Things Part of your international travel baggage

I am not an avid international traveler, but based on my experience of a couple of international trips, I make the following recommendations as a compulsory part of your baggage while going out of India.

1. An international adapter. This is an fits all sizes plug which can be used to connect to all electrical points in most of the countries. Since most of our electrical appliances have three-pins, we wouldn't be able to connect any of these in most of the European countries, as they have two-hole connections.

2. It may sound weird, but those of you who use water for your morning cleansing activities, better carry a mug :). None of the toilets there will have the kind of water hoses that we have in our countries. At least I dont feel comfortable, using just the tissue. You can leave it at the hotel, as a memento, on your day of return journey :)

3. A pressure cooker, in case if you are opting for a studio apartment or are going to cook for your self. I found it to be very handy when you come back after a long day at the office, and have to still poke your nose into the various cooking utensils to check if the food is cooked. The easiest way I found was to put all the vegetables along with the rice in the cooker, and let it whistle for 2-3 times. Once the pressure drops, you can have a yummy, self-cooked dinner tummy full :)

4. If you are from Pune, then you must carry at least half kilo of Chitale's bakhar wadi, and few packets of Khakra

5. Not to forget the Maggie noodles which help you make a your breakfast real quick.

Readers are welcome to add to this list.

Sant Tukaram Palkhi – 2010

Come the month of Ashaad (June or July of Gregorian calendar), and I start scanning the local newspapers for the itenary of the Sant Tukaram Palkhi procession.

From my childhood this particular occasion has been an important date for me. When I was still a school going kid, I vividly remember the day when my mother used to cook the bhagar (known as Samo or Moraiyo in English; a variety of rice) along with the gravy made of groundnut paste and other ingredients. That was the day when we were served a gastronomic delight, with variety of papads, and the potato shreds fried to a nicety with some green chillies. Not to forget the various dry fruits that we used consume the whole day along J. Little did we know the history behind it at that time.

History - In the year 1685, Narayan baba, the youngest son of Tukaram introduced the concept of carrying the silver padukas (footsteps) of Sant Tukaram in a Palkhi, proceeded to Alandi where he put the padukas of Sant Dnyaneshwar and go to Pandharpur on the eve of Ashadhi Ekadashi to seek the blessings of Lord Pandurang. This tradition of twin Palkhis went on every year, but in 1830 there were some disputes in the family. Following this, it was decided to break-up the tradition of twin Palkhis and organise here after, two separate Palkhis - Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu and the Dnyaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi. From that time till date, both the Palkhis meet in Pune for a brief halt and then diverge at Hadapsar to meet again at Wakhri, a village nearby to Pandharpur.

Yesterday, I started from the Khadki and took a bus to Nigdi, and took the six-seater autorickshaw to Dehu road. The entrance has a very well constructed and beautifully decorated arch, which was the perfect setting for a great day. I reached Dehu gaon by hitch hiking on motorcycles of the residents of the locality. The tradition that is followed even to date is that the palkhi which carries the silver padukas of Sant Tukaram, is rested on the first day in Deshmukh’s wada which is next to the birth place of Sant Tukaram, and just next to the temple in Dehu.

The next day the palkhi is carried on shoulders from the Deshmukh’s wada to the spiritual guru of Sant Tukaram, Angadshah baba. After the traditional abhang and aarati, the palkhi is then mounted on a rath(chariot) decorated in silver, and proceeds to the next destination of the day, Chincholi, amids the chant of various bhajans, religious hymns, and the famous chant of ‘Gyanba Tukaram’. The rhythmic beat of the mrudang and the cymbals reverberates the whole area, all along the procession.

Its afternoon 2pm and everyone takes a break for the afternoon lunch. The local residents offer the warkaris(people who follow the wari, a fundamental ritual) lots of eatables and other items as a way of seva. The common belief being that serving the pupil of the Lord is akin to serving the Lord Himself. Having happily savoured whatever is offered by residents, the procession now moves on, and reaches to Akurdi, Pune by 5pm in the evening. The palkhi procession is halted for the day and resides in this industrial area of Pune, to allow the devotees to take the blessings of this great saint and poet of Maharashtra.

By this time my whole body has gone numb, and I shudder to think that the warkaris need to cover a distance of about 350KM in 22 days. Oh, didn’t I tell you.... the whole procession is on foot J.