Day 10 - 28 December 2020 - Ahmedabad to Surat via Unity Statue - 416 km

Chintan Sheth is a free spirit. He had come over to the serviced apartment where we stayed last night to meet Rajiv and he immediately endeared himself with his 'bindaasity'. "No task too small, no task beyond reach" seemed his watchwords. Operating a successful travel agency and an open restaurant in Ahmedabad, the amiable young man is personification of confidence and trust. After breakfast of dosa and onion vada we checked out of the complex and went to inspect SmartBox, a building that was made with prefab material. To help appreciate the raw material Chintan took us to Egg Box, his restaurant. His office operates from Travel Box, a tastefully done up office he shares with other travel agents.

While on the Expressway between Ahmedabad and Vadodara I remembered that two good friends stayed in Vadodara. While RK Tandon, my railway batch mate, was engaged in a post-retirement job I the city, JD Goswami, who had been a few years senior in railway service, lived there. I learnt that the former had resettled to Chandigarh a couple of weeks earlier and the latter gave elaborate directions to meet us in Hotel Legend, on the highway. Though brief, the meeting with JD, as he is popularly known as, was jocular and free-wheeling. After a leisurely tea break we parted with the pious resolution to stay in touch.

The Statue of Unity is a tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who unified 562 princely states and integrated them into the Indian Union. The 597 feet statue, the tallest in the world, on the Narmada River, faces the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The drive to the site would have gone waste if not for the persistence of Rajiv. We knew in advance that the Statue is closed for visit this day, but we were confident that we could drive around and enjoy the sight from afar. However, as we neared the bridge we were stopped by policemen who asked us to return as the entire complex beyond Ekta Mall was closed except for local residents. Rajiv insisted and persuaded them to find a solution to the impasse. One of them suggested that we could take a short drive down the road and drive onward to Surat. That gave Rajiv the window to take a village road that took us very close to the statue on the opposite bank. This gave me excellent views of the statue from many angles. Persistence had paid, thanks to Rajiv.

The Tent City Narmada is operated by the same company that operates Tent City Phase 1 in Dhordo, Bhuj, where I had stayed on Christmas Eve. This facility is a scenically amazing set of 45 commodious cottages overlooking the Narmada River. Inside the wooden cottages cotton fabric has been extensively used to give it the feel of a tent. A large common hall and restaurant support the facility. In addition, priceless paintings and other art works adorn walls of the cottages. Covid-19 has affected business, without a doubt, but the place did seem to do decent business despite it.

It was 150 km to Surat, which we took more than 3 hours to cover due to a combination of heavy traffic and poor road condition. Parikshat Shah, a Facebook friend sought time from Rajiv to meet with us in his house, where I would be staying. The visit along with his business partner, Hemanth, was a pleasant surprise.

Foodinsta is their company which makes freeze dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, milk products and a variety of others. While their business prospered prior to the pandemic they are now saddled with stocks that were meant for export. The products have a shelf life of over 18 months and use the latest technology to preserve products. The raw materials are carefully sourced, mostly from Gujarat and Maharashtra, and processed in their factory in Ankaleshwar. They left quite a few packets of freeze dried products and ready to eat items like khichdi khadi, paneer burji and upma. These are ideal for travelers who can have a balanced meal by just mixing with hot water. Awesome products, all of them.

This day we had a taste of how the use of mask is enforced in Gujarat. Rajiv had been insistent all along that I should be wearing the mask as per regulations while travelling through the State. We had been following that without fail over the past few days. But, sometimes the continuous use of mask becomes bothersome and inconvenient. With Rajiv for company one was never short of conversation. We were so fully immersed in one such dialogue that we missed a posse of civilian and police patrol that was stationed beneath a flyover. Rajiv had his mask half down his face covering his chin and very little besides. The posse asked us to park conveniently and showed us photos they had taken of the ‘misdemeanor’. No amount of persuasion and mild confrontation swayed the determined policeman to accept our point of view and waive the Rs. 1000 fine!