Bhimashankar Pilgrimage Trek

Date: 7th - 9th December 2007

Bhimashankar had been on our minds for long - having heard of it from all and sundry. I had been to the temple once, but by road with माँ and दादी . Had found the place really quite and calm as it was off season (went after Dussehra). But trekking there was supposed to be altogether different.

Planning started well in advance. We bought sleeping bags and rucksacks in bulk from Sayonara Bandra, to tackle the chilly winter night there. We got a good deal, each sleeping bag worth 900 bucks, with fleece inner lining. That and a lot of ration stocked from Magnet had me fully prepared.

We caught the last local to Karjat as usual, and spent the night at the ST depot. Some star gazed, while the wiser ones dozed. Every one was woken up at 4:30, and we had ultra sweet tea from a local's place. Took a couple of tuk tuks to Khandas village. At the village the fairer sex bestowed their attention on the little lambs, while many of us took to morning rituals. A few plates of कांदा पोहा and चाय later we hit the road. After a walk on tar / stone road for some time, we found the jungele trail and started climbing. (The path is not difficult to find - its the only one turning left from the road, towards the mountains)

We were soon at the Ganpati Temple, from where the climb became steeper according to our leader. Saurabh and me, the two IITians sped up the way, and unfortunately took the wrong route up. Happy (Harpreet) and another of Pali's friends, who were following us blindly, had also come to a point of no return. The ladies had climbed without thinking, and didn't know how to get down. Safely helped them down, with not much damage done.

The sun had come out, but that didn't deter me from marching ahead at a frantic pace (In hind sight I should have saved some energy for the impending climb). The route was a traverse for quite some time. Finally, we reached the plateau from where the Nagphani peak was visible. The camera enthusiasts were busy shooting, while others like me were just absorbing it into the neural networks. We were climbing via Ganesh Ghat, so it wasn't that strenuous.


We reached some tapris, where Ganesh Ghat and Seedhi Ghat meet, at around 11. Had some cool Chhaas to wet our parched throats - Rutu even added Electral to it to create an exotic mixture. Here we made a fatal mistake and filled our bellies with too much stuff, and took a longish break as well. After this, the climb became hellish. It was steeper than before, and the sun was blazing down on us. Soon I was carrying two bags rather than one. I guess I always like to test my limits :P, in process showing my gallantry. Soon everyone was moving at snail's pace, and the large group was divided into smaller bunches.

There was a steep portion where we had to climb one by one, after which there was an exposed walk. Finally entered the forest, heavenly it felt ! 8 of us were together - Amar, Neeraj, me, Pam, Gertrude,Rajoba and Saurabh. We stopped for a break, and Amar and me showed off our vocal skills to Gertrude - the Irish lady. The whole trip, she didn't break a sweat, and was all smiles ! And she spoke few words (out of which we could make out even fewer!). We finally reached a pond which indicated we were at Bhimashankar. We lay down to wait for the others to join us. We were the first to reach followed by the Hostway gang - Vinay, Rutu, Sudani, Amol Kulkarni and Neeraj Jha. Slowly others also arrived, and finally Kern - with Raksha egging him on. He had been foxed by Raksha who told him that it was a simple trek ! I don't think he will believe her ever again.

We found lodging in a simple dharmshala, and then preceded to a local hotel for lunch. The मिसळ was too spicey for Raksha and co., so I ended up having three plates of food! Amey had his customary cramps with loud exclamations, which had everyone's attention. Next we decided to go to Hanuman Tal, and Nagfani. However Hanuman Tal was a letdown, it was a small tank with dirty water. I had decided to go without footwear and was enjoying the rough terrain. It was close to sunset now, and it was a race to be there before sundown. We had a real good time looking around, although I wished we had been there earlier, for a better view.


The group had now split up unintentionally to smaller sets - the Hostway gang, the Janaki-Sri-Kern-Berty-Amey-Raksha group, Pali and his associates, and the others. It was already dark when we started to get down. Depth perception reduces in the dark, so I had a hard time walking barefoot. I treaded carefully to avoid any mishaps and lagged behind. After sometime, some of them got worried, as I was walking without a light (enjoying solitude), and was reproached by Pam, Janaki and all. We reached the dharmshala and unpacked our stuff. Then ensued some games of cards - people were bemused to see us playing "28", an intricate game played in eastern India. After a light dinner, we all went to sleep, some in the rooms, and the more adventurous ones in the courtyard outside.


The smoke coming from the hut in the backyard woke us up early morning. Lazily people woke up, taking their own time. Then we went to the Bhimashankar ज्योतिर्लिंग. I enjoyed its beauty from outside, as sun played around at the top of the temple roof. The large gong is a sight to behold. After a round of photo shoot and some breakfast, we were ready to head back.


Pali, Happy and his third friend, and Amar and Saurabh Roy, were returning by bus, so they bid us adieu. The rest of us started our descent at around 9. I was at the rear, and so had the job of encouraging Kern, no mean task! We reached the tapri at last, and I had some well deserved Chhaas.

Now Pam was sitting next to me, and was pulling my shirt as I was talking to Janaki. Unknowingly I tugged her hand, and next thing I know I heard a "thud" behind me as she had come crashing down, landing right on her head! I was out of words and ideas at that time. Janaki was taking care of her, and luckily for me no injuries were found. But I felt ashamed and annoyed at myself, although it wasn't my fault (I guess I don't know my own strength! :P). We started from the tapri with me in a disturbed state of mind, having been managing all the splinter groups since the previous day, and still mulling about the last mishap. Now Janaki and Amey were walking with me, and they were lagging behind. So I told Amey to take care of the rear, and said I'll go ahead and check out the people ahead and see that the whole group was together. However, after walking for another fifteen minutes, I realized that Amey and co. and had dropped behind. So I ran back, and what do I find - they are busy taking pictures near a huge rock, unmindful of the group that had gone ahead. I boiled over, shouted at them telling I didn't care where they went and ran ahead. I was mad at Amey for being so irresponsible. In hindsight, I guess I perhaps overreacted. But the anger provided me energy and I set a furious pace.


Soon I was enjoying myself, taking shortcuts and following stream paths, with Sanjay Bhutani sir giving me company. At one point we got stuck in a bush, and had to scramble to get back on the normal track. We hit the road in around 45 minutes. But the sun was out in its full glory, and the arduous flat road walk killed our spirits. We finally reached Khandas, sapped of everything. Rutu and Neeraj managed to cool themselves with a kind local spraying water over them with a pipe. The remaining people arrived half an hour later.


We had lunch and waited for tuk tuks to arrive. After some haggling and bargaining, we were on our way back to Neral. Boarded the next local, with me still peeved with Amey - Janaki et al, and some of them tried to pacify me. Well it worked to some extent, but I don't forgive very easily.

The long trip with so many people made me realize that traveling with a जलसा of people is not much fun after all. And organizing trips is a pain in the a@#, and a thankless job. So next day, I announced that I was discontinuing my membership of Moronz, and hoped to join in as a guest only, if others wished to invite me to some event. I rejoined later (courtesy Kalpess Bhai whom I can't say no to), but that is a story for another time !