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Mumbai – Khandala – Lonavala vacation diaries Nov’23

Here’s the long pending post about our vacation last month (Nov 14-19). It began with a desire to take my son to every city where the husband or I have lived and worked in. My banking journey began with ICICI Bank at the Leadership Academy in Khandala in 2009. During this tenure, I also spent a few days at the Fariyas resort in Lonavala before moving to Mysore to take charge as a Branch Manager.

When we planned our annual vacation this year, it was my husband’s idea to begin with Lonavala, visit Khandala, and explore a few heritage spots and eateries of Mumbai. Needless to say, we booked Fariyas. After reaching Mumbai Internation Airport, the car took us to Lonavala in two and a half hours. Before checking in, we ate Vada Pav and Misal Pav at the famous Buvachi Misal. We spent the evening figuring out how much Fariyas had changed. Food was delicious, especially the street food festival that was in full swing.

Next morning, I took my family to the Leadership Academy for a nostalgia trip. We headed to the Lonavala Lake,Bhusi Dam followed by Tiger Point.

We climbed over two hundred and fifty steps to reach Bhaja Caves and enjoy sunset from the peak.

Mapro Garden was our last stop for the day and we picked up fresh faleros and juices.

Cooper’s served the best walnut chocolate fudge while The Anglo-Indian Cafe will be my biggest reason to return to this city. Their desi fondue, chicken margarita pizza and brownie with hot chocolate and ice-cream was a delight for a foodielike me.

It was time to return to Mumbai the following morning. We received a warm welcome at the JW Marriott Hotel, Juhu. It was a gorgeous property with private access to the Juhu beach and yummy food.

We went out in the evening to drive through the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and watch Marine Drive at night. (It does look like Queen’s necklace).

Day four began with a delectable breakfast spread at our hotel. It was time to head to Britannia & Co., an iconic eatery that served the most delicious sali chicken berry pulav, and caramel custard. We saw CST station on the way.

Post lunch, we went to the Gateway of India and the gorgeous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The kid had no recollection of our previous trip to the same place in 2018 but it brought back sweet memories for us.

We boarded a ferry for a ride to the Elephanta island. After over an hour in the Arabian Sea, we reached the island, managed to get a seat in the toy train to reach the Elephanta caves. On our return journey, we witnessed the gorgeous sunset with birds flying and diving all around.

Our next destination was Kyani and Co. We managed to get in half an hour before their closing time. The place serves the best Irani Chai, bun maska, veg cheese puff and chicken puff. But I must not forget the umpteen biscuit packets we brought back from the outlet (shrewberry and ginger biscuits score the highest for us.

The next destination was the world class Jio convention centre which lives up to the hype and indeed makes every other place seem pale to its humongous structure.

On our way back to hotel, we visited Shahrukh Khan’s bungalow, Mannat to witness a sea of people outside the place. It was around 11:30 P.M. We walked along the Band stand before calling it a day.

On the fifth day, we explored the private beach after breakfast and went out for an authentic Gujarati thali meal at the Sri Thakker Bhojanalaya. The place seemed to be a favourite with most celebrities as we spotted pictures of Sachin Tendulkar, Asha Bhonsle, many Bollywwod and television stars on the walls savoring the thali. The place serves food with warmth and love.

We headed to K. Rustom & Co. near Marine Drive for pan and pista flavoured ice cream. It was a wonder to see a rectangle bar of ice-cream sandwiched between two wafers. Chowpatty beach was our next destination.

We decided to end the trip with a visit to the Mahalaxmi Temple followed by Ganesh darshan at the Siddhivinayak Temple. We managed to collect prasad for our families back home. While returning back to the hotel, our driver showed us Amitabh Bachchan’s bungalow Jalsa.

Post dinner, it was time to pack since we had an early morning flight the next day. It was my fourth visit to the city while a second for the husband and the kid. The pace of the city never fails to amaze me. We faced huge traffic even at midnight. Possibly that’s why they say Mumbai never sleeps. As we boarded our flight to Kolkata the next morning, I knew it won’t be very long before we return to city for another trip.

Shubho Bijoya/ Happy Dussehra 2023

I had nil expectations from Durga Puja this year. With my father falling sick after my son’s birthday and showing slow signs of recovery, we weren’t even sure if we could leave Kolkata and head toward my hometown, Berhampore, this time. Until the Chaturthi evening, my husband was with Baba at a diagnostic center for a CT scan. We tried to cheer him up by taking him to the puja pandals in New Town and Salt Lake, but his heart was elsewhere.

But my heart was worried and restless. After my son’s birth, we made it a ritual to return to our roots or the place that’ll always be home for my husband and me. On Panchami morning, looking at Baba’s yearning to return to Berhampore, we spoke to his Urologist and took him home.

On the way, the kid captured glimpses of kaash phool on the mobile; we envisioned creative pandals in the making. Like every year, I spent Saptami and Ashatmi with Baba as our trio gave Saptami pushpanjali at our Baganpara pandal. We spent the day eating bhog and hopping pandals.

Dining out at Kareem’s with family

On a Monday evening, we went for a family dinner at Kareem’s. It’s been breakfast meetings for me in recent times. Whenever we go out as a family, it’s mainly to Chinese restaurants or those that serve decent continental cuisines. We took a deviation and explored Indian dishes recently.

The restaurant is located within the premises of Srijan corporate park in Salt Lake, Sector 5.

The place has a royal feel to it.

Breakfast adventures with the husband this week

Happy Rath Yatra 2023

A family outing to Aquatica Water Park

Summer holidays are soon about to get over for the kid. So, we decided to take him for a day’s outing to one of our unexplored places of entertainment, the Aquatica Water Park in Kolkata. The place also has a resort for accommodation.

The son and his father are water babies; it was a delight to see them jump into the water at every possible opportunity. After getting the tickets (1000 for adults and 500 for kids on weekdays), we rented a locker to keep the spare clothes and valuables. It cost us Rs. 50 and a refundable deposit of Rs. 200. Costumes are also available for rent.

We went into the waves zone first, where the water level kept increasing, giving us a feeling of being in the sea. The kid thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t let us get out of the waves area.

The official announcement of my upcoming book in the Detective Raya Ray series

A couple of years have passed since I released my debut thriller introducing Detective Raya Ray. While I started writing the next in the series soon after and was signed on by one of India’s leading literary agencies, The Book Bakers, I wanted to create a puzzle to challenge Raya and also the reader’s crime-solving skills. Dissatisfied with two manuscripts, I decided to move away from the book and enrolled for my third master’s, MFA in creative writing, in Nov 2019. Post-completion of the course, I had a fresh perspective of looking at a new Raya Ray story.

‘Diary, Deceit, and Death – Raya Ray Returns’ took shape in the form of a manuscript, which The Book Bakers successfully placed to one of the country’s top publishers Vishwakarma Publications.

Ringing in my birthday on 29th May

I have always been an enthu-cutlet when it comes to birthdays, be it mine, or my close friends’ or family members. Of late, I celebrate it with the same enthusiasm as my son. It wasn’t supposed to be any different this year but like every thriller story that I write, there’s a twist in the tale.

Last Thursday, it started with a fever which led to a sore throat, nasal infection, breathing problems, and many more complications. The husband diagnosed it as a viral infection and medicines were prescribed accordingly. Sunday seemed a little better and I was almost sure that I would rock it as a birthday girl on Monday. I forgot God writes better thrilling stories than humans. The right lower side of my face started swelling on Sunday night and I woke up on my birthday morning with a face that looked stung by bees. Needless to say, I was devastated.

It’s in moments like this that one realizes the importance of close friends and family. It began with one of my son’s closest friends and his mother turning up with a cake to surprise me. They brought unusual happiness to my gloomy mind.

The husband returned with my favorite cake and a bunch of gifts that he and my son had been planning for a week now behind my back. My father was the only one aware of their plan. By then, my face was so swollen that I refused to let them click me while cutting the cake.

Gifts from the kid, the husband, my father, and in-laws

With a change of medicines, the swelling was in control by evening, though the face still looked disproportionate. However, when my husband’s colleague and our dear friend surprised me with another cake, I decided to dress up and cut the cake with them.

While most planned outings and adventures had to be postponed, I’m sure they will happen once I recover. Who says birthdays should be celebrated only on the special day? To everyone who wished me here, on any other social media platform, on WhatsApp, through calls, messages, and in person, THANK YOU for making my day extra special.