Account of my most memorable trek .... after 11 years !!!

Guys

Finally got my hands on an old mail describing my first, and my most memorable trek to date, to Bhimashankar way back in June 2001 !!!.. It was simply the most breathtaking, not to mention the toughest trek I have ever done. But each minute of those near-4 hours of trekking was worth it when we reached the top. Unfortunately, those were the pre-smartphone days and digicams were not that much in vogue then, hence could not take snaps.

So below is a verbatim account of the trek (written in good old MS Word the Monday after our trek) that we (me and my good friends Prashant Upasani and Nikhil Dalvi) had jointly put up and mailed to our other friends in Patni (where I was working then). Excuse the slightly amaeturish writing and the repeated emphasis on one word in caps (there was a meaning to that back then) !!

Thanks to Prashant for digging this document back after 11 long years... :)

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>From Amit, Nikhil and Prashant -

Dear Friends(Unfortunate souls),

I know you all haven’t experienced what heaven is. So we thought that we shall share our experience with you all.  At least you all can enjoy it virtually.

Last weekend we three had been to HEAVEN i.e. Bhimashankar.  The experience was of lifetime. It was unbelievable. No words can describe what we had experienced. Here it is in short.....

The journey from Mumbai itself was exciting. Here, in Mumbai itself, it was raining so heavily, we were never sure what will happen next moment. This kind of uncertainty added thrill to our journey and working here at office for months together and just putting our valuable time only in travelling between office and home, we were really desperate to have such excitement.  What we got was certainly above our expectations. The real enjoyment was onward Karjat. The journey from Karjat to Khandas(from where we trekked) was very pleasant. The journey was through ghats with fields surrounding. It was lush green and raining. The view was very beautiful.

We reached Khandas at around 8.40 and started our trek at 9.15. The weather at that time was unbelievable. It was something that we all haven’t experienced, staying here in city. Each and every moment was unique. Each and every moment was exciting and an experience we never had before, an experience to remember forever.

We had to cross almost two mountains to reach Bhimashankar. When we started our trek, the view we had was, lush green mountains with water falls all over them. The mountains were covered by clouds, was raining and absolutely beautiful. The start of the trek itself was through a forest. As we continued, the trek took us through a variety of surroundings. At times through lush green plains, at times over steep rocks and then through the famous Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary (which boasts of animals like leopards, sambars and of course The Great Indian Squirrel)

As we were climbing we were nearing to something that could only be felt and not said, and that was HEAVEN. It was the combination of Rains, Green fields, Mountains, Water falls, Clouds and Forest that made it so beautiful.  At one point of time we were walking amidst clouds. It was raining very very heavily. The wind was very strong and what we felt was, it can’t be anything except HEAVEN. Each and every moment in our trek was an experience.

One particularily magical moment was when took a little break right in the middle of the forest. Initially it was clear but in exactly five minutes we were surrounded by clouds from all sides with heavy rains and visibilty less than 20 feet.

When, after 4 hours of trekking, we finally reached the top, the feeling which we experienced was once in a lifetime. It was 1.30 in the afternoon, admist heavy rains and thick clouds there was a small lake to greet us .We refreshed ourselves with the cold water of the lake and simply stared open-mouthed at the beauty of nature around us. Surely Lord Shiva could not have chosen a better place to have his temple in.

Memories of our trek are very sweet and we would cherish those for whole of our life. Sometimes we went through such thick forest that though it was raining heavily, we hardly got water spilled on us. It was pitch dark and getting all sorts of sounds of wild animals from the jungle of Tungi.  We were passing through clouds and at some moments were not able to see the view 10 feet far due to thick clouds. That too at 12.30 in the afternoon.

Those who missed it are very unfortunate.......we would have enjoyed if somebody could have shared  such experience, so we didn’t miss anybody (except few) in such a romantic, lively atmosphere and breath taking trek.  Though we couldn’t catch the moments in camera, we have them deep in our mind and heart for years to come.

There are many things to say, and many more things that can be felt and I wish you all should experience those and if possible in rainy season.

So all of you guys ,whatever you do, simply do not miss the thrill of a trek to GOD’s OWN PLACE - THE HEAVEN ON EARTH - BHIMASHANKAR....

Love,

Amit, Nikhil and Prashant.

P.S. While coming back, we had another trek in “MALSHEJ” ghat(11 kms).

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Cheers

Amit

'Eka Lagnachi Doosri Goshta'... not your usual soap opera...!!

Now this is probably my first post regarding any television series. And with good reason. I hardly watch any television serial. In fact, my active TV viewing is restricted to sports, business shows, the news and the odd show on National Geographic or Discovery. However, with my parents tuning in to regional (i.e. Marathi) TV shows in the evenings, I invariably used to catch some episodes of a few TV serials. Over the past few months, one TV show has gradually managed to garner my attention and involvement. And when that show ended yesterday, there was more than a tinge of sadness. The show is the extremely successful and popular show on Zee Marathi : "Eka Lagnachi Doosri Goshta".

Translated literally as 'The other story of a marriage'. this serial, which started in January this year, is the story of two youngsters: Ghanashyam and Radha. These are like any other young men you would find around you. Smart, ambitious (Ghana's dream is a job in the US) and sure of what they want they want from life. But both having to face constant questions from their families regarding marriage. Marriage is, of course, the last thing on their minds. But when these two meet and realize they are sailing in the same boat, they hit upon an idea: get into a 'contract' marriage for a year just to appease their families, survive that time period, then get a divorce and live happily ever after. What follows over the show is, predictably, the story of how they realize that such an arrangement is not so simple as it seems and how love blossoms out of this contract arrangement.

The plot is fairly straight forward and the viewers are aware of the end the moment Ghana and Radha begin their 'married' life. But the director (Satish Rajwade) has handled this journey towards the end moment admirably. For starters, this show has a large dash of humour, but at the same time, never loses sight of the serious issues underpinning it. Secondly, the show is blessed with numerous but very sharply defined supporting characters. Whether they are Ghana's two uncles, Radha's father or the very lovable Maai (grandmother) in Ghana's household, each character brings to the table its own unique identity. As a result you tend to remember all of them and not just the two main protagonists. Applaud the team for investing time and effort spent in developing each character. 

Finally, the performances. The supporting cast comprises numerous well-known names in Marathi TV and theater. The veteran Vinay Apte is brilliant as Radha's father (and the bond between them - he is a widower - is moving). Sukanya Kulkarni plays Radha's aunt and does a fine job of it. Rekha Kamat is delightful as Maai Aaji and Spruha Joshi as Ghanashyam's poetically inclined cousin sister brings the right amount of innocence to the proceedings. But finally, the show is about Ghana and Radha. And Swapnil Joshi and Mukta Barve bring the two characters to life. Admittedly, I was no great fan of Swapnil, and even now I am still not, but his performance stands out. Mukta, in my opinion is the star of the show. She starts off as an independent young woman who hates the idea of marital life. But once she starts living with Ghanashyam's family, she slowly realizes the value of marriage. This transition has been perfectly depicted by Mukta. Definitely one of my favorite actress ! :)

To end, the fact that there was a well-defined script definitely worked in the show's favour. Right from the start, you knew how the serial would close (i.e. Ghana and Radha starting their real marital life together) hence there was no scope for the makers to drag it on a like a saas-bahu opera !. And therein lies the serials biggest plus point. Here's hoping for more such serials along the way !!

Cheers

Amit