Enchanting may sound a bit odd for the Nagda Alumni as Nagda for them is taken for granted as a small town with no hopes of entertainment, good dining places, theatres & so on.. Precisely I should say enchanting Grasim…
After visiting Nagda after a good 10 years I found the colony to be a beautiful abode which I haven’t seen in any other place during the 10 years nomadic life I spent in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune etc.
The primary intention of the trip was to show case my child hood place to my better half & just like there are hidden requests on FB; the hidden intention was to feel the alleys, the corners , the aura of the lanes, the spots of gupshup & the hidden & the secret spots..
To start with we planned the trip by arranging for the accommodation which is most IMPORTANT for any of you to revisit Nagda. So we booked a room at the guest House No 1(Are the one where we used to get SAMOSAs at 4 PM, the facility is closed now..Halwai Kitchen RIP..:( ) through one of papa’s friends. That was the most important factor.. Guest House 1 has the strategic position of being 50 meters away from guest house .. 150 m from school.. 100 m from club & so on..
Living outside the colony is not such a good idea as moving around may be a bit problematic & the condition of a hotel in Nagda would not amuse your better half a bit..
Then we booked the train, which was Ranthambhore express ..starts at 6.30 from Indore & takes 3 hrs to reach Nagda…We booked second seating which was not a good idea with the chilling cold wave cutting the bones & the spine & no amount of woolens would help… For return I booked 3A & felt a lot better as we returned sleeping on the berths…
It would have been ideal if we could get a 2-wheeler there,, though not needed at all if you like to walk a bit as walking for a KM would cover most of the Staff colony & add another km & you could see every corner of the colony & have a detailed round..
We started our Nagda site seeing by visiting the Vishnu (Aka Birla) Mandir … Booked a conveyance for it through a staffer…Well there is a private operator which provides indica or any other car you need..the rate goes Rs 1000 for a day…& to get the contact you can talk to the manager at the guest house.
Birla Mandir was nice as grand as ever & as neat as ever…Spent around 45 mts soaking ourselves in Sun & clicking snaps..which was a non-stop activity which we did in the one day.
After Birla mandir, we called up 118 the conveyance dept number & the cab was there in 10 mts. Then we took the new flyover (it was there in our times) to MANDI , I enquired about the Saawariyan Kachori waala & the driver told me that he was no more But to satiate my appetite for Kachori there was a new shop named as GAJANAN , so we had Gajanan’s kachori there which was I would say great in taste but 20 % lesser in taste than Saawariyan as per my perception.. still worth a try.It was a Monday & the Mandi & birlagram market was closed..so just had a quick tour of the Volga store ..Banka store .Nitneh… while returning back from Birla Mandir. After returning from Birla Mandir, we got dropped at the Gol Market…Purchased Duracell long life battery(as my rechargeable batteries konked off).. Went around the market & noticed a new barber shop there.. Also went through the colony where Shanu…Dodo..lived… Took the snap of the roads of the market & of the 72 number block to capture the historic building which was frequented the most by the boys of the GVM 96 batch (..You can fill in the blanks here)
We were carrying so much stuff in our hands due to the cold… Jacket..muffler,, the cap… & were keeping them down at the ground for clicking snaps that eventually I forgot my cap there & lost it much to the frustration of my wife…You know old habits die hard…
As we were super excited we were over the loss of the cap, & started our walk on the lanes of the Grasim Staff Colony…
We headed to the last flat I stayed in 14/4 .. clicked …moved on to see the pond colony…
As far as I remember only Preeti lived here….Identified Happy’s old flat in front of mine.. then Rohit’s Rahul’s Moved on in front of Tannu’s & Mishra’s flat.
Did not have a clue that Tannu’s parents are still in nagda otherwise would have definitely gave them a surprise visit… & I got tht info from tannu a bit late..
Then we Moved on to the most coveted & the sacrosanct Adda of our wild Masti.. Now known as Aditya Birla Public School.. Clicked few snaps of the entrance … & some tiny tots coming out from the side gate which opens on the hospital road.Did not feel like going inside as it involved taking permission..
Moved on to the club .. took snaps of the ground.. the Sangeet Mahavidyalaya(The small building on the right side) // TT room.. Badminton room..
Saw the swimming pool..etc
Then we went back to guest house.. I saw PremChand a Bakery staffer who is serving Grasim since 36 years.. Thanked him through eyes for being there & reminding me of the wonderful memories of hitting the halwai kitchen at 3.45 & getting pipping hot samosas..
Clicked a pic with him… Well, Halwai Kitchen has demised around 5-6 years back..
The new opened cafeteria in Grasim club Lawn side is nice though..
After having lunch at Guest house(a tasty buffet) , we caught with sleep.. woke up at 4.30 PM, had tea at 5 PM & rushed to Birlahouse (Remember if u want to get good snaps of BH, then make sure that you hit the place atleast 2 hours before the sunsets , so that you don’t have to rush) So, we entered the Jhoole waala side on the left first.. It had a lot more rides than what was there at our times…There were jogging tracks… tiled areas .. all giving a pretty look.
Moved on to the right at the little plateau (The one near the Shortcut to hospital from BH)
Then we hit the road that leads us to the interiors of the BH Lawns. Remembered the times when we used to hit that road & sit on the Bench kind of structure on the left & the right ..
The area in the left of the road which once housed some animals & later only the birds is now practically closed.
Moved on to the BIRLA’s mansion … Took snaps of the Pond where we used to have High level discussions..Also the side area of the mansion..
Stopped at the New Picnic Spot… Hey forgot to go to the Old picnic spot…
New one was well appreciated by wifey…
Then treaded the path on the small wall across Chambal.. went to the Jetty..
Noticed the structure near that..
The Yellow Jhoola stands there in not so good shape & the White Jhoola in front of that….
Criss crossed the lawns…
Clicked at the bridge..
BH closes at 7 PM,.. We moved to Cub which was hosting Annual games event inauguration. Saw little girls & boys giving dance performances..
There was a stall there selling hot Chole tikia & gol Gappe.. at damn cheap rates…
Had the realization of the difference in the cost of living index between Nagda & Pune/Mumbai..
From the club , was visible, the AGM..GM quarters…
Met two of the club staffers.. One Kid had become a young guy & a young chap looked wiser with the shades of grey he had on his head…
One more good development.. Club has started playing movies in the Lawn Tennins ground every Saturday.. It must be a lovely experience especially in winters with the fire spots installed at every 200 metres..
After watching the event we went to have dinner at our acquaintance & then went to GH…Next Morning went to the station ..Had POha & head back to Indore…
What we did not or could not cover & would like to cover in the next trip were :-
1) Chemical Divison Colony
2) BCI
3) Temple(Saw it on the move)
4) Hanuman Temple
5) Talaab near by
6) The colony where Saurabh lived
7) Mehetwas
8) Some bit of Mandi
9) Shopping at the Birla gram Mandir
Overall I felt immense joy in every nook & corner of the staff colony as each one of them reminds of something beautiful..& the one day trip was rocking !
For my wife it was nice to see place & even she felt that staying there for few days would be very relaxing & worth the effort.
So , if any one of you want to visit Nagda but make sure you have a reference in the colony who could help you with conveyance & reference just in case guard inquires & getting a room booked in Guest House also is a must.
Just would like to add that as we planned in advance we came to know that all Guest houses were booked for the day we were planning initially & we preoponed our trip accordingly….
Hope you enjoy the pics & had a feel of our great Great Great Child hood Abode… !
May Nagda retain its Glory for ever …Amen !
