Rackety Rack : bartans to books

The old rack for utensils in the kitchen had caught little spots of rust and was of no use. Almost decided to give it out to the radddiwalah, I still gave it a second chance.



A little weaving and painting, and it now serves perfectly as a book rack in my office!

Mumbai weekend getaway : Harihareshwar and Diveagar

No, this wasn't a trip to a religious place as it may seem. Within a range of 200-250 kms. by road from Mumbai, these are actually one of the most spectacular beaches of the Konkan belt (western coast of the Indian subcontinent). Equally enjoyable and thrilling is the drive down the Goa Highway. The ghats, the serpentine roads, little villages on the way are fascinating frames and subjects for the lens men.
As we go gallivanting in the hills, we are in for a double bonanza-The sea view emerges from the bushes on the hill side! (This is my first tryst with the coastal belt so I am obviously surprised by this view)
It is season time and we have risked coming coming all the way to MTDC Beach Resort at Harihareshwar without any prior booking. But we get lucky with the one and only room left for our new year's eve. In our excitement we forget al about the tiring journey that began early in the morning and head straight to the beach for a short walk and look around. Even at noon the water looks inviting, but we decide to keep the swim for the evening. After a mouth watering prawn curry and rice preparation, it is time to give ourselves some rest.
The golden light of the evening sun almost makes the whole setting appear surreal. The water is warm from the day as we go in for a splash and finally bid adieu to the drowning sun. We snore blissfully into the new year as our phones are out of network connectivity here.
Our next destination is a small Konkani village in Sreewardhan, Diveagar. A few kilometers down, this place is sheer heaven on earth. We halt by a 6 km. stretch of virgin beach on our way. On reaching Diveagar we land at the Patil Lunch Home and order a local thali, which is quite a mouthful. After which we think it might be a good idea to take a walk around and soak in the village culture. Primarily everyone here is into fishing. Some locals even sell homemade goodies like sherbets, sweets and namkeen. It is cool and peaceful under the dense vegetation of tall coconut and palm trees. We find a place to get into our swimwear and head to the beach as the sun gets moderate and evening is setting in. This one's even better with the huge waves that are ideal for a dip. We learn to keep ourselves abreast of the waves that challenge us each time. It is fun!
Reluctantly we sit back in the car as our holiday comes to an end still dreamy eyed about the good times we had in just two days.