Damaned
Having a car at your disposal and a spouse who uses the house only for sleeping and bathing, the latter occasionally, is the perfect recipe for a nomadic life. And so we set out on Christmas morning at 6:00 AM to western India, and in particular the picturesque town of Daman. One of our friend Sachin hails from there and he was happy to accompany us. In turn we were glad to have company and add the fact that our stay was taken care of at his home :) it was a symbiotic trip.
The drive was quite pleasant given that the roads were excellent, but an hour from Daman there was a huge jam because of a couple of overturned trucks. In spite of that we made good time and reached by 1:00 PM. Owing to to the Idlis and Poha we had for breakfast we were in no particular hurry to lunch immediately. After a few leisurely hours spent in chatting with Sachin's dad and the seraphic Sajjan who takes care of everything in and around the house, we lazed in the garden playing Scrabble.
Daman was no different from any other town, but when you are a visitor you are awed by the most mundane things which don't appeal to you in your own city. So we duly clicked away at all and sundry - roads, bridges, boats, churches. On our way to see the lighthouse, we first tasted faluda. It is the single most delicious thing I had tasted in a long long time. Needless to say it became the de facto drink throughout our stay. After spending a peaceful hour at the Jampore beach and listening to a bunch of enthusiastic but unmelodious kids belt out carols, we retired to our room but not before a sumptuous meal and an engaging conversation with Sachin's dad.
Uncle was one of the few people we had met to whom we took an instant liking. Not only because he immediately put us at ease, but he is one of those rare people whose actions speak louder. If not for him, Sajjan might have been roaming the streets of his native village leading a life of ignorance and probably turning out to be an uneducated youth. But thanks to uncle, he now has a place to live, a vocation to pursue and a teacher to groom him.
The entire place is so tiny that we could travel from one end of Daman to the other in a matter of minutes. So the second day we just decided to catch a movie in the morning and then go around the market and Devka beach in the evening. The most interesting thing though happened when we returned home - we decided to learn how to play bridge. Poor uncle oblivious to our learning skills proceeded to explain in great detail the basic rules, variations and strategies. It was so horribly hard for us that we just gave it up as a bad job.
The next morning we left again early at 7:30 AM and on an impulse decided to visit the nearby union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. We hardly spent 30 mins in its capital Silvassa. In fact all we did there was to have breakfast and a heavy one at that including Khaman, Samosa, Wadapav, Gajar ka halwa and topped it with tea. The return from there to Pune was uneventful with one break for lunch and we were home well in time for the evening tea. From a journey perspective we probably didn't see anything new, but having met two diverse characters in Sajjan and Sachin's dad has more than made up for that. The trip is captured here in pictures.
Having a car at your disposal and a spouse who uses the house only for sleeping and bathing, the latter occasionally, is the perfect recipe for a nomadic life. And so we set out on Christmas morning at 6:00 AM to western India, and in particular the picturesque town of Daman. One of our friend Sachin hails from there and he was happy to accompany us. In turn we were glad to have company and add the fact that our stay was taken care of at his home :) it was a symbiotic trip.
The drive was quite pleasant given that the roads were excellent, but an hour from Daman there was a huge jam because of a couple of overturned trucks. In spite of that we made good time and reached by 1:00 PM. Owing to to the Idlis and Poha we had for breakfast we were in no particular hurry to lunch immediately. After a few leisurely hours spent in chatting with Sachin's dad and the seraphic Sajjan who takes care of everything in and around the house, we lazed in the garden playing Scrabble.
Daman was no different from any other town, but when you are a visitor you are awed by the most mundane things which don't appeal to you in your own city. So we duly clicked away at all and sundry - roads, bridges, boats, churches. On our way to see the lighthouse, we first tasted faluda. It is the single most delicious thing I had tasted in a long long time. Needless to say it became the de facto drink throughout our stay. After spending a peaceful hour at the Jampore beach and listening to a bunch of enthusiastic but unmelodious kids belt out carols, we retired to our room but not before a sumptuous meal and an engaging conversation with Sachin's dad.
Uncle was one of the few people we had met to whom we took an instant liking. Not only because he immediately put us at ease, but he is one of those rare people whose actions speak louder. If not for him, Sajjan might have been roaming the streets of his native village leading a life of ignorance and probably turning out to be an uneducated youth. But thanks to uncle, he now has a place to live, a vocation to pursue and a teacher to groom him.
The entire place is so tiny that we could travel from one end of Daman to the other in a matter of minutes. So the second day we just decided to catch a movie in the morning and then go around the market and Devka beach in the evening. The most interesting thing though happened when we returned home - we decided to learn how to play bridge. Poor uncle oblivious to our learning skills proceeded to explain in great detail the basic rules, variations and strategies. It was so horribly hard for us that we just gave it up as a bad job.
The next morning we left again early at 7:30 AM and on an impulse decided to visit the nearby union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. We hardly spent 30 mins in its capital Silvassa. In fact all we did there was to have breakfast and a heavy one at that including Khaman, Samosa, Wadapav, Gajar ka halwa and topped it with tea. The return from there to Pune was uneventful with one break for lunch and we were home well in time for the evening tea. From a journey perspective we probably didn't see anything new, but having met two diverse characters in Sajjan and Sachin's dad has more than made up for that. The trip is captured here in pictures.
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