Sahyadrica

“You have to get lost before you can be found.” ― Jeff Rasley , Bringing Progress to Paradise: What I Got from Giving to a Mountain Village in Nepal The sun setting over your shoulder in a forest wilderness as a dark rainstorm approaches from the east is not the time for you to be out trekking on the cliff of the Western Ghats. But here you are: with your trekking friends and family, battling to conquer the fort, struggling with your inner fears; and here you want to be: beating down the stinging rain, and ever marching on. For you have shed blood and sweat on your way up. For you have prepared to complete this trek, and, more importantly, you have left behind the rat-race which you think life is all about: now, you are not chasing targets, you are chasing your ambition. You are encouraging your friends to tarry with you. You are their emotional leader, and although you know that the light fades and you’re being stalked by a rainstorm, you sit back on a rock to enjoy the view w...

Sahyadri’s tabletop mountains are famous for their mighty cliffs. Some are tough to climb, some are too long to tread. Add to it the climatic variation, and they provide a different challenge in the dry and wet seasons. Monsoon is over now, but the wonderful results of the season can be felt everywhere. I’m glad to say we trekkers get to see all the avatars of Sahyadri as and when we get the opportunity. And yet, after all the peaks and passes and forts trekked in all the seasons, there are many cues and hints to things extraordinary and sometimes supernatural, that many of us miss. Sahyadri Plateau from Lonavala Let me take you on a walk to witness a few wonders of life in Sahyadri, which I believe are lesser known albeit being a phenomenon commonly experienced by many, but missed by chance, on a climb uphill on crumbling rocks. Trekking in October has its own merits and demerits. For one, it is extremely sultry, and therefore one must carry all the necessary provisions, l...

On the last Sunday of July, I went hill-topping with fellow trekkers and naturalists to Tung Fort. Our aim was only one, to reach the very top come what may. We braved against the torrential rains, rode through a horde of tourists at the much more coveted waterfalls around the fort, forged our way through loose rocks and narrow cliffs and came face to face with a thousand waiting soldiers themselves. Nothing, nothing faltered us, not the rain neither the road traffic. We began at 0600 Hours and reached the fort around 0800 Hours. It was a long drive through busy cities and deep valleys. Add some gray skies and bumpy roads, and you get a not-so-good start of what was expected to be a really exciting journey. Our mind pondered in depression, of whether we will see anything interesting, or even complete the trek. I was beginning to fall asleep already. I had to brave up to the sore throat and slight fever I had since the previous day. Whoever said that the journey matters more than the ...