This was the last day of our trip and we started the drive back home at about 7 am. After a quick breakfast, we

started the drive back along the same road we had arrived. I tried to catch up on sleep, but the road was too bumpy. On the way, we stopped at Bhuira to visit the jam factory there. It’s is a small village 6-7 km from Rajgarh known for it’s fruit orchards and the jam factory mentioned. Wifey had visited the place during a school trip and  likes their products. Our fridge almost always has a few jams, chutneys and a few other items from this pace. I too wanted to visit the place to see if it could be a travel option for  tour itineraries.

In hindsight, it’d have been better if we had visited while we were staying in Rajgarh as we could have utilised the day better. Anyhow, we visited on a Sunday when the plant is closed but the lady on phone said that we were welcome to visit and pick up some stuff. Some construction workers were busy laying down new road when reached the factory. We were met by caretaker Ramkali who had answered our phone call. She was of great help answering our queries and showing us around. Day being Sunday, no other staff was there except the gardener. The plant was closed for some upgrades and renovation anyway. So even if we had visited on a weekday, we couldn’t have seen the process. But we got a fairly good idea of how things work from Ramkali.

I had gone there without any idea about what to expect but it was pretty nice. The plant is constructed in the village and the area is very green and full of trees of various types. It’s not huge, just a hall where fruits are washed, processed and packed, cold storage unit an office in addition to a beautiful garden and a house. There are 30-35 women working in the plant who are all from nearby villages. According to Ramkali, working in the plant has helped them raise their standard of living and empowered them. A lot better than the “empowerment” Rahul Gandhi keeps talking about. All the products, jams, pickles, preserves etc. are made by hand in hall. There are a few machines for  steaming, cooking the fruits. The plant is eco-friendly as the water used to wash the fruits is recycled and used in the garden. Instead of fertilizer, they use compost. This stuff was in the factory garden, don’t know if the orchards they source fruits from follow the same practice or not.

We bought a bunch of jars at some discount and went on our way to reach Solan at about noon. Met rest of family and started driving towards Delhi. On the way, we first stopped in Ambala . There is one famous Mohan Bakery, a few minutes drive from the college where we stopped to pick some really good Swiss Rolls . Next stop for snacks was Sharma Chaat where we had Gol Gappas with 7 different flavours like guava, jasmine, heeng etc and some chaat.

In evening, we made another stop at Murthal, where we had some paranthas for dinner. I had heard a lot about the place, but never been there. Early on, there were only 1-2 dhabas, but now they are lined up by the dozens. I had an onion parantha served with copious amounts of fresh butter. 2 paranthas are usually enough to fill up a normal person. After meal, they got us some orange and cola flavoured toffees, the same kind we used to buy for 10-20 paisa apiece a very long time back. It’s hard to find them these days, but a shop in the premises was selling them and we bought some of those.

Rest of the journey was uneventful. Passed the same mess I had mentioned in 1st part of this series to reach back home at about 11 pm. The temperature at night in Delhi was higher than the day temperature of every place we stayed in Himachal. After being on road for 13+ hours,  it hardly mattered.