More Lonavla Exploration: Market, Church, Bushi Dam, Chikki Shopping

Friday, November 17, 2023.

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More Lonavla Exploration: Market, Church, Bushi Dam, Chikki Shopping

Our night in Lonavla passed beautifully. We slept soundly after our exertions of the previous day. When we awoke, we decided that we would have a very restful day spent exploring at leisure and with no particular agenda. Accordingly, we had our showers in our lovely bathroom with its hot running water. We also fixed ourselves cups of coffee at the tea and coffee station that was provided before we sat down to enjoy our breakfast.

Having realized that McDonald’s was a good 10 minute walk from our B&B, we had the foresight to buy breakfast pastries, last night from the patisserie at Cooper’s. With an almond croissant and a pain au chocolate that we decided to share, we had a very hearty breakfast indeed. We also packed our bags (as check out was at 10.00 am—we asked for permission to stay until 11.00 am as we had overslept—permission was graciously granted by Eefa). We then stashed our bags in a storage room and left for the day.

Taking ‘Chikki’ Pictures:

The first thing we decided to do was get back to the main road to the huge installation that portrayed a great big bowl of chikki, Lonavla’s gastronomic contribution to the world. That done, we walked down the road towards the market and decided to stroll through the shops and decide from where we would like to buy our chikki supplies to take home with us to Bombay. We also decided to go out in search of Lonavla Lake—but soon realized that we were on a wild-goose chase as people misunderstood the lake for Bushi Dam and were sending us off in its direction. Having seen Bushi Dam yesterday and finding it disappointing, we were not inclined to return there today. Besides, the sun tended to get a bit hot the longer you stayed out in it.

First off, we passed by the Church of St. Joseph and decided to go there for a visit. We discovered that the entire church was under renovation and that its façade was a mere shell with its interior completely gutted. We were directed to a small chapel and we paid a visit there and then when we discovered a temporary church had been set up on the first floor, we climbed the stairs and found it too. It is amazing how quiet and serene this spot is, being that it is in the midst of the bustling main market of Lonavla.

Our rambles took us further down into the market, past the railway station and several small restaurants. We also passed by a Buddhist stupa. At this point, we decided to find out where Lonavla Lake was located and that was when we realized, after a walk of about twenty minute,s that we were at the wall that is part of Bushi Dam! Not wanting to spend too much time here, we looked for a rickshaw that would take us back to the market so that we could have a bite of lunch.

Finding a rickshaw was a sheer mater of luck as not many vehicles were plying in that area—close to the army quarter. We negotiated a fare of Rs. 100 which is the minimum fare in Lonavla (for the same distance in Bombay, one would pay no more than Rs. 23!). He dropped us off just past the McDonald’s where the busy part of the shopping was evident. However, we decided to eat lunch first and then make our way to the chikki shops.

Gujarati Thali Lunch a Nima’s:

We soon realized that in this bustling part of town there were many eateries from which we could choose. But we were also told by our driver yesterday that hordes of Gujaratis from the state of Gujarat, mainly business families, spend a whole month in their cars driving through vast tracks of India as part of their annual vacation. They eventually make their way to Poona, then Lonavla, Khandala and finally Bombay before they start their return journey to Gujarat. Hence, to cater to their tastes, eateries serving pure vegetarian food prepared in the Gujarati style (i.e. without root vegetables such as onions, garlic or potatoes because many of them are Jains to whom such produce is forbidden) have sprouted up in these resorts. When I spotted Nima’s, a place serving a Gujarati thali, I suggested to Llew that we try it out.

And so, for the princely sum of Rs. 160 each, we were treated to a most unusual and most delicious meal. We were given steel thalis with three steel bowls each and were asked to sit wherever we fancied. It did not take us long to realize that we were the only non-Gujjus in the establishment. Anyway, the food was laid out buffet style—or more correctly, assembly-line style—in a long row. You stood in front of each server with your thali and he put a portion of the food in your thali or your bowl. There was a real wide variety of foods—all pure vegetarian, of course—from farsan (savories), to rice, chapattis, puris, dal, pulses, vegetables, potatoes, pickle and salad. It was a very full thali indeed. At our table, another server came around with chaas (a very thin buttermilk) which he poured into steel glasses and kept replenishing for us as our meal went on. There was nothing fancy about the food, the place or the service, but it as efficient, professional and tasty and we enjoyed it all. For dessert, there was sweet semolina (sheera) as well as basundi—a sweet thickened cream that was caramelized and very delicious. I have to say that it was probably one of the most satisfying meals I have ever eat and I simply could not believe what superb value it was for money.

Buying Chikki, Pedas and other Goodies:

It was past 2.30 pm by the time we finished with our leisurely lunch and were ready to buy our chikki. Although every second shop sells chikki in Lonavla, we decided that we would buy ours from Maganlal Chikki which is the oldest and best-known of the chikki-makers in Lonavla. Most people buy a load of chikki to take home to family and friends when they take a holiday in Lonavla.

We found the shop less crowded in the afternoon than it had been in the morning and within no time at all, we found a shop-keeper who catered to our needs. I also bought chivda, bottled syrups (custard apple and grenadine for making cocktails) and although I would have liked to have bought fudge (another specialty of the area), it was much to runny for my liking. At yet another shop, not too far away, I bought pedas for my brother Russel as he is unable to eat hard snacks like chikki. I knew he would love the pedas—milk-based Indian sweetmeats.

Laden with our goodies, there was no other choice but to walk back to our B&B as quickly as we could. Luckily, it was no more than a quick 10 minute walk away from the main drag of the town. It was about 3.30 pm by this time and our taxi to Bombay was scheduled to come to our B&B and pick us up at 4.30 pm. We decided that since we had pretty much seen all that was to be seen and done all that was on our agenda, it made sense to push off an hour earlier, if the driver could accommodate our change in plan. He could! About a half hour later, we had organized ourselves fully, said thanks and goodbye to our hostess Eefa, picked up our bags and awaited the arrival of our taxi.

Not even fifteen minutes later, our driver arrived and our return to Bombay commenced. En route, we passed, for the last time, by the road in Khandala where the nuns who had run my convent school in Byculla had their convent—the Covent of Jesus and Mary. We took our last looks of the hill-station as we joined the traffic heading out and on to the highway. We also got many glimpses of the Duke’s Nose as we made our way out and found traffic swelling the nearer we reached Bombay. Instead of taking us the one and a half hours it had taken us on our arrival, it took us more like three hours to get back.

But get back to did! As always, it was a relief to get back home to the comfort and security of familiarity and we embarked immediately on unpacking and taking showers before we settled down to spend the rest of the evening in deep relaxation.

Conclusion:

Our first attempt in a year at getting out of Bombay for a quick break had proven to be a success. We were delighted to have such a convenient and easy time of our journeys back and forth, thanks to the private taxi we hired. We were fortunate in finding a terrific Air B&B with a Superhostess who spared no pains to keep us comfortable. We were blessed by good weather, hiked to our heart’s content, covered all the places on our agenda and thoroughly enjoyed the brief change of scene. We look forward now to our next foray out of the city—a chance to see a bit of Nasik, the grape-growing capital of Maharashtra, where we shall spend three days at a spiritual retreat at the end of this month.

Until then…may the road rise up to meet you.