Trip to Parshvanath Jain Temple

On the same day of December 31, 2008 after our trip to Pavana dam we headed towards Parshavanath Jain temple, just after Talegaon turn. It is located adjacent to CRPF campus, Pune.

Route:
1. Proceed in the old Pune-Mumbai highway
2. Cross the toll gate
3. Look for Talegoan board sign on your way
4. Cross the turning for Talegaon. You need to turn right if you want to go for Talegaon
5. There is one petrol station on the left hand side of the road after you cross the landmark mentioned in point no 4.
6. After that petrol station, with in 500 meters you will find a left turn.
7. There will be one painting on the wall written in Marathi, welcoming you.
8. In case you missed the left, look for CRPF and take a U-turn to come to the correct turning. There are lots of openings in the divider of the road.

I have visited this temple some 3 years back. At that time, it was under development. Now also it is not fully developed. But it is worth going there to watch the architecture. The kind of stone, the immense human effort put to erect such a temple is amazing. We missed the lunch there. The lunch closes there at 1:30 pm. If you are planning to visit there some time, plan to have your lunch there.

The turtle story

A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place for their outing. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!
For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed.

After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one
condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger.

He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting," SEE! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to get the salt."

[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.]

Trip to Pavna dam

On 31st December 2008 we went to Pavana dam, after finishing our Alandi trip on 29 December 2008. I got the route map from one of my senior colleague and friend. The route is really simple.

1. Go straight in the old Pune - Mumbai highway (Not the express highway or e-way or e-highway, whatever they call).
2. Cross the first toll gate
3. Proceed for Kamshet village. At strategic location you will find name boards mentioning Kamshet. You will cross some important land marks like Talegaon Parshvanath Jain temple, CRPF, etc., Note down the kilometer reading in your vehicle at any one of the board sign and proceed. Exactly at the mentioned distance, you will find Kamshet village. Infact it will be first kind of major 4 point junction in your way.
4. At that junction, take a left turn. You will see a worn out, rusted, metallic arch kind of board put by government. The information will be in Marathi.
5. Proceed with that road. The road will be narrow. But an ordinary driver can manage.
6. On the way you will see a board showing direction for Bedsa caves. If you are interested take the turn to the right and visit it.
7. On the way you will find a T-Junction. At that junction, the road will be somewhat broader for a moment, and take a right turn there.
8. Go ahead. Exactly after 19 kms of travel after taking the main left turn from the main highway you will find yourself at a small restaurant very close to the dam.

We played for some time in the Pavna River. The water is fresh, cool and clean. My 2.5 years old daughter played in the water for 45 minutes. To our surprise, she did not catch any cold or fever.Amazing! We should really thank Mother Nature for such unpolluted, divine gifts. One can see the tung and tikona(if I am not wrong) forts from the banks of river pavna.