Travel

SAI SAGAR FOOD COURT @ SHIRDI

Just before we went for the darshan of Sai Baba on the first day at Shirdi, Venkat and I decided to have a snack at Sai Sagar Food Court which is right across the temple entrance at Gate 1.

We asked for Upma and Dosa and both were very good. We saw that they also serve two types of thali for lunch and dinner – both vegetarian.

The first one costs Rs. 50 – yeah, it’s true – and serves 2 rotis, 2 sabzis, dal, rice & pickle. The second one is a Chinese Thali costing Rs. 60 – serves rice & Manchurian gravy. We never got the time to taste either of the thalis but we saw people queuing up for them. The restaurant is very spacious and ran full during lunch and dinner hours.

Sai Sagar Food Court is attached to Sai Palace Budget Hotel that offers rooms at reasonable rates.

The snacks on sale near the pastry counter

The best part I liked about the restaurant was their confectionary. On the first day, Venkat asked for a Black Forest pastry – a medium sized piece – at just Rs. 35. It was fresh and delicious. The next day I had a Blueberry Jelly topped pastry at the same cost. It just melted in my mouth. The restaurant is a must visit for their pastries if nothing else. Simple awesome!

MTDC’S THE PILGRIMS’ INN @ SHIRDI

The Pilgrims' Inn

I have heard a lot from people about the comfortable facilities offered by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) within the state. Once before, when we visited Matheran a few years ago, we went to check out their facilities there. We were not too impressed.

The Reception - the guy there was quite helpful

As MTDC’s The Pilgrims’ Inn is very close to Hotel Sai Moreshwar – where we stayed at in Shirdi – Venkat and I decided to check out the facilities.

Neem - the vegetarian restaurant

The Pilgrims’ Inn is quite close to Sai Baba’s Temple entrance and looked quite attractive. They have a vegetarian restaurant call Neem. I don’t know how good the food served here is.

AC room for three

We went to check the rooms – the cheapest costing Rs. 1700 + taxes. The facilities looked good. They have a website and booking can be done way in advance too. The rates are the same whether it is during the week or during weekends.

Quite nice!

BULLOCK RUNS SUGARCANE JUICE MACHINE

Little Anushka with Bullock Rushi!

On our way to Shani Shingnapur Shrine, we saw a number of sugarcane juice machines run by bullocks. We stopped at one such place to drink some juice. It was manned by Nanda and her 3-year-old daughter Anushka. The pretty little girl was extremely friendly and was thrilled to receive the groundnut chikki that Venkat offered her.

Nanda giving instructions to her Rushi

Nanda persuaded her bullock Rushi to walk around the wooden machine crushing freshly cut sugarcane. She gave Rushi verbal instructions that the bullock followed perfectly. I was not too surprised as I know my cat Simba understands every word that I utter. I was glad to see that she never used a stick on her Rushi. I managed to capture the process on video.

Nanda & Anushka

We refused her offer of ice and had the fresh juice that tasted so yummy. I believe the family of three owns one more juice machine about 15 feet away that is run by her husband Namdeo.

I asked Nanda if she will be sending little Anushka to school. She told me that her daughter would be sent to school when she was four. She also said that they lived not very far away from where they sold cane juice. The whole place was green with so many trees and fields around. I told her that they were very lucky to live amongst nature and Nanda agreed with a wide grin. Mother and daughter posed for a couple of pictures and Anushka was quite thrilled that I had taken one with her and Rushi in the same frame.

We said goodbye and left the smiling mother-daughter duo to return to Shirdi.