India celebrates its 65th Republic Day today...I am proud to be an Indian but I also feel sad about what is happening in this country RICH IN CULTURE!!
Seeing the Republic day parade this morning on television I felt very proud seeing that despite the cold and fog, many people came to see the parade, I felt proud seeing the weapons, tanks, missiles etc that our country has to defend us. Seeing the glimpses of all the states and their culture made me happy.
I remember the terrorist attack we had in Mumbai, it showed how brave and united we stand! The Mumbai Police showed such bravery and the people helped the survivors without bothering about religion or caste.
The Politicians of India call themselves the 'Game Changers' but most of the time make fun of the whole system.
It makes me sad to see politicians forgetting the promises they make during elections. We talk of 'Women Empowerment' but how safe are the women in this country? Almost everyday we hear about a new case of either female infanticide, domestic violence or rape! Its sad but India is rated amongst the unsafe countries for women.
Just the other day, I forgot my debit card in the ATM machine; I realised it after reaching home and immediately rushed to that ATM branch....to my horror it wasn't in the machine!! I was very scared & angry with myself for forgetting something so important! But humanity still exists, honesty and honest men still exist...the watchman of that branch saw me and recognised me, turns out that he saw the card and kept it inside so that if I return he could hand it over to me!
It made me realise that no matter what I will always be Proud of this country and that there are more reasons to smile!!!
Getting bored of the same old routine, me and my husband again wanted to get away from the Shor of the city, so we sat down to decide where to go for a holiday, where the kids would enjoy and we would have some family time together. After going through all the options (me being biased as usual) I decided to go to Tarkarli( the kids haven't been there) Situated 6 kms south of Malvan and 546 kms away from Mumbai on the coast of Maharashtra is Tarkarli.
Okay so, finally after loads of pouting, eyelashes batting and pleases(since I have been to this place many times and my husband wanted to go somewhere else), we started packing for our lil' looong drive to Tarkarli! We booked ourselves in the MTDC resort online. The location is what makes this resort distinct from any other resorts / hotels in Tarkarli.
Both my kids love the beach and after hearing about this place from me, they were all excited about our holiday. So finally we set off for our self-drive holiday!
This place has gained prominence because of its long and narrow stretch of beach with pristine waters and water sports. On a clear day, one can see the bed unto a depth of 20 ft. It presents a panoramic view with tall 'Shuru' trees in the background. The wide river, the beautiful sailboats and the tiny hamlets situated on the riverbank, add to the picturesque beauty of Tarkarli. Sighting dolphins is not a rare event here. This place fishes throughout the year, the sea during summer and winter and back-waters during the monsoon since the sea water enters this area and also due to safety reasons
We checked ourselves in the boat houses instead of the bamboo cottages at MTDC. The view from the deck of the sea was breathtaking! We rested for sometime & since it was evening by the time we reached, we decided to just rest a little. The kids kept themselves busy by running around the deck of the boat-house, after sometime we ate dinner and took them on the beach( which by the way is just a short hop skip and jump away from where our boat-house was located). The fishermen in that area usually come back from fishing at night so there are many fishermen trying to take out their fishing nets at night to see and claim their catch! With torches & lanterns shining we managed to find ourselves places to stand and see their Catch Of The Day! Both the kids were jumping with joy to see the different kinds of fish they had caught...ooh and then there was the Sting Ray, which the fishermen were sweet enough to make our kids touch and hold!
Tired we called it a night early to gear ourselves for the next fun-filled day. Next morning we ate our breakfast & left to show the kids Dolphins! Like I said they are very common in this part of Malvan...with a little bargaining(which my husband is good at ;P) we took the kids for Dolphin spotting...the dolphins were jumping in the water at just a few feet away from us which made the kids not only cling to us but also made them jump with joy! There are other sport activities too like snorkeling, para-sailing, scuba diving but the kids being too small for them we did not go for all the activities
Then, of course there is THE fort, Sindhudurg, one of Maharashtra's most popular and important sea fort and the First naval base and the First Indian armada, built in the 17 th century by Shrimant Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. My son being a huge Chatrapati Shivaji admirer was very thrilled to go to this fort and see Shivaji's foot impression in this fort!
Having spent a lovely day out we were tooo tired and finally went back to the resort to spend some quiet time to relax. Another refreshing holiday it was for us as a family to create memories!
