Anniversary To Remember: Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam
It was my parents' anniversary but the place we went to for a day was worth the stay.
I particularly liked it because of its ambience, agro-tourism and eco-tourism, too.
The place was full of Indian culture and immense positivity and welcome and friendly vibes. (https://pratapgarhfarms.com/)
It included a high-tech system of booking online tickets through e-wallets where you could simply take the screenshot of the paid ticket at the counter and get entry.
We drove a long way from Greater Noida, via Delhi and reached the much-discussed place by 10:30 am where we first hurriedly used the washroom and then got started with our first meal of the day- breakfast.
Perfectly Indian meal with rich Kaddoo subzi (made out of pumpkin), Aaloo curry, stuffed parantha and yummy poori was served with curd, jalebi and some pickle. Even though I was on a diet, I jumped at the sight of a delicious Indian meal. Soon after we began to explore the farmhouse and realised there were lots of other delicacies- Bajra roti, Makka roti, Lehsun-garlic chutney, Chhaachh (buttermilk), Neebu Shikanji (lemonade), tea, pakoras, street food and raw sugarcane to chew on. We couldn't have asked for more abundance and an overhwelming sense of riches, food at a nominal cost of Rs. 1200 per person.
We decided to munch on the food slowly throughout the day after each activity. We went to a corner where there were male and female dancers from Haryana, dressed in traditional Banjara dress with headgear. I danced with one of the dancers to their traditional song and dance while my mother clicked photographs and made videos.
We quickly sipped some tea, drank some lemonade and buttermilk and went off for some gulli-danda, gun shooting and peedha-making. While we watched the artisans stitch and create flowery patterns on the peedha (what we in Uttar Pradesh call 'machiya') we realised it was a place full of fun and frolic with families coming there with their young kids to enjoy a weekend. We now went off to the other side of this farmhouse- I insisted that I wanted to visit the Aushadhi-Vaatika first. My parents made sure that they kept my choices in mind so we went immediately to see the trees and plants with medicinal value (photographs attached).
While viewing the diverse flora of the place, we crossed the camel cart ride, mehndi artists, potters, other artists. Immediately after observing the medicinal trees, I rushed to the mehndi lady for a hand of art on both my palms. She beautifully colored my hands in henna. Beautiful floral patterns adorned my hands which I did not feel like taking off for the next half-an-hour. Also, henna had to be dried so that it leaves a colorful orange color on my palms.
While I kept the henna for drying, my parents were off to the tea corner for sipping some hot tea along with piping hot Gobhi and Paneer Pakodas.
Soon after we decided to explore the other side of the farm and landed up seeing a bioscope, some more indoor games, a place for mud bath and mud massage, a Shiva temple, a hanging bridge made of bamboo, a well with traditional rural costumes for women kept close to it for wearing (called Pratapgarh Panghat), a rope artist, a merry-go-round and lots of other fun rides and games.
There was also a rabbit farm, an emu farm, some sheep (which I took in my lap) and couple of plantations of cauliflower, cabbage, mustard, radish and turnip among others. Close to the rabbit farm there was a raised platform for tractor ride and bullock-cart ride. There was a bio-gas plant, some mattresses and green grass carpet for an afternoon siesta and a lady who was separating the wheat from the chaff. Lots of scarecrows dressed in traditional Haryanvi woman's attire could be seen everywhere. In another corner, there was a small portion from the field where sowing and ploughing was taking place with the help of a bullock. My father tried doing that with the help of the local farmer.
To the far end of the premises was some space for loads of adventure sports and outdoor sports from badminton to basketball to rope climbing, Flying Fox, etc. While our family sat and watched others play the adventure games we clicked some selfies with visitors in the background.
As we headed towards the dining area for some lunch, we decided to stop over at DJ's for a quick dance. I requested the DJ to play the song, 'Munni Badnaam Hui' from the movie Dabangg.
We clicked some more pictures on the rickshaw, tempo and other things- the trampoline, for example, as we headed for some bite of paneer, naan, green raita, arahar daal, gobhi aloo subzi and pickle. My parents headed for some Bajra roti, Makka roti, Saag, Lehsun chutney.
After lunch we headed for a puppet show, some magic show, Bodhi Vatika, Sita Rasoi, Khaat (traditional bed) for sleeping where my mother and father took a short nap.
I got photographs clicked with a sheep, on the tractor and with the tractor-driver.
As the clock turned 3, we decided to drive back. We inquired the ticket-vendor to guide us to the right way back to our home. We took the Eastern Peripheral Expressway which got us home in two hours and a half.
It was a trip well completed where I really liked the slogan 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' or the world is my family.
The village thus showed me the gentleness and kindness of a farmer and the ladies who were cooking Makka and Bajra rotis as one of them blessed me with her hands as I touched her feet. It was so different from a small, marginalised farmers' home always shown in a distressed light. It was a scenario of a well-to-do farmer whose crops are always sold and the reaped harvest has always won him dividends and profit and there's happiness everywhere. He is definitely not the Premchand's farmer-protagonist we have often read about in his short stories.
#HappyFarms #Prosperity #Abundance #Fields #AsYouSowSoShallYouReap #Wealth #BountifulCrop
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