Saturday 23 May 2015

Of bygone days, books and bulbuls...

Of bygone days, books and bulbuls....
"Temporary member" is an euphemism for the hoi poloi with a few connections. Deciding that we needed a few days of fattening up on good food and quiet to digest it in, we asked someone who knew someone who knew someone else who booked us into "The Club" Mahabaleshwar for a couple of nights. Founded on the 22nd of April 1881 it's a little bit of colonial india tucked into 66 green acres above the busy mahabaleshwar market. Housed in a red stone building with gothic arched windows, The Club is a resort open for members, mostly parsis and gujaratis. New membership is closed, bad luck for us. We were allotted rooms a little away from the main clubhouse but we were the only family in the block and had a gracious verandah with lounging chairs all to ourselves. Well appointed rooms, spotless linen and a strong wifi connection charmed us all. The blocks are set among old shady trees with a few hammocks slung between them. After checking in i explored a little, wandering  in and out of the ante room sprinkled with old furniture and a couple of TVs, the wooden floor still has a spring in it and I crossed the big room into a little bit of heaven. There was an old world library with cupboards full of books all bound in red leather with "The Club Mahabaleshwar " tooled in gold. And in the middle of the floor was a trough, no other word for it, a wooden trough full of books flung into it! And just like a pig discovering swill,  I happily dug in and came up with two armfuls of stuff that I wanted to bury my nose in. Thus armed I made my way in for lunch. 
Old world board and lodging are the special attractions at this hotel and dress codes and timings for meals are strictly adhered to. I saw a lady having to return to her room from the dining room to change out of track pants and into something a bit more formal. The shining brass dinner bell is rung on the stroke of the clock and a warning bell ten minutes before the doors close for service. The meals are three course meals with uniformed waiters serving them. The non vegetarian option starts with a hearty or clear soup and continues to beautifully cooked continental or Indian specialities. I I found I had not tasted such light and crisp fish cutlets before and the Parsi food was superb. The meal usually finished with hand made icecream or a steamed caramel custard. The vegetarian option was a course with a seemingly endless array of vegetables along with the usual accompaniments. The best part is that cell phones are not allowed in the dining room. Three huge meals a day proved too much for our clothes  and we waddled down to the market for other options. 
Mahabaleshwar market starts with a terrible tangle of humanity and huge SUVs squeezing through narrow lanes but soon I came to a stretch of shops with a road for pedestrians only. The early evening proved an ideal time to wander around. There were less people and lots of time to try on the cheap and plentiful footwear. Almost at the end of the lane sat a man with beautifully crafted leather goods and some great paintings. He belongs to the town and has his shop in the verandah of his house. Yuvraj and his wife both paint and they design and handcraft many articles made with the softest of leather. The shop was a treasure trove and I spent a happy half an hour enjoying their paintings and craft. As I walked back I heard loud bird song. I looked for the plastic cages with plastic birds in them which chirp when bounced up and down but there weren't any of those shops right there. So where was the loud chirping coming from? I looked up , and there , above two old shopkeepers chatting with each other across the lane were some electric wires and on them were two red vented bulbuls singing loudly to each other! And this in a crowded ,busy ,shopping area! What a wonder! 
Back at The Club just in time for a raging storm and the loud thunder of hailstones on the tin roof. It became cold and I forgot the heat of the plains. And the added bonus? No tv in the rooms! Very conducive to reading and dreaming in planters chairs dotted along the back verandah, listening to the rain. A lovely short break from our busy lives in Pune. 
Our verandah!

 



The Club