A TREK TO VIKATGAD AKA PEB

Date: 28th October 2007

Vikatgad or Peb is located near Matheran. One can reach this fort in two ways. Although the approach from the north side, viz Mamdapur is a bit difficult, there is a somewhat easier approach from the south side. While going I decided to traverse along the Mamdapur route and return back from the south side. The day being a Sunday it was very much likely that there would be lesser number of trains running. So by 5:30 am I found myself at the platform to catch the 5:32 Khopoli local. However due to some erroneous calculations I was able to reach Neral by 7:40 only. There was no 7:30 mini train service that day and the next train was scheduled to arrive by 8:50 am. I decided to walk along the path to Peb.

As mentioned in one of my friend Kaushal’s write up I came across a taxi stand. After crossing the nullah I took the first left turn towards Peb. I came across the Highway, crossed it and took the mud path to the left. There was some construction work going on near the village Mamdapur. Walking along I came across a ‘waadi’. From here onwards I tried to follow the towers. I crossed the dry stream and reached the second electric tower by 8:40 am. Slight ahead I took a wrong turn to the left and was instructed to go back by some villagers. I lost out some 10-15 minutes there. I lost track once more before finally reaching a rock patch.

As I couldn’t find any path I called up Swapnil, one of my friends who had been here before to check if I was on the right track. Swapnil told me to look out for a hook on the rock patch. On first glance I could not find any hook and was of the opinion that I had lost my way. But finally I spotted the hook. I was wondering how I am going to climb this patch. I first threw my bag to the other side of the rock patch and literally pulled myself up. It was 10:45 am. I started moving ahead and came across another rock patch. However this one was not to be climbed upon. I took the path going to the right. I soon reached the cave where there was the Swami Samarth Mandir and Shivaji’s bust. The gate was open. I went inside and had darshan. I came out and sat in front of the gate facing the mountain ranges of Nakhind, Prabhalgad and Chanderi to the left. To the left was Matheran. In front were Rajmachi, Bhimashankar & Kothaligad. All the while I was of the opinion that I had reached the ashram. However Swapnil told me that I was at the cave and the ashram was still ahead when I called upon him again. I could not find any other path than the one I had traversed. So I was a bit restless. I explored the area but could not find any path towards Matheran. I made a trip back to the larger rock patch but it proved futile. So I returned back to the cave. I glanced at the time. It was 11:30 a.m. I had my lunch there itself.

After the lunch I explored the path through which I had reached the cave. I found out a path going towards Matheran side. It was covered with dry grass and hence I had missed it altogether. Going along the path I reached a point where I came across the first of the four steel ladders I climbed in all. On climbing up the ladder the path ahead seemed a little rough, as the deluge of 2006 seemed to have have washed away a major chunk of the path. Somehow I covered the rock patches and was back on the normal path. After walking for some 10-15 minutes, I saw a person on top giving me directions when I had taken a wrong turn. By around 12:15 pm I reached the ashram. I went past the Ashram to the topmost point in the south direction. I didn’t go near the fortifications however. I believe this is the same spot where the ‘Padukas’ are kept. I returned back to the Ashram and quenched my thirst with a glass of water from the Ashram. Here the person attending to the Ashram showed me the way that goes towards Matheran and also informed me that I could fill in water from the water kept at the Shiv temple which was down below. I visited the temple and filled water from the steel bucket. It was around 1 pm when I started to trek down the route to Matheran. I encountered two steel ladders mid way soon. By around 2:10 pm I climbed the last steel ladder in the path which took me to the open area near the Railway track. From here I walked along the railway track towards Dasturi Point. I reached the taxi stand by 3 pm. By 3:40 pm I was at Neral Station and by 5:30 pm I reached home.

A TREK TO MANEKGAD

Date:30th September 2007

On a Sunday morning getting up at 4 am after a tough week was not an easy task. Nevertheless, I had been planning to trek to this fort since long. My self and Dinesh gathered at Diva station to catch the Diva – Madgaon Passenger which leaves at 6:20 am. We got down at Panvel station by 7:15 a.m. We had to catch the 7: 45 ST Bus to Vashivilli, which was the base village. We reached the bus stand by 7:50 a.m. There when we enquired about the bus to Vashivilli, we got to know that it was scheduled to arrive by 8 am. However it was 8:15 when it finally arrived.

The journey was pleasant running along the Mumbai-Goa Highway. We reached the village by 8:45 am. After taking the first right turn towards the mountain ranges we enquired with a villager for the route to Manekgad. He advised us to hire a villager as we were first timers and pay him something suitable. We agreed to hire a guide. Our guide was Manohar Waghmare. He informed us that we could reach the top in two ways. One which was a little difficult but a shorter route where there was a narrow stretch where one had to put only one foot at a time and the drop would prove fatal. The other route, the easier one was the longer one and would take 3 hours to complete. We took this route.

Around 10:30 am we came across an open plateau where we decided to have breakfast and refresh ourselves. All along the path we had come across many a village folk making the regular trips. Manohar informed us that there were lots of folk coming here for trekking this fort. This was news to me as I was of the impression that this fort was lesser known. We reached the top by 12 p.m. There a lone buffalo greeted us. Just before the Ganesh Patti or the Main Darwaza to the left we sighted a water tank full of moss. To the left of the Ganesh Patti there were some steps going down-hill. We could see the pinnacle of Karnala from the top. However Malang gad was not visible due to the dense fog. We went the south most point of the fort where a huge rock was there. We rested a while near this rock enjoying the beautiful landscape. We could see many chemical factories and industries down below. Some had shut down while some were coming up. I took some snaps of the valley below. We then moved in the north direction.

There was a Shiv pindi located in this direction. Just before this Pindi we encountered two more water tanks comparatively smaller than the one at the entrance. Manohar told us that there were some more idols but the villagers had taken them downhill so as to provide them with a better place for residing. We returned back to the Ganesh Patti. We moved towards the cliff to have a nice view of the valley down below. We saw two eagles hovering around below. Unfortunately due to the limitations of my traditional camera I was not able to take any snaps of the eagles. We decided it was time to return. It was around 1 pm when we started our descent down. We saw a group consisting of two foreigners coming towards us. It just affirmed my belief that the foreigners took more interest in such expeditions than us locals. By around 2:30 p.m. we reached a spot which had a water source nearby and decided to have our lunch there. It was around 4:30 pm when we finally reached the base. From here we finally walked towards Vashivilli Bus stop. As there was no signs of a bus we got into a 10-seater by 4:45 pm and reached Panvel by 5:40 pm. We caught a bus to Dombivli by 6 pm and reached home by 7 pm.

Reaching There:

Diva to Panvel Train fare – 8 Rs per head (From Dombivli to Diva fare is 4 Rs)
Or Else take a Bus from Dombivli to Panvel. Bus fare is 19 Rs.
Bus from Panvel to Vashivilli – 13 Rs per head

When to Visit:
Monsoons or post monsoons. This area has a different look during monsoons.

Important Information:
If going for the first time hire a guide and fix a price at that moment itself. Take water along as none of the tanks hold potable water.

DADIMAA AND PANCHPEER

Date: 12th August 2007

Long before the monsoons, myself and Praveen had attempted trekking to these two points. They are located very near to Haji Malang or Malang-gad. However we were able to reach only up to the point where the path diverges, with one leading to the Dadi maa and Panch Peer Peaks and the other to Malang-gad. I came to know later that we had hardly covered a quarter of the actual distance. We were ill-prepared in the sense that we had not taken anything for lunch and these two points were less frequented. Moreover the heat was unbearable then.

I had therefore resolved to trek to the top. So on Saturday night after leaving my work-place I made for my friend's place at Kalyan for an over-night stay. Early next morning I left Raju's house by 6:50 a.m. It was 7:10 when I reached the Kalyan Bus stand. The bus arrived in 2 minutes time. It was 7:15 when the bus departed. It was around 7:40 when I got down at Kasauli. After getting down at the bus-stop one has to take the road on the left side leading to the village. There was mist all around the mountains and the village was very picturesque. On the right side of the path I took after passing Kasauli village were three waterfalls at different spots while there was one on the left. The one on the right side looked quite near. I was making my way towards it when a women coming from behind told me that there was no proper path leading to the water-falls. A little bit disheartened I trudged back to the path I had taken earlier. As I was admiring the beautiful streams which were crossing the path I was on, I was completely unaware that a herd of cattle was advancing behind me. I let them pass by. The cattle made the path even more difficult to walk upon. The herd was making puddles large enough so as to add to my woes.

It was 9 a.m. when I saw a drop water-fall at a close distance. And by around 9:25 a.m., I reached the open area where there is a diversion of paths. This was the same place where I and Praveen had returned back from. It was 11'o clock when I sighted a 'Dharamshala'. Here I encountered a difficult stretch where I literally crawled my way so as to avoid sliding down the waterfall. On reaching the ‘Dharamshaala’ I enquired with a chap how far the peaks were. He said it was some 30-35 minutes from here. It was around 11:30 a.m. when I reached the point where there was a board which indicated that Daadi maa was to the left and Panch Peer to the right. On the other side of the mountain I could see Badlapur town. I made my way towards Daadi maa. However strong winds and rains made me take cover behind a rock near the board. I though that it was better to get down to the 'Dharamshala' as the path ahead had no supports and the winds had no intention to stop. I returned back near the Dharamshala. I saw some 4 boys having lunch inside the Dharamshala. I recognized Chand whom myself and Praveen had met last time. Chand invited me inside to have lunch. I had a hearty meal of Dal and Rice.

After lunch we had herbal tea. Chand informed me that they (Himself and his wife
Reshma) had to some times make 2-3 trips up and down the mountain to get basic necessities like grocery milk etc. Money was difficult to come. People trekking these ranges would drop by and share the food that they had brought along. If it was raw vegetables and rice they had been bringing Chand and his wife would cook the same at that very place. I came to know that the 4 lads were also getting down the mountain so I decided to go along with them.

It was 12:30 p.m. when we took leave of Chand. While getting down, I enquired with the youngsters what their names were and what they did. I came to know that Sonu used to sell Kachoris at Ulhasnagar. Then Ganesh was into repairing clocks and watches. The other two Pradeep and Datta were into machine repairing. They said that they used to trek the peaks regularly. In fact they had intentions to come back the next week. It was around 3 p.m. when we reached the village. However we had to wait for an hour before we could get a bus to Kalyan. I was at Raju's house by 5p.m. Although I didn't reach the Mazhaar I was glad to have reached the top.

Getting There:
Fare up to Kasauli from Kalyan - 9 Rs.

When to Visit:
These peaks can be visited all year around although it is very pleasant in the monsoons. Carry a stick around so as to avoid slipping.

Important Points: One can stay overnight at the Dharamshalas atop. Panch Peer involves some 5 or more Mazhaars so staying overnight is a good option.

Rest of the photos are uploaded at : http://picasaweb.google.com/n.ramaswamy/DadimaaAndPanchpeer

INDEPENDENCE DAY TRASH DASH

Date: 15th August 2007

Attending the flag hoisting ceremony in the building had been a routine every 15th August. This time around I decided to join some people from a group called NOET (Natura Outdoor Education Trust) for a session of rappelling followed by a clean up drive. I registered myself over the phone. Avishkar Tendle, the organizer of the event told me to gather at 7:00 a.m. at Sanjay Gandhi National Park Gate.

On Tuesday night I stayed at my cousin’s place in Kandivli. The next morning I caught a rickshaw by 6:40 a.m. I reached the gate by 7 a.m. I called up Avishkar to inform him that I had reached the meeting place. A female voice, which was Maria's as I later came to know, answered the phone and told me that they all will be reaching the place in 10-15 minutes. I went inside the main gate. There was a person standing inside with all necessary gear needed for the session. I asked him if he had also come for the NOET clean up drive to which he replied in the affirmative. He later introduced himself as Deven Bhatt. He informed me that he was into diamond business.

Further he stated that he had a previous rappelling experience at Manali. He lost his left leg due to a torn ligament. His travels had taken him to Kerala too. But trekking was not possible now. Hence he was forced to go to places by vehicles. As we were conversing, a stout bearded man in his late 30's, whom I later came to know as Mihir, called up people who had gathered for the I Day Trash Dash. Some 10-15 people gathered around him. After briefing us about the programme, he led us to the ticket counter. We made our way towards Gandhi Smarak. From the ticket counter to this point the path was so full of flora and fauna that I wished I had been to this place more often. While walking I got into conversation with two senior persons in the event, one Mr. Alok Nath was an accountant with Free Press Journal and Mr. Philip, who was into individual research. It was around 9 a.m. when we all reached the Gandhi Smarak. Here Avishkar introduced himself and briefed us about NOET.

NOET has been doing this event since last year. Then we gathered around for a round of introduction. The group consisted of enthusiast right from the age of sixteen to the fifty five year old senior. Most of the youngsters belonged to a dance troupe. Amongst us there was Sanjay, a cancer patient whose very presence lifted our spirits. After the introduction, we gathered around for a game called Aa Saa Ko. The game is like this: The first person would keep his/her hand so as to look like a salute either using the right hand or the left one and say ‘Aa’. The person next to him/her to whose direction his/her hand is facing is supposed to keep his/her hand next to his/her stomach with the palm facing upwards and pointing towards right or left direction and say ‘So’. The person next to him/her to whose direction the palm was pointing then clasps both his/her hand and points towards anyone in the circle and says ‘Ko’. The person receiving the ‘Ko’ then continues with ‘Aa’. Two winners emerged
. Soon Avishkar called us for the rappelling session. Avishkar briefed us about the accessories involved which were a harness loop, chest loop, a carbiner with strength of 27KN and an 8 connector with strength of 30KN through which a cornamental fibre rope will pass through. Gaurang, another member of NOET was showing us what all could happen if things go wrong like if we didn’t loosen the rope enough, if we didn’t keep the legs apart.

The height of the rock which we were going to rappel was 40 feet. I was second to go. Initially I was a bit nervous. As soon as I started getting down I thought I was going to loose my grip and grabbed the rope tighter. Milind, the instructor told me to loosen the rope. He also told me to keep the legs apart. Half-way down I got a hold and was comfortable much before I got down on my feet. Later I realized that in fact one can leave both hands and descend. By 10:30 we were all through with the session. Rappelling done we got ready for what Avishkar termed as ‘riskier than rappelling’. He told us that in our enthusiasm to pick up loads of trash, one should not put his/her hands into holes as they might be home to some reptiles or creepy crawlies. Human wastes like Bottles, Chocolate Wrappers, plastic covers and other such non bio-degradable wastes had to be picked up. Last year somebody had individually collected 35 kilos of waste. This time around there was prizes to be given out by the sponsors ‘Nature Valley’.

It was 12 pm. Avishkar gave us 2 hours time to gather as much as we could. By around 1:45 p.m. I could pick up half a bag of trash and decided to accumulate the same. When it was weighed it came around 3 kilos. Somebody had already brought 16 kilos. Avishkar extended the time limit by 10 minutes more and finally some body brought 42 kilos of waste. A music band ‘Asmaan’ had come over specially to distribute the three prizes. First runner up was Pronita. Second runner up was Arvind and the winners were Ravi and Rohit. Every participant received two packs of Chocolate from Nature Valley. We were done by 3:05 p.m. I left the park with a thought of a day well spent for a social cause by all the participants.

A TRIP TO MAHIM KELVE

Dates: 14th and 15th July 2007

I had recently read ‘Bhatkanthi’, a book in Marathi on adventurous journeys by Milind Gunaji. I found a mention of Mahim Kelve Beach in that book. I discussed the plan of going to this place with the office staff. We decided to stay at Palghar on Saturday night i.e. 14th and venture out the next day. There were no bookings done and we were prepared to spend the night on the Palghar platform.

Others joining me were Dilip, Dinesh, Ganesh, Mangesh, Navnath, Sakharam and Satyavan. When we were ready to leave the work-place, Sanjay, a colleague of mine asked me if we had made arrangements for the stay at Palghar. I said that we were going to stay at the platform itself. Sanjay said that if we wanted he could make arrangements for our stay overnight at Palghar. His maternal uncle stayed in Palghar. Sanjay could possibly co-ordinate with his Uncle and make arrangements for the stay. He told us to leave while he made the arrangements. Thanking him profusely we left for the Bus-stop. We had to reach Borivili Station first in order to catch the 124 Down Ahmedabad Passenger train.

By around 9:15 p.m. a somewhat empty contract bus bound for Borivili came. We hopped into it and occupied most of the vacant window seats. We reached Kandivli by 9:45 p.m. Midway Sanjay called to inform us that he had made bookings for us at Laxmi Guest House. Three rooms along with extra beds had been arranged.

There was traffic near Thakur Village and it was around 10 p.m. when we finally reached Borivili. There were some Volvo buses lined up near the stop where we got down. However on enquiring with the drivers, we came to know that most of them were going to Surat, Vadodara etc with no halts at Palghar. We then made our way towards the ST Bus stand, where we were told that there were no buses leaving for Palghar for that night. So we made our way towards the Railway station as our last resort.

We reached the station by 10:45 p.m. The passenger train was scheduled to arrive by 11:30 p.m. We purchased tickets and decided to have dinner at some hotel nearby. But finding a hotel was quite a task at that time and we had to dash off after a hurried dinner to the station.

The train came by around 11:35 p.m. The general compartments were full in no time. We stood besides the door as there was no place more comfortable. We passed through Vasai Road by 12:10 a.m. When we reached Virar, the last station in the suburban section it was 12:30 a.m. We reached Kelve Road station by 1:00 a.m. Here the train was put into siding and some 4-5 express trains passed by. It was 1:40 a.m. when we got down at Palghar station. We asked a RPF personnel at the platform about Laxmi Guest House. He told us that it was nearby and at a walk able distance only. The Guest House was on the first floor. It was around 2:00 a.m. when I stood near the Hotel entrance door and rang the bell. The door was opened by a fellow, who could have been around 40 years and was probably accustomed to find people coming out so early in the morning. We paid the advance amount and got into our respective rooms. There was a television set in each of the three rooms. We decided to catch up with the latest news before we dozed off. There was nothing much in particular and we switched off the TV and plunged into deep slumber by 2:30 a.m.

I was awake by 5:30 a.m. Had a bath and awoke others. By around 7:00 a.m. we checked out of the hotel. Before leaving I enquired with the hotel owner how far the Kelva Beach was and what was the comfortable means of transport. He said that although there were buses plying between Palghar and Kelva Beach, the 10-seater Vikram was a better option. We descended the stairs of the building and made our way to the main road. There was a 10-seater waiting outside. It was 7:45 a.m. and we were way behind schedule. So we hopped into the 10-seater. We passed through a lovely route which made each one of us feel that we were far away from the hustle bustle of the city and amidst some sleepy town.

We reached the Beach by 8:10 a.m. It was one of the best settings I had seen of a beach. A large number of cypress trees lined in front of the sea were a treat to watch. As it was low tide the sea was at quite a distance from the beach. Most of the members in the group rushed into the inviting sea. We were frolicking in the sea for some 2 hours. We saw a fortification (Later I came to know this was called ‘Alibaug’ fortress) at a distance towards our left hand side in the south direction. We decided to explore it.

This fortification was at a sufficient distance. We walked for more than half an hour to reach it. At close quarters it looked like a part of some fort which had chambers on the inside. There is no proper entrance to this structure. One has to make use of the stepping stones and enter the fortification through one of the opening. Inside there was plenty of vegetation. There was a small tank as well. We took some snaps inside the fortification. While we were enjoying the new found place some one from the group informed us that the place was getting surrounded by water from all sides. We got back to the shore quickly without wasting further time. It was a lucky escape.

Next we decided to offer our prayers to Shitladevi temple. The temple is wonderfully built and maintained. Having visited the temple we made our way to a hotel to have lunch. I opted for the tender coconut though. It was fresher than the ones I could have anywhere else back in Mumbai. I sat besides a tree and relished the Masala Chana having a nice view of the sea. It was around 2:30 p.m. when we made our way to next destination, Mahikavati Mandir. We also decided to cover Shirgaon fort also. We reached the Mahikavati Mandir, which must have been hardly some 4-5 kms. from the beach by 2:50 p.m. It was unlike other temples. It had a room where a family was staying between the entrance and the place of worship. As we had kept the meter running we didn’t have time to enquire about the significance of the temple. The place of worship was pretty old. We had darshan and returned back to the waiting Vikram. By around 3:20 p.m. we reached Shirgaon fort. It is situated near a school. Almost in ruins, we found some children playing cricket there inside the fort. We climbed the fort from the south side. There was a watch-tower on this side with no supports. As soon as we climbed up the stairs it offered a breath taking view of the sea and the village. Just behind this tower was a chamber which had a lot of vegetation. As we moved towards the east side along the narrow path I found some six-seven chambers down below. I then returned back to the chamber behind the watch tower. In this very chamber there is a secret entrance on the west side. We ventured inside it. However it was too dark to find out where it led to. So we returned back to the chamber and walked towards the south side. There was one more watch tower. However due to the dense growth of wild grass we found it difficult to get to the top and skipped it altogether. We then started moving towards the west side. There was a watch tower here too retaining all its grandeur. We made our way to it through a very narrow path. I thought this might have been the place where many of a ruler would have brought his beloved during the moon-lit nights and had enjoyed some romantic moments. We returned back to the North end and descended the stairs. With a heavy heart we left the fort and made our way to the Main Road. It was 4 p.m. We caught a 10-seater up to Palghar from there. One of the passengers, an elderly woman enquired where we were from. We told us that we were all were from different parts of Mumbai. I enquired where Alibaug was (I was still not aware that the small fortification by the beach from which we had luckily escaped was called Alibaug). She told us that there was only one Alibaug and that too was located near Mumbai. She said that she had been to Alibaug from Bauchaa Dhakka’.

Soon we reached a place called Chunnabatti. We just thought what a coincidence it was that there were three places near Mumbai which had similar names of places in Palghar: Mahim, Alibaug & now Chunnabatti. It was around 5:20 p.m. when we reached Palghar and had tea. We then made our way to the ST Bus stand. Here we caught the last bus going to Thane. We must have traveled for some 30 minutes when we reached Manor. An article on Manor in the internet had mentioned about Manor’s beauty. Just then I saw a mini dam like construction on the right side of the road. The Board placed nearby read ‘Soorya River’. I am looking forward to make a trip to Manor soon.

We passed through Virar, Boisar, Versova, etc. We could see many a Jain Mandirs constructed on the hilltops. I concluded that this entire stretch between Thane-Palghar is worth visiting especially during the monsoons. It was around 8 p.m. when we reached Thane Bus stand. On reaching Thane railway station we all parted ways and returned back to our respective homes.

Getting There:

Fare for the ticket from Powai to Borivili was 10 Rs. per head.
From Borivili to Palghar ticket for passenger train was 14 Rs per person.
Rooms we got for 80 Rs. per person roughly.
Fare from Palghar to Kelva Beach: 10 Rs. per head
Fare from Kelva Beach to Shirgaon fort (via Mahikavati temple): 20 Rs. per person for singular trip
Fare from Shirgaon fort to Palghar: 5 Rs. per head
Fare from Palghar to Thane: 70 Rs. per head

Best time to Visit: Monsoons if you want to enjoy the route. If you intend to go to the Alibaug fortress it is best to know the tide timings.

Important Information: It is very difficult to find a pure vegetarian hotel near the Beach, so best option is to carry food along. Coconut is a lot cheaper here. It is available for as low as 10 Rs and nice too.



Hotel Accomadation: Swad Resort for A/C, Non A/C Veg and Non Veg Food. Mukund Aba Wadi, Shitaladevi, Kelve Beach, Taluka Palghar Dist Thane - 401401

Contact Nos: (O) 952525 222471, 952525 699673 (R) 2898 0504
(M) 9860599097 9324045345

A TRIP TO NAGPUR

Dates: 19th May-21st May 2007

This was my second trip to Nagpur. And this time too it was for the same purpose of writing the Railway Recruitment Board Exam. I decided to stay with a friend, Krishna, who stayed in the same building. He was working for a private bank like me. My onward journey was by Geetanjali Express. My return journey was largely dependent on whether my passenger status would change from ‘Waiting List’ to ‘Confirmed’.

I had been allotted an upper berth & I utilized it to the fullest. It was around 6 p.m. when I awoke from the deep slumber. The train reached Nagpur station by 7:15 p.m. Krishna had told me to call him when I reached Nagpur station. I tried calling from the PCO Booth but was not able to communicate with him due to network problem. Anyhow, he had given clear cut instructions as to how to get to his place. I just casually asked a rickshaw-wallah, who told me he would drop me at the bank premises for 60 bucks. Krishna had mentioned that the fare might be around 25-30 Rs. So I rejected the Rickshaw-wallah’s offer & made my way to the pre-paid Auto-rickshaw booth. They issued a coupon against a nominal charge of 1 Re for the trip. The fare was 30 Rs, which sounded reasonable enough to me. I reached the bank by around 8 p.m. Krishna was attending some customers when I entered the bank. So I decided to wait so that he could finish his work. I could make out that the branch had sufficient space as compared to the one where I work in Powai. Krishna called me over the counter and asked me about the journey. He also enquired if I had eaten or not. To which I replied in the negative. He said that we will have dinner from some hotel as he was unaware of my eating preferences and hence had not prepared anything at home. He then went on to deal with the remaining customers while I made myself comfortable.

We left the branch by 9:30 p.m. in Krishna’s scooter. We decided to have dinner at a nearby hotel. We found the hotel to be completely empty. We enquired about my examination centre from the Hotel owner after dinner. He told us where Katol Road, the examination centre was. From the hotel we left for Krishna’s place. Krishna was staying in Mathe Chowk. He was paying a rent of 2000 per month to the House-owner. The house seemed pretty antique. When we reached the front door the house owner came down to meet us. After placing my luggage around the room, and refreshing I got into the bed. We tuned to Vividh Bharati on the radio. Some very nice songs were being played. ‘Is Modh Se Jaathe Hain’, ‘Ruke Ruke Se Kadam’ and other such lovelies. Krishna remarked that people are welcomed over here in Nagpur with such songs. Soon he was fast asleep and Vividh Bharati ended its programme with ‘Dhalthi Jaayein Raat’. It must have been past mid-night when I dozed off.

The next day we left early for the exam. We had plans to go to Ramtek after the exams. As scooter was not a suitable means of transport in the hilly terrain of Ramtek, we had decided to go by bus. So while I was giving my exams, Krishna had to while away two hours somewhere so that by 12 p.m. when my exams would be over, we could together leave for Ramtek.


We reached the exam centre by 8:40 a.m. As we had not eaten anything, we decided to venture along the Katol Road in search of some hotel. But we didn’t find any hotel. We had covered quite a distance from the centre, so we decided to return back.

My exams weren’t good. And the fact that the fans weren’t working just worsened the things. Anyhow, by 12 I was out and found Krishna waiting outside. We decided to enquire about the bus-stop of a Ramtek bound bus. We received a mixed opinion on this. Some said there was no stop nearby. We were feeling hungry so decided to have lunch at Kamat’s Inn and pursue our search for the bus-stop after that. We then headed towards the Bus stop after lunch.

After making further enquiries we moved to the LIC Bus stop. From there we caught the Bus. The fare was 30 Rs per head for the 53 km trip. The bus passed through Kamptee, a place of military significance. Mid-way it started raining. We reached Ramtek Bus Depot by 2:30 p.m. From there we took a rickshaw at a fare of 15 Rs per head. Rain had subdued by then. We made our way to the ‘Gadh Mandir’, as it is popularly known. We enquired about other places worth-seeing from the Rickshaw-wallah. He mentioned the names of Khindsi Talao and Ambala Talao. We decided to cover them if the rain gods were merciful. The rickshaw dropped us near the steps leading to the temple.

A lot of monkeys can be found here. They eat out of your hands the ‘channa’ purchased from the vendors. We made our way towards the Main temple. We offered our prayers to Rama and Lakshmana and were moving towards the other deities, when it started raining heavily. I was very eager to go to the top of the temple to have a good view. I had been here last time too, but unfortunately the photos that I had taken from the top didn’t develop. This time around I made sure that everything was covered. I took some 7-8 snaps in and around the temple surroundings. We asked about the significance of the temple from the priest of the Hanuman temple. He pointed us to the wall, where the same was written. Ramtek is also known as ‘Ramgiri’. Lord Rama during his 14 year exile had taken a vow to destroy the evil at this very place. ‘Tek’ is another word for vow. Hence the name, ‘Ram-tek’. We came to know from a shop-keeper that Ambala Talao was being used to dispose of dead-bodies. We decided to give it a visit next time around. We visited the Swami Samarth Mandir, which is just on the opposite side of the Gad Mandir. After that we returned back to the rickshaw-stand. The fare was 10 Rs per head up to the bus stand. We reached the bus stand by 4:15 p.m. The bus to Amravati was scheduled to come by 4:30 p.m. The bus came some 10 minutes early. By 7 pm we got down at Lohapur, nearby Buldi as the bus didn’t go to Buldi Bus-stop. From Lohapur, we walked towards Buldi. We decided to have some light snacks before we settled for dinner. We returned back to Krishna’s place after the snacks. After resting for a while, we made our way to a hotel called ‘Ram dhaam’.

I had plans to cover the Rail museum the next day. I also wanted to check the status of my reservation at the booking office near the Rail Museum. Also we decided to try our hands at cooking. We settled for Upma and chutney. Krishna prepared Upma the next day. It tried my hand at chutney. I had to go to the market area to purchase masala esp. coriander leaves and green chillies. Coconut was anyhow there at our disposal. We could not find anything to break it though. We went along the compound until we found a sharp edged grinding stone. Luckily the coconut broke into two exact halves. We made the breakfast ready. As we were the only ones to eat the prepared items we praised it to as good as it could be. Breakfast done, we left for the Bank. We decided to cover Diksha Bhoomi on the way. We didn’t have time to get down and take a look around. After keeping my traveling bag with Krishna at his workplace, I left for the Narrow Gauge museum.

The museum is located in Kadbi Chowk. The bus stops at the signal after the museum. Unfortunately when I reached the Museum entrance, I found that the museum was closed. On making enquiries I found out that it remains closed on Mondays. To make matters worse, my PNR status was still W/L 27. With some 4-5 hours remaining before the train was scheduled to leave, it was unlikely of it being confirmed. I returned back on foot.

Enroute I came across Kasturchand Park and decided to rest a while. Many a political rallies take place here. After taking a few snaps I resumed my way back to Ramdas peth. I reached by 12:35 p.m. Krishna told me that there was still time before we could go for lunch so I decided to go to a cybercafé. The one I visited had a pre-paid token system. After an hour of surfing, I returned back to the branch. We had lunch. I got a parcel for dinner. I took leave of Krishna and hired a rickshaw up to Nagpur station. When I reached Nagpur station, my PNR status had changed to 17. There was an hour to go before the train was scheduled to arrive. I decided to board the general compartment. The train was 30-40 minutes late. I walked along the platform to while away the time. Soon the train arrived. Out of the two general compartments one was somewhat empty. One entering I found a seat vacant on the side and sat there. Some said this compartment was for Ladies while some said it was ‘Army’. Anyhow nobody got down. Jnaneshwari Super deluxe, the train by which I was travelling didn’t have many halts.

Glancing across the compartment, I saw a girl of my age group sitting at the far end of the compartment. She did seem to be from a well-to-family. I wondered if all classes of people did travel in general compartment. I decided to get some sleep as it was going to be difficult to get the same in the night. Around 8 p.m. I had dinner at Badnera. There was a couple sitting at the foot board of the train entrance door. The man was apparently drunk. As soon as the train reached Akola, hordes of people boarded the train. The couple had moved from the foot-board to the vacant seats opposite mine just before the crowd barged in. The man was too drunk and kept collapsing often. The women and other passengers made him lie down below the seats. There were two men sitting on the side seats. I overheard one of them saying that he plays harmonium and other instruments. One of my acquaintances had asked me to look for a harmonium player near Vashi. So I asked this person if he knew of some person from Vashi who could play harmonium. He gave me his contact number. That done, I resumed my efforts to catch some winks. But I couldn’t. The train reached Bhusaval by 11:40 p.m. The crowd that got in was huge. Soon there was a commotion. A lady was shouting at the pitch of her voice and the expletives she used cannot be written off in print. Actually the lady was upset that there was no seat available and therefore was making a scene about that. She accused a young chap of molesting her daughter!

The young chap’s mother wasn’t one to let go and a war of words followed. With all the commotion going on it seemed everyone was uneasy except for the man lying below the seat. The commotion went on for an hour or so. But I couldn’t get any sleep until 5 a.m. I might have dozed off after that. I woke when the train passed Kasara. Soon it was time to pack all things and get ready. I got down at Kalyan by 6:30 a.m., some 2 hrs late from scheduled time. I caught a bus and reached home by 7:30 a.m.

For Further Photos Do Visit This Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/n.ramaswamy/Nagpur

A TRIP TO VASAI FORT AND BEACH

Date: 5th August 2007



Continuing with the Monsoon adventure in and around Vasai, I decided to explore the West side. I had explored little bit of the Eastern side, Tungareshwar and Chinchoti Waterfalls namely. I had venture alone that time around. This time Srinivas Rao joined me. He stayed at his friend’s place on Saturday night itself. We were to meet on Sunday morning in Vasai.

On Sunday I reached Dombivli Station by 5:20 a.m. The train was some 4-5 minutes late. This time also I was lucky to get a window seat. However there were no rains lashing out on the window this time. I reached Vasai Road Railway station by 6:40 a.m. Srini told me to come to his friend’s place viz, Maitree Park. The fare from the station was 14 Rs. Srini was standing out side the building and led me to his friend Hemant’s flat. His youngest brother, Sumant was getting ready to leave for a trip to Vaishnodevi and Kashmir along with his friends. He left before us. Hemant’s mother packed Idli and Chutney for us. We kept the same in the bag and left for the Vasai Road Bus stand. We took an auto up to Bus stand and reached the Stand by 7:40 a.m. Along with the fisher-folk we boarded the near-empty bus. I read in a blog that the fare was 7 Rs for the Bus trip, but found out it to be 5 Rs. We reached the last stop by 8:10 a.m. After getting down we walked towards the west side. What we thought as the fort entrance might be the Chor Darwaza that Professor K Ghanekar describes in his Book on Sea forts.

Somebody told us we were in the wrong side and the fort was on the other side. We started walking back. We found an old church just beside the walls of the fortress. We took snaps from inside and outside the church & then moved towards the right-side entrance. Due to the rains and the dense vegetation the place wore a scenic look. We got out of the church & started walking towards another structure to the left side of the road. There was dense vegetation here too. A narrow path going to the opposite direction looked very serene. However we did not venture through it.

There were two temples on the opposite side of this structure. One was of Vajreshwari Devi (not to be confused with the one having hot water springs) and the other of Lord Shiva called Nageshwar Mandir. We visited the Vajreshwari Devi Mandir first. The Priest there was getting ready to perform ‘Aarti’ Govind, for that was the priest’s name allowed us to take snaps of the goddess. He told us about how Chimaji Appa, the Maratha warrior had installed an idol of the goddess at this very place. He had the good fortune of seeing Devi. He was victorious in the battle against Portuguese. Govind also informed us that the Vajreshwari Devi temple (the one with the hot water springs) can be accessed from both the fort as well as Vasai Road Bus Depot. It was some 50 kms from Vasai Road. He advised us to cover Vajreshwari on another day & spend the day exploring the fort. We offered our prayers to the goddess and made our way to the Nageshwar Mandir. After having Darshan of Lord Shiva we asked the priest if we could have the breakfast comprising of Idli, Roti & Chutney, somewhere nearby. He told us that we could have breakfast inside the temple itself. It was a wonderful experience.

While we were having breakfast the priest had started decorating the Shiv-ling. We had just finished the breakfast when the priest called Srini to take snaps of the decorated Shiv-ling. We went inside the chamber and took some close-up shots. We then took leave of the priest and moved towards the East side. We came across a structure which resembled a church to the north side. We couldn’t go inside as there was too much water accumulated inside. We came back to the main road and started walking in the east direction. The road split in to two and we saw an open area which had swings and see-saws provided for entertainment of children. We took some snaps of the birds which were flying high and low. We returned back to the main road and took the road to the left side. Srini began chasing butterflies to catch them in his professional camera. The butterflies were giving Srini a tough time. While he was engrossed in his mad chase and I was observing the landscape we did not notice that the priest of the Nageshwar Temple was coming towards us. He briefed us about some more structures which could be explored if we continued with the road we were already on. He told there was a ‘Moochwala Hanuman’ Temple after entering the Darwaaza of the fort. Also there was a watch tower just near the Temple. He told us he would have shown us around the place if it was season, meaning summer. This being rainy due to the water-logging and dense vegetation we were likely to miss out on tunnels and structures. He asked us to come again in summer when he could show us the area. We bade him good bye and started our walk towards the opposite side. After walking for some 10-15 minutes we reached what might be a Jetty. There we saw a Darwaaza to the right side of the jetty. After passing the Darwaaza we saw the ‘Moochwala Hanuman’ temple. Just behind the temple on the left side of the path was the watch tower that the priest was referring to. We climbed the steps leading to the watch tower with the same enthusiasm as of children who had discovered an interesting playground. On reaching the top of the watch tower we found it to be a wider than normal watch towers. With a mild breeze flowing and rains not there we spent some time watching the sea front. We got down and moved along the coast. We found another huge structure which might be a church. After exploring it from inside, we moved towards the west side. There some people who had come to wash clothes cautioned us saying that there was knee-deep water ahead and we should take another route.

We took the other route and found ourselves back at the same church like structure we had first sighted. So we had indeed come full circle. We made our way back to the spot from where we had got down from the Bus. We had plans to cover the beach also as I had heard that the beach had a wonderful lining of cypress trees (also called as Suruchi Baag’ in local lingo) near it. It was around 1:30 p.m. when we started for the beach. We took the same route we had mistaken for the road leading to the fort earlier and then took the narrow road to the right. One can take a rickshaw from the fort to Naka and then another one to the beach. We however decided to walk. We enjoyed the walk. The stench of the waste dump ground is misleading however. We first reached Koli waada. From there we got to the Main road. Here somebody told us to look for Janki Talkies, from where we had to take a gully going to the left. After passing through the straight road then we took the road leading to the right. There was new construction going on. And we could see the cypress trees from the road. We reached the beach by 2:40 p.m. Srini had not traveled by the push-n-pull train. So, I had planned of returning back along-with him by the 3:25 Train from Vasai Road Station. However it was not possible now.

We relaxed a bit. A nice crowd was already there. A bunch of youngsters were enjoying themselves. They had found a fallen tree to play around with. They were standing on it and the others would shake the tree vigorously. It was their idea of fun. I walked along the beach to have my sort of fun.

Suddenly it started raining & we decided to scurry back home. The main reason that we needed to protect the cameras from getting drenched or else all our efforts would have gone in vain. On reaching the rickshaw stand we were glad to find that the rains had subdued. We took a rickshaw up to Vasai Road Railway station. The fare was 40 Rs. Srini got down near his friend’s place. I reached the station by 4:00 p.m. As the Push-n-pull had already left I had no other option but to take the longer route. So I purchased a ticket up to Dadar, as I had pass from Dadar to Dombivli. It was 7:00 p.m. when I found myself standing in front of my flat.

Kochi Trip Second One

After having visited Iqbal bhai, a friend from one of the musical groups that I am part of in Kochi, I was left with an unfulfilling desire to see more of this place which is called ‘The Queen of Arabian Sea’. So I decided to cover Kochi in two days time.

This time I opted for rail travel. I got to Puddukad Railway Station by bus. Embarked on a train going to Ernakulam and got down at Aluva station. From Aluva, took a bus to High Court. I had planned a visit to the ‘Mangalavanam’, which is the name given to the Bird Sanctuary near High Court. In fact it is situated just behind the High Court. This bird sanctuary is located on the aptly named road, Dr. Salim Ali Road. I had the pleasure of reading one of his books on the wonderful winged creatures. The sanctuary is pretty dense. But to my sheer disappointment the in-charge of the sanctuary informed me that there will be only bats in the sanctuary now, as this was off-season. I had plans to visit Thattekad Sanctuary too. But I cancelled the plan when I came to know that this was off season. More ever the sanctuary was located at a sufficient distance from Kochi. From ‘Mangalavanam’ Bird Sanctuary I came back to High Court and caught a bus to Aluva. The Shiva Kshetram is very famous here. I had lunch in a rather lonely hotel. After lunch I walked towards the Temple. As it was well past noon, the temple wore a deserted look. And I was also disappointed not to find a proper picnic spot which a travel guide book had mentioned. I returned back to Kalamassery and had tea at my brother-in-law’s office. Together we made our last trip of the day to Triponithara, where my brother-in-law’s maternal Aunt and Husband were residing. Our hosts for the night had purchased a new flat on ownership basis. While flats there cost a lot, one can build a bungalow for as low as 2-3 Lakhs. In Mumbai, the case is exactly the reverse.

The next day I decided to visit the Chottanikara Bhagavathy temple, which is some 6 kms from Triponithara. It was a long wait for ‘darshan’. After that I had breakfast at a nearby hotel. I then caught a bus to Ernakulam. Got down at the Boat Jetty, which also happens to be the location where state transport buses terminate and originate. I caught a bus going to Paravur. Cherai Beach, the last of my destinations was near Paravur. While traveling by the bus to Paravur, I befriended Ajit Karav, a co-traveler, who was speaking in English. I later came to know that he was a native of Karnataka. Later we started conversing in Marathi, a language we both were comfortable with. My newly found friend was into marketing Ayurvedic medicines. His original place of work was Bangalore. We exchanged email addresses when we got down at Paravur.

I made my way to the Paravur Private Bus stand. From there I caught a bus that passed through Cherai. Buses originating from Wipin Island also pass through Cherai. The road that leads to the beach was surrounded by water on both sides. Finally I reached the beach. The beach was wonderfully maintained. Except for the algae, that was washed ashore and the line of coconut trees there was no other signs of flora near the beach. I walked along the beach for some time. It was a very well maintained beach. With a heavy heart I left the beach and made my journey back home.