This Saturday, go strawberry picking

As someone who's lost several hours of my life tou00a0Farmville, picking fresh strawberries on a farm in Mahabaleshwar is what my life's (since Facebook started) work is all about.

After over nearly six hours, the loud, concrete Mumbai jungle seems a distant memory, and the crisp mountain air seduces you with its fragrant coolness.



This sleepy town offers so many farms to choose from. Head to the farm of your choice, early morning or before the sun heats up, walk through rows of fresh, ripe strawberries, ready for the taking.
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The Sweet Charlie and Candler varieties are disease-resistant and offer full, sweet flavours.

You could sample a few while you pick them, but do check for creepy crawlies before you pop one in your mouth.

The strawberry-picking season is on between March and May. As a bonus, the nippy weather offers ideal respite from the harsh Mumbai summer.

Archies Farm, Nakinda, Call: 02168-60830; Shilpa Farm, near Venna Lake,
Call: 02168-61736

Spending a weekend in Mahabaleshwar might seem a hackneyed idea, considering it's a done thing for most Mumbai families, every summer.

But with the Strawberry Festival, there's more to look forward to other than the market-lake-hotel routine.
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Mahableshwar's farmers have thrown open their fields for you this weekend, so you can get your knees dirty, pluck, and relish fresh strawberries straight off the plants.

At the Mapro garden, stuff yourself with juicy chunks of fruit, freely available at all tables.
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If it seems appetising enough, you can also get the fruit in your bhel, pizza and ice-cream.
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In the courtyard, young school kids try fascinating you with their expertise in traditional warfare techniques from Shivaji's era, while martial artistes and firebreathers put up a performance.

Learn how to pull off the perfect thumka as local women clad in navvaris dance to folk numbers.

On: April 3 and 4. at: Mapro Gardens, Panchgani.