Trek to Lohagad

I can only say one thing after this trek, easy one for all to trek. All you had to do is walk and walk unless you choose a difficult path to have some thrill. This trek was full of moments that I will cherish my entire life.

Lohagad is a majestic fort situated in Pune district and the closest accessible village by road is Lohagadwadi while by train is Malavali which is the very next station on Lonavala-Pune route. It is roughly 9 k.m. from Malavali station. We were a small group of three Musketeers hoping for some adventure and the first shock we received was at Kalyan station when Sushrut forgot to take his wallet. At that instant his face was worth seeing to be captured. Unfortunately that expression lasted for a few seconds as the thought of me taking his photo early morning in that state made him smile. He was regretting the whole trek of not being able to buy chocolate fudge of some good outlet at Lonavala. At that point we figured out that his reliance *mobile* is more important to him than his wallet. Our journey started and I took the photo of Rajmachi mountain as seen from the railway route. As soon as we reached the Lonavala station, we took local train tickets and just boarded the train before it took off. The trek begins from Malavali railway station. For those who want to go by road from Mumbai, catch the old Mumbai-Pune highway after Lonavala, take a left turn at an appropriate sign on the road going for Malavali. Also there is a direct road going to the base of the fort from Pune. After crossing the expressway on a small suspension type bridge, I noticed that the Malavali was bisected by the express way and the villagers might be having a tough time to cross the village everytime for work.

We reached Bhaje village and followed a small group like ours who took us through paddy fields instead of the road. The first sight of Visapur fort was mind blowing and the walls of the fort were clearly visible from base. The climb we thought was becoming monotonous with no such challenges on the path. Hence we decided to take some short cut path to avoid the road. We climbed for half an hour till we reached a place where there was space left between Lohagad and Visapur forts for movement of air. And at that point the wind was moving at such a high speed that we being pushed in the direction of wind. For the first time I sensed the power of wind. After crossing that windy area we reached the footsteps of the fort. The steps are well maintained though broken at some places. The view from every point of the fort was breath taking and the Pawana dam was visible from that place. We were told that five forts are visible from Lohagad. The fort was well maintained with strong walls and gates. Every point view was best for a snap but the clouds and fear of rains coming at any instant holed our cameras in our bags. As we climbed higher and higher, the visibility reduced considerably. We followed a small group of children which was headed by an elderly person as they were going to Vinchu ‘tok’. But huge dense fog blocked our way and cold started gripping us due to rains. The droplets of the rains were sharper than the prickle of a needle and that experience was worth remembering. At that moment cold started gripping us and we decided to retreat our steps towards vinchu tok as the road towards it was a small path and chances of slipping were more due to the gushing wind. We came towards the main entrance and started descending down. There are some good stalls at the base of fort and a small snack refreshed us.

The descend was simple and we decided to visit Bhaje caves via a different route. We came across a path which was dangerous to go as there was no guarantee where the path will go. I decided to retreat my steps and the other two went in that direction only to be found out that they were helped by a local guide to be bought down. I was happy that it did not go with them as it was extremely risky to go on the path they had chosen. In the end we did not visit Bhaje caves! On our way towards Bhaje there were numerous waterfalls and we resisted ourselves in going in them as the aftereffects of cold would have been disastrous.

Now the climax of our trek. We reached Lonavala around five p.m. and let three trains go as we had reservation on Indrayani express. We sat there in cold only to be relieved by hot coffee we drank. The train came and as usual we ordered a family sitting on our seats to get up. They showed their tickets and we showed them ours only to find out that we were issued tickets of 25^th September, 2009 instead of 25^th July,2009. 25000 volt shock gripped my body as this was a human error of the railway clerk and we all three were unable to see our mistake before boarding our train. We traveled ticketless and were lucky ones as the ticket checker went in front of us without asking us tickets. A close shave!

The total duration of trek is roughly two hours to the top and anyone can endure this trek. Lohagad is place to be near Lonavala and a fort worth to watch. Easy one for first timers and everyone will enjoy it.

Trek to Rajmachi.

Trek to Rajmachi was my second weirdest trekking experience for me as well as my friends. Unlike last year’s trek to Duke’s nose, we completed our trek successfully. It was a new experience for me to trek on a route which was all the time steep.

For all those who are planning a trek to Rajmachi, here’s a short gist of how to reach Rajmachi. All the references are with respect to Kalyan. It’s a sincere request to all those who want to complete the trek in one day to get as early as four in the morning. Catch the early trains for Karjat or Khopoli. The precise timings of local trains from Kalyan are 5:30, 5:42, 5:50, and 6:10 a.m. Alight and walk towards the Pune end bridge and get down at your left side of the station if you are coming from Kalyan. The east and west of karjat sometimes drives you mad hence it is easy to remember to get down at your left side. Ask locals for a bridge and there you will get ‘dum-dum’, ‘kali-pili’ or rickshaw to Kondivade Phata. There are adequate signs telling which rickshaw to catch. Don’t tell the rickshawallah Kondivade as he may charge more. The Kondivade Phata is located in Khandpe village. The standard rates are Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 to Kondivade phata on share basis. From Kondivade phata, you should be willing to walk 15 minutes to reach Kondivade village. Ask the locals for correct directions in the village and trek starts.

The above things mentioned above were for those who are searching on net how to get to Rajmachi. My personal experiences are little weird and it starts now.

The 4^th July, 2009 was the date assigned for our trek. We were three of us and after huge debate and discussions we decided to leave at 5:15 a.m. sharp. I as usual arrived 5:15 sharp and after making frantic calls to my friends, I was given the orders to buy tickets for all of us. After buying tickets, I saw the 5:30 a.m. train go past by my side still no sign of presence of them. I again made class saying we are late by 45 minutes. Again another train came, 5:42 a.m. and now I was dead sure that there will be no train to such a far destination after this train. No sign of presence of my friends and I started to get frustrated before dawn and to my surprise the indicator displayed 5:50 train and the blokes arrived on time. Karjat came in talking and pulling legs of each other. As soon as we alighted we were greeted by ticket checkers who found three blokes walking in garden on railway station. The joy of showing them the tickets gives me great pleasure as they could not get ‘Bakras’ early morning. We reached Kondivade village at 8 a.m. after helping a ‘cross country rider’ pull out his bike in mud. The trek started after asking locals directions and we were unsure of the path till we reached the white markings which tell the path to Rajmachi. I was happy that we were on right path. The climbing part began with steep slpoes and crossing huge stones. There was 95% humidity in air and we were feeling it and I was sweating profusely and had to stop many times for water which annoyed my friends a lot. The climbing part is easy one for regular trekkers but a difficult one for annual ones like me. I had to stop many times and in this process a small group overtook us which annoyed Sushrut a lot. But I couldn’t help as I was feeling heart beats in my ear and the sweat made me take out my towel every 15 minutes. We were climbing and there were no signs of flat plateau. Every time we thought we reached a place the top of mountain would appear to be far away from us. Finally we saw a small hut and that was 12:00 p.m. the time when we reached that spot. The owner of the hut gave us refreshing lime water and dried peanuts to eat. That energized us as we had only eaten ‘Batata vada’ at Karjat station. The view from that point is worth remembering.


 A small walk of 20 minutes and we reached Rajmachi. We dropped our bags at one of the houses of locals taking precious things with us. We started to trek and reached a small temple and took rest for nearly 25 minutes and started taking snaps of beautiful scenery around us. Them it started to rain torrentially and we dropped our plans to go to top forts namely ‘Shrivardhan’ and ‘Manoranjan’ as they were still far away. We trekked down to village and ate ‘garam dal-bhaat’ at the local house. Eating hot food gave us energy as we were drenched in rain and giving out vapours from our mouth.

We started to trek down at 2:30 p.m. We came across the same hut that we had encountered and ordered hot tea. The smell of kerosene made me fell dizzy and as soon as I drank the hot tea, I vomited and I lost all my energy to trek down. Then the hardest part started, that is to trek down when it was pouring cats and dogs. The path became slippery and my legs started to tremble on the path. Then the narrow muddy part came which had a steep valley running down and I fell at least four times on that path frightening my friends. I started to lose my confidence and the trek became the hardest part of my life. The small paths of a deep valley near the either side became more frequent and the trek started to get dangerous for me as well for my friends who cared for me. I became completely covered by mud due to my frequent inability to place my foot on right spot of path. The rain lashing my body acted as cleanser and I was kept clean but the trekking down gave me an experience that I will never forget. I was also helped by members of other group namely a 42 year old fellow named John who helped me to trek down on difficult parts of path. The trek down became hard only due to me losing my confidence and the rains. We took three and half hours to reach Kondivade phata while the usual time taken is one and a half hour. All this happened solely because of me. I ate greedly as I reached Karjat station as I had eaten less amount of food since morning.

As we were trekking down some groups of people were going up for night stay and that is more suitable if you want to complete trek in peace. Trekking in rains was enjoyable as we were racing against time to reach Kondivade before dusk. Short synopsis of trek:

   1. Carry lots of water.

   2. Good food is available at Rajmachi.

   3. Follow white arrow marks, you will not get lost.

   4. Trek via Karjat is more interesting as we have to climb up while trek via Lonavala is easy as you are coming down.

  5. No need of guide.

  6. The honking of horns of railways is heard on most of trek, a vital sign that assures that you are on right track.

Lastly I would like to thank my friends Angad and Sushrut without their help this trek would have not been possible.

The harsh reality-Children begging in India

Jumping into the local train before it stops on the platform is the most coveted skill any Mumbaikar possesses and I am no exception to it. After catching a seat to sit in the Thane-Vashi train and seeing the morose faces of those who were unable to do it, I closed my eyes for some peace and meditation. Suddenly on my bag, a small girl thrust a placard. Observing it carefully, I realized it was another way to beg and get little alms easily. The placard simply told my mother is ill and I require money. The girl came back collected the placard and went begging the whole compartment. I usually don’t give alms to beggars and also discourage other people and today’s day was no exception. But somewhere in my mind a question crops up, are my actions justified of not giving alms? Sometimes I do feel guilty that I should have helped her. Till my destination to alight arrived I was seriously thinking over this issue.

What prompted the girl to beg? Is the condition she showed us on placard a reality? Has begging robbed her of her childhood? Or was she forced into it by someone? These questions will remain unanswered till my death!

Begging- Stand near any traffic signal, small children surround you. Stand in railway compartment; you will constantly be poked on your knee by a small child to give you alms causing some embarrassment to you in train. They don’t leave you till they get their alms. Once a small child beggar was asking a half eaten ice-cream from me at Vashi bus depot and was crying madly for it. I gave it but her brother came and started asking it from my friends eating nearby. Seeing the scenario few of my friends ran away fearing a whole group of beggars will come after them. Such is the case in India. Main reason for this- POVERTY.

All of us know that children begging in the streets are the ones who are forced to beg by others for their own greed. Poor Indian families are huge and they send their children to collect money in scorching sun. Do you all remember the dialogue from Slumdog millionaire that Salim had said to Latika- ‘Chhote Bacche ko saath legi to dugna kamayegi’. Yes, on Indian streets you see poor Indian moms carrying them on their backs and begging. It really hurts me to see this scenario. When will this situation change?

The Indian government allocates corers of rupees for welfare of poor but where does all that go? Corruption siphons up half the money and rest reaches Swiss banks. The result is the poor get nothing and the condition remains the same since independence. Very few people benefit from schemes for welfare of poor.

The solution for this is an independent government body in which the funds directly reach poor without any government red tape. Secondly poorer people should be encouraged to send their children to school which creates awareness among children about the various government schemes. Ultimately education is the strength that can empower the poorer ones towards prosperity. The government should open special houses where poorer children can be taught for free and can be kept from all the bad vices of society.

These are the few solutions I have mentioned above are a few steps that can be done to make our society more powerful and make it independent of people who want to use us as puppets. It is the youth that has to empowered so that Indians reap the benefits of prosperity.