Night trek to Harishchandragad - May 2017

When the Mischief Managed event invite reads as “Respite From City Heat | Pre-Monsoon Magic | 11th century caves | Kedareshwar Shivalingam | Taramati - Third Highest Peak of Maharashtra | “ the trek to Harishchandragad becomes a must do (all the more so since my previous trek was done in early February 2017. ) 
The journey starts with the mandatory and unavoidable looooooong train journey to Kasara whereby we cover a major portion of the distance. After reaching Kasara and an even longer ride to the base village with the customary dinner break at Baba da Dhaba, we are all set for the night trek. But first; a dose of kadak chai by our friendly host and his family. The long journey is more than amply compensated by the sheer beauty of the ghats (even at night) and the natural coolness in the atmosphere
Within a few minutes of starting the trek we have the good fortune of chancing upon the much heard but hardly seen (for Mumbaikars at least) fireflies . . . . We gleefully take a detour from the trek route and start oohing and aahing about the beauty of the fireflies . The sighting of fireflies as I understand is normally before the onset of monsoon since they cannot survive once the big showers start. So alongwith the beauty that they spread it also brought hopes of early showers . .and respite from the energy sapping heat. The scene of fireflies in the pitch dark reminded me a bit of all the fancy computer graphics used in movies and I was left marveling at the beauty of God’s creation.
After the mandatory selfie (!!!) wid the fireflies :P , we move onward with the trek. A funfilled few hours with lotsa staring at the skies and wondering at the beauty of the stars we reach the 11th century Caves . . . . a sudden cloud burst cover with resultant low visibility ensures that we roam around a bit before eventually reaching the top . While few of us decide to promptly plonk down in the available space others decide to explore the surroundings.
After the blistering Mumbai heat the pleasantly cold peak with strong winds was lovely. Few hours later we are up and looking eagerly forward to the Sunrise. Over those few hours we realize that we are (again) in the midst of clouds. For the technically inclined , it’s a natural phenomena where a vertical cloud burst is seen at the Konkan kada and One gets to experience a thick layer of cloud cover. Not much visibility of the plains below . . .and obviously not of the sunrise either. But the surreal atmosphere , beauty and the feel has to be experienced . The breathtaking hues of the skies with the moving clouds and continuous wind raking up the fine dust into the atmosphere . . . . Can go on and on . . . Lot of photo opportunities . . selfies . . VDOS . . . Slow mo(s) . . . Time lapse . . . .
Onward to Taramati peak is fun but slowly leads few to start huffing and puffing :P and only a handful end up reaching the third highest peak of Maharastra. The breathtaking view is worth the extra effort as we are treated to a single shot view of all the landmark peaks . . be it Ratangadh (Nere-needle point) . . Kalsubai . . . and the Bhandardara dam. The view of the plains and the peaks with sunlight and the shadows of the clouds formed an interesting collage of colours .
Descent to Harishchandra Gadh happens soon enough and after breakfast we start the actual descent to the base village. It takes much lesser time and inspite of the merciless sun, we are treated to some breathtaking landscapes on our way down while gorging on wild berries. 
Special mention of the pathetic state of the temple with the Kedareshwar Shivalingam . 
Reaching the base, lunch, loooong road journey to Kasara station , mandatory scrambling for the train and ensuring a comfortable seating (4th seat hi sahi) and we return back to our respective homes pleasantly tired and cherished memories eagerly looking forward to a shower, dinner and the much needed night’s sleep before gearing up for the working week. Thank you Mischief Managed for an amazing weekend, new friends and promise of many more such memorable trips in future

Help Yourself !!!!

Help Yourself 

Unfortunately these two words tend to describe the generally selfish and materialistic culture in which most of us live. They result not in self-help but in dependency. Our education and our role models do not encourage us to help ourselves to grow, change and expand our capacities as human beings. Real self-help means recognising that no one else is responsible for our thoughts and feelings, and that we are only ever victims because we choose to be. Our destiny is always and only in our own hands - despite all apparent evidence which may indicate otherwise. Learning to help ourselves is also a prerequisite to extending a hand of assistance to others. We all need a leg up from time to time, but once there, we are always on our own.

When we almost Paraglided !!!!!

Man proposes and God disposes sounds like a cliché …..

But having experienced that twice in the space of few month one can’t but appreciate the profoundness of that . . . Funnily enough both the occasions were when I was all geared for “adventure sports” . In January 2017 my Chadar Trek plans were waylaid by “Mother nature” and now . . in March it was Paragliding which got canceled . . . .

I have noted elsewhere about the Chadar Experience . . . . . so now for the Paragliding one

After having signed up for Tattva Adventures UDAAN . . The paragliding experience . . . . We  (Myself and four others ) were all excited and looking forward to soaring in the skies !!!

After meeting at Dadar  . . . .  we proceed to one of the most happening eateries at Matunga for an awesome breakfast (and caapi )  . . . . and then onward to Lonavala . . . Jaal ( Co-head – Tattva Adventures) informs us that the timing for the Paragliding is 3.15 in the afternoon . . . . . Phir kya . . . aaram se breaksfast .  .and a relaxed ride through surprisingly empty Highways and ghats . Special mention of Antakshari – Bhakti style and the phenomenal memory of our two leads Sai and Jaal in singing full Bollywood  songs from dinosaur ages . . . .

Because of the time available at hand . . . we are given a special preview to the proposed future camping/glamping site of Tattva . . where we end up playihg carrom board . . . hoola hooping (hilarious experience ) and last but not the least . . .Box cricket ! ! ! ! !

You have to do certain activities to experience the sheer joy of doing them . . . . . Slap stick comedy . . . random comments . . . breaking out  into peals of laughter . . just few of the ingredients which make a great day . .and a great session . . . .

After lunch and a very short nap . .we gear up for  . . .the bonus of the day . . . Zorbing!!!  . . . . . . Again something which has to be experienced . For the record , I had to add it to the bucket list and then strike it off :D . Like most adventure sports . .The Zorbing was over far too soon....

 As we proceed to the eagerly awaited Paragliding area we are given a detailed spiel of how the system works . . . . . and the dos and donts by Rambo (!!!)  our friendly instructor.

Here we were . . . all geared up to experience the thrills of paragliding and the first one from our group Tanvi takes off . . . . .As she soars into the skies (camera whirring non stop !! ) few others are also selected for the flights. It is then that we notice all the selected ones are the light weight category since the air currents were not strong enough.

As time passes . . .the intensity of air current either remains the same or decreases . .  .and with it decreases our chances of soaring into the skies . . . . . After a hopeful few hours the Organizers finally confirm that the event is canceled because of the vagaries of weather.

The ‘lighter’ones still manage(d) to fly though . . .

Left me pondering whether a ten kg lesser weight would have let me fly . . . . Just another motivation to lose weight  I guess . . Time to get serious on the fitness front . . . ..

All said and Done ,  19th March 2017 will  be memorable day for me . . . The day when I almost “paraglided” 

Talking to the Self

Talking to the Self

When you talk to yourself in your mind, which self do you address? And how? Usually people do not talk to their divinity, but to the most superficial aspects of their everyday personality. And often it is a stream of fears, complaints and mindless repetition of old things. If we talked that way to another human being, we would have to apologize. Learning to talk properly to the self is a spiritual endeavor. Thoughts from the past and worries about the future do not create good conversation. Instead learn to talk to your mind as if it were a child. Talk to it with love. If you just force a child to sit down, he won't. A good mother knows how to prompt her child into doing what she wants. Be a good mother to your mind, teach it good, positive thoughts so that when you tell it to sit quietly, it will. Love your mind. Stay happy.......

Of course, people matter. But do they know that?

Whether it's your partner, boss, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, domestic help , even the cabbie , the bus driver  . . . . put extra effort into letting them know they matter. 

Why? Because it makes a difference and it matters, to them  . . . . . . . . and to you. . . . . 

Not many of us are comfortable expressing  . . .That is understandable given our backgrounds . . . .

But  . . . the appreciation . . even the acknowledgement . . . . It doesn't need to be long and drawn out, it could simply be a 'Thank you, I really appreciate that' or 'Thank you, that was really thoughtful.' 

For those already doing it . . .great  ,  never ever stop doing it . . . .

And for those who are not doing it . . .it’s never too late to start . . .because life is short . .and unpredictable . . .

Meditation

Meditation is more
effective than sleep in
re-energising the soul.
All forms of meditation
ultimately aim to relax the
mind. Meditation is going
from a state of doing to just
being. We are so action conscious
all through the day
that we never get time to connect to our original self.
Doing something all the time
seems to give us a false sense
of gratification. In this
process, we forget to be our
own selves. It’s like an athlete
running without taking a
break. It’s not possible to
keep running like this for a
long time. Meditation provides us the much needed
break from this process of
doing. It helps us slow down
and experience our true
identity. It gives us a chance
to connect with our inner
world, which is a very
fulfilling experience.

Beach trail walk experience . .Kumta Gokarna in November 2016

KUMTA _ GOKARNA BEACH TRAIL + CAMPING on 26th and 27th  November 2016 with Tattva Adv

entures

The journey started with few of us boarding the train at CST and the rest at Thane. Some enterprising ones (Rahul Raina)  out of necessity reached CST coupla hours early sending the rest into a tizzy doubting the actual train departure  time . . . 

Train journey commences with usual set of selfies . .dhamaal . .masti . . .(duly subdued because of the other passengers :D )

We reach Kumta the next day morning and after the mandatory local bus journey  . .reach the first beach Vannali  . . After the intro round and the oohing and aahing at the beauty of nature the trail starts . . . . .

As the day progresses . .the beaches pass us by . . or rather ..we pass by/through the beaches . ..  The route typically . .consisting of walking through the beach enjoying the breeze and water . . .ascending the intervening hillock and then after a breathtaking view of the next beach descend to the same . . . This description does absolutely no justice to the beauty on display nor the time well spent on photography (self and others) by ALL participants   .  

Kadle , Gudeangadi ,Nirvana and finally  Aghnashani - Tadadi Port ( Boat )  . ..we sailed (!!!) into the rest place for the night . . . – Balekan

Albiet bit late for tea  . . . .  we gorge on samosa and tea . .with the expectedly unexpected  rush/line outside the functional primitive wash room to freshen up :P

After the  late tea and snacks and a impromptu jamming session with guitar and all ( special mention of Jaal and Yashwant for their mime/dance)   . . . time to put up the tents . .The rookies and the experts get together to a fun filled session of putting up the tents. The cresent moon shaped formation of the tents . . ..with the LED strips and the blue shimmering tarpaulin all  together created a surreal atmosphere. 

Dinner . . . . Then snooze/slumber time for few and games time for majority  . . . . With the waves and the excited voices forming a lovely jugalbandi the night stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning . . . .  The energy level of the awesome twosome Jaal and Sai ensures that within  hardly a hour of winding up  .  .everyone is treated to a Suprabhat of Trance Namah Shivaaya  :D

Day two brings with it new experiences of mobile washrooms (organic!!! ) and an early morning post breakfast energetic dance session . . . . . and we are all set to move  . .. again . . . .  We start with Paradise  Beach . . . . Move on to  Small hell (!!!)  . . . .and then Half moon  . . . . . .

As we move on to the most eagerly awaited  Om Beach . . . justifiably more time was spent at the top photographing rather than the actual beach walk. . . . . .   Lunch at Kudle . .and then finally Gokarna . . . .  To lend the spiritual touch to the whole experience there was the unexpected bonus of holy water at the Gokarna Shiva temple . . . . .

A nice auto ride through the smooth roads of Gokarna  . . and we are well in time to catch the late lateef Matsyagandha Express . . . More opportunity for games at Gokarna Station . . .  Boarding the train in a rush making sure nothing is left behind and expectedly crashing to bed / berth early rather than playing through the night . .we reach back Mumbai well in time with pleasant memories and the ring/roar of the waves still ringing in our ears . . . .

If I had not done it myself, I would never have believed it possible to cover 11 beaches in a trail walk at Karnataka with the added bonus of camping at night  . . . . . . .at Karnataka over a weekend  . . .  .with train travel at that . . . . For the curious . . .the cost of this fabulous experience was INR3400/-