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!

The Journeys: Part deux

Day one had me reporting to office. As I was not familiar with the parking situation, I decided to take the bike. Now I'll be the first one to tell you that I don't particularly like 2 wheels! I know, the girls find it macho n sexy, but some things are just not meant to be. Period! Dad offered to drive me half way after which I would ride the rest of the distance and pick him up on the way back. Since he would be driving the traffic laden half, I mustered enough courage to take the 2 wheeled bike the rest of the way.

Now, for those who are not familiar with the Indian traffic conditions, should see this sped up video of a traffic intersection. The traffic situation in Bombay is about half as bad... couple this with the no-so-friendly-bike and my disdain of 2-wheelers, its not the best mix.

The drive started well and I was doing great. Then I had to brake and all hell broke loose.

As soon as I hit the brakes, the 2-wheeler engine turned off. I managed to turn it back on and was on my way again and I had to brake once more... this was not going well!

After stalling it 3 more times, I called dad who proudly exclaimed "the idling of the engine is set low to conserve fuel at traffic lights ***. Just give it some gas while braking and u should be fine."

Me: (thinking) Give it gas while braking? That would get me killed????

*** (we live in a city and traffic lights are a-plenty)

I parked the 2-wheeler in the nearest by-lane, proudly shamelessly hopped into a running double decker bus and was on my merry way :P City biking is not for me! At least not now! (for the curious cats, the 2-wheeler in question was a Honda Activa. Its a moped! not even geared.... I too know its pathetic!) :D

In my defense, I did take ride the cursed thing to visit an uncle after work and also picked up my dad on my way back.

And then it rained! Continuously for 24 hours! Sometimes heavy, sometimes a light drizzle..

.

perfect time to grab hot vadas with red-chilly-garlic-chutney! No sooner did I mouth

the words to my sis, mom interjected "I've already made them!" I kid you not, she can read minds!

Me: (while hogging on tasty hot vadas [an Indian delicacy savoured during the rains]) Mom, stop making all this oily food... you are making me fat. I had a 6-pack and its disappearing...

Mom: I don't like 6-packs. Shah Rukh (an Indian actor) got one and it made him look old. His cheeks are sunk in his face and his skin has become all flabby.

Me: (cannot argue with that logic!)