The mango pilgrimage

A little bit of history to start with. A good 80 years ago my grandma with her brood including my dad, then a toddler was travelling by train from Chennai to Kolkatta. Leaving out the gross details (how it is always narrated by my aunts), my dad cried from the word go. His elder sister found a way to calm him by giving him a mango to suck on. This worked. A toddler dad  polishing a crateful of mangoes and the gastronomic consequences thereby have been anecdotal in my family ever since.

Fast forward to 2003. Me a young bride then, confessed to my family how mangoes talk to me and how the urge to eat mangoes mindless of  the time of the day cannot be supressed. The Chandran Mahaldars have always taken their Mango very seriously.I have the annual Mango weight gain going up a few dress sizes, resulting from indiscriminate consumption of atleast a dozen mangoes at one go. I battle the extra baggage over the next 10 months till it is time for the next season of sheer golden fructose bliss. My cheeks glow golden and the house smells ethereal with the ripening mangoes.

Goa, a former Portuguese colony has a special variant of the alfonso mango called the Mancurad. For the non initiated there is no tangible difference between the two. The mancurad has a golden yellow  fibrous mantle but is nectar sweet  upto the seed and comes in the market before the other mangoes of the season. In Goa they are sold at the price of gold and a exingency mango budget in the summer months has to be allocated if my mango cravings have to be satisfied. An hours drive out of Goa into Maharashtra takes one into a mango haven for lesser mortals.In Vengurla  the Goan Mancurad is sold at half the price and being a port town fresh fish is an added bonus. we do this annual Mahaldar Mancurad route to maharashtra and this time we were rewarded with the  pristine beach with shimmering golden sand against the setting sun.

Awesome Auli

Day 1
Reached Delhi and felt the cold air nip our tropical selves.A quick night trip to Chandini Chowk , Sis Ganj Sahib Gurudwara's langar dal roti was sinfully completed with the rich parathewali gali parathas.

Day 2
Early morning train to Haridwar was a delight for the foodies in us as we chomped through all that was to offer on wheels.A half a day sight seeing tour of Haridwar to Chandi Devi and Mansa Devi temples followed by the much famed Ganga Ghat Aarti is a glimplse into the religious fervour of our folks.

Ganga Ghat arti

Day 3
From Rishikesh the winding roads start and the every bend and turn along the mountains is a still for the nat geo mag.The green waters below and the mighty mountains by the sides interupted by a villages far and few in between kept us company till we reached Joshimath at nightfall. Roadside Dhabas provide simple vegetarian fare of paranthas and Dal Chawal. Potatoes in various forms is an essential ingredient in all meals.

Ram Jhula in Rishikesh

Day4

Snow ball pelting on the rope way

Early morning visit to the winter abode of Lord Badrinath in Joshimath had a little surprise for us. Tamil verses hailing praises of the lord and his abode had an immediate connect of the Tamilian in me with this far away snowy kingdom.

Skiing

A ropeway ride to Auli and the first sight of snow peaked mountains can excite young and old alike.
Playing in the snow and making a snow man is a must for everyone. Riding all the way to the top on a snow mobile felt like I was riding Santa's sleigh, only this ride was far more bumpier. Skiing on the slopes of Auli requires lots more time and skill to learn but we can pose for the snap. With the help of the friendly local instructors even ski small bits of the slope over an hour. Steaming noodles and pasta with a hot cuppa by the Nanda Devi snowy peaks tastes heavenly. So much so that even Gods residing on those peaks must have switched to these yummy treats from their boring fruits and amrut.

Nanda Devi peaks bathed in the golden s

 A travellers tip - Snow and the sub zero temperatures can be enjoyed only if we are adequately wooled and gloved. A bon fire at night and watching the moon creeping from behind the white peaks warms body and the soul alike.We bonded over the fire and songs with our other Cliff toppers. The mountain air has magic in it. Brings out the best in us. Maybe that's why Gods reside there.

Snow Mobile

Ethereal

Day5
Descent from Auli , kissing the snow goodbye was difficult but we were also keen to get away from the cold.
We drove along the holy river confluences Nand Prayag(Alaknanda & Nandakini), Karan Prayag(Alaknanda &Pindari), Rudra Prayag(Alaknanda & Mandakini) and Dev Prayag ( Alaknanda & Bhagirathi). White water rafting in a 16 Km stretch from Sivpuri to Rishikesh was the highpoint of this trip for us. We hit some of the most exciting rapids on the Ganga i.e. Return to Sender, Roller Coaster, Golf Course shouting slogans like Jai Ganga Mata and Dar Ke Aage Jeet Hai. One can try Body Surfing and Cliff Jumping also in this section.The adrenaline rush is unmatched and the experience unforgettable.The drive down the mountainous roads got out my philosophical side. I decided to leave all my troubles and niggling thoughts in those hills and come clean after a bath in the pristine waters of the Ganges. Trust me it had the desired effect when I reached back home.

Dev Prayag

River Rafting

cliff jumping

Day 6
Delhi again and this time we feasted on meat. Nihaari and paaya at Karims at old Delhi with tandoor rotis did justice to its fame. A quick day tour of the Red fort, Humayun's Tomb, India Gate and Qutub Minar is all it takes for us to believe how Delhi truly deserves to represent our vast diversified nation as our capital. And a proud one at that.

Karims @ Old Delhi

Austere Austria

museum quartier

maria teresa

kunsthistorisches museum

Vienna is one of the ageless cities.From the Habsburgs who ruled for eons to the modern Vienna International Centre of the United Nations the city has held on to its Austrian austerity and identity.
Vienna takes pride in all its royal stories and controversies. The pride placed on their palaces, royal treasury, holy religion, Wein cuisine and just about anything Viennese is notable.
Empress Maria Teresa looms large in the entire city. She assumed power by default but proved her mettle by sheer grit and shrewd political strategies. Though she married her children only to meet political ends she did not do so without the insight of a mother. She once apparently remarked that if her young Daughter remains true to her husband and God even if her matrimony leads to unhappiness it is good enough. With equal pride they celebrate the enigmatic albeit eccentric Queen 'Sisi'  whose rebellions against the courtly duties are famous. An audio guided tour of the Schonbrunn palace, formerly a summer palace of the imperial family is an absolute must.
A ride on the horse carriage on the cobbled  Viennas Ringstrasse helps one soak in the viennese delights in a short romantic ride. An ariel view of Vienna from the Danube tower against the setting summer sun late into the night is a magical display of lights on the horizon. A bungee jump for the adventurous is also available. Just the ledge from where jump begins sent a shiver down my sissy spine.
Vienna has over a 100 museums. Weird ones like the funeral museum, globe museum included.
We chose to visit the Sigmund Freud Museum and were richly rewarded.His ideologies, his couch, his travel acessories and the table specially designed for him while he wrote his journals are brilliantly showcased in the house he lived till the the Nazis invasion.
Vienna is beautiful ,clean ,precise and brilliant