RFC- A City Hidden in a Village

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Hyderabad, Tips, Travel

The onset of spring brought me to a little known village in Andhra Pradesh – Anajpur. What I did not know was what awaited me there… the gateway to Tollywood!!! 🙂

Entrance to the Ramoji Film City

I had missed the opportunity to visit the famed Ramoji Film City on my numerous visits to this southern state in India. But 2014 ensured I had my fill of entertainment. RFC, the world’s largest film studio complex, is situated atop a hillock that affords all visitors breathtaking views of the entire village.

Hot Tip: You’ll do well to arrive before 10AM as the tickets are always in short supply and booking closes by 2PM.

The Cowboy Town

After you buy your passes, you’re driven to the studio complex area in what looks like a London bus! Each bus stops right in front of a miniature cowboy town that resembles the sets of Wild Wild West. (This is where the popular song, Tha Kar Ke, from Golmaal Returns was shot! 🙂 ) There’s plenty of scope for photo-ops, especially when there are a number of prop-sellers that entice you to buy their cowboy hats and giant goggles. Kids will love the place for its vibrancy and colour!

London? Paris? Maybe Tokyo?

Spread over 2000 acres, RFC lets you gasp at the Eiffel Tower and admire Japanese roofs within an hour! As you guessed, it isn’t possible to explore the entire property on foot, so they have shuttles to take you around this wonderland of sorts. The guide that escorted us on the tour was a talented orator who made us laugh at his witty one-liners as he described each set.

RFC has “multipurpose buildings” that can be a university when the young man courts his first love, a hospital when the pretty girl weeps for the injured hero, and an airport when they fly to Switzerland for their honeymoon! 😛

Amer Palace in Anajpur!

Our shuttle stopped at the artificial Amer Palace (here you can read about the real one that I visited in 2012) and I had the opportunity to compare it with the original one in Rajasthan. I could hear the faint tunes of Rajasthani folk music from where I stood, and I decided to walk towards the source of the sound. I was mindblown by what I saw!

Captivated by Kalbelia

I witnessed a live Kalbelia dance performance in the middle of a Telegu village! The dancers looked exotic, dressed in their traditional garb, and decked up in Rajasthani ornaments. With the music still ringing in my ears, I couldn’t hear my stomach grumble. It was only after the dancing stopped that I realized I was hungry.

The clock strikes “lunch”

RFC (am I the only one who thinks it sounds like KFC? 😛 ) has half a dozen restaurants that cater to different tastes. We ate at Alampana, which claimed to serve authentic Hyderabadi cuisine, but the food cut no ice with me. If you’re the type that salivates for street food, there are a couple of stalls that sell pani-puris and frankies in front of Dil Se (in the pic above).

Aboard the toy-train!

In the afternoon, to avoid the sun that shone directly above us, we hopped onto the toy train in Filmy Duniya. This roofless train chugs through a long, twisty tunnel and takes you into the world of animated characters and crayon-coloured backdrops. I felt like a little girl enthralled on a joyride. RFC is best enjoyed when you’re in primary school, and I appeal to all the mommies & daddies reading my post to take their young ones to tour this film city before they reach high school.

Nordic nights

We tunnelled through snow-capped mountains of the arctics, saw african tribes dance to congo-beats, waved at the Thai royalty, and dodged the huge camels that the Arabs held with their harness. After what seemed like an overdose of light, sound and colour, we alighted the train and walked into a room full of even more garish lights and sounds.

Inside the royal court

The scene was of a royal Indian palace where most mythological TV serials are shot. Real or not, the courts appear larger than life, and the jewelled pillars dazzle in the neon lights. I felt a little lightheaded in the violet lights of the king’s court, and knew it was time again to go outdoors.

Landscaped greens from up above

From over the rocks, I could see a carpet of light green laid all over the Sanctuary Garden. Even the grass-sculptured animals seemed to play their part, sipping from the pond and grazing on the field. I did manage to spot a real animal though:-

The special visitor

This monkey followed me all the way to the Japanese garden and managed to scare away the others! Good thing, isn’t it? Considering how I got the entire place to myself! 😀 The Japanese park was a treat to my eyes with its undulating meadows and clear waters that flowed under tiny bridges. I lingered here for quite some time before I moved to my final destination.

Strolling in the Japanese garden

The Butterfly Park beckoned to us with its greenhouse-like enclosure and sweet smelling flowers. I surprised myself when I managed to identify a couple of butterflies even with the camouflage. RFC also has a bonsai-park and the most amazing collection of bonsai I have ever seen!

I spotted a ‘male cruiser butterfly’! 🙂

I’ll conclude this piece with some tips for which you’ll thank me later:-

Wear comfortable walking shoes as you’ll be clocking quite a few miles on this trip.
It’s hard to completely see RFC in a day, so be judicious with your time if you only have 1 day with you.
It’s very hot up here at the top (even in spring), so get a hat with you and don’t forget to spray some sunscreen!
The lavatories are quite dirty and ill-equipped. The one I used did not even have a lock! So try not to go overboard on that cola. (Yeah, right! Like it’s possible to go without hydrating yourself in this heat!)
Monkeys, no matter how innocent they seem, can be dangerous. So, use your judgement and follow the crowd when you have a monkey eager to accompany you.
Don’t miss the closing ceremony (in front of Dil Se… at 5PM)!

Sula Vineyards: A Fine-Wine Story

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Food, Nashik, Tips, Travel

The neat rows of grapevines glistered in the afternoon-sun as I slowly rose up the slope towards 4 gabled structures. I was delighted to see that the climbers, albeit only 4 feet in height, extended as far as my eyes could see. I couldn’t help but feel excited. This was, after all, my first trip to a vineyard!

The famed vineyard at the Sula estate

I had picked an opportune time to visit the Sula Vineyards as I not only beat the tourist-rush of Jan-Mar (the harvest season), but also experienced the beauty of Nashik in the light chill of early December. Nashik is about 3 hours from Mumbai, and the cheapest way to get here is by train. There are plenty of buses and cabs too that ply. I stayed at Ginger Hotel which is only 20 minutes from the winery. Sula also has its own resort on the estate.

Entrance to the wine bar at Sula

It was late afternoon when I reached the Sula property and made my way to their exquisite Indian restaurant – Soma. I glanced through the wine list and ordered a Sula Seco with some appetizers. I took in the interiors as I waited for my first wine of the day. The place is elegantly furnished with wood and wrought iron, and Warli-artwork graces the walls.

Soma-The Indian restaurant

My sparkling wine arrived with my choice of appetizers – cottage cheese balls and papad. This subtly sweet wine paired well with the spicy vegetable dish and tandoori rotis I ordered for the mains. With lunch behind me, I headed to the reception at the tasting room and bought my pass to the wine tour.

Liquid gold? 😀

A charming young lad sporting a black Sula-tee was our wine-tour-guide. He told us about the history of the vineyards and how the founder, Rajeev Samant, quit his job in Silicon Valley and started up the winery with some help from a Californian winemaker.

Before you decide to quit YOUR day-job and open your own winery, let me tell you some interesting wine-facts:-

The grapes used for producing wine are different from the regular grapes (table-grapes) we consume.
Contrary to popular belief, the colour of wine has little to do with the colour of grapes it is made from. This means, red wine can be made from green/white grapes, just as whites can be made from red/purple grapes. (Read ahead to find out how!)
Wines can be as young as 3 weeks and can also be aged for several decades! (Of course, the age makes A LOT OF difference to the quality of the wine and the price that it can command.)

Inside the tank-hall

Our tour began at the crushing pad where grape-juice is squeezed out of the harvested grapes. Grape-crushing has gone huge technological changes since the basket-press-days of yore. Popular activities like wine-stomping (with bare feet) have lead many to believe that’s an integral part of winemaking, but one can’t be further from the truth. If the thought of dirty, stinky feet romping about in a basket full of grapes makes you wretch at the wine you’re drinking, you can heave a sigh of relief! Most commercially produced wines have hardly any contact with the human-skin.

After extracting the grape-juice, your wine (to-be) is stabilized and filtered inside humongous stainless steel wine-tanks installed in a large, cool room called the tank hall. This is where you decide what wine you will produce! White wines are left as they are; for the reds, the grape-skin and twigs are added to the batch; and for rosé (pink wines), very little red wine is added to the white (mostly in 20-80 or 30-70 ratios) depending on the hue that is desired. Tank halls are also used for “blending” of two wines from different regions or grape-varieties (This is where a Sauvignon Blanc combines with a Chenin Blanc to become a Chenin Sauvignon).

A wine for every barrel!

The next step is to “barrel” the wine for its storage. Barrels are just as important as the wines that they store. Sula imports its oak barrels for the wine-maturing process. This stage also helps in “clarifying” the wine so the tannins and other insoluble matter can settle at the bottom. The barrel-room is the last area your wine visits before it’s bottled and shipped to you.

The tasting room

After giving us a wonderful tour of the winery and regaling us with the fascinating story of how a wine is born, our guide took us to the tasting room and handed us each a wine glass. We were taught the art of tasting a wine. Before one tastes wine, one must know the correct way to hold the glass (by the stem or base of the wine glass, and NOT the bowl) as this impacts your view of the colour and the temperature at which you finally taste it (holding the bowl of the glass heats up the wine and affects the flavour).

After you have your grip in place, you must look at the wine and its colour. The colour reveals a lot about the age of the wine. Young reds have a purplish or bluish tint whereas their mature cousins are deep red or orange. Likewise, new whites are green to light yellow, and they age towards a golden hue.

There’s a wine for every occasion!

After observing your wine, swirl it in the glass to let some air mix with it. Aerating the wine enhances its taste so much so that we now have mechanical and battery operated aerators that are used for pouring wines. After aerating, smell the aroma, take a sip and keep it in your mouth for a while for the flavours to reach you. The gulp that you take after doing “all of this”, will make you realize it is worth the effort. Most novices tend to drink their wine like they would their beer or whisky which is why first-timers rarely like their first wines. After you learn the art of drinking wine, you will concede that wine is a superior alcohol and quite deserving of its price-tag.

My wine-tasting ticket entitled me to taste a total of 8 wines:-

Sula Sauvignon Blanc (white)
Dindori Reserve Shiraz (red)
Sula Zinfandel Rosé (rose)
Sula Riesling (white)
Sula Cabernet Shiraz (blended red)
Sula Brut (sparkling)
Sula Late Harvest Chenin Blanc (dessert wine)
Satori Merlot (red)

The amphitheatre

The evening was turning dusky when we were done. I stealthily slipped out of the tasting room as the others soaked themselves in conversations, so I could walk over to the lush amphitheatre behind the buildings. This is where music concerts are held every February during the Sula Fest. After sundown, I explored their store and bought a Rasa Shiraz, their finest vintage red which I could take back to my hotel.

A red and a pink,
I’ve got a pair to drink! 😉

Dinner was an Italian affair at Little Italy, the first restaurant to open at an Indian vineyard. I downed two more wines with a mushroom starter and a plate of ravioli. People will tell you that the best thing about a food-trip is that you taste with your eyes AND your tastebuds. What you discover on your own is that the tasting first comes with your heart. Your sense organs merely act as tools.

* * *

The night sky of Nashik is markedly clear as it isn’t plagued by a metro’s light-pollution. I took this opportunity to indulge in some stargazing before I bid my goodbyes to Sula.

10 Things You MUST do in Pondicherry

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Food, Pondicherry, Tips, Travel

This is the winning entry for the Prismma Holiday 2014 contest

(Fortnight of 10-23 March 2014)

In our fast-paced lives, we are always hard-pressed for time. Long vacations are a luxury that even money can’t buy. This is primarily why we must learn to “pack a lot in a little”. With this post, I flag off the 10-Things-Series for the benefit of those who wish to “do-it-all” in the limited time that they can prize out for a trip.

My 2-day trip to Pondy and Auroville seemed short while I was planning it, but turned out to be just right for all the things I set out to do. Here’s a list of things you MUST experience when you find yourself in Puducherry:-

1. Sample the French Cuisine:

Pondicherry isn’t called the ‘French Riviera of the East’ for nothing! There are cosy restaurants on every other lane and most eateries have French dishes on their menu. Ensure at least one meal you have here is unfailingly Français (pronounced fhaan-say). Though vegetarian options are limited (most French delicacies have at least one martyred animal), this cuisine can hold its own against most cuisines that have plenty to offer the herbivores. Here’s what yours truly ate:-

Ratatouille with bread

2. Sip on some Fine Wine:

When all the eating is done, can the drink be far behind? The French dining experience remains incomplete without wine. Although Puducherry is not the most famous wine-producing area in India, it imports good wines from across the country and the world. I had a glass of dry Shiraz Rose` which held its acidity boldly against the spicy rice dish that my companion ordered.

Some rose wine to wash down the food

3. Walk on the Soft Sands:

Pondy has a beautiful coastline which can be marvelled at from a number of beaches. The Bay of Bengal gleams like a bed of blue sapphires under the setting sun. Promenade Beach is among the better known beaches that skim the posh French side of this city. It is advisable to err on the conservative side while dressing for the waters as there are rarely any sunbathers on the beaches here.

By the Promenade Beach

4. Ride on a Rustic Rickshaw:

This city is so small that a pair of legs is all you need to travel from one end to the other. For those who’re not very fond of walking, there are bicycles and auto-rickshaws. There’s also the occasional yellow oh-so-French Vespa that zips by. But what makes Pondy so charming is the cycle-rickshaw! Taking this open-roof, doorless ‘green’ vehicle is an incredible way to savour this beautiful city.

Riding on a cycle-rickshaw

5. Look out of a French Window:

The bungalows and buildings in Pondy are indulgent in the way they go all out to to appear French. Apart from the omnipresence of the colour yellow, it is the windows that are strikingly French in their appearance. It is highly recommended to have your afternoon tea by the window so you can appreciate how architecture can make time move slowly.

Let there be light!

6. Visit a Nursery in Auroville:

Much has been written about the environmentally sustainable ways of Auroville, but to truly be one with nature, one must spend a few hours in the homes of young plants (a.k.a. nurseries). The oxygen I breathed here is one of the purest I’ve breathed in India. Of course, the purity comes not only from the plants but also the committed people that work towards building this universal township.

This nursery has a “green” sky!

7. Stay in a French Bungalow:

Don’t miss the opportunity of staying at one of the few boutique hotels in White Town (French side of Pondicherry). I stayed at Le Dupleix, but you can also consider The Promenade (a Hidesign hotel). Most of the residences are spacious, with wooden flooring and glass-walled bathrooms (perfect for honeymooners 😉 ). My hotel had tables laid out on the patio for open-air dining.

View from my French castle

8. Eat Creole, Vietnamese and Italian:

You don’t have to do everything only the French-way! The restaurants in Pondy can serve up some mean spreads from several other cuisines that you’ll only be too glad to tuck into! Off the top of my head, I can tell you they offer Punjabi, Moghulai and South Indian fares. And, I have personally tried Creole (available only at Le Dupleix), Italian (there’s hardly a place that doesn’t serve Italiano! 😀 ) and Vietnamese (served only at Le Vietnam). Pondy is a gourmand’s paradise in every sense of the word!

Mmm… smells of Vietnam!

9. Spend a Lazy Evening at a Cafe`:

The cafe scene is quite evolved in this Union Territory. The beachfront has a string of cafes that let one ‘do absolutely nothing’. Pondicherry is a place best enjoyed by doing nothing in particular while you let the sea-breeze stroke your face. Le Cafe is the most famous of all the cafes around. But don’t let that stop you from going off the beaten path to experience other little-known cafes.

Conical straw-roofs of a quaint cafe (Madam Shante’s)

10. Join the Local Activists:

I happened to come across a number of activists on the beach-promenade on St. Bastille’s Day. I gladly took this opportunity to create some awareness about vegetarianism and it benefits. To catch the jamboree and jollity of Bastille’s Day, plan your trip around 14th July.

Vegetarian is the way to go!

And finally, when you have done all of the above, let me know if my advice was worth it! 🙂

An Afternoon in Auroville

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Pondicherry, Tips, Travel

The morning I checked out of my hotel in Pondicherry, I chatted with the French manager for her opinion on Auroville. I wasn’t too keen on visiting a township-under-construction, especially on a hot July afternoon when I had a bus to catch back home in the eve. But she changed my mind when she said, “Oh! You can stay there for as long as you wish… a day, a week, or even months.” I was curious to know the mystery behind the “The City of Dawn“, and what made people stay that long… in some cases, forever!

Miniature model of the Auroville City Centre

Auroville is about 30 minutes from Pondicherry by road. Founded by Mirra Alfassa, it is a self-sustaining township of harmonious and progressive minds from 50 nationalities. Entry to this ‘universal town’ is free, but one has to register at the Visitors Centre. The entrance is adorned with brick-arches and landscaped greens. It is easy to see the harmony this place shares with nature.

The Auroville Visitors Centre

The Visitors Centre serves as a museum of sorts. It showcases the city-plan and the vision of the founder. Auroville also hosts volunteers and interns who wish to study and help build this town. With my pass in hand, I decided to walk through the roads (and skipped the buggies that are available on rent for walk-wary visitors).

Under the roof made of dried leaves and stems

Under the thatched roof

It is easy to feel the charm of the place growing on you as you pass through various stone-signboards with the painting a herb or a flower and its medicinal and spiritual value listed beside it. The entire place is like a forest with some areas cleared to assist walking. There are tarred roads too, but it’s always more exciting to take the road less travelled by.

Wooden model of the ‘Peace Area’

My goal was to reach the centre of Auroville, where there lies a giant sphere made of gold. The area that surrounds it is the ‘Peace Area’. There are signboards everywhere to guide visitors in this maze-like forest. This town has a field full of humongous solar-panels that fuel this sustainable-concept-lifestyle. The air is cool and clean and there are nurseries and a botanical garden to harness the goodness of nature.

I was looking for a tree to rest under (as I had quite some distance to cover before I’d reach the “golden ball”), and then I came across this spectacle that stopped me in my tracks…

The revered Banyan Tree

The forest heard my voice and showed me a 100-year old Banyan Tree. This sacred tree has aerial roots that have grown out of its branches and gravitated towards the earth to form tree-like structures of their own. It looks as though there are multiple trees entwined with each other, like young children in a warm embrace with their mother.

The tenacity of the ageless banyan tree inspired me and charged me up for the last mile of my walk towards the centre of this unique world. And I stood mesmerised by what I beheld…

The Matrimandir

The ball-shaped building is the Matrimandir– an awe-inspiring blend of art and architecture! This is where the seeker comes to realise inner consciousness and peace. I gazed dreamily at the sprawling greens and blessed that French lady for convincing me to give Auroville a chance.

Ville Blanche – Pondicherry’s French Kiss to India

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Oindrila Soni under Food, Pondicherry, Travel

I had been day-dreaming about the quaint little streets of Pondicherry for almost a year before I finally booked my tickets and decided to realise my fantasies.

Where Earth meets Heaven

Puducherry is not just a union territory in India, it is a world of its own. The Franco-rule that lasted here for almost 300 years, has soaked this place in its colours and flavours. To savour the ultimate French experience of La Côte d’Azur de l’Est, I decided to stay at Le Dupleix.

The colonial interiors of the luxury boutique hotel (Le Dupleix)

I started my Pondy-trip with a hearty meal of milk and cornflakes, fruits, flax seeds and orange-juice. Then gorged on some dosa-chutney and sambar while I waited for my green tea to arrive. (My appetite doubles when I am on a trip!)

The Tamil-English breakfast

With my stomach full, I started walking through the grid-like rues (roads) that lead me to this mustard building…

The French Consulate

And then, there was another. This one in memory of the French soldiers.

Foyer du Soldat

I entered the Pondicherry Museum, which housed everything – from stone-sculptures dating back to the 1st century AD to ancient carriages that lived to see me visit!

Vintage carriages

To pay some heed to my roused hunger, I halted in front of Le Vietnam, where I had my lunch of bún chả with a pair of chopsticks while I stared wide-eyed at an interesting looking nón lá (Vietnamese conical leaf hat).

Bún chả

Non La

Post lunch, I rushed to the nearest church, just in time to hear the mass in Tamil!

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception cathedral

I reached the Promenade beach before sunset and walked the entire stretch. The locals told me I should stop to look at the Gandhi statue and the French war memorial, which I dutifully did.

The clear waters crashing against the rocks on Promenade beach

The mysterious lighthouse?

Mahatma Gandhi statue

French war memorial

When the sun dissolved into the waters of the Bay of Bengal, the street suddenly came alive! One could watch the Pondy-Police-Force play the trumpet, activists staging street plays, live music and dancing all along the way. The once empty road was now thronged by a sizable crowd, and the mood was that of a carnival. It was, in fact, a carnival as today was St. Bastille’s Day! I was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

Bastille Day festivities

After the noise-overdose, I had a quiet dinner at my hotel. I ordered Italian – the cuisine that makes me think of nothing else but what’s on my plate. I then proceeded to catch some sleep for my trip to Auroville the next day!