Tadoba Again- Craziest of the Crazies

What do Navy Veterans do?

Keep holidaying! Forever.

That's OK, they have the all the time. But how do they beat the heat?

By travelling to the hottest places?

In thick of the summer?

Yes.

They must be crazy then.

Sure they are! Probably the craziest of the crazies!

Who are these crazy lot?

Six Navy Veterans and spouses.

Yes, here are six grannies and grandpas all Navy Veterans. They all  ventured to leave the cool confines of their homes in Delhi/Noida and Secunderabad and face the heat and dust of a jungle safari. 

Inspiration? To see the king of the jungle-- Royal Bengal Tiger in its natural habitat. Meet the six all in their sixties with ladies first.

Now the turn of Navy Veterans.

Why go in summer?

Because the grass dries up and the heat forces the big mammals including Tigers to come out to drink water. The chances of sighting a tiger therefore, increase. In fact, the tariff for rooms in MTDC Resort at Moharli, (one of the entry gates to Tadoba) is the highest from 1st May to 30th June every year.

Where is Tadoba located? Why the name Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve?

Why choose Tadoba when there are other Tiger Parks in the vicinity?

As we can see, tiger density per sq km is the highest in Tadoba. Our statistical research has been proven right in the past. Hope it gets validated again in a few days time when we are there!

How to reach Tadoba?

Four of us from Secunderabad chose to drive down 430 kms in CP's Maruti Brezza. It is a car suitable for Indian roads with good ground clearance. See the route map below.

Whereas Aditya and Seema took the overnight train from Delhi to Chandrapur which is a mere 30 kms from Tadoba.

One can also take a flight to Nagpur and then drive 140 kms south to reach Tadoba via Navegaon gate. See the earlier map.

As senior citizens packing our bags for this wildlife trip, we realised that apart from personal stuff like caps, sunglasses, clothes, ID etc, we also have to carry our medicines! Another tale of grannies and grandpas!

As we proceed on this adventure, wish us luck for tiger sightings!

   -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/22nd May 2019

#tadoba #tigers #junglesafari #TATR #navyveterans #buddiesinsixties #wildlife #india #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Buddies in Sixties- What Do They Love?

What do buddies in sixties and seventies do for Diwali lunch?
They have beer.
Some more beer
They make noise. 
Lots of noise. Spouses join in too!
And?
They gobble up Kulfi! Kulfi after kulfi!
Yes, you are never too old for Kulfi.
For readers not familiar with kulfi कुल्फ़ी - it is frozen milk candy.

We had hosted a lunch for fellow BITSians at our home. Thirty odd-souls turned up and made merry. Pilani taught us team work. Therefore, we had a team game for couples. Who creates maximum smilies with given raw material- bangles, cloves, black pepper and rajma? Winners got Diwali goodies. Dress code: Ethnic.
Special thanks to Prof V Meenakshi, Faculty Coordinator, Alumni Relations and her husband Dr Aravinda Raghavan from Hyderabad campus of BITS Pilani for joining us.
The alumni ranged from the 1st batch (1964 graduate) till 2009 batch. 45 years apart- but it appeared as if we were all from the same batch!
Let the pictures do the talking.

Thanks for browsing.
Those who love kulfi- eat one more.
Those who are barred from eating sweets- share yours! 

Am also sharing below the links to earlier stories about BITS and of BITSians rocking together:
What has Changed in Pilani? And what has not!
What is so great about BITS?
BITS Alumni Global Meet
BITS 68 Conquers Kodaikanal

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 7th Nov 18/ Diwali
#Diwali #Sweets #kulfi #BITSians #BITSPilani #alumni #sixties #bondingatsixty #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #BITSAA #seventies

Buddies in Sixties rock Goa

What do buddies-in-sixties do to on a vacation together? In a place like Goa? They get drunk, of course. But they also visit the beaches and forts. 'Dry' day enforcement because of Assembly Elections does not deter their spirit. And what do their spouses, also in sixties, do? Pictures.

Who were these buddies-in-sixties and their spouses? Click here to browse.

What is new in Goa? Read the picture story here.

Goa also has plenty of birds. Ghumakkad will take you to a wetland called Maina Curtorim in the next story. 
Bye till then.

    -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from all the buddies.