Saying some goodbyes... a girls road trip to Sula

I was wondering, just for a moment, if I should make a blogging resolution this year... but sometimes you just know a lost cause, even without trying. As you can see, its 3 weeks since new years and I am still on my ‘bye 2010, hola 2011’ post!!! Anyways, 2010 had some surprises in terms of trips – including 5 days to NY , some 5 weeks in vacation (with quite a good number of holidays still in stock, not to worry!)...

Not all of my trips and all that I’ve wanted to write about have made it to this blog in the last couple of years- but at least, not for the lack of travel and I am happy for that. So here is hoping for more travel, at least some changes, and hopefully more blogging in 2011!!!

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A bottle of Sula

2010 was a year of change... not so much for me, but many of my friends, what with people moving to other countries, people going off to study, people changing their jobs yes, I am still here, 4 years on, doing exactly the same thing, in the same city!!!). So when R (my closest friend from work ) was leaving Mumbai to study, we all decided an all-girls trip was in order and we chose Sula. We had a car, hired a driver (yes, we didn’t want the responsibility of driving) and the trip was on. Surprise, surprise, it was also the last trip with another one of us, P, quitting a few months later on.

My last trip to Sula was on a hot, dry day in February. This time it was a rainy, rainy July day and the landscape had slipped into its monsoon wear in lush greens. Sula has made several additions to its property since the last time was here – such as a couple of restaurant including my favourite Little Italy (the previous time we had to make do with pineapple-and-cheese starters although we were starving) – so now, you can have a nice heavy lunch, feel lazy and drowsy, hit the tasting room and just relax-and-be as you watch the evening slip into night. However, I wonder if it was the monsoon season (which spurs so many Bombayites to make a day of it in the Ghats) because the tasting room was quite crowded and bustling. I missed being the only group and having the balcony all to ourselves!

Someone else who managed to be having a relaxing, deep in thought moment out at the tasting room !

There are many other wine tasting options beyond Sula – our search revealed Tiger, and one Chateau d’Ori. So you can actually make a good weekend hitting 2 or 3 off these. One thing I was disappointed was with the lack of stay options – if you are on a wine trail, you WANT to stay in some LOVELY RUMBLING FARMHOUSE on the property (and No, I hadn’t been to Italy by then!). There is a Tiger resort (lukewarm reviews). Sula has a gorgeous looking villa, but you need a good group size. The other option is to stay in main-town Nashik, which is what we did at The Gateway at %K per night.

Some wine tasting options here. And Sula Wines here.

The crowd bustling on the balcony

A view of the vineyards

Some randomn Konkan moments

I love beach vacations. Mostly because I have grown lazy I think.

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In Maharashtra, if you trip and fall, you could find yourself at a fort. Sitting on the waters and jutting into the sea, the fortress walls of Sindhudurg make for a lovely walk. Reaching the edge facing the sea is the best, offering views of the boats on the sea and long coconut groves along the coast.

Sindhudurg fort

The view through a rifle point
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There is something soulful about sunsets. Doesn’t matter if it’s behind buildings or setting into the sea – it somehow never fails to calm. We were cheated of the latter with the sun disappearing into some clouds, but I didn’t mind.

Sunset at Malvan
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An evening in Deobagh

At around five, when N (the younger N) and I headed out for a walk, the previously deserted beach (but for the odd dog), was starting to bustle. The boats were back after a day in the sea. Some fishermen were drawing their nets out from the sea and laying them to dry. Others had laid out their catch from the day and were sorting through it. Some women were waiting with their baskets – probably for the market for the next day? Two eagles were also bidding their time, circling overhead and repeatedly swooping low in a kind of duet for a chance to flick a fish or 2 from the piles. A few local children were playing on the beach, chasing a hoop with a stick. There was the odd tourist family as well.

As the sun turned pink, the spoils of the day were divided, and the crowd separated slowly… I expected them to have all retired to their homes but was surprised to see several boats making their way into the sea once again. A second fishing expedition? Possibly. Much later in the night, I could see lights from the boats twinkling from the dark depths in an otherwise starlit night.

It was just another day on Deobagh

The Deobagh beach

Fishermen pulling out the nets

Laying it out to dry

The impromptu fish market on the beach

Women waiting for their share

Some kids on the beach

Bring 'em home

A lone one out at sea

Discovering Bernini's

I went to Rome, and I discovered Bernini’s.

Walking into Piazza Navona, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or the fountain of the four rivers is the most central piece of the square. Four powerful men, sculpted in a circle representing and celebrating the worlds’ four great rivers of those time – Ganges, Nile, Danube and Plate – and a an obelisk right in the center. Standing beneath the fountain – I was amazed by the gigantic proportions... (everything in Rome is so gigantic) and impressed by its magnificence. Needless to say, the concept of a dedication to 4 rivers was a beautiful one.

Piazza Navona at night

The next time I came up close with a Bernini sculpture was in the Villa Borghese in Rome. Pluto, is holding or rather carrying Persephone, like he doesn’t want to let her go. His hand is circled around her and holding her above, catching her in her hip and thigh, and denting her soft, smooth flesh as his fingers press into her. The force in holding her is etched in his stance, in his every taut muscle. I was stumped. Persephone is pushing away from him - I just couldn’t understand why! Her toes are delicately curled, to show her distraught it seemed. Even the swing of her hair, the tendrils of his beard capture the struggle. The intenseness, and the power of the moment so beautifully captured in an inanimate sculpture.

I couldn’t look away.

Ratto di Proserpina. This image is taken from http://www.storiadellarte.com

The sculpture is Ratto di Proserpina or Rape of Persephone, based on the story of her abduction. (I have a strong dislike of the word, and am happy that may be the word wasn’t intended in its crudest). Wiki says(according to one of the legends), she was picking flowers with other nymphs when Hades aka Pluto abducted her. Although she was later returned, she was tricked into eating a few pomegranate seed and therefore is tied to the Underworld. So she returns every year in winter to Hades and the Underworld; during which time her mother doesn’t allow crops to prosper until Persephone returns to her.

Bernini was 23 when he produced this masterpiece. And I was in love with it.

There is so much Art in Italy that it can overwhelm you. As an uninitiated person to art, I didn’t expect to find something that would thrill me this much. Bernini’s work is all over Rome. You can’t miss the imposing double colonnade in the Vatican City. You are likely to run across the cute (but also forlorn, I thought) Elephant in the vicinity of the Pantheon. If you like these Bernini’s, I would definitely recommend a stop at Villa Borghese to see Ratto di Proserpina and the equally impressive Apollo and Daphne.

This was a guest blog post and can also be found here.

A guest post...

Hey all, a guest post of mine has come up over here.

Do hop over and take a look. Thanks!