An assortment of the weird

Confused? Read on..

Horrifying Ahmedabadi DIY: protecting car from dogs

The complete family shop at Latur

The ticket window at Panchakki, Aurangabad

When they brought electricity to Ajanta caves

So touching!

A regular day at the wholesale vegetable market, Jamalpur, Ahmedabad

Be crazy, buy this at Sarojini Market, Delhi

To Ahmedabad, with love -Freddie Mercury

Tad inconvenient, don't you think?

Oh, the new-age Puneri-patya!

One of these belongs in the fiction-comedy section

Knob, tap , spray..surprise! This time, no touching!

High-rise problems

Traveling with your dog

If you are a dog parent and have wanted to travel in India with your pooch, this post is for you.

This Diwali, my husband and I traveled with our dog (Boo) from Ahmedabad to Aurangabad  and back, via Pune. We considered the options available to us: air, road and rail. Very quickly we dismissed the air route as we discovered that an air trip (due to various reasons) can be fatal for your dog. The two options left to us were road and rail. Our journey was a combination of the two. 

Before the trip:

It is extremely essential that every time you travel with your dog that you take some effort to make it a joyful, happy and rewarding experience for her. This becomes especially crucial when traveling with your dog for the first time. It also makes the journey stress-free for you as well as her. It ensures that she will be eager for future travel. Remember, your dog sits in a tube of metal (car or train) hurtling at break-neck speed because she loves you and trusts you. She doesn't know that its a vehicle that will take her for a dream vacation. So, going that extra mile and following these steps weeks BEFORE you travel is the best way to reward your dog's trust and love!

• Walk your dog: I'm sure that like every good dog parent, you take your pooch for a 30-minute walk atleast twice a day. But here is the right way to do it http://www.cesarsway.com/training/thewalk/6-Tips-for-Mastering-the-Dog-Walk Walking the right way creates a deep bond between humans and dogs. Boo has become much more obedient since we started following these techniques. It made everything I'm listing below much easier.

• Expose her to new places: Start with walking her on a different route every day. This keeps things interesting and fresh for both the human and the dog. The dog starts to have fun exploring new routes. We not only walked Boo on different routes but also took her to dog-friendly cafes, grocery shops, random errands. This taught her to be patient and wait for us while we do our chores or eat. It exposed her to new environments and crowds. On longer errands, we made sure we carried water and treats for her.

• Familiar smells: Have your dog use the blanket / travel bed that you intend to carry for her on the journey for a week or so. The familiar smell will make her feel safe in a completely new surrounding; be it the train compartment, your hotel room or even the rented car.

• Health certificate: Ensure that your dog's vaccinations have be done for that year. Carry a health certificate from your vet. Prepare a medical history file that you will carry with you. All these are precautions to safeguard the health of your dog but are also paper arguments that come in handy in case you run into troublesome authorities or paranoid co-travelers. 

• Acclimatization: Exposing your dog very suddenly to chaotic situations can cause them to panic and get stressed. This can make them 'freeze', flee or cause other undesirable reactions. To avoid any such scenarios, we decided to acclimatize Boo to the railway station. She already enjoyed rickshaw and car rides but had never traveled by a train before. We made it a point to take her to the station and walk her on the platform as well as inside stationary trains. We also showed her the over-bridge. We did this exercise several times and bought platform tickets such as this one every time:

Platform ticket

Logistics of train travel:

Under Indian Railway guidelines, tariff for dogs is listed under the luggage rules. You can read the details here http://www.indianrail.gov.in/luggage_Rule.html You can carry your dog in a train in two ways. One way is by putting her in the dog-box which is a cage in the break-van of a train. The other (more desirable) way is with you in the First AC compartment . Now, here is a small dose of ground-reality. Not every train has a dog-box. (For instance, we discovered that the Duronto trains do not have one)   Not every train has a First AC compartment. Make sure to inquire before making reservations.

We decided that we were not going to put Boo in a cage at one end of the train while we slept in another compartment. So, we booked two First AC e-tickets on the Ahmedabad-Pune Duronto only to discover some more bizarre rules. To be able to carry your dog in the First AC compartment, you needed assured compact accommodation. You need to book (just for yourself) a whole coupe or cabin. A coupe consists of two berths while a cabin consists of four berths. So, be prepared to end up paying for a minimum of two berths. The way to ensure compact accommodation is to give a written request (preferably a day in advance) to the Chief Reservation Officer along with a printout of your ticket. Which means you have to find out where his office is. In Ahmedabad and Pune, the officer sits at the reservation center itself. We had to write an application for both the 'to' and 'fro' journey. Unfortunately, there is no provision online to state your preference while booking an e-ticket. Although, someone recently mentioned to us that while booking a ticket at the railway station you can mention that you plan to carry your dog and need compact accommodation. The man at the counter can feed your preference/request into his software. 

Please note that the first AC seating arrangements are announced only once the chart is prepared. So, you will be assured of compact accommodation only a few hours before your journey. This bit can be unnerving. Since we had confirmed tickets, we'd decided that even if we did not get the compact accommodation, we'd board the train with Boo in any case and pay the fine against a receipt if it comes to that.

You need to pay for your dog's travel at the luggage counter on the day of your journey. Mention your seat number. Better still, text your PNR to 139 after charting has been done and show them the text message that pings back. For most trains charting is done 4 hours before departure time. The amount for first AC travel depends on the weight of the dog and the distance of your journey. The minimum amount being whatever is applicable for 30kgs. In our case we paid Rs.265/- each way. Here is what the receipt looks like. Make sure you ask for one as the TC will demand it.

The pink parchi / receipt we got after we paid for our dog's travel at the luggage counter on the day of the journey

Word of caution: don't be fazed by the railway staff. We had a mostly good experience but that is not always the case. We dealt with a luggage staffer who had never checked-in a dog before and was clueless about the process. Luckily we had a hard copy of railway rules with us. We were also cross-questioned by a TC who was clearly looking to make a buck on the side. Be calm, polite and stick to your guns when you know you are right. The railways do make it very hard for pet owners but its worth it if you prefer rail journeys.

On the day of the journey:
Take your dog for a brisk walk right before the trip. Walk long enough so she has time to evacuate her bowels and bladder. The walk will tire her out and put her in 'resting' mode. She will be easier to handle. Avoid feeding her before the journey. Arrive at the station with enough time to weigh her in and get her luggage receipt. Keep a copy of your train's itinerary. If your journey is more than an over-night one, this information will come in handy. You can use it to know the stations at which your train will take long stops. Use this time to walk your dog on the platform.

Once all the paperwork is done, its time to make her cozy in the coupe. Take your time, don't rush it. If she is curious about the compartment, walk her around, let her see her surroundings. We stood with Boo in the passageway so she could see that the train was moving. This helped her relate the movement to that of her beloved rickshaws. We also let her pick the spot she wanted to curl in. She took a while to settle down and was a little scared at first. But come dawn, she was looking out the window! And the return trip was a breeze! All she wanted to do was curl up in the AC.

Boo was up at dawn. Usually, the bed is off-limits but we made an exception this time.

Logistics of car travel:
Almost everything I've mentioned previously is applicable to car travel. The only added feature here is that of road safety. You can buy a good quality harnesses for your dog and a contraption that lets you use the car's seat-belt on your pooch. Use the soccer-mom technique of blocking your dog with your arm when the brake is applied suddenly. This prevents sudden jerks as well as reassures your dog, especially if they are sitting upright. Keeping your windows open is a bad idea. Please shut them and have the AC on. If its a non-AC car, crank them just enough to get good air-circulation. You don't want any part of your dog hanging out the window. Every once in a while stop for loo breaks. Let her stretch her legs a bit and explore new places. Never leave her alone in the car! Ever!

Our first trip together as a family was a resounding success. Traveling with Boo has definitely brought her closer to us. She trusts us completely and loves to visit new places. We are planning a beach trip next time since she has never seen the sea. I bet she's going to love it!

A little about Boo: Boo is an Indian pariah who used to be a stray. Our lovely vet Dr. Tina Giri estimates that she is around 4-5 years old. We'd taken care of her for about three years till she finally adopted us.

About us: Pradeep and I are communication designers and run our own company called Roaming Design. Taking care of injured animals has been one of the things that brought us together. That is also how we met Boo.

Guess who's back?

Dear blog, long time no see...

You will be happy to know that much travelling has happened during that time. You and the world wide web were not missed, not remembered. Don't fret, though. I am back from the land of the dawn-lit mountains and I have stories to tell, stories to show and a strong urge to leave you again for those very mountains.

Don't hyper-ventilate, I didn't miss you but I did miss the small things in life like returning from work and retiring in my own bed with my familiar pillow and a book. Boo, the graceful pariah dog, the pair of bulbuls that visit my balcony every morning and demand banana bits. The list is long. I am rearing to go gallavanting again, but not just yet.

Such is my duality, that I did miss all these things, sorely. But I am eager to travel again. Meet new places, visit new people. Do the work I do best and do it well. In my last post, I wondered where I would travel next and it turned out to be of all places, the magical, mysterious, Arunachal Pradesh.

Dare I wonder where I'm going next?

Sasan Gir

I did too

My room in Sinh Sadan, the Forest Dept. guest house

Sometimes there was a dog on the roof

Other times there were two!

There were crocodiles for neighbours. Very smiley ones at that!

A lane behind the crocodile breeding farm looked took us to the river

While another one took us to Gir

The river flowed through the reserve

On which was the Kamleshwar Dam

A small bridge led into the reservoir of the dam. A watch-tower with an excellent view stood further down with our jeep park in front of it.

A Maldhari settlement as viewed from the tower

Meanwhile in the 'Gir Interpretation Centre' notices like these waited for us

Besides these notices there were animals as well, which was the real surprise!

Chital

Nilgai

The resin glue lioness

That never moved an inch although a bus-load of humans was parked nearby

PAISA WASOOL!

To read my experiences at Gir, click here.

Lion conspiracy

November 2009
4.00am

Grrrrowlllllll...Uggh Uggh Uggh

Me: Goobledegloop...gurgle...slobber-slobber...snore...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

GRRRROWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL UGGHA UGGHA UGGHA UGGHA

Me: Silent. Utterly and completely. Extra wide-awake and cowering under my thick blanket on an antique four-poster bed.

M is already awake but much calmer. Being a light sleeper comes in very handy for M. No nasty surprises. No being woken up afraid to death thinking a lion is in your bed! Not much sleep though, ever, if you can hear rats romancing a mile away on a regular basis.

Me: What in the name...WHAT was that?

M: Lions. Early morning territory-marking stroll, I suppose.

Me: It sounded more like a regurgitation of last night's chital.

M: Well...you never know...

The forest Department's guest house in Sasan (Gujarat) was the nicest place to stay for many reasons; smart planning I called it at the time. M and I were keen on taking a safari into Gir Wildlife Sanctuary which was conducted by the Forest Department and it started at the guest house. So, getting out of bed and crossing the street was all the effort that was needed at that unearthly hour. Waking up could be done in the jeep while heading towards the reserve.

Curiously, the call-time for the safari was a half-hour after the lion wake-up call that had me thoroughly awake and all that 'smart' planning only came in handy when we discovered that the guest house was next to a crocodile breeding outfit (cool factor) or when we found out that the only neat food-joints were across the road. Anyways, at this point I began to develop a conspiracy theory and it started with the thought that some of the lions were on a Forest Department retainer solely for morning alarm duty.

But I digress.

We chose one of several routes chalked out for the safari. Ours took us through a Siddi village and culminated at Kamleshwar Dam which is artificially constructed. A long tale of it was narrated to us by the driver but it sounded so fantastic and improbable that we promptly took it with fists of salt and chose to forgot it. In the few hours that we were cruising like kings in the jeep, we must have seen half the species of birds documented by Salim Ali. An ornithologists dream and bird-watcher paradise it was. The lion, we did not see. This fact reaffirmed my fancy of a conspiracy afoot.

The thing that further confirmed the existence of the said conspiracy and the discovery of a curious fact: that lions can be stuck to a surface with a resin-based adhesive, was a visit to Devalia which serves as a 'Gir Interpretation Zone'. It provided us a lot of digested facts about Gir and its inhabitants; a term that I started using for the animals after a round inside the interpretation park. While we waited for that round, LCD televisions flashed a well-made movie on the reserve. At the gift shop, we asked to buy a copy. It wasn't for sale. That particular movie was made for The National Geographic Channel but we were shown other CDs. We mumbled excuses and sidled away from the sales boy.

With much trepidation we boarded a bus full of Gujarati tourists for a 20-minute round in the park. Post the dreamy safari, we weren't expecting much. Two minutes in and we spotted a nilgai. Five minutes in and our bus was parking itself after several faltered attempts, a few feet away from a pair of satisfied lionesses. I was just about done gaping when two things happened. One: the entire Gujarati contents of the bus exclaimed and moved towards the side of the bus that faced the lionesses. Two: I noticed the fence!

Some Gujju man meowed, another barked for the attention of the lioness. The bored cat didn't budge or even move. My theory: Resin glue.  So, this was a glorified zoo where the visitors could walk into the cage. I was about to concede to it being an ingenious idea when the bus started roaring unanimously,
"Paisa Wasool! Paisa Wasool!" (We got our money's worth!)

I did some mental mathematics:
Ticket for a single seat in the interpretation bus- Rs. 75/-
Jeep rental for a safari of a few hours- Rs. 1500/-

I loved the safari, even sans the lion.

For paisa wasool pictures of Gir click here.

Morning raga, quite literally

R: "I can hear the Mridangam! Can you hear that Mridangam?"

I could hear no Mridangam. I am sure though that it must have been playing. I simply could not hear it because all my faculties were busy gaping. If Malgudi was a village of Tamilian Brahmins settled in Palakkad district of Kerala; it would look much like the place I was strolling in currently. 

I must have looked quite the odd animal to the residents, camera dangling by my side, walking, gaping, staring quite stupidly. All this was happening because of some occurrences I could not wrap my head around. Occurrences that were very ordinary and everyday in these parts and centered around two things: Waking up at unearthly hours and practicing at being extremely talented!

Kalpathy Gramam (village) did not live up to the stories I had heard about it but it was indeed a surprise. Even before the break of dawn, the village awoke. Sleepily, the front yards were washed by the women of the household and a small motif was drawn on the doorstep with rangoli. The motif waited to be a part of a larger rangoli while the women bathed, made Narasu's filter-coffee and cleaned their homes while lovely bhajans mostly in the voice of M. S. Subbalaxmi created a very reverent atmosphere in the background.

In rapid succession, the members of each household bathed and prayed. The women stepped onto the yard and drew elaborate, beautiful, free-hand rangolis. Each home resounded with riyaaz. Different musical instruments playing as if in tandem. Voices belting out raga after raga. Nothing co-ordinated but the whole village resounding as if it were one orchestra.

R: "This is not the full glory of Kalpathy"

Me: "Mmmm...I finally found Narasu's filter-coffee!"

R: " Lets just go..."

Kalpathy might not be in its full glory now. The younger generation is either moving out or renovating the traditional homes with misplaced modern touches. But it still is a curious place. For starters, the village is a perfect formation of right-angles. Almost each square has a temple. And every second village-square  startles you because when you turn the corner, BAM! Chariot in your face!

Like all places, the things that make Kalpathy are better experienced than read. Some, I have managed to capture on camera. 

Click here to see Kalpathy.

Most mornings in Kalpathy

The sun shines first on the temple and slowly a chariot is outlined

If you are a mere mortal, regular transportation is all you get

Temple at each end of this lane

Rangoli-making in progress

These rangolis are free-hand drawings

This lady was a little late, what with the sun already up

A finished rangoli

While the ladies were busy...

A peek into one of the temples

Some of the detailing on the roof of a temple

A couple returning home from the temple

Gramps is all done and is now observing the goings-on in Kalpathy

Some surnames in Kalpathy

A collage of moments

Go here to read about my experience at Kalpathy