Sacred River

Today brings the first day of our mini tour of Maharashtra - Mumbai’s state. 

Getting out of Mumbai takes an age - partly due to traffic and partly to the state of roads, so many of which seem to be undergoing work. But eventually we arrive in our first stop - Nashik, centre of India’s wine industry. We’re spending the night in a rural property run by Sula, India’s biggest and oldest wine family. 

But before that we stop in Nashik’s riverside temple complex. Panchvati is situated on the left banks of the sacred river Godavari and the whole area is lined with ghats. In fact, Nashik has earned name of the ‘Banaras of western India’ due to large no of temples and the sacred nature of the river meaning that relatives often brung the ashes of loved ones here. Groups of people make offerings or bathe in the marigold strewn waters, several of the men with shaved heads, symbol of mourning. Some family groups are clearly here to scatter ashes. 

Back home, there is a funeral taking place - a friend’s husband. G was asked to play the violin at the chapel, something he’s obviously unable to do, but we purchase an offering and set the flowers with their lit tea light into the water and watch it sail away.   

This place is a photographer’s paradise; everywhere you look there is a portrait to take or a view to capture. Women in colourful saris sit or squat by the riverbank to wash clothes, their own reflected on the water, while glistening children emerge on the banks after splashing in the water. 

It’s hard to tear myself away, but we have another temple to visit in the town. Kalaram Temple  is dedicated to the deity Rama and houses black statues of him with Sits and Lakshmana. Thousands of devotees visit the temple every day and cameras are not allowed so our driver takes mind back to the car for safe keeping. We join the queue waiting to go inside and the chattering dies down as we make our way to where the sacred black statues of the gods are on display.  

Once outside again it’s clear that the ‘no photography’ rule is abandoned - or ignored - as people take out their mobile phones. It does strike me as very odd to simply pick on actual cameras when virtually everyone has a camera in their pocket. 

Since we arrived in India, there’s been a steady stream of people wanting to have photos taken with us, but here the whole thing becomes ridiculous. Europeans still hold a fascination, especially in areas where there are few foreign tourists, and pale skin is still seen as desirable. Here, I notice a group of women gathered round me, the group becoming bigger by the second. They all want a photo or selfie with me. The process seems endless, though it’s one way of meeting and interacting with the locals and they’re all lovely! But I can certainly see how tedious it must be if you’re a celebrity and can’t do anything without being spotted! 

Eventually I escape, and we set off for our hotel for tonight. As we’re in India’s wine region, I’ve opted for a rural stay in an architecturally stylish resort owned by Sula, the original and largest of India’s wine companies. It’s very green and so quiet and relaxing after days spent in cities - though we’re somewhat alarmed by the loud music being amplified from a wedding on another area of the property. Definitely not what we’d been expecting! 

Leaving G resting - as I should have been - I walk down through neighbouring farmland to the lake. It’s serene and peaceful with small hints of pink within the sky marking a cloudy sunset. I stay here, drinking in the peace, before returning to our room to prepare for drinking of a completely different sort! 

Included in our room rate is a wine tour and tasting at Sula Vineyards. By now it’s dark - but  we’re taken through the usual explanations as our young guide addresses the group in perfect extremely fast English though we’re the only non-Indians there. The tasting of Sula wines takes place at breakneck speed - fine if it’s a case of taking a sip and pouring the rest into the strategically placed buckets, but if you want to savour each tasting as we do, it’s a case of gulping down the last mouthful as a the next tasting waits to be poured. Wine is definitely a ‘new’ thing for many Indians, confirmed by the sign above us: ‘The place where more people taste their first glass of wine than anywhere else in the world’. 

The wines are actually rather good, and we have a bottle of their oaked Chardonnay with our meal back in the restaurant - in my case a plate of delicious tandoori prawns. 

Thankfully, the wedding celebrations have quietened down and we settle down to sleep  after another full-on day in India. 

Many thanks for all the hearts, stars and lovely comments over the last few days. I really do appreciate them. I’m hoping once we get on the ship I’ll have more time to respond.