Every year, for at least a couple of days, visitors are encouraged to sample the farm life at Bordi, a small town on the border between Maharashtra and Gujarat. The annual Chikoo festival, in its seventh edition in 2019, happened early this month and I was lucky enough to be a part of it for the second year running. Here’s how it went by.
We left from Mumbai on a cool Friday afternoon to reach our destination by late evening about 175 kilometres away and were immediately grateful for the fresh natural air and the slight nip of coldness that promised a chilly night.
After checking in at a gorgeous property a few metres from the festival grounds, we left for an excursion outside the town’s periphery. We landed at a field outside The Jungle Farm where owner Suryahas Chaudhari was passionately explaining where all the stars and constellations are. We were lucky as the moon’s phase was waning allowing us to view quite a few constellations such as Cassiopeia, Auriga, Perseus as well as astrological ones such as Taurus, Gemini and Sagittarius among others.
Once the activity was done, we were invited to sample some food cooked at the Farm using a traditional method called Ukdi Handi. In this local one pot dish, vegetables and spices are slow-cooked on an overturned vessel for a few hours before serving it. The hot veggies balanced the cold weather perfectly. We took a tour of the Jungle Farm’s various offerings and left impressed at the scale as well as the way natural elements have been highlighted throughout the property. This was a new addition to the festival from last year and left me wanting for more.
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Our actual lunch was scheduled at Hill Zill Winery Resort with the festival organisers that included Srikant Save,Co-Founder Hill Zill Winery Resort, Dr. Rajiv Churi, President North Konkan Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, Sudhir Patil, President of Maharashtra Tour Operators Association among others. All of them encouraged the festival’s growing popularity but also seemed concerned about overtourism, which was good to note.
The next day, we woke up to go to the festival grounds but changed plans to go to the local Saturday market. Stretching along the main road of the town, the market brought together farmers, spice makers, clothesmen and varied other professions for the townsfolk for their weekly shopping. Walking along the main road, just past the festival grounds, was a sensory overload.
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We were bundled off to the Hill Zill Winery after the market experience to sample Chikoo wine. Yes, correct. Wine made from Chikoo. The dessert wine is a burst full of sweet flavor from the moment you sip it. But this wasn’t the only surprise. Soon, bottles of wine made from fruits such as mango, pineapple and even a spice blend (my favourite) turned up. This was preceded by a wine tour with an informative guide explaining how the wines were actually made from the local chikoos grown in the area. Branded under the brand name of Fruzzante, this select group of dessert wines should be hitting bars and your shelves soon.
We followed the wine-tasting with other activities that were organized as part of the chikoo festival. The first stop was at a local bonsai enthusiast’s small farm where he passionately explained his love for plants. Following this, we made the drive to Shahrukh Irani’s chikoo farm. Here, for the first time, we saw chikoos and everyone’s spirits lifted once again.
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Irani is a next-generation chikoo farmer who inherited the farm from his father with close to 1500 trees and his love for the fruit is undying. We went on a tour across his lush farm where he explained how chikoos grow and shrink in size every season, how bats love his chikoos and the growing challenges of continuing this business in the face of climate change. Nevertheless, at the end of the walk, he jovially treated us to palm nectar (neera) and introduced his small organic honey collection.
We left his farm and headed for a late lunch before we decided to visit a local Warli village opposite the festival venue. The locals were only too eager to share their way of life with us and insisted we pose with their chicks as a souvenir.
Once this was done, we finally headed to the S R Save Camping Ground in Bordi where over 250 stalls were doing brisk business selling local artifacts or serving local cuisine. Organized by the Rural Entrepreneurs Welfare Foundation (REWF), the festival saw close to 1.5 lakh footfall over the two-day period it was held, making it a huge success for the organisers as well as the local community.
Why Bordi
The Dahanu-Gholwad area to which Bordi belongs falls under the government’s Green Zone, meaning no industrialization is allowed in the vicinity. This leaves only agriculture and tourism as viable alternatives. As it is close to both Surat in Gujarat and Mumbai, the town is capable to enjoying tourism in high season. However, festivals like these helps to put the region on the map for people who might be skeptical of the place or its infrastructure.
Why Chikoos
Chikoos are said to have been grown in the region for hundreds of years. The place has a significant Parsi influence who took it upon themselves to make the fruit grow in the region. Today, the Dahanu Gholwad’s chikoos are some of the best in the country, according to the locals.
Why The Festival
To stop brain drain and popularize the border belt of northern Maharashtra. While south of Mumbai, the Konkan coast is well and truly on the map for travelers, most Indians have no idea about Bordi and its environs. The diverse nature of the Chikoo Festival celebrating night gazing, local cuisine, weekly markets, Warli villages etc only serves to let visitors know of the myriad possibilities of the region. The Chikoo Festival is thus an enabler for tourism to bloom in the region.
Why I Recommend It
I really enjoy myself at the Chikoo Festival. I went in for the second year running simply knowing I’d have a good time. The festival organisers take good care of you and leave you to learn and enjoy the festival the way you want. Although it’s an organized trip, the logistics are always changing and everything works to ensure you have a great time. For those who have never been to Bordi or think that the beach is the only good thing there, it’s time you visited the Chikoo festival as soon as possible. Special thanks to Sahana Rai of Glocal Brand Solutions and Ajit Balgi at Fruzzante for making it even more special the second-time around.
Read the story of my first visit to the Chikoo Festival here.
All images by Priyanko Sarkar. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest news. Subscribe to my email list on the right to stay in touch and grab exclusive deals.
