A trip to remember

A trip to remember

A walk in the clouds

Amidst the bright moonlight

And a million stars

Climb to the top

And hearing the echo

No these lines are not from my morning dream. Though it felt like one.

Despite the sun burnt nose, stiff calves and ugly tanning…the trek felt like visiting a different world.

A trip to Harishchandra Garh in the middle of Shayadries is any trekker’s delight.

 Curtain Raiser: After days of Planning and enquiring people (read begging and coaxing). I and Rajat decided that we will take the plunge come what may. We made the checklist, assorted the first Aid kit gave each other assurance. Cursed people who ditched in the last minute, praised people who did manage to join eventually and we started the journey.

How to reach: Reach Kalyan Station, Bus for Aley Phata from Kalyan via Murbad in every half an hr. Get down at a place called Khubi-Phata at the beginning of the lake. This will take around 2 hrs for apparox 90Kms. Then take a jeep or walk to the Base Village (Khireshwar) which is approx 4-6 kms. Last Jeep goes at around 5 pm for returning.(Getting stuck there after the whole trek can be extremely painful)

So we said why bother so much of iterations and lay slave on the reliable public transport system, we just hopped onto the car and started. The ride at 4.30am on the Mumbai express ways was interesting but once you move beyond kalian it was absolutely ecstatic. Excellent Roads added with beautiful landscape. Roads covered with trees shadows and first rays of the sun amidst them. The view takes you away from the daily grind of metro life almost immediately. But of course it was just the beginning.

So Me, Rajat and Amol (friend, philospher & guide…why writing this is important will tell later.) embarked on the voyage throwing caution to the morning wind.

We reached the base village by 8.30.everything looks serene and beautiful with manmade lake alongside. The exploration team was incomplete as Mr. Bo & Mr. Pint were yet to join so we wasted time by taking a dip in the lake. Playing with the fishes and eating farsan on the small rocks surrounded by water.

By the time our rest of the crew arrived it was 11.30 am with 40C and scorching heat. But the enthusiasm was still alive so we marched on.

Packed with lots of water and lots of food (with lots we meant 4 litres of water and few packs of biscuits) we started our steps to the pre historic temple. The trek despite the heat is beautiful .The way between the shade of trees from both sides made the nature walk incredibly satisfying. The upbeat mood stayed for full 3 hours. Till now we had cleaned up 3 litres of water and were just half way thru. Then we arrived at the “rock patch”. The memories of Ethan Hunt in his cool sunglasses hanging on to the cliff with one hand flashed into my mind. And overwhelmed by thinking about such an experience I reassessed and decided to go ahead with the rock patch. But unfortunately when Ethan was hanging there I m sure there must have been safety net .So we cut the heroics and ended up crawling and inching on that steep climb rather than doing any stunt. There was no audience, no million dollars for the stunt but hell care we finally manage to survive.

So 4 hours done and still the destination nowhere in sight. By this time all the water was over and lungs started shrinking. Then our dearest guide spotted a flag which he proudly declared is of the temple. This started the wild goose chase towards the flag which only Amol was being able to see.

After crossing 6-7 (do not really rem…was almost dying of thirst) small hills we managed to reach the temple, rushed to the small pond of water in the temple. I have never drunk so much of water at 1 go in my life.

The temple was beautiful, In the pre historic black stone it looked pristine. Ornated with bright red Lord Hanuman sculpture it looked fantastic and eerie in the twilight. Then there were caves besides it where we were supposed to put up for the night. But the good sense prevailed and so did the generosity by the lone village couple on the top. We slept in the verandah of their small cottage staring directly at the brightest moonlight.

Day 2: Waking up on the top of the hill was a new feeling. Clouds lazing around at your eyelevel, rising orange Sun looks so close and embraceable. The freshness of the wind makes you inhale more and more of it. Suddenly you don’t feel all the mad climb of previous evening.

We annexed a hill spot called Konkan Kada. From here complete Shayadhri is visible. The view is not only breathtaking but also intimidating. How I wished I could just get a Glider transported here ( of course you don’t expect me to get it here on my back with 5 hours of climbing right?..you may ask do I know how to glide but I don’t think that’s an important point, I don’t know how to drive but I still dream about a Mercedes everyday :P.) Besides the jabber talk Konkan Kada in early morning sun is a place you`ll pay anything to experience. 50 mins of uphill climb from there can take you to a point called”Taramati”. But walking whole day in the blood sucking heat has taken the toll and we decided to give it a miss. (Taramati shall explore your secrets next time..).Post breakfast we decided our downward journey at around 10 am.

Reaching back super dead around 2 pm took a holy dip in the lake. I exhibited my new found swimming skills in the still lake water. Washed hair with undrinkable beer, had lunch in a roadside dhaba whose name I do not wish to remember. But what I do wish to remember is

• 2 days away from all the mobile signals. Absolute tranquility, priceless in today`s times.
• Spending night on top of the hill with no water, no electricity, no bed, no mattress
• Eating the typical (read otherwise inedible )village food and thanking god for it being there atlest
• Realizing that we actually would have been lost without amol in a place with no village close by, no water and no signal
• Visiting a village where there is no mode of transport for at least 18hrs a day.
• Being with nature and absolutely nothing else.

Drove back to Mumbai with an experience of a life time and energy for the months to come.

No title

I was so excited after completing 100th blog that my motivation levels hit the ceiling.

then the day passed

 

Acknowledgements’

I was out on the weekend try to gather some stuff to write juicy stories in the dearest weblog. But I guess that should wait for no. 101. Let the century run be an acknowledgement post who made such a score possible.

So is the 100^th post any special…besides it being of statistical value?

I think more important was the fact that I stayed with it. People who know me will vouch for the fact how fast I get bored. My restlessness index has been quite high since childhood so sticking it out for so long with it is a task. So let’s cut the chase and go to the list which made it all happen:-

Corp-comm: My colleagues at the esteemed society ensure that I produce article after article in least possible time. Which made me write more and more and more.

My Symbi Roommate: the poor thing had to read all the abstract unabridged versions and to make sense out of it.

Simanti: when all my weird ideas got over she told me how to transform the blog from white paper on abstract writing to something more personal, something more connectable. Then she continued with barrage of comments to keep the motivation going .Thanks.

Work life: The sacred Induction then promises about faraway lands, then confusion on the broken promises, struggle in searching for new me for new profile and still being left with enough time to write. Sure what more you can ask from the… oh so helpful employers.

The Relationship Lab: the summary of fragile relationships is always a good topic to write and as luck has it I had plenty to pen them.

My Flat mates: we kept the past 10 months so happening that every week I had an incident to describe. Even though people did not understood what half of the things meant but who cares it was still so much fun and so much to write

Mumbai: the weekend parties, the weekday parties, the traffic, the food, the trains and everything connected with all of these.

Anonymous and Not so anonymous Comment Writers: thanks

So I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all who supported and motivated me in this journey.

Hope I shall continue to dish you your dose of cheap affordable humor.

99 Not Out.

I am Ashwin`s weblog. And this is my story

I was born when extreme boredom mated with strange times in his life and he conceived me besides other gross mistakes. In my early days I was neither breastfed nor dipped in baby oil. Those were hard times with him combating distractions and laziness. Though he was equally weird back then, but he intentionally ignored me stating that he has more hobbies like walking around the campus with anybody, later with somebody and sometimes with nobody. But I stood behind him like a trustworthy rock coz I knew after every such perimeter he will come back to me and weep his heart out.(actually with a wry smile coz I knew you can keep running but cannot run away)

But still I was malnutrition and my daily dosage of garbage literature was missing. He has ambitions to be a writer and make money by writing (Both hilarious objectives I tell you).And I waited. His erratic ideas were few and far in between. Most of the brainy shit was outsourced to make the “Random” girl laugh and I so suffered silently.(women troubles ….they are all the same always).

So gradually all those hobbies died, those ambitions subsided, all the pacts of locational convenience were broken once out of college and I again hogged the limelight as his sole companion.

Then the unexpected happened. He had time in a plentiful and was suddenly fancied with identity on the blogosphere. It rained posts. When in the heat of the moment he had joined the Pharma industry and the torturous ways of medical induction. Which is definitely has since been forgotten…he had lots to write and I as a helpful slate embraced him with open arms.

The activities started flowing. All the beaches in 200km peripheral were covered. From Goa to Daman to Malpe. More stories few Ex`s and few valentines and more abstract art later I managed to became his weekend summary sheet and complex emotion matrix. The over hyped Mumbai life, work life, Saki Naka life all coming together post after post.

The year passed by. And so are the no. of dreams, salsa and Portuguese and all the lit up eyes which went wasted in preparation. In lieu I got a new look, lots n lots of photos, travel journals and what not. Forced followings and super forced comments later I am happy with what I have managed to achieve.

This one is no. 99.May the confusion prevail

See you at Hundred.

It`s that time of the year

Its that part of the year when life plays a practical joke on you.everytime , year after year. So to tell you all that no one is alone here here`s a list of words you shall hear for next 1 month on daily basis.
In the name of God.Amen.

Basic Responsibilities

KRA`s

Targets

Weightages

Review

Appraisals

Boss

Incentive

peanuts

nuts

plea(`ee)

`eeeeee

btwn ------ is promotion a legit word this year???
PS : kindly increase teh list.best "Word" will get teh best "Peanut"

The Splendid(er), Me & the Murphy`s(Law)

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Some drunk Murphy blabbered those golden words in his drunken state. May world be damned!! He may have fallen into open Mumbai manhole or may be fallen off from a running local train. But he managed to curse the world in a manner only he could. I can curse him and my stars. But with high smog Stars I am unable to see and Murphy might not be good to look at while cursing.

Considering my snapshot memory and photographic experiences there’s never a dearth of things that can go wrong. A quick recap will explain to you my genuine desperation and concern.

Last weekend I shifted into a new House.(Its actually a old house in an old building in an old colony and my friend is already been living there from past 1 year …but for my sake we`ll still call it the new house)

Monday: Experienced the new side of the city. Traffic n people. Though I am not new to that but this time it seemed endless and at 12 KMs away from workplace I had no idea how many hours it would take. God help the colleague who gave me a ride to office and we both reached 3 min later then the stipulated time. While going back waited for the bus for 30mins. And eventually reached back home in 1 hr 30 minutes for 12 Km.

Tuesday: With such an adventure yesterday the floodgates of my nose opened and throat clogged. So preferred to stay at home. Find out about the borrowed bike. Realized it’s a better jugad than waiting till eternity and wasting the most exciting years of adolescence at a bus stop for the super crowded BEST.

Wednesday: (Here comes the borrowed Splendor). So I told myself “it’s a Wednesday” and blasted start the 1964 Aston Martin aka Splendor full 125cc of pure testosterone since 2003.by Km no. 5 Had a flat tyre.The day passed peacefully  in office. While reaching back had a small quarrel with the “jai Maharashtra” autowala. Dilly-dollied on the uneven gravel of powai vihar road and somehow reached home in 1 piece.

Thursday : It’s a new day ..Its a new start ..from Old singer shre shre Celine dion running in my head I decided to retake the plunge. This time at km no. 9. Petrol died. I mean god`s greatest machine HH Splendor couldn’t make it to 36KM in a liter L.so I pushed, scuffed, grumped and carried it around for 3 kms and somehow reached office. Deep fried in the summer sun this was an over bright morning from all standards. And ain’t over yet. Somewhere in a deep hidden corner it was written no right turn. next to that hidden corner was there sitting camouflaged terrorist bashing Mumbai police and me like a rabbit took the bait. So he embarrassed me with the UP no. of my bike., And ethics of safe driving. We cleared the ethics issue with transfer of some green paper from my wallet to his polyester underpants later. No its nt over yet. In barney`s lines..wait for it wait for it...and keep waiting as the jam on the flyover was at least 2 Kms long making it a  1.30 hrs horse ride for a 12 kms.

Now I can confidently say been there had that.

And we aren’t done with the week yet !!