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

Back to Reality

Pune-Solapur Highway Project - paving at km69

Sigh... I’m back in this hellhole called the Pune-Solapur Project. It is especially difficult after a trip back home to Malaysia, especially if it’s only a short friggin 8 day trip.

Didn’t have time for so many things that I wanted to do, didn’t have time to savour so many of the local food which I missed after such a long stay in ‘hellhole’, didn’t have time for the long planned trip to the east coast with the family... didn’t have time for a relaxing stay at home with the wife and the little monster, didn’t watch one friggin movie in Malaysia, (something we always thought of doing, ...passing the little critter to his granddad, and I and the wife running to the cinema to watch a movie, decently), didn’t meet so many friends and relatives...

That’s life, unfortunately. Still plodding on in Daund, thought this Project will end much earlier than what we’ve achieved now, ...only about 60%, ...when will we reach 100%, 2014???!!?

Anyway, since I’m over with my cave-themed posts, here’re some pictures of our ‘beloved’ hellhole Project...


The garden of our 'beautiful' blue office in Kurkumbh, ...this is about the nicest part of our office, don't ask about the parts...


Daybreak at our Kurkumbh Base Camp


Maharaja Hotel, km70, the most decent hotel in our office area, ...about 1.5 stars, I’d say. Comes with good food (until the entire management team, plus the chef, quit and joined another hotel about a few months back), air con (the constantly buzzing variety), hot water (in a bucket, when summoned)...


Kkanchan Restaurant, km41, the finest in our Project stretch, only vegetarian food, or ‘pure veg’ as the locals term it, makes one wonder whether there’s such a thing called ‘impure veg’? Anu had food there once, and swore not to return (she’s not really a fan of Indian ‘pure veg’ food), but this is our clients’ and consultants’ favourite stopover in our Project




Rock, or having to cut through rock, is one of the main features of our Project – chiselling our way through, km68-69, Pune-Solapur Highway


Part of our fleet of rock breakers


Blasting the blasted rocks with explosives, km53


The deep canal at km79 - we have to build the road on top of this existing canal by extending the tunnel-like culvert


Another view of the deep canal, km79 Pune-Solapur Highway


Public well, Yavat, the nicest well in our Project, one of the many wells in the Project corridor that we have to close up to make way for the highway


Construction here involves a lot of praying and a lot of gods - praying to the ‘God of Girders’ before the start of the launch of our bridge girders, with my colleague, CL Chong looking on


Praying to the ‘Holy Toolboxes of the Divine Mechanics’, on the occasion of Vishwakarma Puja, held sometime every September, and dedicated to Vishwakarma, the Hindu God of craftsmen and architects

Floating over Cappadocia

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey with the Uchisar rock citadel at the back

Nothing beats a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. It’s just magical, but it’ll set your budget back by about the cost of one friggin cross-country flight! If I’m not mistaken, it cost me ...750 friggin RM! For 1 person!


Firing up the balloon


Taking off


Up, up and away


A view from the top




Cappadocia, by hot air balloon




A view of the natural terrain




High over Cappadocia


Yours truly, in a basket filled with Spanish tourists


Landing in a farm