Dilemma : Holi or No Holi

                       

On January 27, 2021, first COVID-19 confirmed case was reported from Kerala and since then there has been no full stop to this world wide pandemic. There was a slight moment of joy in mid-feb when the Covid cases dropped to near zero but this joy was short lived before the second wave of COVID-19 hit six Indian states namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bangalore, Kerela, Delhi and Punjab. People who have given up the use of masks and sanitizer somewhere in mid-feb owing to drop in number of active cases, have again started wearing masks in public due to strict imposition from respective state/UT administrations. It has been really frustrating for the public to live under lockdown conditions for fourteen months. When talking to a few people from the business fraternity, they informed our allied sources that they had two options - either to stop work and die of hunger or fight Corona while working.  Although administration is not leaving any stone unturned to aim to 100% vaccination at the earliest apart from increased RT-PCR testing on TTT (Test-Treat-Track) model, still we don’t have to drop our guard and take all precautions until the world gets rid of Corona. 

As we all know, we are just 2 days away from the most popular festival of colors especially celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm in North India. On this day, there are few mischievous elements in the society who take this festival for granted and force colors or balloons on women in particular. Given the present condition when we hear daily spike in Covid19 cases, there lies a huge risk of getting infected by the disease if we go out and play Holi. The  big question lies ahead of us is: how to celebrate Holi by keeping social distancing?

For your own and other's safety, it is advisable to celebrate Holi at your respective homes. Spend quality time with your family. Cook homemade sweets and relish them with your family. We are living in a generation of 4G and 5G. Think out of the box. Connect through electronic channels to wish their near and dear ones a happy and safe Holi. Various measures must be taken by administration such as ban of Holi celebration in public places, Holi-Milan parties etc must be strictly enforced. It is high time the government must come up with guidelines and directions on Holi celebration to the general public in advance. As they say,” Prevention is better than cure”, why wait for any disaster to happen and repent later. Let us join together to celebrate a safe Holi by brainstorming alternate modes where we can safely enjoy Holi by maintaining social distancing. This pandemic won’t last longer. Only thing we need to understand is that our lives are far more precious than a festival. If we survive this pandemic, we will get many chances to play Holi in future. So this Holi, let’s celebrate Holi differently.

Weekend Getaway Destination: Hunter's Ranch - 2

Continuing my weekend getaway story, we had too little time to explore the resort as it was already getting dark when we reached Hunter’s Ranch. Though we started from our home at 03:15 PM but the credit for the delay in reaching the destination goes to me. I assumed that any resort would have an in-house bar and I can relax in the evening. On the way I thought of inquiring from the resort manager about the Bar facility at the resort. The answer was negative. Shit!!! Weekend getaway without booze? C’mon, I need to get myself something. I took a U-turn and all this process added 45 minutes to the journey. Had I planned before, I could have saved some time and reached Hunter’s Ranch 45 minutes earlier. Anyways just a heads-up for all, Hunter’s Ranch has a strict ‘No Alcohol’ policy but you can always keep your own stuff. I would request Delivery Bear Jammu to see if they can add alcohol delivery to their services list in future 😏

So as I was telling in my earlier post, we were moving around the resort, our daughter was joyous and excited seeing the open lawn. What I liked at Hunter's Ranch is that they have huge farmland where they grow organic vegetables and spices to be used in the kitchen. Jammu Basket can help promote these organic spices on their e-commerce platform so that it reaches maximum people. Apart from organic spices, they also breed desi chicken, cow, ducks and other wild animals. Most of the requirement of the food is fulfilled from in-house organic farms and poultry. Recently they have started breeding fishes as well. If you are interested in organic spices, you can buy farm red chilly, turmeric and garam masala. Other major attractions at Hunter’s Ranch are adventure sports such as ATV rides, rock climbing, rope walking, Zipline, Sumo balloon fighting and Paint-ball.

Fish Breeding

Organic Farming

At Hunter's you can find desi rasoi built of traditional Dogri and Kashimri culture with a earthen chulha and brass utensils. If you are a non-vegetarian, you must try their Kashmiri Wazwan. It is one of their specialty usually offered on Sunday but do confirm before you plan your visit. Other delicacies like makki ki roti & sarson da saag is a seasonal dish prepared during winter season.

Desi-Rasoi

Brass Utensils

Chulha

Hunter’s Ranch is a place worth spending a complete day. It is an ideal place for corporate outings and fun family days. If I had to sum up, I would say, ”The more, the merrier.” The best time to visit Hunter’s Ranch is from mid-September to March. I would suggest not to plan during Summer and hot/humid seasons. The staff of Hunter’s Ranch is very courteous and would serve with great care and hospitality. If you are thinking of staying overnight with family, this place is a day visit place but if you are a gang of bachelors, this place can be a great place to spend night out at a place not so far from your home. 

ATV RIDE

ROPE WALKING

SUMO BALLOON

Weekend Getaway Destination in Jammu: Hunter’s Ranch

I have stayed in Hyderabad and Bengaluru for 9 years and don’t recall having faced any dilemma about planning a weekend getaway trip. All I would do is open Google and use different search queries and google would instantly throw away umpteen results. Now that I have permanently moved to my hometown, Jammu since 2017, planning a weekend getaway trip gives me anxiety. Though tourism potential of this UT is huge but there has been lackadaisical attitude of all previous governments in doing something in developing the tourist potential of Jammu. Trust me, if you are in Jammu and want to plan a trip, google will fail to provide results and you have to find a local friend for travel suggestions. 

With the growth of startups, we do have local entrepreneurs coming up to travel planning. GoLimits is one such startup which can offer you great travel advice and even help you plan your travel better. You can reach out to them for hassle-free travel suggestions. 

Let’s move forward to my personal escapade last week. I was looking for a weekend getaway destination with my wife and 2 year old kid. As I mentioned above, we have limited options to choose from. We shortlisted few places: 

1. Panitop-Surinsar 

2. Krimchi Mansar temples 

3. Atal Setu 

4. Hunter's Ranch Jammu 

5. Shikargah 

The trip to Patnitop is the most revered destination for people of Jammu looking for a quick break from mundane life. But the road until Udhampur is great but the ride beyond Udhampur is one hell of a ride. We planned to travel on Saturday morning, I decided to check with J&K Traffic Police for a road traffic update. The traffic control room informed us that due to bad weather and the day before yesterday traffic of NH-1A was stopped for road maintenance, there was a huge traffic jam. So the idea of Patnitop is dropped. Next on the list is Krimchi Mansar temples. Again the place is nice but lacks facilities such as restaurants, restrooms or hotels. The place is perfect for a day picnic. You need to carry your food along with. Next on the list is Atal Setu, which is again a perfect spot for day picnic and you need to carry your lunch with you. So we were left with only one last option i.e Hunter’s Ranch. As our family trip was long overdue and I couldn’t afford to drop this time lest I had to face the wrath of my wife, I decided to give it a shot and started my planning for the trip. 

Hunter’s Ranch is a place situated in Bajalta town, approximately 20 KMs from Jammu. You need to take Mansar-Surinsar road from Sidhra bye-pass near Honda Hill-vew showroom. The road itself gives you one of the best scenic beauty of Jammu. Once you read Bajalta, you need to take a left turn towards Colonels adventure hub which is approximately 3 KMs from main road.You can also visit Shikargah, a Hotel and restaurant situated on the Surinsar-Mansar main road. Shikargah is a subsidiary unit of Hunter’s Ranch popular for Desi-Murga. The Hunter’s Ranch is spread on a vast farmland in close proximity to river Tawi. We reached at around 05:30 PM. The first thing we did was to check the cleanliness of the room. The room was in hygienic condition and we decided to stay for the night. Our 2 year old daughter was super excited with joy and kept on exploring the campus. We ordered tea and butter toast. Meanwhile our order was getting ready, the manager took us for a brisk walk around the campus. 

I stop here as I got to go now. Will write more about Hunter’s Ranch in my next post. If you are interested you can read more about the place in a piece published in Daily Excelsior Hunter's Ranch: A step towards village tourism

.....To Be continued