Category Archives: West

Zira – Food Redefined

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Zira… The name itself has an exquisite taste to itself. I could have only imagined how the food tasted at this restaurant. Yep, Zira is a newly launched restaurant in Navi Mumbai’s Sanpada. So a week ago I got a call from a friend of mine. She invited me to a session of food tasting at this newly launched restaurant. Why me? Well, of course my obvious love for food and my newly acquired taste across the country after travelling to different lands. Maybe she thought of me as the new age food connoisseur… Well, whatever the reason, I was glad she invited me cause who wouldn’t love to gorge on some awesome food and especially if it’s for free 😛 Well anyways, she happens to be a close friend of the owner and she set up for a small tasting session for a bunch of guys some of them regular at various restaurants across Mumbai and a couple of them die hard food lovers…

Zira Restaurant
Zira Restaurant

I thought to myself, heck, why not… Let’s go and check this place out. So there I was waiting for the tasting session to begin. While we waited for the starters to be served, we were chatting with each other and exchanged our interests and found out how we had a common bond that tied us together… ‘Food.’ While we sat inside the small restaurant, we felt at home especially with the ambience suiting the peaceful location of Sector 11, Sanpada. The décor blends right in with the restaurants whole brown and white logo where Zira is tastefully put up as you enter the restaurant.  This one is not your huge top class over the top restaurant where you can come and celebrate your most intimate moments but it certainly has a menu that will make you wonder it’s unique feature and what was about to come… At the end of the day, ‘What tastes well, does well, if you ask me..’

Then began our tasting session. First up was a couple of starters… Both chicken dishes.

So here we have a Murgh Aalishan which had a real flair and sumptuousness to itself. Very succulent and tasty… Could have beena  bit better though with a bit of some sauce or chutney. That was missing, however the chicken tasted really great.

Murgh Aalishan
Murgh Aalishan

Then the Chef Kevin, followed it up with Murgh Kaali Mirch. This dish was really good with a bit of crisp to its tenderness made you taste the flavor real of the kaali mirch even better.

Murgh Kaali Mirch

Murgh Kaali Mirch

Well, for vegetarian lovers, don’t be disappointed… One of the best dish of the evening was in the main course. I truly loved the Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi which was served with some really tasty Butter Naan. The best part about this Mirchi Kadi was how finely you could taste the mirchi or green chilly spiced up with a really nice blend of the kadi which left the taste in your mouth and I truly treasured it…

Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi

Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi

Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi with Nan

Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi with Nan

Since I didn’t taste this dish as I generally avoid mutton, I can’t say much about the Rogan Josh…. But from the looks of it certainly looks tasty…

Mutton Rogan Josh
Mutton Rogan Josh

After tasting some really nice North Indian / Mughlai food the chef also decided to give us a taste of it’s Chinese Cuisine with some Veg Fried Rice and Chicken 65, which was sort of okay but I guess can’t really say much about Chinese as it’s more or less the same everywhere… The chef quoted saying, Chinese is ‘public demand’ and hence they can’t ignore that aspect of it even the restaurant mainly serves North Indian Food.

Fried Rice

Fried Rice

It was certainly a great tasting of sorts… While I enjoyed the starters, the chutney / sauces could have made  it even better I must say my pick of the evening must definitely be Rajasthani Mirchi Kadi. All in all this new start up has been well researched and for the area that it’s set up in it looks like it’s on it’s way.  i’m certainly going to go there  to dine, this time of course ordering some really nice food on my own while I thank my friend Merline, for inviting me for this food tasting session. She knows the owner and head chef Kevin and I’m sure I’d get a discount next time I’m there 😛 Well anyways, the restaurant has decided to keep a 10% discount for the entire month. They said they also do home delivery for entire Sanpada and Juinagar area.

About the Chef: Chef Kevin is a hospitality major from Taj, Aurangabad and has had prior experience in Taj Land’s End. This budding entrepreneur looks like he’s certainly ready to make his mark, at least in Navi Mumbai to begin with.  He runs this place with his brother Deepak.

From L-R - Deepak and Chef Kevin

From L-R - Deepak and Chef Kevin

Address: Zira, Sector 11, Sanpada

© Copyright 2011 Srinivas Kulkarni. All rights reserved

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Lohagad – An escapade truly to remember

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Trekking (definition) : To make a slow or arduous journey on foot, especially to hike through mountainous areas…  But… “A trek is never a trek if there ain’t a little fun, little adventure, some moments to cherish and of course a little mishap here and there..’ That’s where the ‘arduous’ part comes in…

9:00 PM and we are still at work?? Come on guys let’s pack up and get the hell outta here… That was what was going on in my mind… but I guess, we had to make sure that everything was in order before we left for the trek.

On a chilly December night, trekking at 2:00 AM in the morning was no mean feat. Yep, that’s exactly when we reached the village called Baje, it served as a base camp for us. Parked the car over there and started hiking up towards the footsteps near Lohagadvadi… While there is another route to reach the footsteps where even cars go, it wouldn’t have been fun for us to take our car there and then climb up… as the trek time would have been just 15-20 minutes.

Anyways, at the end of it all, the hike up to the place was really worth it… trekking the mountain in the morning, chatting up and singing along for a journey and an experience that we were yet to have… Something told us, this is going to be one of those memories… You know what I’m talking about, now don’t you?

It took us about 2 hours to reach the top… Breezy in the morning, the caves were only warm place for us to feel some comfort.. but that would again defy the definition now, woudn’t it?? So we decided to chill out near the entrance, camp ourselves and make ourselves a couple o drinks to feel better… haha, that’s what you get for the arduousness as a reward. Besides that watching some of them, singing and dancing to ‘Sheila ki Jawaani’ as well 😛

Soon, it was time for the Sun to rise and us to have some really nice Photo session and of course meet our ancestors who made their way up on to the top to find out if we had some food for them. I was wondering why on earth did I even buy a bunch of bananas before we left, now I know exactly why…

The vision of breaking dawn was one I had been waiting for before I could get my hands on my DSLR, and begin my clicking spree… After a lots of fun and frolic, some nice photo sessions, we decided to head towards Vinchu Kaata… Alas, that was not to be…

While everyone was enjoying singing and dancing… we suddenly heard a cry out loud from one of our friends…The slippery tracks from where we had decided to take a detour towards VinchuKaata had made sure that today wasn’t the day, when we were going to be out there…

She suddenly lost her footing, slipped and fell instantaneously… We made her sit down, making sure that we find out what happened to her. Hoping it was not a fracture…we took a look, it looked more like  a sprain and a ligament tear we thought. But we were not sure, didn’t want to take a risk… So finally this is the exact reason why that arduous word came into the dictionary while defining the word ‘trekking’ It was quite a challenge as she was not able to walk…

One of the challenges now, was to find out ways and means to get our friend down.. So, a couple of guys went down to get the car from the other route to ensure that one car is at least downstairs, at the base camp from Baje village… While we were trying to figure out how to get her down.. We tried to make a stretcher with a couple of bamboos and blanket we had… Nope, didn’t work… We had a chair, tried to make a palkhi with the bamboos and a rope we had… nope, didn’t work… What could we do??

We were thinking and trying to figure out a way and that’s when it struck us… This was the only option for now…

The most effective and the most simple way was devised out of a story I remember my grandfather used to read in Chandamama comics, ‘Vikram Vetaal…’ yes, that is and was the only option for us…. So there, the only option left for us was to backpack her (literally) and that could have been done by only one person in our group and I don’t intend to tell you here who it was. For people who don’t know us, it won’t matter but for people at work… you guys should have fun guessing this one! As it turned out later… i.e almost at the bottom of the mountain, we met a guy who took a look at her leg and with the help of acupressure and she was able to slowly walk… Irony I say… Always on all my trips 🙂

That’s exactly the reason why I’ve not included anyone’s names… and precisely why this story ends like this… What happened later was something we all call an escapade truly to remember… 🙂 well, at least until the next one happens.

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Off to Lohagad – The Iron Fort…

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People Travel to know the boundaries of the world… The boundaries within their universe, the journey which they want to experience and imagine if ever they thought of living a life they couldn’t. People travel to know more about different people. People travel to experience what their soul will take with them to a different dimension. Sometimes when I think of these quotes of mine, I realize we all have  a desire in ourselves to understand fully what the beauty of this universe lies in. Be it the short trips over the weekend, adventure camps in school, trips and picnics during the monsoon or a great vacation abroad… When we travel, we unleash our inner spirit. One that adds to our charm and the experience of a life we live in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me, trekking is one such experience where I can relive the adventure, which I always wanted. Think of nothing but the freedom that I get when I get up there. Be it 4000 feet above or just a mere 1400 feet. Doesn’t matter, one needs to understand that the beauty of all this is in the fact that you have a goal in mind and you go up there to achieve it.

So here we are, bunch of us office guys @SocWav have decided to head to Lohagad, a very easy trek tomorrow night. This would be my second experience trekking at night after one way back in Naneghat. Since, there are a lot of newbies and girls mostly, we decided to trek to Lohagad as its the easiest of the lots. I haven’t yet been here so it should be a great experience. The last time around, my friends ditched me on my working saturday and did a quick drive to Lohagad and got back with great photos and absolutely amazing videos. That was during monsoon though. Don’t know how it will be this time around. Hope the cold and pleasant weather will make up for a little bit lack of greenery I hope.

So we plan to trek at around 10-11 in the night, reach on top about 12:00 – 1:00 AM and camp up there. Hoping to set up a barbecue if we get hold of  a village local. Otherwise we’ll manage with our own Cup Maggi and other snacks.. I mean Maggi should really be the brand for all trekkers. The best part would probably come early in the morning, when we’ll take a look at the awesome views especially the ‘Vinchu Kaata’ and the Ganesh Darwaza… So courtesy Wikipedia here is a bit of trivia for all you folks about the destination.

Lohagad (literally “Iron fort” in Marathi) is one of the many hill forts of Chatrapati Shivaji. It is situated 52 km from Pune in western India. Lohagad is at an elevation of 3,450 feet (1,052 m).

On the west side, there is a long and narrow wall-like fortified spur called Vinchukata (Marathi for Scorpion’s tail; see picture) because of its shape. Lohagad has a long history with several dynasties occupying it at different periods of time:

Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas,Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizamshahis, Mughals and Marathas. Shivaji captured it in 1648 CE, but he was forced to surrender it to the Mughals in 1665 CE by the Treaty of Purandar. Shivaji recaptured the fort in 1670 CE and used it for keeping his treasury.

How to reach the fort

From Mumbai, you can take a train to Lonavla. Malawli is the next station from Lonavla in the direction toward Pune. There are a number of local trains operating between Lonavla and Pune; you can take any of them. From Pune, you can take any of these locals.

From Malawli railway station, the fort is just 9 km away. Vehicles can go up to the foot of the hill. From here, which is near a village calledLohagaon, there are steps to the fort, numbering approximately 500.

When it rains, the top of the fort is covered with mist and clouds and becomes particularly wet. It is advisable to carry protective gear during the rainy season (mid-June to mid-September). Further, food is not easily available on the route. Most of the food stalls sell water, poha, tea/coffee, snacks, and soft drinks.

A panoramic view of the Pawna dam can be seen from the fort. Although it isn’t raining now, hoping to get a breath of fresh air… cold winter air during the amazing trek we take. 🙂

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Conquering Mahuli Fort – 18th July 2010

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It was truly one hell of  a ride that we took. A trek that we won’t forget ever in our lives. One filled with beauty, nature, compassion and so much of freshness that you would think twice about living a life anywhere else in this world. Truly, these eco-trails, nature hikes teach a lot of patience and a lot of compassion for the gaya. Indeed mother earth has had a lot of patience in tolerating our non-sense for such a long while… Sometimes I keep wondering how life would have been if there was nothing else but nature. No gadgets, no hi-fi, wi-fi.. just the plain serenity of this beauty surrounding you to the core. Think about it…

Well we decided to camp at the base the night before. So we headed off for the trek as planned on Saturday night. We got a little lost.. It’s easy to get lost before you go ahead on the Asangaon flyover. Make sure you turn left towards the Manas camp/temple. Ask for the Manas temple and you should be fine. So once we took the left, we saw the accomodation/hostel etc of Manas dharamshala. We headed ahead a straight road in the dead of the night. The silence of the eerie night was really haunting us in the pitch dark night on that day. We followed the straight road kept looking for a base camp / temple which we were supposed to look for… but damn, no clue.. So we had almost decided to head back.. when we found a bunch of say 25-50 guys just walking towards us. First instance… Shock! What are they?? Zombies??? Villagers??? Creeps?? A closer look tells us they were trekkers just like us. So finally we headed on and in 15 minutes after crossing a bridge we got to the base camp.

What followed next was chill out time, camping and some rest before we headed off in the morning. The rain had started pouring while the mountains covered with fog laid out its beauty, almost inviting us to conquer it. We decided to start at 7:00 AM in the morning. While the trek was just about 2800 feet.. the climb wasn’t that easy.. slippery muddy tracks made it a lot more difficult and rocky terrains at the top were a little tough on us. But after a gruelling stop and go trek for about 2.5 hours we certainly made sure that we conquered the beautiful fort of Mahuli.

What’s on top is amazing. The Shiva linga as expected in most of the forts of the great Shivaji Maharaj in the Sahayadri ranges was not a new thing for regular trekkers. But what was all the more beautiful was the wonderful waterfall below… So we retired there and enjoyed the beauty for a couple of hours, had our lunch on a really compact stove carried by one of our trekkers.

An experience that we would certainly remember. Certainly so, going by the pics you just saw!

© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

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Mahuli Fort – Here We Come!

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So my friends and I needed some adrenaline to repeat last year’s Harishchandragadh experience. Around the same time we went to Harishchandragad, and it was a whole new experience for me. I hadn’t been on a long trek for a really long time. Anyways keeping that aside, you guys might have checked out the photos of Harishchandragad, this time it’s going to be Mahuli. We have planned to go there tomorrow night (17th July 2010) and it’s certainly going to be a helluva trek.

Some tit bits about Mahuli fort.  Source – But of course, Wikipedia

Mahuli Fort At 2815 ft., this is a sought after trekking destination.

It is the highest point in the Thane district. The forest surrounding Mahuli has been declared as a sanctuary. Once Shahaji Raje, father ofChatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had this fortress under his belt.

The nearest railway station to Mahuli is Asangaon. One can catch either Asangaon or Kasara Local from Mumbai CST, which could also be caught at Kalyan Junction. 4 km walk from Asangaon station will take you to the base temple in 1-1/2 hours. 3 hours trek will take you to the summit.

How to Reach There?

Asangaon on Mumbai-Nashik highway (91) km from Mumbai. 5 km inside on to the left is the Mahuli village. The best thing to do is catch a late night train to Asangaon, and make the temple beneath the fort as your base camp. You can probably have some food out there, sleep there and wake up early in the morning and in a few hours reach the top. The people at the base camp also provide you with some food at nominal charges if my guesstimate is correct. At least, they did before. If you are the types who feel cold, esp during monsoon and planning to stay at night at base camp then I suggest take something to cover you up. Rest all is what a normal trekking routine should include. I don’t think I need to tell you guys that, if you are new to trekking 😛 Google IT guys!

History behind the Place:

The creator of this fort is unknown. In 1485 this place came under rule Nijamshahi dynasty. When Shahaji Raje became the secretary of Nijamshahi, Mughals of Delhi tried to end Nijamshahi. In 1635-36, Shahaji Raje transferred himself with Jijabai and Shivaji to Mahuli. When Khan Jaman attacked the fort, Shahaji asked Portuguese for help, who refused and Shahaji surrendered.

Shivaji took this fort from Mughals on 8 Jan 1658. In 1661 it was given back and was won again by Shivaji. In treaty of Purandar, in 1665, Marathas lost these forts again. In Feb 1670, Shivaji Maharaj tried to conquer Mahuli, but failed, Manohardas Gaud, was the in charge of the fort. A thousand Marathas were killed. Manohardas Gaud, soon gave up his position and Alveerdi Beg took over. On 16 June 1670, after two months, Moropant Pingle conquered the forts and Mahuli, Bhandargad and Palasgad became part of Swarajya. Till 1817, Shivaji’s dynasty owned the fort but later on it was controlled by the British Raj.

So we are planning to go tomorrow night 17th and leave the base camp early in the morning at 5:00 AM. That should give us enough time to spend on top and chill. Hope to have a really amazing trek. Godspeed.

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Tiger Hills – July 2010

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This trip was another one of our impromptu rides, wake up early in the morning and just head off to Lonavala. That’s how generally we go out. Hop, skip and ride/drive to wherever we want to. So my friend called me up early on a Sunday Morning, and there began our plan. Certainly a Sunday during the rains was one of the best ideas to head up to Tiger Hills. A mist covered foggy mountain and some beer with corn bhajiyas… Couldn’t have asked for a  better Sunday morning. So we head off to the place in his car and picked up his bike as  well. We were about 5 people in the car and 2 on the bike. Splendid weather with rains pouring on us and the misty mountains waiting for our journey to come to a halt at the beautiful location up in the mountains.

One of the best things while going up the Tiger Hills, is the beautiful curvy roads that stretch out and the view that you see is truly something you would want to remember forever. Remarkable one at that. The closer you get to the top, the foggier it gets… the altitude is one thing, the views are another. But most amazing thing is, once you reach on top, you enjoy every second of the beauty of the weather, most importantly the cold and serene waterfalls!

© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

Murud – May 2010

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Yea it was hot as hell… But we decided to take this trip anyways… And heck it was worth it especially the evenings. Been here many times before. But nothing could beat the serenity ever… This place is one of the most underrated yet a really nice place to unwind especially for Mumbai folks!!

Harishchandragad 26th July 2009

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© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

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Vidarbha Villages January 2010

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Check out more of my Travel Photos@ http://www.flickr.com/photos/srinisphotos/

My Facebook Travel Albums @ http://bit.ly/Srini_Travels

© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

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