Today was an early stop and we reached Raigarh by lunch time. Since I was really hungry, I headed towards the Veg restaurant at Hotel Ans International.
While I was waiting for my lunch, I noticed this extremely cool miniature model of the Indian cycle rickshaw. Not only was it uniquely designed, but also eye-catching. What do you think?
We were enroute to Raigarh in Chhattisgarh state when we noticed a lot of hut like structures covering our side views.
On closer look, we found out that these huts were actually countryside brick factories.
As a thumb rule, brick industries are placed in the hottest stretches of India and this one was no different!
There is no better way to find the time than to be next to the watch tower!!
And this exactly what the Nano Superdrive cavalry did when they stopped by Ghadi chowk (or Clock Tower), in the heart of Raipur city.
This place is not only an important landmark of Raipur, but is also the place where the citizens of Raipur tune their respective watches!!
Raipur is a man-made dust bowl! It looks like cleanliness is the last thing on the minds of the Raipur city development officials.
And to make it worse is the umpteen amount of raw and waste materials from various construction sites around the city that keep keep bellowing dust all sides.
But, within this dust bowl, is a place, which the people of Raipur can proudly call Paradise.
That place is Gaurav Path!! Straight and wide roads and no dust in the air!! The peripheries are dotted by beautifully kept gardens!!
But the icing on the cake are the brilliant sculptures and carvings of animals and mother nature that catch your attention.
The bullock carts, so symbolic with most of India is a real treat. The lions symbolize pride and power and the bull’s head symbolizes strength.
It is indeed extremely refreshing just to sit here and admire these crafts even if it is for a short while.
All those people who have been following this blog would know that the Superdrive team on the White Route has been traversing through the hottest belts of India viz. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
And it was during this hot drive that I noticed a huge number of people, males and females alike, covered from top to bottom, sans just their eyes to escape from the oppressive heat. Initially, it looked absurd as I felt it would make them feel more uncomfortable. But once I saw my extremely dark skin turning darker by the day, I understood that the locals know best and their technique is the right way to escape sun burn in these unbelievably hot places.
I was at Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh yesterday!
To give you a quick idea about Raipur, it is a fairly large city and understandably as it is the capital city. But, what is extremely interesting is its buzzing street life where the hawkers sell all kinds of wares.
To beat the heat, one has the option of getting a ultra cool concoction of lime and mint with some powdered ice or some ice cool buttermilk from the moving carts or theylas (in Hindi).
Then, we have a maze of these small kinara (road-side or sidewalk) stores that sell interesting wares like sunglasses, leather belts, hat, caps and so much more.
It is such a joy to experience such small town behavioural patterns in such a large city!
It was a bright and warm morning at Nagpur! The time had arrived for us to set march towards Raipur, the capital of Chhatisgarh state.
Mr. Karthik from Jaika Motors did the honours of flagging off the Superdrive bandwagon from Nagpur.
