playlist – think twice nish

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!)

I love bike rides. It has a different charm. I and my usual bike partner cousin were on a roll as we sang through the whole drive. From Sukhvinder’s “Oh ho oh ho” to “O mere dil k chein” our playlist had a smooth ride with our bullet.

We finally parked our bikes at 4am and were given an hour before we left for the trek. Almost all as expected dozed off. I looked at my friend and in a blink we knew what we were up to next.

We both did our own bit of research and found the best place to lie down and star gaze. The view was mesmerizing. It was last in October that we star gazed. We both have less understanding of the stars but same awe for their existence.

Eyes up at the sky, mind drowned in thoughts, without realizing I went into the world of stars. What a beautiful nap and dream it was !

It was dark, we all had torches and a few were ahead leading the way. As we walked a bit ahead we spotted a Night Jar. It looked stunning. A musical night bike ride, soulful star gazing with a nap and then the Night Jar, this trek surely had the best start!

The kind of trekking I have done and the average experience of the group I go with is quite good. We use harness and equipment only when it is really essential. Bhairavgadh (Maroshi) is one where we decided we will use it and hence a suggestion to anyone who is reading this and would wish to go, kindly take all safety measurements.

There were two people ahead who climbed the harness part. When I reached I couldn’t find them. I thought they must have gone ahead so I climbed all the steps and reached the top. I shouted their names but no avail. I was scared for minute.

People down said they have come up. There is no other way than these stairs, where have they gone then? I didn’t wish to go right at the top of the fort all alone so I climbed back down.

I saw that my group still hadn’t got all members up the harness. I decided to walk up again and find my two mates. I climbed up the stairs again, shouted their names but couldn’t locate them. More scared than before I climbed down again to get someone with me to find them.

I and a friend climbed up again and finally met the two. We saw the top most part of the fort and four of us began our journey down. As we did our entire group was up by the harness. We four were asked to climb up again for a group picture at the top of the fort. We hesitated a bit and then finally gave in.

This is my first ever trek saga where I got bored of a fort. Not because it was boring, because I climbed it a total of four times. However, the time spend at the top of the fort was worth it. And no don’t get me wrong, the fort is not at all boring. It is full of adventure and the scenic view is class but just make sure you climb up only once!

When I was waiting for my turn to rappel it down, the sun was right above my head and I was sweating like a pig. I had bought all my sun protection things, caps, glares, scarfs etc. It all lay in my bag down which I could reach only after rappelling. And there were a few people who were yet to go down before it were my chance.

Melting in the heat I realized that how we all have the necessary resources to face a storm in life. But it is locked up in the depths of our hearts and by the time we find it we have lost it to the storm. Let us therefore always be prepared for a storm and never let it win over us.

For me personally climbing up a mountain is easy as compared to walking down. This is because when I am climbing up, it is all up to me where I set my feet to head up. When I have to get down, it is not so easy. And this becomes a tad more difficult when I have to rappel it down.

The first step is the most difficult. And during rappelling especially for the first step my feet felt heavier than an elephant! I let go of this stupid feet thoughts and imagining why my feet is feeling heavy and rappelled down. And to my own surprise I did well.

Almost all of us were exhausted and so were our water resources. To our surprise an old man appeared out of nowhere guided us to a water body and disappeared again. Lord works in his own way and this old man proved that to me.

We all drank water to our hearts’ content and filled bottles before we left. We had lunch in the middle of the jungle and started to walk down. I wished to reach our bikes before the heat killed me and walked down as swiftly as I could.

I and two of my friends reached down without taking many water or shade stops and hence reached a good 45mins before the rest. This made me regain the lost energy. I was happy with the whole trek and didn’t expect much more but life is about surprises. And a kala-khatta gola in the crazy heat ended my thrilling trek on a high note!

Tag: playlist

The Konkan Kind – III

A Tantalizing Trek Tale