Grade : Sankshi (Easy), Karnala (Medium)

Height : 2800 feet

Route: Panvel -> Sankshi (By an Auto) -> Karnala (By an Tempo)

Team : 23 people.

I started the trek alone this year, read Ahupeghat trek post to know more.. and now some of my friends started to accompany me. This dual trek is being arranged by a trek group named “vRangers”. The plan is to do an early morning trek to Sankshi and then off to Karnala trek

This time, I along with 5 of my friends (Pradeep reddy, vinay agarwal, Dilip, Sural Damani & Eniyan) started our journey from Andheri to Panvel by a direct harbour line train. We reached panvel at around 11 pm on 28th June and joined the Vrangers group. We totaled to 23

Sankshi Trek

The name Sankshi is said to have been derived from a chief named Sank who is traditionally believed to have been the lord of the fort. From the tomb or dargah the way to the fort runs, for about 300 yards along the eastern face of the hill. It then turns sharp to the right or south when the ascent begins through what must be the site of an old town. One can see eight cisterns in the fort.
A fourth large is irregular cistern dry and about twelve feet deep. Above this cistern is a niche cut in the wall with an image locally worshipped as Vajrai or Jagmata, believed to be the daughter of Raja Sank, the founder of the fort, who is said to have killed herself on this spot when her father was engaged in a battle with the chief of Karnala fort, eight miles to the north.
In 1540, Sahksi fort was taken from a Gujarat garrison by a body of Ahmadnagar troops. The Gujarat commanders came to Bassein and asked the Portuguese to help them in gaining it back. The Portuguese sent 300 Europeans and a party of native troops, and on their approach the Ahmadnagar garrison abandoned the place. The fort was restored to Gujarat and Portuguese garrison was left in it.
In December 1827 Sanksi was the scene of an action between a detachment of the 4th Rifles and a band of Ramosi dacoits, in which three men of the 4th Rifles were killed. Sankshi continued to give its name to a sub-division of 198 villages till in 1866 the headquarters were moved to Pen.

Read more about Sankshi Fort….

We started the Trek Travel by an Auto journey to Sankshi base village, The atmosphere is filled with rains and cool breeze. We had a quick intro session at the base, before moving to a Durga which is around 2 hrs travel and nearer to Sankshi fort. Exactly at 2 am we reached the durga and rested there till morning 4:30 am. Somehow i managed to get up at 5 am, got ready, and had some bhel before the trek.

As we already climbed 2000 feet during the night, it was just an easy climb for us to reach the top. The view from there was nice and awesome, we also had a chance to view other peaks including our next trek spot- Karnala. After 30 mins we started to descend and reached the durga, later proceeded further to the Sankshi Base.

Karnala Trek

Karnala fort(also called Funnel Hill) is a hill fort in Raigad district about 10 km from Panvel town. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a fort of strategic importance as it overlooked the Bor pass which connected the Konkan coast to the interior of Maharashtra(Vidharba) and was the main trade route between these areas.
Its exact date of formation is not known but likely it predates 1400 CE as under the Devagiri Yadavs(1248- 1318) and under the Tughlaq rulers(1318-1347), Karnala was the capital of the north Konkan districts of their respective empires. It later fell under the command of the Gujarat Sultanate but in 1540 was taken over by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar. The fort was left in charge of the Gujarat Sultanate but with Portuguese garrisons.
The loss of Karnala enraged the Nizam Shah and he took back the fort and the surrounding countryside by sending 5,000 of his men. The Gujarat sultans fled to Vasai in panic and gave up any claims of the fort to the Portuguese.
Shivaji conquered it from the Portuguese in 1670 by building breastworks as he advanced. After his death in 1680 it was taken over by Aurangzeb. After this the Mughals occupied it for some time after which it in 1740 with the rise of the Peshwas of Pune it went to them. It remained under the command of killedar(garrison commander) Anantrao until a colonel Prother won the fort and established the rule of the British East India Company there in 1818.

Read more about Karnala fort…

From the Sankshi base highway, an tempo was arranged to transport 23 people to Karnala base point. It was 30 minutes journey from Sankshi to Karnala. Karnala is actually an bird sanctuary along with the fort. It is being regulated by government and entry pass costs around Rs. 10 per head.

Karnala Base

Poori Bhaji was served as breakfast. The path to the fort was slippery due to train and it is difficult for few people. Suraj, decided to stay at the base due to an injury. As per the information given by vRangers, there are two paths leading to the fort, an easier one and a difficult one. We chose a difficult path during forward journey and the other one while descending.

Breakfast & Lunch

I reached the fort in 2.30 hrs and had an nice time at the top. One will reach a plain, before having a good look at the fort. The fort stood massive and still intact. From the plain, it will take another 30 min to reach the fort. After spending 30 min roaming i settled for lunch. I had one of the best ever lunch, with many varieties of food, namkin, snacks, chips etc etc… After gorging myself with as much as food possible, started the return journey and clicked a group pic on the way. It took another 2 hr to reach the base, had tea and some snack before engaging myself into the feedback session. My return journey is accompanied by rain and fog, sometimes i felt i lost myself in the cloud.

Karnala Fort

From the base, we took a similar tempo and reached the panvel station in 30 mins time. To my fortunate, I immediately got a direct Andheri train which i caught at the last minute. Finally reached borivali at around 11pm and settled down.

Final words

This is my first trek with vRangers and i really enjoyed every moment of it. Although it was very tiresome dual trek (Experienced the pain in my thigh and calf muscles for next two days), but all worth it.

If anyone wishes to go for a one day trek, i would suggest to visit Karnala rather than Sankshi, as Karnala offers more natural amenites and beauties. Also the fort is one of the best i have ever seen and still in great shape.

Rafting is a challenging recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers.

As readers of my long, you know that i have been involved in lot of trekking activities, and i always keep trying different adventures. Trek mates, once organised River rafting & Kayanking at kudalika river near kolad village, and registered immediately. I also pulled one of my friend Nayana, who pulled her friend Rajeev. Finally 3 of us registered for the event.

I along with Nayana, reached the scheduled meeting point at Kalwa, a station next to Thane station in Central line by Mumbai metro. As it is a slow train stop, we got down at Thane and took and auto to the deserted station of Kalwa. Rajeev soon joined us. Our organiser Mr. Nilesh arrived at 12 midnight with a private vehicle, Sumo. Totally we were 8 of us, and 4 more people planned to join us in the morning.

After 4 hours of traveling, we reached Pooja farm house where accomodation is being arranged in a special glass room, covered with just curtains. It is dormitory room with more than 12 beds to accommodate everyone.

Morning

I got up at around 7 am with a pleasant view of lake beside me, and sunrise ahead of me. I went out for a walk along the side of the lake and clicked few pics. After returning back to the farmhouse, i got ready for River rafting. Had a light breakfast and had one more photo session at the lake.

Morning View from the Farm House

We all reached the river rafting point at around 9 am, and rest 4 people of our group joined us over there. I spent sometime near the river wall. For those who don’t know about Kundalika river, It is not an natural river but artificial and the water is being released from 2 Dams daily. By sitting at the wall, i can see the gradual rise in the water level, once the dams are open. Infact on that particular day, only one gate got opened due to some reasons.

River rafting Base Point

We all got into the life jacket, and provided with a paddle. There is an quick instruction round by experts. Seems the raft can hold only 8 people + an expert. For emergency purpose one expert will be riding in a kayak with first aid kit and other arrangements along with the raft. Once we reached the actual river rafting point, the guide/experts taught us differnt procedures(ways of using raft) to be followed while rafting.

The Ride

Experts also instructed us on various rowing methods at the starting point. The journey started with splashing of water by the guide, making us wet. I enjoyed all bumpy rides, the time spent in water and other events. At one point of time, the guide asked all of us to stand at the edge of the raft, holding our hands and soon a bumpy ride came along and most of us fall in the water. I got hurt as i fell on the rock

Near the end of Rafting

At the end of the journey which is nearly after 3 hrs, We all asked to get down to the flowing water. I spent almost an hour and enjoyed to the full extent, tried different kinds of swimming, floating etc…

After 4 hrs of enjoyable experience, i reached the farmhouse, had lunch (Had one of the best chicken gravy) and slept for an house to prepare myself for kayaking.

Kayaking

Kayak is a single person man powered boat. We reached the end point of rafting for kayaking, where the water is almost still. Rain started 10 mins after i started my kayaking session. It was totally a different experience, kayaking at the middle of the river with heavy rain pouring on us. I was at the pinnacle of my enjoyment and enjoyed completely, the nature. I felt these kind of activities are the best way to enjoy the nature and its assets. Few experts also joined us after sometime and asked to do different activities, which is only possible by experts like rowing the kayak in a standing position, toppling the kayak etc (I fell 4 times trying to stand in the kayak, but succeeded finally)

Kayaking point

Final words

It was my first and best river rafting experience so far and certainly a different experience altogether. It is one of the best places in Mumbai for River rafting and other water related adventures like river crossing, rappelling etc.

After some evening snacks and a cup of tea, we started our return jouney at 7:30 and reached Kalwa, Mumbai at 9 pm. I reached my place, borivali at 11, had food and slept.

My next river rafting places will be at Manali, Rishikesh and Nepal, which is of Higher grade and much more adventurous. People should consider river rafting at Kundalika river at monsoon, as the flow will be high. For first timers it is always feels good to try at any place.

Grade : Easy to Medium depending on the monsoon

Height : 985 feet

Team : 53 people, all from random background. The trek was arranged by “Kalpavihar” Trek group

Grade : Medium

Height : 2800 feet

Route: Kalyan -> Murbad -> Naneghat

Team : This is my second trek with Trek mates(Trek group in Mumbai). Our Team consists of 15 people including myself and my friend (Vinay agarwal)

NaneGhat Pass – This sheer cliff is a well know landmark, very clearly visible from Konkan region as you pass on your way from Kalyan towards Malshej. The walls of this pass jut out from the main range and hence command a magnificent view of the great bend in the Sahyadri. This is a pass, which once in history, enjoyed prime importance. The inscriptions, the steps, the rock-cut rest houses, and the cisterns all point out the historic fact that this route was frequently used as far back as the 1st century B.C. The Nane Ghat area and the caves are now very popular due to an easy access from Malshej ghat road.

The Morning
We couldn’t see the sun as it was hidden behind the clouds and forced to come out, all we could see is the rays emanating in-between the clouds, which is rolling over an hill top. The scene was very beautiful and it can’t be expressed in words.

Naneghat Morning view

We at the top of Naneghat

We spent some time at the peak experiencing the nature, clicked few snaps and later came back the cave. As expected, Hot tea was ready to be served along with some biscuits. We also started to cook upma using instant mix for our breakfast. I had heavy breakfast and a small quick nap after that:)

We at top & Breakfast preparation

Our enthusiastic people started a mountain(small) climbing session. I also soon joined their bandwagon and started climbing. Later we realized that it was late and we should start our return journey in order to beat the sun. Unfortunately it was start and we caught in the sun and it toasted us like a bread. We got tired tired very soon and struggled to reach the base.

In the meanwhile the other trek group started their rappelling activity even under the toasting sun. We can only appreciate their passion and enthusiasm.

Eight bandars

Waiting….
As mentioned before, Naneghat is not an actual bus stop, and all buses which passes through didn’t stop. We tried our level best to stop them, but all ended in vain. To our rescue we managed to stop an sumo which already filled with 7 – 8 people, We managed to squeeze ourselves in and a few of us including me had to travel in foot-board. It was a nice rememberable and painful experience. To my relief after 20 mins i got a seat as people got down at the nearby village.

I had a similar experience, foot-boarding in a jeep during my other trek to kalsubai, but i couldn’t recollect the complete picture except travelling like that

We reached murbad in no time and took a bus to kalyan. I travelled back with my friend to Andheri. Overall it was a very nice rememberable experience.

Final halt @ Naneghat basement

Technorati Claim code: hkprm3au4g

Ahupe Ghat is a pass leading from Khopiwali in the Konkan, to Ahupe village in the Ghats. Ahupe village is at a height of about 3855 ft. The Ghat drops vertically to the Konkan all around Ahupe, and there are many narrow gorges, with breathtaking drops. the route from Khopiwali to Ahupe, near its upper reaches, is very narrow, and almost a gorge.

Ahupe village is very picturesque, with a lake and an irrigation system. It looks like a remote hamlet because on one side, is the steep drop to the Konkan, and on the remaining three sides, there is a mountain range enclosing it, cutting it off from the Deccan plateau proper. This is a pleasant one day hike with rather dramatic views from the top.

Journey
My journey starts from Andheri then to dadar and finally to kalyan. “Trek mates” groups is being organised by 3rd year Diploma students and i come to know about this group through Orkut.

I always wanna go to different places and do different activies. The problem here is, it is difficult to arrange/gather a team of people for these kind of activies… Adding to that my current job @ Churchgate (involves 2 hrs of travelling) hardly anytime for me to plan. “Trek mates” seems like an ideal group for me as they regularly go for trekking, water rafting etc… Once can find such kind of groups in orkut, facebook, google groups etc… Do explore if you are a nature lover

My scheduled meeting point is at kalyan, PF no:1 – below the indicator. Since i am new to the group, most of my communication is with the organizer (Vikram singh). As expected i don’t know anyone in the whole group.

This is my first Night trek, so i was energetic and full of enthusiasm. Gradually people started assembling and after sometime we are ready to start our journey. Our team consists of 29 ppl from kalyan and 4 more wil join us at the khopiwali village.

We took a bus to Murbad (local bus) and then a vehicle to khopiwali village. Khopiwali village is the base point of trek. It was no moon day and sky was clear filled with stars…

Soon everyone lighted the torch and prepared ourselves for the onward journey. A detailed instruction was given by trek mates about the journey which includes 5 mins of introduction round after sometime. Nearly after 10 mins we had our introduction round where everyone shared their profile. Indeed it was interesting to know a lot of people this way. Our team had a mixed variety of people from married people to a young boy doing his 11th standard.

Night @ Khopiwali village & Introduction round

I managed to have conversation with a few new people. As per my usual schedule I used to sleep exactly at 12 midnight to getup early for office. So most of the time i was half asleep while climbing. We regularly took breaks and rests. After 3 hrs of arduous climb we managed to locate a water spot, filled our water bottles and also rested there for a while.

After the water stop, we saw a “Green Viper” snake which took the position of a cinema star with people taking pictures of it

Green Viper snake & Vilage view

We had a narrow steep path that lied ahead of us. Even lot of regular trekkers struggled to climb. Within an hour we reached the plain which is around 1 km away from ahupe village. After that we reached the Ahupe village in 20 mins time.
To say in short, we started our journey from the base at 12:30 and reached the top at 5:30 am, almost 5 hrs climbing… I wouldn’t say it is one of the difficult trek, but indeed consumed time than expected. We enjoyed the cool breeze at 3855 ft with a sense of satisfaction.

Sunrise

After reaching the ahupe village, we soon prepared to have a short nap in the open space facing the sky. I had one of pleasant sleep in an unusual way looking at the open space. The villages spans around 20 football grounds which gave us enough space to sleep

Huts & Villagers

I got up at 8:30 (missed the sunrise ) and a hot cup of tea is ready to be served for us. Soon after that we had our breakfast (Thepla) and started to descend at around 9:30 am.
I had a nice conversation with a few people while decending and the topic varies from rajnikant, girls, marriage, happiness etc.. to trekking experience etc… We hardly noticed the time and reached the base sooner than expected.

Kids at Village

While decending i had a chance to look at the water spot. The water is filled with algae at the upper layer and the layer below is very clean and tasty. I once started to think that i should start a company like “Himalayan water” and may be name it as “Ahupe water”

Water Spot

We also had a small snacks sharing session at the base near the khopwali village. Vehicle was ready to pick us up and dropped us at Murbad. From murbad we took a local bus to kalyan. We also had a small feedback at kalyan about the whole trekking experience and the way it is organised.

From kalyan it took me almost 1.5 hrs for me to reach Andheri. I really had a nice experience – meeting new people, night trek, coversation etc etc.. and definitely i can’t ask more

Next week, one more night trek to Naneghat… Watch this space for my experiences about Naneghat..

Our Trek team

Ahupe Ghat is a pass leading from Khopiwali in the Konkan, to Ahupe village in the Ghats. Ahupe village is at a height of about 3855 ft. The Ghat drops vertically to the Konkan all around Ahupe, and there are many narrow gorges, with breathtaking drops. the route from Khopiwali to Ahupe, near its upper reaches, is very narrow, and almost a gorge.

Ahupe village is very picturesque, with a lake and an irrigation system. It looks like a remote hamlet because on one side, is the steep drop to the Konkan, and on the remaining three sides, there is a mountain range enclosing it, cutting it off from the Deccan plateau proper. This is a pleasant one day hike with rather dramatic views from the top.

Journey
My journey starts from Andheri then to dadar and finally to kalyan. “Trek mates” groups is being organised by 3rd year Diploma students and i come to know about this group through Orkut.

I always wanna go to different places and do different activies. The problem here is, it is difficult to arrange/gather a team of people for these kind of activies… Adding to that my current job @ Churchgate (involves 2 hrs of travelling) hardly anytime for me to plan. “Trek mates” seems like an ideal group for me as they regularly go for trekking, water rafting etc… Once can find such kind of groups in orkut, facebook, google groups etc… Do explore if you are a nature lover

My scheduled meeting point is at kalyan, PF no:1 – below the indicator. Since i am new to the group, most of my communication is with the organizer (Vikram singh). As expected i don’t know anyone in the whole group.

This is my first Night trek, so i was energetic and full of enthusiasm. Gradually people started assembling and after sometime we are ready to start our journey. Our team consists of 29 ppl from kalyan and 4 more wil join us at the khopiwali village.

We took a bus to Murbad (local bus) and then a vehicle to khopiwali village. Khopiwali village is the base point of trek. It was no moon day and sky was clear filled with stars…

Soon everyone lighted the torch and prepared ourselves for the onward journey. A detailed instruction was given by trek mates about the journey which includes 5 mins of introduction round after sometime. Nearly after 10 mins we had our introduction round where everyone shared their profile. Indeed it was interesting to know a lot of people this way. Our team had a mixed variety of people from married people to a young boy doing his 11th standard.

Night @ Khopiwali village & Introduction round

I managed to have conversation with a few new people. As per my usual schedule I used to sleep exactly at 12 midnight to getup early for office. So most of the time i was half asleep while climbing. We regularly took breaks and rests. After 3 hrs of arduous climb we managed to locate a water spot, filled our water bottles and also rested there for a while.

After the water stop, we saw a “Green Viper” snake which took the position of a cinema star with people taking pictures of it

Green Viper snake & Vilage view

We had a narrow steep path that lied ahead of us. Even lot of regular trekkers struggled to climb. Within an hour we reached the plain which is around 1 km away from ahupe village. After that we reached the Ahupe village in 20 mins time.
To say in short, we started our journey from the base at 12:30 and reached the top at 5:30 am, almost 5 hrs climbing… I wouldn’t say it is one of the difficult trek, but indeed consumed time than expected. We enjoyed the cool breeze at 3855 ft with a sense of satisfaction.

Sunrise

After reaching the ahupe village, we soon prepared to have a short nap in the open space facing the sky. I had one of pleasant sleep in an unusual way looking at the open space. The villages spans around 20 football grounds which gave us enough space to sleep

Huts & Villagers

I got up at 8:30 (missed the sunrise ) and a hot cup of tea is ready to be served for us. Soon after that we had our breakfast (Thepla) and started to descend at around 9:30 am.
I had a nice conversation with a few people while decending and the topic varies from rajnikant, girls, marriage, happiness etc.. to trekking experience etc… We hardly noticed the time and reached the base sooner than expected.

Kids at Village

While decending i had a chance to look at the water spot. The water is filled with algae at the upper layer and the layer below is very clean and tasty. I once started to think that i should start a company like “Himalayan water” and may be name it as “Ahupe water”

Water Spot

We also had a small snacks sharing session at the base near the khopwali village. Vehicle was ready to pick us up and dropped us at Murbad. From murbad we took a local bus to kalyan. We also had a small feedback at kalyan about the whole trekking experience and the way it is organised.

From kalyan it took me almost 1.5 hrs for me to reach Andheri. I really had a nice experience – meeting new people, night trek, coversation etc etc.. and definitely i can’t ask more

Next week, one more night trek to Naneghat… Watch this space for my experiences about Naneghat..

Our Trek team

About the park…

Area : 1,945 sq km

Altitude : 600-900 m above sea level

Situated in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the picturesque Kanha National Park was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s unforgettable classic Jungle Book and the character MOGLI.

Entrance
The park was created in 1955 by a special law and, since then, it has dedicated itself in preserving a variety of animal species. Many endangered species have indeed been saved here. Today Kanha is among the few most scenic and beautiful wildlife reserves in Asia. This “Tiger Country” is the ideal home for both predator and prey.

By far the most striking features of the park are the open grassy meadows, where sighting blackbuck, swamp deer, sambhar and chital is common. And, if one can transcend into time, a barefooted Mogli would perhaps come padding along the dusty trail, for this is the land of Kipling’s Jungle Book.

Located in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha national park cum Tiger reserve extends over an area of over 1,940-sq-kms. The major feature of this region’s interesting topography is the horseshoe shape valley and the whole park area is surrounded by the spurs of the Mekal. The Surpan River meanders through Kanha’s central Maidans, grasslands that cover the extensive plateau. Steep rocky escrapments along the edges offer breathtaking views of the valley.

Major Wildlife Attractions Of KanhaThe main wildlife attractions in the park are tiger, bison, gaur, sambhar, chital, more pictures…. barasingha, barking deer, black deer, black buck, chousingha, nilgai, mouse deer, sloth bear, jackal fox, porcupine, hyena, jungle cat, python, pea fowl, hare, monkey, mongoose, tiger, and leopard.

The birds species in the park include storks, teals, pintails, pond herons, egrets, peacock, pea fowl, jungle fowl, spur fowl, partridges, quails, ring doves, spotted parakeets, green pigeons, rock pigeons, cuckoos, papihas, rollers, bee-eater, hoopoes, drongos, warblers, kingfishers, woodpeckers, finches, orioles, owls, and fly catchers.

Unplanned we started off

To destinations unknown and unaware

As the mystery unraveled

We stood dumbstruck with jaws wide open

We were on the shore before the boundless sea

The waves splashed and receded away

Taking away the sand under our feet

It seemed as though someone was snatching away something

It was time we were unable to decipher

Time passes away but the memories will live

In retrospect shall we all cherish them and cheer…..

So here I go about writing our next post on our recent trip to Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar and Dive Agar. Experiences worth cherishing and to live with this memorabilia will always be an inspiration of sorts in retrospect. A destination unknown with paths not treaded so far, it was a mysterious journey into the hinterland of the heart of Konkan patch of Maharashtra. Now that’s enough of an introduction……

Surraj, Kumaran aka Kums, Jayaram aka JK, Deepak aka DB, Bhaskaran aka Boss and me, Anirudha aka Deshu. We started off from Andheri (West) station to Kurla and then to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus abbreviated as LTT, people belonging to Mumbai may be familiar for a train to a place called Mangaon 173 km from here. We got the tickets for unreserved compartment and were waiting an hour in advance so that we get place in the train when the train is parked in the bay. However when many like-minded come together you have a total chaos and that is what I clearly witnessed that day. Many people were already waiting there and unfortunately you do not have a system of queue for getting into the general compartment as you have for the buses in Mumbai. The train was parked and the whole lot of the people rushed to the doors, opened the emergency windows, and tried pushing people through the emergency windows just to get hold of a seat. As I was carrying food packets and water, I could not rush through the crowd. Surraj, Kums, JK and Boss pushed through and we were lucky to get 4 seats in that jam packed train. We had not had lunch so far and then Surraj and DB distributed lunch.

A buffet in a moving train and that too in a general compartment…could you ever imagine …it was fun again….

Well we were still dissatisfied and PET maange more was the call of the moment….we stuffed ourselves with whatever came in the train from samosas, bhel, chikoo n I don’t remember what not…We reached Mangaon at 6.00 p.m.

We came out of the station and caught an auto to the bus stand to go to Shrivardhan. However there was this alternate option to go by Trax. We enquired with the driver of Trax and he said he would take us to this place called Mhasla… We thought this would be a faster means to reach our destination and resorted to taking a Trax. The journey from Mangaon to Mhasla was awesome. The road was making its way through the mountains, the wind was blowing cold on us and we were like trying to gaze through the dark to try hard to find where we were moving… We reached Mhasla at 7.15 only to find out that the Tum Tum or 6 seater autos were not plying after 7 to Shrivardhan. So we enquired with a guy around and waited for the bus to Shrivardhan.

We got a bus at 7.30 p.m. and traversing through the pitch dark forests we reached Shrivardhan at 8.30 p.m. We had already contacted a cottage owner over phone and once we reached there we thought we will look for an alternate stay option. We called up Mr. Bhagat who was the owner of this cottage called “Sawali”. We reached to a point and could not proceed further to find this place. So Mr. Bhagat sent Kamlakar Kaka to receive us. We could see a middle age hospitable guy who had come to receive us on his bicycle. We enquired with him about getting food and drinks on our way to the cottage. He briefed us on that repeatedly and in a detailed manner. Very contradictory but true of course it was. He was like repeating the same thing again and again till he got an assurance that we understood what he had to convey. He was all the time talking in Marathi and as I was the only person who knew Marathi I had to bear him. But to be frank I really admired the marketing skills he displayed. Given a product to market and a KT session I think these villagers will do a very good job of selling.

Finally at 9 p.m. we reached the cottage. Sawali in Marathi means shadow and that was the name of the cottage. The very name had a feeling of warmth in it. it was a good 2BHK + Hall cottage. Then Kamlakar Uncle had got us an auto to go to the market to get drinks and other stuff. The Mansaharis meaning non-vegetarians wanted to enjoy fish for their meal. So me and JK pushed off in the auto to get the stuff from the market. 2 quarters of Smirnoff, 1 Bacardi White Rum, 2 Bacardi Breezers – Jamaican Passion and a quarter of Signature Whisky – my all time favourite. From there we went to a restaurant to buy some fish fry and prawns. You know “Shakaharis” have a problem as they generally do not have enough variety to eat from and this is what had happened that day as no veg starters were available at this restaurant. This is precisely the reason why I have taken a conscious effort to change to a “Mansahari”.

Meanwhile Surraj, Kums and DB had moved off to the seashore and made the arrangements to sit there. Also the warmth was pouring in the form of yummy Chicken Tandoori cooked by Kamlakar uncle’s wife. I still cannot forget the aroma. An absolute WOWWWWW……..Kamlakar Uncle had told me that he would keep the dinner in the room once it was done and also warned us not to stay on the beach after 12 because there was patrolling going on because of the recent Mumbai terror attacks. These terrorists have shook our nation I say. Its time to wake up..oh I am sorry!!! I generally get emotional about this topic. Me and Kamlakar Uncle had a short discussion on this issue. We all realize that something has to be done in this regard but no one knows what and how we could be of help.

Me and JK reached ‘Sawali’, collected the stuff from Kamlakar Uncle and along with Boss pushed off with our stuff to join our people on the seashore. The beach was a 10 minute walk from the cottage. The weather was at its best last few days in Mumbai and we witnessed the same weather on the beach. The area was very clean and we were the only people on the beach…yes ‘the only people’ on the beach. It was pleasing. The sound of the waves which hit the shore was very eminent. This was totally unlike the scenes you witness at any of the beaches in Mumbai which are clumsy, dirty with waste strewn all over and…..do not want to describe it further because Mumbai is ‘meri jaan’.

Now it was time for the spirits to get our adrenalin running high and for some emotional stuff out of us….It was booze time. It was a ‘Cheers to our friendship, to some of the best moments we have had together so far and to the very place itself’. As usual Boss got a high in 2 pegs. We had to pack up and leave the place by 12 and so did we. We went back to the room and then had 2 more pegs and were off to sleep.

By 7 o clock the next day Surraj, Kums and DB were out of bed and took a stroll to the beach again. Me, JK and Boss got up late. We had ‘Kanda Poha’ for breakfast, settled the bills and pushed off to Harihareshwar.

Harihareshwar is 18 km from Shrivardhan and we took a Tum Tum (6 seater). It is a sacred place adjacent to the sea and is otherwise called Dakshin Kasi. The design has been made similar to that of Uttar Kasi temple. First worship Kal Bhairav and then there is a way from there itself to Harihareshwar temple. Once that is done you need to take a ‘Pradikshna’ to the temple. This is one of the best part that one could ever imagine.

For this we first need to climb a mountain top. From there you have steps that take you down to the other side of the mountain facing the sea. You see boulders, rocks small and big and water splashing on these. These rocks have an altogether different look and that is probably because water has eroded them off their surface. There are huge craters on the rock but they themselves create such a beautiful design that you the right word here incantation. Infact we were all exulted by the very serenity of the place. You know the very feeling of going close to the Mother Nature; you just got to experience it.

From there on everyone was eager to get into the water though I was not and decided to stay back to take care of the belongings and also to enjoy the bliss of solitude. The guys undressed and then wanted to have a running race. Boss emerged as the winner with the first runner up being Surraj. The natural constraints however did not permit JK and DB to come back . Just kidding….Well we were at the beach for a while and then pushed off back to Shrivardhan. We had our lunch there at a road side home cooked food restaurant.

It was 5 p.m. and we had to decide whether to go to Dive Agar or back to Mumbai. Considering that we would not be visiting this place again, we decided to go ahead with the former option. We immediately decided to take a Tum Tum to Dive Agar. It was tough negotiating with the auto guy but he finally did not decline to come down a rupee below 200. We too gave in and pushed off.

Now here we were moving once again on a route which left behind imprints in our memories that would not leave us for a long long time. The road cutting across the hills and the sea running adjacent these hills to gulp us just in case we were to fall off….no that was not so scary….it was rather bonnie, scenic, splendiferous…the sun was shedding its light and the night was making itself bright…We reached Dive Agar at 7 p.m. It was pitching dark then. This place hosts the temple called Suvarna Ganesh Temple meaning golden temple of Lord Ganesha. The history of this temple is quite interesting.

The golden idol was found in 1997 when the ASI people were digging at this place. The idol was gifted to a King in 11^th century AD and was buried underground then. We still had an hour left to take back the bus to Mumbai. So we decided to go to the beach which as per locals was a 10 minute walk from the temple. We started moving towards the beach. We were at a point which was very narrow and pitching dark. It was as though we were shooting for a horrow movie. The scenes of Raaz, REC and all the horror movies we have watched so far flashed across at that moment. Believe me it was shit scary. DB was scared and did not want to come along and so he decided to stay back at a road side hotel at the mouth of the deadly street. We cruised along slowly and slowly with the torch that showed us the way. However, the beach was nowhere in the site. Then the road split into two more roads with tall grass all over on the sides of the road. Now it was even more perplexing. We had no clue which way to go and because we did not have enough time we choose to go back. Boss was a bit disappointed as he is person who likes to explore new things and ready to risk at it. Well the majority of us wanted to go back and we joined DB at the tapri, had good tea and left to the bus stop. There was another half an hour before the bus arrived. We played Dumb C till then and then boarded the bus at 8.30 p.m. This was a direct bus to Mumbai but to our misfortune the conductor said that the seats were already booked and we need to stand and go throughout for 6-7 hours before we get down. Now that was impossible and so we decided to get down at Mangaon and take either a train or bus from there.

The bus journey was another experience of its sort. People pouring in inspite of being aware that there were no seats, singing songs along the way, playing songs on their mobiles to the full volumes, some limping, some others catching up a fight in order to get a place and some others just having a peaceful nap…Meanwhile me and Boss thought of taking some snaps. Though Boss could click good snaps, I could not. I am not that good a photographer you see..Well we reached Mangaon at 10.30 and now we had 2 options, either to take a bus or take a train at 12.00 am. We thought the latter would be a better option. We went to railway station only to find out that the counter would open 15 minutes before the train timing. So we decided to take a nap till then. Meanwhile Boss, Kums and JK got some stuff packed for dinner and joined us at railway station. At 11.30 types we came to know that the train was late by an hour and would come by 1.00 am. We waited and shared our experience about our trip and recorded them on the videos.

It was total fun all in all. We were told by some of the people on the railway station that the general compartment would not be full as this was a holiday special train. To our surprise, the train was full and the people were reluctant to open the doors of the general compartments too. We were struck with no other option but to climb the reserved compartment. We found an entry into the reserved compartment and got in. We tried to make ourselves comfortable near the bathrooms and wash basins. Meanwhile the TT had come and we had to shell out extra pennies in order to allow us in stay back in this reserved compartment. After a while all of us got seats and we were off to sleep.

At 4.45 am in the morning we arrived at Dadar, took a local back from there to Andheri and reached our rooms at 5.45 am.

All in all a trip which was totally unplanned but worth sooooooo much more than just a memorabilia…..