मंगेश

माझी आणि मंगेशची पहिली भेट झाली ती January 2000 मध्ये, लिंगाणाच्या माथ्यावर. मंगेशचे fan following जबरदस्त ! मंगेशपण climb मध्ये जॉईन होणार आहे असे मी 10/15 दिवस ऐकत होतो, त्याच्याबद्दलचे किस्से ऐकत होतो आणि ते ऐकून मनात उत्सुकता होती कि कोण हा मंगेश ? त्याच्याशी भेट झाल्यावर खात्री पटली कि हा माणूस चर्चा करण्यासारखाच आहे. ट्रेकला वातावरण हलके -फुलके ठेवण्यात , फालतू jokes मारण्यात, काहीतरी भयंकर कोडी घालण्यात , रेडीओवरच्या जाहिराती (जश्याच्या -तश्या ) ऐकवण्यात , काहीतरी वेडेवाकडे शारीरिक प्रकार करण्यात , विचित्र नाचण्यात, मंगेशचा हात कोणी धरू शकत नाही . त्याच्या ह्या अशा चाळ्यांमुळे लोकांमध्ये त्याचे 1st impression काय होत असे याचा एक किस्सा . समीर सागवेकरची मंगेशशी ट्रेक मध्ये पहिल्यांदा ओळख झाली . पुण्यात आल्यावर , समीर पहिल्यांदा सहज मंगेशला भेटायला मंगेशच्या ऑफिस मध्ये गेला आणि तिथे त्याचा अवतार पाहून थक्क झाला . समीर मला म्हणाला “अरे , मंगेश एकदम मोठी हस्ती आहे यार , ऑफिस मध्ये मोठे स्वतंत्र कॅबीन आहे , हाताखाली काम करायला team वगैरे . मंगेशचे ट्रेक मधील चाळे आणि कार्टूनगिरी पाहून कधी वाटले नाही कि तो एवढ्या मोठ्या हुद्द्यावर काम करत असेल .”




ट्रेकमध्ये कोणी घाबरले , एखादी गोष्ट जमत नाही म्हणाले कि मंगेशचे ठरलेले वाक्य असायचे – “काळजी करू नकोस , तुला फुलासारखे घेऊन जाईन .” त्याप्रमाणेच तो करायचा , अशाने त्याने बऱ्याचजणांना motivate / inspire केले . एखादा अवघड टप्पा , rock patch किंवा climb आपण फ़क़्त मंगेशमुळे पार करू / चढू शकलो असे सांगणारे बरेचजण निघतील . त्या बरेच जणांचे ट्रेक पुढेही चालू राहण्याचे श्रेय मंगेशला आहे .

माझ्या वडिलांचा मृत्यू झाला तेव्हा मी रांगणा किल्ल्यापाशी होतो . मला लगेच ठाण्याला परत येणे क्रमप्राप्त होते ….मी मंगेशला फोने केला , मंगेशने तत्काळ “मी कोल्हापूरला येतो ” असे मला सांगितले . मी गाडी -रस्त्यापर्यंत पोहोचून , बसने कोल्हापूरला पोहोचण्याच्या आत , मंगेश कोल्हापूरला पोहोचला होता आणि त्याने मला निव्वळ अडीच तासात कोल्हापूरहून पुण्याला आणले , तेही रात्री 11.30 ला निघून . पुढे किरण /महेश बरोबर ठाण्याला आलो . मदत करण्यामध्ये मग ती आर्थिक असली तरी , मंगेश त्यात मागे -पुढे पाहत नसे . किंबहुना ‘नाही ’ म्हणणे त्याला जमत नसे .

मंगेशचा fitness अफाट होता . लो-भी , आहुपे -भीमाशंकर , भैरवगड -घनचक्कर -रतनगड -सांदण , देह्ने -रतनगड -देह्ने , असे Cross-Country ट्रेक्स कमीतकमी वेळात करणे आणि ट्रेक पूर्ण करून जेवण बनवणे किंवा गाडी चालवत पुण्याला घरी जाणे असले अचाट प्रकार तोच करू जाणे . खडा - पारशी , लिंगाणा , Duke’s Nose, कात्राबाई , तेल बैला (all 3 walls), पहिने नवरी असे बरेच कठीण climbs हि त्याने केले . “बाण ” climb करायचे त्याचे स्वप्न मात्र अपूर्ण राहिले . हातावर चालणे , कमान टाकणे , स्वत:च्या हाताची घडी करून त्यातून स्वत: उडी मारणे , असे आचरट पण शारीरिक क्षमतेचे कस पाहणारे प्रकार तो लीलया करायचा .

या सगळ्याचा अर्थ तो Perfect होता असेही नाही . तो कमालीचा हट्टी होता , भिडस्त होता . चूक ला तोंडावर चूक म्हणण्यास तो तयार नसे . माझे आणि त्याचे chat वर बऱ्याचवेळा वाजले आहे …..पण ते तेवढ्यापुरतेच , त्याचे पर्यावसन आम्ही कधीही कायमच्या भांडणात होऊ दिले नाही . आमचे नाते आहे हे आम्हाला खूप उशिरा कळले. नात्यापेक्षा , मैत्री जास्त घट्ट होती इतकी कि त्याने Marathon पूर्ण केली म्हणून मी त्याला भरपेट मासे आणि कोंबडी खायला घातली .

तो बऱ्याच संस्थांशी निगडीत होता , पण त्याचे चक्रमवर मनापासून प्रेम होते . आमच्यातील वादाचा हा हि एक विषय असे . मी त्याला म्हणायचो कि तुझ्या क्षमतेचा एकही जण चक्रम मध्ये नाही मग तू चक्रम बरोबरच Himalayan Expeditions करण्याचा अट्टाहास का करतोस ? तुला चक्रमच्या expeditions मध्ये हवा तसा back-up / support मिळणे मुश्कील आहे, Don’t you think you are wasting your energy, time & Money here ? याला त्याचे उत्तर, त्याच्याच शब्दात सांगायचे तर असे होते -

Mangesh: Sadhya mazi capacity far superior ahe - I agree
Mangesh: me swataha aarohak barobar 10 expd karu shaklo asto

ani you can ask shamangi te dur varshi mala phone kartat ye mhanoon - i would have liked to do Shivling, but i do it with chakram every year in spite of fact that mazya capacity che ithe kuni nahi
Mangesh: do you think chakram vachun lokanche kiwan lokan vachun chakram che adte
me: nahi
Mangesh: tari chakram barobar lok yetat ani dusri kade jaat nahit hyat sagle ale
Mangesh: people have some relations internally built

From : Mangesh1 mangeshgdeshpande@gmail.com
To : mahajan.rajendra@gmail.com
date : Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 1:15 PM

वेगाचे जबरदस्त आकर्षण मंगेशला होते . गाडीत त्याच्या बाजूला बसलेला माणूस झोपणार नाही याची पुरेपूर काळजी त्याच्या गाडीचा वेग घेत असे . US मध्ये असताना त्याने 1500/2000 cc bikes चालवण्याचा course केला आणि त्याचे प्रात्यक्षिक मला ठाण्याच्या रस्त्यावर , माझ्या 100 cc बाइकवर, मला मागे बसवून , माझी फाxxxxx असताना , दाखवले .

सर्व गोष्टींमध्ये पुढे राहण्याबाबत मंगेश नेहमी जागरूक होता . तो अभ्यासात पुढे होता - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore या नामांकित संस्थेमधून त्याने post-graduation केले . पुण्याहून मुंबईला येताना तो सगळ्यांना मागे टाकत एक तास चाळीस मिनिटात वगैरे मुलुंडला पोहोचायचा. ट्रेक मधेही मागची आघाडी आम्हा कोणावर तरी सोपवून तो सर्वात पुढे असायचा . आमच्यामध्ये Marathon धावून , पूर्ण करणाराही तोच पहिला . चक्रमचि हिमालयातील पहिली यशस्वी मोहीम (Chamser – Lumser Kangri) त्याच्याच नेतृत्वाखाली झाली आणि शिखरावर पोहोचणारा तोच पहिला .

परलोकी जाण्यामधेही आम्हा सर्वाना मागे टाकून , त्यानेच पहिला नंबर लावला .

- राजन महाजन


टीप :-
Oct 2009 मध्ये मंगेश देशपांडे आणि सेकर सदाशिवन यांचा Mt. Tingchenkhang हे शिखर सर करून खाली उतरत असताना अपघाती मृत्यू झाला . मंगेशला श्रद्धांजलीपर हे लेख -पुष्प अर्पण .

Siddheshwar Temple, Solapur Fort & Naldurga

We took Siddheshwar express on 14th August, it left Thane at 23.15 hrs. & reached Solapur next morning by 6.45 am. Spent about an hour in a waiting room for finishing morning essentials. After breakfast took an auto (Rs. 5/- per seat) to Siddheshwar Temple. Chantings of ‘Om Namah Shivay’ welcomed us and I immediately became a part of large crowd of devotees. I don’t know why a person has to go in isolation for meditation when mass prayers can have such powerful effect on the mind and soul. I got out of devotional mood as we had a scheduled trek ahead. Due to very poor monsoon, the lake around the temple was considerably dry with few puddles here and there. Read more about Siddheshwar Temple here http://www.contentwriter.in/industry-resources/pilgrimage/siddheshwar-temple-solapur.htm

Next we visited Solapur Fort. This fort, a heritage site is managed and conserved by ASI. Very few monuments exist inside the fort. The fort is converted in a garden & traffic training centre. The fortification is massive and still intact. The Bastions are peculiar with a round platform on top and a semicircular wall around it. Few bastions are quite huge. Few beautifully designed galleries can be seen here similar to the ones in Galna Fort. The Fort has double fortification. 3 gates on the north eastern part of the fort protected by massive bastions are must see. A temple is being restored here. An hour is sufficient to see this fort. This fort is open from 9.00 am to 5 pm & Rs. 5/- per head is charged as entry fee. A separate fee for Movie Camera is also levied. Drinking water is available inside fort.

We hired a jeep (Rs. 1500/- to-fro) for going to Naldurga. Naldurga is approx. 45 kms from Solapur. Naldurga is the largest fort in Maharashtra spread over 126 acres having 114 bastions. At Naldurga we hired Mr. Sonavane from ASI to show us around & give historical information about the fort. His knowledge was pathetic, sometimes even leading to misinformation. Without getting historical information of the fort, it was like visiting a rock garden. Only relief was Pani Mahal. It is a palace built within a dam wall on Bori River. There are few Bastions peculiar to this fort – massive ‘Uplya Buruj’ has 77 steps and is on the highest part of the fort. It has 2 cannons (Hathi Tof & Magar Tof) atop it. Other bastion, square in shape can be seen from outside (Solapur – Hyderabad Highway). 500/700 meters ahead of this bastion is a bastion with 9 semi-circular walls referred to as Nau pakalyancha Buruj. A day is less to see the complete fort. I feel I have to visit it again with a historian. Mr. Sonavane charged combined entry fee of Rs. 125/- for our group & Rs. 25/- per head for his services as a guide (a total waste), both without a receipt. Potable water is not available on the fort. Mineral water can be purchased from Naldurga Village.

Date : 15 Aug 2009
Organisation : YHAI (Malad)
Team : Madhukar Dhuri (Leader), Ashwin, Ashok, Barve, Suryakant, Prarthana, Swati, Sanjay, Jr. Paranjpye, Anil, Potdar, Jr. Potdar & me.
Route : Thane – Pune – Solapur – Naldurga & Back
Train : Siddheshwar Express.
Food / Accommodation: 1. Hotel Ajanta (Potoba Thali) near Mechanic chowk has good snacks & meals. Thali is Rs. 40 (Lunch) & Rs. 60/- (Dinner). Has a lodging facility.
2. Hotel Sugran near Rly. Station also serves good snacks & meals. Mini Thali (Rs. 35/-) & Thali (Rs. 50/-). It is not recommended for its poor service. The hotel is too crowded & the management cannot take the pressure.

Trek to Nanda Devi East Base Camp...with ups and downs

Himankan - 2009
Date : 16th May 2009 to 30th May 2009
Organisation - Chakram Hikers, Mulund
Group Size - 34 + 2 (Leaders)


Day 1 - 16th May 2009

I got a crew cut done specially for the trek. Aditi, my daughter could not stop laughing, looking at me. We assembled @ Bandra T. at around 16:00 hrs. We were not the complete group as some of the members would be joining us directly at Delhi station and some at Haldwani.
Apart from the batch members, Kiran Deshmukh & Mahesh Kendurkar were present at Bandra T to see us off. Our train was 2909 GaribRath Exp from Mumbai to Nizamuddin (3 tier AC). Train departed on time at 16:55. We were split into different bogies. Still we enjoyed playing cards together for some time. I found everyone enthusiastic discussing about the trek schedule and surrounding ranges. Couple of members boarded @ Borivali. Instead of giving evening snacks & Dinner from Pantry Car, Chakram arranged (Courtsey – Shri. Sunil Sabnis) evening snacks (Paneer Sandwich, Dhokla, wafers, Kachori) and dinner (Theple, potato-subji, salad, Kala-Jaamun, JiraRice-dal, Dahi masti) from Rajdhani Caterers. We crossed Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Kota, Mathura at midnight.

Day 2 - 17th May 2009

We reached Nizamuddin @ 10:00 hrs. After a small session of Hide & Seek, we all gathered near Exit on platform no.1. By hiring 5 taxis we went to Old Delhi Railway station & retired in upper class waiting room. Had lunch in two batches @ Comesome (meals). Mr. & Mrs. Naik-Dhure with their son, Shailesh Joshi and Sandip Zaveri joined us here. Shailesh had a detailed contour map of our trekking area. Studying that map I realized that we were to approach Nandadevi East base camp from Paanchu Gal & not Lawan Gal as per my earlier information based on internet / books survey. Post-lunch we had an excellent 2-3 rounds of Cards (Challenge). Till then 5035 – Sampark Kranti Exp was announced. As this was day journey we had reservations in AC Chair-car. Train departed at 16:15 hrs. We crossed Gaziabad, Muradabad, Rudrapur and then got down to Haldwani which is just before Kathgodam @ 22:15. We met Mohit Gupta, our tour operator on the railway station. We had dinner (Roti, Shahi-paneer, Mix Veg, Khir/Phirni) at Hotel SHAMA (near Masjid) which was hardly on 10 minutes walk-able distance from Haldwani station. Mohit took us to hotel President and rooms (4 persons/room) were made available. Good part was bathing towels were provided which saved us from pain of drying our towels. We hit the bed post-midnight.

Day 3 - 18th May 2009

I got up early around 4.30 am to co-ordinate arrival of our remaining group members. With Mohit, I went to Haldwani Rly Station to pick up Sandeep K, P S Karve, Sabir, Shrikant Joshi, Balkrishna Joshi, Sanjay & Tanmay. We started from Haldwani by a privately hired bus @ 7:15 hrs. This bus was a fantastic example of Car-redesigning which would put DC (Dilip Chhabria) to shame. It was a 27 seater converted to 35 seater with a facility of hot air blower under front seats. Distance from Haldwani to Almora is about 50 kms and this highway # is NH87-E.
We crossed through, Kathgodam, Bhowali, Kaichi. Had Morning breakfast (Aloo paratha, Sandwich, Curd, Tea/Coffee) at Hotel Siddhi. There are many small villages on the way to name some of them, Khairna, Chopda, Quarab. Road was along the river Kosi for quite long. 2 kms before Almora there was diversion for Kausani (47 kms) but then our route was different. Then we came across, Chitai, Badechina then we had diversion for Seraghat to the left. We had lunch at Dhaulchina @ 13:00 hrs. After more than an hour break we started off again and reached Seraghat (Toll-post) @ 15:35. Ganai-Ganoli-Devradi(Bora), Berinag and Chaukodi, where we had a Tea break. To keep ourselves distracted from evils of hairpin turns, we played cards and sang songs (tried to beat the noise of the engine) through the drive. Keeping fit and going, after this long travel is a big task. After Thal, Nachani, Girgaon, Ratapani. We finally reached Munsiyari (Altitude : 2135 meters) @ 22:30 hrs. Enroute we encountered 2 snakes. The Bus Driver was careful enough not to run over them. Dinner and rooms were made available at Hotel Rajrambha & Lodge.

Day 4 - 19th May 2009


Today’s schedule was bit relaxed. We had breakfast (Bread-butter, Tea, Biscuits) at 8:30 hrs. To proceed further permissions from Indo-Tibet-Border-Police (ITBP) and District Magistrate are required. To get the permit we had already submitted our photo-I-card with additional two photographs. Still, it took long to finish the formalities. Had lunch (Roti, Mix veg, Dal-rice) @ Munsyari in Hotel Rajarambha around 13:00 hrs. We got 2 bowls, a spoon and a glass from Rajrambha Hotel & were asked to return the same after the trek. Apart from this we got a plate every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner. We had a small introduction session before the trek started.


Trek started from Munsyari @ 14:30 hrs. Ponies were arranged for carrying our sacks and we carried a pittu with bare necessities in it like water bottle, medical kit, Woolen Jacket, Umbrella, Mat etc. Sumit, Pankaj, Nadeem & Siddharth decided to carry their backpacks on their own. I knew that was going to be difficult but didn’t want to discourage them. One sack was less in count for putting on ponies. I & Vinay, we, counted sacks at least 5 times but one sack was missing. Later, we found it packed inside an empty cement bag (for protection from rains). Luckily, we found it, else it would have lied there unnoticed & not reached next camp, causing inconvenience to Mrs. Vaze.
Enroute, Mohit purchased Barsatis for all. Seeing the size of Barsatis, I enquired for bigger Barsatis with the shopkeeper. He said “Sahab, aap bade acchhe mausam me aaye ho, Baarish nahi hogi. Ye barsati ki bhi jaroorat nahi.” Later, his forecast turned out to be incorrect. There was no sunshine and was cloudy, a bad light for photography. Route passes through SELAPANI, DUMMAD, & JIMMIGHAT where we had short Tea break. The route was nice passing along the river Gauri-Ganga. We saw many birds during the trek. Initially there was descend for quite a long time but later at the end, way started ascending slowly. Here, I overtook few participants and marched ahead to see arrangements done at Lilam. At Lilam(Altitude : 1716 meters), there was no sign of Inder or Mohit. No one responded to calls. I went up & down for half a mile thrice but couldn’t locate Inder or Mohit. Finally, I heard Vilas calling the group members towards a rest house, Inder was with him. Accommodation for 7 female members was in a separate small rest house. Last group arrived bit late around 20.00 hrs and the ponies even later. Till the dinner got ready we had wonderful session of songs, jokes, Ukhane, Sher-o-Shayari etc. Dinner of gobbi-potato-subji, salad, Roti, Dal-Rice & Khir was served around 21:45 hrs. Vinay & I ate after all participants had their dinner. We made it a practice to eat (all meals) at the end which helped us in ensuring that all have eaten well and finding out members with stomach problems. An anticipated request came from Sumit for putting their 3 sacks on ponies from next day onwards. It was not possible for me to sleep in that big room with roaring sounds of snoring coming from all corners. I went to the nearby temple & slept. It was around 23.45 hrs then.

Day 5 - 20th May 2009


Got up with a licking sound…..someone was licking my left chick. It was a Dog with a mistaken identity. I shooed him away fearing his next moves. It was 4.45 hrs then. I rolled in the bed for some more time. After completing morning necessities had breakfast (Bread-jam, Puri-Bhaji, Egg).
Before departing from Lilam, Mohit handed over a packet of Dry-Fruits & Chocolates. I carried it to Mulund to show it to Chakram committee, that it was insufficient. Lilam is a village of 4/5 houses, one hotel, an ITBP Post, 2 rest houses & NTPC Rest House (under construction). Lilam has got the first check-post of ITBP where they entered details of participants in their register and verified Photo-I-cards. We met Mr. Vishal Deshmukh who was one of the Jawans with ITBP at Lilam. He passed on important information to us – 1. There are 2 Maharashtrians, 1 each at Bogudiyar & Rilkot, 2. ITBP Huts are made available to trekkers depending on availability. We had to cover a distance of 13 kms to reach our next campsite at Bogudiyar. Today the weather was clear. It was bright & sunny, perfect for photography. The trail goes along Gauri-Ganga (also referred as Gori-Ganga). A beautiful waterfall was on the way. I was walking with Mohit trying to know more about him. He started trekking in 1991 with his Sister and much later converted his hobby into profession. I was surprised to learn that he is a post graduate in Arts with specialization in Medieval History. He also knows lot of my trekking friends from Mumbai. This stretch was a comfortable walk with gradual ascent. Last patch of 1 km is through dense forest and more inclined. Here, I met a group leader, Reena, of a group from Bangalore on a trek to Milam Glacier. They were here on a study tour – part of their curriculum. I moved ahead and met Maria, I chatted with her for long. She is a person involved in diverse activities like trekking, dancing (western), travelling, teaching, running HR agency, Insurance business etc. I was envious when she told me she takes 3 months off every year to do one Himalayan trek, one trek outside India & a tour abroad. Today was day of interactions for me. Next, I was walking with Debashish. I was stunned to hear that he has an iron rod put in his left leg. Still, he was fit & walking without any complaints. We reached a place called Rargadi/Railgadi @ 12:00 noon. A lunch (Khichadi) was made available. After lunch break started for Bogudiar by 14:00 The route was again scenic and Gauri-Ganga was making continuous sound all over the valley. Enroute I met few workers who were there on a drilling job for a proposed Dam near Bogudiar. I reached at Bogudiar around 17:00 hrs. Mohit had booked a rest house & female members were accommodated in it. I gave him a hint about availability of ITBP Hut. We enquired for Mr. Mane from Solapur at ITBP Post, chatted with him for sometime & subtly put forth our request. The in-charge was kind enough to open it for us. It accommodated 12 out of remaining 17, who were put in tents. Vinay reached the camp bit late as Mrs. Gadgil had a knee problem and could not walk. Mohit arranged a Pony (Khacchar) for her for the last patch. Kitchen was on the lower side and just below it there was a water source. Water was very cold from this point onwards.
Casualties started from this camp. First casualty noticed was Surabhi who had vomited. We asked her to rest. Mrs. Gadgil was unable to move her legs due to severe cramps. Devendra was refusing to eat anything as he had not passed motions for past 2/3 days. There were few others having headache, nausea, etc. Altitude was showing its effects on many.
For dinner we had Roti, Baingan-potato subji, Dal-rice and Kheer. Bournvita was also served after dinner. Mohit, Vinay & I had a long discussion about the health of the group. We concluded by deciding to rest at Bogudiar next day and skip rest day at Martoli. We hit the bed @ 23:30 hrs.

Day 6 - 21st May 2009

We gathered all and enquired about everyone’s health individually. It had not improved much. As decided, we declared it a REST day and informed all that we will go for a small acclimatization walk towards Poting Glacier. We advised all to take an active rest. We requested Sanjay Negandhi to conduct a brief exercise session. I personally enjoyed the session.
We had breakfast of Biscuits & Daliya. Devendra had complained of shivering. I checked his temperature , he had mild fever. I took him to ITBP Compounder cum Doctor cum Surgeon for further check-up. He advised Devendra to go for an acclamatisation walk and shit as soon as possible. We (Vinay & I) threatened Devendra that he will not going to next camp if he fails to shit by afternoon. He did it before Lunch. We started off for acclimatization walk @ 8:40 and gained approximate height of 250 meters. We were on POTING glacier route. Mrs. Gadgil & Pankaj returned back midway. We spent an hour on top. Here, Vinay had an argument with Siddharth. Issue was, not taking our instructions seriously. We started descending towards Bogudiar camp site and reached by 12:30 hrs. Bogudiar has few houses on each side of Poting nala, a rest house, an ITBP Post & 2 Hotels. Had Lunch (Roti, Bhendi-subji, dal-rice, salad etc) @ 13:30 hrs. Pankaj had fever. I asked Nadeem to check his respiratory rate, it had gone up. Sumit told me that in sleep (previous night) he was breathing heavily. These were signs that he had not acclamatised and it would be dangerous to take him further up. Surabhi suddenly broke down and started crying. Even though her father was with her, she became homesick. To our astonishment, he had not carried proper woolen gears for her & the poor girl was suffering for no fault of hers. Physically she didn’t have any problem but she was low on morale. We gave her pep talks, assured her that we will help her with woolen gears. She was alright after sometime. We told Vibhuti to take care of her & inform us immediately, in case of any problem. Post lunch I rested for some time. Many were playing Dumb-Charades outside. I joined them. It was great fun. Evening snacks @ 17:00 hrs, it was Samosa & coffee. Surprisingly, dinner was Chinese (fried rice, noodles, Manchurian gravy).
We decided not take Mrs. Gadgil and Pankaj further up and send them back to Munsiyari with Pushkar (Mohit’s Dy.). We communicated our decision to them and slept around 23.00 hrs.

Day 7 - 22nd May 2009

Got up for Breakfast (Tea, Batata parotha). We (Vinay & I) never got up for morning tea. Pankaj was willing to continue the trek. I had to explain him the changes in his respiratory rate & pulse rate (at rest). Being in medical profession, he understood the implications of these changes. We took him & Devendra to ITBP for check-up. Mr. ITBP (Compounder cum Doctor cum Surgeon) gave Green signal to Devendra & Red to Pankaj. So Pankaj & Mrs. Gadgil stayed back at Bogudiar. We made arrangements for them to return back to Munsiyari and asked them to stay in a hotel and wait for us.
We left Bogudiar at 9:15 hrs. As per the changed plan (Looking at the condition of many participants & from the perspective of acclimatization) next camp was Rilkot instead of Martoli. It was 12 kms trek and most of the part was ascent. I liked this part of the trek for its beauty and landscapes. At Nahardevi the trail cuts through a cliff. After Nahardevi it became too windy. During this walk I got to chat with Mohit’s kitchen staff (Pappu & Raju). Talking to them, I understood that they are happy with what Mohit pays them & the way he treats them. We came across couple of hotels (small huts) on the way. First was named Nahardevi and second was Mapang where we met another group of 4-5 Firangs who were in this region (Ralam & Namik Glacier) for last 28 days. Later, I learnt that they were there on a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) course. After covering half of the distance just before Mapang, we had to cross a river and we did so taking shoes off. Water was ice chilled, for some time legs were senseless but later managed to cross it. This river-crossing was avoidable but due to confusion we did it. After Mapang, the route was uphill & was steep ascent. There was a diversion too. I waited there with Sandeep till Inder met us. I asked Inder to wait at the diversion for guiding members or instruct his assistant to wait there. But he made some excuse and made me believe that waiting there was not required. The members following lost the way and went till the road was broken. Vinay guided them to the correct trail. Till Rilkot, I was walking with Inder & Sandip Zaveri. Sandip was carrying calculated calorie food of dry fruits with him. It was calculated considering the daily walk, calories burnt /per km and replenishment of burnt calories. I immediately made a note of it for future Himalayan treks. He shared his experiences of trekking with Harish Kapadia and meeting Jagadish Nanavati. Inder shared his future plans with us. He is planning to appear for UPSC exam. We reached Rilkot (Altitude : 3200 meters ) @ 15:30 hrs. It was very windy as compared to any of the day during the whole trek. Today’s trek was not easy and it was a wise decision to halt at Rilkot instead of Martoli. The ponies arrived very late. We had to starve as there was no lunch. Mohit tried to put kitchen in place & then pitch tents. The wind was obstructing faster setting up of kitchen & pitching tents. We went to ITBP post with a request to allow us to occupy their 2 huts. The incharge here (Shri. Debichand) was initially reluctant to even talk to us. His reply was “Hume Adhikar nahi hai”. Hume Puchana padega”, “Hum ye hut aapko nahi de sakate” bla… bla… . Mohit, thinking we won’t get it, left. I didn’t budge. I continued chatting with Shri. Pawar and kept on requesting Shri. Debichand and assuring him cleanliness and safe use of Huts. Finally, he agreed & allowed us to use 2 huts. That was a great help in that weather condition. Participants were served Tea & biscuits by then. Most of the participants were fit as compared to the condition at Bogudiar. We (Vinay & I) had a discussion with Mohit about the route for next day. Mohit informed us that Martoli is off the route, route from Rilkot goes directly to Paanchu and it is possible to save time & energy by not visiting Martoli. We thought of taking a decision after discussion with participants during evening meeting. Evening meeting started with an attack on Mohit for not sticking to timings given to all. When Mohit was about to start his brief on next day’s trek, Nadeem demanded he take an oath “Jo bhi, Kahoonga Sach Kahoonga, Sach ke sivay kucch nahi Kahoonga.” After discussion with all, it was decided to skip Martoli next day & attempt it while returning from Paanchu. Soup (sweet-corn) was ready by 19:30 & was served in tents this time. Had Dinner @ 21:30 & went to bed early.

Day 8 - 23rd May 2009

Early morning 6:00 hrs weather was very clear & we could see snow capped mountains surrounding our camp. Morning breakfast was Puri-Bhaji today.
First batch started @ 8:15 & we started by 9:00. We had to cover a distance of 13 kms out of which 8 kms till village BURFOO where lunch was planned, then from BURFOO to GANGHAR a distance of 5 kms which was next camp. Rilkot & Ganghar / Paanchu are almost at same altitude. Hence, the walk was pleasant. A small climb after Rilkot and Bugyal (Meadows in local language) started. I saw our group waiting at a junction. The group was waiting for me / Vinay. Mohit was with the group. The group enquired with Mohit about visit to Martoli and Mohit informed them that it was possible then. Now they wanted one of the Leader’s permission to proceed to Martoli & descend to Paanchu from there. It was a tough moment for me. People having trekking experience as long as my age were insisting on visiting Martoli. I decided against it & was firm on sticking to the pre-decided plan. A firm ‘NO’ from me disheartened everybody but in that situation, I had no other choice. We reached BURFOO Dhaba (Hotel) at 12:00 noon. BURFOO village is on the other (right) side of the river for which there is a bridge just below our lunch point. Same path goes to Milam Village & further to Milam glacier from where Gauri-Ganaga originates. After eating garma-garam khichadi with papad we departed @ 14:30. Now I got a chance to interact with Ponywallas. I enquired with them about consistently reaching the camps late. Their problem was Pony to Men ratio. There were 5 Ponywallas for 18 Ponies. 3 men are required for loading loads on a pony. Less manpower was causing a problem. I reached Ganghar at 16:30. GANGHAR (Altitude : 3330 meters) is a small village located just before PANCHU. Its an ancient village on a trade route with Tibet. Most of the houses are made up of stones with roofs of flat stone tiles. We got one small house that accommodated 10 of us. Rest all houses were empty but not fit for accommodation. For remaining members tents were pitched on a field behind the houses. Mohit & his team pitched tents. I allotted six men tent to our female members. Rest were put in other tents. Sumit & team was not put in 3 men tent as desired by them & was put in 4 men tent with other member. Here, I had a small disagreement with Mr. Nene on 3 men staying in 4 men tent. We assembled @ 19:00 and as per routine, Vinay & Mohit explained next day schedule with general instructions about the camp site.
Then we had hot soup again in tents this time @ 20:15 followed by dinner (Roti, Subji, Rice, Egg bhurji & Khir). As per the schedule, we were to get up early next morning by 4:00. Hit the bed @ 23:00.

Day 9 - 24th May 2009


I got up at 4:00. It was a long walk to the potty area. Finished that important session of the day. Back to the campsite, I noticed few enthusiastic early raisers were waiting for a view of Nandadevi East peak. I joined them. We got an amazing view of Nandadevi with cloudless sky at 4.45 am. By the time whole batch was ready and we departed in a line for Nanda-Devi-East base camp, it was 5:30 hrs. It was crucial day for everyone. At the very beginning, moving little at the edge of the village, we could see Nanda-Devi East in a golden color so I clicked immediately and also captured the moment in my visual memory though it was not a full and clear view. We were still to get the clear view. Mohit did puja at Nanda-Devi temple & we all prayed to get a clear view of twin peaks and safe trek till the base camp and back. We got second packet of dry fruits distributed by Vinay. The initial climb was very steep so the group was moving slowly. I was in front with Mohit. This time all the participants were together and it was giving a feel of common motto of achieving something together. For the first time during the trek, we encountered Rhododendrons. We gained more height in a short time & suddenly we could see Nanda-Devi East clearly visible as if a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream. It was cloudless view. Everyone was delighted looking at that peak of 7434 meters. Soon we could see the second peak, the main Nanda-Devi which raises 7816 meters above sea level. Having such a great view of twin peaks of Nanda-Devi, we were quite satisfied and it was like a dream came true. Some participants decided to stay at this point but most of us moved ahead to reach base camp. Route was narrow with scree patches, some time with water flowing across. At one point we had a session of group photos and everyone tried their best to accommodate all the participants. Here, for getting a good picture, I moved Kiran’s camera which was spoiling my frame. As I did it, he got very wild on me & started shouting at me. I had never seen him in such a ferocious avatar before. Initially, I tried to explain my view point but when he was repeating same thing again & again, I didn’t argue further. Considering it an Altitude problem, I ignored it. I have seen people losing temper on petty things at altitude. Again some members decided to stop here and we moved further following the timeline decided earlier. At our back we could see one peak cornering into the sky and the name is BURFU-DURA having altitude of 6340 meters. As per the schedule we had to stop at 9:00 irrespective of the place or how much distance far from base camp. There we had a breakfast of Puri-Chole at water point. From here the Nanda-Devi-East-Base-camp (Altitude : 4150 meters) was approximately at 1.5 kms away as per Mohit. But then due to time restriction and start of slight snow fall, we started our return journey to GANGHAR. Actually speaking there is nothing different as a base camp. It’s a flat area till the mountain and wherever you put your camp is a base camp for you. Descending little down, few members were asking permission to go till the base camp. We (Vinay & I) refused to accompany them & left it to Mohit to accompany them. Considering the weather conditions, Mohit refused accompanying them. Those two twin peak’s view made my day and I was feeling very satisfied without any hesitation. At the north side of this route, water originated from PANCHU glacier were flowing from the gap and then joining Gauri-Ganga at the base. On the other side is the way to PANCHU glacier. While returning to GANGHAR we visited Nanda-Devi temple and thanked goddess Nanda – Devi for the fabulous “Darshan”. We had lunch (Dal-Rice) @ 13:00 hrs in GANGHAR. Post lunch Saurabh shifted from the room to our tent. Around 14.00 hrs it started raining. Panchu Valley was covered with clouds. I rested in the afternoon and had a nice sleep till 17:00 hrs. Fresh after sleep, we 5-6 people assembled in a tent and had a nice Marathi-Hindi songs singing session. It was Pramod, Saurabh, Deb, Sandeep and me. In the evening we could clearly see fresh snow on the surrounding mountains and realized that decision of returning back to GANGHAR (without attempting Base Camp) was very correct. Again Veg clear soup was ready by 20:00. Dinner (Roti,Kofta,sheera-papad) at 21:15. Saurabh, Vinay & I shared some earlier trekking experiences with each other and retired in a sleeping bag at 22:45 hrs.

Day 10 - 25th May 2009

Our return trek started today. Very few from the group including me were keen on going to Martoli. But a decision was taken on the previous day to skip Martoli during return trek to Rilkot. Had Breakfast (corn-flex, poha) at 7:15. Today we had to reach Rilkot camp and it was 12 kms but mostly a gradual walk. Depositing our big sacks to be carried on Khacchars (Ponies), we departed from GANGHAR at 9:15. Again we came across villages, BILJU, TOLA, MAPANG. Farmers were making their bulls work in the farm; they grow Potato and Sarsoo in their farms. We arrived at Burfoo tea stall @ 10:45, had tea, biscuits. We met an ITBP jawan here who offered us canned mangoes. Mohit’s friend Rakesh who was a guide for a German trekker met us here. Resting for a while we started off again at 11:35 for Rilkot. On the way to Rilkot it rained for quite some time. We could see fresh snow all over the surrounding mountains. Reached Rilkot at 13:00. I was welcomed by Balakrishna with a strong protest against Barasati provided. We got ITBP huts again. But due to rains they were leaking. Due to rains, Mohit could not set up his kitchen in open. He set up a kitchen in a village home, far from camping area. Many were hungry and had lunch at Rilkot Hotel. We had lunch (Khichadi) cooked by Mohit.
Rain had stopped. Huts were dried. Tents pitched. Veg clear soup at 20:15 followed by dinner (Gulabjamun-Roti-Soyabin-potato subji) at 21:15. Crashed around 23:00 hrs.

Day 11 - 26th May 2009


After Breakfast (Pohe, Daliya, Egg) @ 7:45. We wound up the camp and departed at 9:15. Today most of the part was descent. At Mapang, we avoided crossing river & took a proper trail. I met Reena after Mapang. They could go only till the snout of Milam Glacier from where Gori-Ganga originates. They couldn’t go further on to the Milam Glacier due to bad weather & loose rocks in that area. Shortly, we reached Nahardevi where today’s lunch (dal-Rice) was planned. After having lunch, started off again for Bogudiar at 14:45 and reached campsite by 15:45. Today unfortunately, ITBP hut & rest house was not available so (15) members stayed at Shack kind of place across the rest house. Rest got accommodated in tents. In the evening whole group assembled for face-to-face feedback session. Everyone openly shared his/her views about almost all the aspects of trek including good and bad. Simultaneously, we had evening snacks (Tea & Potato-pattice). We tried to address some of the issues raised in a feedback. Feedback forms for written feedback covering various aspects of the trek like, accommodation, food, organization, travel etc. were also distributed to participants. During this session, we appreciated Surabhi’s efforts to complete the trek in spite of all adversities & gifted her Chakram T-Shirt. Soup was ready at 20:15 followed by dinner (Harbhara,Roti,Khir,Dal-Rice) & Bournvita.

Day 12 - 27th May 2009

It was Devendra’s birthday today. He distributed chocolates to all and after breakfast (Ragda-Parotha) we left Bogdiyaar @ 8:00 hrs.
We had to descend a lot today and cover a distance of approximately 18 kms till DUMMAD. Reached Railgadi @ 9:00. I saw two ladies here conversing with local people about going somewhere. I didn’t bother much as I could not get a clue as to what was happening. Suddenly, one of them spoke in Marathi. I got curious and enquired with them. They, Mrs. Namita Vikas (Phadnis) & Mrs. Vaidya, were from Mumbai. They were with a group on a trek to Nandadevi EBC & were unable to trek further. Previous day they had trekked from Munsiyari to Rail-Gadi and were in bad shape. They were given wrong information about the difficulty level of the trek, route, distance between camps etc. They were told that this trek is easier than a trek to Vaishnodevi. They met few from our group who assured them that Chakram leaders would help them. Anticipating our help they decided not to proceed further and return to Munsiyari. Their guide was not willing to accompany them to Munsiyari. He wanted to be with the group as per instructions from his boss. He organized a pony for their sacks & wanted these women to return with ponywalla, which they flatly refused. Vinay & I made them comfortable and assured them of all possible help for reaching Munsiyari provided they walk. We advised them not to leave their guide & ask him to accompany them as far as possible. He agreed to come till Lilam. They started immediately for Lilam. We ate Omlet & Maggie at Rail Gadi Dhaba. I left around 10.30 hrs. After an hour I met Namita & Vaidya. Namita told me about their trekking plans. As per plan, they were to reach Rilkot today. A complete trek (Munsiyari – Munsiyari) was of 7 days. “connect-himalayas” had organized the trek. Cost Rs. 32k (ex-Delhi) She had done a trek to Bhimashankar many years back & a trek to Vaishnodevi. Mrs. Vaidya had not even walked on roads. There were few more in their group who were new to trekking. Fitness Expert Rujuta Divekar was in their group. We met Mr. Sabnis. I moved ahead requesting Mr. Sabnis to be with them. I reached Lilam at 13.30 hrs. Many from our group had already started for Dummad. Had Lunch (Dal-Rice). Vinay, Saurabh, Kiran & 2 ladies reached Lilam @ 14:40. We left Lilam @ 15:30. Reached JIMIGHAT @ 17:15. Had tea. After a break started off for DUMMAD @ 17:55 hrs. Vinay and I was giving pep talks to 2 ladies to boost up their moral and keep them walking. Vinay & other members had lost patience and were bored with their ultra–slow pace and moved ahead. I along with cook Ramesh was with 2 ladies. It was not essential to just walk with them but keep talking to them to distract them from cramps, body ache, and thought of further distance to be trekked. Ramesh was good at it. He kept them busy with talks on politics. It got dark by the time we reached road head (Dummad). Vinay & others reached almost an hour before us. We left Dummad at 20.00 hrs & reached Munsyari by 20.45 hrs. Rooms were made available at Hotel Hasling and for members who reached earlier in Hotel Rajarambha and a Hotel opposite it. Dinner (Roti, Potato-subji, Dal-Rice) was at Hotel Hasling. First batch arrived at Munsyari at around 15:30 so they faced a delay in room allotment and baggage delivery and again they had to walk till our hotel for dinner, so many were complaining. Our group was visibly upset. According to them one leader should have accompanied our group. I didn’t understand how Pushkar who was at Hotel Rajrambha failed to make all arrangements. Next day, we apologized for inconvenience caused to all. But personally, I feel we did exactly what a good trekker would have done to help someone who’s stuck in the mountains. Only Sandip (Zaveri) & Deb told me what we did was right & good that we saw to it that those ladies reached Munsiyari.
Anyways, after a nice (sponge) bath & reshuffling of our luggage we went to bed after midnight.


Day 13 - 28th May 2009

I got up very early today before 4.00 hrs. I woke up Bus Driver and Mohit’s team. We started off for Nainital at 5:30 hrs after loading the luggage on the bus. The route was same till Almora. On the way we took a break at THAL for morning snacks (Aloo paratha, Tea).It was approximately 40 minutes break. In bus everyone gave his/her order for BAL-MITHAI & Mohit managed to get it for us at Almora. We bid good bye to his staff (Indar, Pushkar, cooking staff). Lunch halt was at Dhaulchina in the same restaurant “Hotel Hillview” at 13:00. Started off at 14:00 hrs and reached Nainital @ 18:00 in the evening. As the buses are not allowed before 22:00 inside the city, we had to walk a little till Hotel Himalaya which is just at the bank of Naini lake. Weather was bad and soon it started raining so we couldn’t go out still some people managed to go out and did some shopping. We declared end of a trek and thanked everyone for the co-operation.. We met other groups of YUVA-SHAKTI returning from Jim-Corbet and Pindari-Kafni. Dinner (Roti, Paneer-subji, Mix-veg, Salad, Khir, Sal-Rice and Singodi - sweet sponsored by Mr. Sabnis) @ 21:30. Post dinner all were ready for bus to Delhi. Departed for Delhi at 23:00. This time bus was comfortable (2x2) with push back seats. We’re off to sleep in next 30 minutes.

Day 14 - 29th May 2009


There was traffic jam somewhere near Rampur around 2.00. It was very boring and noisy journey till Delhi. Heavy Vehicles honk in a style. What lovely tunes for horns & amazing decibel levels. I think there is a rule for driving on the Highways – “Keep honking….else you will be fined.” Finally we reached New Delhi @ 11:00 in the morning. Hotel Woodland & Dreamland was nearby. Got the rooms (4 persons/room). Vinay & I organized and served breakfast to all Medu-Vada-Sambar from nearby Café Madras.
Today I took bath after almost 10 days. It was loooooong and nice. We went to “Bikaner Sweets” for lunch. Few had Pav-bhaji, few south-indian dishes. After lunch we offered Kulfu/Lassi to all. Came back to Hotel and left immediately for New-Delhi railway station by Auto-rickshaw. Out of 36 people some had flights, some had reservations in Garib-Rath and we were booked in Rajdhani Exos.. Rajdhani Exp was on time and left from NDLS @ sharp 16:30. This time again group was split into various bogies even then we managed to play cards. Evening snacks, dinner and Tea, Coffee was served in Rajdhani so food was not a problem. I got a sound sleep for almost 8 hrs. tonight. A sign of relief.

Day 15 - 30th May 2009

Our train was late by an hour so reached Mumbai central @ 10:00. We said bye to all. It was a very good trek indeed. A trek with varied experiences was over. We returned home with all wonderful moments stored deep inside us.

Dream Came True……Visit to Padmadurga – 26th April 2009

Ever since I started serious trekking, I have heard stories of how difficult it was to visit Padmadurga. Reasons being local fishermen flatly refuse to sail till Padmadurga, being inside the deep sea, Custom Dept.’s & BPT’s permission is required to see the fort etc. etc. So it remained a dream all these years. In 2008 January, I visited, with Mangesh & Ameya, Khanderi – Underi forts which share similar stories & inaccessibility as Padmadurga. The experience of Khanderi – Underi was encouraging & our next target was Padmadurga. 21st December 2008 – Mangesh & Ameya could visit Padmadurga through a fisherman in Rajpuri Koliwada. I missed this chance since I was skeptical whether they will make it to Padmadurga. This fisherman, Messiah to me from Rajpuri is Gopal Kunbi. Immediately, after this successful attempt by Mangesh & Ameya, we (Vinay & I) decided to visit Padmadurga as soon as possible with the help of Gopal. We checked with Aptekaka who immediately agreed to accompany us as even he wanted to desperately visit Padmadurga.

Vinay gathered a group of 14 interested friends to visit Padmadurga so that few more get to visit Padmadurga and the trip works out economical for us. An overnight journey and we reached Rajpuri Koliwada early morning at 4.30 am on 26th April. The group had brief rest in Bhairoba Temple till 6.30 am. I could not sleep properly, thanks to loudspeaker at Bal-Ganesh Mandir which was blaring with Ganesh Aartis & Spiritual Songs. We had tea and our packed breakfast of Bread-butter-chutney-cheese-biscuits at Gopal’s place. Tea took very long to come. It was so much delayed that we were restless & requested Gopal to forget tea and start immediately for Padmadurga . But he was firm in hospitality and did not allow us to leave till we had tea. He also wanted to cook some snacks & feed us. It’s a rare scene in cities. His father expressed his feelings by saying “Tumhi sagale aala, Sant Maybaap” All this Gopal & his family was doing, after partying whole night for a wedding in the village.

We got into Gopal’s Boat at Rajpuri Jetty and started sailing to Padmadurga at 8.00 am. Gopal’s 3 sons & their 2 friends were along to help Gopal. We passed by Janjira, a strong fort of Siddis which remained unconquered till 1947. Shivaji Maharaj and after him Sambhaji Maharaj attempted to capture Janjira by all means like battle, bribe, bridge etc. but did not succeed. To keep a check on Siddis, Shivaji Maharaj ordered constructing a fort, Padmadurga, on an island of Kasa, off the coast of Murud. Padmadurg was built around 1675 by Daulatkhan (an architect) and was controlled by Marathas until 1698 when Siddis captured it and ruled it until the end.


At Padmadurga there is no jetty or a good place to park a boat. To add to our tension, the boat was rocking too much. But Gopal & his team managed to park the boat amidst rocks. We managed to get off a rocking boat onto slippery rocks without anyone getting injured.


We got off near Darya Darwaza which faces east (Murud Coast). This fort is roughly divided in three parts from East to West viz main fort, Padkot and Retaining Wall. Traversing main fort, we entered Padkot first. We prominently noticed many rusted cannons lying all around. Jayaram & Purvesh counted them, the tally was roughly 50. The fortification and few bastions are still standing strong defying the sea waves for almost 335 years. Here Aptekaka read out a warning letter from Shivaji Maharaj to Jivaji Vinayak who was responsible for providing logistical support for building Padmadurga. Padkot has a loo in its fortification, a rare sight on the forts. Arnala fort has one. The main fort has 3 water tanks, some latest construction by customs dept. and some store rooms. It is possible to take a walk on the rampart.


The cementing material used for construction of the fort walls is so strong that the walls / stones have eroded few inches due to lashing waves but this material is still intact without any sign of erosion. At padmadurga we saw broken beer bottles, paper plates, garbage, indicating lot of partying by locals. That must be one of the reasons why they don’t want people to visit Padmadurga.

Fully content, we left Padmadurga at 10 am. We sailed back around Janjira. I was thrilled to see Darya Darwaja of Janjira from Darya. Back to Rajpuri Koliwada, while parking our boat near a barge like platform, boat banged on it as the younger fisher boys could not manage the parking well . Gopal shouted…"Nustach pagar ghetat Yedxxxx, kaam nako karayala randechyana!" His 3 sons were among these randeche. Thanking Gopal and his father we left Rajpuri at 11 am.

We decided to see Samrajgad. Samrajgad is located on a hill near village Ekdara which is between Murud & Rajpuri. No one in the village could help us with directions. Book ‘Vedh Jaladurgancha’ by Shri. Bhagwan Chile came in as help. Following directions from the book, we reached a Shiv temple in Ekdara village from where Murud Coast is seen. Further, uphill is Samrajgad, a relatively unknown fort built by Samrajpant the lieutanent of Shivaji Maharaj. This fort fell to the Siddis in 1675 on a Holi night. The ammunition store was attacked by Siddis, the explosion was so massive that Shivaji Maharaj, who was on Raigad then, woke up to order immediate inspection of Samrajgad’s condition. There is a small double wall showing that Samrajgad existed sometime at this place. Presently, no notable structures exist on the top. Janjira is to the South and Padmadurg is to the North-West of Samrajgad. It was lunch time by then and we moved to Patil Khanaval at Murud. We freaked on Paplet, Kolambi, Ravas, Surmai.

On the way back we halted to see Revdanda Fort at 3 pm. Not much remains here except huge fortification along the beach, few cannons & (must see) Gr + 5 floors tall Bell Tower. The fort walls are about 25 ft high & 15 ft wide. One has to see it to experience the fear that they would have created in the minds of the enemy. This fort was built by the Portuguese on the junction of Kundalika River & Arabian Sea. An important remain on this fort is a symbol of Portuguese Empire above the entrance. Such symbol can also be seen at Vasai & Korlai Forts but here this symbol is peculiar with a Crown jutting out from the main wall. Now many villagers have built houses & Villas inside the fort so not much is left to see. From Revdanda, Korlai Fort seems so close that you can walk it.

We reached Mulund at 7.00 pm after a memorable visit to Sea Forts.

Organisation – Private Trek

Members – Rajan Mahajan, Vinay Kulkarni, Sadanand Apte Kaka, Kiran Khatu, Kavita Joshi, Sandeep K, Hemlata, Nitin K, Purvesh, Milind Kadam, Sachin Patil, Hemant, Chinmay, Jayaram (On bike)

Route – Mulund – Pen – Vadkhal Naka – Alibaug – Revdanda – Murud – Rajpuri.

Food / Water – No water on Padmadurga, Samrajgad. In Revdanda Fort, water is available at Shiv Temple. Water / Food are available at Rajpuri, Murud & Revdanda villages.

Unpleasant Travel …Unlimited Fun == Kelve – Mahim Trek

1st May………and a trek planned after discussions with Shridatta and as per his convenience, was finally happening. His presence on the trek was most important to me as I had got a taste of his expertise during my earlier visits to Vasai Fort.

A group of 26 left Mulund in mini bus for Datiware at 6.30 am. At Varai naka on Ahmedabad Highway we took Saphale diversion. I told Vijay (Bus driver) to switch on the CD player. He told me that there was a problem in the electric circuit due to which CD player was not working. He added that even the Horn’s not working and previous night he drove from Malshej to Mulund without Headlights. This raised an alarm in my mind. I enquired with him as to how he plans to drive the bus back to Mulund in the evening. He had no answer. I checked with him, if it could be done at Saphale but that was not possible according to him.

We took a break at Saphale for Tea and Vadapav. Got a call from Shridatta, he had already reached Datiware with 2 of his friends. We reached Datiware at 10 am. Immediately, we proceeded to Hira Dongri. Hira Dongri has no signs of a fort except a small cave, 6 steps & small dried cistern. To its South is Vaitarna River & Jivdani Fort and South West is Arnala Fort. A small temple of Ghodeshwar with a sculptor of a warrior sitting on the horse & without Shivling is at the base of Hira Dongri. At Hira Dongri, Shridatta published 2 of his books viz. “Vasai Mohimeche Shiledar” & “Vasai Mohimechi Nakshatre” at the hands of our, Shri. Ashok Thorat (Bapumama). From here, we got inside the Datiware village to see that only a single fort wall is remaining to tell us about the presence of Datiwre Fort, once upon a time.

Back to the Bus at 11.45 hrs., we were shocked to see that the Bus did not start. I asked Madhav to check with Chandu Dandekar (Chakram’s senior member, based at Palghar) if he can arrange for a Minibus or 2 jeeps or 3 Tum-tums for our remaining travel. Meanwhile, we tried to Dhakka Start the Bus 4/5 times but it didn’t work. Chandu tried his best but couldn’t arrange a vehicle for us. I had by now decided to leave the bus and carry on with the trek by whichever mode of transport. Then a Tum-Tum came. These Tum-tums ply between Saphale and Datiware. Shridatta checked with Tum-Tum walla and he agreed to drop us till Kelve via Bhavangad. We stuffed all kids, Shridatta, Madhav, Chandra & Subhash in that Tum-Tum, total 16. Others were left with no option but to pray for earliest arrival of another Tum-tum. And it came after 15/20 minutes; the remaining 13 of us managed to get into it and reached Bhavangad at 1 pm. Bhavangad is located near Madhukarnagar. Bhavangad has good fortifications, a cave and Shiv Temple (Bhavaneshwar) on it. Kelve (Janjira) is seen from Bhavangad. Bhavangad was constructed around 1739 by Marathas. The Portuguese tried to capture this fort but were defeated by the Marathas. History tells that Narveer Chimaji Appa visited this fort.

From Bhavangad we reached Kelve beach around 2 pm. Enroute we saw Danda Fort & Kelve Customs Kot from distance. Tum-Tum wallas gave us a big relief by agreeing to accompany us till Palghar with as much waiting as we wanted to see the remaining forts. We were behind schedule by more than 2 hours. The High tide had started, making our chances of entering the Kelve Janjira (also called Kelve Pankot) very dim. Still we thought of giving it a try and started walking on the beach towards the fort. Kelve Janjira Fort is at the junction of Danda Creek and Arabian Sea. To our disappointment, our fear came true. We could not enter the fort and had no option but to see it from a distance. I was very much frustrated as all the efforts and planning taken to see this particular fort went down the drain. The fort that I wanted to see for so many years was right there in front of me but I could do nothing to enter it. Those moments were disheartening.

We had lunch of Puri-Bhaji-Dal-Chaval at a hotel near Shitladevi Temple. Post lunch at 3.45 pm, we started for Kelve Kot. It’s on the beach amidst Suru trees. Until few years back, this kot was buried under sand. Shridatta’s team dug into it and removed 7/8 truckloads of sand from and around it. Kelve Kot is small but strong fort. The architecture is Portuguese and the shape is like a star. Next on the list was Mahim Fort. We reached Mahim Fort at 4.30 pm. It’s behind Government Hospital. It was in a neglected state and all garbage from hospital was dumped in until Shridatta’s team raised awareness and tried to restore the fort. Mahim is again a small fort divided in 2 sections. The front section has a prominent staircase at the centre to climb onto ramparts of fort. It has a dried well. The second section is on upper level and looks more like a prayer hall. The USP here is blue paint on the walls which still remains intact. There is also a small fountain in this section.

Last on the list was Shirgaon Fort. Mahim to Shirgaon road goes through tiny villages with Wadis on both sides. We saw some beautiful old fashioned villas enroute. We reached Shirgaon at 5.20 pm. Shirgaon Fort has tall fortification. A minar like tower above the entrance signifies Islamic architecture. The fort has 4 bastions and 2 towers. The Tower above north-east bastion has 2 balconies in it with spiral staircase leading to the upper balcony. The Bastion on South West is huge and has a staircase that opens in a room under the main stairway for the rampart. A five-feet cannon on the northwest of citadel marks the history of the battles that took place over here. This fort is supposedly built by Sultan of Gujarat who ruled over this area before the Portuguese. The Portuguese had dominance over this fort before Marathas. Marathas won this fort in 1739. In 1818, the British captured this fort from the Marathas. An exciting sight in this fort is a palm tree with six to seven branches, a rarity. It’s called “Ravan-Maad”.

Our trek ended at Shirgaon fort. Next shuttle from Palghar to Virar was at 6.50 pm. Anyhow we had to catch it. We left Shirgaon fort at 6.10 pm. Enroute, I checked with Mr. Javale (Bus-owner) about the status of the Bus. I thought if it’s started then it’s better, faster & safer (with kids along) than train journey. But it hadn’t. I told him we would take train back home. The tum-tum dropped us at Palghar Station at 6.40 pm. We took train tickets, many of us crossed the FOB & reached the platform and the most miserable event happened. Mr. Javale called me and informed that the Bus had started. I was happy to hear that. I told him to send the Bus to Palghar Station. I broke the good news to all and we moved out of the station to have much required tea / snacks. I expected that by the time we would finish having tea / snacks, the Bus would reach Palghar. An hour passed but there was no sign of the Bus coming. Madhav called driver, who told him that though the Bus had started, Headlights were not working. He was driving without headlights. As per our estimate for him to reach Saphale (without headlights) and then to Palghar would have taken another 2 hours. We decided to take 8.20 pm shuttle to VIrar. I still don’t know why the hell that Axx Hxxx, Mr. Javale called me & gave half information that the Bus started but not the headlights. Without his call, we had taken 6.50 pm shuttle to Virar and saved more than 1 hour. As a Leader, I was put up in an embarrassing position and had no answer for the delay.

Shraddha & Malti were furious to know that the Bus was not coming and by train they would reach home (Badlapur) post midnight. I had no choice but to bear the brunt of their anger. Later, I could manage to pacify them with long & patient discussion. Reverse was the case with the Kids who were overjoyed with the thought that we were late and they will reach home as late as possible. Return journey was by a shuttle from Palghar to Virar, Local train from Virar to Borivali then to Dadar & to Mulund. We reached Mulund at 11.45 pm.

The Bus blunder being exception ….all enjoyed the trek and went home happily with plans to meet again for a get-together of participants of Kelve-Mahim Trek.


Organisation – Chakram Hikers, Mulund

Route – Mulund – Ghodbunder Road – Vasai – Varai Phata – Tandulwadi phata – Saphale – Rambag – Usarani - Edwan – Datiware – Madhukarnagar – Kelve – Mahim – Shirgaon – Palghar

Members – Rajan Mahajan, Shridatta Raut, Sandeep, Shridatta’s friend, Kavita R, Roel Almeida, Ashok Thorat, Madhav Phadke, Nikhil Phadke, Atharva Ranade, Chinmay, Shaunak, Maitri, Rasika, Deepashre, Bhagyashree, Shiva, Devendra, Sudhir Deshpande, Shraddha, Malti, Anil Dengale, Subhash, Kabeer, Shivani, Varada, Chandra Damle, Sunit, Ashish,

Water / Food – All forts are located near villages with small hotels. Water can be fetched from hotels. Kelve is good place to eat if you are not carrying packed lunch. Bhavangad has a perennial water tank on it.

Shridatta Raut - 9930139141

Ghangad and Saltar Dam

Date : 19th April 2009 (Sunday)
Trek to : Ghangad (with Chakram)
District : Pune

Route : Mulund – Lonavala – INS Shivaji – Peth Shahapur – Bhamburde – Ekole (Base Village)

Participants : Ameya Gokahle, Rajan, Vinay Kulkarni, Kavita Joshi, Hemlata, Hrishikesh, Savina, Sukahda, Amruta Pradhan, Sandeep Sawant, Suryakant Mhase, Seema Ketkar, Vinayak Vaidya, Jaymala, Talreja Uncle, Suuresh Ramakrishnan, Sada, Parag Javale, Gargi Sant, Mrs. Sant, Aarohi Atre, Mrs. Atre, Rucha, Ketaki Rahalkar, Sneha Tarlekar and Sayali.
Guide – Lahoo/Deoo

Report : Left Mulund at 6.45 am. Halted at Annapurna Hotel, Lonavala for Breakfast. Reached Ekole around 10.30 am. This journey was complimented with beautiful songs sung by Vinayak & Aarohi. Trek started at 11.00 am. Ghangad is on the west of Ekole. Within 15/20 minutes the group was near Garjai Temple. Another 15 minutes and through ruined fortification we entered the fort. A small rock patch needs to be climbed to reach upper part of the fort. We had necessary equipment for climbing this rock patch. There’s one rusted (still strong) expansion bolt on top of the patch. Seeing that I was hesitant to use just one bolt for anchoring, our guide got an Iron Rod from nowhere. We placed it inside the cave. The rod was bigger than the mouth of the cave and on pulling it; it got stuck inside the cave. All 26 out of our group climbed the patch, came up, saw upper part of the fort and descended the rock patch. Sukhada, Ameya & I were helping all to climb up and down. Till everyone (except 3 of us) descended, it was 4 pm. I was giving belay to everyone for climbing up & down. By sitting on a small ledge which was 10 inches long & barely 3 inches wide for almost 4 hrs, I wished my bum had some extra flesh.

We 3 then went to the upper part of the fort. Half way to the top are 2 caves and one perennial water cistern. Lahoo showed us a cave located to far right of this cave complex. As per him this was an exclusive sightseeing for us which for some reason others didn’t get to see. We came back to the cave complex and climbed up some broken steps to reach the top. All structures on top are in ruins. On south is ruined fortification. On the highest point is only a plinth of a house. On north is remnant of another house with only a small wall still standing. To the west of the fort is Sudhagad & further down is Sarasgad. To North-west is Tel-baila.

We 3 came down and had a quick lunch of Rasgullas- Puris- Paneer Roll-Cheese. The group was back to Ekole at 5.30 pm. We decided to skip Pawna Dam and visit Saltar Dam on the way. At Saltar Dam almost all took a much desired dip. We left the Dam at 7.30 pm and started a riot of dance. Sukhdev (bus driver) had a collection of Marathi Songs which were blasting in the bus. Hits were "Mala lagin karav pahije" and "Khanderayachya lagnala". The star dancer of the night was Gargi’s mother. All enjoyed every bit of her dancing. Also, there were junior dancers like Hrishikesh, Sukhada, Hemlata, Ketkar Madam, Vinayak, Vinay and I who entertained all. Our leader, Ameya was so happy with these performances that he refunded Rs. 30/- of trek fee to everyone. We halted at food mall for Vadapav & tea. We also got an ice cream, thanks to Talreja uncle & Gargi’s mother. The bus reached Mulund at 11 pm and a wonderful trek ended. Everyone was thanking each other for making his/her day most memorable.

Equipment - 2 ropes (50 ft each), 1 rope sling, 2 carabiners. Carrying expansion bolt is recommended.

Gorgeous Gorge, Sandhan…..5 Apr 09

Delayed (Apr-Jun 09) circular printing & posting didn’t allow me to take advantage of the rule that Leader to be contacted at least 15 days prior to the trek. Also, trek being very easy and co-operation assured by Ramdas Bande, I wanted to accommodate as many participants as possible. By 25th March list was not touching 10. I spoke to Uday and checked availability of his 14 seater trax. It was available. Within next 3-4 days got 10 enquiries about trek less advance payment. On 31st March few more enquiries, backed by advance payment and I booked a 27 seater. Next day few more enquiries with assurances and booked a 31 seater. 2nd April hit me with about 8 cancellations and left me worried about my decision of booking 31 seater. Then started negotiations with Prajakta Travels. He agreed to charge less for anything below 25 passengers. Spreading a word about cancellations & availability of seats helped. 4-5 participants joined on 4th April giving me much sought after relief.

Aditi & I left at 9.50 pm, picked up Sukhada and Devendra on the way and reached Chakram office by 10.15 pm. Being a leader I had to be there on time, positively before participants. Had I been a participant I would have saved at least an hour by boarding the Bus at Thane. But No regrets, all this comes with the tag of a Leader. In all these preparations in spite of having a personal check-list, I forgot to carry film-roll and missed clicking pictures from my camera. Kiran came in as a help as he had a camera to spare. I never imagined that someone will have a spare camera but nice to have such rich trekking colleagues to fall on.

With few anticipated exceptions all reached Mulund before 11 pm. After some exchange of smses, calls, missed calls, all were together and left at 11.20 pm. Suryakant & Uday joined us at Thane. Now we were a group of 28. We had a good session of Antakshari and songs in the Bus. Jaymala, Mahesh, Surya, Kavita, Dharmshi Uncle, Purvesh were lead singers of Antakshari. I could not participate whole-heartedly; Thanks to my darling, Aditi. We had a short Tea-Toast break at Star of Highway near Kasara at 2.15 am. Seeing Dharamshi uncle drinking Energy, someone commented – “te bagh energy pitayat, ajun khoop gani aikavi lagnar”.

For reaching Samrad, I was going by directions given by Parag. He told me that after seeing a Board, Samrad Fata, turn left. I saw three Boards with Samrad Fata less left turn after/near that. We reached Ghatghar Dam and found Parag’s Samrad Fata Board & a left turn after that. The circus was over when we reached Samrad at 5.00 am. Ramdas Bande, resident of Samrad received us. We had time till 7 to rest and finish potty. Few lied down in the temple, few in the courtyard of Ramdas’ House. The Sun was out around 6.30 am to wake us up. It was a pleasant and colorful morning. Everyone had Tea n Pohe for breakfast and was ready by 8. After an introduction session, trek started. To the south of Samrad is Ratangad, very prominent and magnificent. We also got a close view of Aja Parbat. Kulang- Mandan-Alang dominate Northern side of Samrad.

Sandhan is a deep Gorge on south of Samrad. A pleasure walk of 35-40 minutes took us to Northeast opening of Sandhan. First thing I noticed was a sea of boulders. The walk is through the boulders and I kept on guessing about distance till the other end. It’s a gradual descend to Southwest for about 1.5 kms with a depth of 500 ft towards end. As I got deeper and deeper in to the gorge, some strange mysterious feeling was creeping in my mind. At some places, distance between walls of the gorge is as less as 2 ft. The maximum distance between two walls is 30 ft. This time of the year we had to cross two ponds, one with waist deep level. First pond has a 5/6 inches wide bridge over it. Next pond demands seeing your legs, compelling everyone to roll-up his pants and walk through. Only Aditi managed to cross this pond without wetting her legs; I carried her on my shoulders. The gorge's Southeast end opens in Karoli Ghat.


Mangesh’s planning to get in Karoli Ghat from here and looking at the end I felt it’s possible. Towards the end the Boulders become huge but for an experienced trekker with technical back-up it seems possible. We took a break here at 10.30, had bakarwadi-samosas-biscuits-Khajoor-choclates-Kakdi-Gajar-Jaljeera. Return trek started at 11. We were back to Northeast opening at 12.30 noon. On Ramdas’ recommendation we saw Kokankada of Samrad. It’s a miniature version of Kokankada of harishchandragad. We were back at Samrad at 1.15.

Ramdas had cooked Kanda-Batata-Tomato rassa Bhaji, Chapati , Rice for lunch. We supplemented it with canned Rasgullas. All were happy with food. We left Samrad at 2.30. Our next aim was Balvantgad which is in Thal (Kasara) Ghat . We took Khodala - Vihigaon diversion in Thal Ghat. We took Vihigaon - Mal Road and got down on the road before Mal at 5.15 pm. The hill on left (east) is Balwantgad. It can be identified by a small fortification on Southern side of the fort. It’s a small fort with great view of Thal Ghat as well as Aja Parbat, Kulang, Kalgonda Pinnacle, Tringalwadi, Anjaneri, Brahmagiri, Harihar, Utwad etc. 2 small roof less temples of Hanuman & Shiva are on top. Back at the base we had a feedback session. Out of 28, 22 were new to Chakram and were fascinated with decent arrangements at low cost. All were at praise for me and I had to announce some refund of trek fee.

Sandeep, Kavita R and Sabir graciously agreed and made up for the delay in reporting at Mulund by giving Ice Cream to all. We had a wonderful team for this trek which ensured that everyone enjoys the trek. Return journey to Mulund was fun filled with lots of songs from all directions, some dilkhush Shayari and joy unlimited.

Chandragad, Arthur's Seat on 11 Jan 2009

Ameya, Zaheer & I took Thane-Khed-Sheldi Bus from Khopat Bus Stand at 10.30 pm on 10th Jan. Zaheer did not have a reserved seat. Ameya enquired with Driver, if he can seat in Driver's Cabin. ST Driver calmly replied "ST cha Surakshitata ani Saujanya Saptaha chalu aahe, aaj shevatcha divas aahe, udya pasun basale tar chalel......" We reached Poladpur at 3.00am. Killed time till 4.45 am, drinking Tea and eating Omlets, Burji-Pav near ST Stand. From Poladpur Autos are available for Dhavale & charge Rs. 350/- for 3 seats. In our hired jeep, we reached Dhavale at 6 am.

We met our group here. Shri. Dinkar More was kind enough to make our group’s arrangement at his relative’s (Mrs. Vandana More) place. After a brief rest, we started for Chandragad (Chandragad is to the east of Dhavale) at 8.00 am., at 8.10 am reached a small water source, filled water bottles & started climbing Chandrgad. Our group split here. Pratish & Varsha decided to go to Arthur's Seat skipping Chandragad, Maruti Salvi (Guide) accompanied them. Ameya, Aniket (Goldie), Zaheer, Supriya, Suryansh, Kaustubh, myself & Shankar More (Guide), were to climb Chandragad first and then Arthur's Seat. Climb to Chandragad is steep and needs tackling lot of scree patches on exposed route. Fortunately, we did not climb down the same way. After climbing an easy rock patch we entered Chandragad. All along the way Boards with “Om Namah Shivay” are placed still a guide is mandatory if you are thinking of trekking upto Arthur’s Seat from here. It was 9.45 am by then. View from Chandragad is breathtaking. A magnificent panorama of Sahyadri's ruggedness is seen from Chandragad. The valleys of Raireshwar (Nakhinda) and Koleshwar fall straight 3000 / 3200 ft in Konkan. Top of Chandragad is small and 30 minutes are enough to see the top. An open shiva temple is on top. There are two tanks on northern end (one seems perennial), few on Western side (below the shiva temple) and one near the Shiva Temple.

Raireshwar from Chandragad

We started descending at 10.45 am. We reached the col between Chandragad and adjacent Mountain and descended on (opposite side i.e. Eastern side of Chandragad) Dhavale - Arthur's Seat Route through a dry nallah. This, not-so-good-through-the-Karvi route was our Guide's find to save time traversing. On reaching the proper route we had our lunch of Methi Kharis, Fruits & Fruit Juice. Except Ameya and me, no one had carried anything to eat, either over-estimating themselves or under-estimating the trek. Luckily for them, anticipating their poor logistics we carried lots to eat & drink.

Post Lunch we started at 1 pm. I was getting intimation of non-cooperation from the body which was not used to such treacherous trek/activity since past more than a year. I reduced my pace drastically and started taking breaks frequently anticipating that cramps are the next thing to happen, if I rush. Kaustubh was with me. After an hour we had Goldie for Company. He was in a bad shape than mine. He told our guide to carry my sack & I happily gave it to him. Now there was no trace of the other group who was far ahead of us. Slow and not very steady was our progress. We initially climbed the hill (which is to the south of Chandragad) and then traversed the hill which was on our left. From here Chandragad was seen some where deep in the valley. This whole route has a dense tree cover. Again a climb and we reached on West-East ridge coming down from Arthur’s Seat. On South we could see Madhu-Makrandgad & Pratapgad. Here at 4.15 pm we met the other group that was resting just before the Jor-che-Pani. Jor-che-pani is supposedly only water source between Dhavale and Arthur’s Seat.

Chandragad (looks small compared to surrounding mountains)

After a break we reached Jor-che-Pani at 5 pm. Some Idols are placed here & the water is little up from here on the way to Arthur's Seat. One route (Left) from here goes to Jor. Our guides went back from here to Dhavale. We rested here for a long time & it was obvious now that we would reach Arthur's Seat in dark. Two things were on our side, one - Moonlight & other - I faintly knew the route from here till Arthur's Seat.

We started last patch at 6 pm. Now, we were in one group. The last patch goes along the ridge that descends from the Arthur's Seat. There are two small humps that we traversed from their left. While traversing the first hump we were lost in the jungle for a while but with some efforts, were again back on the trail. All of us climbed a small rock patch in the dark without any problem. It took us 3 hours to reach Arthur's Seat. Prateesh and Varsha, who reached there at 2 pm, were continuosuly flashing light for about 2 hours to guide us.

Our vehicle was waiting for us at Arthur's Seat. We left Arthur's Seat at 10 pm.......... suddenly, Prateesh shouted " Gava…..Gava….. !!". 3 Bisons crossed our way but most of us could see only one who stopped, when we flashed a light at him. We saw him from a very close distance, not more than 50 ft. This was a lifetime experience.

Approx. 5 kms. from Arthur's Seat we were stopped by a Forest Dept. Barricade. No one is allowed to enter beyond this point after Sunset. After small Q & A session we were allowed to go. We had dinner at Hotel Aaswad (good food - poor service) on Satara Highway. Reached Thane at 5.15 am on 12th Jan.