resorts, hotels and lodging facilities easily available on arrival stage. During the peak season, advance booking for stays are suggested as been eminent place and always over crowded.

View from the room

Entrance 

Savshanti lake resort is the only to be placed near the lake in amidst of pleasing mountains and lake. Fortunate to have this view from our room and take along the fairy smile on me. If you are accompanying with the family, this is one of the best resort to check in with the recreation facilities like playing garden for kids, pool area, short walking path sided the lake and the exceptional service to the guest.



As I mention , Saputara is a small city and can be explore on foot within 2 days. I took off , on long weekend to relax, rejuvenate and renew myself. Those three days were splendid with my husband and my both cubs (lovely kids).

Sunrise Point

Step Garden

The attraction places are Jain temple & Sunset point - the rope way on the way, Honey bees center lake boating alongside lake garden, sunrise point - paragliding on the way, tribal art museum & a mini aquatic museum - in the city, Rose garden, Step garden, Gira falls and also excursion on wildlife sanctuary to complete. The Shavshanti resort staff was conducive and approachable in all desire ways.  The first two days, we spent time in the city and covered the reachable sight seeing. My admirable spot was the sunset point, very airy and can view the picturesque Saputara, the breath taking point and also experiencing the rope way. The rope way has the time to access between 10 in the morning till - close by 6 in the evening.The last (third) day was the relaxing time in pool and then remaining time to wrap up the floated things.

Sunset point 

Boating 

Experiences - The rope way

Honey bees center 

Tribal Museum

As born foodie, I always seek and tried different food from locavores like chicken and mutton preparations to exclusive sizzlers in Saputara. Yes, the local eateries serve you this amazing traditional non-veg & veg preparation gravies with assorted rotis  and a visit to "Sugar N Sipce " restaurant will allow pizzas and sizzler variations to tickle your taste buds. Don't miss to dine yourself in Anado's for tandoori items, Sugar N Spice for fast food items, small eateries for sipping tea- flavored with lemon grass side-plated with Egg Bhurji Pav. For the food safaris, thanking my hubby to fund us with the best "yum time" and further nevertheless to visit Gira Falls & paragliding to be on my list to do (pending). To which I am eagerly looking forward to happen in my next visit.

Specialty in sizzlers & pizzas 

Nostalgic and exotic

You can get there by road or by rail, if possible rented or owned cars are preferred for the convenience. The city is quiet sheer so auto, taxi or buses are few. Yes, tourist vehicles like Indigo,Dezire and so on cars are easily available but then on high rates. I visited in the month of early April and hence those three long weekend days were my ice cream scoops of summer time. Eventually waiting this season to end and getting myself charge for the monsoon to hit my upcoming and hopefully the adventurous trip of the year.
Spread joy and be happy.

White on the beach - "A Pure Soul"

White on the beach

 Away from Mumbai's early sunrise, routine commitments, job affairs & wrap up things that ultimately ends our usual day...Go Go Goa and here I visit again....... very fortunate to call as my home town which always relates to Sun, Sand, Sea and Sauro (Konkani term for alcohol).


Last week, I step down to Goa  to attend an annual religious Puja which take place in the month of March. This year, the puja was positioned in the week of Holi, so got opportunity to celebrate the festival (Holi) along with the religious ritual. In similar week, we also decided to organize our "family outing" for refreshment to all - specially for the children before their final exams to start.

Alluring Goa beaches

Beaches are been favorites of all - the alluring Colva & Palolim beach located in south Goa, carry its own charisma.Our day with the plans were waving and ready to be blown. The children were excited  and looking forward for the enjoyable day.
On this note, I would like to reveal  my childhood feeling which is in existence. Usually, my splendid time on beach is with water and sand which been influential and help me to grow in person.

The silence

"Silence been my best friend who never betrays" a true follower of this quote and also relates to varies aspect of life.

So moreover on this quote, I believe the silence and time are important element to rekindle the magic of the best days of  life. Isn't it?

Living in moment

I always dwell here(on beaches) and  feel the sky which aid to forget my past and move further in my thoughts similarly as the clouds conclude, smell of the salted sea by gazing the waves with noisy laps which aid me to be stronger and the innocent playful sand to embrace yourself  in and to live in moment. Inhale a deep breath and let your spirit fly.

Good vibes

This placid views are enthroned by beaches in Goa, along with amateur photography, lighthearted soul, sun-kissed face - life always been better with this good vibes and take me closer to the nature.

Bliss moments

This moments of pleasure is priceless and the endurance to be self incline. None of the luxury hotels, clubs or the royal architect will lead to have presence and peace of mind. Spending time on beach either alone or with family has always seasoned my life.To be a pure soul has always been my phrase and this is reward to me in term of bliss and contentment.
On this ending note,beaches will invariably remain my front-runner and eternally unified the smiles of  near ones and the enjoyment that ignite the happiness to be a pure soul.
After gaining this source of energy, it provoke me to evolve exclusively. Working hard toward  yourself is always been beneficial in all facet of life.
Therefore, I would like to recommend my friends and extended family to experience and get detox your soul.

So be good and be happy till my next post tune up.

Spreading Joy @ Children of the world India trust.

This post of mine does not relate to any striking destination but wanted to share the experience.I have visited this place in Nerul, Navi Mumbai called as 'Children of the world India Trust'. Its an NGO - Non government organisation engaged in educational service, vocational training and other related services to the needy children. After the visit, the place provide lots of positiveness and realization to accord our society. On this condition my post follow as......

We all celebrate our kids birthdays year after year with great amity and I realize that we carry a high potential level to make the celebration a successful one, considering the complete happiness of our kid.
Its been stereotype to celebrate the birthdays with families n friends. So to give a change in my lifestyle and thoughts, I decided to celebrate my son - Shrey's 2 birthday with World India Trust.

Our planning started 2 days prior by taking appointment and arranging things in their discipline with concern person.
We entered this place with great enthusiasm along with the limited members (on conditions) of family and a birthday boy. The cake cutting ceremony was well organised by them. There were around 40 children of different age group for the celebration. They were intimated about the function and were ready to celebrate in their full spirit. I was so touched by looking to each of them with watery eyes......such a blessed day for Shrey and to my family to be part of them.They all were so pure and graceful. Sharing the pieces of cake and chocolates were well taken care by the volunteers 'maushis' of the NGO. Eventually, Shrey was entertained and had a splendid moment with all of them.

We surprise the children by distributing fancy return gifts. My feelings cannot be describe further in words..........finally 2 hours of gaiety was coming to an end with a satisfied and joyful heart. So truly said  'take time to do what makes your soul happy'. 

On this special visit, I would like to express a huge gratitude to the entire team of World India Trust along with the children. Also thankful to my supportive husband who played very important role in organizing the birthday. To be called as the blessed parent, from then on decided to celebrate our kid's birthday with unprivileged children.

There are many NGO's which are easily approachable for the good causes. 
It was a day which added essence in my life........Stay tuned *******

A sudden road trip to nashik.

Now, here I welcome December as it is my one of the favorite month . After the visit to Goa(previous post) our days went quiet long and busy with the official and social commitment (specially with two kids).In my life,perhaps there was an intense need for a family outing.



Our random plan took us to Nashik - a road trip. Nashik is a beauty with sets of temples, vine yards and also consist of other scenic beauty like waterfall, popular for Yewala sarees and not the least - the spicy food. So weekend was the suitable to capture the destinations like Sula vineyards and Bhandardara waterfall.

About to say - Sula vineyards is the attraction of 30 acre campus of grape winery and also embrace the section like wine tasting studio, amphitheater, restaurants and wine production tour of 40 minutes.
It's a place of relaxation and rejuvenating and featured with the balcony dine area - relaxing zone, where one can grab a wine with tidbits and enjoy an aerial view of Sula campus. Staying option is available but felt rooms were quiet expensive. After our wine tour we proceed for lunch to Little Italy Restro which is further divided according to the cuisine Specialty. They have section of bars and the cuisines like Italian and Indian too. Hari Mirch chicken is mind boggling in their menu and well goes with Garlic naan. Finally ended our day with some selfies and photographs in the vicinity.

After spending a splendid day at Sula vineyards the next day, we headed towards Bhandardara which takes us nearly 2 n 1/2 hr to reach the village. As you reach the village called Ghoti there are many curvy and steep road. While driving all safety needs must be assured. Once we reach bhandardara ,its was so purely bliss and beautiful. Road ride made me tired but later it was much refreshing. There are many spots to visit in Bhandardara like Amruteshwar temple, Kalsubai peak Umbrella fall, Randha falls. The Best season to visit the place is monsoon and winter.

Yash resort is popular for accommodation with good facilities provided. We enjoy activity like boating and a bit of trekking. This village is above the level so its always breezy during winter and monsoon time. I beckon the sunset of Bhandardara and rejoice the place.On the whole , the trip to Sula and Bhandardara was awesome and I would recommend to the Mumbaikars to look forward for the quick getaway.
With this note, my trip comes to an end and will soon discover the other trips.

Indeed, time spend at salaulim dam.

 This year Ganesh festival,2K16 was full of joy and over enthusiasm.
Every year we celebrate this festival with my in laws in Goa. So this year we planned for the extended days to spend in Goa. During these days, here I was taken to unplanned halt, the Salaulim dam which is nearly 10 km away from my stay. It was season of monsoon, but we were lucky to enter the vicinity as the clouds were clear (no rains). A breathtaking place, as i exit my car.Its a huge dam with parallel panoramic view of botanical garden. Salaulim dam has a spillway which manifest the charm of the dam. it has the entry fee for the visitors and cameras and photography is strictly prohibited (still manage to take some pics).

There is lot of geographic information on net but here i am going to clearly reveal my experience. When you walk on the dam, on one side is catchment area of the dam, full with water and trees submerged and reflecting in the water. Some green hillocks are the back look from a distance.

The main attraction is in the middle of the dam. There is a semi circular outlet from which the water fall from the height of 50 ft and another 100 ft to go into the river below. The waterfall force is so much that it goes up in the air like smoke and falls back on the dam like rain. This beauty of the dam move you ahead, adhere with botanical garden.You come across sprawling lawns, pied kingfisher birds, playing areas for children and facilities like washrooms and canteens which are well placed. We were fortunate to avoid the crowd, and also delighted to spot the rainbow seeking from the clear clouds. We embarked walking to the narrow pathway which lies below the dam.

A variety of flowers and shrubs came on our way of exit, which were often seen. surely going to visit next year too as the place is quite close to my resident(goa) and had a serene feeling.

An epic of Ashtavinayak darshan.

It's all about Ashtavinayak Darshan which is well known all over Maharashtra. It is basically a tour of eight abodes of Lord Ganesh which is situated in Pune. This yatra or tour is plan for 3 days. There are various modes to complete this yatra such as by own vehicles or to choose any tour package like kesari travels, purple travels , chinmaya travels and many more.
I am thankful to Chinmay tour for the legendary importance of each temple. Each of the this temple have its own history and significance as distinct from each other. All the murtis are known as "Swayambhu" means they are created by its own accord.
In this post, you get the information and religious story about each of this distinct murtis.

The list of temples from Mumbai are :
Ballaleshwar temple - Pali
Varadvinayak temple - Mahad
Mahaganpati temple - Ranjangaon
Moreshwar temple - Morgaon
Siddhivinayak temple - Siddhatek
Chintamani temple - Theur
Girijatmaj temple - Lenyadri
Vighnahar temple - Ozar
This listed temples are visited according to shastra, starts from Moreshwar (Morgaon), Siddhivinayak (Siddhatek), Ballaleshwar (Pali), Varadvinayak (Mahad), Chintamani (Theur), Girijatmaj (Lenyadri), Vighnahar (Ozar), Mahaganpati (Ranjangaon) and then again  Moreshwar (Morgaon), which ends and complete your Ashtavinayak tour.

The most interesting part of this tour is about the stories of each temples


Moreshwar :
It is the most important temple of this tour. This temple is built from black stone and situated in the centre of the village. The village derives its name from the name of the bird "Peacock" in marathi. The original murti is smaller in size and enclosed in a copper sheet by the Pandavas and placed behind the currently worshiped murti.

Siddhivinayak :
This temple is built by Peshwa's. legend say that lord brahma with the blessing of lord ganesh was busy in creating the world. while this was going on, lord vishnu felt asleep and the two demons emerged from vishu's ears. they started troubling all Gods, Goddesses and Sages. on realizing only Lord vishnu could kill the demons. on the request of all Gods to kill them, lord vishnu fought for about 5000 years and failed in defeating the demons. on the advice of Lord Shiva , vishnu worshipped lord ganesha and was successful to kill the demons. hence. the place where vishnu performed the prayer(Penance) and gained siddhi, is known as siddhatek and the lord ganesh who conferred siddhi is known as siddhivinayaka.





Ballaleshwar :
This temple is named after Ballal who used to worship Lord Ganesha. He was blessed by Lord Ganesha to be superior devotee with larger life span. It was noticed that a speciality of this temple is to offer besan ladoo instead of modak.

Varad Vinayak :
He is the known as giver of wealth & success. On my way to the temple, I came across the fact, that the murti was found in adjoining lake in an immersed position. One day, the subhedar of the village found the idol and built the Varada Vinayak temple and establish the village named "Mahad". The dome of this temple has depicted to the shape of cobra and a constant lighted oil lamp is always observe burning continuously since 1892.

Chintamani :
The temple is located in the village of Theur. The idol of this temple is believed to have a precious Chintamani Jewel. One day, sage Kapila put this jewel in Ganesha's neck and thus named as Chintamani Vinayak. This happened under the Kadamb tree, therefore Theur is known as Kadanbanagar in old times and the lake situated behind the temple is called Kadambteertha.

Girijatmaj :
The story of this temple is based on Parvati's son Atmaj. It was known  Parvati as Girija and son as Atmaj. And further named Girijatmaj as Lord Ganesh. It is believed that Parvati (Girija) performed a prayer to bring her son Atmaj (Ganesha) in this world. This temple stands amidst a cave complex of 18 caves of buddhist origin. This temple is in the 8th cave called as Ganesh-leni. To reach this temple , 307 stairs are carved from single stone and the temple features a wide hall with no supporting pillars. I enjoyed this temple most as located on hill with a very good view from hill.

Vighneshwar :
The story of this temple surround with the known name Vighnasur, who was a demon created by Dev Indra to destroy the prayer organised by King Abhinandan. However, the demon went a step further and destroyed all vedic, religious acts and so on. But Lord Ganesha defeat him and the demon begged and pleaded with Ganesha to show mercy. Lord Ganesha granted his plea on the condition that demon should not go to the place where that demon should not go to the place where ganesha worshipping is going on. In return the demon asked a favour that his name should be taken before Ganesha's name, thus the name of Ganesha's became Vighnahar or Vigneshwar. The Lord Ganesha of this temple is called Shri Vighneshwar Vinayak.

Mahaganpati :
The story of Mahaganpati is emphasize on Lord Shiva, who believed to have worshipped Lord Ganesha before fighting the demon Tripurasura. This temple was built by Lord Shiva, where he worshipped Ganesha and the town enclosed by this temple was known as Manipur and now known as Ranjangaon. This temple is constructed in such a way that the rays of the sun fall directly on the idol.



After Ashtavinayak darshan, the most inspiring part was the narration of each stories. The tour was splendid and help me lot to understand more about the epic of each Lord Ganesha.

This post does not hold on the food, accommodation or voyage,but about the noted facts which are rarely known or understand by us. Coming to an end by saying ...Ganpati Bappa Morya !!!!!