The trek near Karjat vill(ag)e
Lavin (my school friend) had registered my name and even his, for a trek to Kondana caves. This was the first time that I was going to be a part of an organized trekking activity. Somehow, I had never heard the word ‘caves’ from Lavin and was under the impression that the trek was to Kondana (fort) popularly known as Sinhgad.
The trek was planned for 18th June, Sunday. I was racing against time to finish my office work by Saturday afternoon so that I could reach Mumbai by evening, the same day. My project manager had compared me to Shivaji’s lieutenant Tanaji Malusare and had exhorted me to conquer my work before Kondana. I managed to complete my duty without having to lay down my life, unlike Tanaji Malusare who had lost his life in the process. To understand this pre-trek story you need to be aware of the Maratha history.
The trek team was supposed to start off from Dadar, Mumbai at 0600 hours. I managed to reach the spot by 0645 hours. The local trains that day wanted me to believe that Mumbai’s public transport was as unreliable as Bangalore’s or Pune’s. Pune’s public transport cannot be called unreliable; it’s as good as non-existent. However, an odd incident cannot shake a belief that is based on an experience of over 20 years.
Our trekking party comprised of Apsara, Rani, their mom, Jay, Lavin, Vidyut and myself. Jay was Lavin’s colleague; Vidyut was our trek guide while Apsara, Rani and their mom were complete strangers until we met them for the trek. Since I was late and had made everyone wait, Rani had prescribed that I should be made to sit on a Cactus.
Lavin had taken up the self assigned role of a camera man and looked perfectly suited for the job of news reported with the TV channel ‘Aaj Tak’. As his nature, he was trying to screw up things.
We reached a resort located about half an hour from Karjat. This was to be the camping point of our trek. We had our breakfast and then our driver dropped us about 1-2 kms further from the resort; this was to be the starting point of our trek.
After walking for a short distance, we discovered that the road ahead was closed. Fences were constructed to prevent trekkers from crossing fields and in the process destroying crops. It was quite understandable that the local farmers wanted to protect their source of livelihood from the trekkers who had no concern for it.
We did have an alternative route that went around the fields. Lavin got filmy and pointing to a peak in the distance said, ‘Chega tum kehte the na ki mere jeevan me koi lakshya nahi hai; who hai mera lakshya!’. Even Jay recollected an apt song in the form of ‘kandho se milte hai kandhe, kadmon se kadam milte hai…’, to inspire the party to carry on.
The weather that day wasn’t quite suited for any outdoor activity. It was hot and humid. We were perspiring profusely. Of course, you do lose body fluids in hot and dry weather too just that you don’t quite notice it.
Though the trek wasn’t a long and tiring one, we did take a few breaks. Apsara wasn’t feeling well but still made a brave effort to carry on. I remember that when I am unwell, I don’t even have the courage to climb out of my bed leave alone climbing mountains.
The monsoon hadn’t set in as yet and hence the streams were running dry. But the surroundings weren’t barren since it had rained a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like, anticipating further rains, the mountains had covered themselves with a protective green sheet of vegetation.
We reached the Kondana caves after a walk of about a couple of hours. The trek was a simple one; it didn’t require any special skills other than walking. The Kondana caves weren’t a place of attraction. They were only remains of what at some point of time must have been a small temple. They weren’t caves in a true sense where one would expect a network of tunnels zig-zagging through. They were but a result of a piece of a large rock carved off. Vidyut told us that it’s a great place to visit during the monsoon just after it has rained sufficiently. During that time the water falls over the edge of the rock while you watch it standing below in the carved off portion.
We rested here for some time. Vidyut suggested that we collect the plastic that India’s uneducated junta had left all over the place. We collected it in yet another plastic bag so that we could carry it back to the resort.
Back at the resort we had a good lunch and then went on to enjoy the rain dance. As it was sunny we could see small rainbows. Each one of us thought that we were all looking at the same rainbow however this is never the case. We then spent some time in the swimming pool. We had an air conditioned tent to rest. Back here, Lavin tried his ‘drop the towel trick’ which unfortunately didn’t work for him that day.
The most interesting incident in the tent and possibly of the trek was Rani’s story about Ms. Pillow from ‘Pillow Ville’. It started with Rani dressing up a pillow. Lavin noticed it and as mentioned before, like a typical ‘Aaj Tak’ reporter started asking Rani some silly questions about it. Rani had apparently decided to give Lavin a taste of his own medicine and had prompt answers for whatever Lavin and everyone else present in the tent had to ask.
She explained how her Ms. Pillow a native of ‘Pillow Ville’ had come over to get sun tanned on a beach. ‘Pillow Ville’ was somewhere on Venus where everything was made of chocolate. Ms. Pillow’s doctor had asked her to diet and hence she was here on Earth to avoid chocolate. However, she had died here on the beach and that this was actually her funeral.
The above story is only a tip of the ice berg; the complete coverage is available on Lavin’s camcorder. It was worth noting how to answer each of the questions asked the story took logical turns and even though the story advanced rapidly, hardly ever did it conflict with the previously stated facts.
Overall, Lavin, Jay and myself didn’t find the trek to be as physically demanding as we had expected it to be and hence to a certain degree were unsatisfied with it. It’s strange to see that man invented the wheel and then invested time and money to develop better modes of transport and that now he pays to go on long walks. Also, he’s unhappy if the walk is not tiring!
(written - 23rd Jun' 06)
The trek was planned for 18th June, Sunday. I was racing against time to finish my office work by Saturday afternoon so that I could reach Mumbai by evening, the same day. My project manager had compared me to Shivaji’s lieutenant Tanaji Malusare and had exhorted me to conquer my work before Kondana. I managed to complete my duty without having to lay down my life, unlike Tanaji Malusare who had lost his life in the process. To understand this pre-trek story you need to be aware of the Maratha history.
The trek team was supposed to start off from Dadar, Mumbai at 0600 hours. I managed to reach the spot by 0645 hours. The local trains that day wanted me to believe that Mumbai’s public transport was as unreliable as Bangalore’s or Pune’s. Pune’s public transport cannot be called unreliable; it’s as good as non-existent. However, an odd incident cannot shake a belief that is based on an experience of over 20 years.
Our trekking party comprised of Apsara, Rani, their mom, Jay, Lavin, Vidyut and myself. Jay was Lavin’s colleague; Vidyut was our trek guide while Apsara, Rani and their mom were complete strangers until we met them for the trek. Since I was late and had made everyone wait, Rani had prescribed that I should be made to sit on a Cactus.
Lavin had taken up the self assigned role of a camera man and looked perfectly suited for the job of news reported with the TV channel ‘Aaj Tak’. As his nature, he was trying to screw up things.
We reached a resort located about half an hour from Karjat. This was to be the camping point of our trek. We had our breakfast and then our driver dropped us about 1-2 kms further from the resort; this was to be the starting point of our trek.
After walking for a short distance, we discovered that the road ahead was closed. Fences were constructed to prevent trekkers from crossing fields and in the process destroying crops. It was quite understandable that the local farmers wanted to protect their source of livelihood from the trekkers who had no concern for it.
We did have an alternative route that went around the fields. Lavin got filmy and pointing to a peak in the distance said, ‘Chega tum kehte the na ki mere jeevan me koi lakshya nahi hai; who hai mera lakshya!’. Even Jay recollected an apt song in the form of ‘kandho se milte hai kandhe, kadmon se kadam milte hai…’, to inspire the party to carry on.
The weather that day wasn’t quite suited for any outdoor activity. It was hot and humid. We were perspiring profusely. Of course, you do lose body fluids in hot and dry weather too just that you don’t quite notice it.
Though the trek wasn’t a long and tiring one, we did take a few breaks. Apsara wasn’t feeling well but still made a brave effort to carry on. I remember that when I am unwell, I don’t even have the courage to climb out of my bed leave alone climbing mountains.
The monsoon hadn’t set in as yet and hence the streams were running dry. But the surroundings weren’t barren since it had rained a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like, anticipating further rains, the mountains had covered themselves with a protective green sheet of vegetation.
We reached the Kondana caves after a walk of about a couple of hours. The trek was a simple one; it didn’t require any special skills other than walking. The Kondana caves weren’t a place of attraction. They were only remains of what at some point of time must have been a small temple. They weren’t caves in a true sense where one would expect a network of tunnels zig-zagging through. They were but a result of a piece of a large rock carved off. Vidyut told us that it’s a great place to visit during the monsoon just after it has rained sufficiently. During that time the water falls over the edge of the rock while you watch it standing below in the carved off portion.
We rested here for some time. Vidyut suggested that we collect the plastic that India’s uneducated junta had left all over the place. We collected it in yet another plastic bag so that we could carry it back to the resort.
Back at the resort we had a good lunch and then went on to enjoy the rain dance. As it was sunny we could see small rainbows. Each one of us thought that we were all looking at the same rainbow however this is never the case. We then spent some time in the swimming pool. We had an air conditioned tent to rest. Back here, Lavin tried his ‘drop the towel trick’ which unfortunately didn’t work for him that day.
The most interesting incident in the tent and possibly of the trek was Rani’s story about Ms. Pillow from ‘Pillow Ville’. It started with Rani dressing up a pillow. Lavin noticed it and as mentioned before, like a typical ‘Aaj Tak’ reporter started asking Rani some silly questions about it. Rani had apparently decided to give Lavin a taste of his own medicine and had prompt answers for whatever Lavin and everyone else present in the tent had to ask.
She explained how her Ms. Pillow a native of ‘Pillow Ville’ had come over to get sun tanned on a beach. ‘Pillow Ville’ was somewhere on Venus where everything was made of chocolate. Ms. Pillow’s doctor had asked her to diet and hence she was here on Earth to avoid chocolate. However, she had died here on the beach and that this was actually her funeral.
The above story is only a tip of the ice berg; the complete coverage is available on Lavin’s camcorder. It was worth noting how to answer each of the questions asked the story took logical turns and even though the story advanced rapidly, hardly ever did it conflict with the previously stated facts.
Overall, Lavin, Jay and myself didn’t find the trek to be as physically demanding as we had expected it to be and hence to a certain degree were unsatisfied with it. It’s strange to see that man invented the wheel and then invested time and money to develop better modes of transport and that now he pays to go on long walks. Also, he’s unhappy if the walk is not tiring!
(written - 23rd Jun' 06)
posted by chega at 1:01 pm
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