Trip to South Maharashtra - Malvan - Day 2

The morning was lazy. I woke up at around 8 to find that everyone was up. The surrounding was covered with thick fog and a chilling wave was flowing. It felt like a January morning in north. No Friday morning has been so wonderful ever before. While everyone was getting ready we ordered for breakfast, from the list of readily available things Poha and Upit (Upma) were selected. After having a hefty breakfast and checking out, we were ready for the next stop. This was about to be different. After a night in the foggy hills, we were all set to move near the sea. The plan was to stay at Malvan for a night and enjoy the beach. One more reason for moving to the beach the very next day was Mayanks B’day. He had this wish of celebrating it on the seashore.

The distance by road was about 81 km, moving along the Amboli ghat and slowly sliding down to the western side of the Western Ghats. The road was curvy as a snake. Bhaskar fell pray to motion sickness and we had some breaks throughout the journey. On the way we found a place by the road. A small stream from some river was flowing through the rocks. Everyone enjoyed some moments on the bank, some taking photographs in different poses and others enjoying the serenity. We moved straight to the Malvan beach to go to the Janjira fort in a small village, Murud. The fort has a reputation of being the only undefeated fort in the western coast of India. The fort is in the sea, around 500 m from the shore. Due to the monsoon season, government authorities had seized any transportation to the fort. This was a real heartbreaker. We just had a good look at it wit sad eyes, had some bhel puri at the coast and left for our nights stay at malvan, Sri Sai Gajanan Resort.

It was some distance from Malvan. We drove through a series of resorts, all named after one God or the other till we reached our destination. It was a small resort with rooms in pairs scattered around. The other side of the road was backwaters, where some fishermen were busy with their business. We settled, and went to the manager to know about the place. We needed some seclusion at the beach and also a place where we can spend the midnight. Just at the back of the resort was a good and sort of secluded beach, Tarkarli Beach, as it was called. We got ready, took our clothes, packed some bottles of beer and left for the beach. The water was clear, but the sand had a sight of blackness. Anyhow, we lifted a bottle each and moved to the water. Just a little into the sea and we felt something poking in out feet. They were seashells, scattered all around. We gathered some and sat near the shore, in the water and enjoyed our beer. Suddenly it struck us, why don’t we bury one among us on the shore. The thought passed and the next thing we were digging up the sand. A perfect 6 x 3 bed was made, Praphulla volunteered to go in and he was covered with sand. Only his head was out and beer was poured into his mouth. Now the artistic minds started showing off. Using the sand, Praphulla was transformed into a mermaid. To be specific, a mermaid sporting the organs of both male and female. It was fun as everyone came out with their designs and shapes, depending on personal experiences. I made a small mud house beside the grave. A dream house, I laughed it off and drank the remaining beer. The whole scene was photographed, and the photos are personal property. As the sun had set and it was dark around so we went back to the resort. There were a couple of showers in the open. All the boys started to clean there only. The beer by now had shot high up in everyone’s head. It was this that made us do the infamous 1 2 3 (it’s a code and cannot be revealed). Everyone dressed up and got together for dinner, there was fish, chicken and Konkani veg thali. After enjoying the meal we gathered in the open and started to chat. The discussion led to Indian mythology and religions. It was quite a debate and it showed one of our hidden sides (good one) to Shilpi Bhabi. It was midnight and time to celebrate. We took the cake, a solar light and left for the beach. The water had risen up considerably. Candles were not blown cause of the wind, but the cake was cut and some Hostel life was recalled. Yes you are right, it was time for some Ass kicking. Bhaskar was in his true colors. He did full justice to his built and to Mayank. It was evident from the way Mayank was walking after it was over.

After another memorable day we were back to our resort and in our beds. Rest was essential as the coming day was to be enjoyed with more enthusiasm.

For pics visit http://picasaweb.google.com/devilish102/TripToSouthMaharashtra#

Trip to South Maharashtra - Amboli - Day 1

Getting 4 days off from office is a rare commodity and not going home by clubbing leaves is even rarer. Friday 7th August was a holiday in office and we took a leave on Thursday. We had planned it a long time back, this visit to Southern parts of Maharashtra. The monsoon being the perfect season for a trip to the ghats filled with numerous waterfalls. Spending all 4 days in the jungle would have been boring, so we decided to visit a near by beach in Malvan too.

Well as the trip was long so I want to break the blog in parts so as to concentrate on each day.

While planning, we were 9 people but by the end 3 were not able to make due to different reasons and one person got added in the group. Among those who didnt make were Ravi, Sonal Kachru and Tanmay. Tanmay had to leave for home on Rakhi, Ravi left for GErmany on an official trip and Sonal was sent to Italy by GE for some High profile training. The addition was that of Prashant Patil, a colleague from another team. This mention was necessary as the trip wouldn’t have been enjoyable without him. He made us realize that we did some wacky things which he had never thought he’ll be doing. We had planned to leave Bangalore for Hubli on Wednesday night, reach Hubli by early morning, have breakfast at Arun’s place and leave for Amboli in a taxi already booked from Hubli. Last moment cancellations of Arun made us rethink our plan.

The train was to leave at 2115 hrs from Bangalore, so we decided to be there by 2000 and have dinner. Plans are just plans, so separately we managed to reach the Bangalore railway station by 2030. We had reached before all, so we decided to get our dinner packed. Everyone joined and we boarded the train by 2100. Two of the seats were scattered in the bogie so we started making arrangements for all to be in one place. The trip started with chattering around and making fun of all. Prashant was introduced to Shilpi bhabi (Saket’s wife) and we were constantly making him acquainted to our environment, as we didn’t want him to come under any shock. We finished our dinner and lay there chattering through the night. Prashant was made aware of the change in plans. Now instead of making a breakfast halt at Hubli, we were to reach Belgaum (Prashant’s place) and have our breakfast there. We reached Hubli by 0545. Found our driver, Subhash and after having some tea left for Belgaum. We had to reach Belgaum before 9 so that Bhaskar could be served by breakfast before 0930. This is his official time for breakfast and he cant bear any delay in having food. No one in the group wanted to upset a 6’3” giant, though all know he is a child at heart but still, who wants to take risk.

We reached Belgaum within the next hour and were easing out at Prashant’s place. This stretch of Karnataka comes at the foothills, so the road was surrounded by small hills scattered to eternity. The landscape, marked with Sugarcane plantation and Mango trees. The reddish soil soaked in water from last nights rain looked mesmerizing. The weather was still damp, and was about to stay the same for some days to come. Everyone took a bath and got ready for some breakfast. Can’t stop myself from mentioning that, the Poha I had there was the best I had ever eaten in the past 4 years (I had poha for the 1st time in july 2005). Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the seera (halwa in hindi, kadda in punjabi), poha and upma followed by a hot cup of exceptionally good tea. The breakfast combination is traditional in North Karnataka and you’ll be treated with it wherever you go.

We started with the journey at around 11 and went to visit the Belgaum fort before leaving the place. There was a small temple in an area called kamal basti within confines of the fort. A jain temple made a long back ago. I being an atheist was more interested in the architecture. It was supported on many pillars, which seemed like loosely put beneath the whole structure. The pillars were quite distinct from the roof. There were engraved images all over the walls and the temple was divided in two chambers. The nner chamber was for the deity. It had a top opening for natural light which also worked as an exhaust during hawan. The outer chamber was open from 3 sides and had some place for worshippers to gather.

We left for Amboli within another half hour. It was a stretch of 70 km, with hilly area near to Amboli. The journey was enjoyed with songs and bakar. Within another 2 hours we were near to Amboli. Just on the outskirts was a water fall, Nangartas falls. Named after a person whose temple was also erected there. There was a concrete bridge built to have a better view of the fall. It was quite steep and fell into a very narrow ridge. It was running with around 50% capacity as was evident from the surrounding. In low flow also it was splendid. We waited there for some time, had vada pao and a cup of tea and left for Amboli. Reaching Amboli, first we checked into the hotel, “Whistling Woods”. In the true sense, it felt like the woods were whistling there. Dumped our luggage into the rooms and got ready to explore the nearby places. We decided to see around 3 places with the major attraction being the Amboli falls. Everyone wanted to bathe in the fall, so we decided to visit it in the last. First we went to a valley, though a point was promised but we were not able to find anything. What we found was far beautiful than anything else. We stopped in the middle of the way; it was a narrow land with greenery all around. Surrounded by fog covered mountains and a sunless sky. We made full use of the time at hand and clicked some beautiful pictures. Some quite sensible while and some a little out of the box. Found a lonely tree and reached on to it. Made some fun of Gandhiji’s monkeys, giving them a new shade in the present era. From there we left for Mahadev Garh, a hill top view point. Saw the spectacular view from a mountain top and clicked some more pics. Not wasting much time, we left for lunch and decided to move to the waterfalls. For lunch we chose a local dhaba, instead of a flashy restaurant. We are of the idea of being Roman in Rome. Asked him for the traditional veg thali, with Konkani fried fish and a maharashtrian delicacy calle Missal Pao. Missal pao was one thing, we had heard a lot about. During our lunch time discussions about food we had come across this. It was supposed to be very chilly but very good. To mention, the missal pao was not what we had in mind, but we thought it was good. It had a little moderate chilly effect for all of us to manage and was sufficient to put it into the hot category. The fish was good, perfectly fried and the masala used was delicious. The veg thali, or to say the Konkani veg food was something I didn’t like much. It was made in coconut oil, which is a big repellant for me but all in all the lunch was fulfilling. It topped with a sweet ladoo made from sev and jaggery and another one called marunda in north. This is made from rice (fried or roasted I dnt know) and jagegry. After filling ourselves we left for Amboli Falls.

The Amboli falls are around 3 km from the city on the Savantvadi road. The falls are gigantic and fall from a good height. For better access steps have been made to reach the bottom of the fall. It comes straight down, so the force of water and the loudness is too much. There was no stopping us, once we saw water. Everyone jumped in except for Mayank, who was feeling a bit sick. This also happened for good as he clicked some outstanding pics of not only us but others too. Well the crowd was comfortably enough and I should saw, “quality crowd”. It was a real treat to eyes and the water was giving a cooling effect. After around an hour of enjoyment, we decided to call it a day (for roaming around) and left for the whistling woods.

We had gathered some Vodka, Whisky and Beer for the night. It was cold and foggy, somewhat like the moth of November in North. It made me a little nostalgic. We all gathered in the Verandha, just in front of our rooms and made ourselves comfortable on the chairs. A table was placed and cards came out. Coins were brought specially to act as tokens for a game of 3 patti (flash) or poker. The gamblers had there rounds for sometime, while the others enjoyed watching the exciting bouts. It was 7 and glasses were laid on the table. All had something, vodka, whisky, cocktail of vodka whisky and beer, sprite (neat) and beer alone. It was fun being away from the stressful workload and the worldly worries. Some cell phones were switched off, some didn’t have signal, while some were used as there was no running from callers. The drinks became a little too much for some and the discussions took some interesting, funny and knowledge sharing turns. All had there dinner before to retire for the day. The day was fulfilling, with minuscule amount of tiredness.

The journey will continue the next morning on a different page..........

For pics visit http://picasaweb.google.com/devilish102/TripToSouthMaharashtra#

Notting Hill - My Favourite

I had never imagined I’ll right a movie review in this blog. This time it was (I believe) 30th time I was watching “Notting Hill”, so thought of writing it.

I am not the one fond of watching love stories. I still remember I fell asleep while watching Pretty Woman. Then by the end of my graduation I saw the Hugh Grant and Julia Robert starrer Notting Hill and it changed my perspective for ever. I enjoyed it so much that since then I have rarely missed it on TV and have watched it numerous times on CD. Not to mention, I recommend it to all my friends and then watch it with them.

It’s a beautifully portrayed story of two people in love with one an actress Anna Scot and other a small travel bookstore owner William Thatcher. They meet accidently and fall in love over some meetings. Both have acted wonderfully well and played their parts amazingly. The Englishman is well mannered and well dressed, and also the actress has an attitude while a heart of a simple girl. The dialogues are what I like the most, though one of my favorites is listed in the 15 worst dialogues in movies. The one where Anna Scott tells William, ''I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.'' Apart from the fact that you rarely come across a time when a common man meets a very famous actress and both fall in love, the movie was genuine. The people around the characters seem real and can be related to one of your own acquaintances. Spike, Martin, Honey, Bernie are so realistic. The expression of love in the movie was also one of the top points. It was simple and subtle without any pomp and show. The songs were remarkable, with impeccable lyrics, wonderfully sung and well placed in the course of the movie.

Can’t write much, so I recommend you watch it to judge it. My personal experience says that 9/10 people, I have recommended have liked it and ever since had been a favorite for them too.

Adventure Camp at Mascal - Sawan Durga

Once in a year we go for a company sponsored outing. It used to be a 2 – 3 days trip before recession but now it has been reduced to one day. This time we planned to go for an adventure camp near Sawan Durga.

It lies around 40 km from Bangalore, famous for the biggest monolith in Asia. Cox and Kings arranged the tour for 45 members from a team of around 73. The buses picked up all from various points in Bangalore and started for the destination. It looked promising from the feedback we got and from the proposal he had sent. Jummering, Rappelling, swimming, rafting, kayaking sounded good and the distant memories of sharavati were reignited.

With old memories we reached sawan durga by 10 in the morning. Breakfast was ready, with idly, wada, seera, upma, banana’s and tea and coffee. Everything was marvelous, tasting something like sharavati. We filled our water bottles, switched the cell phone off and left for the campsite. It was a half an hour trek through the jungle. We reached the base of a straight 100ft high rock, perfect for rappelling. First we tried our hand at Jummering. It’s a technique used by cave explorers to move up. It was a wonderful experience, as we had never done this thing before. Then we all gathered courage and went uphill to try ourselves in rappelling. It was scary at first, but with beautiful instructors, the experience became memorable. The safety was given prime importance and no deviation was accepted. Checklists were filled before anyone was allowed to move down the hill. It somehow brought the unwanted office memories, but we warded them off in making fun. After the adventure we marched towards the river. It was also a half an hour trek, this time through a more dense forest. Finally we reached the riverbank. The rafts were ready to take us to the other side but we didn’t want to waste even a second of fun in water. So wearing our life jackets we jumped into the water to swim to the other end. Even rookies like Mayank and Tanmay preferred to swim than to go by raft. After an hour of water masti and annoying the French instructor we came out of the water. Lunch was ready and others (not fond of water) were playing the fools game (cricket). We had our lunch and lay there relaxed, far from the worries of the world. At around 4 in the evening the instructors gathered us all to play some team building games. We had started only when rain started pouring, not just pouring but heavily pouring. For some it was a spoil sport, but for us it was the best we could have asked for. We played volleyball and throw ball in the rain. Finally it was time to leave the place. With a promise among ourselves to visit it again in a small group we trekked our way to a nearby village where our busses were waiting. The last ride of the trip was filled with songs and laughter. Had dinner on our way in a country club resort and returned home by 11 in the night.

A day of adventure and joy came to an end, with memories frescoed deep in our hearts.

For pics of the trip, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/devilish102/Mascal