One of the things that I pride myself on is my ability to spell but when it comes to the word that stands for “an occasion when people pack a meal and take it to eat outdoors, especially in the countryside”, I always find my myself tongue-tied. Hence the Oxford English Dictionary definition.

hehe….

Ever since I can remember, I always pronounce the word ‘Picnic’ as ‘Pinking’ and that sure gets me a lot of eyeballs, even though I specifically asked for Pesto Sandwiches….

hehehehe….

Alright, without further ado, Imma take ye wee lovelies to a pinking picnic by a dam reservoir in a place called Mulshi on the outskirts of my city of Townsville Pune.

The picnic was a combo of a road trip and a meal which made it rather unique….

Often, waiting for something or someone gets you unexpected surprises and this picture is the epitome of that circumstance. So, I went to this picnic with my cousin, aunt and uncle and we were to meet them midway cause they stay far away so while we were waiting for them to join, I saw this lovely relic peeping out from a spa garden and it stood out so uniquely cause the location was quite a concrete jungle. This gives me major Angkor Wat vibes, hehe….complete with the carvings and all:)

This was an interesting thing to see en route the picnic spot. This man made sketches and portraits on the spot and sold them to clients. I hadn’t ever seen something like this before and I think it’s very cool to display one’s art that way:)

This is a highway restaurant called ‘Coco Rico’. It’s a rather new place and I absolutely love their decor! The gate walls are actually painted dustbins and that literally feels like a high scale school project using recycled material. I mean, if any prep school teacher saw this, the students would be in for a recycled art attack, hehe…. I mean, this is the epitome of making the best out of waste. Besides….love the colour combination. Now all that’s left is tasting the food here but I was on a pink picnic so perhaps another time.

Speaking of food, let’s just say I got hungry a bit before the picnic. So, we stopped at this tea stall on the highway and satisfied my culinary needs. The first picture shows a typical tea stall in India. Stalls such as this not only serve tea but also snacks that can double as any of the squared meals of the day. I had a dish called Onion Bhajji, which is basically fritters made out of onions and chickpea flour. It’s a very common snack that is had either on a rainy day or when hunger strikes at random times.

Another interesting thing that is sold in such stalls is a drink called ‘Neera’. It is a sweet drink made out of palm nectar which is usually had early in the morning when the nectar starts fermenting. It is said to have a lot of medicinal properties aiding digestion, diabetes etc. If the drink is left to ferment for longer, it turns into toddy. I haven’t ever had the drink but it is very popular in India. This is one of the very adventurous foods/drinks that I don’t know if I’ll ever try but one thing I’ve learnt in my 19 years on this planet(yeah, I’m 19 now!) is never say never.

This was the view from the tea stall. The cars on the road give me a very country vibe and I love that hillock with the soil in different shades of brown and ochre. All the road trips that I had previously were filled with greenery and raindrops but this one happened in the winter so everything is rather raw and barren. This area is also very scrub-like in terms of vegetation so the winter bareness hits harder.

Meet Brando, the highlight of the trip:)

This was a really fun thing that I came across on the road. Just as the Coco Rico restaurant had a wall made of dustbins, this car wash and repair place called Gypsy Moto Pub showcased their love for the four wheeled beasts by reusing the tyres as wall decor. I also love how the building itself has tyres jutting out of it. Also, the really cool thing is the Gypsy mounted at the gate as decoration. That is exactly what Tom Cruise would use to chase the bad guys in a Mission:Impossible movie before crashing it to smithereens and walking out without a scratch on his suit. Hehe….

I really hope Hollywood has their notepads out…..

Up next, Imma show you a series of empty houses that I came across near the picnic spot cause nothing sets a better mood of tranquil solitude than an empty house.

Seeing houses like this gives me a wonderful reminiscent feeling of lives lived, stories told and generations passed. Besides, the fact that all of these are in the middle of nowhere gives a very gothic tone to the whole vibe. And I love me a wee bit of goth:)

Finally, the pinking picnic spot. So this is basically a reservoir of a rather popular dam called the Mulshi dam and the surrounding area is nested among trees and a small settlement of houses. The spot was picked by my aunt and uncle and it was quite a pleasant surprise and very pleasing to the eye.

The reservoir area also had a small temple by the water. Here’s a panoramic view of the dam, the hills as well as the temple complex. The day we went for the picnic wasn’t too busy but there is usually a crowd owing to a resort nearby. However we did see a few families, either picnicking or simply cooling off by the water. The reservoir has quite a shoal and I saw a father teaching his daughter how to fish which was so sweet. I love it when family bonding coincides with a beautiful scenery and bonds between dads and daughters are so special:) I also saw a couple lads taking a dip in the reservoir which was rather brave cause there are currents and the water is quite deep.

I clicked this beautiful fusion right at the bank of the reservoir. I love how the spot of sunlight brings out the multicoloured earth, fading into the water. The bank is down a steep path, bounded by dry branches, boulders and loose rocks but once you cross that, it’s very peaceful to simply spend some time looking at the water and reminiscing. I had a nice chat with my cousin here. It had been a while since we got together and coming down here by the bank gave us a nice quiet spot to catch up while our parents set up the picnic. Another thing that I loved was the steep path leading to the bank. I’ve always loved climbing rocks, trees and gates ever since I was little and crossing boulders to get somewhere is right up my alley:)

I told you I like climbing, hehe….

This is how we set up the pinking picnic. You can see how tranquil the whole place actually is….Alright, enough with the vibes, Imma get to the food now….

Most picnics involve sandwiches and juice but Indian picnics involve a full three course meal with a multi-cuisine twist. Keeping that in mind, here’s what was on the menu: Chicken curry, Pulav which is basically a rice dish flavoured with onions, vegetables and spices, salad and red pesto pasta. There was also a curry dish made of potatoes but my cousin didn’t take that on his plate(it’s his plate, lol) along with a dessert called ‘Gajar Halwa’ which is basically a kind of a sweet caramelised porridge made with carrots and cashew. It looks something like this:

I had to get that off the net cause it’s one of those times when I ate before getting a picture hehe.

After the meal, my cousin and I played some light football while our parents chatted. I also had a photoshoot with a very aesthetic rooster….

Wee lovelies, meet Rory….

Honestly, hens and roosters are so hard to photograph….The way they run off is so comical and it takes so much patience to get one to stay still….These birds give cats a run for their money hehe….

After a great time off eating and playing and nature-watching and photographing domestic birds, we set towards home, exhausted, yet fully happy. Overall, I loved the pinking(picnic) spot and everything about it but the only thing was that the place was slightly dusty which makes my nose act up so in case you’re sensitive to dust, I’d recommend using an inhaler or a mask to keep the particles away. One can also take some steam on getting home to neutralise any inhaled dust.

And that was the safety precaution….

And that is a wrap,

Until Next Time,

hehe….