Orange City

Finally experienced some yummy sarson da saag and makki di roti and cold wintry nights:)

I am back from my official tour to Nagpur. I realised every place in India has such a rich culture and history to talk about.

Nagpur at one time was the capital of the Central Province. It borders Chattisgarh and has a huge naxalite belt there.

The trip was extremely interesting as I met so many different people. It was a pleasant surprise to realise that unlike rest of Vidarbha , this place is not filled with poor farmers dependent on the natural forces for a good crop but instead is filled with a strong business community.

It was as cosmopolitan as it could get since it was full of Jains , Boris and Sindhis who had made this home for generations now.

Having lived in Gujarat for a year and studied in a Sindhi college for 3 years helped me break the ice with the natives.

I experienced what it felt like to live next to the airport and to watch flights take off and land all day long.

It was a small , yet big place. Getting the big city way , yet retaining all the charms of a small town.

The locals were a little upset about the fact that the farmers in Vidarbha had no irrigation facilities. They were upset about the power cuts despite being the power supplier for the state. I can only pray that this city which was neglected for such a long period of time by the government finally gets its due.

The old part of the city was full of little bylanes , eateries , wholesale markets like Itwari selling everything under the sun.

Multi coloured decorated cycle rickshwas were still in vogue.

Loads of excitement around project MIHAN , the SEZ which is going to be the next best thing there and is going to provide hi tech aviation solutions to the country at large.

The orange burfi from Haldiram's is to die for.

The icing on the cake was the sight of two old men seated side by side on the footpath right outside one of our paint counters in the middle of the afternoon , sipping their cutting chai and reading the newspaper.

Now thats what I call living it up!