Thol

Thol is a shallow freshwater reservoir of 7 sq km. It was declared officially in 1988.

 We started out at 6 am from our home, took the highway. It is really a refreshing long drive to Thol. As we drove gradually the scene on both the sides of the road changed. Initially, long buildings and flyovers were seen then under construction belt, then village area with long stretch of agricultural lands.

The breeze was cool, the sky was clear, and the more we were nearing the site, though we were not sure of the route and had to stop at few crossings to ask for directions still we knew that we were nearing the spot…how? The chirruping of the birds told us. The road was getting narrow, yet the fun was to cruise slowly behind a bullock cart, or a tractor. It’s not bad to slow down a while.

Finally when we spotted the board “Thol Bird Sanctuary” we thought that we have reached but it was not the case…it lead us through a bumpy road ride where we had to follow the trails of buffaloes before reaching the main gate. At the gate when my husband took the tickets, I asked the gentleman at the counter, “how much do I have to pay for the camera?” the reply came “Nothing”. I was overjoyed, as I read a notice board outside the gate which stated an amount of “upto 5000 rupees”.

Well our journey was not yet done, from the main gate again there was a lane through the shades of green neem trees which lead us to the lake. There is a distance between parking and the actual spot, obviously because the frequent movements of vehicles should pose any disturbance to the migratory birds.

When we finally reached the spot, climbed up the framed wall and slided down on the other side, the ground under the feet was shrouded with snails ….thousands of them. I did not feel like stepping on them. But unfortunately, not even a single inch was empty.

The sun was about to rise. Birds were flying in the sky in V formations, trees had some mystic appearances, water caressed the feet smoothly. All in all it was a calming experience.

 People were there with their entire family. While walking by, one young boy came running to my husband and said, “uncle, please take a pic of ours”. Then I noticed by following his finger point that he was not alone his entire family was seated on a fallen tree, 7 people including him. Honestly, I thought the fallen tree will crash down further but thankfully it didn’t. While I thought of sitting there for a while meditating, my son enthusiastically kept collecting bird feathers. Every time he got one, he would come running to me “Ma..Ma…look…birdy gave me a feather”. We all sipped in the beauty in our own little way.

Thol is home to not less than 100 species of birds, like, Indian Saras, Cranes, Herons, Spoonbills, Flamingoes, Ibis, Geese, Pelicans, Ducks, Egrets and many more. We could only see clearly those birds which were near the land though not many. Mostly the birds were in groups of hundreds and swam together in the centre of the lake, thus appeared like dots to our naked eyes, now it was clear to me, why I was not charged for the camera.

Gandhi Ashram

Gandhi Ashram or as it is more popularly known as Sabarmati Ashram is situated near the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. This place is declared a monument of National importance because, Gandhiji started his Dandi March here, which in turn holds a very important place in the Indian Independence Movement.

When I went there, the first thing that touched me was the calmness of that place. Ashram comprises of some simply constructed Kutirs ….on open ground and it is all surrounded by many tall trees which gives a very cool feel and helps in providing shade from the otherwise hot Gujrat’s sun blaze.

The prime building is Hridaykunj where Gandhiji used to stay with his wife. There you can find the charkha which he himself used and some other belongings are also in display like his spoon, plate etc.

 In the veranda, I was lucky enough to find an aged man working on his charkha…thus I stood there for a while observing him. He seemed like a man of bygone era…he kept doing his task without even raising his eyelids even for once. Then when I was walking, I heard someone singing at the top of his voice, “Vaishnav Janatooo”….he was like singing for the divine …he was walking through the greens and singing on his own… “khulle mannn se ..khulle aawaj se …khulle aasman ke ooor dekh ke .. gaye jaa rahen theee”.

Then we went for the photo gallery. It was an amazing experience…all wall sized big oil paintings …so nicely portrayed as if Gandhiji is just sitting right in front. It was quite enriching, reading letters and other important quotations on display. Complicated matters of life so simply explained.

Then there was a library, though I did not enter, but really felt great to see some foreigners going through the books and off and on they were asking questions which proves their curiosity towards Gandhiji and our nation.

There was this souvenir shop too from where one can buy photo, key chains, books etc.

After we came out of that place, tired of walking, we saw some kids playing in the green grass while some families were sitting near the Sabarmati river enjoying the cool breeze and the quite view …so did we.

All in all, it was a very good experience and anybody coming to Ahmedabad, Gandhi Ashram is worth a visit.