To Matheran (part VI) : of day wonderings and the exit

sunset at echo point

Next day we went out for lunch and came back only after dinner having roamed around aimlessly. At the lake we were invaded by a school picnic. Caught the setting sun at Echo point. The sky lit up crazily for about 5 minutes 10 minutes after sunset with fantastic colours when the upper clouds still reflected the set sun's light.

Next day we got up early - 5am - and left by 05:50. It was an 90 minute walk to Dasturi. We crossed a mini dust cloud in the village were teams of 2 sweepers were cleaning the main street in tandem. Then there were the early leavers, mostly on horse back or the early sunrise seekers also on horseback. We trodded on on foot.

At Dasturi, the bikes were warmed up, helmets collected from the shop there, bodies wrapped for the bike ride - and on the way we were. The sun was just rising and the low hills were just poking theirs heads out from the fog shrouded valley. It was comfortably cold. Then we crossed the hump at the Neral fork and entered the valley on the other side. The sun, which was a white disk till now, suddenly completely vanished and we were immersed in the thick fog. Visibility came down to a few meters and all the denizens of the road switched their lights on. It became teeth chattering cold. Water condensed on everything, including the eyelashes. Thus we rode into Karjat, wet, shivering, from this unrelentingly cold white world.

Here we found warmth in tea, vada pav's and kanda bhaji's. All fresh from the stove. Then we headed back to our old world ...

Note: All the photos have details which are better enjoyed in larger size: click on the image and then 'all sizes'. They are part of the Matheran Dec 2009 set on Flickr.


flowers on the lake Charlotte


Lake Charlotte


Tea under the trees


overgrown


old house


old house


broken wall


ghat


fog shrouded valley

To Matheran (part V) : Night at the house

Relaxing after we reached home

So after food and rambling around in the night, we went home to roost. We were tired. We relaxed. Cracked jokes from a different dimension. Talked. Photographed sundry stuff around.

Matheran with its heavy rains and being in the clouds for 2-3 months every year takes a heavy toll on all material which do not like water. Iron supplies rust super fast. Other things rot if not taken care of. The monkeys make it necessary to bar and grill and mesh everything. You dare not leave any doors or windows open otherwise ...



Percy


rust


an old lock


anti monkey grill


decay


gates


'on'

To Matheran (part IV) : Night Ramblings

where the path meets the road

After the sunset we left to find food and take in the village and its lights. I love photographing in the night. The darkness and the light are very moody. The shadows makes mundane things appear interesting and mysterious. To capture that feeling and ambiance is the interesting challenge.

A few years ago, on my first trip to Matheran with Batata, I had roamed the streets in the night armed with a tripod and my Dynax 5 film camera.

The photos are best enjoyed in large size to see all the details of the night. Click on them to go to their flickr page and do 'all sizes' to see the larger version. They are part of the Flickr Matheran Dec 2009 Set.



Harshu's house


Tiwari's place in the background


Street Scene


an entrance


small restaurant, freshly painted


resort for the tourists


barred entrance


a house and a board


door


fence


a cross


chatting while I photograph


street lamps and wires


wall and path


overgrown


cobbler


giant wheel


decked up, come into my parlor

To Matheran (part III) : The glade

The galde near Harshu's house.

Deep in the forest, at the edge of the valley, there is this glade. We can see Irshal and Prabal and the sunsets. We can see airplanes passing by high above. In a silent night we can hear the murmur of the traffic from the expressway and see its glow. We can see stars galore and the occasional man made satellite as it makes it way across silently reflecting the sun's light. We can sit and talk endless wisdom. We can sit still and listen to the forest and its myriad sounds. We can go mad and laugh till it aches. One of those places you feel comfortably secluded.

After the refreshing walk from Dasturi we reached the market and had breakfast of bhaji chapati and ussal-wada pav at Katkar's. Then continued to Harshu's place, which is a further 45 minutes walk. We had had only a few hours of sleep the previous night so we crashed when we reached. Got up and went to the glade just in time to catch the sunset.



Percy and the Gavankar residence



Going to the glade



yellowed grass




Percy and Harshu



Percy clicking the sunset

 

To Matheran (part II) : The broom seller and the cold drink stall

The broom seller

This woman was carrying that huge load of brooms on her head and a child in a sling. Her older kid walked alongside. They both were bare feet. The train track is treacherous on the feet - even with shoes on - with all the stones. She stopped by the cold drink stall for a rest. I guess buying a cold drink was out of question, but the company of people was better than sitting alone. Such is Irony. Such is life.

We have had limbu or kokum sherbat at this stall for a few years now. He had started with just a table in a clearing next to the tracks. Slowly the place has transformed into a nice clean joint where people rest. The journey from Dasturi to the market takes about 45 minutes of pleasant walking. One can follow the road or one can hop onto the tracks and follow them from Aman Lodge station. Just before the stall, the track passes near the edge of the valley and you have a fantastic view of Garbett point.

After the 26th July 2005 rains much of this side was washed away and the tracks had hung in empty air. I had crossed them in the night in the following November without knowing about the landslides. It had been scary to see them in the daylight when we were returning. Now the tracks have been restored and also the train service. But all along the tracks at regular intervals they have put up advertising poles which are very ugly and are an eyesore. But I guess it was an attempt to collect money for the tracks as well as for the village.



The cold drink stall at "Stop and Rest Point"

To Matheran (part I)

Break of dawn, Goregaon.

So we were on our way to Matheran again. After more than a year. Batata, me and Percy. We left at 6:30 in the morning, only half an hour later than planned. It was one of those rare occasions when I get to see a day break in the city.

The ride to Panvel was uneventful and pleasant. Batata was waiting for us at Shri Datta Snacks. We waited among the hordes of weekend travelers for our chance at one of the few tables to eat. The missal here is hot and spicy. Tea after the missal is like liquid chili on the tongue.

We left, making way for Chowk fata and then further on to Karjat. The road is in bad shape now. We took a short contemplation break at the base of the Matheran ghats where the roads forks. The ghat climb is exciting and refreshing. As we go up and up the surrounding countryside unfolds magically. The air develops a nip and you can smell the forest and its wildflowers. At Dasturi while parking Batata met with one of the employees of their school - the same dude we had shamelessly gotten our dinner from in the past. Because of him we could take advantage of the exemption of tourist tax and parking fees for people who have houses there.

There were lots of people on the way, this being Sunday morning. We had a chitter chatter walk to the market.


Pylons and Mudflats on the Thane creek.

Ghanshyam Sports

Ghanshyam Sports, Ruia Naka


I finally got my Panasonic LX3!! 24mm f2. :) I have waited for this one since it launched late 2008! It was not available in India at all till a couple of months back and then too only a piece or so. I wanted a black one, but got a silver one. But only one piece was available so I took it - what's in looks, anyway?

The firmware was 1.0 so first thing updated it to the latest 2.1. Handling etc. are fantastic. I am really impressed with this one. The low light performance has been really crazy. I could not shoot night scenes like these except with my dslr+fast prime and at high ISO's.

Lets see where it takes me ...

Cloudy Afternoon

Top of the Khandala ghat.

On the way to Mahabaleshwar. Over the last couple of year I have traveled this road at regular intervals for a regular purpose. Mahabaleshwar with a few close friends. We have seen all there is to see there, per say. But still we find a nice peace in the now familiar surrounds. The Chinese gadi-walla, Bahadur, knows us. The Anarkali staff know us. We know the MTDC bugs and mosquitoes and monkeys and dogs. Good fun.

Being Boring

Life in a Window. Devrukh

Inspired by a post by enbiem I looked up a song I used to listen when much younger - "Being Boring" by the Pet Shop Boys. (who, BTW, I was introduced to, by Alok Tiwari). Being Boring has never been more relevant then ... now().

BEING BORING - Pet Shop Boys

I came across a cache of old photos
And invitations to teenage parties
"Dress in white" one said, with quotations
From someone's wife, a famous writer
In the nineteen-twenties
When you're young you find inspiration
In anyone who's ever gone
And opened up a closing door

She said: "We were never feeling bored

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end

When I went I left from the station
With a haversack and some trepidation
Someone said: "If you're not careful
You'll have nothing left and nothing to care for
In the nineteen-seventies"
But I sat back and looking forward
My shoes were high and I had scored
I'd bolted through a closing door
I would never find myself feeling bored

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend

Now I sit with different faces
In rented rooms and foreign places
All the people I was kissing
Some are here and some are missing
In the nineteen-nineties
I never dreamt that I would get to be
The creature that I always meant to be
But I thought in spite of dreams
You'd be sitting somewhere here with me

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend

And we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never being boring
We were never being bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We were never being bored

Bhairavgad, Malshej

The beautiful dyke of Bhairavgad in the Malshej.

A slice of life

The back side of Dindoshi. I have been trapped in a room with a window. I see life far below, jostling for breathing space. Life in the city. Tightly packed. On first thought one wonders why people choose this over the fresh air of their villages. But I guess the buzz of life and excitement of being amidst the multitudes here cannot compare to the boredom and lethargy of some remote spot.

I crave that for I have scarce had it. We all want what we have not. The dark lords of the city lure many here, with glamorous and exciting illusions, to be trapped willingly. Others, unwilling, see fleeting glimpses of various exits only to not be able to reach them or to be dragged back from the very brink.

We all are trapped. Only the brave and the blessed escape.

Pathanwadi etc.

Slums. Tightly packed 1,2,3 storied shacks. The hill is taken. A massive population has invaded. Up to 10 people sometimes live in tiny rooms of 60sqft with ceilings so low that you have to stoop when you stand up. The lanes reaching the remotest of remote living spaces are also the paths for the sewers and pipe carrying water to internet bandwidth. The irony is that in this sordid space, of top of these 'buildings', you will see satellite TV dishes galore.

Layers of the city

The concrete jungle and shanties on the encroached hills.

Stone quarries on the Mahape - Shil Phata road

Our short bike trip took us on the erstwhile scenic road towards the Kalyan. These low rolling hills surrounding Mumbai were very beautiful - until the time when the whole area became an industrial zone. Especially chemical industries. Now the industries too have moved to greener pastures, so to speak, leaving behind a stench in the air, a collection of old factories, ugly urbanized and heavily populated 'worker' towns and the remains of the rollings hills in the background.

Here large parts of the hill side are being eaten away to feed the construction demon created because of the new industries coming up amongst the old. The Parsic hills were the first to be eaten. Now all the other surrounding rolling hills.