April has passed by and so has the AtoZ blogging challenge and its time to relax a bit. This was my third attempt and as I said earlier, I was in two minds about signing up this year. My theme this year was “Gardens in Pune”. However I am glad I did as I could see parts of my city (Pune, India) that I had never gone to before.
During the period that I surveyed the gardens, the city was amid a garbage crisis and the machinery to collect and dispose waste was under severe strain. Yet, I found that the gardens were spotlessly clean, the lawns properly mowed, the hedges perfectly trimmed, no garbage in the gardens and a stark contrast to the city outside. Why or How this happened is still a mystery… Almost all gardens had a healthy number of visitors of all age groups. Some were exercising, some meditating, some reading or studying or some just enjoying the beauty. Thankfully not much PDA.
Another thing that was strongly evident was that every park had something unique to offer in addition to the usual garden ‘elements’ (lawns, trees, kids play area etc). These included animal statues, equipment for cardio exercises, miniatures of the 7 wonders of the world, musical fountain, memorials of war, a sensory garden… I came across a garden that was not a garden and a garden that was a forest! There was a a lake in the gardens as also a stream… Wow! Some gardens were very small and some sprawled over several acres. Some very young and some of a heritage status. Yes, Pune is proud to have these gardens. I hope the authorities and people strive to maintain them in full glory.
You can go on an e-visit to all my AtoZ parks to read more!
Considering it was my third attempt at the AtoZ, I think I was better organised in terms of scheduling my posts and preparing for them. However, as before, fatigue with respect to commenting does set in especially in the third week.
And yes, there is some survivor gear too! Have you got your memento? I rather like the T shirts but will they ship to India?
I tried visiting as many blogs as I could and I plan to catch up over the next few weeks. Besides the usual fiction, writing, travel and word/picture prompt-themed posts, I came across some really unique themes for this AtoZ:
Gardening with a botanical focus: My Green Nook
Haikus: Pooh’s Den
Yoga: Destiny’s Child
Postcards: Around the World in Stamps and Postcards
Epics from AtoZ: The Multicolored Diary
Inventions by Women: Shells Tales and Sails
Addicted to Beads: Curling Stones for Lego People
A blog for the care giver/carer: Reflex Reactions
A blog about sketches: lynnelives
A blog dedicated to helping the homeless: Bridge and Beyond
The Choose Your Poison (Stories about poisons): Flash Fiction
Overall, its been a great stint of local tourism and I did spot and correctly identify (Yay!!) some trees that I had not seen before. (That would be the H and A posts)
I may not blog daily but I hope to keep posting regularly especially with my Wordless Wednesdays. Do visit this blog again my dear friends and new readers, I appreciate your visits and comments from the bottom of my heart.
Take care and Good Luck!
🙂
During the period that I surveyed the gardens, the city was amid a garbage crisis and the machinery to collect and dispose waste was under severe strain. Yet, I found that the gardens were spotlessly clean, the lawns properly mowed, the hedges perfectly trimmed, no garbage in the gardens and a stark contrast to the city outside. Why or How this happened is still a mystery… Almost all gardens had a healthy number of visitors of all age groups. Some were exercising, some meditating, some reading or studying or some just enjoying the beauty. Thankfully not much PDA.
Another thing that was strongly evident was that every park had something unique to offer in addition to the usual garden ‘elements’ (lawns, trees, kids play area etc). These included animal statues, equipment for cardio exercises, miniatures of the 7 wonders of the world, musical fountain, memorials of war, a sensory garden… I came across a garden that was not a garden and a garden that was a forest! There was a a lake in the gardens as also a stream… Wow! Some gardens were very small and some sprawled over several acres. Some very young and some of a heritage status. Yes, Pune is proud to have these gardens. I hope the authorities and people strive to maintain them in full glory.
You can go on an e-visit to all my AtoZ parks to read more!
Considering it was my third attempt at the AtoZ, I think I was better organised in terms of scheduling my posts and preparing for them. However, as before, fatigue with respect to commenting does set in especially in the third week.
And yes, there is some survivor gear too! Have you got your memento? I rather like the T shirts but will they ship to India?
I tried visiting as many blogs as I could and I plan to catch up over the next few weeks. Besides the usual fiction, writing, travel and word/picture prompt-themed posts, I came across some really unique themes for this AtoZ:
Gardening with a botanical focus: My Green Nook
Haikus: Pooh’s Den
Yoga: Destiny’s Child
Postcards: Around the World in Stamps and Postcards
Epics from AtoZ: The Multicolored Diary
Inventions by Women: Shells Tales and Sails
Addicted to Beads: Curling Stones for Lego People
A blog for the care giver/carer: Reflex Reactions
A blog about sketches: lynnelives
A blog dedicated to helping the homeless: Bridge and Beyond
The Choose Your Poison (Stories about poisons): Flash Fiction
Overall, its been a great stint of local tourism and I did spot and correctly identify (Yay!!) some trees that I had not seen before. (That would be the H and A posts)
I may not blog daily but I hope to keep posting regularly especially with my Wordless Wednesdays. Do visit this blog again my dear friends and new readers, I appreciate your visits and comments from the bottom of my heart.
Take care and Good Luck!
🙂
I only poppped in briefly during the challenge but definitely enjoyed what I read and saw!
Thought you had a nice theme and I had no idea about the garbage collection issue. Wonder if you'll ever know what happened to keep the gardens so clear!
Congrats on finishing too.
Mars
Curling Stones for Lego People
Thank you Mars! Its been a hectic month and I appreciate you comments! 🙂
Did you mean "PDA" 🙂
The AtoZ challenge sounds fun…must have taken a lot of work blogging everyday.
I briefly skimmed through your AtoZ collection…quite fascinating…and good photos as well.
Divya
Divya, typo 🙁 Corrected to PDA! Thanks 🙂
Congratulations on completing the challenge! Apologies for not making the rounds more often, but I enjoyed what I did read here. Thanks for visiting The Den, as well. Cheers!
Thanks Debbie! 🙂
Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!
Mary JingleJangleJungle.net
Hello there.
Congratulations on completing the challenge! I didn't get to visit your blog during the crazy month of April so I'm popping over today from the Road Trip/Reflections linky.
Entrepreneurial Goddess
Thanks Mary!
Thank you Barbara aka Entrepreneurial Goddess! Appreciate your stopping by 🙂