RAINY TREK TO RATANGAD, The Jewel Fort

Monument atop Ratangad Fort

I have been striving to write about Ratangad, not because there is nothing to write about it, but Ratangad was so satisfying an experience of an ideal trek that I feel no amount of words can do justice to it.  Yet, it would be so unfair to let it pass by without a mention.  Hope my essay would even remotely be close to the heaven it is.

Ratangad, or the Jewel Fort, is situated in the village of Ratanwadi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.  Within its vicinity, is a myriad of locations to explore like the Bhandardara lake, dam, and falls, The Umbrella Falls at Wilson Dam, Randhaa Falls, Arthur Lake, Konkankada (known for its breathtaking view of the plains); and for trek lovers, there is Mount Kalsubai (the highest peak of Sahyadri), Sandhan Valley, Harishchandragad, and many more attractions.

Ratangad is said to be Shivaji Maharaj’s favourite fort.  Its base village Ratanwadi is home to the Amruteshwar Temple, an old monument dating back many centuries with beautiful carvings.  The rivers Pravara and Amrutvahini originate from this fort, and thus you will find many eateries and local shops with this name.  The Bhandardara dam is situated in these rivers.  You can gain entrance to the fort via four gates, Ganesh dwaar, Hanuman dwaar, Konkan dwaar, and Trimbak dwaar. There are many wells situated on the top and water cisterns and caves that can house people for an overnight trek.

Ahmednagar is accessible by road; and via train, one needs to get down at Igatpuri and take a state transport or a cab to Ratanwadi.  Even boat rides are available via Bhandardara to reach Ratanwadi.

Some pointers when undertaking such tricky treks are to take medium paced baby steps; speed is important to keep your energy level at the same mark.  Don’t walk fast, neither be slow. Keep a medium pace, enjoy the beauty.  When you are climbing a steep ascent, stoop your back and stay close to the ground; and when you are descending, place your feet at a slight angle rather than walking straight.  If you feel tired, stop to catch breath, but never sit.  Sitting drains your energy and makes you fatigued.  Have sips of water.  Do not drink more or gulp water as you might get stitches.  Stitches are sharp stomach pains like cramps that you get while exercising.

So, one fine day, after the Kolad river rafting, my thirst was resurfacing and I wanted to go for a trek.  Amit had been nurturing the idea of Ratangad and Sumedh has a never say die attitude.  The rest had other commitments.  So we decided to just go for it, without much thinking.  Thankfully, Amit brought little sister Pranita along.

Since Ratangad is a trek of medium difficulty and it was just  the four of us, we thought to approach professionals and thus we contacted TrekMates India, and they welcomed us with their usual pleasant demeanor.

Ahmednagar takes about 4 to 5 hours of travel, so it was an overnight journey along with 25 odd trekkers.  The group consisted of people with various stages of trekking experience—from novice beginners to hardcore trekkers, we had them all.

Their bus starts from Dadar with Thane as a pickup point; we chose the latter due to its proximity to us.  Though we planned to catch some sleep to prepare us for the tedious activity the next morning, sleep eluded us for the most part of the journey; yet we did manage to catch some naps here and there.

It was past 5 am when I opened my eyes and shifted the curtain to check out the scene outside.  Nothing prepared me for what met my eyes.  My friends were still sleeping and I was dying between waking them up and sharing the landscape or letting them sleep.  Call it telepathy or what, Amit opened his eyes and so did Sumedh sensing the excitement.

Spread for miles and miles were this green blanket of fields with the Bhandardara waters.  Ahmednagar felt heaven that day.  The water had a bluish green color.  Call it a scene right out of a movie.  It was beautiful, it was mesmerizing, it was spell binding; use all the words that come to your mind and they would still fall short to describe its beauty.  The pocket of fields were like tiny quilts of all shapes and sizes with different tints and tones of green, with the lake water interspersed among them, and entire area was nestled between mountains and valleys.  I feel inadequate describing the landscape, so let’s move on, as did our bus carrying slumbering trekkers.

Raw beauty of nature always gives me contentment and so I closed my eyes for the final nap.  Our bus was delayed due to heavy fog and traffic and hence we were an hour behind our scheduled arrival.  We alighted at Samrad village; and after a breakfast of poha and tea, there was a brief introductory session by our trek leads, Aniket and Kaustubh.  They briefed us that there are multiple points to ascend Ratangad, and our ascent for the day would be from Samrad village and descend would be at Ratanwadi.  One can both ascend and descend at Ratanwadi or even ascend via Sandhan Valley.

When we started the trek, it was a straight stretch of plateau for some 2 kilometers and I was like wow! What a trek.  Enjoying every step, the beautiful grass, the flower bloom, fields, lake, it felt as if I am walking in a paradise.  Little did I know that it won’t be long before I would think multiple times, why did I come here, I can’t take one more step, will this trek even be over, how much more to walk, especially the steep climb to the pinnacle, I didn't have the urge to move on.  Steep, steep, steep rocky climb.  The mountain seemed never ending.

We were greeted by schools of red crabs and black ones too; the red ones were a combination of red and orange, while the black ones had a black body with purple legs.  Then there were bright reddish orange ants, but thankfully no snakes.

Rains gave us company on and off, with increasing and decreasing magnitude, and so were the fog.  One moment we were standing and admiring the deep valley with flowery attire, and the very next moment, thick fog reduced visibility to few feet.  The rocky climbs scared me, but thankfully there were iron rung ladders at quite some places to make the climb just a little easy.  There were stone cut steps, rocks cut into footholds, but it was one big rocky mountain.  I was tired, panting, gasping for breath, ready to say quit, yet always finding new reasons to continue walking.  We had walked and climbed for almost 8 hours continuously.

But the scene was simply irresistible.  With every couple of steps you were greeted by beds of flowering shrubs with colours so vibrant—you never get to see such soft, gentle yet vibrant colours in the city. Bright smiling yellows, endearing pinks, soft feathery angelic whites, cozy cute lavenders, mesmerizing blues, and greens and greens and greens.

With respect to the scenery, I would let the pictures do the talking rather than me struggling with the words.

We were unable to see the Nedhe or the eye of the needle due to heavy fog and rains.  The Nedhe is an opening in the rock supposedly created by forceful winds and has an amazing view.

I had vowed that day not to visit Ratangad again as I am not prepared for that climb again, but I can still feel the trekker in me saying, “You liar, of course you will go.” Such breathtaking was the beauty.

After a short rest at the top of the fort where we relished the juicy apples which Amit brought, we explored the fort a little more and started our descent to Ratanwadi.  This time we encountered dense forests for the major part as opposed to the blooming flowers.  Again, the iron ladders made the descent a little easy, but a lot of time was wasted waiting as there was a really large family ascending the steps while we had to descend; only one or two persons can use the ladder at a time.  There were waterfalls, lake, dam, and finally the paddy fields.  It was raining continuously and red mud made it a slippery walk.  It was a sigh of relief to have reached the end after 8 hours of walking.  To say that our legs were tired would be an understatement.  We munched cakes midway to satisfy our famished tummy.  Munched? It was more like we hogged!!

Upon reaching Ratanwadi, we changed and freshened up.  Lunch was arranged by the organizers.  We devoured the simple home-cooked food of rice, bhakri, shev bhaaji, soya curry, usal, onion rings, pickle, papad, and a yummy spicy chutney.

Following lunch, we visited the Amruteshwar temple, a simple stony structure with beautiful carving and the Shivling in an underground tank of water.  My knowledge about mythology is scarce, so I can’t indulge much into it, but I did appreciate the beauty and sanctity of the temple.

We traced our steps back to the bus and almost everybody slept instantly due to the aching legs.   We drank the beauty for one last time, the paddy fields, mountains, and lake bidding us adieu, before calling it a day.

Time for the pictures to talk the tale...

The plateau where we started off, thinking the trek was a cake walk.

The fog covered mountains

The route we took.

After climbing half an hour, we saw this fall named Chipluk something and beyond it somewhere is Sandhan Valley and Harishchandragad. 

Feeling on top of the world

Can you see the fog covered pinnacle; thats the summit we had to reach.

Walking into the fog; no man's land.

A crabby trekker

A steep rocky ascent

This dog accompanied us right from Samrad and was walking with us like a guardian angel, not moving until he ensured all of us had safely reached where we were expected to reach.

Another valley

The rock cuts that we would have had to climb if not for the iron ladder.

Stony steps of the pinnacle to reach the fort.

Steep rocky climb just before entering the Darwaza

Amit braving up for a click.

Hurray the entrance!! perhaps the Trimbak Darwaza

Lake with the dam at the end.

The dam

Slow and steady wins the race.

Flowery beds, a walk to remember

The iron runged ladder at the Ganesh Darwaza

Trimbak Darwaza

Amruteshwar Temple with its exquisite carvings.

The temple surroundings

Our group with the temple background

Candid shot by Amit

And now some of the blooms of Ratangad.....

The soft white with tiny pinks and lavender

The array of violets, yellows, and white decking up the entire mountain

The green grass with black accessories

Nothing but dew drops trapped in a web

The green stars twinkling among the dew drops

The droopy heads, a soft violety blue

Its white counterparts

The yellow kisses with its contrasting purple

How beautifully the flower is nestled in its leaves

Bye from us till we meet in my next adventure

Chikhloli Dam, Badlapur

Chikhloli Dam

If you are someone staying in the vicinity of Badlapur, a city in the Thane district of Maharashtra, then Chikhloli dam could be your next monsoon destination.  It is a serene lake with a small waterfall and plenty of landscape to soothe your eyes and give you peace.

Since it has a restricted entry, you will not find much crowd here, except during the Ganesh festival, when they immerse the idol of Ganesha.  It is a sought-after spot for the locals and some lazy guys to hangout for booze.  But, if you are as lucky as we were, don’t be surprised if you and your gang are the lone picnickers for the day.

Place:  Chikhloli Dam

Where:  Badlapur

How to reach:  The dam is just 4-5 kms from Badlapur station.  You can easily get an auto rickshaw to take you as close to the dam as they choose to; and after a short climb on the hill, you reach the dam.  The dam is also accessible by road as it is close to the Badlapur highway.

Food:  It is advisable to carry your food in case you want to stay longer as there are no shops near the dam, and the lone makeshift kiosk that we did find there was closed.  In case you chose to consume food at the place, kindly carry back the leftovers, plates, cups, etc. for appropriate disposal.  The place is clean for the most part and let’s do our part by maintaining the cleanliness.

Best time to visit:  Monsoon.  Either hit it in the morning after breakfast or go out for a lazy evening with a flask full of masala chai and crunchies.

My friendship with Amit has been a recent one and I already have loads to thank him for the wonderful places he visits and shares the photographs, and I just can’t seem to resist visiting them myself.  He stays at Badlapur, and Chikhloli for him is a stone’s throw away distance from his place.  So you can very well understand his frequent visits to the dam.  He is an excellent guide and photographer.  Most of the pictures I get to share are shot by him.

With directions from Amit for the dam, I convinced my family for an outing one day.  We had initially planned to take the road, but due to some circumstances, we ended up taking the train from Dombivli to Badlapur.  From there, we took an auto rickshaw on a per seat basis.  The guy was kind enough to arrange another one as we were eight of us.  He even spoke to the dam authorities who let us take the rick farther into the premises.  If you have your own vehicle, you can take it all the way to the hill.

The lake is so peaceful with calm waters and flows into a stream to one end.  Swimming is permitted at your own risk. Be prepared for little fish bites as there are plenty of them; do they say fish spa? If you do not want to enter the water, it’s fine. You can feed the fishes from the banks.  You can take a walk across the dam and reach the mountains on the other side. You can walk the hills and take a tour of the greenery and flowers.  There are waterfalls and couple of temples, one on a hill and one Shiva temple at the base of the hill.  You can take a dip in the streams when the water is more.  After some lovely photo session, we traced our steps back.  We had informed the driver to pick us back, and he did so promptly.

The dam authorities were kind enough to let us take a tour of the water filtration process.  No footwear allowed and no photography.

We plan to go there again early next monsoon to see when the water level is more.  Chikhloli is a pleasant recreation spot, with beauty that compels you to go there again and again.

Pictures speak louder than words, so sharing some clicks by Amit.

The lake nestled in green heaven

If you just want to drench yourself, but not swim.

The waterfall, seen only when the water level is more

Feel like swimming?

The Balsam blossom

Chikhloli Dam, Badlapur

If you are someone staying in the vicinity of Badlapur, a city in the Thane district of Maharashtra, then Chikhloli dam could be your next monsoon destination.  It is a serene lake with a small waterfall and plenty of landscape to soothe your eyes and give you peace.

Since it has a restricted entry, you will not find much crowd here, except during the Ganesh festival, when they immerse the idol of Ganesha.  It is a sought-after spot for the locals and some lazy guys to hangout for booze.  But, if you are as lucky as we were, don’t be surprised if you and your gang are the lone picnickers for the day.

Place:  Chikhloli Dam

Where:  Badlapur

How to reach:  The dam is just 4-5 kms from Badlapur station.  You can easily get an auto rickshaw to take you as close to the dam as they choose to; and after a short climb on the hill, you reach the dam.  The dam is also accessible by road as it is close to the Badlapur highway.

Food:  It is advisable to carry your food in case you want to stay longer as there are no shops near the dam, and the lone makeshift kiosk that we did find there was closed.  In case you chose to consume food at the place, kindly carry back the leftovers, plates, cups, etc. for appropriate disposal.  The place is clean for the most part and let’s do our part by maintaining the cleanliness.

Best time to visit:  Monsoon.  Either hit it in the morning after breakfast or go out for a lazy evening with a flask full of masala chai and crunchies.

My friendship with Amit has been a recent one and I already have loads to thank him for the wonderful places he visits and shares the photographs, and I just can’t seem to resist visiting them myself.  He stays at Badlapur, and Chikhloli for him is a stone’s throw away distance from his place.  So you can very well understand his frequent visits to the dam.  He is an excellent guide and photographer.  Most of the pictures I get to share are shot by him.

With directions from Amit for the dam, I convinced my family for an outing one day.  We had initially planned to take the road, but due to some circumstances, we ended up taking the train from Dombivli to Badlapur.  From there, we took an auto rickshaw on a per seat basis.  The guy was kind enough to arrange another one as we were eight of us.  He even spoke to the dam authorities who let us take the rick farther into the premises.  If you have your own vehicle, you can take it all the way to the hill.

The lake is so peaceful with calm waters and flows into a stream to one end.  Swimming is permitted at your own risk. Be prepared for little fish bites as there are plenty of them; do they say fish spa? If you do not want to enter the water, it’s fine. You can feed the fishes from the banks.  You can take a walk across the dam and reach the mountains on the other side. You can walk the hills and take a tour of the greenery and flowers.  There are waterfalls and couple of temples, one on a hill and one Shiva temple at the base of the hill.  You can take a dip in the streams when the water is more.  After some lovely photo session, we traced our steps back.  We had informed the driver to pick us back, and he did so promptly.

The dam authorities were kind enough to let us take a tour of the water filtration process.  No footwear allowed and no photography.

We plan to go there again early next monsoon to see when the water level is more.  Chikhloli is a pleasant recreation spot, with beauty that compels you to go there again and again.

Pictures speak louder than words, so sharing some clicks by Amit.

The lake nestled in green heaven

If you just want to drench yourself, but not swim.

The waterfall, seen only when the water level is more

The calm, serene lake

The Balsam blossom

Well captured, Amit.

White Water Rafting at Kolad

Kolad was a three-year-old dream.  I am so thankful to be blessed with like-minded friends, who share the same passions, who do not think twice before helping out each other, and who would go to any extent for adventures.

So, like I said, the dream was dreamt 3 years back, but it was only a year back that we had finally decided to set a time to execute it, and we had decided 2016.  But when we started planning in March 2016, to our utter dismay there was severe draught in Maharashtra, and we were hoping against hope that the showers would pour down and we can finally set our stone to roll.  Hopes were glum till end of June.  Come July, the rains finally started its outpour and so did our spirits start to soar.

Kolad is a village in the Raigad district of Maharashtra and is blessed with the beautiful Kundalika river, which is famous for its water sports, especially river rafting or white water river rafting.  While we all wondered what is “white water”, it was our guide Ming who later clarified that the waters would not be white; rather, when the waters are turbulent and rough, the foam appears white in colour and hence the name “white water” river rafting.  I had heard from friends and the pictures from the Internet were simply tempting.  If you are one that loves adventure and thrill, you can’t afford to miss Kolad.

As opposed to our other adventures, this time we had a 13-member group.  So the date was fixed for August 9, Tuesday.  We decided on a weekday as weekend rates are costly.  Weekday meant a lot had to be managed both at the work and home front, but as I said earlier, we can go to any extent to manage our tours, and so all the manipulations and organizing was done.  We chose Tripplatform as our rafting organizer as they were offering the most economic package, and all bookings and enquiries were efficiently managed by Amit.  Vehicle (Tata Winger) was booked from Badlapur by Ashwini.

Since the first train was not convenient to take us to Kolad on time, it was decided to stay over at Badlapur and again, Amit pitched in to arrange our stay for the night. We had dinner at our respective homes and reached Amit’s place for the night, where he and Sunaina had made excellent prep for a comfortable stay.  No, we did not plan a gettogether dinner as a lot of us were working late shifts.  Since it was the first time we as a group were having a night out, none of us slept for a long time.  We finally dosed off past 2 am, only to wake up at 3:45 am.  Vaibhav, the super enthusiast in our group, along with Sunaina made us Vabby style Maggie for an early, early morning breakfast along with tea.  With lot of enthusiasm and trepidation, we boarded the Winger and started our journey to Kolad.

It gives me an altogether different joy and peace to watch nature bloom itself with the first rays of the sun.  The curtain of night is slowly dragged away making way for the morning sunlight and nature gets another opportunity to draw out its vibrant colours.  The sky, starting with a pinkish grayish hue, is strewn in a myriad of colours which changes with each passing minute.  To compliment that, the earth too adorns itself.  Green in all its shades—always reminds me of a decked up bride.  No, the bride does not deck up in green, but the similarity lies in decking up.  Offering a word of thanks and praising the creator and smiling at my dozing friends, me too closed my eyes after drinking in the beauty of the mountains, trees, and grassland.

Amit and Vaibhav didn’t sleep as they were sitting next to the driver, brave souls I must say.  We were just a little late from our scheduled time for arrival.  After having a word with the organizers, started the photo sessions, selfies, washroom, followed by the consent signing, and later briefing.  Our 13-member team was broken into two groups of 6 and 7.  Our guide for the event was Min, or did he say Meen, I am unsure of the spelling.  He was a knowledgeable person and he could judge the water current so accurately.  He made sure that none of us missed out on any part of the adventure and kept encouraging the ones who were scared to try.

After the briefing up session, we all got into the raft enthusiastically, only to be dropped into the water in the next few minutes to demonstrate the rescue mechanism.  Well, that little piece of stunt not just alleviated our tension but also elated our spirits for the upcoming adventure.  We had first thought that the whole rafting would last for some half an hour, but our jaws dropped when Min said it would be for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

While on the raft, you are supposed to fix your feet to footholds and hold on to the ropes and pedal (oars).  There is a technique for holding on to the pedal and a technique to oar it too.  Ming was a super talented guide.  He would only speak when he wanted to give us orders or he wanted us to try any water tricks in the suitable waters (Kya aap ye try karna chahenge?); else, he just let us drink in the feeling and let us be mesmerized by what we were experiencing.  I was first scared when the smooth flowing river suddenly turns rough and the raft would turn and toss itself with the tossing waves, but no words to express the thrill.  He would ask us to let our feet down or bend upside down and dip your head in the river, and so on.  After some kilometers, he asked us to get off the boat and just float and flow with the river flow.  Everyone was a bit skeptical of this section at first, but it later turned out to be the best part of the entire rafting experience.  As we neared our endpoint, the final kilometer was  a super-smooth, river which meant tireless oaring.

They do not let us take our cameras with us, but they have stationed photographers at some points, who capture both still and motion pictures, which later they sell us.  Be sure to bargain as much as you can.  Anagha really surprised us all with her bargaining talent.  Once we reached our end point, we didn’t want the fun to get over, but every good thing comes to an end.  We treated us to some really hot bhajis, vadapavs , and tea.  Later, lunch was arranged for us by the organizers at a hotel.

Post lunch, we wanted to explore some more events, so off we went for a round of zipline and river crossing.   Zipline is where you are protected by harness and the harness is connected to a rope above, and zooooopppp, you come down the rope in the river and you are later picked up by a kayak.

River crossing you are taken by boat to the mid of the river where a rope is tied extending to the river bank.  You hold on to the rope and travel to the bank bracing the river current.  Both were fun but got over in seconds and minutes and were not as thrilling as rafting, nevertheless, we enjoyed it.

Other activities offered at Kolad are kayaking, Burma bride and commando bridge crossing, speed bike water ride, rappelling among others.

Later we showered and changed and hopped into our winger.  Fatigue caught us and with the lovely melody of 90s playing, we were slowly lulled into sleep.  After a short nap, photos were shared and it was time for tea.  Very soon we reached Badlapur from where we started.  Then we caught trains to our respective destinations, and thus an exciting, thrilling, adventurous day came to an end. 

Koraigad, in the rains

Summer 2016 was a dry, drought, depressing summer, with hassles for water.  (Oh! That was alliteration by the way.)  Maharashtra was pleading for rains, and the rains too were a late-comer.  Makes me realize that no matter how technologically advanced mankind grows, we still are hapless when it comes to natural disasters, or what you call acts of God; a reminder for humans to stay humble at all times and respect and preserve nature.

Well, finally when the rains came, joy knew no bounds, and what else would the residents of Mumbai and its suburbs and Maharashtra at large wait for.  There was greenery and waterfalls everywhere.  Not to miss out on experiencing the slow bloom of nature, we planned a trek.  Since we were not too much keen on undertaking some hardcore trek, we planned on one of the easy-to-climb forts of Maharashtra, that’s Koraigad or Korigad, situated at the outskirts of Lonavala.  I must tell you that we had visited Koraigad in winter some years back, but it was a completely different experience with the rains.  We had pouring rains, cloud, fog, waterfall all at the same time, which was a complete contrast to the winter platter.

Koraigad in the Summer

Koraigad in the rains

Since travel was just some 2 hours long and we were not worried about the sun, we decided to catch up enough sleep and not be an early riser that day, a mistake we realized later.  It was decided to meet at 7 am.  We had a vehicle arranged from Badlapur, and our saarthi Nilesh was a careful driver.  We got down at Badlapur station and after exchanging pleasantries, we eagerly hopped into a nearby tea shop for our morning brew, yummy I must say.  Having tea with drizzles and friends and lots of laughter is an experience in itself.  With our body warm from the tea, we started our trip via the old Mumbai Pune Highway, which was a picturesque ride in itself.  We stopped at Karjat for our breakfast and loo break.  Hungrily gulping the hot vada pavs and bhajis, we finished it with berry chocolates that a friend brought.

We reached Koraigad passing through the scenic Lonavala, Bushi Dam, Lion’s Point, et al.  Since our adrenaline was surging, we didn’t have any more eatery stopovers till we reached the fort.  I must tell you that there are two ways to get to the footsteps leading to the fort.  One starts opposite the Peth Shahapur village busstop, where there is provision to park your vehicles, if you are traveling by private transport, bus, or car.  Just a short mention, here that on our first visit, we had taken a Karjat train from Mumbai, alighting at Karjat and again taking a connecting train to Lonavala.  From there, we had hired a local transport to Peth Shahapur.

Parking space

The other trail starts at Bhairavnath temple which is an easier walk especially in the rain, though a long one, as you have to travel through the village.  But you will not regret the extra mile as each path has a beauty of its own.  The shorter path from the bus-stop was slippery and we hoped we had not taken that path.  So just a forewarning.

Trail to the steps

The trek was lovely as it was raining continuously and it was fun exchanging a word or two with other trekkers.   We walked through forest thickets, open land, and muddy path, all having an excitement of its own.  Once we reached the stone steps, altered and repaired now, the climb was easy and even more fun as we had water flowing through steps like a waterfall. 

The serpentine steps

Water flowing through the steps

A closer shot by the talented Amit

Pictures and oohs and aahs and monkeys followed.  Treks are one of the amazing ways of connecting with raw nature.  To me, it felt like a prayer and worship.  You go to the house of God per your religion and worship the Almighty, it’s different.  But, trek is like you are only praising the creator, thanking Him for this amazing creation.  What a lovely prayer where you just praise Him and not ask anything in return.

The steps are serpentine with curves, and with every curve you get a waterfall from the steps above.  It was not dangerous, yet it always helps to be cautious.  They have put barriers and railings for support in many places.  This trek is so easy and safe that you can even get children along.

You will find a medium size cave, the size of one room kitchen, which you can use for short rest; and during the rains there are vendors selling hot tea, snacks, and Maggi too.  During the non-rainy seasons, it’s a beautiful stopover as you have provision to sit there and enjoy the views around.  There are a couple more smaller caves on the way.

Cave on the way

Finally when we reached the Ganesh darwaja (entrance to the fort), the wind was chilling and we were ready for another round of tea.  There were a couple of villagers who were carrying hot tea in flasks along with eatables.  The fort was cleaner than expected, yet the travellers can do more justice by safeguarding nature and not littering plastic and most of all avoid liquor bottles.  The fort is in excellent condition with renovated steps and strong walls.  You will find the Koraidevi temple atop the fort.  The Koraidevi temple is even known to accommodate up to 25 people, making it ideal for night treks and camping.  There are two more temples on the fort and those too make for a comfortable stay.  To the northern side, alongside the Koraidevi temple, are two ponds.  The ponds supposedly contain drinkable water, so another plus point for camping as you can cook there.  You can enjoy a dip and quench your thirst.

The Ganesh Darwaja, Fort Entrance

Koraidevi Temple

The pond with the temple at the backdrop

There is a vast area to explore, around 2 kms.  To the southern end of the fort there are several cannons (Thop in Hindi), so we can get a feel of our history.  Do take time to touch and feel them as you are transferred to the times of Shivaji and wars, as your mind travels to history and historical people.

You can go to the edges of the fort wall and enjoy the view below.  You will see the much acclaimed Aamby Valley and its air strip.  There are two lakes that you can see in the distance.   As you can expect, the view is splendid as it is from any mountain or hill top.  One can walk along the walls of the fort and enjoy the beauty both within the fort and simultaneously enjoy the view below.   To the pond side, there are some steep climbs, which become easy if you have friends like mine.

We had explored the entire fort when we had been there in the winter.  But this time, during rains, low visibility and continuous downpour were a problem, and as I had mentioned earlier, we were not feeling too adventurous.  Too much clouds and fog were a hindrance to any view that you would hope to see.  So we stayed just about half an hour and indulged in some home brought munchies.

We started the descent, which was even more amazing than the ascent as we indulged in the waterfalls and clicked lot of pictures.  On our way back, we dropped in to see some houses at Aamby valley.  Wow! What beautiful bungalows.  We walked through Peth Shahapur village before reaching the parking lot.  A short distance from here you will find some houses where you have provision for changing clothes (they charged Rs. 20 per person) and food.  You have options of veg and nonveg thali and Chinese too.  This was not there during our winter trip, so I am not sure if it’s a seasonal stopover or they operate year round.

We encountered heavy traffic at Lonavala; hence, it is advisable not to visit this place in weekends.  Took us 4 hours just to cross Lonavala city, compared to the two hours it took to reach from Badlapur.  We were so tired that we were compelled to take a tea break before reaching Karjat.  From there, the traffic was sparse and we chit-chatted, played Antakshari, and dosed off too amidst all this.

It was pretty late due to all the traffic we had to encounter, but it was a day well spent with friends and nature.

Lessons learnt:

Admiring God’s creation is one of the purest form of worshipping.

It’s high time, we take steps to preserve nature and such historic monuments; else, future generations will have little to relive these times.

Friends are an unending source of energy and happiness.

Due to heavy rains and fog, we were unable to click any clear pictures.  Hence, the pics below, some are clicked by my friend Amit, while the others are from the internet to give you an idea of the beautiful, beautiful fort.  

Map of Koraigad fort

Koraigad, view from base.

Vihi Waterfalls, Kasara

After a long hiatus, couldn’t let go writing about this awesome place we went to this weekend.  Before I start penning, I should thank my friend Vaibhav for suggesting this place.  Without much surprise, I’d scream the name; it’s Vihigaon waterfall, Kasara, Maharashtra.

I like suggesting places that are economical, yet breath-taking and can be enjoyed by everyone; and Vihi fits the bill perfectly.

Vihigaon is situated at Kasara, in Nashik district, about 15 mins drive from Kasara railway station—a scenic village with fields, farms, cattle, mudhouses, dams, waterfall, rivers, and adventure sports.  It has also acquired the name Ashoka falls as few scenes of the movie Asoka was shot here, especially the song "San sa na na na nan."  Though it was named after the movie, there could not be a more suitable name as the falls lives up to its name, meaning "without sorrow," as one is sure to forget the world when you come here, and also due to its greatness.

Vaibhav had initially suggested this place because we wanted to try waterfall rappelling, just one of the adventure sports activity taking place at Vihi.

Discussions and planning were underway since more than 2 months.  Friends were contacted and groups formed.  We even registered with Trekmates.  Why register you may ask?  One can do waterfall rappelling individually too, but the activity is so much fun that you are unlikely to get a slot if you go on your own.  So it is advisable to register with some event planners so that you don’t miss out on the fun.  But in spite of registering, miss we did because the water current was too much to allow rappelling.  Due to heavy rainfall, rappelling had to be suspended and there was one more activity called valley crossing.  In case you plan on trying the sports, do carry necessary documents with you like your photo identity proof, with name, age, address, and emergency contact person (all adventure sports involve risks).

If you are not one who wants to indulge in a sport, let it not deter you from going to Vihi, as this is just one more feather in her cap.  The lush greenery, perfect landscape, and roaring waterfalls are simply magnificently breathtaking.

So, as planned, we decided on a date when Trekmates had scheduled rappelling and we took an early morning train to Kasara.  Since we all stay in the central line, each one got in at the station convenient for them.  The usual hulla gulla, antakshari, chirpy chit chats, and snacking ensued.  After getting down at Kasara railway station, we had our breakfast of sandwiches and tasty idlis.  I forgot to mention that as part of planning, we had allotted one item to each member in the group for breakfast and lunch that we would cook and carry as you will not find hotels nearby the village.  So early in the morning even small hotels near station would be closed.  But we had a chai/coffee wala at the station.  If you still want homemade food but do not want to make your own, you can order food with one of the villagers.  Else, you have dhabas at the main road.

So, after breakfast and tea, we headed for Vihi.  There are jeep services from Kasara station to Vihigaon that would charge you Rs. 40 per head.  Since it is a local service, you can expect to be crammed up in the jeep with 15 people sharing the space.  But what is adventure without such unexpected twists and turns!  Since we were a group of 16, we had the jeep to ourself.  On an advisory note, it would be helpful to take down the phone number of the driver, so that he can pick you up for return journey too; else, you could get stranded for hours waiting for a pick up.  If you are travelling by your own vehicle, then no problem.

Did I forget to mention all the selfies taken in train and jeep by the enthusiasts??  No fun nowadays goes without selfies, do they?

After a 15-minute drive, the jeep would drop you off near a Primary school, Prathamik Shala in Marathi.  You can stretch your legs and move your body, take a deep breath of fresh air, and start wowing and everywhere you look, its breathtaking.  Start clicking, click, click, click…. photos I mean.  The landscape, the village, the cattle, the hen and her chicks, fields… Have a leisurely walk of 7-8 minutes and there is the waterfall.  So convenient, isn’t it?

The roaring sound of waterfall just cannot be missed.  Be careful as you tread, there are fields around and you might accidentally step on one, ruining the crop.  So just be careful and protect the plants.

There is a small dam where you can swim and sit under the drop, but be careful, if the water force is too much.  It can drag you along. You have 4 places here where you can take your pick.  First, is the dam for the swim, followed by its wall where you can sit or under the wall for a nice champi (body massage), then the water flows into a small waterfall, and finally the main 120-feet waterfall where all the activities take place.  We did the first two options and skipped the third as we were dying to go to the main falls.  As it is our rappelling got cancelled, so we didn’t want to miss out on the falls.  We all had an early lunch of poori bhaji, paratha and the finger-licking thecha (that would take another post), boiled eggs, and shrikhand.   It rained in the midst of our lunch and that was another entertaining lunch in the rains.

We did not want to litter the place, so all leftovers were neatly packed back into our bags, with no trace of food.  We retraced our steps back to the main waterfall.  The sound of falls was so inviting. After a careful descent of rocky stones you are simply awed by the falls. The falls is so magnificent.  We were inside the waters for around 2 hours, braving the water current, and trying to reach the base of the fall (behind the waterfall). No words to describe the fun here, you have to experience it.  If you do not want to enter the falls, you can just stand at the sides and enjoy the soft spray of water from the falls.

Without having the heart to step out, but out of compulsion, we finally stepped out and climbed back the stone steps.  Another photo session ensued.

After all the enjoyment one is plagued with the BIG question, where to change??  Well, do not worry. Remember the primary school and the village? Just walk back the 7-8 mins and there, the friendly villagers let you use their homes for changing (expected to be charged though as we paid 20 rupees per person) and you can also ask them for tea or food.  Food I think you have to place your order before you head for the falls.

After changing, you can explore the river and click more photos.  Our jeep wala was ready at the promised time and we headed off to Kasara station.  Had some nice tea and caught the local.  Glad, we got seats to sit comfortably.  After some chit-chats, dozing off, and promises to meet again soon, each alighted at their respective stations with a happy heart.

Just in case you have your own vehicle, do spend time exploring nearby places like the dam, river, Dharni mata temple, and an old British bridge. Sadly, time didn't permit us to do so.

Lessons learnt:  God is such a magnificent creator.  He paints the earth in such hues we can’t even begin to fathom.

Friends are an irreplaceable part of your life, and an outing with friends truly rejuvenates your soul.

So take time and meet people in person rather than on social networks and spend quality time.

All Photographs are courtesy my friends.

120-ft water fall

The Water Basin

Valley crossing activity

The Dam and Its Flow

Enjoying the Champi

Long view of Dam

The mini fall

Walk to the falls

The scenic Vihigaon

Enjoying the splash

An Unpleasant Hospital Experience.. a lesson to be learnt..

It is with mixed feelings of gratitude and shame that I write this article.   One gets to experience such instances rarely or is it that only I feel so?  The story dates back to around 3 years when I was about to deliver my daughter.  Being a resident of Dombivili, I registered myself to one renowned obstetrician named Dr. Krishnakumar.  Call it sixth sense or what, right after my first antenatal visit in my second month of pregnancy, I confided to my husband that I feel I would have a normal delivery, but this doctor would advise me caesarean section.  True to my gut feelings, in my ninth month, just a week before my due date, he said the baby has not descended or rather the head is not fixed, so you have to elect for a cesarean.  I did not want to give in so easily, so I requested him that we will wait a week since I am not due yet.  He said no, even if you wait 10 days, you will ultimately have to have a cesarean, so do not waste any more time and select a date.

My husband and me reviewed our possibilities again and again, over and over, but I just could not make my mind up to it.  No doctor would accept a case at this late stage, yet my mind refused to accept.  No, I was not in a state of denial, rather I was so firm in my instincts and decision that I would have a normal delivery no matter what.  My husband was into Nursing at Fortis Hospital, so I asked him if we could get another opinion.  We went the very next day to Fortis Hospital in Mulund where after some tests, the kind lady doctor said that it is very much possible for you to have a normal delivery, or at least a trial can be given.  This was my first instance of gratitude.  I thanked her immensely for restoring my faith and asked if she would do the delivery.  She said that delivering at Fortis would not be affordable for you, so you ask your own doctor to give a trial.

The next day I went in for a third opinion, after I got referral from my neighbors, to another doctor in Dombivili.  The lady at the receptionist refused to even give me an appointment first looking at my advanced stage. After a 3-hour wait and multiple requests, I finally got to see the doctor.  When I apprised him of my case, he too told me that I should ask my doctor to give a trial and that he was an experienced person.  But my mind was not letting me go to that doctor because I was sure that even if the doctor listened to my request, he would but eventually perform a cesarean.

After another late night discussion, I convinced my husband that we would go for a fourth opinion at NM Wadia Maternity Hospital in Parel.  It takes almost one and a half hours of travel to reach the hospital from my place, but he reluctantly agreed.   I met with my parents and took their advice too.  They were of the opinion that they would support me no matter what decision I take.

Now, started my roller coaster ride with the hospital.  When I went to the OPD, I explained the receptionist that I was here to take an opinion.  Yet, I was asked to pay for a battery of tests that were not performed on me saying it was the norm.  I told them let the doctor first prescribe and if needed, I would pay, but they were not entertaining any discussion, so I had to pay.  After some wait, when they asked me to go to the respective waiting room of the doctor, I saw that there were two doctors' names and I was asked to choose one.  When asking their opinion did not provide any worthwhile suggestion, we both prayed and said we would chose a Dr. Trupti Nadkarni.   When you go to Wadia you have to be prepared to repeat your history multiple times to all the concerned interns and students before you can finally relate it to your actual doctor.  I took everything with a pinch of salt and prepared myself to see the doctor.  When the doctor arrived, I had a sudden light of hope inside me and I felt a strange feeling that she is my angel, and angel she was.

Such a sweet, humble, concerned doctor!  She patiently listened to all that I had to say without interrupting me and her first words were "What a brave person you are!"  Everything she said was restoring my faith that I have come to the right place and all is going to be fine now.  God had taken my case in His hands and He was going to fight for me and deliver me.  She too did some tests (physical examination) to see if the fetus' head had fixed.  She said it is fixed and you will have a normal delivery.  She gave me some exercises that will help me further in having a normal delivery.  She said we will wait until 2 days post my due for pain to start on its own; else to return for an induction.

I waited for pain to come, but there was none.  Finally we went on the stipulated date, had an ultrasound and NST (non-stress test), and went in for admission.  God sent another angel to help me through this via a nurse who was a former colleague of my husband.  She personally ushered us through all the examinations and formalities and visited us at the end of her shift.  That time I was inducted and started getting labour pains at 2:30 a.m.  We had chosen Nursing Home ward as that was supposed to be a private ward, meaning better care, but I was surprised at the care I received in that ward.  Surprised more so because I was an alumni of that hospital, having studied my midwifery there.  Such shoddy, irresponsible nursing care that you would be ashamed to be called a nurse.  I got an excellent doctor, but horrible nursing care.  There were only 5 patients at that time and one nurse, which was a fairly decent ratio to handle.  As a student nurse, in my night shift, I had handled about 81 patients in the ANC ward of the same hospital as my fellow student had to take an urgent leave.  When a student can handle that much, how much more responsible should a staff nurse be while handling 5 patients in a private ward?

After a S/P S/E (shave and prepare along with simple enema) order was written, the orders were not carried out and were done only after she was reprimanded by the doctor.  When I was about to be transferred to the labor ward, it is a protocol to be transferred in a stretcher, but I was made to walk to the labor ward.  The labor ward nurses were another saga to experience.  When they asked if I was given an enema and I replied in the negative, they threw up their hands saying it was not their job and the ward nurse is supposed to do that.  So the ward nurse was called and enema was given.  I must again thank the doctors for their support and regular visits because the nurses never came to my side.  I was aware that there used to be 5 to 6 staff nurses per shift apart from 3-4 student nurses and this was the day shift.  When you are in that pain, you wriggle about and tend to lose focus about oneself.  One tiny sheet (drawsheet) was provided to cover my lower half and in the all the wriggling and tossing in pain the sheet did little to cover me.  At one point the sheet fell down the bed and the bed was very high for me to reach down.  A couple of nurses passed by the room and I requested them to please give me the sheet and the answer I got was they would send an ayah or ward boy.  How much time would they have wasted had they given me the sheet which was anyway their duty.  I lay like that exposed for almost half an hour until a ward boy happened to pass by.  The kind-hearted soul felt sorry for me and gave me the sheet.  He even mumbled some curses for the nurses for being so hard-hearted and left.

When IV was hooked to my hand there was blood all over my hand as a result of a failed attempt.  The nurses again did not bother to clean my blood stained hand.  After all the pain, I delivered my baby at 2:40 p.m.  When I asked to see the baby or what gender it was, they said they would clean up the baby and show me, then I can see for myself what gender the baby was.  I asked them if it was a girl because I wanted a baby girl, but they asked me to wait.  I felt it strange because back during my student days, the mother was shown the baby even before the umbilical cord was cut.  I thought I'd wait because there were procedures performed on me like suturing the episiotomy and all.  The doctors did their job and asked the nurses to clean up.  I was fitted with a pad but all the other residue including the placenta was just left like that.  I was surrounded with all the mess, the blood, the instruments, et all.  Another pair of nurses walked into the room after almost half an hour, I asked them about my baby, they said don't you know and just left.  Imagine me lying there not knowing, not seeing my baby, what happened to her, nothing.  When the doctors came back for a check, I asked them about the baby.  They were shocked to know that I have not seen my baby yet and asked they will tell the nurses to show me.  I waited and waited for more than 3 hours when my patience ran out.  I knew that the baby had to be fed within one hour of delivery.  I began shouting and threatening and only then they showed me my baby -- my lovely angelic baby girl.  That is another story to tell, the emotions that ran through me when I first saw her and touched her.  Till then I had only read, but that moment I actually felt that I had taken a second birth.

I did not even spend 5 mins with her and they were taking her away.  When I told them that I need to feed her, they said they will feed her (lactogen) and I can feed her once they transfer me back to the ward.  

In the meantime, there was another lady in the same room who had delivered half an hour before me.  She had PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension) and was not even in her senses totally.  She had passed stool and the room was stinking.  I had to rehearse another round of shouting to call the nurses to get the lady cleaned.  Instead of being compassionate to the lady, they began shouting at the lady for being so disgusting.  Since I was already in a state of rage towards the pathetic nursing care, I gave a good dose of my mind to the nurses to just do their job and disappear.  When it was time for my second perineal cleaning, again no one came.  I was soaked in blood.  I badly wanted to pass urine and no one could be found.  One ayah came and I requested her to take me to the bathroom.  She offered me a bedpan and the bedpan lay there for almost an hour before it was removed.  During my days, they offered tea and biscuits post delivery so that you get some strength back, but none was offered to me.  My husband somehow as a telepathy read my mind and sent me tea and biscuits with one ward boy.  It was as if no one cared for a patient there.  People were like robots roaming around with no emotions or responsibilities.  It was past 5 pm and I was not transferred still.

After another round of screaming and shouting, I was finally transferred to the ward at 6:30 pm, but not without ensuring a hefty tip from my husband.   I had to stay 5 days in the hospital, and during those 5 days, the nurses hardly did anything for me or the baby.  Even when they bathed her, even the blood stains were not removed properly.  They only came, gave orders to my mother who was staying with me, and marched off.  They would not even give me medicine.  I was just informed "take your medicine after food."  Enough, rest had to be done by me.  Not that I could not or would not do, but that was not the hospital's policy.  The night before I was to be discharged home, my baby after a bout of poo, started crying very badly.  I was frightened because her cry did not seem normal to me.  Within a minute she was ashen with blue lips.  She had even stopped breathing.  I was shouting for the nurse to come and she was soundly asleep in her chair.  I stormed out of my room and was furious that she could be so oblivious to a baby's painful cry just 5 meters away and was not even responding to my cries and shouts.  I was out of my mind and demanded that the doctor from NICU be called now.  She came waddling to my room, as if taking a walk, and saw that the fan was on.  During her cry the baby had managed to remove the blanket we had swaddled her in.  So the nurse was telling that she is feeling cold and scolded me as to why the fan was on.  I was simply not in my mind and so scared for my baby that I kept demanding that the doctor be called.  Doctor came after 10 mins, when the NICU was hardly 30 secs away from this particular ward.  He said that she might have had a colic and not to panic.  Till then I did not know what was colic.  Thankfully, I had a safe discharge from the hospital and came home.

I am saddened that I have to write this about my fellow nurses, not all, but those few who fail to show compassion or fail to do their duty. If not for the wonderful bunch of doctors who took excellent care of me, the nurses were nothing but nerve wrecking saga.  Nursing is a service to mankind, wherein you need to have compassion, care, kindness, and so much more.  That is what I had learned as a student nurse.  I am not blaming all the nurses because I know what an angel they are, but my experience was such that I have no kind words to tell about them.

Medical profession has become a hardcore business, with little concern towards care.  They think of ways to mint money and can go to any extent to fill their pockets.

Hence, I want to ask the doctor whom I had registered with, why was he not ready to wait for the one week that I was still due?  Why was he not ready to give the trial of normal labor when 3 other doctors felt that I could be trialed?  Why did the nurses show such a lackadaisical attitude to their work?  Why were they not considerate of a patient's needs?

Please doctors and nurses, have a heart.  I do not deny the extreme conditions that you work in, but the common man considers you only next to God.  Admitted you cannot be God, but may I at least urge you to be God-like?

And, ladies, listen to your subconscious mind.  It will surely guide you.

Hope time brings in a positive change.