Clouds and cats
What's orange, striped and hot all over?
Prashant Vaidya
11-Nov-2010
Sight a tiger at Pench • AFP
Visit an orange orchard
This is not about going into a market and buying a few but heading out to the orchards around the city. Nagpur's orange belt is about 15-20km north of the city. Once in orange country, ask the orchard owners if you can pluck the fruit yourself. Most will be happy to let you in. There are two orange seasons: one just after the rains, in the second half of the year, and the other before summer, in February-March, which is World Cup time. The pre-summer crop is the better of the two. With good soil and a pleasant climate, Nagpur is in a region where foodgrains and cotton are cultivated, but the city is still best-known for its fruit.
This is not about going into a market and buying a few but heading out to the orchards around the city. Nagpur's orange belt is about 15-20km north of the city. Once in orange country, ask the orchard owners if you can pluck the fruit yourself. Most will be happy to let you in. There are two orange seasons: one just after the rains, in the second half of the year, and the other before summer, in February-March, which is World Cup time. The pre-summer crop is the better of the two. With good soil and a pleasant climate, Nagpur is in a region where foodgrains and cotton are cultivated, but the city is still best-known for its fruit.
Eat the local food
One of the more special and least celebrated of Nagpur's attractions is its very earthy food. Let's start with a breakfast staple called the Nagpuri aloo-poha (spiced puffed rice with potato), which we believe is the best of Maharashtra's famous pohas. The street-side stall near Kasturchand Park, run by Roopam Sakhare, sells thousands of plates of aloo-poha everyday, so much so that Sarkhare actually pays income tax - unusual for such small enterprises in India. Then there is Varadi food: the cuisine of interior Maharashtra. Once you taste it, you'll understand why we love bhakri (a coarse bread made with unrefined flour), the chutneys and vegetables served with it, and the most famous zunka-bhakar, known in the state as the common man's quick meal. Among the things you must take back from Nagpur are the traditional Indian sweets made of, what else, oranges. Any auto-rickshaw driver or cabbie will be able to take you to Heera Sweets on Bhandara Road, where you can stock up on the orange barfi or orange sohan papdi before heading out of the city.
One of the more special and least celebrated of Nagpur's attractions is its very earthy food. Let's start with a breakfast staple called the Nagpuri aloo-poha (spiced puffed rice with potato), which we believe is the best of Maharashtra's famous pohas. The street-side stall near Kasturchand Park, run by Roopam Sakhare, sells thousands of plates of aloo-poha everyday, so much so that Sarkhare actually pays income tax - unusual for such small enterprises in India. Then there is Varadi food: the cuisine of interior Maharashtra. Once you taste it, you'll understand why we love bhakri (a coarse bread made with unrefined flour), the chutneys and vegetables served with it, and the most famous zunka-bhakar, known in the state as the common man's quick meal. Among the things you must take back from Nagpur are the traditional Indian sweets made of, what else, oranges. Any auto-rickshaw driver or cabbie will be able to take you to Heera Sweets on Bhandara Road, where you can stock up on the orange barfi or orange sohan papdi before heading out of the city.
Hang out at a chowk
If you want to do what locals in Nagpur do, hang out at the big "chowks" (city squares) and watch the world go by. There is the Seminary Hill Park, which is right in the middle of the city, at a height from where you can see the countryside around Nagpur. Families like going out to Telankhedi Lake - an artificial lake created by the Bhosle rulers about 300 years ago - which is dotted with old temples. Nagpur has many colonial buildings, too, and it is worth taking a look around the central part of town at structures that are close to 100 years old, be it the secretariat, the High Court or the agricultural university campus.
If you want to do what locals in Nagpur do, hang out at the big "chowks" (city squares) and watch the world go by. There is the Seminary Hill Park, which is right in the middle of the city, at a height from where you can see the countryside around Nagpur. Families like going out to Telankhedi Lake - an artificial lake created by the Bhosle rulers about 300 years ago - which is dotted with old temples. Nagpur has many colonial buildings, too, and it is worth taking a look around the central part of town at structures that are close to 100 years old, be it the secretariat, the High Court or the agricultural university campus.
Head out to Ramtek
This is a small temple town centred around the legend of the Hindu deity Ram, about an hour out, 57km, from Nagpur. Its main temple is the centre of the Ramnavmi festival celebrations, but the most interesting sidelight from Ramtek's religious past is its link with Indian literature. Kalidas, the most renowned of India's Sanskrit poets, is said to have written his most famous poem, Meghdoot in Ramtek. There is now a Kalidas memorial at Ramtek's highest spot, about 500m above the town, at a site called Ramgiri, where, every year, at the start of monsoon, there is a Kalidas festival. Why before the monsoon? Because Meghdoot is about the arrival of the monsoon in central India.
This is a small temple town centred around the legend of the Hindu deity Ram, about an hour out, 57km, from Nagpur. Its main temple is the centre of the Ramnavmi festival celebrations, but the most interesting sidelight from Ramtek's religious past is its link with Indian literature. Kalidas, the most renowned of India's Sanskrit poets, is said to have written his most famous poem, Meghdoot in Ramtek. There is now a Kalidas memorial at Ramtek's highest spot, about 500m above the town, at a site called Ramgiri, where, every year, at the start of monsoon, there is a Kalidas festival. Why before the monsoon? Because Meghdoot is about the arrival of the monsoon in central India.
Go tiger-spotting
And finally to my favourite - one of Nagpur's best kept secrets, because we really don't want it overrun with visitors. It's a jungle safari at the Pench National Park, which is about 90km, or a two-hour drive, from Nagpur, across the Madhya Pradesh border. Pench is one of India's few reserves that has witnessed a growth in tiger population, from about 20 to 53 in the 10 years I've been going there. I go there every two months and on every visit I've spotted a tiger in the wild. It's an ideal getaway after a cricket match. When play ends you can drive over and spend a night at one of the many hotels around there and set out on a tiger safari at 6am the next morning. Apart from tigers, you will see bison, panthers, spotted deer by the dozen, and a few hundred of the 2000 species of birds said to be living there. You can also take in an evening safari. Pench is quite a favourite with cricketers, and on many occasions I've gone there with team-mates and friends and had a great couple of days there. Everyone who has ever gone to Pench gets addicted to it.
And finally to my favourite - one of Nagpur's best kept secrets, because we really don't want it overrun with visitors. It's a jungle safari at the Pench National Park, which is about 90km, or a two-hour drive, from Nagpur, across the Madhya Pradesh border. Pench is one of India's few reserves that has witnessed a growth in tiger population, from about 20 to 53 in the 10 years I've been going there. I go there every two months and on every visit I've spotted a tiger in the wild. It's an ideal getaway after a cricket match. When play ends you can drive over and spend a night at one of the many hotels around there and set out on a tiger safari at 6am the next morning. Apart from tigers, you will see bison, panthers, spotted deer by the dozen, and a few hundred of the 2000 species of birds said to be living there. You can also take in an evening safari. Pench is quite a favourite with cricketers, and on many occasions I've gone there with team-mates and friends and had a great couple of days there. Everyone who has ever gone to Pench gets addicted to it.
Prashant Vaidya is a former India and Vidarbha player. As told to Sharda Ugra