Travels and thoughts

I had landed in Dubai four days before, after a fun filled and warm stay with my daughter in Philly. Not in a mood to have another holiday I had half a mind to cancel the Rann of Kutc tour with my school friends. My friends had finalized this plan three months ago. With half a heart and cajoling myself not to be a spoilsport I boarded the flight to Mumbai. With a brief halt at Mumbai I took the connecting flight to Bhuj airport where I met my dear friends. As the flight took off from Mumbai I could see the bright orange pink rays of sun rise over the horizon. Tired from the overnight journey I decided to shut eye for a while. A bus was ready to take take us to the railway station from Bhuj airport. This railway station had a modern facade as compared to the other rail stations of India. There were autos and cars parked outside the rail station. My friends had taken the train from Mumbai to Bhuj. With the usual screams and hugs we greeted each other. Refreshing ourself in the make...

A trip down Naliya lane The thought of travelling to Naliya never crossed my mind until a good friend was posted to the IAF station there. Naliya is an ancient town in close proximity to the port of Jakhau and off the National Highway 8A. Vinod Kumar , is a Group Captain with IAF. We share a good affection and bond with each other. It might be because my father served in IAF. A couple of years ago when Vinod got transferred to Naliya, a casual mention to my father kindled his memory. My father had visited the station in the 70s for an inspection of sorts and had stayed for three months or so. This recollection in turn aroused my curiosity prompting a visit to Naliya. Some other common friends suggested a trip to the Rann of Kutch. Naliya was 3-hour drive from the Rann of Kutch. To maximize our time with our hosts, we decided to travel late night to Naliya. Our taxi driver Ali took us through the small villages of the state bypassing the standard Google map suggestions. The roads...

After watching the unforgettable sun set at the Rann of Kutch we decided to stay awake through the night to celebrate our friend Jiji's birthday. It was a milestone 50th year for her. The bright moon cast a spell on the vast expanse of the open courtyard. We exhibited infectious childish enthusiasm about 10 times about the birthday celebrations. We managed to get a cake and at the stroke of midnight binged on cake and coffee. It was dark when we left our tent to watch Rann of Kutch sunrise. The air was cold and we needed our scarves and woollens for the trip. Wrapping ourselves snuggly, we set out to view the sunrise at the Rann. Stepping out into the salt desert,  we were astounded to see miles and miles of salt land around us. Crystals of salt crunched under our feet as we walked across the plains. Nature never ceases to amaze me. Who would have thought few months before, during the monsoon weather this place would have been flooded with water. There were a fair scat...