The Konkan Kind – III

Various gods and goddesses are worshipped around Konkan region. Believers flock in from many states for blessings. I saw a few of these deities during my three-day trip. Hope you enjoyed the journey so far and love this last read in the series.

One friend was supposed to leave us after dinner but her thing at work got sorted and she could stay. I asked her to treat us all with ice cream. After a wonderful day at so many forts and then the beach and now I ice cream. ‘I was dancing of joy inside’ could definitely be an understatement!

We went to the place we were spending our night. I didn’t even keep my bag down as I got busy with a fur ball. And there were two of them, two furry cats! I got busy playing with them and in a while slept.

The room was small for us and heat was terrible. I got up after an hour’s nap, irritable and angry because of incomplete sleep. I asked a friend awake for a similar reason and we stepped out. The moon was there, calm and as if awaiting my arrival.

I realized there is no way out and I have to sleep in there and went to give it another try. The cats and other nuisance woke others sleeping by now. So five of us awake stepped out. Unable to sleep, unable to do anything, damn irritable, we decided to have a walk.

We walked, talked about music, shared random thoughts and stories and finally went in and got a few hours of sleep in that hot pot. Five of us turned an irritable night of restlessness into a memorable one where we talked, laughed and shared. Moments as such with people you travel adds to the glory of a trip.

After morning tea we left for Ratnadurg fort. We had been to this fort before, yet saw it in a different light this time. This is a must visit fort if you plan to land in Konkan anytime, the placement of it, the structure, the view, it is all a delight not to be missed!

Next, we saw the Velneshwar Temple. The Shiva idol is the prime attraction of this place, especially during the Mahashivratri celebrations. The pristine clean beach behind the temple is mesmerising but not open for tourists now, perhaps why it has managed to stay clean.

We now went to the famous Kalbhairav Temple, also known as Bahiri Temple. It is constructed by the Gujar family. This temple is known to have not only Hindu devotees but also Jain and Islam origin devotees.

After this, we quickly saw the Jogeshwari Temple, commonly called the Jugai Temple. This is a shrine of Shree Jugaidevi. The structure of this temple is beautiful and has a calm ambience for anyone to sit and connect to the superpowers.

We now headed to Ganpati Phule. This is a Ganesh Temple on the base of a small hill and has a beautiful beach in the front. I loved the various kinds of Ganesh idols on the structure of the temple.

We had a quick breakfast and then went to a fort finally. I was done with watching various deities. And Jaigadh proved to be love at first sight. The fort has a deep pit at the entrance (khandak) and the fortification walls still stand strong around the fort.

There are many structures still in good condition in the fort, including temples, wells and even a few rooms. Our timing I felt was perfect as the light’s romance with the structure made for many beautiful frames.

I felt very content after exploring this fort. Now, we took a jetty ride with our sumo in it. It was an amazing experience to be in sumo, then have the sumo in a jetty and then again riding the sumo to the next place planned, Vyadeshwar Temple.

This shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva but has several other deities like Talkeshwar, Udaleshwar, and Balkeshwar. The idols of God Ganesh, God Vishnu, and God Surya are also there.

After this, we saw the Gopalgadh lighthouse and also learned from a person working there how it functions, what are its functions mainly etc. It was the first time I saw a lighthouse so up close, it was a beautiful learning experience.

We now headed to Goaplgadh, the gates were closed because apparently, this fort isn’t a public property anymore. We don’t go by the rules and figured our way in and the experience of this fort was fun, full of laughter and madness. Also known as Anjanvel, this fort was also part of the trade route at the time.

After such a big day, we were blessed with a kind stay at one of our friend’s house in Aare village. It was a beautiful night and I had one of the best sleep of the entire trip. On the ride to the house, I noticed a river and it could be heard from the house as well. I had to had to go there but it was dark

So, as planned, I got up early, woke my cousin and two friends. One decided to sleep and three of us headed out towards the river. We saw a land full of coconut palms. I danced around the trees as if in a dream and then we walked into the river.

We found a place, sat there for a while and in some time got joined by our sleepy friend. He found us and now four of us spent time talking and clicking with our feet in the river. For a while, we all were quiet, I could hear only the river, fluttering of the palm leaves and some birds and yes it felt like the Konkan kind of goodbye.

My heart sank as I walked back to the house. We noticed a big spider eat a grasshopper. We noticed another spider and stood and clicked photos in awe for nature. When we finally reached the house, we had our morning tea and breakfast and left for our bus to the station.

The stay was too emotional as I helped the lady cook. I do not step in the kitchen at home often, and the warmth received in a span of hours filled me with joy. The fact that the trip was about to end killed me more.

I was super quiet and sadly my face depicts what I feel and I am bad at hiding sorrow. I am blessed with great friends in life as the amazing playlist and care by a friend helped me not choke and bid Konkan gratitude filled goodbye with a smile.

We had lunch and got on the train and managed to get comfortable seats. This train journey back home will be marked as the most epic fun journey I have ever had. The jokes, the laughter, the games, the talks of the trip, each person present made me feel so blessed.

This was my first ever big trip of four days in total with my trekker group and I am so glad it was Konkan Kind. I built stronger bonds with people, learned about many new places and experienced Konkan truly. Blessed with the best people to trek and trip with is something I will brag for as long as I shall live!

(I couldn’t add in detailed information about the places I visited but have managed to put all the links to sites I took the information in a word file. If you wish to check this bibliography along with the entire itinerary, click here!)

October 14, 2018

The Konkan Kind – II

Konkan plain stretches approximately 530km and is almost 45-76km in width. I experienced only a tiny bit of the mighty Konkan and here is the second post in my series, hope you enjoy the read.

After a good sleep, we were all up on time and headed to explore Vijaydurg fort by 6:15am. As we reached the fort, we witnessed the Konkan kind of good morning. We saw the sun, rise above the horizon with its reflection flowing and reaching us. I clicked a few pictures and then stood still to embrace the moment.

The moment pumped me so much, I was overjoyed. And so the consequence had to happen. I couldn’t take my eyes off the mesmerizing sea and structure of the place and didn’t see a hole and got my right leg stuck in it.

There was terrible pain from the bone near the feet up till the knee. I couldn’t exactly figure where I was hit as it pained from the knee till my feet. I had a good friend beside me who witnessed my fall who asked me to check but I refused and kept walking.

I didn’t wish to miss out on exploring the most magnificent sea fort. I didn’t want the group to have any delay because of my stupid fall either. I needed water badly to gulp in my tears, but sadly we had forgotten to fill our bottles that morning.

Vijaydurg is a good place if you get hurt and wish to divert your mind. There is so much to know about. The older name being ‘Gheria’, this fort is among the only two forts where Shivaji personally hoisted the saffron flag, other being Torana.

It was a naval dock of the time and the entire construction of the fort is an architectural marvel, a good place for students of architecture and history. The fort is also known to be the place where French scientist, Jhonson took readings to detect that helium exists as one of the prime elements of the Sun.

In total awe for the fort we left and took bags from our rooms to catch the 9:15am bus to Jaitapur. As we were getting out bags, I checked my leg and it looked terrible. I gulped the fear of how I’ll deal with it and went down for the quick breakfast before we left.

I sat alone on the bus and looked outside the window. I spotted a few birds and saw many beautiful houses. I noticed a completely dry banyan tree which still, stood strong. It was as if telling me to ignore the pain in my leg and be strong for the day ahead.

We got down at Jaitapur hopped into the Sumo we had hired. It took us first to Yashwantgadh, a fort we missed the last time we had come to Ratnagiri. This fort was used for trade along with Ambolgadh.

The fort is divided into two parts, the plateau and the creek. The doorway has a Ganesh idol and lotus flowers carved. The fort has two storerooms. Patki family stays inside the fort premises and they even have a well outside their house.

dav — Three of us walking towards the entrance that has the Ganesh idol and the flower. Picture Credits – Sanish

On our way to the next place in mind, our tyre got punctured. One of the screws of the tyre was stuck, we oiled and tried everything, but the screw refused to move. After around half an hour with a fellow Sumo driver’s help, we got it fixed and began our journey again.

This half-hour was like a reality check. It gave a glimpse of all that had happened during the first time and how we sailed through it. It was time to thank some superpowers who helped us not have too much delay in the day and we got down at the beautiful Kanakaditya Temple.

It is a famous place for devotees of Sri Kanakaditya (name of Sun God). The five-day celebration of Ratha-Saptami receives many devotees from all parts of the country every year. The kirtans, pravachans and aarti done during the festival is quite an attraction.

Now we were on our way to Purnagadh when we decided to quickly visit the Kasheli point. The view from the top was breathtaking and I couldn’t wait to run down the steps to the point and see the heavenly scene.

I ran the first few steps and what a big mistake that was! My leg began to hurt so bad I thought it will rip off. The sound of the waves hitting the shore was so loud, it was as if my leg shouting out to me and please just stop and stand in one place.

No, I didn’t do that, slowly I walked down the steps to the spot. The shades of blue of the sea, the blurring of the horizon, the sound of the waves, the serenity of moment made my soul so happy, I could have actually danced! That would be asking too much from my leg so I just stood there drooling over the beauty of the place.

777 — How’s the pain in your leg? ‘I can’t feel the pain with such a pretty picture painted around me, it is all too dreamy to feel anything.’

Then, we reached Purnagadh, a small fort which can be viewed in one sight. It had a Hanumanji’s deity at the entrance. Some evidence suggests it was built by Shivaji Maharaj while some suggest it was built by Sakhoji Angre, son of Kanhoji Angre.

Now we headed to Thiba Palace, a lesser known place. It is a fine architecture and clearly gives a feel of old British era. Thiba hailed from Burma and one can dig into the history of his interesting life which made the existence of this marvellous palace possible in Konkan region.

My attention yet again was driven to something else, a tree. After exploring and knowing about the Thiba Palace, I climbed a tree outside the palace. It was so pretty, I couldn’t control climbing it. I could feel the happy hormones dancing in me to the tunes of ‘Sawar Loon’ that I sang.

Now, we headed to Bhatye beach. We reached in time before the sunset. I and a friend kept our shoes in the vehicle and ran to the sea. The feeling of the first wave kissing my leg is something I can’t put to words.

I and my friend walked to the calmer, fewer people end of the beach and spent time playing and doing everything that came to our mind. We observed the sun, its reflection, and the clouds on the opposite side, the waves, and the horizon. There wasn’t a single cell in our body that wasn’t overjoyed.

After a while, we walked back to our group and had fun with them. In some time we left to figure out our stay for the night. Life balances everything since the day had made me so happy, it was time for the night to show its darkest shade.

October 8, 2018

The Konkan Kind – I

Konkan is the coastal plain region between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. It is home to many beautiful beaches, forts and temples. This is the first post in the series of my experience of the Kind Konkan. I hope you enjoy the read and perhaps learn something new.

I had yet again chosen to travel over something else more important. I had an extreme guilt of being selfish but I knew my decision wasn’t wrong and kind Konkan did prove me right!

As planned, we took Mangalore Express train from Thane station at 10:30pm. We were hoping to at least get on the train, but we not only got in, but we also got seats. The place wasn’t enough to get some sleep yet somehow we managed to relax and reached Kankavli station at 7:10am.

Eight of us freshened up and started walking towards the bus stop. We managed to have tea before we stepped in the bus to Ramgadh. Peeping through the window I saw the landscape of small houses and fields touching the horizon and in minutes we reached our first fort.

Ramgadh fort has the most unique Ganesh idol with a wobbly trunk and asuras at the base. There are seven tofs kept in line with a lot of grass and trees around it, obviously making a beautiful frame.

This intriguing fort kept us exploring it for more time than planned and we missed our bus to Achra from where we would head further to Sindhudurg. Soon, we hopped into a tumtum to Achra.

I and my friend sat behind and couldn’t stop smiling the entire ride. It was like living our ‘khwabon k parindey’ moment. The road had trees on either side, the clouds in the sky forming various shapes, the warm smiles of people in intervals, the leaves on the road following us for a while and the calm breeze soothing our souls.

Luckily, we managed to get this tumtum to ride directly to Sindhudurg. We kept our luggage outside and headed to our boat ride to the fort. Sindhudurg is a 16th-century architectural marvel made possible by the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The entrance to the fort is hidden like that of the other sea forts built at the time. The purpose was for the enemy to never find it. Only locals can point the correct entry, no tourist can locate it.

Yes, the fort has a beautiful structure and amazing history but my attention was totally driven to the sea. The waves kept thrashing the fort walls, the sound of which was so serene I got lost in my own world.

The mighty sea waves many time hit the fort walls so high the water fell inside. The waves managed to fall on a few of us as we walked past the entire fort wall churning excitement among all of us the entire time.

If the waves could climb the fort walls and reach us, I kept thinking of all the things even I can do and think are impossible. Like the endless efforts of the waves, even I can and I should keep giving my all for my masters and hope to achieve what I think I can.

After a thoughtful walk around this historical fort, it was time to leave. By now, the heat and hunger both were unbearable. As we returned from the fort, we had a kala-khatta gola and headed straight for lunch. The old lady serving us food reminded me of grandma so much, it made me cry within.

As usual, instead of being low about missing grandma, I acted weird and made all around me believe I was annoyed with her being so much keen on me eating. She kept looking at my plate, conversing to me about food and other things, just like grandma.

I wish I had courage enough to hug her and say thank you, you made my day. Her kindness made my soul smile and heart cry. It definitely felt like grandma had come down to say hello, please take care and eat well one last time.

We had some time before our bus to Vijaydurg and we had a walk around. I crossed the lunch place twice, thinking if I should go in and thank the old lady, but I couldn’t. I think I need to get more emotionally stronger for that.

We boarded the bus and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets. The cool breeze helped me have a nap despite the ride being extremely bumpy and scary. I think the BEST drivers should be given special rewards and recognition for their driving stints. They are really underrated F1 drivers.

It was dark when we got down near Vijaydurg fort. A visarjan was going to happen soon and a procession was approaching towards us. The dhol was so amazing, I began dancing in reflex. Not for long but we all did a little jig of our own for a few minutes. It felt odd yet refreshing to dance at a distance from a procession.

We attended the visarjan aarti and I witnessed my first ever visarjan. I don’t have feelings about what I saw, kind of blank about the whole festival itself, I have no clarity of thought on the festival as it is just my second year of actually understanding it, I’ll surely write more on it when I know and experience more about it.

Soon after that, we finished our dinner and then the moon appeared above the sea. Deep pink, calm and as if smiling and welcoming me for a conversation. I sat near the edge of the sea and saw the moon reflect over the sea.

The waves hitting the rocks at the shore felt like the moon was responding to my questions. I clicked a few pictures and hummed a few songs. I was lost in the divine beauty of this moment after that.

My mind had zero tabs open, perhaps still somewhere some music player was on in low volume but nothing more. For a few minutes it was just me and the moon, its reflection and the sound of the waves at the shore, it was a soulful conversation with the moon.

I saw the moon rise above and observed the change in its reflection pattern. After spending these moments of peace it was time to head to our rooms and have enough rest for the next day. We headed back, played cards for a while and slept.

I slept with a big smile on my face. I thanked the superpowers for a beautiful day where I saw the power of the mighty waves in the start and for the beautiful end with the moon and everything serene that occurred in between. I knew somewhere within, that this was just a start and there was more madness in store in the coming few days.

October 4, 2018

Siddhagadh Photo Story

After summers, the first monsoon trek is the most awaited thing. It wasn’t even a week I was back from Spiti and I was going back to the mountains, I was excited. To my delight, we were going to have a bike ride to the base village of Siddhagadh. I couldn’t be happier, as I believe monsoon and bike rides are just made for each other!

PhotoGrid_1531197474659 — An epiphyte is when a plant grows on another tree or plant. We noticed this tree with two different kinds of leaves on our way and it could be an epiphyte.

One can go Siddhagadh via Narivalli village and from there it is the highest fort climb in Maharashtra. But we took another way through Jamburdhe village which cuts around an hour’s climb.

We parked our vehicles and just before we began to walk, we noticed this old well. Such sources of water on and around the forts in Maharashtra is common. My eyes were pleased to see some purple flowers adding to the green colour scheme around. For the first time, I saw houses with a block that had the year written on it. My friends said it is the year these houses were made but I am not sure of this.

As we were walking we found this two things. The one on the left is microbial in origin. It could be slimy fungal species or a slime layer produced by some bacterial species. The one on the right is a common mushroom one can find on monsoon treks in the Shyadris.

We reached the caves. We took pictures and left. Later, we noticed the Ganpati on the bottom right corner of this image.

There are a few difficult rock patches and if you are new to Sahyadris, kindly be more careful. I and a new friend who also searched the slimy bacteria for me were having fun as we climbed together.

There is a ‘nandi’ and ‘shivling’ at the top of the fort. But they weren’t placed together as they should be as seen in temples. We were waiting for a few and it began to rain heavily with strong breeze too. I was so happy, I sang and danced until all arrived.

After exploring the fort, we took a different way down and came across a beautiful old door. We walked past it and reached a temple. It had ‘shivlings’ and ‘nandis’ found around the place kept together. There was also a broken ‘tof’ kept ourside the temple.

There were also this stone structures called ‘virghals’ kept around the temple. These structures are found around many forts in Maharashtra. They depict the history of the maker of the fort.

Saw this colourful leaves just before we reached back to our vehicles.

The walk down got more slippery but it was worth it. We had some hot tea before we began our ride back home. I can surely count this trek as one of my favourite monsoon trek experiences.

July 10, 2018