Saturday, June 4, 2022

Pune Diaries - Off to Bijapur

 It's time to move on after a ten day stay at Happy Colony, Kothrud which has hosted many lovely memories over the years. The plan then is to go to Bijapur because Satish wanted to see some place he had not seen before and also, visit Nargund - the place of the Nargundkars. Now Shobhs  Dad was a Nargundkar while Mom was an Oak, so the kids naturally became Nargundkars. However no one had ever been to Nargund and since its only 3 hours away from Bijapur, why not?

KSTDC Bijapur

Off we went on the morning of the 20th, driving Sholapur bound. We stopped at a place for tea and some light breakfast and then hit the highway again. If the Pune Sholapur road is good (but heavy with traffic) the Sholapur-Bijapur road was a beauty. It's superbly maintained and has almost no traffic. Consequently we reached Bijapur by 130, Gol Gumbaz looking out on the horizon as we approached it. Anjali had booked the KSTDC hotel on Booking.com and we were all set.

Some Mahal

Barah Kamaan

Barah Kamaan

The KSTDC Mayura was situated centrally and had a nice ambience about it. Hardly anyone around and the restaurant was a cute little place. We grabbed some lunch, got a guide suggested by the Hotel people (Jehangir) and drove off. The Mahal that was next door, Bara Kamaan, Tower, the cannon, Ibrahim Rauza and Mecca Masjid before we returned to the hotel. I'd been there in November but missed Bara Kamaan then, so it was nice checking it out.

Cute little tiffin shop

Watch Tower

Watch tower

Cannon

Ibrahim Rauza (Pic Satish)


Ibrahim Rauza (Pic Satish)

Jehangir was very useful too because he insisted on the right place to pose for photographs and on taking them himself. It was a day well spent for Satish and we retired with a beer to watch some IPL. More pics from Satish's phone soon.

Tomorrow, to Nargund and maybe a peek at Badami which is an hour from Nargund.     

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