Chilling Pune winters bought with it an idea for a Hurda
Party. This was planned completely by Sneha’s In-Laws. And within a couple of days
on January 15, 2011, we were at Ahmednagar eating delicious Hurda.
We, 11 of us (3 cars), started-off from Pune at about 7 am
in the morning. Took the Nagar
Road Bund Garden
Bridge
Road is excellent. Toll road; 4 lanes with divider all
across till Ahmednagar (except a small patch of 4-5 kms). Toll rates are about
55 Rs. (two way) for a car.
After a brief stop in between for a cup of tea and some
snacks, we reached our destination at 10.30 am.
It was Ran-vaara, sort of a budget resort (no frills). It
has an open space with Mango and Coconut trees all around. Some 4-5 covered
cottages; few more open spaces.
There are no entry charges. Charges are only for the
eatables you order, be it Bhajiyas, or Sugarcane juice, Ice-balls, Hurda
obviously. So important is you should keep on ordering something or the other
to eat. And you can sit there whole day long (surely, there are some morning
and evening times – 11 am to 4 pm & 4 pm till late night).
There aren’t any activities as such. A Giant Wheel and some
Merry-Go-Rounds for kids are available though. That’s it. The main thing you
should go there is to relax, chat and do lots of gossips. One can bring there
own games to play there, be it Football or Cricket. Being Sankranti that day,
some had bought Kites to fly out there.
Food was delicious. At any point of time there was something
available to eat or atleast nibble.
Finally, we had Hurda. It is actually Bajra grains (Pearl
Millet) roasted over fire and served hot along with Chutney, Jaggery. Hurda is
available during the 4 months of 15-Nov to 15-Feb. The earlier you go, the
better you get.
It was followed by a typical Maharashtrian pastoral lunch of
Zunka-Bhakar, Pithala, Mataki Usal, Vangyacha Bharit.
 |
| The Making of Hurda |
 |
| and THIS IS IT !!! |
 |
| Bhakari, Pithala, Mataki Usal |
By 4 pm we decided to return back. We went in the Ahmednagar
city at one of their relatives. Had a cup of tea there and by 5 pm we set off
back to Pune.
There was our plan to have Misal-Paav at Saradwadi (near
Shirur). However, we had our stomachs full by just eating out each and
everything Raan-vaara had to offer, that we cancelled this idea and headed
straight to Pune. By the way, Misal-Paav and Bhel at Saradwadi is extremely
famous. It’s a default stop for those who regularly visit Ahmednagar.
By 8.30 pm we were back home after an excellent Hurda Party.
Contact at Raan-vara – Mr. Vijay Lonkar – 9822119893
0 Pune City
(Narayan Peth)
55 Ranjangaon
121 Take a Right
turn – Hotel Anuraj on left – there is a 4 kms mile-stone to Ahmednagar
1st
Right again
124 Ran-vaara
271 Pune City
