A Few Trips to the Village

A view from the road to Fulertal from Silchar, Assam

More pictures of my wife’s home village of Fulertal, where we’ve made quite a few trips recently due to some pressing family matters. You can see how I’m resorting to posting a one-liner with lots of pictures just to keep the blog alive. That’ll explain how busy (not to mention grumpy) I’ve become at work.


The Barak River flanking Fulertal, with the new bridge completed. This is the village’s public bath and swimming pool, in non monsoon times (when the water's cleaner)


Justin and his cousins Kunal (right) and Akash or Chhandam in Mizo (left)


Justin resting by a neighbour’s house of wood & mud, Fulertal


Justin having a swell time at his grandmother’s house with mom, aunt and cousin sis, Sonia looking on


The Shiv Mandir (Shiv Temple) opposite Anu’s mother’s house


A closer view of the Shiv Mandir, note the inscriptions on the temple walls and entrance are in the Manipuri script as the temple is under Manipuri jurisdiction


The Mukam (tomb I think, nobody told me the exact meaning) beside the Shiv Temple. The inscription in English says Baba Longarshah, must be some Islamic Sufi saint’s name. The rest of the inscriptions are in Bengali, the local lingua franca. It’s a popular shrine among the Muslims in the region and surprisingly also among the Hindu residents of the adjoining Nepali village. Just shows the diversity of the place. We will typically visit the Shiv Mandir, and right after that, the Mukam, to place candles and incense on the steps of the tomb


The entrance to the Mukam, which I call the Shrine of the Chain, as there is a chain nailed to a tree nearby, which devotees will try to hit with a stone after making a wish. The trick is that you have to hit it with your first throw and you have to close your eyes while throwing


Anu & Justin at the Mukam, which is now decorated with chains painted gold, a recent addition. I guess the tomb caretakers finally realised the significance of that tiny chain on the tree


Amrita having a go at hitting the chain, she hit it after err... 5 times that time, so I guess it’s hard luck with her wish

An Unexpected Find

Bhuleshwar Temple, off Pune to Solapur Road, Maharashtra

Here’s an unexpected gem in the area. We decided to listen to some of our fellow colleagues and pop over on one of the Sundays to this little temple, perched on top of an uninhabited rocky hill just about 6km off our project road.

And I have to admit, I was kinda impressed – old place, with nice views of the almost barren hills around, and with intricate carvings inside. Maybe it’s only that I didn’t expect to find anything of interest in this downtrodden place. What's more surprising is that the temple even has a functional well, and this is on top of a hill, in barren country!


Visitors at Bhuleshwar Temple


A view of the arid landscape from the temple


Justin & mommy, Bhuleshwar Temple


Justin & papa, inside the temple








More views of the temple interior

Scenes from Rural Maharashtra

A quiet village scene near Satara, on the road to Phaltan

It ain’t all bad getting stuck in this place. Here’re some scenes for all you ‘city folks’ that you can’t get where you’re at hehehe...


Tree-lined roads between Aurangabad and the Ellora Caves, kinda reminds me of Taiping


Wheat field on the road to Ellora


Guess what this is, ...flowers of the common onion, didn’t know onions had flowers huh?


The parched hillside during the dry season, beside our Project Road corridor


Dusty bushland-like roads near our Project Road corridor


Temples near Lingali, one of the villages near Daund


Water catchment area, Daund


View of the countryside, near Ravangaon

Daund, Two Years and counting

Mommy and baby, in front of our apartment (the 4 storey building at the back), Daund


Our neighbourhood church, just a minute’s walk from our apartment, on Easter Day 2012 – songs and the sermon are completely in Marathi, ...so we just hum to the tune...

Back from a short trip to Assam, and have been on overdrive ever since. That explains the break in blogging.

Ya, it’s already two years in this friggin place. Bored stiff now of sugarcane, and ...of sugarcane, what else is there in this place?? Dull life, if not for the hectic working schedule and the incessant disturbances from the ever-hungry ‘vultures’ always eyeing for a share of the pie.

Just waiting for when we can get out of this place and see something new. For the time being, here’re some pictures of our lovely life in Daund...


More pyramids of gold, actually sugarcane waste (bagasse) for fuel and making paper. Do check my post a year ago on the SAME topic - ‘One Year of Daund’


Bullock carts, for transporting sugarcane, a nuisance to other road users, but what can we do, this is the main source of income for the area


The gaudy temple of our neighbouring village, Gopalwadi


The Siddhivinayak Temple in Siddhtek, one of the 8 Ashtavinayak Temples around Pune. Ashtavinayak means Eight Ganesh (Elephant God). There are talks that if one can visit all eight Ashtavinayak Temples within a day (and mind you they’re not near to one another), all your wishes will come true, that is if you don’t get yourself killed first trying to drive at 150kph in the treacherous country roads and tiny village roads trying to achieve that


The Bhima River beside Siddhtek, about 20km from Daund


Amrita and Karishma at the local swimming pool, Daund


Independence Day (15th August) outing at the local swimming pool, 2011


Justin and his didi (sister), on a quiet country road, Ravangaon


Anu and Karishma with the shepherds and their herds, Ravangaon


In a millet field nearby


Dressing up for the goats... what else is there to do here??

The Two Quarries

Bhandgaon Quarry, IJM Pune-Solapur Project

OK, here’re some photos of our Project’s quarries. We have 2 quarries in our Project, one at Bhandgaon (km47) and one at Girim (km69). Both are bloody troublesome quarries, surrounded by blood, ...or more like money-thirsty neighbours, all out for a share of the ‘profits’. No wonder we are losing money...


Aggregate stockpile, Bhandgaon Quarry


Aggregates in a field of wheat, Bhandgaon


Security outpost, top of aggregate stockpile, Bhandgaon – easy way to commit suicide, just jump onto the high tension cables


Eagles at Bhandgaon – wildlife is a common thing in India, eagles are so common in the cities of India that they’re like crows in Malaysia. You can see them soaring overhead in Pune, Kolkata, all over India, except in the North East I think. There, people eat everything, including eagles if they can get their hands on 'em. The only thing that soars in the North East are moths!


Concrete batching plant, Bhandgaon


View from the road to Girim – I’ve seen wild deers, hares and a porcupine on this road at night.


IJM’s Workshop, Girim


Girim Crusher, IJM Pune-Solapur Project