My daughter Gauri, who is in XIth Class had her annuals from 1st to 11th March. I had promised her to take to Sariska Tiger Reserve on the 12th. All plans had been made and we all were very excited. More so, because a new male Tiger had recently been relocated from Ranthambhore and left out in the open after acclimatisation.
Man proposes, God disposes.
Due to a very urgent commitment at office that cropped up on the 10th and required my prescence the entire day at work on 12th, resulted in the cancellation of above programme.
Gauri was disappointed and on Sunday (13th) morning she said that she wanted to go for a long drive as she was bored sitting at home. It was decided that we would go to the Damdama Lake that was just a few kilometers away and spend some time.
13th March, 2011
Damdama Lake is one of the biggest natural lakes in Haryana. It is about a few kilometers south of Gurgaon and is off the Gurgaon-Alwar road.
Damdama Lake fills a depression in the Aravalli hills which forms a striking backdrop to its placid waters. If you love boating you can enjoy boating in Damdama Lake by Row Boats & Paddle Boats. Aravalli Ranges form a backdrop to Damdama lake.
There are two routes to this Lake - one via Bhondsi when you take a left and proceed on a single lane road flanked by lush green fields. And the other via Sohna again on a single lane road flanked by fields. Sadly, there are no signages at both the places indicating the left turn. You have to rely on the local people to guide you. The distance via the first route is 26 kms while the second is longer by 12 kms.
We left at 11:30, took the Sohna Road, encountered a mini-traffic jam near Badshahpur due to expansion work being carried out and proceeded. As I said there are no signages, I missed the first left turn and drove on. Somehow the instinct told me that I had overshot. Saw a police gypsy parked and asked for directions. I was told that I had missed the turn from Bhondsi and now I had to drive further and take a left from Sohna.
Reached Sohna, found a narrow non-descript road on the left and turned. Asked a shopkeeper and was told that indeed this was the road that would go straight to the Lake. Phew...
The two routes. I took the second and returned back the same way.
Route 1 Route 2 - this what I took
After driving for about 7-8 kms reached a wilderness an saw a depression. I assumed that this was the water-body and proceeded. Indeed it was the Lake and the Haryana Tourism's Saras Resort was located on the banks.
Damdama Lake
Parked the vehicle inside the complex (Rs.20-/) and went around exploring. It was hot and the sun was harsh. Reached the banks where boat-rides and camel rides were being offered. My wife stayed back in the shade and it was my daughter & I.
In the shade Baby Camel - Hungry Aha, found a juicy twig
Daughter refused a camel ride and instead opted for a boat ride. There were self driven paddle boats and a rowing boat. I took the entire row boat for self and off we went boating. At its deepest the lake is 40 feet. Migratory birds abound, but as it was noon, hardly a few were visible.
Waiting for the boatman There he is R B G Lemme also try my hand at rowing A lone Egret or is it a pond Heron
We did a round of the lake, came back, had lunch at the resort and returned back exhausted due to the heat. On our way back we saw a few farmers packing red juicy carrots in jute bags to be taken to the market for selling. We stopped and asked if they would sell some to us. They gave about 4 kgs of carrot, 4 kgs of Radish just like that. We also found that they had broccoli. This wasn't free. Bought 4 kgs of broccoli for Rs.30/-.
Thus the day ended. I shall let the photographs do the talking.