SMART Ecological Park

Last week we went on a visit to SMART Ecological Park.  It's about an hour and a half out of Mumbai and is the vision of a group of lawyers based on the dying wish of one of their mothers to invest in a natural place for children.  Over the past 8 years SMART has converted 20 acres of barren land into a rich biodiverse eco-park.

SMART Park provides an interactive learning environment for developing solutions to global problems like sustainability, global citizenship and coexistence. The park is designed for children from the ages of six to eighteen.

The Information Centre is made from recycled tetra-packs. I really like the Future-Nature panel which is about future technologies related to energy use and generation.  In the park are working wind and solar energy generation to demonstrate the practical application of clean energy solutions.

There are themed forests (including perfume, cosmetics, medicine and chocolate) for learning about the healing power of nature and natural remedies.  All the food served in the Eco-park is grown on site.  There is also an area called the Compassion Zone which has animals such as goats and cows.

On-site there is also a yoga ad meditation centre - we are planning on going back for a yoga and mindfulness weekend in October.

One of my favourite places was the Dream Catchers.  You can walk on raised platforms above the ground and sit in the middle of the metal sculptures and think.  Another of my favourite places was the peace gardens which had various themes such as perspective and balance.

In one of the gardens was a tree house.  You could climb up quite high and there were magnificent views from the top.

Home Sweet (New) Home

Although I have only been here a couple of weeks, already I a feeling a lightness in my heart at my new home in Bandra.  It's cozy and convenient and once we have painted the walls it will be even better.

Here is our living room.  It is small but cozy.

Our kitchen is orange - which goes well with all our green things!

Our bedroom - it catches the evening sun.  I want to get a little table to put out on the balcony.

Rachel's room - probably my favourite room, as she has 2 balconies and it is very light.  I want to get some bamboo furniture for the large balcony.  I have already planted out lots of herbs, vegetable and flower seeds on this balcony.

Our guest bedroom - ready for visitors.

Hello Year 4!

The photo above was my last view of England, before setting off for Year 4 in India.  It was taken at Heathrow Airport as I would about to board the flight to Mumbai.  It was hard to leave England this year.  My mother has just been diagnosed with a mixed form of dementia and it was a race against the clock to get all the care in place for her before leaving.  I will be another 5 months until I'm back.

I truly had a wonderful time this summer.  I had days in London with my son, PD in both Philadelphia and Italy, around 10 days with my daughter in both Genoa and England, and time with family and friends at Nowton.  These few family weeks were extremely precious to me and I have stored up all the moments in my heart to get me through the coming months.

However I didn't come back to an empty house - I now have 2 cats and a tank full of fish, and next week Lex will be back too.  We have moved to Bandra and our new apartment is looking good.  I am looking forward to Year 4 in Incredible India!

Camel Safari

We went on a camel safari too - our original plan had been to do an overnight in the desert, but at this time of year it was just too hot so we went for an evening ride instead.

Pushkar Temples

The lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats and around 400 temples.  Pilgrims bathe in the sacred waters and perform ceremonies alongside the ghats.  One of teh ghats is called the Gandhi Glat where some of Gandhi's ashes were sprinkled.  Devout Hindus make at least one pilgrimage in their lifetime to Pushkar and bathe at the holy ghats to wash away their sins and earn a place in heaven.

Inn Seventh Heaven

We stayed in a place called Inn Seventh Heaven, an old haveli with a central courtyard with a fountain, and several floors of rooms and galleries overlooking the courtyard.  On the top of the hotel was a restaurant called Sixth Sense which had great views - above is our view looking towards the lake and the Savitri Temple on the hill.  You can also see the old Rangji Temple, built in Southern Indian style with a gateway with 360 deities carved on it.

Looking the other way was a hill with the Gayatri Temple on it.  We had been told it was a good one to climb at sunrise, but this would have meant getting up at around 5.15 am (not a great thing to do on a holiday) so we decided to climb it at sunset instead.

Eat, Pray, Shop in Pushkar

The first weekend of May was a long weekend - we had both Friday and Monday off school - so I wanted to get away to a small place with not too much travel involved.  So for this trip we went to Pushkar, a town of pilgrimage, where legend claims its lake was created from the petals that fell from the hands of Brahma, the Creator.  Today life revolves around its lakeside ghats, temples and vibrant colourful bazaars.

In Pushkar, rows of ghats lead down to the mystically placid lake from hundreds of milky-blue temples.

Pushkar also has the only Brahma Temple in the world.  This is because according to legend Brahma's wife Savitri, annoyed that he married another wife (Gayatri), vowed that this would be the only place where he would be worshipped.  There are temples to both Savitri and Gayatri on the surrounding hills.

On our first day we walked around the ghats, and then in the early evening went to the Sunset Cafe for Sizzlers and to watch the sun go down.