Chronicles of a marathon

Some thoughts that crossed my mind when running the Standard Chartered Mumbai Half Marathon 2011. Most of this was created while running and immediately after... took a while to pen (key?) it down

Before starting
Very important to lubricate all joints.Especially for us sweaty people.

A sleeveless vest and shorts may be excellent to run in, but they ain't the best thing to wear when taking an auto at 5.30 am. And the nakedness does seem a bit out of place in Marol, thankfully it ain't that cold. One has to also be dispassionate about what to carry (still regret carrying that stupid pack of biscuits all the way and back home) and always alert of stuff falling of from ones small pockets.

Ah the small joys of knowing the importance of stretching each and every muscle and how to do the same. Thanks striders!

And so it begins, seems like the qualifying times and registration cutoffs have helped. The crowd is much lower this time, I reach the start line within 6 minutes of the gun, this is a new record. Still, thank god for timing chips and stop watches.

While running
First 2 kms are spent sidestepping the walk in the park runners... Dude, if all u want to do is walk, do it to the left please. We may be amateurs, but we still have our internal targets to beat. And if you are walking already, maybe you are in the wrong race.

The 2 U turns, stupid stupid stupid. How can you have 2 U turns in the first 2 kms. Total pile up of the crowd and the momentum breaks. I have done the first 3 kms in 23 minutes and at this pace, it doesn't look like I will break the 2.5 hour barrier this time.

Here comes the Sea Link. And now we have a good rhythm going, the 4th km is done in 6.5 minutes, maybe they put the km marker incorrect... still, we are making pace. Running on the sea link at the break of dawn is something else. The 45 minute early start has helped. It is beautiful and the weather is fantastic. There is a strong urge to stop and admire the orange sky... but no, we have a time to beat!

And are we beating the time or what! Seems like the initial slow pace was all due to the side stepping and the U bends. I am doing a consistent 9 kmph now and the 2.5 looks very possible now :)

As we cross the 1 hour mark, I can almost see the 9 km marker. Think its time to take my first sip of water. By now I am harboring hopes of crossing the finish in 2 hours 25 minutes.

And here we are at Haji Ali. This time, there is huge bunch of people offering water, biscuits, glucose, oranges and sweets. Seems like everyones aping the Peddar road residents. But you guys are the original and the best... salute!

The smart marketing managers at Lucozade decided to offer free bottles to the runners mid way. However, maybe they should have applied their minds a bit on the bottle size. No one wants to carry a 500 ml bottle and run. Soon, there are half drunk bottles being thrown and then there are no takers. Everyones gone back to their favourite carry along, the 200 ml kingfisher water bottle.

Its 14 kms and finally the dreaded Peddar road uphill and flyover arrives. Having run over it last year, this year I take the more prudent approach. After a 14 km run, I take my first walk break. This one is going to last until I ascend the flyover. It wasn't part of the plan, and my rhythm and 2.25 target is gone, but in hindsight, I think this break helped me in my last 3 kms.

My calculating mind tells me that the full marathon lead pack should be crossing me any time soon, I was right, there they are, bang on cue. We meet right on top of the flyover. What amazing pace, you cant help but applaud in awe. And the Indian lead pack is not very far behind the Africans. Its only 8 kms for them yet. 34 more to go!

Its 16 kms now and we have turned onto the Marine Drive. Again the impact of the early start is obvious. This stretch was dreaded in the past cos you are anyway low on energy at this stage and suddenly there is no protection from the sun for a long stretch. However, this time, the sun is milder and at places, the tall buildings give shade. By now, every shade is sought very longingly. A lot of water is being poured on the head.

The first of the Star One cool zones arrives. Brilliant concept, very well placed, very welcome. Thanks Star One

The 17 km marker has come, and there is strong motivation to walk. But I have to keep running. These 3 kms are for the 3 most important women in my life.

Target at the start was to was to cross 17 km marker before the 2 hour mark. We have beat that with more than 3 minutes to spare. Target is now very much in my reach. However, 2 hours and 25 seems out of reach :(

We cross 18 kms at exactly 2 hours and 4 minutes. The 2nd 9 has taken the same time as the first 9. The initial slow pace in the first 9 was as impactful as the 0.5 km walk in the 2nd one :(

The 19th km is the toughest. I have managed to run it, but it took 9 minutes, this is not good. I do the smart thing again and stop running. The body is screaming for nourishment now. Time to take in some glucose.

We are running again. The 20 km marker is crossed at 2 hours and 21 minutes. The break at 19 helped. I am able to run the last km at decent pace. Finally as i cross the line, I know I have done it. The clock says 2 hour sand 34, my stop watch tells me that its 2 hours and 28.5 :). I feel amazing, I feel awesome, I feel ecstatic. In this euphoria, thankfully I remember to stretch. Each paining muscle is done justice to.

After Finishing
You always end up meeting so many people at the marathon.This time, I meet folks from IIMB, office and my trekking circle after the finish line.

I clearly am in the best shape of my life. Not only am I able to stretch after the run, the 2 km walk to marine Lines station ain't as painful.

Learning of the day, "Running with a wet bum can cause severe cold." Seems like all the water I poured on my head went on my back and was soaked by my vest and shorts. Since the sun on the front, the posterior remained wet and cold for the entire duration and even after. Sneezes start within a couple of hours and by night the cold has taken a strong grip and there is mild fever. I am in miserable shape in office on Monday and on Tuesday, I take a sick leave. A small price to pay for an amazing self victory.

Finally, to summarise

  

Bib	Name	Category	Net OverAll Rank	Net Category Rank	Net Gender Rank	split @8.1K	Gun Time / Chip Time
9521	Aliasghar Bawa	OPEN	2131	1607	1952 / 5809	0:55:47	2:33:48 / 2:28:33

What an Adventure: Rajgad + Torna

This trek is special like no other. It was tough n long, we were 3 inexperienced trekkers, I fell ill and nature gifted us an amazing companion. Read on....

The Plan

The plan was in Divya's mind for a while. She had intended to do it earlier, but something always got in the way. Finally she asked me and I too got hooked. Thus, on the weekend of 2nd October, we decided to trek 2 forts, Rajgad and Torna, both massive, and about 10 kms apart.

Diyva had done most of the ground work for the plan. She spoke to quite a few of our diggaj trekking friends and the opinion was unanimous. Its a very tough task. The 2 forts are separated by a 6 hour walk, in complete isolation and with the fear of wildlife attacks in the night. We met up to explore all options and I used all my logistics skills to make an efficient plan. We were still skeptical as both of us have trekking experience, but no expertise. We decided to ask other people who we know are good trekkers. We were unsure if we would undertake the trek if it was just 2 of us. 3 days before the trek, Rubens joined in. I was very happy as he is a good trekker and has done a few tough ones.

So finally, Friday 1st October, the 3 of us were set. Initial plan was to drive to Gunjawane (base village of Rajgad) in the night in my car, halt there for couple of hours and start at day break, climb Rajgad, quick lunch and very brief exploration and head off to Torna. Hit Torna by evening, spend the night in the mandir, explore fort in the morning an descend down to base village Velhe. However, on Thursday Rubens suggested we change plans and climb the other way, Torna first. His consideration was the lack of infrastructure at Torna and the story of the ghost of Torna. Since his first point was very valid, we decided to change course, even though we would have to go backwards 20 kms to fetch the car after descending. A lot of the final planning was done on phone since I was travelling to Kozhikode and had a very hectic Thursday

D Day

Here we go

Come Friday and I landed into town, packed for the trip and soon the adventure began. At 5 pm Rubens called saying his holiday for the next day had been cancelled. So he had to apply for a leave and although he was coming, it was a bit messy. At about 5.30 pm, the person from Velhe (Divya had arranged a place for us to stay for the night at the local RSS shakha) called saying please don't come after 11 pm especially since we had a girl with us. Apparently, the road from NH4 to Velhe (Nasrapur - Velhe Road) is swarmed with bandits who rob folks.We were told to avoid it in the night at all cost. This news unnerved Divya quite a bit. Since we had little time to react, we set of at 7.30, deciding to take stock mid way. By 7.30, Rubens and I had set off. Traffic in Powai was pathetic and we finally picked up Divya by 8.30 at Kanjurmarg. Thankfully, here on, it was a breeze and soon we were heading towards Pune.

Hotel Descent

Now came the time to take the difficult decisions. We called a couple of people to verify the story and got mixed views. We were also unsure where the problem was and how far we could venture. Since I was confident of NH4, I insisted we reach till Nasrapur, which is a town 2kms of the highway and bunk there for the night. I was confident of getting some hotel there. This decided, we made good ground and after having dinner at food court, we passed Pune by 11.30 pm. The drive was brilliant as always. Second time I have driven on NH4 past Pune and last time the road was under development. Must say, its quite an awesome drive through Katraj bypass. At about 12.30 am, we reached Khed - Shivapur and while I had enough fuel to reach Velhe, I still decided to stop and refuel. A smart move it was since the very helpful attendant not only reconfirmed the bandits story, but also that Nasarpur doesn't have any hotels, and coincidentally there were 2 hotels across the road. I wonder how much time we would have lost, had I not stopped to refuel there. We stopped at a slightly shady looking hotel (300 bucks a night a room, and i still tried to bargain). Sleeping had not been in the agenda and so the 4 hours we got was a complete bonus.

Good morning sun - we beat u

As planned we set off at day break and hit Cheladi Phata. Here large boards direct you right towards Nasrapur, Rajgad, Torna and Velhe. This road is called the Nasrapur - Velhe road and is a State Highway. It ends at Velhe and so there is no chance of getting lost. By 7 am, after a 225 km drive we were at Velhe and after parking my car by the bridge, having a quick breakfast (what else but pohas) we set off.

The Climb

1. Torna

• At 7.45 am precisely, we began climbing. From here on, the description gets chronological. The initial climb was a painfully steep incline walk. The sun was out sharp.

  

  All set to roll

•  8.15 am: Man Down: Within 15 mins of the climb, I was struggling.I had already taken 3 breaks and just could not walk. I have trekked in much tougher conditions, I have trekked after nightouts, I have trekked while fasting, I have trekked after long drives. So nothing in this situation was new. Infact I had slept 4 hours, had a descent breakfast and the sun wasn't that hot. This was quite worry some as we had atleast 12 hours of equally tough climb to go. I was even contemplating changing course. Both Divya and Rubens sensed my discomfort. At one point where I gave up, there was a hut 25 steps ahead. Divya took my bag and asked to to walk to the hit. By the 20th step I collapsed again. Finally in hut, we took stock. The diagnosis was indigestion and the cure was to puke it out (Dr Divya). I was fed banana and lot of fluid was pumped in. I was suggesting they 2 continue and was in a good mood to stop midway, open my sleeping bag and take a nap (a la Kamandurg). However, Divya insisted that we stick togetherand worst case, climb only Torna. We decided to carry on and decide on the plan based on my condition. Although feeling a bit better, I was still slow and taking a lot of breaks. Divya was also slow due to the steep climb and poor Rubenswas mostly walking ahead alone, clicking us and probably wondering how the 2 of us would cope the rest of the way. By now Layla had joined us. She was generally staying close to me and breaking whenever I broke. As always, I ignored her.



Never miss a chance to climb a tree - howsoever ill u are

•  9 am: Man still down: While the breaks were getting more spaced out, I was still in trouble. We had made very slow progress due to my speed. Even Layla was getting bored waiting for me. I have even worn my Shiekh outfit to beat the heat. Divya kept asking me to puke. At this time a group of 5 passed us. Through standard trekker bonding we gathered that they had the same plan. However, unlike us there guys had changed 2 STs and 1 Trax and walked a bit to reach here (no sleep). Even these guys saw my state and immediately offered medication. In a moment of desperation, I popped in 2 tablets together (1 antacid and 1 antipuke).
•  9.30 am: Man not that down: Maybe it was the double doze, maybe the banana or maybe just time,

  

  Sheikh Ali, Divya, Gang of 5 and Gunjawane dam

  but I was feeling better. My breaks were fewer and our group was almost at pace with the gang of 5. We now passed a very scenic patch where we could see the Gunjawane dam on one side and Velhe on the other and there was a lot of colorful flowers. Soon we rounded the Zunjar maachi and reached the rock patch. This was the shaded part of the climb. Besides it was rock cut steps, my preferred option. Soon, I was at pace and humming.



Welcome to Torna

•  10.30 am: Atop Torna: We reached Torna along with the group of 5. Layla was with us. A local who took down our names and our plan in a register. He told us it would be a 6 hour walk for us from here to Rajgad. We decided to continue as I felt I could go on. However, we decided to reduce the exploration and set off immediately and also to make and eat lunch enroute. We did however stop some time at the tank to fill up, at the mandir to look around and while I recovered strength, Divya and Rubens went and saw Zunjar Maachi. Considering we were headed towards Bhudala Maachi, almost all areas got covered. Rubens offered Layla some biscuits but she was hardly enthused (maybe cos Diyva licked off the cream before giving it to her). 



Racing towards Bhudala - Ridge starts to the right

•  11.15 am: We had set of to cross Torna towards the Bhudala maachi. By now, I felt completely recovered. I was racing ahead to check my self. Yes I was back. This patch was mainly flat walking. We had a beautiful view on both sides. Rajgad could be seen far away on the left, as could the ridge we had to cross. On the right, towards the back was the Gunjawane dam. Many times we had to pass through towering bushes. However the path was well

  

  The Awesome ladder patch

  defined. Intriguingly, Layla continued to follow us. By now, she had our attention. 
• 12 noon: Bhudala maachi: The group of 5 spent a bit more time exploring Torna. However, they were faster and by the time we reached Bhudala maachi at 12, they had passed us again. This was a tricky descent. There is a steep rock patch, followed by a metal ladder and another steep patch. The group ahead took a long while and so we had to wait. I enjoyed the patch. With our massive backpacks and sleeping bags, it was essential to do this patch backwards, a trick Divya has still to learn. She struggled a bit but we cleared the patch all right. When down, we looked up and saw Layla looking down on us. Clearly she could not pass the ladder patch, we bid her farewell and walked on.

2. Layla

Even before our trek began, a black dog start following us. Its usual for village dogs to follow

Layla

trekkers on the regular treks as they know they will get some food from us. I have also heard stories where these dogs act as guides when the trekkers loose their way. However, I have never had a dog follow me in my limited 25 odd treks. As i was unwell and taking a lot of breaks, the dog kept with me (we hypothesize that it could sense I was in trouble). I am not an animal lover, so my usual approach was to ignore the dog. However, it kept with all the way till top of Torna. When we opened some snacks, the dog completely ignored the food, this got us even more intrigued. We started discussing the dog and why it was with us. Divya soon highlighted that it was a female. In a moment of Claptonic inspiration, I named her Layla.

The group of 5 were more keen on acknowledging her presence and petted her a lot, whenever they passed us. Still she ignored them and stuck to us all through the walk to Bhudala maachi. We felt she would head back in due course. She was useful and showed us the correct path at a couple of places. However, at a couple of places she seemed hesitant to continue. When we reached the ladder patch, it was obviously not a patch the dog could do, so it was farewell time. However, after completing the ladder and rock patch, we hadn't walked far when we heard a thud behind, Layla had found a tricky but possible route down this patch. She was back with us. This time, there was no way back for her. This dog from Velhe was going to come end up at Rajgad some 20 kms away. We had now become a group of 4.

3. The Ridge

It was 1 pm by the time we finished the rock patch and began the ridge. Its quite a sight this ridge. One can see Rajgad at the other end and villages on both sides below. However, not a single soul or

The Ridge

Bye Bye Torna

civilisation on the entire stretch. This was the crucial part of the trek. We had taken 2 hours to reach the ledge from the Torna entrance. We now needed to cross this ridge in 4 hours to be able to hit Rajgad before darkness. The distance was 7 kms straight, but with the various hillocks we had to cross, it would be atleast 10-12 kms of walking. Secondly, it was an exposed ridge. For long distances, there was no trees or any shade. The 1 pm sun was bearing down upon us. We decided to keep walking and stop for lunch only when we couldn't keep going. Amazingly, Layla was now leading the way. Wonder how she knew where we were headed!

Finally at 1.45 pm, after half an hour of searching for a shady (my slang for shaded oh grammar Nazi's) spot to eat, hunger got the better of us and we stopped on top of a open hillock, right under the sun, for lunch. Layla had walked ahead and had to be whistled for to join us. Lunch was intended to be well made vegetable, cheese, butter and chutney sandwiches. However, in our exhaustion, we decided to skip butter and restrict the chutney to 1 slice. Lunch making was a perfect assembly line. I made the chutney and applied it on the slices, Rubens opened and put the cheese, Divya being the lady of the group (a title which was later accorded to Layla) had to cut the tomatoes and cucumber and Rubens again assembled the sandwich. We had carried ingredients for about 20 sandwiches. However, hunger levels were low. We only finished 1 loaf of bread and 1 packet of cheese and a lot of the chutney had to be thrown. Since we had not anticipated Layla's presence, all we could give her were bread slices. She ate a few without complaining. We offered her the veggies and cheese but she refused. One of the small joys of the lunch was it reduced weight on our backs. Divya was most happy since she was carrying all the veggies. We also consumed a lot of water and that was the 2nd reason for weight reduction. This, added to the fact that we were now well rested and had also taken a lot of time to eat lunch, meant that we now decided to walk fast and make ground. The group of 5 had long since disappeared ahead of us. We were expecting to pass them somewhere, since their lunch plan was more elaborate one of making fire and cooking Maggie but as we gathered later, they decided to postpone lunch until reaching Rajgad.

At 2.30 pm, we set off again, still a long part of the ridge to be crossed. Bags being lighter, stomachs being full and me being well, meant we made good ground. Its a very intuitive straight route. One has to remain on top of the ridge. Couple of places, it seemed a bit confusing but Layla guided us. The ridge has many small hillocks. Initially we were climbing and descending each. Then we discovered bypasses. Each hillock had 2 routes, one that went over it and one that went flat around it. The bypasses were off the edge and sometimes though thick bushes, but they were much easier. Layla was also happy. As soon as we discovered the bypasses, life was good. The only villager we met during this leg of the journey felt we might not be able to walk on the edge and directed us along the hillock route.

3.30 pm: The journey was going fine but water was running low. We had enough to reach Rajgad but were worried about Layla. She was visibly panting by now and also taking every opportunity to catch shade. Divya wanted to give her water but the 2 of us were unsure if we have enough to spare. Finally she prevailed and we took some water in the lid of the chutney jar (only option) and gave it to Layla. She laped it up with joy, although there was a slight tinge of the salty chutney in it. After a few laps she walked away, and so we felt she has had enough. However, within 10 mins we reach a small ditch containing water and Layla was lapping away again. This time she had her fill. Clearly, she just took enough from us to survive. This dog was indeed god sent.
We were aware that our trail would cross a road and pass one  lonely hut towards the end. So we

The Forest

were eagerly looking for both these as a sign of us getting closer. We passed through a jungle (welcome break from the sun) and many thick and tall bushes. Layla was a real nuisance in the

The tall bushes

bushes as she would suddenly stop and we would trip over her. Finally at about 4.15, the hut arrived, There sat an old lady bust with some work. She was quite bemused to see 3 trekkers with massive backpacks and a dog. At about 4.30 pm the road arrived. Its a SH that goes from one village to another. ST buses ply on it. Its at the lowest point of the ridge, so we knew that it will be a steep uphill climb from here. Just at the time, 2 villages were passing by on their bike. There 2 were again bemused to see 1 girl and 2 guys walking out of the forest with huge backpacks and a dog. They asked about us and about the dog. We really were a sight, 4 of us.

Us 4, on the road

After the road, the steep climb began and it started taking a toll on Divya. She was struggling now

Climbing again

Hello Rajgad

and both self and Rubens were edging her on. Most importantly, Rajgad was visible now. We felt it would be only 1 hillock away. But when we had to pass 3 hillocks and necessarily climb the 3rd one, Divya gave up and we had to take a 10 minute break. After this, was the last climb to the base of Rajgad. Finally some cool rock patches to climb. It was almost 5 pm now and we were happy to note that we would make the fort before darkness.
Finally at 5.30 pm we completed the climb and were now touching the Rajgad wall. We still had to round this  edge of the fort, go behind and find the path to the entrance door. However, so kicked were we with our achievement that we decided to take a nice break. Layla

Can u see Torna in b/g?

also found a nice spot to take some rest. Torna could be seen far away in the distance in her full and we were amazed that we had completed the toughest part of the trek, albeit in 6.5 hours with about 1.5 hours of stopping. An old lady coming down from Rajgad and asked us for some money. We gave her all our remaining cucumbers and tomatoes. Thus, we were even lighter now. In anticipation of the completion of this leg of the journey, a lot of water and Gatorade was consumed. We were now left with only 0.5 lit in my water pack and 1 lit emergency supply with Divya. The bags were as light as they would ever be on the trek.

4. Rajgad 

We began the last leg of the Rajgad climb at 5.45 pm and exactly at 6 pm, we reached the first darwazaa. We were entering the Sanjeevni Maachi side. Soon we were inside the massive fort. We reached a set of tanks. While there were a lot of fishes in the water, it still looked a bit murky to drink. Rubens and self freaked out in the water, almost taking a bath. The joy of hitting cold water after having walked the whole day in hot sun, is one of those to be experienced things. Poor Divya had to just watch, she catches a cold of she gets her feet wet in cold water. Self and Rubens had a nice pedicure done by all the hungry fishes in the tank. There were a set of 5 tanks but none had water we were confident of drinking. Thus, well washed, we set of towards the main part of the fort. We stopped at a hillock to watch the sun set. It was quite a pretty sight. In happiness, Divya's emergency bottle was consumed.

Until now, the only people we had seen since 11 am were the group of 5 who passed us, the 1 lone villager we found walking on the ledge, the bemused lady in the hut, the 2 men on the bike, and the lady coming down from Rajgad who had taken all our veggies.

We continued towards the main fort. It was quite a long walk and was getting dark now. Rubens being the high energy member of the group, we decided that he should go ahead and try and find a place to sleep and food to eat. Layla decided to go with him, probably she guessed that no member should be left alone.Self and Divya ambled along at the best pace we could. The main fort was still to appear. I was getting a bit worried now since we were very low on water and it was getting dark. We had to get our torches out now. Finally at about 7 pm, we saw people, loads and loads of people. We had reached Padmavati mandir. Our journey, which began at 7.45 am and involved almost 20 kms of walking / climbing, had ended, for the day atleast.

The place was packed. Later we realised that all the 4 halls were packed with people. Some people had to sleep out in the open too. Most had climbed earlier in the day and explored the fort. Some would move to Torna the next day while most would just head back to Mumbai / Pune. By the time we reached, most trekkers had already settled down for the night. Food was being cooked all around. Rubens had once again played superman of the group. Despite his lack of knowledge of Marathi, he had arranged for the food, found 2 spots to sleep and filled up some water. Divya just collapsed on reaching. Self and Rubens had our dinner, Pitle and Bhat, since the Bhaakri was over. Then we had chai, loads and loads of chai. Finally Divya woke and had some food (just as i was getting a bit worried about her). She ate only some, rest she fed Layla. We also decided to give off our 2nd loaf of bread to Layla. So among the 4 of us, she had the best meal. I managed a spot to sleep near the door. Soon Layla came and slept next to me. Later in the night, some folks tried to drive her out, be she sneaked back in snuggled back next to me again. There were many stray dogs on Rajgad that night. And most were petted by the trekkers. But only one belonged to a group and slept inside the temple. Only 1 was a trekker.

After an interrupted, disturbed but very much necessary rest, we got up at 5.45 am. Target was to climb up the Balle Killa to see the sun rise. A lot of trekking groups we waking up to explore. We set off by 6 am. Balle Killa is a fun climb. There are a lot of interesting rock patches. However, there are railings for support and so the thrill is reduced. Layla was sleeping, so we didn't bother her. We reached Balle Killa top by 6.45 am. We had missed the sun rise. But the view was awesome. We were at the highest point of the fort. There are some beautiful  water tanks on the Balle Killa. The remains of the palace are also seen here as could Torna and the ridge route. We were sitting and soaking the beauty and enormity of the place when we saw Layla coming. How she had found us on this massive fort, I don't know. But she did, and she came near us and sat. And the group was 4 again. After spending more than an hour exploring the Balle Killa and chorvat, we set of back down. 

Back in Padmavati temple at 8.30 am, we had breakfast of pohas. Most trekking groups had left by now. A few were headed to Torna (these were the 3 day plans, only us and the group of 5 had done a 2 day plan) while a few were headed back down. We met the group of 5 again. They had been in the temple all along, but we didn't spot them in the crowd. They were also headed off. They had to catch the 11 am bus to Pune from Gunjawane so they were in a hurry.

Most interestingly, as soon as we reached back in the temple, Layla disappeared. Initially we though she was hanging around outside being fed by the other trekkers. However, when we stepped out, we didn't spot her. I was anyway fretting about the farewell. We would have to take a vehicle from Gunjawane and it would be difficult if Layla had followed us till there. Once again, this dog had amazed us. How she knew that it was time for her to go off alone, I don't know. All 3 of us regret not having a proper farewell with her. I will never get my self to love an animal. But Layla is the closet it will ever come to.

At about 9.00 am, we too packed and set off for descent. We passed the Padmavati lake where tons of trekkers and revelers were having a blast (bath) and took the chor darwajaa (please note that the Gunjawane darwajaa is closed) and could see the group of 5 about 30 mins ahead of us. We decided to do a fast descent. I was worried about finding a quite transport option to Velhe and hence driving back in the evening. Night driving, after one of the toughest treks of your life ain't recommended. The descent was again good fun. There are some cool rock patches. Divya in her exhaustion gave up trying to learn reverse descending and we also didn't push her. All we wanted was to make time. And make time we did. On our way down, we met a lot if groups going up. It's interesting to see people at different speeds and gauge who will be in trouble reaching up.

At 10.50 am we reached Gunjawane village. We had completed the descent in about 1.5 hours. On inquiry, we were told that the Pune ST is about to leave and that can drop us half way to Velhe. We just managed to catch the bus. The group of 5 were not in it. They would have probably got an earlier vehicle. The bus dropped us at Magrasani, where, within 5 minutes, we got a Trax to Velhe. My fear of delays in getting transport to Velhe had been unfound. By 12, we were at my car at Velhe. We all changed and also had a good time washing up at the well (cold water after a sun soaked trek). By 12.15, we had set of towards Mumbai. I have a tradition of carrying a Dairy Milk Silk to all my treks. This we open to celebrate the trek when we have reached up. However, this time, we forgot about the chocolate on Rajgad and could only remember it while descending. So, as decided, we celebrated in the car. Ofcouse, we couldn't finish the chocolate and had to carry some back home. Another first in my treks.

Superman Rubens

We had lunch enroute and took the scenic NH4 to Pune and from there, the expressway to Mumbai. By 5 pm (less than 48 hours), we had dropped Divya at Kanjurmarg and were home. This trek will remain in my memory for the shear endurance we put in, for what we managed to do, for Divya's leadership, for Rubens boundless energy and enthusiasm, for my bout of illness and finally for Layla.

why i will go for the commonwealth games

Ever since the day I declared my intent to go and watch the Common Wealth Games, a lot of friends have been looking at me strangely and some have frankly told me so. Clearly the event preparations have left a lot to be desired but its more clear to me now that we are a media puppet generation that feeds and reacts to all that is shown without bothering to see the bigger picture or the complete fact (a la peepli). There is no denying that there has been a lot of hanky panky (i am aware of it since 2 years now, when my colleague was trying to sell some paint into a CWG project site) and a lot of people need to be taken to task. However, all that can and will wait... its time now to go and watch the games.
Here is the reasons why I will go and watch the games in Delhi. Please note that Jingoism is consciously not part of any reason. Hopefully, some of these reasons will appeal to you and you will join me at watching the games. The reasons are in ascending order of priority

1. Infrastructure: A lot has been done to make the city ready for the games. I am really looking forward to viewing the T3, the complete metro line, the CWG lanes etc. Delhi infra is closer to first world now and I really hope mumbai catches up. Until then, I will go and enjoy the Delhi infra.
2. Celebrating Sport: Not really an original concept, but sport is a brilliant invention. It keeps us humans competitive without hatred, occupied without destruction, happy without making anyone else sad. Sport is a solution to world peace. It needs to be celebrated, and so we will.
3. This is a once in a life time event. I lot of us (who can afford) go and watch sport across the world. Its ironical that we choose to ignore it when it happens in our own backyard. And quality sport at that. 
4. Volunteers and organisers: Baring some bad apples, a lot of effort and planning has gone into making this event. Thousands of organisers have toiled away. Many volunteers have contributed with their time and effort into making this a smooth and successful event. I can only imagine the scale and extent of the effort required to make an event of this proportion. As someone who really enjoys event organising, and who has experienced the high one gets, when ones event is a success, I wish to contribute to all these organisers and volunteers getting their high.
5. Last but not the least , the athletes: These athletes have toiled away for years to be as good in their sport. They are extraordinary humans for their skill. They certainly deserve to be cheered and applauded for their skill. I for one have been a very loud critic of our nations one track obsession with limited over cricket at the expense of murdering all other sports (and domestic cricket and test cricket). Events like these, that encourage so many sportpersons are wonderful opportunities to make amends.

why do we climb

everyone climbs for a reason
whether they know it or not

some climb for the thrill,
to escape the drudgery of life

some climb for the journey,
for all the things it brings

some climb cos its destiny,
and some for the destination


some choose to climb
while some seem to have no choice

and some just climb!
because, its the only thing to do

so go find ur reason
the reason that makes u climb

and go climb ur mountain
the mountain we call life

the avchitgad misadventure

After 2 earlier failed attempts, we finally planned to set of to Avchitgad on Saturday 24th July. It was a group of 7. Dhruwin was most keen and the first to confirm. There was a small period of time when pratik wasn't sure of joining and I was shuddering at the though of taking my Alto, instead of his Verna. Anyway all that worked out and the 7 member group was locked in by Thursday night.

Avchitgad is a fort in Roha taluka off NH17. It is a simple trek and we planned to climb from Meda village. Having planned the trek earlier, albeit as just an initial plan, and due to a very hectic week in office, I couldn't research much. However, I managed to get the necessary maps to the base village in place. Having heard that this is a simple trek, and having a high energy group, I didn't bother reading up on the trek route etc (assuming others would). Infact, so confident was I of the trek that I even planned a 2nd trek for the day if this one finished on schedule.

By Friday, I had arranged food in the base village (Meda) and we were all set. Or so it seemed. It had poured the previous day and Konkan was in disarray. Kundali river had overflowed and NH17 was shut for 3 hours. The train schedule was in a mess. Dipak pinged me on friday to check if I was taking a train. Anyway, the only effect of the Thursday chaos we saw were some major pot holes on NH17, some really swelled up rivers, heavy rainfall and thankfully, lesser traffic. We started almost on time, despite Prachi's best efforts. Mayank was the only person in the group who hadn't trekked in a while and so it was only his fitness I was worried about.

swelled up river ... anyone??

Adventure began immediately on starting when I realised I had forgotten the maps back home. Since it was a simple route, and we had Pratik's wonderful GPS console, we carried on and found Medha village without to much hassle. We took the Nagothane exit and then the Roha-Murud road. For this we had to cross an old dilapidated single way bridge over a swelling river and I made a mental note to avoid this route on the way back. The Roha-Murud road is a wonderful drive through a ghat we were soon in a mini Malshej with many beautiful small waterfalls around us. Finally we passed a waterfall we couldn't resist and stopped to check it out.

Checking out the fall

In Meda village, we met our hosts the Chandanes, told them to keep food ready by 2 and then parked and set off. We were advised to take a local along but decided otherwise, a decision I cribbed about many times during the day. The thing about trekking with 6 people who know its a pilot is that all are in a high state of excitement. Every local is asked directions and each member individually. Most interesting is Pratik, he is most keen to know how much time will we take to reach and would even ask this question to a tree if he didnt get find any new person to ask every 5 mins (Bart Simpson anyone). Anyway, after one local was piled on 2 times by groups of 3, we set off on what seemed like a narrow jungle path. The summary input was to climb up to the pass and then turn right towards the fort (a nobrainer considering the straight path was a descent into another village). After the initial hiccups, we were on course and soon hit the pass and turned right. We were clearly on the right track and also saw some arrows. By now, it was pouring cats and dogs but that apart, we had no other qualms.
However, soon the problems began. The road kept got flat and kept going on straight and the fort was clearly on our right a bit higher up. It seemed like we were circumnavigating the fort from the outside. We clearly had to turn right somewhere and were getting impatient at not getting a proper route. We decided to turn back and look for a turn, now to our left. Finally we found some weak routes and in our keenness to reach up climb one which looked most promising. After 5 minutes of what Dhruwin describes as "andha dhundi climbing" (climb towards ur destination, irrespective of there being a path) we reached a clearing and finally saw the fort wall. We had reached a dead end. This wall was built to stop much more nimble footed soldiers from scaling the fort. However, me and Dhruwin still tried to climb with without any success. We were now at our wits end. So near and yet so far. We just could not spot the entrance. There was a thought of camping here for a while and then heading back. Even the Dairy Milk Silk (which is generally reserved for atop or post descent) was removed and finished off. I took out my cell from its multi layer rain protection and called Dipak, since he had done the climb one month earlier. However, since I couldn't explain him my location, he couldn't help. Then I called our hosts, and luckily they figured where we are and gave us the correct advise. We had to continue going on the right of the fort and the entrance would come. From our position, we had to walk through thick bushes to reach the path again. We set off fighting through the thorny bushes. I kept to the back of the group, and soon heard a cry up front, "rasta mil gaya, arrow mil gaya." Soon were were at the entrance of the fort. The 1 hour climb had taken us 3.

It took us an hour to explore the massive fort. We found a lot of water tanks, temples, and finally the went to the spot we had lost hopes at. Despite the inclement weather, some pics were taken.

the multicoloured water tanks

the gang atop - no idea whats in store ahead

At about 3 pm, we began descending. Timekeeper Pratik decided that we should be down by 4 pm and no one disagreed. As with the whole trip so far, I sent Dhruwin up front and took the rear. It was going to be a simple descent, we had to just follow the arrows. Or so we thought!!!

Everyone was keen to know where we had lost our way. After all we had encountered arrows enroute and also at the end. Logically we kept descending along the arrow route. For a while we couldn't hit our ascent route. The fleeting though that we might be going the wrong way did occur to me and I also expressed it a couple of time. However, we concluded that we would descend within 50 meters of our starting point. Soon Dipak called to check if all was well. I also got a couple of SMSes. In all this confusion, I kept my cell in the pocket of my wind cheater. By now it was raining real hard (in case of any doubts on how hard, please read the papers of the last 3 days, Konkan is still disrupted and the railway has all but shut down). Mayank was feeling the descent and his knees were in a mess. I was most eager to reach down to end his agony. However, the route was completely different. Finally, we reached a clearing where we could see the hexagonal lake and pointed temple, which we had spotted next to our base village.Only problem was there was also a gushing river next to it. No one remembered the river but again we concluded that it would have sprung up due to all the rain. After all, how many villages have a hexagonal lake and a pointed temple!! Clearly, we had almost reached and the village was just behind the hillock on our left. By now every small altitude change was a big effort for Mayank and for his sake, I was really rooting for the descent to end.

If the river seemed like a small impediment initially, it turned into a major pain later. Our route directly ended into the river and there was nowhere else to go. At this point, there was a sinking feeling that we are lost and the arrows had been a fraud. Thankfully, we could see some villagers about a km away and so this seemed to be the logical route. However, try convincing your mind to cross a raging river when there is no visible path ahead.Here I took the lead and as all were looking, just started walking in. Soon wise sense prevailed and we formed a human chain and crossed. Clearly the river was not deep, but the force of the water was sufficient to drag us downstream.

A big sense of relief hit us after crossing the river as we again saw the arrows. This was clearly the route and we were not very far now. More importantly, it was flat walking from here on and we just had to round the hillock on our left. At 4.15 pm we were almost there. As always, we piled on the first villager we saw and asked directions (just to confirm). However, the lady seemed stunned and told us the village was very far back and to our right. She looked drunk and so we decided to go ahead and ask more people. All seemed to say the same. We concluded that all were drunk! None of us could believe that the village could be at the back and to the right. However, 20 different people cannot give wrong directions. Gradually it emerged that we were about 5-7 kms from Meda. Roha was 3 kms from our location. Some good villagers advised us to walk towards Roha and take a vehicle to Meda. I detected a few of them smirking when we asked directions. But I still couldnt reconcile to the fact that we were this lost. How could we be. By now, I was very pissed. I was clearly responsible for this trek and because of my lack of homework and alertness, we were in trouble. Thats not all, my cell was conked off due to the rain. We couldnt contact our hosts since only I had the number. There was no transportation options visible for miles. Abhishek was hit by a bout of sinus, Prachi was tired. Mayank's knees were a mess. There was no option but to reach Meda and fetch our cars. Also the poor hosts had prepared fod for 7 hungry trekkers. That had to be done justice to. Pratik who had been struggling all through the descent, suddenly became the cheerleader of the group. He pumped us all and decided that himself, dhruwin and I would run (yes run) ahead toward Roha and try and get some transport back, while the rest 4 walked behind. We ran for about a km, again much the amusement of the villagers. Pratik kept stopping at intervals to do his 'how far is it' routine. Finally after some running, brisk walking, give up walking and plenty of timekeeping, we reached Roha. We would have walked about 30 minutes to reach Roha. The trailing group was about a km behind us. Once again it hit me that they only have my number and my cell has conked. My sparking brilliance had overshadowed all proceedings. So I waited at the intersection while Pratik and Dhruwin went ahead to fetch an auto or 2. By the time the trailing group caught up, we had found 2 autos.

All lingering doubts I had on our location were settled. As confirmed later, we had descended on the wrong side of the pass. We were thus in a village on the other side of the fort. We were miserably lost and 7 kms from Meda. I got into my apologetic mode but was quite surprised to see all folks extremely happy. The adventure of getting lost, crossing the river and finding out way had been much more fun than a simple descent. Finally at 5.30 pm we reached Meda and rushed to eat without even changing. The wonderful lady (Mrs Chandane) showed us some sympathy and again reminded us that we had not heeded her advise of taking a local.  There is something about Prachi and village ladies. All of them start wanting to adopt her, teach her marathi and make her an ideal home maker. In the last trek, she had made Bhakri with the village lady. Here to she was in the kitchen discussing cost of living etc with her. Abhishek was clearly interested in the food alone.
 
Food time

I have always been biased towards village food, but that this food was phenomenal was a consensus. Dhruwin who is a vetran of 48 treks was most impressed. He has never eaten in the village. People had cribbed to me initially for arranging veg food, but I believe that was one (rare) wise decision I had made for the day. We had vatana sabzi, tandul roti, gehu roti, varan bhaat, salad and papad. The first time village eaters like Dhruwin and Mayank were stunned to contentment. The rest were just blissfully happy.

After the wonderful meal, we changed into dry clothes, had chai, thanked and paid our hosts profusely (as kudva said, screw the market) and set off. Driving was again a problem. Noone wanted Pratik to drive, as usual. Mayank gave up. Abhishek was looking dead (Sinus and then the subsequent medication). But he bravely decided to drive and I took the other car. All wet shoes n socks were packed into the boot and both car boots would have been smelling for days. While we avoided the rickety bridge on the way back, the pot holes on NH17 were tougher to miss. Night driving on this road after an exhausting trek is no walk in the park. But we managed. I gave up at Panvel and Pratik finally got to drive his car. On the way back, again we messed up as noone still had each others no. Inter car commmunication was a problem. Dhruwin kept us entertained by telling us more stories of his getting lost on treks. Finally it dawned to me that he was the reason and nothing else! We got home by 10 pm. It was an adventure I would not forget for a while. This blog will serve as a reminder when we converted a simple short trek into something memorable, albeit unintentionally.

Learnings for the day
1. Use your brains and do not keep your cell in your pocket during rains.
2. Most villages have a hexagonal lake and pointed temple
3. Dhruwin loves loosing the way, dont keep him in the front
4. Do not hoard on the groups mobile nos, share.
5. Even if its a simple trek, do your homework and stay alert.
6. If you take a right while going up, you must turn left when going down
6. Getting lost is awesome fun.

A mid summer waterfall

Last weekend I went down the canyon valley at Lonavala with VRangers. This valley, also called the Ulhas/Bela/Tiger valley can be seen from the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. It was an overnight trek. 2 unique aspects of this trek were
1. Instead of climbing a mountain, we were going down a valley, so it started with a descent and ended with a climb.
2. There is an amazing waterfall in the valley. One does not see active waterfalls in and around Mumbai, this time of the year… this made the trek very lip smacking

I had also heard that this trek is quite a handful and having done 2 tough ones in the last 1 month, was really looking forward to testing my aukaad on this one.

The Journey began at CST at 11 pm. We were to headed to Lonavala in the Chennai mail. There were 32 people of which some were boarding at Dadar, some Thane, some Kalyan and some coming directly to Lonavala from Panvel. Many were first timers with VRangers. Once again, hats off to the organizers for being able to smoothly handle such a motley crowd.

A Train journey to hell
Chennai mail was better than Mahanagri express. However is it not saying much. The general compartment was packed to the brim. We were able to get in and make some space for ourselves. Since there were about 20 of us (strength in numbers) we were able to squeeze out place for 6-7 and survive. There were quarrels and chaos across the compartment. We were lucky to be next to the emergency exit window. Our friends in Thane boarded from this window. Some junta decided to risk boarding the reserved compartments. They had to pay about 30 Rs fine each. Considering the general ticket was Rs 40, I think it was a smart call.
As uncomfortable as we were in the train, you cannot suppress a gang of 20 odd out to have fun. Kartik was completely in his element initiating singing of the corny songs. Majid was up to his crazy tricks. We even took out the cameras and took some snaps. Time flew by and soon Lonavala arrived. As good boys and girls, most of us exited from the door. Some still choose to use the window. The journey was not that bad. Only 1 mobile lost, 1 screen broken and one set of batteries misplaced... not to mention, all the free full body massage.

Singing on roads
Lonavala station at 2 am was almost deserted. However, we arrived with a bang. Soon the police arrived and told us to behave. We had chai, a round of introductions and set off towards our night halt, which was half way to Khandala. Once again the peace of the night was disturbed. We took on some stray dogs in barking competition. A lot more shady songs were sung in transit. Kartik was at his creative best thinking them all up. My performance at the bonfire in the earlier trip became by bugbear as Kartik insisted that I sing along and complete all songs.

Sleeping with the bugs
We took the Rajmachi turn and stopped on the side road and rested there. It was 4 am now and Sudhir, our lead, mandated that we rest for 2 hours. It was quite stuffy and I opened up my sleeping bag to accommodate 3 people. Sleeping in the middle of a road was again something new and for the first time in my trekking career, Odomos was called for.

Morning surprise
After a very vital 1.5 hour shut eye, I woke up to folks hard at work getting breakfast organised. These guys had hardly slept, collecting sticks to start the fire, chopping vegetables etc. Supermen, all of em. This time, VRangers decided to treat us with a unique breakfast. There was no Pohas. We had boiled corn, veg sandwiches and tea. I helped a bit in the tea making. All got comfortable munching the wonderful breakfast and before we realised, we were running behind on schedule. Finally at 8 am, the trek began.

A beautiful view
Immediately on starting, we reached a point from where the view was brilliant. We could see the Dukes Nose, the expressway and a rail tunnel in a distance and our waterfall down below. Most folks got their profiles clicked here. Sudhir got us all in for yet another round of introductions, and gave strict instructions, most of which we soon forgot.

The descent begins...Follow the stream
Soon the descent started. we were going down a dry waterfall. There was a small stream accompanying us. This little baby would soon swell into a full blown rage as soon as the rains begin. Going up or down a waterfall is great fun. We were jumping from one rock to another. My brand new shoes were getting quite an induction. The group kept diverging and converging again when the people ahead took breaks. Descent has always been my problem and I had to work hard to maintain good pace without getting bruised. This took a bigger toll on my shoes. The descent kept getting fabulous. There was a section where one had to round a jutting rock with a small ledge to keep your feet and a short fall behind. Since one was at an obtuse angle, this was quite tough and Sudhir tied a rope swing behind for support. Much as I wanted to do the entire trek without rope, this was one (any only) section, where I had to use the rope.

There she is
After an hour and a half of solid descending, we reached the base of the valley and met the Ulhas river. We then walked upstream and met the first small waterfall. Some folks went in immediately. But Soniya advised us to move ahead as the main one was much much better. We followed her advise (after all, this is her 4th time to the canyon) and a small set of 6 of us moved on. Soon we reached the waterfall. What a sight it was. Massive, white, loud, humongous, fantabulous and very very inviting. Soon all of us were in.

Thande thande paani se
We got the first movers advantage. Since the place was slippery, folks who came in late had to wait till we moved out. Sitting under the falls was awesome fun. The water was hitting our backs at full force making it red. Even in April, the waterfall had a lot of force. I conjecture that this baby would be completely inaccessible in monsoons and even early winter with the base flooded and the river swelling up many fold. At the base of the falls, was a nice little pond. It was about 16 feet deep in the middle and 4 feet in the sides, perfect for the meek among us to frolic in the sides and for the adventurous guys to jump off the rocks into the centre. We all spent more than an hour in the water until Colonel Sudhir came and pulled us out.

Haila.. Bhel
After drying of and changing, we were met with yet another surprise. Sudhir and gang had carried all ingredients and were making some wonderful dry Bhel for us. It was yummy with a great mix of raw mangoes, tomatoes, etc etc. Playing in water makes you hungry and the bhel was very welcome.

Let the climbing begin
Well bathed and well fed, we filled our bottles at the next stream and set off at 12 noon for the climb back. We crossed a river and SO the climb began. This is where things got more kickass. I love climbing, and believe that I am pretty good at it. Having heard that this was a challenging climb, I had decided to set good pace and stay in the lead pack. The climb is quite steep and sharp. There are a couple of sections which are quite tough and some people required assistance there. Most amazingly, since we were climbing a dry waterfall, there is no saying which rocks would get shifted in the next monsoon and how much easier or difficult the sections would become next year. Its a new challenge every year.

Mosambi Khush Hua
Climbs are always more taxing and the sun was at its peak. Despite this, most of the people in my group of 8 had not filled up enough at the stream. Soon we were running out of water. I had done a smart thing to take my napkin and put it over my head, below the cap. This made me look more stupid and blocked a bit of my view, but helped block a lot of the heat. However, it was still taking a toll. I had also forgotten to carry Oranges for this trip. At this time, some wonderful soul brought out some sweet limes. We freaked out on those. To my memory, atleast 5-6 were gobbled up. We left a lot of evidence for the trailing group in the form of the peel. We managed to reach up with our limited resources by 2 pm.

Food
Our group of 8 waited for the trailing pack for almost 30 minutes and then decided to head off to Lonavala an wait there for lunch. In Lonavala too, we shopped for chikkis, meandered around and even waited an hour in the hotel staring at other people eating. Finally the rest of the gang arrived. We realised that they had been tp-ing around, having golas and clicking snaps and having a blast the last 1 hour while we waited to eat. Then, all of us ate our thaalis. Food was lousy but being as hungry as we were, we lapped it up. Despite all the exhaustion, once again we began signing.

Back to singing in the train
After food, a few left to catch STs. Most of us went to Lonavala station to take the next train back. We caught the 6.10 pm Trivandrum Express. This train was also jam packed and we just added to the mess. However, we made amends by entertaining all around. Kartik had made a mistake by switching my tape on previous night and I just couldn't shut up now. The train got empty in Kalyan and we got place to sit and sleep.

N so it ends
Finally the train reached Dadar and all got off and went their respective ways. I had met some more cool new people, made a few new friends. Most importantly, enjoyed a great trek and a waterfall in middle of April. Canyon Valley is a great trek for early summer. I will definitely be doing it again.

Thanks Sudhir and Co for giving me yet another wonderful weekend!

The road trip to Velas with V-Rangers

First things first, I wasn’t that excited about this trip initially. There was hardly any trekking involved. I had only confirmed on Wednesday and mainly because of the drive and the idea of meeting a few more cool strangers. The basic premise of watching turtles was never a motivation. Thankfully, I chose to go.

The day began at 4.30 am for me and earlier for some other folks. We met at Panvel at 6 am and had our first round of introductions. Since there were almost 40 people, I hardly caught some 10 odd names. We had the standard breakfast of pohas and set off. There were 16 bikes, 1 qualis (packed with biker’s bags and 5 people) and my Alto carrying self +3. Instructions were clearly laid out to all to maintain contact. I was specifically told to be in the middle of the pack. We started off from Panvel with Kolhad as the first stop. I was having great fun driving on NH17. The 3 other members of my car were girls, which was not bad, except that I had to endure discussions on cosmetics and got zero navigator assistance. Also, none of them liked Dev D songs…that really hurt!! Jokes apart, the drive was brilliant on the 2 lane highway. The road is quite good. We played loud music and sang along. I passed a few bikers and was suddenly under the impression that I was in the lead. Fact of the matter was that some were always ahead and rest had passed me back at the toll naka. However, so sure was I (and my useless navigator) that we were in the lead that I actually slowed done and drove at 40 kmph for a while. Finally when I reached Kolhad, I saw the bikers waiting impatiently. I realized how tough it was going to be in coordinating this large a group. We grouped at Kolhad and moved towards Mangaon. We had to leave the highway at Mangaon and head towards Shrivardhan. One bike had a minor snag and so we waited a bit at Mangaon and bonded some more.

After Mangaon, the road got more awesome. There was a lovely ghat. Here, one biker skid a bit and the medical kit and Doctor (yes there was a doctor in the group) came to the rescue. Again we grouped and headed to Shrivardhan. We reached Shrivardhan town at about 1 pm. It is a tight town with narrow lanes. Our car took a wrong turn and we ended up seeing almost the entire town (which basically was the library, post office, police station and the local masjid). We stopped for lunch at a joint. The food was quite amazing. There was some more bonding and total dhamaal. Again, the way the coordinators managed the show was exemplary. Handling a group of 30-40 youngsters out to have fun is no joke. These guys (V Rangers) are amazing at organizing.

We set off from Shrivardhan at 2.30 and headed to Harihareshwar. Again, it was a brilliant, narrow and twisted road. This time I was able to keep pace with the bikers. Harihareshwar is an amazing place. There are rocks, a beach, a cliff, a mandir all next to each other. The place is called Dakshin Kaashi and is packed with pilgrims. The beach is generally off limits. We had a blast on the rocks which were being slapped with one massive wave after another. I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to carry a towel and change of clothes. So, in the interest of the upholstery of my beloved car, I had to stay out of the water and just watch the others having fun. The group was total dhamaal. There was pure, uninhibited fun. We were at Harihareshwar for a while and then headed off to Velas. We had to catch the 5 pm ferry to cross a narrow stretch of sea. Driving my car into the ferry was quite a unique experience. The ferry ride was quite lovely, but ended a bit too soon.

We were now driving through the narrowest twisty road in Bankot. Suddenly the road opened up parallel to the sea. This 2 odd km stretch is breathtaking. One is almost touching the sea here. I was driving with one hand outside. The bikers were having a total blast. Just as the seas stretch ended, we reached Velas. It was about 5 pm when we reached our halting point and the journey for the day had ended.

Velas village is the birth place (as per Wikipedia, only home town) of Nana Phadnavis, the right hand man of the young Peshwa Madhavrao-2. We had learnt about his exemplary administrative skills in school history. The village itself seemed quite prosperous. Most houses had hand pumps. There was continuous electricity (maybe due to its proximity to the infamous Dhabol) and our host’s neighbour had a Hundai Verna parked in his large mango yard.

The primary objective of our trip was to attend the Velas festival (kasav mahotsav), which is done to celebrate and raise awareness on turtles. They enable us to view the baby turtles hatch out on the beach and walk to the sea. So we quickly headed to Velas beach for the show. When we reached there, we saw 3 baby turtles had crawled out and were walking towards the sea. We all went bonkers and photography and video recording reached its zenith. We started racing the turtles against each other. Our joy at seeing the 3 baby turtles soon turned to delirium when the caretakers of the place came and opened up the nest. Suddenly we realized that there were 25 more baby turtles. We escorted them all to the sea. Watching these tiny creatures instinctively move towards the sea, persisting with their tiny limbs against small obstacles was quite a sight. Even more amazing was watching them start swimming at great speeds when they hit the waves. We all thought that the turtles were following the sun and so tried to ensure that we did not block their paths or cast our shadows on them. Later we learnt that the turtles are actually guided by the earth’s electromagnetic field. Nature never ceases to amaze.

After the turtle exodus, junta hit the water with vengeance. Again there was total dhamaal but again, I could only stand and watch. I was the caretaker of stuff. My cap had 5 goggles on it, my hands full of mobiles, wallets etc. Even my t shirt was sacrificed for the cause. The beach was an amazing sight and the setting sun a great inspiration to gather thoughts. Quite a bit of this blog was formed sitting there. Meanwhile, the operations guy in me was shuddering at the thought of our hosts accommodating 30 odd people full of dirt and sand, but they really know their stuff. The 3 bathrooms were taken up by the girls and the guys all got into the large common bath. There was plenty of soap and water and clothes lines to hang the wet clothes. Within an hour all were washed and clean.

We then saw the documentary on turtles. It told of how the turtle comes to the shore to lay eggs and walks away. However the eggs are plundered by locals and eaten. Even the turtles are caught and sold and also ravaged by wild life. All this was taking a great toll on the turtle populace and so some wildlife agencies got together with the government and the locals and started this concept. Locals work with these agencies and collect and take care of the turtle eggs. They ensure the eggs are hatched and all baby turtles released to sea. The concept has worked wonders. Most people are quite sensitive to turtles now. Our hosts were quite protective to the baby turtles, scolding us if we accidently impeded them on the beach. There is also good tourism as many people come from different places to watch this.

After the documentary, we had dinner. Our Hosts had made some amazing food for us. Eating on banana leaves, which one is then supposed to feed to the cow, was pretty cool. The enormity of the group can be felt by the fact that we were still introducing ourselves to each other. After dinner, 6 of us escaped quietly and went exploring the village with our torches. We climbed up one small cliff and sat for an hour watching the clear starry night sky and singing. When we returned, we saw the rest of the junta and gone to set up a bonfire. We rushed and realized that we didn’t miss much. The mood was clearly towards shady and corny songs and so I was able to exhibit my full repertoire and be one of the souls of the party. Small joys in life! The bonfire again was pure uninhibited fun. Such moments not only make life more enjoyable but also make you forget your sorrows, besides making great memories.

We headed back at midnight. It had been an exhausting and long day and some people just crashed. However, the adrenaline would not let the rest sleep. The group was full of experienced trekkers and a lot of amazing stories were told. I managed to grab some limelight with my Ladakh story. The energy was so high that some guys stayed up till 4 am. The last act was applying toothpaste on sleeping folk’s faces and taking snaps. For some strange reason they kept coming and showing me the snaps (maybe they were checking if I can be pasted too) and consequently I was also awake till 4 am.

Morning came soon and all of us were up at 6 am. Breakfast was Phoas again and we set off to Bankot fort/ Himmatgad at 7. The fort is 15 minutes from Velas village. It was on a cliff overlooking the sea and so the view from the fort is amazing. From here, we began the drive to Mandangad on SH10. This was the best drive of the weekend. The narrow twisty ghats were tight but wide enough and the road good enough to drive at a constant 50kmph plus. There was lot of kairis around and one could just pluck them from trees. We took 2 kairi breaks. We reached Mandangad fort at about 11.30 am. The view was again quite amazing. There is a small pond on top and soon half the junta was frolicking inside as I again sat and watched L.

Leaving from Mandangad we headed towards Mahad. We stopped midway and plan was changed to skip Mahad and head towards Mumbai and stop midway for lunch. This ensured chaos. Some people missed the message and when they hit NH17, they moved in the opposite direction towards Mahad. There was a lot of clutter and thank god for mobile phones and our deeply committed organisers. After an hour of chaos, they managed to get everyone to Mangaon at a lunch joint. Lunch finally happened at 3 pm. Most junta ate fish here. We headed towards Mumbai and decided to meet at Karnala for the final farewell. By now we had run out of music on my car and thankfully FM signal was back. This drive was quite a pain as there was very heavy traffic and lots of passing had to be done. We reached Karnala at 6 pm. The final farewell was important was I still hadn’t caught a few names. Everyone picked their stuff from the Qualis, bid adieu and we dispersed for one final time. Some of us will meet again, some wont. But all of us will remember this trip.

Trip Summary:

Total Kms driven: 450

Total time: 40 hours

Sleeping time: 1.5 hours

Total Cost: ~600 Rs + almost a tank full of petrol

Total Fun: Infinite