Remembering those sweet memories and with a wide-eyed kid’s perception, the man of the house appeared as a big strapping man off to conquer the world. In a way, he was conquering the world, for YOU; to make you the happiest and luckiest child in the world. Dad. Papa. Daddy. Baba. Pops. He was there, every step of the way, right from your first crawl to your first doddering steps to you running at full speed.
It is often said, that a child needs the mother the most. But what is equally true, is that a child wants his father the most. He is the tallest guy with his head held high when you are graduating, when you earn your first salary and when you are building a family of your own. A man of few words, his actions speak ten times louder than words.
So today, on Father’s Day, let’s take a trip down the memory lane to reminisce about those sweet memories of our childhood, where the bond between the father and the child only grew stronger with time.
Every night, without fail, before you went to sleep, he checked your room for monsters and ghosts. He made sure that there was no one hiding under your bed or hiding in the cupboard waiting to startle you in the middle of the night. Your father was the all-powerful monster-hunter ready to wield his imaginary weapon to shield you from from the imaginary monsters and ghosts. Hail, Daddy!
The First Sixer
Having the time of your life
Source: Pinterest
Now that you are grown up, you can wield the bat like a pro but it was your father who taught you how to hold it properly. It was he, who threw the ball countless times so you could at least manage to touch the ball with your plastic bat. It was with that plastic bat, that you him for a four! And then a six! With his bottomless patience and love for you, was how he taught you to play and enjoy.
The first bicycle ride
Learning to fly
Source: Huffington Post
When you graduated from a bicycle with training wheels to one without them, it was your father’s firm and patient hands guiding you to stay upright. Even when you requested him to not to leave the handle, he let you go so that you could learn do it independently. But he was right there next to you when you fell off the bicycle, encouraging you to get back on. And boy! did you fly like the wind.
One of the big accomplishments, is to drive a car. And he was the teacher who taught you the brake from the accelerator. He was the one to make you understand the purpose of different gears. Even when you were afraid of banging the car, it was his faith in you that helped you learn and manage the drive of your life. And you earning your driver’s license was all the vindication he needed.
The First Beer
The first validation you got that you were an adult was when your father gave you your first alcoholic drink. With that first drop of booze you felt extremely proud at being treated like an adult. Helping you to become the person that you are today, he was ready to let you spread your wings.
On this Father’s Day, why don’t you take the time out of your busy schedule and look back at those happy memories with your father and do something special for him?
So, do you have any memories with your father that you would like to share?
The feature image was sourced from Just a little simpleton.
What if, after a ten hour intense journey through the ‘world’s worst road’, your driver turns around and tells you, “We may be a little lost as it is my first time here. I suggest we halt. We’re very close to running out of fuel too. So we may as well try to call someone and arrange for both fuel and accurate directions”
That’s exactly what thirteen of us co-travellers heard on Day 1 whilst en route to Spiti.
The back story:
We’d departed from Manali earlier that morning in a Tempo Traveller with destination Kaza (in Spiti) on our mind. For anyone who’s familiar with the route, the road from Manali via the Rohtang and Kunzum Pass is not called the ‘worst road’ without reason; especially if you have the privilege of being seated right above the rear two wheels of the vehicle; and definitely more so if you have a driver who’s driving skills demand more than a fleeting mention.
Rock, Stone, Gravel – all along the world’s worst road. Photo by Elita
Now what?
Visualize the look on our faces moments after he (our driver i.e.) revealed to us the situation we were in.
It was close to 5 PM with no human life (or any life for that matter) in sight. The sky was blue with tufts of white clouds adorning it. The road was nothing but a dusty pathway. On the one side of the road there was a river. And on the other side of the river seemed a relatively populous village (read: human settlement that seemed to be comprised of about 50 houses from afar).
Stepping out of the vehicle tired, weary and hungry from the arduous journey we found that our driver seemed to have disappeared momentarily after his solemn announcement. Probably to locate some help is this barren deserted place, we reasoned amongst ourselves. With no mobile connectivity on our phones some of us decided to be brave and venture around in the hope of finding someone who could be of some help.
After a couple of minutes the driver did return letting us know that he had managed to establish contact with someone he knew and that fuel had been arranged for. We used his phone, as it was the only one that had connectivity, to reach out to our contact in Kaza (who also then assured us that she was on her way).
Lost – Kaza’s on the other side. Photo by Elita
Light ‘before’ the end of the tunnel…
While we were assured of both, fuel and directions, we were still a bunch of hungry travellers. Amongst the brave who’d ventured out knocking every padlocked door, someone struck gold. In a seemingly deserted village there happened to be a home that welcomed a bunch of thirteen strangers. It seemed unlike anything I’d personally experienced before but there we were being warmly ushered in by this man who could only be heard saying, “Aap toh humare mehmaan ho. Aur mehmaan to devta sammaan hote hain.
“Guests are godlike and so I have the honour of welcoming god into my abode…”
Little did he realize that he was our godsend.
The house was quaint and warm; a sharp contrast to the crisp wind that blew outside. Besides our host who had busied himself into preparing some chai (also known as ‘tea’) for us was a little kid – probably his grandson who kept stealing glances at us from the hinges along the door.
Before we knew it there was hot piping tea for all of us along with a lot of ‘sattu’ for us to eat (that we would soon learn was more than just an acquired taste). We’d spent a good half an hour to forty-five minutes inside sipping our chai and uncramping our bones from the journey before we received a call that both fuel and our directions to Kaza had arrived and we could finally begin to make our way for the destination we’d set out for earlier that day.
To open your home to a group of completely unknown people so wholeheartedly and unassumingly, to provide them with whatever you have no matter how little and to wish them well as they departed without the slightest hint of any expectation but goodwill is reminiscent of a part of India I miss experiencing in the cities.
Spiti is home to some of the kindest, most hospitable locals. Photo by Kartik Mahajan
About the author: Elita is Nondescript. Nonchalant. Observer. Witty. Sarcastic. Skinny. Nomadic Thunker. Square Peg. Sporadic Blogger. Solo Traveller. Blogs at nomadicthunker.blogspot.in; skinnygenus.blogspot.com. Tweets @ellelogical.
As travellers, we’re always on the look out for restaurants and dhabas that will give us a taste of local food, irrespective of whether we’re in a city or somewhere exotic. Sometimes, we stumble upon, or are directed to the right food joints, but other times, we come back from a beautiful place with no idea what the food there tasted like.
Call us lucky, but when we travelled, we managed to satisfy both our curiosity and cravings without stepping out of the comfort of the home stays that we were staying in. Our team and some of our favourite travel bloggers share their stories about discovering local food in home stays across India. Get your taste buds tingling.
New found love for Bamboo shoot – tasting Assamese cuisine in Guwahati
Delicious and flavoursome Assamese cuisine. Photo by Tejas Parulekar
“We’d reached Guwahati after a long day of travel and once in the beautiful home stay run by Mrs. Sheila, we began pining for some authentic local food. So, at a short notice, our cook-cum-caretaker, prepared a flavoursome chicken curry with bamboo shoots – a traditional Assamese dish. I was reluctant at first as I recalled the vegetable curries infused with bamboo shoots that we make back home in Maharashtra and one that I am not a big fan of for its pungent flavour. But as I slowly took a bite of the chicken, I was in for a surprise. It was delicious and the chicken seemed to balance the flavours perfectly well. Just when I thought I was done, the cook served us with another surprise – a delicious chocolate pudding – not a local cuisine but it’s definitely one of the best desserts I have ever eaten.” (Click here to book a stay with Mrs. Sheila)
– Tejas Parulekar (Co-founder, SaffronStays)
Stress busting menu – Cocktail and hot Nepalese cuisine in Sikkim
Delicious Nepalese cuisine in Sikkim. Photo by Sarita Santoshini
“I reached the village of Chota Singtam after a long day in Gangtok and stepped into Mrs. Lalita’s large, stand-alone Bungalow a little more tired than usual. The whiff of fresh vegetables being cooked in freshly grounded spices welcomed me through the verendah and lifted my spirits instantly. After a long chat, she set the table with bowls of hot vegetable soup and a plate full of chicken momos –delicious Nepalese dishes that are a part of most locals’ everyday diet in Sikkim. We also took long swigs of Bay Breeze, a delicious cocktail of white rum, cranberry and pineapple juice perfected by Mrs. Besnett in minutes. Breakfast next day was home-made bread, mayonnaise and peanut butter. Needless to say, I am a huge fan.” (Click here to book a stay with Mrs. Lalita)
Not just another bread, but a delicious souvenior – Tasting Poi in Goa
Poi with Chicken Xacuti makes a perfect set for a dinner spread. Photo by Amrita Das
“It was a memorable moment for a non-bread lover, the first time poi’s light husk fell on my fingers in a home stay. I remember tearing the perfect round bun into two and as my thumbs gently broke into the soft texture of the fresh dough, I knew this would soon become a part of my every day diet. Poi is a Goan local bread which is served with almost everything from rasa omelette to chicken xacuti. It can be had with anything or nothing. As a part of my seasonal job as a property manager of a boutique homestay in Goa, I was expected to know the local delicacies. However, poi wasn’t just another local delicacy in the state. Very subtly spiced and hollow in the centre, one fresh poi is good to set you throw the day as a part of your breakfast. My friends and guests have packed poi and returned to their homes, as if it were a Goan souvenir.”
A hearty Malayalam breakfast – eating Puttu right for the first time in Kerala
When in Kerala, make sure to try a hearty breakfast of Puttu. Image Source : mydiversekitchen.com
“Puttu, honestly, is not something I thought I liked. But after having tasted it at Maranat Mana, I realised I hadn’t eaten the right stuff till then! Imagine alternating layers of ground brown rice and coconut, steamed in bamboo cylinders and then tumbled onto your plate in neat sections of white and light brown. This is then topped and surrounded by a dark, rich kadala or gram curry. Roughly ground coconut against the soft texture of rice chased by spicy curry that breaks through the sweetness of that coconut. What you have is a breakfast that could easily masquerade as lunch! But it didn’t end there. This was washed down with a cup of strong filter kaapi, and then sealed with sticky and sweet steamed plantains. Excuse me, can you ask for a stretcher please?”
Simple, authentic and delicious – Feasting on a Malvani spread in Maharashtra
A delicious Malvani spread . Photo Source : Mid-day.com
“It’d been a nasty ST bus journey from Mumbai to Velas. The sight of the welcoming shore was something to feast on. But the body demanded a real feast or at least some nourishment. Settled on the floor right next to our homestay host’s kitchen from where the aroma of hot pipping food engulfed our nostrils, we decided to play the let’s-guess-what’s-been-cooked game. In true Malvani style, coconut was the mainstay ingredient permeating the air. Our lunch spread comprised of steamed rice, nachni/ragi (cultivated in their fields) bhakris along with ladiesfinger/okra prepared with groundnut, and – the icing on the cake – prawns, fried as well as prepared with the local curry (on special request just for us). Right from the rice, which wasn’t the basmati a hotel would serve you, and the bhakris roasted over the embers, everything was authentic in spite of the simplicity. Or may be because of the simplicity!”
A non-vegetarian’s confession – Enjoying Dum Aloo in Kashmir
Enjoying a preparation of Kashmiri Dum Aloo in Srinagar. Image Source – tasteofindiafoods.com
“After the long and tiring jourey from Mumbai to Kashmir, the only thing keeping me up was my craving for Kashmiri food. There was a curfew and going to a restaurant wasn’t an option. This is when the cook at our pure -veg homestay served me some delicious Kashmiri dum aloo, prepared with perfectly fried baby potatoes and the right amount of spices, with a stack of rotis. I am not a fan of vegetarian fares, but this was definitely an exception.” (Click here to book a stay with Mrs. Anita)
– Greeshma Soley (Travel ninja, SaffronStays)
Developing a taste for Organic food – Home made meals in Chikmagalur
Delicious home cooked food in Chikmagalur. Image Source – sugarandspice-nz.com
“Our trip to Sunkasale was made pleasant not only by the heavenly location, but also by the scrumptious meal prepared by Guna aunty in her homestay. The stark contrast of the spicy baby cabbage curry and sweet rice made for a hearty lunch. Homemade butter and rice papads kept us seated on the dining table and chatting even after we had greedily wiped the plates clean. I realised then that there is something different about organically grown food which makes you yearn for more even though your belly screams no!” (Click here to book a stay with Mrs. Guna)
– Sameer Tambe (Travel ninja, SaffronStays)
Have you ever discovered and enjoyed local food in ahomestay during yourtravels? Share your experience with us.
Watching over you, always
Ready. Set. Drive
