once again passing through the green patches of land and tree clad highways from Junagadh to a village about 70 kms from Junagadh...
Manavadar is a small village and we had to really pass through one of the smallest streets I have ever seen in my life .. a car could barely pass... The dealer we were supposed to meet asked us to have tea in a saucer.. me and my cousins always made fun of the saucers by pouring milk/tea in it and blowing air before drinking it.. it was for fun then... and later in corporate world a saucer was a formality... but here it was more of a compulsion and guess what.. the cup was not there at all... !! .. only a steel saucer... ! i somehow managed to drink it without dropping it... :) .. the warm greet of a customer we met and the small village confines were somehow very welcoming.. it reminded me of my ancestral village 'Rajpipla' which I used to go during summer holidays at school and the countless hours spent by the riverside throwing stones, taking a dip and walking back home to eat 'bajra rotlas' cooked on a 'chulha' and earthern pan alongwith ghee and jaggery !!... nights spent playing cards and sleeping on open terraces counting the stars till eyes gave up !.. Nostalgia surely returned...
then way back to Junagadh for lunch and then for the next destination that was a village called Visavadar.. we have a smalltime dealer here.. this guy is a typical villager, he welcomed us very warmly and ordered Thums-Up .. called his father and brother also to meet us... had proudly put up the merchandise given by my company in his shop..... I just could not stop being amazed by the simplicity of these people and the very humble nature... My driver had some stomach issues and was having a bad pain, the dealer's father took him to the local 'vaidh' who cured him with some herbs and a massage... i was amazed.. wish we had some village preparation instead of the cola... economy thrives in such places too !.. and this just added to the nostalgia i was already going through !!.. the way back was very pleasant and so were my thoughts...
Traditions still live, lets not loose them.. lets not forget our peaceful childhoods in the race to lay tarmac everywhere we can...
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Total ODO = 260 kms
Date of Travel : 10th Sep09
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