WANDeRiNG MiND!

Just a month after getting into my current job about 6 months back, I was sent to the Pune office to be a part of a new project. Though I wasn’t very willing to travel as the project required me to be there for at least for 6 months, my department head agreed to bring me back in 2 months, finding someone to replace me there. And so I went. My second visit to Pune.

The last time I went, I was in a totally different field of work and the visit was all about job hunting. Those days I had visited all the major industrial area in and around Pune. But this time it was different. I was in a good job, my travel and accommodation was totally taken care of by the company, and I had all the time to myself. Because I was away from my home PC and all stuff mine. For 9 weeks.

Work was extremely boring. However I met a whole lot of new people, made quite a few friends, had quite a few good times, and most importantly, it helped me get myself out of a lot of bad thoughts that’s been running in my head and also in getting out of a bit tight situation I was in for a while.

My office was located 23KM from the city and transportation was bad out there. Weekends I used to take the rare bus or an “over-charging” auto to the city to my cousin’s place and spend time with him and sometimes with his gang of friends. Good guys, all of them. No great guys in fact. I knew each and every one of them had problems, some of them major, but when they were all together it was just fun and laughter. Really helped me clear my mind.

Pune, unlike what I expected is surrounded by the ghats and since I was there during the mansoon and it was drizzling almost the entire day on most days, the place was wet, green and beautiful. So as a part of my agenda to make life more interesting, I decided to try and visit as many good places around the city as I can. With my cousin and his friends. This is about one such trip.

On 29th July 2007, I joined my cousin and a few of his colleagues on their trip to Koregad, a fort in Lonavala and close to the prestigious Amby Valley project from Sahara Group. Koregad is located in the Ambavne village (which I assume is why the Sahara project is so named) which is about 24km from Lonavla.

We left from Pune city in the early hours in a rented Chevrolet Tavera, which comfortably accommodated us, a team of 6. 3 guys and 3 girls. On the road to Lonavla, the scenic beauty that surrounded us just took our breaths away and we couldn’t stop ourselves from pulling over at a few spots and getting shutter-happy, especially since one of the girls turned out to be the “happiest-to-be-in-the-frame” types that I had ever met

We reached the location by around 10AM, and the view was awesome. While most forts are connected by ridges or columns to other hills, Koregad stands alone in majestic solitude. From the base, a broad well trodden trail leads to the foot of the hill. The route is an easy one and it leads to a flight of stone steps to the top. It started raining as we climbed up which made the whole thing more fun, apart from making the whole valley look breath-takingly beautiful.

By the time we reached the top, and into the fort, the rain had stopped but the fog remained, limiting our views. From where we stood, we could hardly make out how far the fort extended. But soon the fog thinned out a little and we were stunned to see lush green land all around us, with 2 big ponds filled with water right in front of us and an old temple structure near by.

After spending a good half an hour splashing around like happy kids in the chilling water (the rain and fog and the cold wind were freezing) we had a quick snack and decided to walk around the fort. We all walked to the ledge we saw across the pond. Once we reached the ledge and climbed up, we once again lost our breath. The view was amazing. We were on a high cliff and it was a straight drop down from where we stood. It took us quite sometime to take in all the beauty of the surrounding valley. It was heavenly. We could also see the Amby Valley, including the private airstrip and am sure we all wished we were rich enough to own at least a small villa in the Valley.

We walked all around the fort for the next hour or so, taking a lot of photographs, before deciding to go back downhill. It started raining again and by the time we reached the car we were as wet as we were in the pond.

We thought of going to a dam nearby, but the huge crowd and the heavy rain there made us decide to carry on instead. But we did walk around in the pouring rain, shivering in the cold wind and having some “vada paav” and a hot cup of tea to warm us up before we left from there.

Our next stop was the Karla Caves which I expected to be something in the lines of the Ajanta caves that I had visited a long long time ago. Well, it was similar in some way, though not as fantastic (not even close), and mostly disappointing due to the bad maintenance.

It’s a 20-minute climb from the car park to the cave, and it was still raining pretty bad. But up we went though with lesser energy this time. We had to buy the entrance tickets at the gate from a small cabin. This of course added to my disappointment later as generally people expect the place to be maintained well, when they charge you for visiting. A tall waterfall greeted us as we entered the gates, thanks to the rains that the region has been getting for a while. The area was fenced and so getting to the falls was ruled out.

They say Karla Cave is the largest Hinayana Buddhist Chaitya in India and was completed in 80 BC. We didn’t spend much time out there, as the cave also had a temple on one side and the number of people waiting to get in through the maze of steel pipes was discouraging after the tiring day we had. However we did check out the chaitya. They say the chaitya is around 40m long and 15m high, carved by monks and artisans from the living rock in imitation of more familiar wooden architecture. A semi-circular window that looks like a rising sun, filters light in towards the cave’s representation of Buddha, a stupa protected by a carved wooden umbrella. There are 37 pillars forming the aisles in the “hall” and they are each topped with teak beams said to be original. carved elephant heads can be seen on the sides of the vestibule. They were damaged and it seems they once had ivory tusks.

[Note: A stambha (pillar) topped by four back-to-back lions, an image usually associated with the great emperor Ashoka, stands outside the cave and is believed to be older than the cave itself. The Buddha images near the entrance are said to be added during the later Mahayana Buddhist period.]

We then squeezed in through the narrow stairway cut into the rock, to go to one of the chambers in the “first floor”. It looked like one of the bedrooms in a modern apartment, complete with balcony. But of course, this was just rock with a neatly cut doorway and window. However a strong stench of urine filled the air which made us wonder if the place was turned into a urinal by the public. We left soon, stumbling down the dark stairway again.

The rain had taken a break and down we all went, back to the parking lot. Soon we were headed back home, tired from all the walking/climbing and soaked to our bones by the hours of rain that we had beein doing it in.

I was back in my room by 7 in the evening, still wet from the rain and real tired, but with a freshness inside thanks to the lush green beauty and the chilling rains of Koregad. It was a real long time since I felt so in life.

[A note: I am thankful to my cousin and his colleagues for letting me be a part of the trip, as it's one of the best days I have had. There is no place I love to be in more, than lush green valleys, mountains, lakes/sea. And the fog and rain to add to it all? Was heaven.]

One question: Which one would you prefer? The city or the country? That’s a tough question, though it sounds simple, eh? I mean, I don’t think you can answer it that easy. No matter how bad the traffic, and how hectic the life, and how expensive the place, you still love the city. The country? Well, maybe for a break. A vacation. Right?

So how about the jungle?

Imagine… trees, shrubs, vines and grasses covering the land for miles around, the sunlight struggling to break open the foliage and grace the ground. No roads or even proper paths to take, but just follow your instincts. And you never know what’s hiding behind that bush over to your right. Scary? Or exciting?

I don’t know about you, but I love the jungles. I love Mougli. I love Tarzan. I envy them, even if fiction. O’course I love the city. I love the movies, the pub, the malls, my music, my books, and my computer, my TV, the Internet. Yes, I do love those. But I still wish I could go spend some quality time in the wilderness once in a while. Once, I did go spend a few days too. That was over 3 to 4 years back, and that was wonderful. Thinking about it brings a smile to me, and makes me want to go back there again. That wasn’t the first time I’d been to a place like that, but that was the first time I spent more than a day in there and that too not in a group or with any elders to control me.

It’s a place called BR Hills, and I went with my cousin who worked with an NGO that had a field station out there. It was one of the most wonderful times I had. Let me share my experience here.

I went on a Monday. It was a 5hr journey by bus. Most of the road was in a very bad condition but once the bus entered the forest area, the feel was so extraordinary. It was so fresh and intoxicating. My cousin was already there and waiting for me there. She had to go out after lunch for her research, and I freshened up and waited for her to get back. She had rescued a baby squirrel from some predators and she left it with me for company. I spent almost the whole afternoon watching it play and trying to feed it. It got so close to us that the next day, even after letting it off, it just wouldn’t go away. It came back to me when I called and it even brought another one like him along

In the evening the two of us went to a near by temple which was on top of a cliff. In fact, the road that ran through the forest area ended below the cliff. The bus service was to that temple. My cousin took me there not to pray, but for the great view from there… It was breathtaking. We watched a beautiful sunset from a cliff top, with nothing but endless green forest below us. And every evening we went up there and sat on the rocks… talking and taking snaps. There was a big lake near the field station, on the way to the cliff, and we sat on a rock on the lakeside till late evening and went back to the room.

It was what I would call heaven. I was so refreshed inside and I couldn’t imagine anything else that could make me feel so lively. However, I couldn’t go on a trek as I had thought… because it was dangerous to go into the forest without a person who knows when a wild animal was close by… preferably a local guy. And that was something I really wanted to do. Well, some other time, I thought. So all I could do mainly was accompanying my cousin in the jeep as she went out to conduct surveys among the tribes there…traveling 30 to 40 kms into the deep jungle, having breakfast (packed and taken with us) somewhere, stopping by some stream etc.

The most common animals usually seen there are elephants and bison, I was told, but I never saw any of them. I was actually getting a li’l disappointed at that, but then for my luck, I saw some rare animals… which were usually not seen around. Lots of wild dogs, sambar (a deer of southern Asia with antlers that have three tines), spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope (an endangered species… very rare), peacocks (the majestic looking males and many females), many varieties of birds… so beautiful I swear, wild boars and 3 huge 300 pound bears, which were the highlights! If really lucky we could have even come across a tiger they said, but it didn’t happen. I wasn’t that lucky. I loved it though and when leaving the place on the fourth day, I was already planning for yet another trip… into the woods on foot rather than a jeep.

Well, that was quite a long time ago, and unfortunately I haven’t been able to do it so far. But I’ve decided. In my life I’ll spend a few days every year in the wilderness like that… right in the woods. That’s my idea of the perfect holiday, when I need a break from the hectic city life. Going to some foreign countries and staying in all comfortable hotels/resorts… that’s ok once in a while, but I think this is what you should be doing if you need to recharge yourselves. Just the feel of fresh air in your nostrils is enough to charge you up. Believe me. Am so grateful to my cousin for giving me the opportunity, to experience the glory of Nature.

I missed a good camera when I was there. I could have taken some great snaps if I had one. And interestingly, though I was always hooked to my computer and music collection at home those days (I still am so), a good camera is all that I missed out there in the jungle. Not the TV, not computer, not the music. I guess the fresh air, the greenery all around, the placid waters of the lake, the chirping of the birds, watching the sun set from the cliff, the excitement of exploring and the suspense of not knowing what lies around the corner, the beauty of the whole place… it kept my mind so happy and excited, it didn’t give me a chance to miss anything else.

The jungles. You should try it sometime. It’s one hell of a place to be, I say.