Week 3 & 4 - Glimpses of Sonipat

 Leaving Jaipur & Reaching Sonipat

There's something about the highway... One cannot get enough of it. I often think, what would it be like to travel by train or flight to the ma destinations. Would it be the same? Would I in my personal capacity really enjoy the trip as much? The answer to that question in most probability be a BIG FAT NO.

Go-Stops Jaipur to Ashoka University Sonipat

Distance: 231 kms

No. of Fuel-ups for Himalayan BS6: 1

Fuel Economy - 28.6 km/l

Route:

Getting out of Jaipur: Took the Jaipur Road to Join Sikhar Road. that leads to the NH-8, Delhi-Jaipur Express Way

Highway leading out of Rajasthan state: Continued on the Golden Quadrilateral - NH8 (Jaipur-Delhi segment that becomes the Delhi-Ajmer Expressway)

Then taking the Jhajjar Exit (What gorgeous roads!) to join Sampla-Jhajjar Road that becomes Sampla - Sonepat Road.

Merging with NH -8 - Grand Trunk Road to reach the amazing Ashoka University.

In Awe of the Ashoka University at Sonipat

"Wo dekho.. wo Ashoka University hai"... (See that building? Thats the Ashoka University!) These were the lines said by a local, that introduced this magnificent university to me when i asked him for the nearest turn on the highway. When I reached there, a sense of excitement grew within me. I was finally here! All these kms of riding, all the sunsets on the highway, meals at all the dhabas & team meetings on the highways led me to this! As the gates opened I saw a wide road leading me to buildings and landscaped gardens. The vibe of the place gripped me. It felt like a world in itself. I saw people lounging in the gardens, taking a walk, sweating it out on the basketball court & playing frisbee. The food options within the premises are extraordinary for a place like Sonipat.

I was told the students here were super motivated and smart! After taking 4 sessions in the span of next 20 days I realised it was all true. The university personifies quality education. I had opportunities to speak not just with students, but also the co-ordinators, other faculties and administrators. 

They all had one thing in common... focus on quality and willingness to become better with each passing day. I can say with complete honesty, this environment urged me to read more, put myself out in the world more often & learn more.

Welcoming my Partner in Crime!

She never misses a trip. Even though she had an accident that injured her leg, she waited for a week for it to heal and took an overnight train to Delhi to join me in my travels. A true partner indeed. Delhi is about 44 kms from Sonipat. After i received her from Delhi, this trip took a new turn!

Visiting the Sonipat City

Places of Interest - Things to see and visit.

1. Badhkhalsa Memorial
2. Khwaja Khizr Tomb
3. Khizr Park
4. Kos Minar
5. Swarnaprastha Museum
6. Shikwa Haveli

Road rage & driving on highway in Sonipat

Since i am located in the outskirts of the Sonipat city on the highway (NH-8), my focus is a lot about the highway and the roads that join this highway. One thing that you want to be careful about when you are in Sonipat or passing through the highway is the traffic and the driving pattern of people. Be EXTRA careful about the vehicles coming from the wrong side (its almost normal and unapologetic here). Accidents and fights due to this are very common sights.

Most of the highway is under construction which leads to jams in the evenings. There is a lot of dust & pollution in this part of the highway. Make sure you DO NOT enter the narrow by-lanes that lead you to smaller villages after it gets dark in the night. This section is not considered to be safe by the locals themselves.

Meeting small businesses in Sonipat

The soul of any city is in their markets. Sonipat is quite a compact city that way. One of the main markets that we visited was Bara Bazaar. Some shops here are over 100 years old and run by 5th or 6th generation businessmen. These businesses mostly focus on local markets only and have been consistent in their approach and business practices.

One thing that stands out is the city has a lot of big hospitals & pharmacies. It feels that the city is on the verge of growth. You will see a few known brands like Pantaloons & KFC in malls on one end of the city and smaller older legacy businesses on the other end.

Sunny from Gulzarilal Hookawaala - Bara Bazaar

This gentleman had a poise & simplicity of a small town. His humility and love for his business made us stop and think about how business owners must conduct themselves. He was very open to share the story of his ancestors and how he joined this business with his father & eventually took over.

Tal waali Dukaan

One of the oldest shops in Somipat (opened in 1868) that serves Namkeen and sweets. This shop is run by a Jain family. Its the 6th generation business. There was a certain kind of peace and happiness on their faces as conducted their business. How many new entrepreneurs feel that way when they are working? Not many i guess..  

Sonipat - Planning for Foods & Supplies

Grocery shopping in Sonipat

When Shraddha joined in, the first thing on her mind was how do we optimise our food costs. Eating healthy was crucial for our travel plans. It's a no-brainer that when you are traveling for more than 7 days to any place, you need to find an optimized way to manage food expenses. I was put up in a nice posh apartment in Rasoi, about 4 kms from Ashoka University. The society had its own tuck shop. So we calculated our meal cycles and made our first list of groceries.

Everywhere in the Northern regions of India, including Sonipat has different selections of milk. So it helps to know the kind of milk you like. People down south drink cow milk but here in North people have buffalo milk thats available in two variations, Tonned 1 & Tonned 2 (Lighter on the stomach). The non branded groceries are about 30% cheaper here as compared to Mumbai. 

Sonipat - The Food Culture

When you Google food in Sonipat, most of the results talk about the dhabas on the highway. We did that too, and visited the famous Amrik Sukhdev dhaba (one of the most checked-in places on facebook!) That was the best start to our food journey here in Sonipat.

When we visited the Sonipat city, we tried Samosas and Baalushahi (sweet made out of Flour and fried in pure ghee) at Tal wali Dukaan. 

Road side eateries here serve kachoris, chaats, gol gappe, namkeens and juices.

We noticed that chaaps, momos, fried chicken, chaats and paratha shops are very common here. The best part is their chutneys are amazing. You get them in every form... spicy, tangy, sweet and everything in between. The average serving sizes of these dishes are moderate. Eating out can get expensive even at smaller places as the average costs of these dishes range from Rs 150-300 per plate.

Sonipat - Life & attitudes of the locals

The aunty at our society's tuck shop asked us if there's anything that we need and are not able to find, she shared a contact of a very good chicken supplier who will do most of the cleaning and deliver at home too. In another instance, we had lost our way in Sonipat city and were confused about a turn, a biker saw us and took a U-turn to ask us if we need help. It was a very positive gesture to help us.

The families here are socially friendly and relaxed. You will see people going for walks in the evenings, taking strolls at a local "chaat ki dukaan" (chaat shops) The haryanvi accent is evident in the way they address you.. but its fun! The use of the term "Bhaiyya" (brother) is very common.

Skill Talks finally takes shape!

One idea that was brewing in our minds for a very long time was Skill Talk, a short 15 minute talk with business owners & getting under the skin of their needs, their thoughts and their mindsets to recruit & grow. Our first shoot was with a friend and colleague Rahul Gadekar of R-Interactive, a performance agency from Pune. Rahul was my co-instructor at Ashoka University & helped in conducting the workshop. Everything we did as a preparation was firsts for us. Be it setting the camera angle, mic and even evaluating questions that we will ask during our talks. Needless to say it was etched in our memories for ever. You will be able to see the official video on the Official Skillwise Youtube channel very soon.

Planning for our next adventure

Sonipat gave us loads of memories and learnings. We cannot thank the universe enough for what we have experienced here. As travellers it's important for us to move on and explore more cities. My next teaching project will be in Noida in the last week of April. This gives us 20 days to explore a new city. As we start researching on the possible locations, Agra grew on us to be a possible next stop. We firmed up a few details and Agra was ON! We could not contain the excitement for long. We have already started planning the details & making lists of things we want to try, places we want to visit and so much more.

This was a long article, if you have read it till here, it means you have enjoyed this post. So leave your thoughts, and recommendations in the comments section. See you in our next city with more adventures.

Keep Travelling. Stay Happy.

Mitul Shingadia