07 Feb, 2007 - Nandan Kanan

Today we went to Nandan Kanan and the botanical gardens! We had lots of fun looking at the animals there! The whole trip was fun, although the kids got a little tired towards the end and fell asleep during our visit to the Botanical Gardens.

One of the best parts was when the elephants saluted all of us and blessed us by touching our heads with their trunks! The kids were scared initially, but later loved it!

Then there was this monkey - everyone of us fed him right out of our hands!! Again, you could see how much Anjali and Saavri loved it!

We saw a peacock dancing in full glory, and a white peacock - entirely pure white from head till the tip of its tail! There were also the rare white tigers that we got to see! The tigers were also greatly appreciated, along with the bears, gorillas and the orangutan. Anita maai loved the orangutan!

Then there was this story about the the tigress called Kanan who jumped into the enclosure of her beloved tiger, sacrificing her freedom for her love! They lived for several years together in that enclosure after that! The zoo is named Nandan Kanan after that tiger couple, whose female had voluntarily opted for the zoo membership in 1967!

The rope-way sky-ride was also wonderful. We had a lovely view of the entire lake below us, and parts of both Nandan Kanan and Botanical Gardens from it!

The next highlight were the bougainvillea flowers, which Anjali collected for her mom. Our guide also plucked two bunches of the beautiful pink flowers for both the girls!

We had a bumpy but good ride on the toy train as well!

For lunch, the kids couldn't believe their luck - they got to have three ice creams each!! Wow! I wish I were a kid again! Such surprises are worth much more than anything in adulthood!

Then we got into the car and drove to the Botanical Gardens - the kids were falling asleep by then. They were soon fast asleep all over Anita maai! So she had to stay back in the car while I, Pinku and Sandeep mamu went around drinking in the beauties of the flowers there!

We got to see a big rose garden, a small Japanese garden, water lilies, the nursery, the picnic spots.... the best was the cactus garden! They had such a huge collection of cacti! Wow! And an equally extensive collection of bonsai plants!

We could also have a glimpse of a video shooting going on there for an Oriya song.... featuring Krishna and the gopis, including Radha!

After that we came back and dropped mamu, maai and the kids at their apartment before going home. Mom was making some sandwiches for them, which I and Dad delivered at their place when they were ready!

Well, that was how the day went!!