Baroda to watch out NEXT

An impromptu visit to Baroda proved to be quite an eye-opener about this culturally vibrant city of Gujarat

Today’s Vadodara was formerly known as Baroda but even today is fondly addressed as Baroda. Vadodara is the 18th-largest city in India with an area of 235 square kilometres and is the third-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Vadodara Railway Station

As you alight at Vadodara station, you start getting feelers that you are in Gujarat. The neat and clean station is a major junction of the Indian Railway which is connected by umpteen trains from Mumbai. The journey was smooth, barring a breakdown of overhead wire at some obscure station which led to 3 hours of delay. The reach to the hotel was smooth and stay pleasant.

While we visited a friend living in Baroda for many years in her spatial 4 – BHK luxurious villa in a prominent locality, it set us thinking, why not explore the property scenario…

Believe me, it turned out to be quite a revelation. The development work is at a feverish pitch…all over flyovers are being constructed. All major/minor localities are interconnected with proper roads. Every road connects every end. Many posh colonies are coming up all over with fancy dwellings. The drainage system has been developed and upgraded. Baroda had one of the most effective drainage systems in the 1900s which was unheard of in those days.

So, roads are wide and quite a pleasure to drive around the city, traffic during daytime is minimal and in peak hours manageable. Markets are open from 11-3 PM after that 4 PM onwards when most of the purchasing/outing happens. It has big, very big, very very big showrooms of the national and international brands, you name it, Vadodara has it! And some very happening and upcoming malls are changing the commercial landscape of the city. What to say of markets in designated areas like Mangal Bazar where you can shop to your heart’s content at dirt cheap prices. It is located in the vicinity of Sur Sagar Talaav.

Coming to Sur Sagar has one of the tallest statues of Shiv Ji located amid Talaav. It has a very spic and span promenade all over where visitors enjoy their evenings and maybe mornings too. I visited Sur Sagar all days of my stay as loved being there, shopped at Mangal Bazaar, and ate Kairi Masala there, which tasted yummy.

Undeniably, it is the prominent education centre of India with the famed Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and Parul University and many more. It has a famous music college too. Spread in a radius of approx.10 Kms. Vishwamitri river passes in the midst, where the cabby told me that crocodiles come on the roads sometimes, to catch people unaware. It has some very famous hotel chains like Vivanta by Taj.

Prominent Everest Group has an interesting lineup of Residential and Commercial Projects at a prominent location in Vadodara

The construction of residential and commercial properties caught my attention, having been associated with RE for many years, it was quite natural. Guided by my friend, checked in some residential complexes by famous groups. The construction quality is top–class, and projects are resident-friendly and well-planned. The team members of the construction group are very smart, sharp, and knowledgeable and don’t differentiate whether you will convert into a buyer or not. We really had some stimulating discussions with people there. They attend to you wholeheartedly. Coming to prices, I had some preconceived notions about the place like it will be quite cheap, but on the contrary, prices are quite high and governed by the area, construction quality, amenities, builders, etc. True, it is nowhere close to Mumbai pricing, still…

… a Countless number of projects are coming up all over hence you are spoilt for choices! If you want to buy a property there, you can go with a broker or builder directly. They are very cooperative and address all your queries patiently.

What to say about eating joints: fine dining restaurants, street food corners, ice cream parlours, and mithai and farsan shops spreading aroma with their unique flavours. If you are a foodie, Vadodara is for you!  

There are many unique places for sightseeing, prominent being Laxmi Vilas Palace, Sayaji Garden, Museums, and theme parks, or if you love to walk, start walking on any green patch in your area.

No wonder, Vadodara is a go-to place for many of us who love the peace and culture of the city.  

PS: Me & my husband Mukund recently visited the city

Glass Apart: My LOVE for Glass Bangles!

मेरे हाथों में नौ नौ चूड़ियां है…

The precious leave of Holi was utilised in a very unusual activity, taking account (Style, Design, Colour, Numbers – Total Audit) of the Bangles I have in my cupboard. I wanted to organise these as I was repeating my bangles quite often…

…& I don’t like doing that! I am a self-confessed bangle freak!!

I love to wear new bangles every day, matching it with the outfit, though it doesn’t go that way. So, cupboard cleaning and organising took a few hours but it was worth it. For the first time, I noticed my collection of glass bangles, bought from the length and breadth of the country. They were parked the same way as offloaded carefully from the flight, without even checking what and how many bangles I had bought.

My personal collection

My love for glass bangles dates back to my childhood when an old gentleman used to come to sell glass bangles in his daliya (cane basket), neatly tied by a sootli (thin rope) in such a manner, so that design colour etc. was clearly visible. My mother use to buy lots of bangles from him whenever he came. (Maybe it is genetic). I was a very curious child always, so I asked many questions from bangle seller – Naccha! So, what is Naacha now – Mummy use to call him chacha, I called him naana, so he became Nachha (Naana – Chacha) for all ladies in the colony! I don’t know what he thought about this new nomenclature.

Questions like: Bangles are made of what, how do you colour them? How do you put sequins on them? Why do you bring these in cane basket? Are these heavy? Why do you sell bangles? He patiently replied all my queries while selling his bangles to colony aunties, sipping hot tea. Once his sale was over, he will give me a few free bangles and my joy in knew no bounds. Probably, the love dates back to the incident, which I suddenly recollected while sorting my bangle collection today…real nostalgia!

My glass bangle collection has travelled from far-flung areas, across the length and breadth of the country right from Katra, Jammu to Hyderabad, AP traversing Delhi ( Pracheen Mandir Bangle Bazaar, Delhi Haat, Janpath, Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar) Jaipur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Hardwar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Kolkatta ( Shankha Poda), Assam, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Kutch, Bhuj…

Even international destinations are not spared: London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Guangzhou, Bangkok…I have bought whatever in the name of bangle available there! (needs a separate post)

You will be surprised to know that I always carry a sheet of bubble wrap to pack my bangles so that they can survive the wrath of airline people. Before planning a trip, I never forget to check from where I can buy bangles. Over a period of time, I realised that bangles are becoming my passion, rather obsession! By nature, I am a very content person, I don’t like to hoard stuff for the heck of it, but I can’t control when bangles cross my eyes. I want to shop, come what may and most of the time I do that. I remember my bua saying: बिंदी, चूड़ी के लिए क्या सोचना!

That has stayed with me. I never give a thought to anything while buying bangles. I am sharing a few pictures from my collection. I love wearing them especially with traditional outfits on all occasions, on all festivals. Sometimes I decide the bangles first and then match the saree or dress. If I something misplaced, I feel very agitated.

The history of bangles dates back to Mohen-jo-daro days, 2600 BC when these were found in excavation and statues were found wearing them. In India Ferozabad in UP, near Agra is very famous for glass bangles and supplies to the world. The bangles of Firozabad are exceptionally made, so intricate, so colourful, so fine… It is one of a kind cluster producing bangles and catering to the growing demands and requirement in India, there is approximately 150 bangle making in the city.

We Indians love bangles, the love of Bollywood for bangles is part of the folklore, haven’t we grown up hearing songs like:

चूड़ी नहीं मेरा दिल है, बिंदिया चमकेगी चूड़ी खनकेगी, मेरे हाथों में नौ नौ चूड़ियां है, बोले चूड़ियां बोले कंगना

No celebration is complete without bangles, No Shringar is complete without bangles! Life is a celebration, celebrate it with anything you love!

My special thanks to Sai Vandana, Aarti Mohit Mathur, Aparna Chaturvedi and Hemlata Didi who have patiently tolerated my madness, added to the collection in whichever ways possible.

Last but not the least my dear Mummy, Usha Varma for introducing to the finer things in life!

 

 

 

 

 

Last Summers in Baroda, last winters in Thailand

All of a sudden we planned an outing to Baroda Gujarat as it happens to be our favourite city.

It is very historical, very royal, cheap & good food, fun shopping all was there to go for except for the heat.

It was terribly hot still it did not stop us from exploring the place – Baroda. We started with University closed to the station

which looked like a historical monument alongside there was this Baroda Museaum in the lust green huge park with Zoo and toy

train etc. Baroda Museum was awesomest experience. Gandhiji’s Ashes, rare sculptures, rarest of the rare painting…real treasure trove of

history. Museum is very well maintained and staff was also very cordial. We spent the whole day in the Museum…

Pl wait for more updates here.

 

thanks