The world is changed. I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember. It began with the industrial revolution. The race of men have always desired power above all else. The common man was deceived. He fell to the power of the artificial & material things, not recognizing things that really mattered. Till this day he continues to be blind. One by one we all have fallen to this contrived image of Joy & Happiness. But there are some who still resist. This is their story. For photos of the trek visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/cjagtap/Harishchandragad
The exams ended on 20th April. I wanted to go on a trek and luckily NB had arranged one to Harishchandragad. This would be my second trip to the fort, but the difference being that this was a night trek. We were 26 or 28 people. As predecided we assembled at Kalyan ST depot at 10 pm on 27/4/07. After completing the necessary formalities we caught the 11.15 pm bus for Khubi. Unfortunately the bus was full & none of us got a seat. A very bad start to a trek which turned out to be quite beautiful. When we reached Khubi at 1.45 am on 28th we had no energy left to do any trekking. We had tea at the local dhaba & suddenly all were looking very much ready for a night’s hard work. We had to hike for 5 kms to reach the village Khireshwar by 3.30 am. Here we took a short halt for half an hour. We were joined by Rohan & one of his friends from Poona. Till now I had made friends with 2 guys from Goregaon- Sumit & Chandra. At about 4 am we again resumed trekking. We had no problem in getting the path because of the NB experts. Although it was night we were all sweating. The trek as such is very easy from this side of the mountain. All of us covered the traverse without any difficulty. With one or two breaks in between we reached Tolar Khind just before dawn. The breeze here was heavenly. All the first timers showed tremendous resolve by keeping up with the rest of the group. The NB team coordination was good. This helped save a lot of time. At around 5.50 am after taking a short break in Tolar Khind we decided to go for the rock patch ahead. While negotiating this part it had begun to lighten in the east. It was dawn. After completing this patch we waited for sun rise, a lot of photographs being clicked here. Now the fun would start. From here on we could take the seven hills route to reach the Harishchandragad temple directly or take an alternative route which takes us first to the Bale Killa & then to the temple. This saves us the effort to come back from the temple to see the Bale Killa all over again. We took the second route, but unfortunately got lost. At 6.40 am we were at the base of the Bale killa. Some people decided to stay back. We left our bags for safe keep with them & decided to have a look around. Towards the south we went. We could see the Nane Ghat region in the distance. We wanted to see the Junnar Darwaja, but it was way down the mountain side & we were short of time. So skipping it we turned back to the place where our custodians were awaiting. Here we had biscuits to keep the engine going. All were hungry. But the destination was still far ahead. Some of the more enthusiastic members went on to see Bale Killa, while the rest of us proceeded towards the temple. The initial plan was to visit Taramati, the second highest peak in the Sahyadris, after Kalsubai. But then none had the energy to visit the place. So we all made directly for the temple and reached the place at 8.45 am. Here we refueled our water stock (available round the year). The temple is in a bad shape. We immediately set out for the caves, which lie in the boot of the Taramati cliff. At 9.30 am all were settled in the caves. Arriving there that early, we were the only trekkers on the fort then. Immediately the scramble for the breakfast began. We were going to have shevayancha (vermicelli) upma & coffee for breakfast. Soon we realized that it would be very difficult to spend the night in the caves as they were infested with honey bees. So we again made for the caves in the yard of the temple. Here we rested & had our lunch prepared by Mr. Parag. It consisted of 5 Thepalas, potato vegetable & pickles. The vegetable had been very well prepared & had to be rationed. After this Rohit & a couple of other people went to see Kokan Kada while others went to the Kedareshwar temple to freshen up. This temple consists of a huge Shiva ling in the centre & has 4 pillars on its sides. Three of these are broken. This entire structure is surrounded by waist deep ice cold water. The Kedareshwar temple is a 5 min walk from the Harishchandragad temple. The water here is not potable, but serves as a good source for washing & bathing, these things being done ‘not’ within the water reservoir. Soon we returned to the caves & went off to sleep. At 5 pm I woke up to go to the Kokan Kada. Already much of the group had already left for the place. I having been there before took along two new comers later. We joined our people at this place at around 6 pm, just in time for the sun set. The view here is always breath taking. After moving around the place & taking a dozen odd snaps we started our journey back to the temple, after the sunset. At 7.15 pm we were back at the temple to find out that a Dundy had arrived at the place. There was a lot of commotion & we decided that it was best for us to move out to a quieter place. We decided to spend the night on the plateau at the base of Taramati. At around 8 pm we all settled down at this new place with carry mats and sleeping sheets being rolled out for the nights sleep. Rohit was the chief chef for the evening. According to his orders Pulav, Salad & Papad were prepared. Rohan, Parag, Neah, Neha, Tanmaya & a few other folks lent their labour. The pulav was ready by 9.30 pm. It was devoured by us by 9.50 pm. I was very tired by this time & immediately fell asleep by 10.15 pm. I got up early in the morning at about 5 am. People around me were star gazing. I tried to go to sleep once again, but couldn't. I packed my rucksack. It was time for taking some more shots at the sun. At around 6.30 am I had my first take at him. After this ritual we had some tea & bread to go along with it. After filling our water bottles we started our trek back at 7.50 am on 29/4/07. We made it to the Tolar Khind by 9.10 am. The descend was a bit scary for the new comers but was completed without much of a hassle. After this it was all child’s play. We were in Khireshwar by 10 am. We rested in a local hotel for an hour. Here we had Poha & lime juice. At 11.00 am we started out for Khubi. On the way back we visited the Nageshwar temple. Instead of taking the route along the dam which is long & tiring we took an alternative route for reaching the highway. This route joins the high way around 1.5 to 2 kms before the dam wall, towards Kalyan. At 1.00 pm sharp we were on the high way. Around 1.45 pm we got a bus for Kalyan. The bus travel was horrible. I was having nausea & had to take a vomistop tablet. When the bus reached the end of the Ghat the sun was scorching. We had a brief halt here where we had sugar cane juice. Back in the bus I was feeling much better. At 4 pm we reached Kalyan. Due to the jumbo block we had to catch a local transport bus back to Dombivali. Luckily we did not have to wait long for it. In Dombivali people had food at Topplers near Ganesh Mandir. The trains were crowded to their capacity & we were worried how our final ride home would be. Rohit, Pankaj, Neha & I got into the luggage compartment & were lucky enough to get a decent space to ourselves. We reached Dadar at 7.05 pm. All in all a good trek.
The total cost of the trek came out to Rs. 550 approx.
I am looking forward to the time when NB arranges this trek through the 'nalichi wat'. Best of luck to NB which would be completing its 1st anniversary on the 13th May 2007.
The exams ended on 20th April. I wanted to go on a trek and luckily NB had arranged one to Harishchandragad. This would be my second trip to the fort, but the difference being that this was a night trek. We were 26 or 28 people. As predecided we assembled at Kalyan ST depot at 10 pm on 27/4/07. After completing the necessary formalities we caught the 11.15 pm bus for Khubi. Unfortunately the bus was full & none of us got a seat. A very bad start to a trek which turned out to be quite beautiful. When we reached Khubi at 1.45 am on 28th we had no energy left to do any trekking. We had tea at the local dhaba & suddenly all were looking very much ready for a night’s hard work. We had to hike for 5 kms to reach the village Khireshwar by 3.30 am. Here we took a short halt for half an hour. We were joined by Rohan & one of his friends from Poona. Till now I had made friends with 2 guys from Goregaon- Sumit & Chandra. At about 4 am we again resumed trekking. We had no problem in getting the path because of the NB experts. Although it was night we were all sweating. The trek as such is very easy from this side of the mountain. All of us covered the traverse without any difficulty. With one or two breaks in between we reached Tolar Khind just before dawn. The breeze here was heavenly. All the first timers showed tremendous resolve by keeping up with the rest of the group. The NB team coordination was good. This helped save a lot of time. At around 5.50 am after taking a short break in Tolar Khind we decided to go for the rock patch ahead. While negotiating this part it had begun to lighten in the east. It was dawn. After completing this patch we waited for sun rise, a lot of photographs being clicked here. Now the fun would start. From here on we could take the seven hills route to reach the Harishchandragad temple directly or take an alternative route which takes us first to the Bale Killa & then to the temple. This saves us the effort to come back from the temple to see the Bale Killa all over again. We took the second route, but unfortunately got lost. At 6.40 am we were at the base of the Bale killa. Some people decided to stay back. We left our bags for safe keep with them & decided to have a look around. Towards the south we went. We could see the Nane Ghat region in the distance. We wanted to see the Junnar Darwaja, but it was way down the mountain side & we were short of time. So skipping it we turned back to the place where our custodians were awaiting. Here we had biscuits to keep the engine going. All were hungry. But the destination was still far ahead. Some of the more enthusiastic members went on to see Bale Killa, while the rest of us proceeded towards the temple. The initial plan was to visit Taramati, the second highest peak in the Sahyadris, after Kalsubai. But then none had the energy to visit the place. So we all made directly for the temple and reached the place at 8.45 am. Here we refueled our water stock (available round the year). The temple is in a bad shape. We immediately set out for the caves, which lie in the boot of the Taramati cliff. At 9.30 am all were settled in the caves. Arriving there that early, we were the only trekkers on the fort then. Immediately the scramble for the breakfast began. We were going to have shevayancha (vermicelli) upma & coffee for breakfast. Soon we realized that it would be very difficult to spend the night in the caves as they were infested with honey bees. So we again made for the caves in the yard of the temple. Here we rested & had our lunch prepared by Mr. Parag. It consisted of 5 Thepalas, potato vegetable & pickles. The vegetable had been very well prepared & had to be rationed. After this Rohit & a couple of other people went to see Kokan Kada while others went to the Kedareshwar temple to freshen up. This temple consists of a huge Shiva ling in the centre & has 4 pillars on its sides. Three of these are broken. This entire structure is surrounded by waist deep ice cold water. The Kedareshwar temple is a 5 min walk from the Harishchandragad temple. The water here is not potable, but serves as a good source for washing & bathing, these things being done ‘not’ within the water reservoir. Soon we returned to the caves & went off to sleep. At 5 pm I woke up to go to the Kokan Kada. Already much of the group had already left for the place. I having been there before took along two new comers later. We joined our people at this place at around 6 pm, just in time for the sun set. The view here is always breath taking. After moving around the place & taking a dozen odd snaps we started our journey back to the temple, after the sunset. At 7.15 pm we were back at the temple to find out that a Dundy had arrived at the place. There was a lot of commotion & we decided that it was best for us to move out to a quieter place. We decided to spend the night on the plateau at the base of Taramati. At around 8 pm we all settled down at this new place with carry mats and sleeping sheets being rolled out for the nights sleep. Rohit was the chief chef for the evening. According to his orders Pulav, Salad & Papad were prepared. Rohan, Parag, Neah, Neha, Tanmaya & a few other folks lent their labour. The pulav was ready by 9.30 pm. It was devoured by us by 9.50 pm. I was very tired by this time & immediately fell asleep by 10.15 pm. I got up early in the morning at about 5 am. People around me were star gazing. I tried to go to sleep once again, but couldn't. I packed my rucksack. It was time for taking some more shots at the sun. At around 6.30 am I had my first take at him. After this ritual we had some tea & bread to go along with it. After filling our water bottles we started our trek back at 7.50 am on 29/4/07. We made it to the Tolar Khind by 9.10 am. The descend was a bit scary for the new comers but was completed without much of a hassle. After this it was all child’s play. We were in Khireshwar by 10 am. We rested in a local hotel for an hour. Here we had Poha & lime juice. At 11.00 am we started out for Khubi. On the way back we visited the Nageshwar temple. Instead of taking the route along the dam which is long & tiring we took an alternative route for reaching the highway. This route joins the high way around 1.5 to 2 kms before the dam wall, towards Kalyan. At 1.00 pm sharp we were on the high way. Around 1.45 pm we got a bus for Kalyan. The bus travel was horrible. I was having nausea & had to take a vomistop tablet. When the bus reached the end of the Ghat the sun was scorching. We had a brief halt here where we had sugar cane juice. Back in the bus I was feeling much better. At 4 pm we reached Kalyan. Due to the jumbo block we had to catch a local transport bus back to Dombivali. Luckily we did not have to wait long for it. In Dombivali people had food at Topplers near Ganesh Mandir. The trains were crowded to their capacity & we were worried how our final ride home would be. Rohit, Pankaj, Neha & I got into the luggage compartment & were lucky enough to get a decent space to ourselves. We reached Dadar at 7.05 pm. All in all a good trek.
The total cost of the trek came out to Rs. 550 approx.
I am looking forward to the time when NB arranges this trek through the 'nalichi wat'. Best of luck to NB which would be completing its 1st anniversary on the 13th May 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment