Must say, it was a fantastic and
fabulous year, which is coming to an end with aplomb! Sometimes, we feel the
time should stop in its tracks and this year was one of those years! It started
with very sweet memories of Seattle, USA, where we had spent 3 and half months
in 2023, with our cute grand children! This year was full of trips, social and
spiritual, visits and get-togethers; commitments, socializing and fun!
October – November 2023 was a fulfilment of the long awaited tour of East Coast of USA. Liberty Island, Manhattan, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and Niagara Falls were a pleasant addition to our fulfilled bucket list wishes!
January 2024 was welcomed along with our very young friends; at Dhom, Menavali, Raireshwar; all places, which we hadn't been to! Dhom dam, Phadanavis wada at Menavali, beautiful Nrusinha temple were visited. Another surprise trek undertaken by us was that of Raireshwar Fort, situated in hills, known for its seven-colored soil and a plateau full of colorful flowers, shrubs, springs and red soiled paths leading to the temple.
February 2024 was adorned with a tour
of Gujarat with family; Statue of Unity, Girnar, Datta mandir with a steep 3700
steps’ climb, was a trial of our physical and mental fitness. Included were Gir
forest, with a sizeable number of lions, Onkareshwar, Sorti Somnath, Dwarka, Bet
Dwarka, Akshardham, Garudeshwar, Atal bridge, Gangeshwar Mahadeo, Porbandar and
Nageshwar Jyotirling. Spiritual and social travel was the tagline!
March 2024 was dominated by a very enlightening Dasbodh Wachan aptly ended by a spiritual trip to Mangaon, a live Datta Mandir, where Vasudewanand Saraswati performed meditation in a meditation cave, situated on the top of mountains at the backdrop. It was a small trek uphill, undertaken by us and gave us beautiful site of Kudal in Konkan. While coming back we stopped at Murgud, Dr Shrikrishna Deshmukh’s Shivgad Adhyatma trust, an oasis, in an otherwise drought prone area! Khidrapur was our next destination, followed by Nrusinhawadi and back!
April 2024 started with the planning of Singapore, Malaysia Cruise, taking us to a different world of wonders and luxuries. Cruise was the cherry on the cake, with sightseeing and leisure time!
May 2024 was very very hot, but the visit
to a quaint little city Shreewardhan visited with very dear friends, was a cool
change. The beautiful beaches, temples, treks, Harihareshwar, helped us forget
the heat!
June 2024 took us to a surprising drive with very dear friends, to the spiritual Shri Gajanan Maharaj Shegaon temple, Karanja, the live birthplace of Shri Nrusinha Saraswati and the national heritage spot of Lonar, an impact crater, said to have been created due to the fall of a meteorite.
July 2024 was a very rainy month, which inspired us to plan a sudden trip to Athirapally, the spectacular Bahubali falls which had then made to headlines in the travellers’ news! Tea gardens at Munnar, Athirapally falls were a fantastic change with dear friends!
August 2024 was highlighted by our son’s
visit to Bangalore, when we toured Bangalore sites with dear family members.
Road trips to Coorg, Ooty, Shringeri were destined on our travelling cards!
Very beautiful sites with wondrous nature, greenery and hills, made our August
memorable!
September 2024 with fun-filled, dear 1974 batch mates at GMC Nagpur, at a meticulously planned trip to North and South Vietnam, was highlighted by sightseeing, fun and frolic!
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October and November 2024 were spent in
practising for our drama Dear Dad, which entered the Rajya Naya Spardha. The
drama was well appreciated by the choosy drama goers and critiques, giving us immense
satisfaction and pleasure!
December 2024 has sown seeds for a new drama venture. Chinchvisava agro-tourism resort at Jath was a nice change from routine; with a musical hall, games, tractor ride, swimming pool, rain dance arrangement and lovely food, to top it all!
Yamai Mandir at Aundh while on the way back
from Gondawale was another unseen spiritual spot, worth the live spirit and
scenic beauty!
As we offer a tearful farewell to the well spent 2024, we also welcome 2025 with open arms, hoping for another fantastic and fun filled year ahead!
Wishing all of you A VERY HAPPY NEW
YEAR!
Green
Blogger
Prof.
Dr. Jaya Kurhekar
