Guthrie Govan concert in Mumbai

From the moment I got the email from Bhargava's telling me about the gig, I knew I couldn't afford to miss perhaps the only chance I'd get to see one of the world's greatest guitar players live. And it was a free concert too. The four hours just flew by, and Guthrie blew my mind away with every note he picked with his god-like technique and virtuosity. It's been a night I will never forget. I even managed to get a picture with him to savour all the pretty memories.

I still can't believe I saw the man live and met him in the flesh. What a fantastic weekend, literally! I am very content with the universe today. =)

To end the perfect day, I went for a drive with my cousin to Nariman Point and managed to click the Queen's Necklace in it's sparkling yellow beauty.

I wish I could stay in this wonderful city a while longer and attend Gino Banks' drum workshop in Furtado's tomorrow, but unfortunately I have a jam session at 4pm in Pune so maybe next time. Here's to a lovely day! Thank you Guthrie Govan. =)

Alibag

Took an early morning (4am) trip, yesterday to Alibag and some other places nearby. I managed to catch a beautiful sunrise and a whole bunch of pre-monsoonal bliss. It did rain a little bit but it was very welcome. NH17 is always a pleasure!

The roads weren't too bad either and I got there pretty fast. I even found time to do some off-roading!

Fortunately my tyre got punctured not here, but back home in Pune, later, the very same day.

And, ofcourse, there were the amazing beaches. My bike clicked this one. You can see the Alibag fort in the background.

Look ma, no stand! Yeah, it got stuck there for a while and I almost slipped and fell off trying to get it back onto solid ground.

The beach at Revdanda and the SAND-PAINTINGS!

I really want to do this trip again, anyone up? =)

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It'll be even more awesomer than this!

Random photographs from April.

A team of painters on a break. It was a hot day and with the hot wind in your face, riding a bike didn't come easy. This was taken on the way to Amby Valley City.

Different modes of transportation.

Traffic was quite heavy.

Samit was here. Vijayadurg in the Konkan is quite a beautiful place if ever you decide to take a trip.

A biker's sunset at Ganganbavda.

Udaipur. I love, love, love Udaipur!

Bad Ass History Lesson #1

If that freaks you out (it really shouldn't but if you are that big a wuss), then imagine climbing up a mountain with monitor lizards as big as your bike. That's what Tanaji Malusare and the Marathas had to do to get up into Kondana fort to recapture it from Udaybhan Rathod. They did and they renamed it Sinhagad. At least that what legend tells. How you tame monitor lizards is beyond me, let alone riding them like a horse and then going up a mountain. Truly bad ass.

Kharepaten

I'm not too fond of temples but my family took me to this place called Kharepaten for certain religious goals. Anyway, I had a good time thanks to my trusty digicam which never fails to amuse me. I even got to drive in the ghats later so it turned out to be quite a trip!

 

These cutting chai glasses always fascinate me.

 

Bugs these days...

 

Must clean my lens...

 

I swear, this thing started crying a second after I took this picture. Patience doesn't work every time.

 

Laughing uncles!

A basket, a piece of paper and a cable with plug. How random must I get to be appreciated. =P

 

I was stalking this boy around to get some decent pictures. And finally, right before it started to seem awkward, viola!

 

I really wanted to go to a beach after this since it was only about 40km or so from where we were, but the weather forced us to retreat back to our airconditioned cars and back to Kolhapur. Can't say I came back empty handed.

Mulshi

If you haven't heard of a place called Mulshi and you are from Pune, then what the heck have you been doing so far?! For starters, it is beautiful and it is so close by, you could practically walk there! Mulshi is the name of the dam on the Mula river and the water from the reservoir is used for irrigation and to generate electricity at the Bhira hydroelectric power plant and sometimes for a nice swim if you're ever in the mood.

After getting my undies wet in the water that awesome morning, my friend tells me they don't let people in the water. "Why", I ask. "Crocodiles", he says with a smile. I did cut my toe on a sharp rock in the water but that is the most anyone bled, thankfully.

If you're ever planning on going there just carry yourself a good pair of swimming trunks because undies will get ruined from the silt and it is just annoying to wash them later. And yeah, beware of the 'crocodiles'.

The Beach

Here's to my first post on this blog! I've been procrastinating a lot but I finally got down to writing about my travels around the country. To start off, here are some pictures of my bike off the western coast of Maharashtra near Ratnagiri and Ganpatipule:

I love beaches, don't you? The ocean always excites and calms me at the same time. I wouldn't mind living on a beach forever, given that it's clean and free from other people, heh. The other day I found several empty beaches and one very crowded, commercial one (at Ganpatipule), which makes me wonder, do people really bother to check out places not listed on their maps? Perhaps not. But maybe that's a good thing since it leaves me with plenty of unexplored and uninhabited places to discover and ultimately write about!