Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Naneghat मधे गोंधळ

The title actually did not match to something I wanted in the language Marathi. Though it has the vernacular script, Marathi sounds very different from Hindi. It means "mess at Naneghat". "Ghat" means mountain and "Nane" is the name of the mountain. I went trekking last Saturday, infact I would term it monsoon deluge. It was pouring sometimes and made the conditions difficult for us to climb.

Kalyan Railway station

House Fly center(Kalyan bus stand)

Mr. A to my side. Don't go by the pose, he was in a slumber


Naneghat is around one and a half hours ST bus from Kalyan station. Any ST bus that goes to Alifatta or Ahmed nagar will take you there. The ST bus station at Kalyan is a treat for house flies and other insects, which grow on abundance of non-hygienic conditions. Getting all six of us together on a Saturday morning was a daunting task. We bought water bottles at Kalyan station from "Apollo pharmacy", which has a sea of vegetable waste all around it. Five of us were on time to miss a bus. We were late for the 7:30 bus, and if the sixth member Mr. S did not make it on time, we would miss the 8:30 bus also. The next bus to Ahmed nagar was at 10 o clock.

Luckily we got a bus to Alifatta. We would have missed that too if Mr. S did not make it on time. Having a nagging back injury, Mr. S did well to get for the trek. He was to give the trek a miss, but thought otherwise. On the bus, I got another shock as I never expected ST buses to be so costly. The tickets cost Rs. 60 per head. Then the bus went endlessly into the rain. Lush green landscapes welcomed us with a clouds casting its dark shadows over it. Animals grazing, people running for cover during the sudden outburst of torrential rains, electric poles in between the fields kind of creates a rift in the continuity of the scape.

We got down near a symbol that said, Naneghat. As soon as we got down, there was a small rush of shower which made us rush a little, as the breeze picked up and hit our face. An arch of the forest department showed us the way we had to take. The initial phase was a plain. The grass on the way was dead, because of constant walking over it. The mud beneath out feet was wet. Mr. A was now fresh after all the slumber in both the train and bus. His sleepy eyes were gone now. He asked me to take some snaps at different postures and poses with the customary Vivekananda pose. Swami Vivekananda would be a proud man if he would check the snaps.





We reached the base of the climb. Even though it is monsoon and we don't get tired easily, carrying lot of water is a must. It was not so steep as we imagined it to be. The path became rocky after the soft spongy mud tracks with big boulders. It was a meandering uphill from there on. We came across two fresh water streams on the way. Mr. R, put on his photographer hat to get some set piece photography. It did come out cool.

Left to right: Mr. A with Vivekananda pose on the left, Mr. S follows suit, he does copy a lot of times, me in the middle, then Mr. V who does not laugh at my jokes, and Mr. SA on the right. Photo by Mr. R

After a small climb there is a plain, from wherein you can have a slighter of the peak we were about to scale. After a brief break and photography session we climbed again. This time the climb got a little steep. The rocky terrain was very hard on the shoes. Always have an extra pair of floaters when climbing. Short burst of rain caught us unawares. With lot of crabs and snails running and crawling around, you will notice atleast one crab. When we reached the top, we touched the clouds. It was amazing to be inside the cloud. The wind there was so strong that, it could was pushing our step every now and then. Inspite of all this Mr S and Mr R went to the edge of the slope and taught spider man some steps for his next movie.

The plateau in between
The guy in orange is Mr. R


Almost there!!


Thats me!!


At the top there is a pass in-between two peaks. This was a old silk route used many centuries ago. After you pass this place it is a plain, a plateau. Mr. A had lost all his enthusiasm by now. Only his legs and hands were making movements and showing us that he was still walking. I remember this saying "What is this life which is full of care? There is no time to stand and stare". When the cloud cleared once, we could see the amazing view of trees and mountains with not even a single building in site. During the climb down, the narrow pass was impossible to descend with the rain and heavy wind on the face.

Made it Hurray!!
The descent like always was simple, baring a part where Mr. SA lost his cool. Mr. V did no enjoy my jokes and kept asking others to stop laughing at my jokes, in vain I should say. But Mr V did invoke or spark a reading habit in me. By now Mr. A had forgotten wikipedia and other scientific Space Odyssey. He did slip a couple of times. He had the heart to keep going. We finally made it to the place where we started. A small hand from Mr. SA and the bus stopped. I should say the "Hand of god bus stopped". Back to kalyan station and then home for a warm shower. Awesome trek came to a warm finish. :) :)

7 comments:

NIM said...

wow... that's a lot of travelling

Ahahgshene said...

you brave bunch! i love the scenery. anyway, even though the trail you used is muddy.. i wouldn't mind hiking up there! it looks so fun and worthwhile! glad you had fun!

Manju said...

looks so cool!ahhhh i miss trekking. used to go a lot in the past , but now coz of my dad's foot injury it's not recommended to go trekking long distances and my friends are all such bums >_< noone wants to go with me lol. muddy trails are so much fun, especially when u have to cross rivers and all. i love the pictures!

Lan said...

@Nim: Thanks dear!! yeah i am still tired :P

@Abby: It was amazing touching those clouds....really cool!! you should do it some time!! :)

@Manju: hey!! then tell me when you come to india; i will take you for a trek!! :P it was amazing touching the clouds!!

Anonymous said...

I had the luxury to some nice treks along with Mr A and Mr SD(I am making it more clear)...

While Mr A is so fond of sleeping that he can have a minuscule of naps with any opportunity.

Mr SD is live-wire. You take him to trek, and he come to moon as well..

Nice snaps...

:-)

Manju said...

lol, it's a promise then! i really do want to visit india one day. my mom went in April and she's still talkin abt it.i'm so jealous. I cudn't go with her coz i had uni...pfftt such FAIL

Lan said...

@Mr. SK: very very true!! :) :)

@Manju: :) :) anytime!! u are welcome :)

Powered By Blogger