4328) Did You Know Series (127): i) What is a Hurda Party; ii) A Hurda Party at Tukai Camping Resort:

4328) Did You Know Series (127): i) What is a Hurda Party; ii) A Hurda Party at Tukai Camping Resort:

i) Hurda Parties in Pune, Maharashtra:

A Hurda Party in Pune, Maharashtra, India,   is        a traditional celebration that marks the winter harvest of tender jowar (sorghum) and    is   held       every year between November and February.

It typically involves roasting jowar over open flames and serving it with various accompaniments like chutneys and jaggery.

This year, thanks to Anupda (Veteran Wing Commander Anup Banerjee) we went to our third Hurda Party – Borkar Farms, Meher Retreat and now at the Tukai Camping, Rahu Road, Shindewadi, Pune, located about 12-15 kilometres from Vimannagar, Pune.

ii) This is a brief of our novel experience: 

For Hurda Party enthusiasts in Pune and neighbouring areas - this is the happening place's location.

The visitors are welcomed through a welcoming arch.

As one walks in there is a Look-out tower at left:

Anupda at the Lookout Tower

Sumita at the Lookout Tower.

At right an assorted menagrie accosts us:

The Mama Cow, the Calf, the dog - Rani and the Cat. The pups are missing in this picture.

The Calf

Here they are!!

Once they grow up, Indian dogs are extremely loyal and make excellent watchdogs.

The Cat

We also spotted some avifauna at the Camping ground:

We spotted a sparrow pair - male and female birds sitting on a car rear view mirror and were quite excited as they are rarely seen these days.

A male sparrow

A bird nest

Purple Rumped Sunbird

A Robin

Bird Nests

Lepdoptera - A colourful butterfly spotted by Sumita on a Marigold Flower

There are a lot of Cartoon and Rural wall paintings that greet the visitor:

Tom and Jerry (Cartoon characters) and Bagheera (from "The Jungle Book")

Temple Town - Ayodhya

A Rural Setting - A mother cooking in her kitchen, while two boys play hide and seek.

A replica of a bullock cart wheel giving a rural look

A farmer with his Cow and pots sitting outside his cottage/hut

A smiling snowman with a Santa Cap greets you on the way to the community centre

The fence decorated with pots and plants outside the covered space

Colourfully decorated tyres at the entrance presents a festive look

This Mileage sign indicator gives a distance this camping ground is to a few of the famous forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

The Steps leading to the swimming pool, garden area , toilets etc is decorated with tablas (Indian classical music drums)

The Swimming pool - Anupda sitting with our hosts - Sanjay and Yogita

A lawn with Japanese Grass growing on it

A Garden is coming up around the lawn

Outside the boundary wall is a twin mountain formation which is ideal for climbing enthusiasts

Mama - who took very good care of us during our entire visit

At Breakfast:

We were served a delicious plate of Upma, bananas and boiled eggs. 

Anupda and Sanjay

Sumita and Mitaji

After breakfast it was time to laze around in the Sun

Mitaji concentrating on her knitting work. She spenther time knitting caps out of colourful balls of wool. She is a well-known eco-warrior. Anupda practicing his stance for a "Old West" photoshoot regaling us.

At Lunch:

Lunch was prepared by three lady cooks in the traditional Maharashtrian way. The food was absolutely delicious.

There is a small platform where the cooking of the meal was done very efficiently.

The Vegetarian Thali

The Non Vegetarian Thali consisted of Tilapia fish

The food was very delicious and we ate and ate (just stopping here for the photographs for a memory)

Sumita - who had taken the earlier photographs

After a hearty meal it was time for an afternoon siesta

While we slept, Sanjay was busy organising jugsful of delicious sugarcane juice

At the Hurda:

The plates spread out for the finale of the evening 

The Hurda served with delicious "pakoras" and "Chutney" & Jaggery.

The setting sun was an indication that the grand day was coming to an end.

This billboard promises a great day at "Tukai Camping". We had a wonderfully memorable time during our trip.