Trek to Harishchandragad

1 AN ACCOUNT OF THE TREK ......................................................................2 1.1 An account by Sanket Sangwikar............................................................2 1.1.1 The good start..................................................................................2 1.1.2 Weather and the motivation ahead..................................................2 1.1.3 Tolar Khind.......................................................................................3 1.1.4 The 600 feet Rock Patch...................................................................3 1.1.5 In search of the temple.....................................................................4 1.1.6 The unforgettable night....................................................................4 1.1.7 God saved us!!.................................................................................5 1.1.8 In the end......................................................................................5 2 COMMENTS.......................................................................................6 2.1 Comment by Ketan Khairnar..................................................................6

AN

ACCOUNT OF THE TREK

Participants (10) : Sanket, Sandeep, Ketan, Manoj, Shrikant, Rohit, Aashay, Harish, Vinayak, Pallav. Destination: Harishchandragad near Malshej ghat Base Village: Kheereshwar Journey: Kayan - KhubiPhata (by bus to Nagar) Kheereshwar (walk 5 km) 1.1 An account by Sanket Sangwikar 1.1.1 The good start The start of the trek project was excellent. Planning, analysis, design phases were initiated and performed well by Manoj. This time neither Ketan nor me were among the organizers. Manoj scanned all the information, mailed them and kept track of the people who are coming and a team of 7-8 trekkers rose up for the Trek to Harishchandragad. I was rather surprised to see that the participants were ready for this exhaustive trek even in the successive week of our Sarasgad trek. An enthusiasm really worth appreciation! Manoj had sent a mail to everybody to be on Kalyan ST-stand at sharp 6.30am. But he himself was there 15 minutes late. And by the time we were ready to get into the bus, everybody was abusing by the name of Pallav, who had given a good news that he was in Dadar and will take one more hour to reach. Finally everybody came and we headed towards Khubu Phata at sharp 8.15am. But we thought not to worry. We had two whole days of the trek this time. Ketan, who could not suppress the urge for Harishchandragad and feared that there would be nobody to go with him again, was a surprise addition to the trek-team. The journey was quite uneventful with Vinayak and Shrikant fast asleep at yhe back. Even the amazing greenery and waterfalls of Malshej ghat could not hamper their sleep. Harish and me were busy trying to take snaps but in vain! 1.1.2 Weather and the motivation ahead At khubi phata, we were really astonished to see huge dam of Kheereshwar on which we had to walk for about 1 and hours. Though the walk was very boring, we didnt at all feel it because of so many motivations walking ahead of us. There was a large group of youngsters of High school came for a one day picnic and those Chembur girls provided quite an inspiration for us to reach them fast. Sandy was especially obsessed for it with his sunglasses on. (Surprisingly this time tall dark and handsome comment was not passed by anybody) As we kept on walking, weather started becoming worse. There was strong winds, heavy rains and clouds everywhere. None of the mountains ahead was

visible. The wind was trying to blow those girls away and Sandy was seriously thinking of giving them hand. By the time we reached Kheereshwar, I was totally demoraled by the weather and trying to convince Ketan to return back and do Naneghat instead. I was afraid whether all 10 of us will have that guts to reach the top in those clouds and mighty winds. But the villager at whose place we had Pohe and Tea told that the weather is better than yesterday night and a group has already gone ahead. So my plans were crossed off and we headed towards Tolar Khind. 1.1.3 Tolar Khind We climbed for about 1 and hours with our usual photo sessions. Aashay, Pallav and Ketan were far ahead. I kept on bobbling about the team spirit and all to Ketan. So to avoid this constant trouble, he started walking with us. Soon we found Aashay and Pallav coming back and saying there is huge rock path to cross and let us return back. Everybody was appalled at the site and the arrow saying we have to cross this. We were almost done with the decision when Harish and Shrikant started getting down along a water stream and found that there was a detour, which was easier. This also had arrow marks. We should have understood here that those arrows are misguiding at many places and should have acted accordingly but then the whole history up on the fort would have happened. As we kept walking for half an hour more we found a board saying that was Tolar Khind surrounded by Harishchandragad-Kalsubai Forest sanctuary. This is where the 600 feet steep rock patch starts. We found 2-3 villagers coming but they were pretty fast to keep our pace with them. They accompanied us for 1/3 of the patch where railings were present. Manoj had continued his pace of slipping throughout till here. Thank God! He did not slip on the rock patch heading into deep valley. 1.1.4 The 600 feet Rock Patch This was an experience of life. Everybody remembered how they loved their family and prayed God to save. We had to think where to keep the foot before heading ahead. The rope we had was falling short by feet or so. So Ketan, Aashay or me were holding it at one end. Shrikant was helping people to cross the patches. Vinayak had literally slipped at the last crossing and was shivering. I am hugging my mum as soon as I get down there I love my parents I want to meet them again Everybody was thinking of Life and God. And of course it was true. The place was so amazing and beautiful deep valley down, a rock at your feetclouds below youharsh sounds of windsdripping rainwhen a person reaches the limit of natural beauty he can not think of anything else but God and death. There is nothing so truthfulso pure than this. The fright and tension suddenly turned to thrill, excitement and relief as soon as we reached the top. Everybody cheered, shouted, hugged and clicked the snaps. A great sense of achievement filled our heart.

1.1.5 In search of the temple It was 5.30 by the time we reached the top. We had to find the temple before dark otherwise we would have been screwed badly. But in vain! We were in the clouds and could not see 10 feet ahead. Aashay and me searched for the temple ahead very fast but were afraid to go much ahead since both of us were not having torches. The fort is so vast, that it can bear 3-4 big cities on its top. There are large mountains and thousands of water streams no the top. We had a nasty feeling that we were yet at the base and every surrounding mountain is separate fort. The way went on and on till eternity and those arrows still present giving us directions. (I am going to kill that person marking arrows.) Soon it was so dark that we formed a line and rules as to how to proceed. Aashay and me were ahead and Harish and Ketan at back. The rock patch was nothing as compared to tension of what will happen if we dont find the temple or caves. 1.1.6 The unforgettable night We found old remains, small temples of shiva and a pond and got more confused whether we are heading to Harishchandreswar temple or Taramati Mountain. The maps were all out and being referred every now and then. They were all wet and so did us. At last we lost our patience and decided to head back. Aashay and me had thought of a place in such emergency while coming. It was a thicket with less wind blow. We built a small tent like pitiable thing with our bed sheets and crept in to have dinner. Everybody was hungry and soon a big lot of Puri, shrikhand, bread and butter etc. vanished. Rain had blessed us for an hour. And we prayed it to bless us for the rest of the night too. It was hardly 8.00pm and clock was suddenly running like a speed of tortoise. We sung prayers, aartis, stotrascouldnt think of Hindi film songs. Ketan started for it but no body responded much. Nothing proved useful. God had decided to punish us badly. Because just after we relaxed in that dry, windless tent, rains started pouring again and soon the bed sheets started leaking drop by drop. A stream of water started flowing from the higher end towards our place and we had to sit in the water. Condition of everybody was really bad. Legs foldedsleep in the eyescold and rainwet windcheatersleaking bed sheets aboverattling frogs and birdsfear of some animal or snake (everybody feared for it but nobody mentioned). Ketan had shrewdly moved to the centre with the view that is some animal comes and we were howling at him. Of course he was the only one to think of singing any song or speaking. He was the only dry person throughout the night. Condition of Rohit was the worst. He and Harish were holding plastic bags to collect the leaking water and throw away. In spite of all this fiasco, Vinayak was sleeping and, to our envy, snoring loudly. Aashays battery instruments and torches proved useful, since matchboxes were wet and wind was putting out by the candles.

10.0010.20 10.40we were trying to sleep12.00 12.05 12.06wind is so strongput some more bed sheets in all the 4 directions 1.10 1.30 5.30 Shrikant, Pallav were out in the rain on the insulator sheet 6.00hey, get updarkness is fadingfinally everybody lifted their numb, cramped, aching body parts, stretched and got ready. We formed 2 large ropes by putting knots at the end of 6 bed sheets. Those served well while getting down, except that they were wet and heavy. We threw many food items, bed sheets, napkins, towels, all wet and increasing weight in our bags everybody was frightened but not speaking of it. We started at 7.00am and reached the entrance of the fort by 8.30am. Manoj crossed all his records of slipping and the morale was so down by the time we reached entrance that Sandy was asking us with sadness if there was another way to get down from the fort. 1.1.7 God saved us!! We started with the coconut ceremony with the coconut we had brought for the God Harishchandreshwar (He didnt turn up to us). Getting down the rock patch was quite eventful with our new heavy ropes tied at the two ends. People got the morale back as we crossed 2-3 rock patches. We met a group of 6-7 trekkers [They must be professional trekkers], who were climbing the rock patch as if they are strolling in the garden. Within an hour we were back in Tolar Khind and thanked God to get us down alive. Once again everybody remembered of their organ called stomach and filled it with Puti and Kachori. Harish and me were so afraid of the water already dripped in our digicam that we had not taken them out since we reached the top. We reached back to Kheereshwar at 11.30 and rested their for an hour with Pohe and tea. There was not a single part of the body, which was not aching. And the walk on the dam seemed impossible and infinite. After we get the bus back to Kalyan, all of us were asleep even before Malshej ghat came. 1.1.8 In the end The fort was really amazing and vast, just that we had chosen wrong time and headed into the clouds. We were so fascinated by the variety of natural beauty there that everybody was ready to come once again to Harishchandragad (but not in monsoon). We are surely going there againto find the temple of Harishchandreshwar and worship him with the coconut. Regards, Sanket

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SANKET SANGWIKAR | PATNI COMPUTERS | 9819901904 | http://www.geocities.com/sanketss

Some of us learn from the mistakes of others; the rest of us have to be the others.

COMMENTS

2.1 Comment by Ketan Khairnar I guess this was the real adventure and REAL trek! A trek as it should be. We are little bit overenthusiastic and ignored simple things at start and paid for it too heavily. Any way this helped us to enjoy some things, which would not have been possible in normal situation Walking style of Vinu and Manoj was so consistent for last 2-3 hours and simply unique in their own way. All curses and swear-words unspoken but loudly heard in some silent minutes of night I was singing Aaakashachyaa chhatrikhaali bhijto, aayushyaavar hasne thunkoon deto unknowingly when we are in the same situation. Who says 24 hours are not sufficient for doing our work; we did experienced emptiness, hopelessness at some times Sankets innovating architectural ideas which helped us till dawn Listening songs from another KK (Ketan Khairnar) Praying for god, aaratis and stotraas in unison and utmost reverence Sandy and Mnaojs promises to God Vinayaks peeping into his wallet to see the glimpse of his better-half Living the hard life of poor local people for one night And most important promising to come back this Diwali through a more difficult route ZunZaar darwajaa Guys, I think we are experienced enough to go for two forts in single go. So this December we will go Tung-Tikona (warm up) and then RajgadTornaa and then Raigad
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