In Gandhi’s land !!!

When my grandparents visited us during our winter vacations, my parents planned a trip to Gujarat, as my grandmother was eager to visit Gandhiji’s ashram in Ahmedabad from Mumbai. Since we were driving to Ahmedabad, which is about ten hours journey by road, we tried to start as early as possible.

My day started when my grandmother woke me up and after I freshened up (I was the last one to get up!), we took our bags and then left for my uncle’s house, which fell on the way, where we had a yummy breakfast. Soon, we left for Ahmedabad. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant at Vapi and had an elaborate Gujarati meal; it was really delicious. We reached Ahmedabad by 8 p.m. We checked into our hotel, kept our bags in our rooms and went to a cafe in the hotel premises for dinner. Then my grandparents went to their room as they were tired, but my parents and I went for a mid-night drive across a bridge over the Sabarmati River.

The next morning, we were served a well spread buffet breakfast at the hotel. I had a cup of hot chocolate and pancakes. After the heavy breakfast, we headed out for the Gandhi Ashram, which was the main attraction for my grandmother. Inside the ashram, we visited a room and saw the photos of many famous historical events with a description on each of them. In another room, we saw Gandhiji’s charkha, spectacles, walking stick and the two bowls in which he ate his food.

We could see the Sabarmati River, too, and we took many photographs. Then we left for the Royal Safari Camp at Bajana. The camp comprised of a central building with its office, lobby, dining hall, kitchen, etc. The camp had a number of wellequipped cottages spread across the campus for the guests to stay. We had lunch over there and then got into a jeep for the desert safari. We saw the nilgai, many wild deer, and different varieties of birds. From there, we went to a salt farm where we got the opportunity to enjoy a mesmerising view of the sun setting over the white sand desert. We also saw how salt-water drawn out from the bottom of the ground is turned into salt cubes. On our way back to the safari camp to spend the night, it got cold and windy. We all had to wear our jackets and sweaters. Also, we had to wear our sunglasses to protect our eyes from the sand that was blowing all around. It was a little warmer in the hotel lobby, where we enjoyed hot tea and snacks.

On the way back to our cottages, we saw a huge bonfire and groups of people singing and dancing. When they asked us to join in, we happily did so and had a great time. Back in our rooms, we were too tired to go for dinner. We decided to retire for the day. My dad fell fast asleep as soon as he lay down, but Mom and I watched a movie on television and then went to sleep. I thought I would have enjoyed the cold weather, but I wished I was back in Mumbai, where the weather was pleasant at this time.

In the morning, after breakfast, we drove to Gandhinagar to visit the famous Akshardham Temple. We could not get inside the temple as it was too crowded, so we said our prayers from outside. After lunch, and visiting the Sabarmati Ashram once again, we finally left for home, back to Mumbai. I cannot describe the journey back home as I slept through most of it. I remember stopping at a dhaba for some tea and snacks. After that, I remember waking up in the basement of our building. At home, I entered my room and the moment my head hit the pillow, I was in deep sleep!