Venue - Rangoli (Where it all started)
JACOBS Dombivli bus members gathered for a usual get
together n as usual somebody for some reason were treating us ;)..... We the
group of 8 have just completed Road trip to Sajjangad-Shivthar Ghal via
warandha ghat n topic of discussion was of
course the beauty of nature during India's best season i.e. Monsoon.
Mr. Surve suddenly got excited n decided our bus group will
go for Raigad Trail on following weekend of Anant Chaturdashi n as per him just
after the monsoon is the Best season to visit Raigad.... Everybody thrilled n
immediately agreed. (How they cannot be as our bus group is planning Picnic 4
last 5 yrs. n the suddenly dream was coming true).
Prashant Patil who is generally coordinator for all parties
was travelling to Rajasthan for a family outing so he handed over the batten to
Mr. Surve for coordinating n for room booking immediately in the week to follow..He
was convinced n wanted to take adv. Of wind to cover as much ground as possible
before ppl getting time to rethink n change their mind.....
But, he forgot the past n also forgot the topic was
discussed when flight of most of them was soaring high.....
I started to follow up with Mr. Surve in the following week
but his response was like...'will do it tomorrow'...'rooms will be available' ....
'Do nt worry'.. 'I will go in person on nxt weekend n will book rooms'
etc.etc..... I realized it’s not goin to happen n I ditched thoughts...But
Ameya the Rider was keen n asked me 2 do
it ourselves if nobody comes....
Then planning started
n decided to do it with family (Last trip's experience was crucial to have this
dimension.))...... Initially 13 members were ready n accordingly 5 rooms were
booked m considering it was trail cum trek its luxury.... But as the date
neared like happened to every trip few members get dropped due to 'UNAVOIDABLE
REASON' n gravity was such that 3 of them dropped on the mrng itself... Finally
we 8 shatranjs travelled n we had a room in spare.....
Finally the day arrived n we 8 shatranjs (6 jacobites, my
wife n frnd) started Raigad trail on sat. Mrng n no 1 from bus grp who all
initiated this was accompanying us....
We picked Atul @ Mangaon (the Zurich of Konkan) near Rhine river (i.e. Kal nadi
which is formed in Raigad range).... The journey was beautiful as ever.... Throughout
lush greenery for which Konkan is famous n rainy atmosphere n nice company made
it more beautiful....
We rchd the base @ around 11-11:30 & buttermilk vendors
welcomed by forcefully selling buttermilk n curd.... 'Bhau ghya na' ....'Bhavani
kara na'... 'Tumhi tichyakadun ghetala ata mazyakadun pan faksta 1 glass ghya
na'...are few of the tricks to sell it....This was just beginning of the trouble
n we were nt aware of more to come from this vendors.....
We 'Climbed' it in
record time of 15 min. (Thanks to Rope Way)..... As we were getting up
we started entering in the clouds.... It’s just like we were entering the
Heaven... Like Pandavas...we've beaten them by 2 in numbers though.....
As we reached the top buttermilk vendors again caught us n
we smhow managed to escape....The atms. was too pleasant n we were amidst the
cloud....The glimpses of beautiful sonaki N terada kind of wild flowers were
giving the hints of the Beauty of Raigad which we've cm to see.....
We checked in @ MTDC and gathered at MTDC canteen in half n hours’
time for Delicious 'Gad Special Pithala Bhakri'... Unfortunately grp of 70
occupied the canteen n it means we had to wait longer.... In the meanwhile we
visited Balekilla, Rajdarbar, ashtapradhan Wade, Ranyanche Mahal n all ruined
places... The sonaki n terada on ruined walls of the palaces n other buidings pleased us by giving feeling
of 'Navnirman' (This navnirman is not related to Krishnakunj but rebirth).....
Sonaki
Terada ....... (This Dog seem to be chosen 1 as he always spotted to seat at this throne amidst flowers)
After we came bk to canteen where Bhakari Pithala awaited us
n आम्ही आडवा
हात मारला
(For this sentence there is no synonym in English ;) ) .....Sawtya thought of
sleeping for a while after such a heavy stuff bt we wanted to do Bhavani Tok by
this evening itself n clock was ticking n weather was though awesome its too foggy
to see anything clearly of nxt 15ft or so....
We covered Nagarkhana, Throne of Shivaji Maharaja, Holicha
maal n Bajarpeth n started towards Jagdishwar Mandir.... There are two changes
which I observed since my last visit.... They have placed statue of Maharaj in
Meghdambari which looks good but now they have covered statue on Holicha Maal
with Chatra cum Meghdambari which has ruined its beauty.....Also, the
photographer are denied to take their fav. Photograph of Sunrise wherein sun
while rising touches the feet of Maharaj.....I have yet to see better sun rise than that of Raigad in my
life.....
Holicha Maal
(This new meghdambari ruined its beauty.....photographers must be cursing as the legenndary photo wherein Sun touches photo of Shivaji can not be taken now)
The Hindu King
Nagarkhana
At Jagdishwar, we came across some youths who were amazed to
see tomb of Shri Chatrapati....Few moments later they started irritating us by
posing against board indicating King's Tomb n giving Rock On Poses in front of
tomb.... We felt sorry 4 them as they were nt aware what they were doing n left
that palace n headed towards Bhavani Tok....
Beautiful jagdishwar Mandir
Maharajanchi Samadhi
The small trek to Bhavani Tok was amazing with Kal i.e.
Rhine River n Lingana on left n ridge of Potlyacha Dongar (this ridge played a
crucial part ruining the Raigad during the attacks of British bt Jithe Manasech
gaddar tithe gad, durga tari kaay karnar).....
The Beautiful Kal River i.e. Rhine of Konkan :)
The Ever Challenging Lingana
After reaching Bhavani Tok we wanted to visit bhavanicha Khalaga
n guhechi jaga....some of us stopped @ there itself due to sleepery n steep
route which was bit danger..There is no point Visisting Raigad w/o being at
Bhavani Tok....The Bhavani Tok where even Hawks do nt dare to fly is amazing
place...just being there one can bring kms. N kms. of area under watch n any
minute movement of enemies can be tracked n alert the entire troop in
advance....
Bhavanichaicha Khalaga @ Bhavani Tok
We didn't spend much time though intended as the rain clouds
began to gather n rain would have caused return path to become more
dangerous.... We come back rested 4 a while on plateau n returned to MTDC
....For entire afternoon we were amidst the cloud n sun even didn't took the
stage...
Again we met at canteen n enjoyed the dinner with some
melodious song n dance at canteenfire /canteen verandah of group of 70s ....
Luckily we escape the Jalus n c of everybody to meet nxt
morning.... The wind at Night was such strong that we feared the roof will get
blow away.....
We get up early in the mrng... still Raigad was covered by
fog n to see sun rising to background of Holicha Maal is impossible.....Then we
marched for Takmak Tok from which the sentenced prisoners were thrown to
death....This is nt only the reason it is famous for but also for the pleasant
wind & breathtaking view ....sawtya the grand entertainer tweeted 'जर कडेलोटाची
शिक्षा झालेला
माणूस खरोखर
रसिक असेल
तर तो
सांगेल कि
पोत्याला डोळ्याच्या
jagi भोक
पाडा म्हणजे
मरताना तरी
निसर्गाचा आस्वाद घेऊन मरीन'
'.....how true is that.... The wind
were blowing the fog cont. N we were experirncing hide n seek of sun with base
....its quite an experience....The beds of sonaki n terada along the takmok Tok n all along the plateau added to
the beuaty.....we spent hours there n were still nt satisfied......But we had
to left as some of us promised to be home before 3 PM.....We wanted to see Wagh
darwaza as well bt guide said u'll nt able to see anything due to fog.....
We left with happiest memories evern feeling of being to heaven n goin bk to
earth......
Still theirs is unfinished business with Raigad of watching
sunrise n visiting Wagh Darwaza.... Another reason to b there.....
पावसाळ्या नंतर रायगड
खरोखरच आपलं
भव्य आणि
दुर्गम हे
रूप
पालटून पहिलत
करणी सारखा
मोहरून
जातो न एकदम सुंदर भासू लागतो
....
जाता जाता सावत्या
:- ताक विक्रेते
जेव्हा सकाळी
सकाळी हि
ताकाच्या मागे
लागले तेव्हा उद्विग्नपणे
सावत्याने टोला हाणला कि गाई-म्हशी दुधाच्या
ऐवजी direct ताक च देतात
कि
काय????
