To El Morro and back

Last week Swine Flu besieged the city and many parts of the country. A few deaths across the country had most people hit the SOS button. The panic stricken people in a desperate attempt to curb the epidemic lined up at hospitals for tests, closed schools and colleges and kept their children away from the crowds, stayed away from Malls(well....mostly....except when there were huge sales at throw away prices), theaters stayed closed for 3 days, people cancelled travel plans...

We'd had enough of the madness!!! The media has added to the panic and at the same time has maintained that more people have died this year, as every year, from common flu, diarrhea, TB, etc.
Swine flu is definitely a cause for concern but there is no reason for panic.

We wanted to get away from it all! Six friends, a hired car and some music...we hit the road!!
This weekend we were tired and didn't really want to trek but we definitely wanted to get out of the city. Korlai Fort or El Morro like the Portuguese called it seemed like the perfect getaway. Its strategic position overlooking the Revdanda creek, its historical background, the promise of seafood because of its proximity to the coast, the opportunity for good photography, all made it the perfect choice for our Sunday Outing.
The drive to the fort was beautiful. It was a cloudy morning and after a hearty breakfast of pohe, vadapav,kharwas,sabudana khichadi and masala chai at Datta(Panvel)we hit NH17.
The drive was scenic...clouds enveloped the Karnala Pinnacle, the hopeful monkeys lined the highway waiting for snacks and treats from the passing cars, a little ahead the villages ran alongside the road, the lush green fields of paddy, the various gourds that grew on vines that snaked up poles and nets kept to tame them, the villagers setting up their daily stalls selling fresh farm produce....
As we neared Alibaug the roads turned into gallis, old houses with tiled roofs surrounded by palms stood in stark contrast to the posh villas. We could smell the sea in the distance and we grew impatient to reach the fort.
As we crossed the Revdanda creek the fort came into sight.

Located on a little hill and surrounded by water on three sides, the fort is at an approximate height of 300 feet above sea level. The whitewashed walls of the church on top are visible from a distance.(The ruins of the ancient church are being restored)
Korlai Fort or Castle Curlew or El Morro although built and used primarily by the Portuguese was at various points also under the Nizam, Maratha and finally the British rule. Though the main entrance to the fort faces the East you can drive right to the base from the West through the Korlai village. A Naval lighthouse stands at the base and is operated by 4 men who live in its premises. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse and spent sometime with the coast guard who told us about its operations- the beacon, the focus points, the distance to which the light travels at night, etc

Approximately 150 steps lead to the top of the fort. The fort commands a view of the Revdanda creek and the Revdanda Fort on one side, the Arabian Sea to the West and the Korlai Village and the Korlai Beach to the other side. The ancient church, a number of cannons on the bastion, a breathtaking view of the creek with the fishing village, a temple, colourful boats bobbing on the water, cattle grazing in the distance...I'd almost forgotten that it was no longer the cloudy day it started out to be. The sun was blazing and my skin was two shades darker(I'd forgotten to wear my sunscreen), we'd finished our supply of water, it was nearing 3pm and our stomach's were screaming from hunger. We'd spent almost four hours atop the fort.

Someday I'd love to watch the sunset from the fort or even lie in my sleeping bag and listen to the sea while i watch the innumerable stars on a winter night.
As we drove back we realised that in this part of the sleepy world it was too late to get lunch. Fortunately at Alibaug a little eatery(Khanaval) was open and we lunched on Mutton Thali with Fried Pomfret. I've been wanting to eat at the Patil Khanaval at Murud for ages. This little place, although its namesake, and our saviour didn't offer the mouthwatering lunch that I expected. Nonetheless the food was decent and we were starving.
On the drive back to the city we bought all sorts of gourd from the villagers-bitter, snake, etc. not so much for our love of food but more from the excitement at buying straight from the hands that sow the crop and reap it.
This will probably be our last trek for the season. The rain has vanished and the heat is slowly becoming unbearable. A lot of ambitious plans have been chalked out for Winter treks in the Sahyadris. So....until the next trek....I have some wonderful memories from the many treks this Monsoon.

Restoration or Renovation?

3 years ago I used to drive down to the Sewri Mudflats to see the migratory flamingos on a lot of weekends. On one such trip, equipped with my camera, I decided to visit the Sewri fort.
The dilapidated fort which had witnessed the vagaries of time and the weather and more so the unrelenting human hand seemed to be left to its own fate and I wished that the Government would do something to look after our heritage sites before it's too late.

I visited the Sewri Fort again last month. I had read reports in the Newspapers about the fort getting a face lift and wanted to see it for myself. The Government has finally done something about this heritage site...finally!!! I'm not sure how I felt about the new look though. On my first visit the fort bore an unkempt, dilapidated, rough but rustic look.
Today, the fort has been cleaned up. It no longer smells like a toilet or is used by miscreants. The peepal and banyan trees which were growing though the cracks of the walls are no longer there. The fort seems renovated!!!!!!!!! Shouldn't such places be restored instead so they still bear their old, rustic, historic look and yet are cared for so they don't crumble to dust someday?
The fort is all concrete now. It's a new fort now and no longer bears any semblance to a monument. Do compare the pictures in this post with my previous one.
Do respond to this post. I'd love to know what you think...

http://mumbaichimulgi.blogspot.com/2006/07/sewri-fort.html

Offbeat destinations in Maharashtra

This monsoon I plan to visit a few more offbeat destinations in Maharashtra and write about them.
The first of them was Sindola and you've already read my post about it. I've visited Karnala, Manikgad, Kothligad and Sagargad since.
I read a book on the 2012 prophesy and my 'bucket-list' has a zillion more additions now. So much to do..
Well....I hope to write about each of these trips soon..

Sindola!!!????

This year has been exceptionally hot and since patience is a virtue I don't really possess we did our first monsoon trek before onset of monsoon. We chanced upon 'Green Carpet' and their plan to trek to Sindola Fort on 7th June and decided to join in.

I scanned through 'Offbeat tracks in Maharashtra', 'The Sahyadri Companion', 'Trek the Sahyadris' and the internet and found very little information on the fort. Barring Harish Kapadia's Trek the Sahyadris none of the other books had any mention of Sindola fort and Harish Kapadia doesnt mentioned much besides this:

Sindola(1395m/4577ft)
As seen from Bhandardara lake, straight in line with the damn wall in the south east is Sindola. It is a good climb above Mutkhel, which is an important village on the south-western shores of the lake.

The author classifies it as an easy trek but I'd say otherwise. Our five-people-group started at 5am from our respective houses in Mumbai to reach Kalyan Station between 6:30 am and 7am. By the time the 'Green carpet' bus left Kalyan station, at almost 8am(an hour after the scheduled departure time), stuffed with trekkers like a gunny bag carrying potatoes in a truck, we'd begun to lose our enthusiasm. The bus journey to Malshej ghat was deafening; most of the 35 odd people in the bus started singing, in chorus, their remixed versions of bollywood's most annoying songs. The idea of a short nap on the journey had to be dismissed as even a conversation with the person sitting next to you was impossible considering the decibel levels. After a long halt for breakfast and another hour of singing we finally alighted from the bus at a spot in the middle of the ghat. The Padmavati river snaked through the valley to our left and to the right in the distance we could see the Sindola Peak. The initial journey was easy with a gradual climb but the sun was high in the sky and beat down on us, dehydrating us and making the climb very tiring.
Soon the easy part was over and we started scaling the sides of the hill with very poor foothold and loose rocks and scree. To our left was a fall, straight into the valley. For the experienced trekker Sindola wasn't as difficult a trek but it definitely wasn't easy either. I discovered a fear of heights for the first time. My feet struggled for a foothold(my woodland shoes didn't help much)and thorns dug into my palms as i struggled to hold on to the sides of the hill. Looking down at the valley I felt my head spin and the rest of the trek seemed stressful and like a fight for survival instead of the pleasurable trip it was meant to be.
Despite the odds we made it to top. The view was breathtaking but barring two small idols cut in the rocks -Hanuman and Ganapati - the top of the hill bore no evidence of the fort or the watch tower. The highlight of any trek is either the journey or the destination and this trek was treacherous without much to see on top.
As we finished our lunch we saw very menacing looking clouds over the adjacent hilltops and before we started our journey downwards the wind began to blow so hard that it threatened to blow us off the hill. In minutes the rain followed and soon we were drenched to the bone. The rain stopped in less than fifteen minutes but it ensured that a part of the journey back down was rendered slippery.
With terrible cramps in my left thigh and my newly discovered phobia of heights my feet refused to move. A couple of hours later, with help from two other trekkers, I finally made it off the most difficult part of the hill. The sun was back, our clothes were dry and a sense of accomplishment was slowly taking place of the fear we held on to all afternoon.
I'm sure I won't attempt Sindola Fort again....I'm not sure I even want to call it a fort!!

Koraigad!!

The monsoon had beaten it's annual retreat leaving us PMSing (Post Monsoon Stress) with the advent of the October heat. Hoping to escape the grueling weather in the city we planned another trek.
We caught a 6am State Transport bus from Dadar and headed to Lonavala via the old Mumbai- Poona Highway. The old bus groaned as it climbed the winding ghats. Nonetheless, in a couple hours we were at the Lonavala ST stand just in time for a hearty breakfast at Ramakrishna.
Idli, dosa, hot samosa and a masala chai later we hopped into a sumo we'd hired and set off on our 20 km drive to the base village- Peth-Shahpur. The village of Peth-Shahpur is en route to INS Shivaji and Sahara Group's Amby Valley.
We parked our vehicle at the base village and started our trek.

The Koraigad fort is atop a steep hill at the height of 3,000 feet above sea level. The climb, although it looks steep, is fairly easy and takes approximately an hour. The path to the fort is along a flat plain initially and is covered with a carpet of yellow blossoms and multitudinous butterflies . It then winds though a moderately wooded path through a canopy of vegetation until you reach the steps of the fort. The climb is rendered much simpler because of the steps and yet it is steep and can leave you breathless.

It took us longer than an hour to get to the top. We stopped every now and then to admire the caterpillars and butterflies, to photograph the fort, a Ganesh Temple on the way, a few caves that were possibly granaries.
We entered the fort through the main darwaja
atop which a saffron flag fluttered in the wind.
The fort has no tree cover and is an expansive table land covered with fresh water ponds. The monsoon had left the fort covered in weeds and grass and the October sun beating down on it had transformed it into a yellow grassland. We explored the fort for a couple of hours letting the sun burn our skin despite the sunscreen, glares and hats we wore. We walked along the periphery of the fort and the sight is one to behold...the Mulshi lake, the mountain ranges, a bird's eye view of Amby Valley, an airstrip with a biplane and the Dukes nose in the distance.
The fort houses an ancient temple with a 4 feet tall statue of the goddess Koraidevi and a number of cannons. There is no food available on the fort and we sat along the largest pond, our tired feet soaking in the cool water, munching on the snacks we'd carried with us. Soon the sun was overhead and despite the the breeze our sun burnt skin coaxed us to leave the fort and start our descent. The climb down is much simpler. Soon we were back at the base village and in our car headed to Lonavala.

After a late lunch we caught an ST bus back to the city. Twelve hours after we'd started our journey from Dadar we were back in Mumbai..a little tired, very sun burnt but mostly happy from our little get-away from the city.

The Iron Fort - Lohagad

The Indrayani Express lugged through the rain drenched ghats in the early hours of the morning. We alighted at Lonavala station to find out we'd just missed the local train to Malavli. It didn't dampen our spirits. A hot cuppa tea at the station and off we went to Malavli by rickshaw.


From Malavli station we started our walk, past the railway crossing, a bridge over the expressway, through the Bhaje village and soon we were trudging through slushy paddy fields. A crab popped out from under a rock to say hello and a pair of startled brahminy mynah's took to flight. A cool breeze enveloped us and we were intoxicated with the sights, the smells and the sound this scenic setting had to offer.


The rain gods had finally obliged and waterfalls rushed down the hillside and transformed into gurgling streams.


We reached the road that leads up to the base village. Although motorable I'd only drive up that road if I'm allowed to drive a hummer. The road wound and climbed, leaving the inexperienced trekker a little out of breath. We stopped often and flopped ourselves on little rocks along the way, more to admire the breathtaking view than to rest. In the distance another local train blew it's horn and snaked it's way to Pune. Above us the twin forts of Visapur and Lohagad towered like benevolent monarchs. Their history excited and intrigued us.


The history of Lohagad can be traced back to many dynasties and time periods - Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizamshahis, Mughals and Marathas. The mighty fort, which is one of the better preserved ones today was captured by the Maratha ruler, Shivaji in 1648 AD. The treaty of Purandar forced Shivaji to surrender the fort to the Mughals in 1665 AD but he recaptured it in 1670 AD using it to hide a huge treasure he amassed when he raided Surat. Some people believe the treasure is still hidden on the fort waiting to be discovered.


Soon we were at Lohagaon, the base village. A village stall promised hot bhakris with spicy zunka and even fiery hirvya mircha thecha.


We placed our order and started our ascent up the steps to the Iron Fort. Hordes of monkeys climbed down the walls of the fort to inspect the human invaders. Some pensively watched from the distance and the bigger, bolder ones even barred their teeth in warning. Undeterred we continued through the four huge doors leading up to the fort. First through Ganesh Darwaja, past Narayan Darwaja and Hanuman Darwaja and finally Maha Darwaja we were atop the fort. The fort has remnants from the Mughal as well as the Maratha rule...an old cannon, water tanks, temples, dargas...


We walked through the clouds, the rain coming down in torrents, the roaring wind threatening to blow us off the fort. By the time we'd scaled the length and breath of the fort we were drenched to the bone, our teeth clattered and our muscles ached for warmth but our hearts were captivated by the beauty it had to offer. Our stomach's reminded us of the hot lunch that awaited us at the village.


As promised, the Maharashtrian lunch followed by piping hot adrakwali chai were delicious. Satiated after a delectable meal and warm after a change of clothes we bid our adieus to the hospitable villagers and started our journey back.


We still had one more detour on our agenda. The waterfalls we encountered on our way up extended an invitation which we readily accepted. The cool water engulfed our tired bodies as we lowered ourselves on the rocks. The veiled sun was slowly moving across the sky towards the horizon. Soon darkness would set in and it was time to head back to Malavli.


We got into the local train at Malavali, got off at Lonavala to pick up chikki and fudge and then boarded a bus back to Mumbai. Weary, we rode in silence. Some fell asleep. I shut my eyes and savoured each moment of my blissful trip to Lohagad.

Pink is my new obsession!!!!!!!!

I'd driven to Sewri a million times to watch the flamingos in the distance.Pink specks covering the mudflats turned into bird shapes through my binoculars.

This Saturday was different!!! The afternoon sun scorched our skin as we assembled at Mahul village at 2pm. A little boat and some fisher folk awaited the 'Jungle lore' gang. We set off through the mangroves starling some paddy birds and gulls in the process. The high tide was coming in. The Flamingos who's had their fill were now walking along the mangroves before taking flight.
We were ushered into an even smaller boat, so we could row up to the flamingos without startling them. With my sun-kissed arms on either sides of the boat, squatting on the floor, shifting to maintain the boat's balance, I spotted them as we turned around the bend. Thousands of pink beauties as far as the eye could see!!!
I'd never been so up close and personal with the flamingos....the lesser and greater, the juveniles...just meters away from us....
They waded through the water, squabbled and called out to each other, some posed on one leg....and then....when the tide came in further and the skies beckoned they took off....synchronised feet treading the water's surface, wings flapping, and they were off...
As they flew above our heads towards Anushakti nagar, we watched them till they turned into little specks and then merged with the distant hills.

We rowed back to the village in awe, sharing photographs, our excitement and our new pink obsession!!!

Sewri Fort

Build by the British as a checkpost, the Sewri fort which dates back to 1680 was then located on the eastern shore of the Parel Island, one of the original seven islands that formed Mumbai. In 1789 Yadi Sakat of the Janjira Islands conquered the Sewri fort along with the Masgaon fort. The fort had a garrison of 50 sepoys under a subedar and was equipped with around 10 cannons.The fort was subsequently used to house prisoners and later became a Bombay Port Trust godown. (Wikipedia)

A bumpy drive past the Imax theater through huge craters on the road brought me to the Sewri Mud flats and as I stood next to the Colgate Palmolive factory my jaw dropped at the site of icecream pink covered mangroves. The Sewri mud flats are home to the Flamingoes that migrate here every year from September to May.I took in the sight to my heart's content and then decided to make my way up the quarried hill to the dilapitated remains of the Sewri Fort. A foul smell emanated as I climbed up the stairs. The fort, unfortunately has been turned into a public toilet by the local residents. The walls bear wittness to where the cannons once stood. If you look seawards past the mudflats and the flamingoes you see the RCF factory in the backdrop.
Sad how little the government takes care of such heritage sites.