Thursday, May 7, 2009

Pages From My Travel Book and a Summer Cooler

Hi all of you am back after a short break! We had been to Shirdi last week, it was a long pending visit that we had to do from our side. We had planned a 3 days trip in all plus 2 days to spent with my parents :)

About Shirdi:

Shirdi town is situated in Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra State (India)
The temple premises of Shri Saibaba is situated in the heart of Shirdi village and is a major center of pilgrimage for people from all over the world. It is estimated that around 20,000 devotees visit Shirdi on a daily basis.

The temple premises is a small town in itself, it consists of residence (small home) of baba's devotees who had served him during his time,museum which showcases articles used by Saibaba, It also houses samadhis of close followers of baba. A few steps away is the mosque 'Dwaarkamaai' where Saibaba spent most of his time, the mosque also has a 'Akhandjyothi' (fire lit by Baba, which is kept burning till date) from which the udi (vibhooti) is distributed to the devotees.There are plenty of flower stalls and sweet stalls around this area.

Further there is Samadhi mandir and Gurusthan where Baba's mortal remains rest. There is a divine looking marble statue of Baba close to that. Different kinds of pooja's are performed at different times of the day. There is a queue system to reach the samadhi mandir, it took us 2 and 1/2 hours for darshan , but it was worth the wait :)
Cameras were prohibited in the temple premises, so couldn't click snaps of Shirdi.

Since we had time we went site seeing to many temples around Shirdi and also to the world heritage site Ellora which is in Aurangabaad, famous for it's single rock cut caves and gigantic sculptures, Replica of Taj Mahal which is called the Taj of Deccan, this is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb's wife, it was built by the prince in the memory of his mother . Here are some snaps.
Recipe for the day is Melon Smoothie :) I came across this superb tasting under 4 minutes recipe in the latest edition of Prevention Magazine. I've changed the recipe slightly.
The combination of milk with melon gives a different taste to the smoothie altogether, the cardamom powder has a major roll in enhancing the flavour of the drink. Am sure You'll love it here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups Watermelon
1/2 cup Fat-free milk
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
1-2 tsp sugar/honey (optinal)
1 cup crushed ice

Method:
Combine Watermelon, milk, cardamom powder, sugar in a blender and blend until smooth.
Put the crushed ice into a tall glass and pour the blended melon smoothied over it. Enjoy the smoothie at any time of the day :) Cheers!

34 comments:

Soma said...

I have heard so much about Sirdhi Saibaba!! Thanks for sharing the pcitures - so beautiful..

The watermelon, milk & spices are a new combination!!
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Suparna said...

Thanks Soma that was quick :)

Hi Asha- Thanks and wish u a Happy Mother's day too! Enjoy ur break, I'll miss u. Sorry ur comment got deleted by mistake :(
TC

Parita said...

Hi Suparna...melon smoothie sounds very interesting...oh i had visited shirdi just before leaving india :) grt pics :)

FH said...

So glad I got to see these before I left. Lovely pics, looks like you enjoyed the trip. Good for you!:)

Smooths looks yum, good one to quench the thirst!

Saritha said...

U also follow sai baba,he is my father.No snap of shirdi??
btw did u prayed for me or not ???

Liked the combination of the juice

Ashwini said...

Wow lovely pictures.should visit next time. Nice refreshing drink.
Happy Mothers Day.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Suparna, I always wanted to visit Shirdi... wish I getta go there sometime soon... Refreshing drink after the come back...

ARUNA said...

awesome awesome....just awesome!!!!

Mangala Bhat said...

wow! suparna ..nice post ..nice info and melon smoothie looks very tempting ...will ry this summer ,..hey Thanks for the comment @ my blog

Suparna said...

Paritha- it tastes interesting too, try it :)

Asha- Am so so happy u gave a second visit, I was :( coz I deleted ur comment accidentally. Ya we had a great time through out.Thanks :)

Varunavi- Yes V too worship Sai :)
Sorry no shirdi snaps. I def. prayed for all of you :) it goes without saying I love all of u :) dearies.

Ashwini- Thanks, do visit it's a great experience. Happy Mother's Day to you too!

Ramya- You'll def. get an opportunity to visit shirdi sweetie :)

Aruna- Thank u thank u BIG thank u :)girlie.

Mangala- Thanks for the kind words. I love ur blog pleasure is def. mine :)

Lisa Turner said...

Welcome back! Lovely images and I bet that smoothie was tasty indeed.

indhu said...

wonderful pictures .. thanks for all that info on shirdi

love the smoothie... :)

- Indhu (www.thayirsaadham.com)

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Beautiful pictures. Melon smoothie looks cool and yummy.

Priya Suresh said...

Thats a nice post Suparna, came to know more about this lovely place, melon smoothie looks gorgeous and refreshing!

Uma said...

Those are some lovely snaps. Watermelon cooler looks so refreshing. Thanks for dropping by!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Hey Suparna,
U took me back by a decade. I went to aurangabad for an excursion when I was in the 7th. It was beautiful. I did see the taj replica.But I remember seeing it in black............or am i just going crazy???
:) Good that u enjoyed.

Suparna said...

Thanks girls :)glad u liked the post.Keep coming.
TC

Cham said...

I just talked to my friend about Baba temple trip which I want to visit. U said beautifuly and the place around. Hope u had a great trip :) Lovely drink!

Varsha Vipins said...

I've heard so muach abt this place from Frnds Sups..Great pics dear..glad u had a fun time..n the drink is so cool..Milk n melon is a new combo..:)

Sharmila said...

We visit Shirdi very often .. 2 and a half hours for darshan?! Weekends and holidays usually sees a rush there. The smoothie looks good. :-)

Unknown said...

Suparna
Very nice recipe. Have never tried melon milk shake some how. Always get stuck to melon juice. Will definetly try out as the melon season is only starting here now.

Thanks for sharing about your trip, i go to Baba temple every thursday. There is one nearby and i came back after Baba's darshan and checked out your website and here you have written about your Shirdi trip.

jayasree said...

I have been wanting to visit Shirdi for so long but not able to make it. As Baba says only when he wills, we can go there. I am so happy to see the pics atleast. First time, I am getting to see the shirdi pics.

Never tried adding milk to melon. Looks very refreshing and a lovely pink colol.

Pooja said...

We visited all those places 3 years back....Nice write up..Thanks for posting..Smoothie is looking refreshing..

Savi-Ruchi said...

I'm yet to visit Shirdi..
was your trip relaxing or hectic?
Melon smootie looks very cooling dear

Suparna said...

Thanks cham,varsha,pooja,jayshree for u time and comments:)

Sharmila- When we ver in the queue...it was time for baba's aarati...so they blocked the movement of the line for almost 1/2an hour. Not only that people were getting unruly too :( some used to push through the corners and move ahead..people coming much later too were wriggling through to move ahead. They used to move through the steel barricades and shoot much ahead..hmmm so that also added to the delay :)

Sushma- Overall experience was good. It got a little taxing due to the heat there.

Anonymous said...

Hey awesome post dear...Thanks for sharing the pictures of shirdi..
Smoothie looks yummy too !!

lubnakarim06 said...

Very nice pictures......Hope you had very great time....Watermelon and milk is something new combo.....cooler looks completly refreshing....

chef and her kitchen said...

wow suparna, even i hv been to shirdi recently..very nice place.Where do u stay??
Nice refreshing watermelon smoothie..

Lavanya said...

two years back..we have been to shiridi..such a peaceful place..bibi ka mukhbar in aurangabad & ajanta,ellora..beautiful places to visit...nice photos..smoothie is just awesome:)

Sumi said...

Very nice pictures of Shridi.Iam also planning to visit the place sometime this year, when I go to India.Very neatly described.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

havent tried this.. will sure do sometime.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

and nice trip pics..

Bong Mom said...

Have heard a lot about Sai Baba of Shirdi. It is so good that you could make the trip. Beautiful photographs

Suparna said...

Thanks all :)