The Spooky Forest - Matheran

27th August, 2016
 
At 2625 feet above sea level, 90kms away from Mumbai and 120 kms away from Pune, there I was with my roommate (for the last 3 weeks), looking at our two fellow travelers (complete strangers who were introduced to me by my roomie that very morning) who were negotiating about our ride, a horse ride, in the district of Raigad at... Matheran. And in that moment, the animal lover in me was brought to life!

For those of you who haven't heard of Matheran - It is a hill station which is a pretty popular destination among the Mumbai-Pune leisure travellers community. And most backpackers around Maharashtra, too, would be aware of Matheran and it's spectacular sights. Now, there is something else you should know. Matheran is declared as an ecosensitive region with no automobiles allowed there except for their ambulance. Within Matheran the only options available for transportation are a horse (ponies) and hand-pulled rickshaws... and of course, your legs. You can always opt to walk.
 
So, wondering what brought the animal lover in me to life? Well, they quoted Rs. 2100 for a two hour ride on a pony to show us 5 view points. And snap! The animal lover in me was born.
 
What are you guys, man, monsters? How could people sit on the backs of horses without having any kind of mercy for the poor thing? Look at that fat ba***** and that poor skinny pony. These were some thoughts in my head looking at the things around me. Clearly, it was just the unreasonable price quoted that had made me opt out of a horse ride, at first.  But, after a point, I wasn't really sure if I really would have gone for it. Because, soon I realized that the path was uneven, muddy and impassable at some places, with ankle-twisting turns at times. It must be hurting those poor ponies. I don't even want to discuss about the hand-pulled rickshaws. A little later, when the vendors there came down to a 1000 bucks per person and ready to show 9 view points in 2 and half hours (Damn! My fellow travelers were really good at negotiation, now that I think of), I still chose not to take the ride. We decided to walk. And, it was a looonng walk.
 
I am loving how this blog is shaping up these days... What? Okay, okay, let me rephrase it. I am loving how this blog is shaping up in my mind. You know, if I am able to put all the things in my mind even half as good as I am picturing them then I think it will bring a great sense of satisfaction to me.
 
Okay, let's not digress - where was I? Ah, yeah, we decided to walk. It was drizzling mostly and when it did not drizzle, the trees all along the forest path made sure that it felt like it was drizzling, for there were rain drops dripping from their leaves. We chose to follow the toy train tracks. Also, a heads up, the toy train isn't functioning. Not aware of the reason, it could be the weather. The forest was all filled with mist, we could barely see people in the front. And I had lots of work for my beautiful Lumia 1020 which resulted in some pretty decent (read awesome! :P) photographs. As much scared I am to use my phone in the rain, I just could not stop myself from doing it. And this monsoon, I have put my phone to extensive use and made its life very hard. There have been instances when it literally stopped functioning too. However, it is a Nokia, and Nokia does not break so easily. Here's the proof - Some pictures I took on our way to Matheran

Now, it's said that there are around 38 view points at Matheran. But, if you are anything like me then you would agree that not all are worth watching. And since you are like me, I suggest you not to waste your time on some of those parks, gardens and places of worship which have been included as look-out points. Instead, invest your time on these which I think would make your day - The Louisa Point, Lords Pt and the Charlotte Lake. Then there is Echo Pt, which we could barely notice - All we could see was fog filled, thick forest. I bet it might be nice in winter, perhaps. I've also heard a lot about the Panorama Point. But, we could not visit it... and, oh, also the One Tree Hill Point. 

That's an interesting story about One Tree Hill Point. We walked into those thick forests, just the four of us. And there were instances when we could barely hear anything even remotely human. The forest was playing tricks and the sign boards stating that there are cheetahs in the forest did not help the cause. While, me and my roommate were pumped up to go towards the One Tree Hill Point, the other two were really scared. I mean shit scared! Thanks to them, we had to walk back and forth.. thrice! (only in vain).. Just because, they thought the forest was spooky. Does this seem spooky to you? (NB - None of the pictures depicted have been edited in any form. They are all natural just as the way we saw it)

I felt like I, along with my roommate, must have seemed like those dumb guys from those predictable teen-horror flicks who play all macho only to be the first to get killed by the evil spirits or serials killers, to those poor scared guys. So, we did not push them. But we tried.. a lot.. to convince them which was the reason for the whole back and forth walk in the forest. But as fate would have it, the spooky forest and illogical fear had won. We did not get to see the One Tree Hill Point. But, it's okay. On the whole, it was a fun trip. We returned back to our guest house by 7:15pm.. with some amazing photographs and great memories! So, the next time you are in Mumbai or Pune and have a day to spare, you could spend it at Matheran. I have no doubts that the monsoon will turn your leisure trip into a romantic trip in no time, if you are with your loved one. Now, before I leave, here are some of the pictures that I have taken at Matheran that I would like to share.. hope they help you make your mind up. My personal favourites.

  

See you on the other side,
K  

The Eternal Love - Malshej Ghat

21st August, 2016
 
Yet another weekend gone doing nothing? Why didn't I utilize my Saturday? What did I get out of sitting on the bed all day long? Well, uh, I had no answer to these questions. I had a million other thoughts buzzing in my head then. I think it was dawn. "Did the sun rise already?!", I was hesitatingly asking myself. "Is that the noise of the exhaust fan or is it just drizzling?" Or perhaps I'm just hearing fading noises from my half asleep, forgetful dreams. I could not be sure. While, one minute, I had so many thoughts in my head... there was a moment, suddenly, when I went blank.

And then... I could hear it, faintly, at first, but slowly becoming clearer by every passing second. It was a song. Why did this song come to my mind out of nowhere?! No, I did not wonder about this, then. I could not care less about anything for, after all, it was Ustad Sultan Khan & Chitra's beautiful, "Piya basanti re" that had come to my mind. And just like the music video starts with a slowly growing audible lyrics sung by Ustad Sultan, I could hear it in my dream. Honestly, I can never be sure for how long I heard it. (Sleep is mysterious that way, isn't it?) I could then start seeing the video play in my dream... as if I was there... Present, while it was all happening. Like, it was not just a music video.. as if, it was.. real.

How many of you remember the start of the music video? The first minute of the video you watch, you will notice these lush green mountain tops, muddy and slippery roads, water seeping from the hills onto the pathway making it look like a creak. I've always wanted to go see such places. It is just beautiful - "Must definitely be Himachal, right?", this must be what I was thinking of, trying to figure where this place was... Just then, I opened my eyes (with great difficulty) with the song still stuck in my head (Boy, it was going to be stuck in my head for the next few days). It was early in the morning. Too early to my liking. Why couldn't I just sleep?! I don't remember what I was thinking then but I remember quickly grabbing my laptop, opening Mozilla and then Google... and then typing the words "Malshej ghat".

Let's get a little off topic - Little back story here: Me and Malshej ghat have a history.. When I had come to Pune in April first week. I knew I would go to Lavasa, Kamshet, Sinhagad, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, etc. Because, they were always on my list. But, Malshej ghat.. it was different. I haven't heard much of it until few months ago, though it always tops most lists out there for best places to visit around Pune in monsoon. I don't, usually, always choose the best. I choose what connects to me. But when I started reading about it, it became clearer that I will, definitely, some day go there. I fell in love with it.. in love with this idea of being there, you know, and watch those water falls while I'm drenching in the drizzle, myself. I had planned many times to go there but somehow it just never worked out. Heavy downpour made us cancel the first time we had planned; Landslides in that area (according to the latest reviews) the following week, was the second time. And the other time, it was my friend falling prey to dengue - I was warned not to go alone there and he made me promise too.

People have reviewed it to be beautiful but very dangerous - All the more reason why thrill-seeking junkies would want to go there, perhaps. It always has heavy rains, huge land slides, pathetic and narrow roads, with curvy ghats - A recipe for disaster. Add to it, the fact that I ride a KTM RC 390 (Could break your back on bad patches) with a pair of 12700 kms used Metzies, does not bring any confidence (Damn, I have got to get those tyres changed!). And with my friend hospitalized, colleagues disinterested in going on bike rides with a seemingly demented loser like me, I had no option but to sit and stare at a laptop screen watching documentaries (the third best thing I love to do). So, I had to wait. And slowly, I gave up on the idea of going there this time. Perhaps, some other time, I thought.

Now, back to where we left - I typed "Malshej Ghat" (for I can neither afford the money nor the time to visit Himachal) and played the song "Piya basanthi" on my phone (Now that I think of, I think I would not have gone on this impulsive ride of mine, had it not been for this song). I started to check the distance, the route to take, weather and road conditions. What was I thinking?! I had decided that I would not go solo there. "K, you promised your bud that you would wait.. wait for him until he gets back from the hospital" - the logical and cautious part of me reminded. I guess, the drifter in me had already taken the driving seat that morning and was in no mood for all this. It was a 300 kms ride both ways. And more importantly, it was a Sunday. So, no rest-day.. instead, it would be a painful and hectic Monday that will follow. The cautious-me wanted to remind about my bike's condition too. It hasn't been to a service centre since my Hyderabad to Pune ride in April. Abused on the roads, ever since.. in the rain and sun, everyday, without any parking roof at work. It was making clinking noises with a loose chain; The rear tyre was skidding once in a while too. But, I could not even bring that point up... because the lyric "Kaahe sathaaye, aaajaa" was buzzing through the headphones, into my head, in Ustad's voice. God! I have got to stop this madness before Chitra's voice starts with that line, I thought, only in vain. Chitra had already sung - Piya basanthi re, kaahe saathaaye.. aaja. Was it the mountains themselves calling me.. or someone else that was asking me to come meet them there..?! It most definitely, must be a simple song playing games with my stupid and silly heart. But... I had to find out now, didn't I?

It was a sunny morning, unlike any other day of the monsoon so far. That should help, I told myself. Freshened up soon while my roommate laid merrily on his bed. Took my jacket.. and the rain gear too, just in case (You can never be too cautious). Had my breakfast and then saddled up with my small bag pack which had the rain gear, a water bottle and a biscuit packet. Well organized for such an impulsive and unplanned trip, don't you think?

I witnessed all three seasons in just a matter of hours, that day. And all in their extremes, I must say. I took the route - Wakad-Chakan-Towards Nashik-Aalephata-Malshej Ghat. It was all city and just-out-of-city roads with constant traffic for half the ride. Never for a second, did I feel like I was on those lonely highways that I am so used to now. Nashik road is busy, I have to say. Now, by the time I had crossed Chakan, I was sweating like a pig under my leather jacket. I was cursing myself to have brought it along. Because, I could not put it in the bag-pack for it weighed a lot and was hurting my back when in my backpack. So, I put it on again, but this time, I unzipped it a little and let the air in. That helped, but only until the ghat section had started, sometime after Chakan. There, I had to zip it up, button it too.. because it had suddenly gotten very chilly. Clear skies, fog all around, breeze as cold as a December dawn - Then, I thought that this leather jacket is one of the best things I have invested my money in. It was doing its job to perfection, protecting me from cold. Hands were covered in protective gloves and the helmet visor always on. So, I had nothing to worry about... Well, only until I crossed Aalephata, that is. It had started to drizzle and then soon the rain-gods lashed me with heavy rain drops as I picked speed. I had to stop, take my jacket off, change into my rain-wear from there on. I could barely ride and my vision was bad due to mist on the visor. Rain drops hit me even harder on my hands (the only exposed part, for gloves had to go into the back-pack) while I tried to twist the throttle. With great acceleration comes hurtful pain in the rain, dear reader. I had reached Malshej Ghat in 3 hours 45 minutes. Google showed it to be 3 hours approximately but then I did not rely on google maps and trusted strangers on the roads, as always. And they did not disappoint me, as always. :)

Despite the extreme weathers, 305kms of ride distance, the all-city-ride with constant traffic, the really bad road conditions (especially, when you are getting close to Malshej ghat) and my RC 390's dwindling performance (courtesy your ever-procrastinating narrator), I had liked the ride, all of it.. till then. Now that I had reached the Malshej ghat (well, the start of it), it was time for reality-check. 

Are you aware of the feeling you get when you imagine something or someone in your head, to be this perfect, impeccable being/thing, even though you haven't seen or met them before.. and then when you finally see/meet/spend time with them.. it all just goes away.. like a blip vanishes on a radar? You build them up to such great heights in your imagination (for no reason, at all, of theirs) and then.. just a teeny-weeny quirk of theirs will bring it all down, disappoint you. You know that feeling? Well, most of us will be aware of that feeling, I am sure. But what most of us won't or will only experience very rarely in our lives is when that very person/thing is exactly or much better than what we have imagined them to be. And, I should tell you, that feeling is just incomparable. You will never feel more content than that moment of your lives and it only takes someone/something special to make you feel that way. And when you have found it/him/her then you should know that they are your eternal love. And, I am quite sure that you will fall in love with all their quirks just as I fell in love with Malshej ghat and it's quirks on that fateful, misty and cloudy noon.

The moment only turned more magical with the song "Piya basanti re" playing constantly in my head. Wondering what's so much to love about? See for yourselves (below).

See you on the other side,
K

  

The Lemon Tree

So, here I am... sitting here in the boring room, like just another any Sunday afternoon. I am wasting my time, I have got nothing to do - Let me stop you right there. No, these are not the lyrics from the 1995's classic, Fool's garden - The Lemon Tree but exactly what I feel this weekend. Thanks to the heavy downpour here in Pune, most tourists spots here are shut due to land slides and heavy rainfall. For that reason, this is perhaps the first time since coming to Pune, your obedient narrator has to stay at home for the weekend. Can you imagine how difficult that is? Boohoo! There goes my plan to go to Sinhaghad again, alone, and complete one of my blog posts there, into the drain!

To escape my boredom I have done many things today, only in vain. So, I figured I must make good use of this boring weekend. So, here I am. I am here to complete all the incomplete blog posts that I have left pending and share new stuff that I would be posting here soon. Um, well, I tried to complete as much as I can without my roomie noticing me do it (Only to avoid all the follow up questions, you see). 

I have decided that until I am back to writing posts completely, I will share at least the photographs of my trips so far here. What brought that to my mind? Ah, good question - This video I was watching made me consider it. It is about a song where its cinematography has been analyzed and I loved the way it was. The song is Evano Oruvan, you should watch the video. 

The complete song is shot in the monsoon and I figured I should show you that the monsoon of Pune (and Bangalore, Vizag, Mangalore and borders of Ooty and Kerala that I have seen) are just as breathtakingly refreshing as the locations shot in the song!

Don't believe me? See for yourself.

 
For the first time, I am even sharing my own picture - Without hiding in a helmet, that is. ;)
 

Well, I have done quite a few things here and I will soon talk all about it. Okay, okay. Don't you worry. Not in excruciating detail. Below is the list of things you will be reading sometime soon (if anyone is reading this):

17th April - LAVASA! Finally, on the twisties!
14th May - Paragliding in Kamshet
28th May - My first road trip (Drive from Vizag-Hyderabad)
05th June - Night drives in Hyderabad (Necklace Road)
19th June - Lonavala, Khandala ride with an old bud
02nd July - The very special road trip (Hyderabad-Bangalore-Ooty-Mangalore-Murudeshwar) until 13th July
23rd July - Ride to Sinhaghad
31st July - My eternal love for the western ghats - One more ride (Solo, this time)

And many other weekends spent traveling back to visit my family. Apart from this, what I would like to share is my experience when I met a couple of amazing people during these journeys of mine. Oh yes, I want to talk all about it. 

So, clearly, there is a lot to talk about. And, I am glad that I photo document most of the events in my life. It sure comes in handy when you want to share your story... without speaking... and writing.

See you on the other side,
K