Sunday, July 26, 2009

Where the streets have no name...

I love the rains... when it rains, everything is so lush green and wet and fresh! The moisture laden air feels so pristine and refreshing. It recharges the soul and fills the emptiness with life!

The plan was to go on a road trip to Murud-Janjira from Bombay via Pune while sight seeing along the way. An idea to take the scenic route away from the highway took the car past a beautiful water-body called Mulshi Lake!

Asking for directions in India can be a lot of fun! These are some of the answers that were received -
"Tumhala Mulshi zayacha ka? Mag ithe kuthe aale?"
[You want to go to Mulshi Dam? Why did you come to this side of town?]
(Me (thinking): why not? Is this side of town so bad? why are you here then???!!)

"Mulshi dam? I know the way to Bushi dam!"
(Me (thinking): You %^&%&$% I know that way too!!!!)

"Go this way and you should be there in 5 mins."
Me: "Thank you"
"What?"
Me: "Thank you"
"ok..." (looks suspiciously as to why would I thank him - It is common for people to just drive away without being overly courteous. No one has time for that in India. Time is money!)

After asking 10 and a half more people (drove away when one person started scratching his beard upon hearing the words "Mulshi Dam" - I'm pretty sure he didn't miss me.)

The most common answer was "its only 5 mins away". Whether I was directed to a street full of traffic or onto an empty road, the next milestone was never more than 5-mins away! (no wonder google maps did not give me an ETA)!

The fun stopped when I met a guy who used to travel on the same route! He gave directions more precise and clear than even googlemaps or mapquest! As the route map was now known, the journey was smooth again.

From Pimpri -> Hinjewadi -> Pirangut -> Mulshi Dam -> Murud-Janjira

Thanks to the inspiring and entertaining directions and the lack of google maps, it was too late to reach Murud Janjira that day! The night halt at Mulshi Dam turned into the final destination as the beauty of Mulshi was enamouring!

Finally....



The place of lodging was a resort with about 15 rooms. Very cosy. Being the only guests at the resort, the treatment was royal. There was no cellphone coverage in the resort. Had to drive 8 KMs (about 5 miles) to get within cell range. As the winding road to get cell coverage made for a very good drive, I did not mind it :-) It took me back in time where one had to plan phone calls in advance and walk miles before any communiation was possible.

It was refreshing to see Mother Nature working her magic at the lake. The weather changed so soon and severely - the mountain on the other side of the lake would get engulfed in the clouds within seconds. The rain would cut visibility to nearly zero and the wind would lash out at the trees making a howling sound that would send chills up the spine. The lake created by the dam would have waves that would have one believe its a sea. At times, the water would be very calm. There were impromptu water-falls created in the hills by the rain that had clear sparkling water flowing from them. It was a slice of heaven.

On the way back, there were many people in cars and on motorbikes working their way up the ghats to have fun at Mulshi for the weekend. Many stopped on the winding roads to enjoy fresh roasted bhutta (corn) sprinkled with red-chilly, salt and lemon. It is a tasty delight to be enjoyed in the rains!


The journey back home was fast. In Pune, I saw MONAFOOD and remembered a blogger mentioning it in their post! :D

On a separate note, a blog pal Rip-Val-Wrinkle has given me an award for International Blogger's community. I have not yet accepted it, bcoz I don't know what is it about. If you have received/given this award and know what is it about, please do enlighten me! In the mean time, thank you Ripples! I am still trying to figure it out!

Considering the wet roads and the rains, it was surprising to see there was no accidents encountered on the streets! Its very surprising to see so many rules in the US and still there are so many accidents. And here in India, many times, people drive as per their whims n fancies and yet there are none!

OK, I did see one accident, but it was due to overloading and not bad driving.












Could it be the handiwork of the devil?? (are you happy the sketch is now complete :P)



PS: This is my 1st video blog. Your suggestions/comments/compliments are more than welcome.

PS2: An important point to mention - On the way to Mulshi dam from Pirangut, there is a restaurant that has internet access. Please resist the temptation to logon and DO NOT use it. I checked my emails from there and could not login to my mail account a day later. Its fishy!

PS3: I see many new people following my blog. Thank you for enduring following me and a warm welcome to my blog.

PS4: It is still in production and will be released by Sony soon!

46 comments:

Americanising Desi said...

ahaaaaaaaaaaaaannn...
so he arrives with rains and accidents :)


was beginning to think things!

ekta khetan said...

Shameless fellow!!!!You forgot my beard...

hell hell...

:D

ekta khetan said...

U stole my picture from Orkut? Gosh....illegal illegal....police ...hacker...

Ava said...

oh ho ! you were in India.. thts dandy. This place looks like heaven on earth..

Nice vid, but rather short dontya think?

Shayari said...

Super.. now that's a Fun trip!
Once in a while, staying out of touch with Internet n phones works wonders!
Congrats on the award :-)

Ire said...

Nice trip ha! Hehehe...this 5 mins syndrome happened a lot with me too! Good going! I will try Murud Janjira soon.

Unknown said...

Last year Dec, we tried,
Pen--> Alibaug-->Kashid-- >Murud way..

And that too was awesome, full of scenic beauty..

Lemme try the way described by you

Ripples said...

Wowwwwwwie....that was an awesome video....so did u have fun? and m sure you have loads of memories to take back.....
Looking forward to such lovely videos in the future in ur posts :)

eye-in-sty-in said...

hi AD,
:D
You know, it is true. I did arrive with the rains. They started a day after I arrived. Till then the lake levels were low in Bombay too :D
Err.. what exactly did u think?

Hi Ekta,
You devil! kaisa lagaa aap ka chitra ? :D

Hi PvP,
What is the place near dhanu called? Might be a good place to visit this weekend. Btw, I did not go to Murud, just to Mulshi dam. Welcome to my blog.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Ava,
I AM in India. Video is short bcoz there was a limit of 30 secs on the website that I knew. Do u know of any site that allows longer video creation for free? Plz do tell.

Hi Shayari,
Thank you. It is a nice pace to visit. You should try it!!! ;-)

Hi Nikki,
I didnt go to Murud, just to Mulshi dam :D

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Bhupesh,
Pen--> Alibaug-->Kashid-- >Murud way is the correct way to go to Murid. I had a detour planned in Mulshi that turned into the destination :D

Hi Ripples,
Glad u liked the video. I had a great time there. Will try to make more memorable videos in future. Have u been to this place?

Vee said...

I have come across this 'bas 5 minute aur aage' thing manier times and I used to fret a lot. But then someone told me they say like that as in not to discourage the person. I know it can be overtly irritating but ki farak at the end of it when u reach the destination.

Anonymous said...

Wow, sounds like an awesome trip. I felt like a bit of a Deja vu. Someone was recently telling me about trying to go through a village, and everyone kept saying it's just around the corner, until 6 hours later... :P

Sounds like you had an awesome time!

Ann Dee said...

That was nice. The video blog could go I little slow though.

My Assam is so full of those no network, not a soul on two feet for miles kinda spots. I'm tempted to do a pictorial one on my Kaziranga trip now.

[I'll hear a "copy cat" with glee :D]

ekta khetan said...

Arre I said you did not do a good job. why? read this-

1. You forgot my beard
2. You made my red horns so short
3. How about my extended teeth?
4. My moustache is oh-so-un-inspiring

And where is my fork and tail?

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Vee,
Agree with you.... they say its 5 mins bcoz they know the way and its their neighbourhood. But for someone travelling, it can be mind-boggling at times... Another odd thing is saying "go right" while gesturing "left" :D

Hi FD,
ha ha ha.... just around the corner for 6 hours???? you must be stuck in a maze :P But its fun as long as the scenery is breath-taking.

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi ND,
of course ur post will be better... mine was a rough draft & urs will be the polished product. Assam must be great in greenery as it rains so much there. I have been to darjeeling and its great. Is Assam better???

Hi Ekta,
I did the best of what pic I had. I requested u for a full length pic and u expect me to draw a fork n tail on ur face? Some ppl have too much expectations ;-) Next time post a clearer pic, so I can also put a few freckles on ur cheeks :P

eye-in-sty-in said...

For those of you who care... New video added to the post.... -
more pics , longer duration between pics and changed music! Enjoy....!

:-)

Anonymous said...

this was a very enjoyable post. i like that you added video also.

couchpapaya said...

for some reason i always feel like giggling when i hear pimpri and hinjewadi ... no clue why! and they always seem to be mentioned in the same breath too. place looks really lush and green!!! sorry, didnt watch the video, i prefer to read :D enjoy the rest of the vcation!

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Lynn,
Glad that you like it.

Hi CP,
Pune and its vicinity does have funny names. Some are even scandalous. I know of a friend who visited Pune from out of town and his sister insisted she would pick him from a place. The guy would not reveal his location to her. Further investigation revealed that he was embarrassed to say he was in "bhosari"!!!
Other funny places are Wakad, Aundh, Chinchwad... The video is a collection of pictures and not a pure video :D

Dhanya said...

I loved the pictures!!!! So beautiful! Heavenly even... :D

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi PvP,
Thank you. Do send the details if u can. (Is it tikuji ni wadi?)

Hi Dhanya,
Thanks. U shd try to visit. Its a beautiful place.

couchpapaya said...

lol @ bhosari. should ask people if they know of it :D

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed both your videos and the music was great too

sujata sengupta said...

Beautiful pictures and video..reminded me of my various trips to and fro the Mumbai Pune highway and the trips to lonavala and khandala..rain is beautiful in that part of the world!!

Mama - Mia said...

same pinch! :p we went to Mulshi on this trip too! last tue infact! and man it was sooo beautiful! the greens absoluely invigorating!

we didnt stay there! just a day trip from my in-laws place in pune! :)

lovely pictures!

cheers!

abha

ps: ithe kaay kartaay? really?! :p

Anonymous said...

You have had a great experience indeed ..
& LOL @ PS4 ...

Cheers.

Ripples said...

Fabulous! is what I can say about the new version...M sure your awesome time @ Mulshi has inspired you to redo the video....Looks like some1 is all in the arms of passion :P

Ann Dee said...

Ooo u've put up a new video. This one's perfect!

But my Kaziranga one'll be still better. :P

Darjeeling is too conscious of being a hill station beauty, so I don't like her much. Gangtok is better. And my Assam is totally unspoilt. But the must-see is Arunachal. I plan to go sometime soon..

eye-in-sty-in said...

HI Cp,
Bhosari is a famous place! No pun intended!

Hi Nursemyra,
Thank you. It was a debut attempt. Need to explore more of this windows movie maker! Any tips for me?

Hi PvP,
Thanks for checking...

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Sujata,
Thank you. You are spot on! I changed my visiting time last year after getting tired of the 'dry' rains in US. Here the rains are much more lively... everything is fresh and clean and green. The climate n visuals are amazing as is getting wet in the rain!

Hi Abha,
Wow! Same pinch indeed. Next time do try to stay overnite in one of the resorts. Its worth the money. Just make sure that u book in advance. As remote as thy are, they are still booked to the brim on weekends! (as for the other Q, well, u know how it is with questions n me :P)

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Witsnnuts,
Thank you for noticing the PS4 :P
Do try it if u can. Mulshi is a great place!

Hi Ripples,
The new video was done bcoz the earlier was sad by my standards :P Btw, You didn't answer my Q or did you not read it?

Hi Ann Dee,
Yeah, the earlier one was too sad and then I discovered Windows moviemaker. Do check it out. Its great! (Now if ur video is better than mine, I'll get credit for this suggestion :P) Thanks for pointing out Assam and Arunachal to me. That area is new territory for me.... Care to be my guide?

Ripples said...

Yes I have been to Mulshi....And I fell in love with the place :)

Vidooshak said...

What a coincidence. We went there on Cubby's bday too! Details on Abe's post a little later. Thank God, we did. Else my envy would add to the greenery after seeing the wonderful snaps on this post. Yes, it is an absolute paradise. We too were so tempted to continue down to Murud-Janjira, once I saw a milestone. But we back in dry, hot Bangalore already (never thought I'd use THOSE adjectives for Bangalore. Sigh!)

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Ripples,
You did? When was that?

Hi Vidooshak,
Nice! Did you say Bangalore is dry and hot these days? I thought it rained much there...
Murud was given a miss yet again by me and also by you! Maybe another day :-)

Ann Dee said...

I'v made at least 4 films in Windows Movie Maker already. Tch tch...

Guide? Sure.. You're sponsoring the trip right?

eye-in-sty-in said...

Sure. I'll bring my 2 seater sports car too... will that do :D

You made 4 vids? Nice! Cant wait to see ur 5th.

Aparna said...

Sorry sorry sorry I am late.
Been terribly busy with guests lately. looks like someone had a great time while someone I know was spending all her time in the kitchen. Sob. Life sucks.
The pics were lovely...so was the video. And I ignored my bloggers award.
BTW did you people just turn up at the resort or you made reservations in advance?

Shanu said...

I have been to Murud Janjira too..itz an awesome place..the murud fort is gr8 fun to trek at too.

Ann Dee said...

We're nt talking abt your B'bay getaways here, remember? Or does ur two-seater sports car also have wings?

eye-in-sty-in said...

oh ye of little faith!

floreta said...

wow! i didn't realize you are indian (?) are you visiting! i saw an earlier post about a trip and airport so i'm only assuming :) how wonderful!!!

eye-in-sty-in said...

Hi Floreta,
Just out of curiosity, why was my nationality a revelation to you?

floreta said...

since i am a new reader.. etc. and you don't have a picture for your icon ... >_< sorry!

eye-in-sty-in said...

the absence of my pic is a big contributor to the presence of my readers on the blog :D