Category: Travel

  • Pune to Palakkad

    We had dropped my wife’s parents at Pune railway station the previous night and it was a little past midnight when we slept. We set the alarm for 4:30 in the morning for our road trip to Palakkad.

    Two weeks earlier, my parents had taken both of our kids to Palakkad for their summer vacation. This meant that it was only the two of us on this journey.

    Routes

    We usually take the Pune – Kolhapur – Davanagere – Chitradurga – Hosur – Salem – Erode – Coimbatore – Palakkad route. On our last road trip, we tried the Sathyamangalam route after Chitradurga, turning at Tumkur. This time, we wanted to try driving down NH 66 (what was the Panvel – Ernakulam Highway and then NH 17).

    I remembered a road trip that I went with my family from Mumbai and this was a scenic sea-side route along the Arabian Sea. That road had gone beside beaches, through towns and cities, and on coastal and ghat roads. I wanted to experience that again.

    I took Google Gemini’s help to decide where to stop on the route we were planning to take. It suggested that we stop somewhere between Murdeshwar and Udupi.

    Rakesh ettan shared notes on the Pune – Sawantwadi – Goa leg of the trip. It was a route they had taken for their vacation in Goa.After taking this route to hop from NH 48 to NH 66, we would follow NH 66 to Palakkad.

    Day 1

    We woke up at 4:30 am and left from home around 5:30 AM. Google Maps guided us through Sinhagad Road to meet NH48.

    We made good time in this early morning leg and stopped at what has become our usual Vithal Kamat stop just before riding up Khambatki Ghat.

    Good progress has been made on the bridge cutting out the Ghat from NH48. It looks like we may not have to traverse the ghat on our next road trip.

    We crossed Satara and around Kolhapur began a series of diversions for construction work on-going on the NH. It was sad to see many of the trees getting cut down for expansion work. Why can’t we move these trees like Singapore does?

    We crossed into Karnataka and after one more diversion at Nipani, we made the turn towards Goa at Hotel Goa Ves. We joined NH 548H at Uttur Phata after going back into Maharashtra at Bahirewadi. We realised a little late that we had taken an earlier turn than intended.

    We returned to the route we had intended towards Amboli Ghat on NH 548H. By the time I had crossed Amboli Ghat, I had already crossed a few smaller ghat roads, and was now beginning to tire.

    Dhanya and I at Amboli Ghat. Image: Pradeep Mohandas

    We really loved the scenes at Amboli Ghat. The trees were different at different heights. The smells were different. The soil seemed different.

    At the exit of Amboli Ghat we got tempted to follow a short cut route into Goa. But, we had to return after a few kilometers as work on the highway had created a traffic snarl. We returned back to NH 548H.

    We then set our sights on Sawantwadi and headed there on the main highway. Sawantwadi town had a Mall Road like the north and still had some colonial vestiges. My wife’s neck pain got severe at this point and she could not turn to look towards my side (which was the side that looked towards the sea).

    NH 548H reached NH 66 at the Insuli RTO checkpost. We crossed the Terekhol river and had a Goan fish based meal at Hotel Anandi at Banda.

    We then took a series of bridges in Goa that took us through but never let us be in Goa. It by-passed the whole state except parts of Madgaon. The bridge had high side-walls which meant that we didn’t even get to see Goa.

    I later realised that they had changed the alignment of the road.

    We got the first sight of the sea at Goa Velha at the New Zuari Bridge. Then, we passed through Karwar Ghat and into the new naval port area. We also saw a lot of signboards for beaches but the disappointment that was the Goa by-pass meant that we just wanted to get to Udupi.

    We entered Karwar around 3:30 PM. Udupi looked unreachable and so we wanted to at least target Murdeshwar to sleep at. At this point, Murdeshwar also felt unreachable.

    It was getting dark by the time we passed Ankola. A bit of a downpour made driving slower. We went past Gokarna, Kumta, and Honnavar after sunset. We pulled into our night stay at the RNS Highway Hotel at Murdeshwar.

    The RNS Highway Hotel has an attached restaurant which is not under the same management as the Hotel. When we went there, the restaurant was busy serving a party of 20 and had only two chefs. We had to wait 30 minutes to be served and the food was not great.

    After a long and tiring first day, we decided to leave at 6 AM on the next day.

    Day 2

    We started at 6 AM as planned. We decided to have breakfast at 8 AM at Udipi. On the way we saw the bit of a beach by the road at Maravanthe and decided to get down on the beach. This strip of road and beach has the Kolluru River on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other side.

    Dhanya had been disappointed that we didn’t get to go down on a beach in Goa. We might have to plan a trip just for that.

    Selfie at Maravanthe Beach.

    She enjoyed her time at this beach and was much more positive start to the drive that day.

    We then went into Udipi to have our breakfast at MTR 1924. We then drove out and made good time before we entered Kerala. The roads in Kerala were also good with elevated highways.

    We were driving at a nice clip in Kerala when the diversions began. There were several diversions which went into the towns as well. We took a diversion into Kannur just before lunch. It was a bit early for lunch and we enjoyed the drive by the beach. But, most of the diversions were onto the service roads with no or closed restaurants.

    We decided to have Thalassery Biriyani at Thalassery for lunch. Dhanya searched online and found Paris Restaurant in Thalassery to have the best Thalassery Biriyani.

    We went off the Highway into Thalassery to have biriyani. After a short drive where we missed the car parking place for Paris Restaurant, we parked. We were diverted to the newer AC restaurant. Another look at Google Maps pointed us to the traditional place.

    The traditional place was a house with a bunch of rooms serving as place to eat. With an efficient seating arrangement consisting of desks and benches with enough room for people to sit and move around. We got a corner seat and had a sumptuous lunch.

    Selfie in front of Paris Restaurant at Thalassery. Image: Pradeep Mohandas

    We then went back to the Highway on the same road that we came to the Restaurant. The roads got much better after we crossed Kozhikode. Dhanya had wanted to try Paragon Biriyani as well but we decided to go there on another trip.

    We turned towards Palakkad at Valanchery. On the road to Palakkad we stopped at a cafe in Cherpulassery for a coffee and snacks.

    We reached our home in Palakkad at 8 PM. It was great to be reunited with the kids after a long gap of 15 days.

  • Chintamani Temple, Theur

    After the trip to Ballaleshwar and Varadavinayak, we went to the Chintamani Temple in Theur on 11 April 2026. We had gone to Chintamani earlier before we realised the importance of visiting these places in a particular order.

    This temple had lovely woodwork and a Portuguese bell kept here after the Maratha conquest of the fort where it was initially hung. There were many sparrows in the temple courtyard. Some parts of the temple was undergoing renovation. I have found the temples managed by the Chinchwad Trust to be better maintained and cleaner than other temples.

    This is relatively closer to Pune and hence, the drive to and from the temple was more leisurely for us. We drove without stops.

  • Ballaleshwar and Varadavinayak

    It had been a long time since we left our Ashtavinayak Pilgrimage. I have written here about our trips to Mayureshwar and Siddhivinayak temples. We had done these in January 2026.

    Personal illness, kids exams, etc led to a delay in the next trip. We headed for Ballaleshwar on 28 March 2026. A day earlier we met Rakesh ettan and family the previous day during our weekly run to Kerala Stores. He suggested that both Ballaleshwar and Varadavinayak were close by and hence could be covered in the same trip. They had done the Ashtavinayak circuit in 3 days.

    Ballaleshwar Temple, Pali

    We left home around 7:30 am. We took the route through Nigdi out towards the Mumbai Pune Expressway. I was happy to see the conditions of the road had improved at Ravet. We made a pitstop at the Hindustan Petroleum bunker which hosted a German Bakery for a bathroom break for us and a refuel for our Logan.

    We headed back onto the Expressway. We took the exit at Khopoli and went down to Pali to reach there around 11 am.

    I parked the vehicle a bit farther than usual thanks to a Mandir security guard he wanted the vehicle in the free parking spot provided by the Temple Trust. This was farther and left our vehicle exposed to the harsh March Sun. It also robbed us of a shaded pay and park provided right outside the temple entrance.

    We went directly into the Ballaleshwar temple right past the Dhundi Vinayaka shrine. We prayed at the Ballaleshwar Temple quite peacefully. We didn’t experience the usual pushing and shoving one has gotten used to in Hindu temples.

    When we left the temple, we saw a sign that said that one usually prays at Dhundi Vinayaka before one prays at Ballaleshwar. So, we prayed at the Dhundi Vinayak shrine and then took a route from within that temple into the Ballaleshwar temple.

    I loved the atmosphere in the Ballaleshwar temple. One could play a big drum placed on one side, ring the bell, and we sat for a while in a wooden outer sanctum for a while before we left the temple a second time.

    Ballaleshwar temple’s legend was narrated by Sharath A Haridasan in his series on Ganesh Puran. My wife and I had heard it together. So, when I mentioned it to her she remembered it easily. This shrine is associated with children and we related it to our daughter as well. Our son was more interested in the animal figurine toys along the two sides of the path leading to the temple.

    We had food at Hotel Sukh Sagar. When I searched for the Varadavinayak temple, I found out that it was only less than an hour away from Ballaleshwar. After a light meal we headed off to Varadavinayak temple.

    Varadavinayak Temple, Mahad

    Google Maps acted weird on the way here. We had to drive around a little to figure out the entrance to the temple. This place had parking with some tree cover but with the Sun directly above us, the trees offered little to no shade. My wife carried my son all the way up the hill.

    The temple had a very unassuming modern structure unlike the other Ashtavinayak temples we had been to so far. It was on top of a hillock. We were allowed to do puja ourselves – which was an offering of coconuts, some hibiscus flowers, and some peda. Our son didn’t have the patience to offer the peda to the God and so took it away before we had the chance to offer it.

    The legend related to this temple can also be found both on Wikipedia or the playlist on the Ganesh Puran by Sharath A Haridasan. This story is more related to the Gods compared to other Ashtavinayaka shrines.

    It was 3 pm by the time we left the temple and headed back home. Google Maps took us through the old Highway and I enjoyed driving up the big upward curves on the ghat roads before we entered the flattish Expressway.

    We stopped at the McDonald’s after the Talegaon Toll Plaza for a bathroom break and some cold coffee for a respite from the heat.

    We returned home happy to have completed half of the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage.

  • Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek

    After the visit to Morgaon, we were wondering where to go next. I went down the rabbit hole of Ashtavinayak orders and lists but finally decided to follow the list given on Wikipedia.

    We visited the Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek on 17 January 2026.

    We left from home later than usual. We drove out through Nagar Road, went past Theur, past Daund, and reached Siddhatek in two hours.

    The roads, both the National Highway and the State Highway after Daund were really good. Most of the traffic was agricultural machinery moving from one field to another or transporting to the traders.

    On the State Highway between Daund to Siddhatek, we were flanked by the Bhima River on one side and the railway line on the other side.

    The parking at the temple was on the road. It was a light day and hence we did not face too many other pilgrims and got parking space quite easily.

    The darshan was calm and quick. We went in and came out after our prayers.

    We wanted to do the feri around the mount. The information online varied about the time the feri would take. It went from 10 minutes to 1.5 hours. It’s much closer to 10 minutes than 1.5 hours, and then it would depend on your speed. We completed the feri in 15 minutes.

    We got somethings from the shops outside the temple. We had sugarcane juice and wada pav. There seem to be quite a few tannaries around the area. I got two belts made for myself – one in black for work and one in brown for casual wear.

    We returned from Siddhatek on mid-day. We stopped at Savla Veg for lunch. Google Gemini suggests Kkanchan Veg but there is also a Vitthal Kamat on the other side. It seems to mostly have breakfast options, though.

    The journey back home was uneventful.

  • Katraj Zoo

    My daughter was bugging me to go somewhere, anywhere. I told her that we would meet her brother and her relatives on Saturday (10 January 2026) after her Parent Teacher Meeting.

    My son likes to play with animal toys and seem to enjoy watching birds.

    We had driven through Katraj (via the ghat) when returning from Kerala in September and it got me curious what it was like inside.

    These were three data points I used to decide that we should visit the zoo.

    Collage of photos of my family and me at the zoo during one of our breaks.
    Collage of photos of my family and me at the zoo during one of our breaks. Image Credit: Pradeep Mohandas, Collage created with Collage on Google Photos.

    For the drive to Katraj, Google Maps took us right past Shaniwar wada and Dagadhushet Ganapati Temple. It took us past Swargate and on the road to Katraj. There was public parking available outside the zoo. We parked there and walked to the zoo through the dilipated platform of the bus stand.

    The road outside is full of hawkers selling fast food, finger foods, and fruits.

    Once inside we took a ticket to enter the zoo and entered at half past twelve in the afternoon. My daughter was still expecting her relatives to join us. We went past a sea of school kids who were either having lunch or running to the bathrooms to go to the bathrooms ourselves.

    After our bathroom break, we wanted to take the tour of the zoo in one of the four battery operated vehicles but after the fourth vehicle left their bay, we were informed that the vehicle that just left was the last one over the next hour. Instead of cooling our heals while waiting for the bus, we decided to walk it.

    We went through the snake park with my daughter finding the turtles cute. Most animals were on their afternoon siesta here, a pattern that would repeat throughout the visit.

    We then went on a long trek with boards pointing to animals but no signs of the animal themselves. My 3 year old son walked the distance. We walked past dears, antelopes, etc. but that did not seem to enthuse my son. A bear walking across its enclosure to probably eat food or drink water got my son’s attention. We were back to walking again.

    We saw the elephants and then took a snack break. We used the opportunity to fill our water bottles as well. It was well-advised that we carry our own snacks. We carried makhana and broken-idli-pieces (this is specifically for our son).

    I tried to tell my daughter that when we told her that we are going to visit her relatives, we meant the animals in the zoo. She did not believe me and still expected human relatives to meet us here. As we walked back and she realized that what I said was true, she expressed her anger and did not talk to me for a while.

    The session after this was more interesting with a white tiger, tigers, cheetah, etc. Most animals were enjoying an afternoon siesta after their lunch (probably). Many of the visitors were joking that Indian animals would anyway be lazy like the rest of us.

    We tried various methods to keep the children enthused on the return. We pushed and walked more than on the way back with fewer rests.

    Much of the zoo was in various stages of repair. They are probably getting ready for their summer peak.

    We ate pav bhaji and misal pav from one of the hawkers from the pavement outside. There was also a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a softie machine.

    The family all fell asleep on the way back. I drove in silence with only my playlist playing providing ambient music. The way back was through Camp and Bund Garden. Although, we have been in Pune for almost 7 years now, we haven’t explored many of the places around Pune.

    I was happy that I had taken my daughter somewhere. But, she meant going to the mall and wasn’t happy that we wandered in the zoo under the afternoon Sun.

  • Mayureshwar Temple, Morgaon

    My family and I drove to Morgaon on 4 January 2026. It was the first long drive I undertook after the operation in the second week of December. It was a two-hour drive one-way.

    The drive to the temple was on mostly good roads except for a stretch between Hadapsar and a little beyond Phursungi. After that the roads were good and mostly empty. We made a stop at Kamat’s at Khalad on NH 965 for tea and our bathroom break.

    We didn’t make any stops on the way back. We stopped after we crossed Magarpatta to snack on some makhana.

    I first heard about Mayureshwar Temple associated with the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage circuit. It is the starting and ending temple to visit on that circuit. There are some fascinating myths associated with the temple.

    The temple was really well planned. It had good parking space, not too many heckling commercial establishments, and really well kept temple surroundings. We had a good darshan after a small waiting time. I found it hard to pray though the darshan was relaxed.

    I did not notice too much on this journey because I was really focussed on driving and my own driving comfort.

    Addendum: 16 January 2026

    I watched this post on Instagram that gives the story of Khandoba at Jejuri. This is near Mayureshwar. While standing in line, we saw several people who seemed bathed in turmeric and we were curious to learn more.

    Khandoba was a version of Shiva who came to fight Mani and Malla’s terror. Mani surrendered. Malla refused to surrender and was beheaded.

    After the war, Khandoba’s battle wounds were smeared with turmeric and the temple at Jejuri is still bathed in a sea of yellow.

  • Pune to Palakkad – 27 August 2025

    We drove down from Pune to Palakkad for Onam. The route we took was Kolhapur – Chitradurga – Tumkur – Sathyamangalam – Coimbatore – Palakkad.

    My main concern before the start of the journey was repair work on the Pune – Bangalore Highway (old NH4, new AH47 or NH48). Multiple people warned me about it. So, we were actively considering the Solapur – Vijayapura – Chitradurga stretch to avoid the repairs on the Kolhapur stretch.

    Two days before the drive, Rakesh had consulted multiple people himself and suggested that we take the Kolhapur, as a known bad road was better than an unknown road. I was concerned by the lack of mobile connectivity in case of any issues with our vehicle. Google Maps showed instances of roads being drowned in one or two stretches of the Solapur alternative.

    Colleagues at work I asked said that the stretch towards Bangalore was good but had no food stops nor mobile phone coverage for nearly an hour and a half as the roads went through wildlife sanctuaries.

    Following Rakesh’s advice we chose the Kolhapur alternative. 

    It was Ganesh Chaturthi that day and we started off with some Ganesh aartis. We had mentally prepared for multiple road blocks which appeared on Google Maps but did not exist on the road. Multiple times in Maharashtra, Google Aunty would ask us to take a diversion where none existed and seemed flummoxed when the car went straight ahead.

    The diversions on the Maharashtra stretch were much better built. There were potholes in some places but that was expected given the incessant rains in the past two to three weeks.

    Google Aunty did much better with the diversions on the Karnataka stretch of NH4. Here, the roads were much worse than the Maharashtra stretch with unnecessary speed bumpers, non tarred roads, and numerous potholes. 

    We made our first stop at the Kamat’s in Satara just before going up the ghats. The meals were good. We carried some snacks from here for what we expected to be a bad Kolhapur stretch.

    The Kolhapur stretch wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We went through but at slower speeds. 

    We crossed the border into Karnataka and stopped at a McDonalds (called Viraj Junction) just past the RTO check post for bathroom breaks and some coffee. 

    There are not too many food places on this stretch upto Chitradurga. So, we stopped at a familiar place for lunch when we saw it. It just says Restaurant but Google calls it Itagi Cross.

    We met a foreigner here who was going the other way on his Honda Goldwing. My 2 yo son waved hi to him. He waved back and asked him how he was. My 2 yo said, I’m fine. We had rice and dal here and it was really good.

    We had planned to reach Tumkur by evening that day but the Dharwad- Hubli stretch had other plans. This stretch was the worst stretch on our way to Palakkad. But, I’m happy they are expanding it now. When we reached Chitradurga, it was half past five. We stopped for tea and decided to push to Tumkur.

    We called ahead and booked Hotel Sadananda. We then had the first spell of rain on the road. This slowed us down a little. We then stopped for the night at Hotel Sadananda and had dinner from there. We had a simple meal at the hotel which was fine but not great.

    We had a hot water bath and had a good night’s sleep. We decided to leave around six the next night.

  • Mumbai to Pune

    A couple of weeks ago, I got notified by Rakesh about an ISRO exhibition at VJTI in Mumbai. I got the same message forwarded from multiple sources other than Rakesh as well – in WhatsApp messages, Tweets, etc. The message seemed to have gone viral.

    The other option was to visit IUCAA in Pune for a National Science Day event on Sunday, March 26.

    I decided to visit Mumbai for the same and take along my daughter by bus. Over the next week, this plan expanded to include my wife and our son. The mode of transport also changed to our car.

    We underestimated the time it would take to prepare for the ride, the time to travel, and the time for all things in between. The decisions change so much with just a 2 month old kid who has to be carried. We reached late on Saturday and I saw messages from my group that it was better to avoid the ISRO exhibition than go there. Hence, skipped it.

    It seemed to have been serious enough to make the news the next day.

    We spent the Saturday and Sunday in Mumbai and returned to Pune by Sunday evening. Son was cranky a bit in the end stretch of the travel to Mumbai. Else he was good on the way from and to Mumbai. All in all, we enjoyed the weekend drive.

    For ISRO, it shows the demand for exhibitions like these north of Bangalore/Bengaluru.

  • Book World

    Although I have lived in Pune for two-and-a-half years, the Pandemic meant that I have not explored the city.

    I was looking for book stores in Pune. There are many of the ones that play an academic role. Many shut down during the Pandemic. Pagdandi seems to the city-wide favorite. However, I was not happy how they treated my wife and daughter when I was inside the store. I have not returned there since.

    The search for another bookstore began. A search revealed Book World. This is a bookstore on Pune’s Fergusson College Road (FC Road). The Google review says they have a good manga collection.

    I went there on the two wheeler expecting parking to be an issue. I left my two wheeler a little way off and walked on FC Road. I loved the vibe on FC Road. There were road side shops selling clothes and books. There was place to sit and hang out. There was a Kalakar Katta where artists were seen drawing portraits. I am not sure if there were writers or readers there.

    I went down the steps and to Book World to see books on a center table and spread from floor to ceiling on the walls around. I spotted some of the latest books on the shelves there including some old copies of famous books. They had a really good collection of books there.

    I bought a copy of Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic for myself. I bought a copy of Mahabharatee by Shruti Hajirnis Gupte for my wife. I bought a few children’s story books for my daughter.

  • We’re bad at communicating our cultural history

    During my visit to Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad, I noticed that there was a major thrust towards showcasing how this was a very vital part of our cultural history. There were notes everywhere, painted, pictures etc about how we aimed to create an equal and casteless society. We’re really bad at communicating this history to the large population who visit the Ashram – the young and the foreigner, especially, who have only seen a resurgent India.

    This is the picture that greets you outside the toilet block. What is written in Hindi, translates into English as, “I asked for water, not your caste.” It is a one-liner that informs one about the caste system, the untouchability and various other practices that did exist once in India and still does exist in some form or the other in India. Yet, this is not properly communicated and hence it continues to remain a problem.

    Many people just walked by this mural. Even if you did not see any other thing in the Gandhi Museum – the Ashram rules, the letters Gandhi wrote, the various sayings pasted on the walls (which one could easily read in a book!), missing this is a crime! Yet, foreigners had no way of reading the Hindi script, the kids were just scampering – more intent on getting to the toilet. Many just avoided this space because it was a toilet block. This still smells a bit, doesn’t it? How we look down upon our civil sanitation spaces? Before we wipe out corruption and other evils from Society, the first one we must wipe out is our lack of civil sanitation. The rest will be “cleaned up”automatically, in my opinion.