A Trek To Kalsubai..., the highest point of Maharashtra.

Without any “buts”; we agreed to Trek Kalsubai- known as the topmost point of Maharashtra. Living in Maharashtra itself anticipates me to trek to this place. The name "Kalsubai" is originated from a Koli girl named 'Kalsu'. For further story & history look into this webpage: (https://mumbaihikers.net/blog/2010/12/06/kalsubai-history/)

Sun rays in cloudy days

 I along with a group of five friends caught a train from Mulund at midnight on a Saturday, at around 1.30AM and reached Kasara station by 3.30AM. We assumed that we shall get Jeeps or Taxis outside the station and will reach Bari village (base village from where the trek starts) at around 5.30 AM. But this incorrect assumption, as well as our overconfidence, led us into making a blunder. As we reached there and were walking outside the station, we saw taxis(which we later realised were just parked) and we started discussing what can be the maximum price that will be needed to reach the village. But when we neared the taxis, we realised that only one Taxi driver was standing and 5 people were waiting in his taxi. We looked around and found him as the only driver in that place at that time. We talked with him and he said he will charge ₹1800 for our group. He was waiting for another one more individual to sit in his taxi as only one seat was empty and it was heading to Nashik. We felt strucked. At some distance, there were people whom we thought must be knowing about jeeps going to Bari village and approached them but to no avail. In a while, we saw those passengers who were sitting in the Jeep were leaving and then the taxi-driver came and approached us. He said that he can take us to Bari at a charge of 1600. He had to let go the passengers as they were not ready to pay the fare decided by him. We took the opportunity and agreed to ride for the price he decided (We decided not to bargain as the time was odd and we also got to know that other taxis will be available by 7.30AM, for which we would have to wait approximately 3 hours at the break of dawn). It felt like a relief or a miracle at that point of time. We started at 4.00AM and reached Bari village when the skies were visible and we were welcomed my sprinkling rains. We reached there at 6.00AM, it took us 2 hours to reach the starting point of our trek from Kasara. We took our luggage and went into a Khanaval (local small restaurants providing refreshments and homemade food) where we had sufficient breakfast and refreshed ourselves. After changing into a trekking outfit (at a place provided by the Khanaval), we started our trek ahead.

Exploring...

 Now, I would like to share my experiences and some insights into this trek. We completed Level 1 easily. It was just walking or we can say a warm-up for what we were going to do in the next few hours. It was like a cake-walk and confidence booster to many those who haven't trekked yet. We also found a temple of Kalsubai, built by the villagers for those who can't make it till the actual temple on the top. While we completed Level 2, some of my friends who had carried a lot of food with them felt tired. It was exhausting to bring luggage full of water and foodstuff.  As we completed the 2nd level we were completely into it and could feel the urge to explore. With small breaks and a photo session at the last part of Level 2, into the clouds and breezy winds, we captured beautiful pictures. Level 3, was hard as well as funny. As we moved ahead the winds started getting colder and its intensity also increased. The steepness into the hill was increasing. It was a terrific view from this position. Then we encountered the 4th railing(there are railings at each level). It was long, elongated and steep. As we started climbing the railing we saw, monkeys coming towards us. It was not just 4-5 but a group of almost 20-25 monkeys. They were patient, in a moto to find something to eat from travellers but not harmful. We waited for them to clear the path and we slowly into pairs cleared the railing. 

The Hero

What was more shocking to us that the dogs who had assisted us looked not so special. Normal. But we realized that they were of supernatural quality when they cleared this route faster than us. We had read about dogs accompanying during the trek but this was unexpected. The dogs had joined us from the starting of the trek itself and similar to a local guide they were engaged in guiding us at different places. Going the wrong way was impossible with their assistance. After we cleared this railing the further track was very difficult. It was more of steep stones, the fog was at a level to us and we found small crabs who were wandering here and there. They were not concerned about someone stepping on them. It was something unusual. I had never seen this before. Finally, at the end of Level 3, we found a well. The well is the only source of free/naturally available water on the trek. We relaxed there for some time. We had Maggi there at a stall. We also ate our Tiffins, which provided us with energy to further tackle cold winds. Again we started through the powerful winds, everything looked foggy. We walked slowly as we were relocated with the powerful winds. The risk of falling down had increased. But finally, we made it to the last railing. It was the most dangerous. You can't look besides while climbing, the surroundings looked mamooth.

Me

Achievement

We finally, made it to the top. It was an achievement for us. We then went to the Kalsubai temple. It's difficult to stand in the powerful breezy winds which carried water particles. One of my friends found Bhagva Zenda, which we waved in the air and took victory pics. It was beautiful there. We sat there and took group pics. After a while, I started feeling numb. I could not sense my hands nor my legs. And when I saw the dog he was just enjoying the weather sitting somewhere. After spending 20-30 mins above, satisfied; we rose to return. It was painful for me to walk as the body got rigid however after some time I overcame the cold. The return journey was more like a Parkour, jumping from one stone to another. It was interesting. Although due to rains the stones were wet and we had many slipping experiences.
Remember, I described about monkeys coming towards us because they were hungry. When we were coming down at the same place, they were disturbing the trekkers by trying to snatch bags and find something to eat. This time they seemed to be very aggressive. We could not help ourselves as they were many and one was about to attack us and suddenly the Hero (dog) came from nowhere......his entry was dynamic. He just scared the monkey and went behind him on the stones as if it was his daily chore. That was just like watching a climax scene of a movie.

If we see during the middle patch, there is a lot of waste especially thermocol plates and bottles. What hit me was, It's mundane to carry plastic bottles into a plastic bag and put it into a dustbin, in order to make this interesting we played football with it and passed it till we find a dustbin and drop down into it. It was enjoyable and valuable. Getting down was quick and easier than climbing. Although legs were paining so much and the distance was never-ending. Finally, we reached the village Bari at around 1.30 and changed our clothes, packed our bags until which preparation for a hot and tasty lunch was going on. We had conveyed them in advance that we were coming to eat. We had our lunch and then left for Mumbai. The transport facilities aren't so developed here so while coming beforehand one should beforehand book a jeep. We got a jeep where the driver made me sit above the roof. It was a new experience for me but villagers travelled over rooftops since transport facilities were very less. We reached Kasara station by 4.40pm Trains were rare. Mind you! Plan your journey accordingly. 

A day outside the polluted air of Mumbai was refreshing, energizing and engaging into the solitudes of Maharashtra's topmost peak and surrounding with nature. It was a trip to learn from, trip to empathize with the people and understand them and a realization that there's a lot more to know about people in society. Also, I feel that the people there were nice, hardworking and tourist friendly. They are responsible for the protection of Kalsubai. Also, I would suggest you to only carry important things, other things like food (breakfast, lunch, snacks) take from there so that it will boost their economy and also it will bring a sustained effort in providing us proper services. The prices are double but efforts to make food available for us at such great heights is worth money. Yes, and make sure you take enough biscuits for the dogs to reward them. They are the best reason I shall make another trip to Kalsuibai.

Thank you!!

                PADHARO MHARE DES!

Which state does this quirky headline reminds you of? If you are an Indian, then definitely you will recall, "The desertland - Rajasthan". It goes without saying that Rajasthan is one of the most sought-after state in India due to it's majestic Palaces, historical significance, inhabited deserts and mesmerizing beauty. This month I along with a batch of 40 students got a chance to travel to this beautiful state in order to celebrate the "Jaipur Literature Festival" which is among the largest literature festival in the world. We were going to go there by Garib Rath Train commencing from Bandra Central Terminus. Initially, the Garib Rath Train was going to stop at Jaipur and we were directly going to go to the hotel but due to some reasons, the train's apparent station was changed from Jaipur to Ajmer. Someone popped up the suggestion of visiting the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Ajmer, which was applauded by everyone. Now let me take this blog forward by writing about each day in detail. 

Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Ajmer

City Palace

DAY 1, 24th January 2019

Amber Lights and Sound Show

We started our journey on 23rd January at around 1 pm and reached Ajmer on 24th January at 3:30am in the morning. The train journey went by more quickly than expected. The Ajmer Sharif Dargah was about 15 minutes away from the railway station via bus. The pious Persian Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who is well known for his secular preaching is enshrined here. The atmosphere in the dargah was very calm and relaxing. However, outside the Dargah, I found a lot of beggars which irked me a bit. We paid our tributes and also offered a 'chaddar' which is a traditional  Muslim ritual. It was a very peaceful experience.
After the holy dargah visit, we departed towards our hotel in Jaipur. The Crimson Park Hotel is a 4-star hotel in Jaipur. It is a very comfortable hotel with a relaxed ambience. After freshening up and having lunch, we left for the Jaipur Literature Festival at 1 in the noon. The festival this year was held at Diggi Palace and different events were going on in different sections of the palace simultaneously. Many well-known writers, as well as revered people from different sections of the society, were present there for the event. After attending an event of a revered Author, Urvashi Butalia, the weather started changing abruptly and it was pouring in no time. It was a light shower at first but then gradually the intensity increased. As Diggi Palace is an open arena because of which we all got wet. We all went to the hotel immediately. After some time the rains stopped. Then we were taken to the Amber Lights and Sound Show in the evening which was close to our Hotel. This show happened at the foothills of the Amber Fort and it tell you about the history of the fort using light effects and sound. It was freezing cold over there yet I enjoyed the show. We returned to the hotel by 7:30pm, had dinner and after a hot bath(which felt like heaven in that weather), I went into deep sleep.

DAY 2, JANUARY 25, 2019

Jaipur Literature Festival

Jantar Mantar in Jaipur

We had a hearty breakfast in the morning and at  9.30am we left for the 'Jaipur Literature Festival' . There was a line up of very interesting events on that day. I sat for 3 events which featured Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and Charles Spencer. We ate our lunch in the bus itself and left for City Palace at around 2:30pm. City Palace which also includes the Mubarak Mahal and Chandra Mahal among other buildings is a sigh to behold with its beauty. It was the seat of 'The Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput Clan". Currently, the Raja is Padmanabhan Singh and he was residing in the Palace at that moment. There is a system of knowing whether the king is there in the palace or not as their traditional flag is unfurled when he is in the Palace. The City Palace has many interesting things about the olden times and it was fulfilling to know about the life and culture of the kings and queens of that time. From City Palace, we went to Jantar Mantar which is just a 2 minutes walk from the palace. Jantar Mantar is a astronomical observatory built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh the second. The observatory contains different astronomical instruments which allow us to watch the astronomical positions with our naked eyes. Jantar Mantar expresses architectural innovations in a very engaging manner. From Jantar Mantar, we went to Bapu Bazaar for shopping at around 5 pm. Bapu Bazar is very vibrant and diverse having huge collections of various day to day items. It is a shopping paradise for women especially, and the rates are also very reasonable. We returned to our Hotel at 7:30 and prettified ourselves quickly for the DJ party arranged by the hotel in the Hotel lawns. Then Feeling exhausted, everyone went to their hotel room to pack for the next day's Journey

DAY 3, JANUARY 26, 2019

Amber Fort 

This was our last day at Jaipur. We assembled in the dining area for breakfast, took some group photos and left for Amber fort at 9:30am. It takes about 20 minutes from the foothills of Amber fort to the main entrance. The fort is built in a mountainous region and is very strategically planned with beautiful architecture and adornment of costly jewels and stones. It's history adds an even more intriguing touch to it. We all felt the historical vibe in the fort. Now, we departed from Jaipur and there began our return journey from Jaipur to back home. We returned in Jaipur- Mumbai Superfast Train which started at 2 in the noon. We were back in Mumbai by 7 am with our bags full of Shopping and loads of sweet memories.

             UNEXPECTED GOOD TIMES

   

     Sometimes it happens that, you plan something, you do something and it happens something else. Sharing my relatable experience with you all today. But I won't frown about it as actually it turned out to be a serendipitous experience.

     So, the story goes this way that, 2 days before, I received an invitation from my friend (also my fellow blogger) of a seminar on PG courses at a certain University. I didn't gave it much thought and felt like dumping the idea as it was far from my place. I replied "I'll see" to him.

   The next day went as usual and yesterday morning my friend again reminded me of it. I was not in much mood yet casually asked my Mom about it. She replied in affirmative and infact gave a little dose of motivation by saying, "Such seminars are helpful and you have nothing lined up for the entire day." This line actually kicked me a little as the prospect of sitting at home the entire day was not much of a pleasant idea. I rang to my friend to inform my change of mind and quickly packed my bag. His voice seemed glad as he initially had no company and now got one. 

      I quickly packed my bag and went to the railway station where he had already arrived and we both headed towards boarding a train. Fortunately we were travelling just 2 days after the bus strike was over, otherwise the trains would have been such a mess. Our destination was Churchgate and since there is no direct train to commute there from Mulund (my place), we took connecting train to reach there. From railway station, we used Google maps to locate the college where the seminar was going to take place. It was about 10 minutes walking distance from the station so we thought of walking to the place over other means of transport. As we arrived in the front of the building, I felt a sense of deja vu. Anyways to rubbish this thoughts, my fellow friend was hit with a bitter call of realisation. There was no board informing about the seminar nearby.We checked the invitation link again and the date mentioned was ,"19 January". We had reached there as early as 24 hours. (PS- Never been so early in my life anywhere). I felt quite foolish. But the thought of going home just like that, seemed more foolish.

   So we started strolling around the fancy areas over there. Since Marine lines was on a little walk from there, we thought of going there. The sea looked magnificent as usual. I always wonder how does the sea manages to be so calm yet so dangerous at the same time! Even if there was sun on our head, it was not troublesome. Infact the sunrays felt tender. We chatted and clicked selfies for some time over there. As I felt peckish, we thought of going to eat somewhere. My friend remembered about the information our college friend had given us some time ago, about a famous Iranian cafe around Churchgate. Since our purpose of visit to Churchgate was the seminar, we didn't carry a lot of money and hence were not much keen on visiting any fancy restaurant.  The Iranian cafe seemed like a cheap indulgence according to Google and after reaching there we found that Google was more than right. This Iranian Cafe named "Kyani's Cafe" was perfect for our pocket. We enjoyed as many as 4 to 5 dishes and yet didn't feel bad to indulge on one more due to the pricing.My fellow Friend had a good knowledge about the area and was explaining to me any important building we pass through on our way to the railway station. I enjoyed knowing about the places and felt glad I came to the seminar so early. 

     Though we didn't attend the seminar, the trip didn't go wasted and was a much better experience than idling the day at home.

"The best things in life happen unexpectedly" 

           

'Thank you'

Marine Lines

Marines

A cycle trip to Kihim-Last trip of 2018

The year has ended and personally, I have a lot of resolutions and serious study plans for this year. So as I see all the hard work which will come my way eventually, I thought of having some fun to brighten my year end and get started with a refreshed mind for my new year.

So I, along with my 3 School friends departed for a trip (which we had planned together after a long time)a little late than we had scheduled it and started at around 6.30am in the morning. We caught the train to Gtb (Guru Tegh Bahadur) via Kurla. Then, from there, we caught a taxi to Wadala Truck Terminal. We took 4 racing cycles, "Fomas" for rent at "Rent-A-Cycle" and started at 7.30am from there. We went smoothly through the morning winters, zooming our wheels as fast as we can. As the road was empty, we hit the maximum speed in Mumbai itself.



 We reached Mazgaon Dockyard/Bombay Port Trust by 8.45 a.m. and saw all the fishermen and fishmongers trading for the fresh saltwater fishes. As it was a Sunday,(a favourable day to eat fishes)the morning market was crowded. We paid the ticket fair there for the famous ferry wharf at Bhaucha dhakka which is along the coast of Mazgaon Dock.

The ferry boat had 2 divisions. We enjoyed our ride on the basement floor of the boat while our cycles were transported to the Destination in the above division. Our destination was Revas at Alibaug and we reached there in around 1 hour 30 minutes. At first, we had thought of taking the route to Mandwa, Alibaug from Gateway of India but we found that the Ferries at Gateway of India don't take Cycles to Alibaug. So we came to Bhaucha Dhakka. Starting from Bhaucha Dhakka at 9.00am, we reached Revas, Alibaug at around 10.30am. While commuting, bringing snacks along with us swept out of our minds and hence we suffered from hungerpangs. So as soon as we halted at Revas, we jumped to a small hotel to fill our tummies. There we had sufficient breakfast and took something to eat for our next journey. We met 2 cyclists over there and they recommended us of visiting Kihim beach as we were there only for a day's trip. We directed maps to Kihim beach and started peddling, one behind the other, connecting our Bluetooth speakers to our phones for songs and enjoying our ride.The sun was shining brightly by that time. While riding, (since it was my first bicycle gear ride); I was trying different gear combinations and suddenly to my disappointment, the chain broke-down. The informer who had explained the gear system while renting the cycle had warned us that there may be a chain breakdown in case if we don't put it correctly but he didn't tell us how to fix it. There was no help available near me and I lacking the knowledge of fixing it, was myself in a fix. While trying to figure out something, suddenly two cyclists came from behind and extended a helping hand to me. Those two came from Pune and were backpackers of 2-3 days. Conincidently, they were going to the same destination as we were going. They knew the fix for the chain breakage and  I felt at peace. After that, they joined us for sometime and then moved ahead gradually.

The roads were very flat and joy of riding was immense. I am not a hodophile as such but at that time I felt like one. To our surprise, we saw a board named "Mandwa", where we had previously decided to go. So we halted there for sometime and took good pictures. We realised that it was more of a fishing area and not a tourist spot as such. After clicking photos we thought of watching the lighthouse which we was somewhere nearby along the bay according to Google. We travelled to the place directed but we couldn't see the light house. So we started again towards Kihim beach. Two of my friends who were very tired felt that it was unfeasible to reach Kihim beach and make our way back as it was already 1:45 p.m. Our ferry ride back to Bhaucha Dhakka from Revas Dhakka was at 4:15 p.m. So just the two of us decided to go to Kihim beach and come back and and the other two stayed there and decided to explore the nearby places. It was a 10km ride for the 2 of us and we started at around 2:00 p.m. and finally reached the place around 3.10 pm. It was a very tiring ride. Our legs were shivering and our bumbs soared. But the pain turned into relief when the golden sand and the waters at Kihim touched our feets. I had never rode so much on a cycle but  I felt that great things never come from comfort zone and this motivated me to ride the cycle.

The pain wavered in the satisfaction of our accomplishment to reach the beach.  Aware of the fact, that we had to reach Revas Dhakka by 4:15 p.m. to board the ferry at jetty, we didn't wait there for long. We had some lunch and started our retreat to our friends by 3:10 p.m. Also, we took some snacks and fluids to keep up our energy. After continuously riding for half an hour we stoped. That was around 3:40 p.m. and we had covered nearly 7 kms. We started again by 3:50 p.m. We reached Revas Dhakka by 4.25pm. The fact that the Ferry had not left still was heartening. The other two friends had already booked the return tickets for us also and we immediately boarded into the next ferry. The next one and a half hour was relaxing. We talked about each other's adventures and I felt at peace by knowing that the other two friends had also enjoyed their time.

They told us  that while exploring, they found the Mandvi lighthouse and and went through a rare path(with forest like feel) towards the lighthouse.Finally, after reaching they realised that it was not a lighthouse but only a chimney tower. One of them tried to climb the tower and while climbing upstairs his hand mistakenly touched a beehive and they ran for their lives to save themselves from the honey bees attack. They felt it was a humorous event even though one of them received a bee bite.

  

The day turned dark and we saw a cruise passing; which was on its way to 31st December's party. Later we jump down from the ferry, took our bicycles and rode back towards Wadala Truck Terminal. It was a wonderful experience to carry along. Also, I fell in love with cycling. Planning things and getting it done was what I learnt from this trip. To enjoy the small achievements along the path of reaching the final destination was something which this trip subtly taught me. I look forward to do more such trips as they teach us more engagingly than inside the four walls of our formal education.

Edited by-Utkarsha Patankar.

Thankyou.