A Day on the Highway

So the Sunday was spent on the highway. Just like that.

There was no real plan to go anywhere. Traversing the south Delhi roads, when the car got bored of taking aimless rounds around the Qutub Minar roundabout, it was time to take a decision. ‘Sohna has sulphur springs. Or so I have heard.’
‘Worth a look I guess.’ 
So Sohna it was then, a small town situated in the foothills of Aravallis. The landscape here is picturesque and on rainy days, it takes on the hue of a hill station. And since it was a rainy day, this was a good time to explore Sohna and around. 

But digression and distraction sometimes dedicate our lives a wee bit too much. A couple of kilometres  down the road, a green board that read Alwar – xyz kms started to look more tempting. And inviting. ‘Alwar? The weather is just perfect for a long drive.’ So then onto Alwar it was.

On the Gurgaon-Sohna-Alwar Highway

Grey skies, green earth

The Aravalli hills pepping up the landscape

Alwar is roughly 155 kms from Delhi, and since the highway roads are pretty good, it is a comfortable two and a half hours journey by car. The route is pretty scenic, with lush green farmland and the rocky Aravalli Hills juxtaposed seamlessly. But on Sunday, what added that extra charm to the landscape was the dark grey skies and the soft rain that seemed determined to not let anything dull its easy pace.

The route

The New Delhi-Alwar route is dotted with small towns and quaint villages that add character to the rustic charm of the rugged mountain-scape.  If you are driving down this route, it would be a wonderful experience to stop over at some village and interact with the villagers. More often than not, they are warm and welcoming and enjoy visitors’ curiosity in village life. My stop was at Khanpur, a village around 40 kms before Alwar. The womenfolk here were hard at work, but were quick to invite me into their household and share titbits about their daily chores.

Wandering around Khanpur village

Warm and inviting village folk!

Driving on, it was time for the quintessential dhaabe ki chai. Unlike the robust and bustling dhaba scene on many highways, the dhabas on this route are nothing to write home about. But a tea addict is a tea addict is a tea addict. So there was no other option but to stop at one of the many nondescript dhabas on the way.  When one is really interested in other people and their concerns, and acknowledges them beyond the obvious, it’s then that the real conversations start. A boring, uninspired tea and parantha order here soon turned into a warm interaction.

The gentleman on the left is Mr Kanhaiyalal, an award winning cook, who travels around the country participating in government sponsored youth festivals and other programmes. He has only recently returned to the state with plans of expanding this dhaba and making it more visitor friendly. The shy looking gentleman on the right runs the dhaba along with Mr. Kanhaiyalal and is the resident tea expert. Interaction with them was a wonderful experience, for it always feels special when strangers interact with such warmth and share their ambitions and aspirations with much enthusiasm.

Moving on, by the time it was time to drive up the Alwar Fort, it was already past 6 pm. Since the entrance to the fort complex remains open only till 5 pm, the plan to explore the fort was postponed to ‘some other day’. Another hour of driving around Alwar, deciphering the city’s layout and marvelling at the organised chaos at the Ghanta Ghar, and it was time to head back. The day was gone, just like that. On the highway. 

But one has to go back to Alwar – for all the historical and heritage marvels it is famous for. Someday for sure.

Alwar Trivia:
*The city is known as the Tiger Gate of Rajasthan.
*Alwar Fort has never been invaded or conquered by any king.
*Alwar’s another claim-to-fame is Kalakand (milk-cake), a popular mithai(dessert) made of milk.