A LITTLE BORDER VILLAGE BREAKS BREAD WITHOUT LIQUOR

A tiny village in Maharashtra, just on the tip of its border with Gujarat, practises prohibition without a fuss. And instead bakes bread that could compare with the best in the world.

The residents of the picturesque village of Bordi located very close to Umargaon in Gujarat are proud of the fact that there is no liquor shop in their village. The reason that they give for not allowing one to be set up is that the village has several educational institutions catering to the students from the adjoining tribal areas and they fear that liquor availability would have a wrong impact on the impressionist minds of the students.

“The fact is that for setting up any liquor shop, the permission will have to be sought from the village panchayat and the members of the panchayat are unanimous that we do not want the social atmosphere of the village disturbed,” said a local farmer who also runs a local home stay. He disclosed that there are attempts by some locals to sell liquor illegally but such characters are ostracized by the villagers.

Incidentally, the union territory of Daman that has earned a reputation for being a water hole for spirit starved Gujarat is also located very close to this village. Yet one hardly comes across a sizzled soul on the village streets.

Bordi happens to be a traveler’s delight. The place is a serene coastal village with a huge and beautiful beach. The delight lies in the fact that the place has no major commercial establishments, no shopping malls and no fast food joints with blaring music.

One has to get down at the tiny railway station in its adjoining village of Gholvad and take a shared auto to Bordi. The two villages are dotted with some out of the world bakeries, thanks to the large number of Parsis residing there. The community has also ensured that the villagers also get to live in some wonderful home stay resorts and relish good food, particularly seafood. Luckily, the place is known to very few people and only those craving for a serene and peaceful destination turn up here. The two villages are also dotted by mango and chickoo orchards. Long walks along the beach or the orchards can de-stress anyone.

Mumbai’s backyard of Dahanu is just 20 km from Bordi and the bus ride to the place via Chikhla village is something to experience as there is sea on one side and old mansions marking the two sides of the road that goes on winding.

Bordi is a laid back place where even the newspapers land pretty late and one has to keep a watch on the hawker who goes around the village on his motorcycle.

Though one does get drinks at a couple of resorts in Gholvad, one does not miss it while being in Bordi.