45) Not the PLACE, its the PEOPLE

 

After spending the last few days of 2025 in Gujarat, I realised that it's not the place, it's the people we meet at those places, who decide whether we like that place or not! And with Gujarat, this was the second time that I fell for the state because of the kindest souls who treated me with so much love and hospitality.

The first time I visited Gujarat was when I was in class 6th during my summer vacation. I remember telling everyone I was going to Gujarat, because up till then, we used to visit Gwalior in summer vacations (https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2025/05/summer-holidays-in-gwalior.html ), but a year before that, my grandparents had shifted back to Maharashtra, so this time we were visiting my maternal grandmother’s sister, who stayed in Vadodara. She had been insisting on our visiting her for as long as I can remember, almost once every week, she called at 3 pm sharp, which used to be the time when Mumma was asleep, and I had my T.V time (https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2025/11/42-tv-long-lost-friend.html ). So I always picked up her calls and talked with her. Now, when I look back, I miss those 3 pm calls on the landline. So then we finally visited her, she welcomed us warmly into her huge haveli, it had an old-world charm to it, with a wall clock with the key to it, the longest balcony I have ever seen till now (we could play cricket/ badminton in it), guns (that were once used for hunting), secret doors and a lot more. But what stayed with me is her welcoming warmth and love that transcended through her actions of getting us multiple flavours of ice cream and mangoes while coming back from her weekly dialysis. She made sure we got to taste all the Gujarati delicacies, so she instructed her cook to serve us the authentic theplas and a lot more. She could not visit the tourist places with us, but was actively involved in making the itinerary. She single-handedly hosted all of us with so much grit and love that I realise now. Little did I know that it was the first and last time visiting her, but the warmth, the love, her grit, and her courage to live life in the face of ailments taught me lessons of a lifetime!

This time, when I was visiting Gujarat, Pappa and his friends were the hosts, so I knew it was going to be fun. After spending the first day completely in the car due to traffic, I had a fleeting thought that whenever we visit somewhere, we know someone is waiting for us on the other end. However, this time around, there was no one waiting for us. So Pappa called up his friend, who was the first person we met in Gujarat. 

Man on a swing, with a passion for food, travel, and knowledge about his native place, but beyond that, an extremely happy and satisfied soul, Kaustubh Aarekar Sir (Principal of Laxmi Global School). He accompanied us on lunches and showed us the serene Nargol beach, followed by a tour of Daman, which also included visiting his residence, where we were served my favourite khandvi made by Priyanka Kaku (his wife).

Kaustubh Sir and family.

Then we met a powerhouse of energy, a man on the move, the dynamic Pravin Pawar Sir (Principal of Laxmi International School). His quick wit and humour were on point! He showed us around Silvassa. In fact, once we went all the way to Silvassa just for a cup of evening coffee at Valentino’s. His wife, Priti Aunty, is the sweetest. We were just chatting about food, and she mentioned ‘litti chokha’, and instantly we said we had yet to taste that, so she quickly made a plan and invited us over for a ‘litti chokha’ dinner on the terrace. And that ‘litti chokha’ hit the right spot, on the terrace, with the winter wind flowing at its own pace, and the hot litti chokha (brinjal + potato) with ghee was a culinary experience I would never forget!

Litti Chokha

Was also invited to Laxmi International School
to talk about 'THE LOCAL TALES.'

At Dudhni Lake with Pawar Sir and family.

Thus, now I feel that we like the place because we like the people we meet at those places. It’s always the people and how they made us feel that matter the most! 

PS: Let me know the places you liked because of the people you met, in the comment section below.

Happy Reading

Siddhi Bhosale.

Valentino's at Silvassa.