After a night’s pitstop in Pune, we drove 138 km southeast towards Solapur, cruising through the flat expanse of the Deccan plateau. The two-lane highway was flanked by fields that stretched into the horizon. Closer to Indapur, the vast Ujani Dam backwaters on the Bhima River spread out like a lake, in parts, running parallel to the road. A striking contrast of blue and green turned the highway into a moving postcard of Maharashtra’s countryside.

Two hours later, we turned into narrow lanes that led to Bhodani. The landscape grew quieter, dotted with sugarcane, banana groves, and native trees swaying in the breeze. The village bustled with its own rhythm — mud houses and tiled roofs sitting alongside newer brick homes, children cycling down dusty paths, and the occasional bullock cart ambling by.