Weekend at Matheran

Matheran, meaning the forest on top, was on top of my list when we moved to Pune. Though Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala is much talked about hill stations, I wanted to visit Matheran for a long time.  When we decided for a short holiday and hubby was not very particular about any specific place, I decided its Matheran. All I knew that vehicles are not allowed in Matheran. So you have to either take a train or walk all the way. I googled and gathered required information. From Pune there is only one train that stops in Neral and there are many to Karjat. Initially I had planned to take the toy train from Neral and had booked tickets online for Pune to Neral. On second thoughts, decided to take the train on the return trip. The Sahyadri express leave Pune at 6:55 AM reaching Neral at 10:05 AM. We reached around 10:30. You can see a board welcoming Matheran passengers on the 1st platform and there is a separate track for that train outside the station.  On the right side of the exit at the station gate, lies the taxi stand. As you walk down, cab drivers come asking if you are to Matheran. Taxi charges Rs.300 and if you opt for sharing then it is Rs.60 per head. When we approached a taxi, there was another couple too. So it was shared between us and the other couple..  It takes only 20 minutes for the uphill drive and the taxi leaves you at the Dasturi point. If you are travelling in your own vehicle, then you will have to leave the vehicle at this point. Tourists are charged a small fee of Rs.25 and Rs.10 for children to enter Matheran. Take the ticket at the counter and you can start your journey to Matheran. Once you move out of the gate, people throng you asking to take you by horse, hand pulled rickshaws or offering to take your luggage while you walk up. There are two routes- one is the railway route and the other one which the horses and hand pulled rickshaws take.

The roads are muddy and uneven. We walked along the railway track, which was much easier.  It was a good experience to walk with trees on both sides. You have to be careful with the monkeys. You will be taken off guard. If you have anything that remotely resembles food, they will surely grab it from your hand. Otherwise, the monkeys are harmless.  It took 45 minutes to reach the M.G. road where the shops are locate. On the way up, we found sign boards of various view points.

From M.G. road it was another 5 minutes walk to the hotel, Kumar Plaza. We had plans to roam around before lunch. Once we checked in, all I wanted was to stretch. Walking with the luggage wasn't that easy, even though we travelled light. Had a lavish buffet lunch at the hotel. The package included stay and three meals along with evening tea. The food at the hotel was very tasty. They had variety in their both lunch and dinner menu. The room was comfortable, but was a bit small.  The swimming pool is not very big. All in all they have all the facilities to add to the list, though it could be better.

We headed out at 3:30 pm. The first point was the Khandala point which is very near. From the road, you have to walk down. Very good view. There is a telescope and he charges Rs.20 to show you five points. Through the telescope, we were showed few houses of adivasis, the ladder used to extract honey and the like. Three points which are nearby Charlotte Lake, Lousie point and Echo point which is 10 minutes walk from the lake point. 

While I sat down on a platform near the echo point to catch some breath, I putdown the Sprite bottle and immediately my husband exclaimed "Monkey" and by the time I turn I saw it walking away with the bottle. It perched on a branch and opened it. Sniffed and probably didnot like it and just poured it down. While we were returning from the echo point, I saw another one drinking fanta from the bottle.

The soil at Matheran is the laterite kind and can paint your clothes and shoes literally red. Make sure you don't wear your expensive shoes or best dress there. Though the red color doesn't leave a stain on your clothes, it definitely calls for some extra scrubbing to remove them. The roads are not very smooth.

There is a well maintained park. There is a separate with fun rides for the kids.  Though waste bins are not many, you can't find any litters in the park. Its picked often.

All the shops are on the M.G Road. There are some shops on two by-lanes too. Shops selling foot wears, chikkis, fruit crushes makes the most of the market. There are umpteen varities of Chikkis and fruit crushes to choose from. We bought chikkis from the Janatha stores and few flavors from fruit crushes from Mala's outlet. You will get footwear for throw-away prices. Though the price quoted by the sellers are not very high, you can bargain for a lesser price and they invariably reduce it too. Where can you get fashion chappals as low as Rs.100. I have a weakness to footwear and had to restrict myself by not buying too many pairs.

There are many games at each point like bowling alley, hitting the tumbler etc for Rs.10. They give out prizes too but its not very easy to win them given the conditions apply.

The toy train has an extra run on weekends and we had booked for that trip at 12:30. The checkout time at all the hotels are 9:30 but our hotel staff wasn't particular about it. Probably, since it was a Sunday and there may not be many bookings for the day. After the breakfast, we packed all our things and vacated the room at 10:00 A.M. Left the luggage at the reception and just roamed around the market and spent sometime at the park.

The train was at the station at around 11:30. Everyone was busy clicking the train and posing in and around it.  The seats are small that two persons can just fit in. The leg space between the seats are also very less. You can't expect much on that train which has to travel along the hills. The first class compartment has spacious seats.

By 12:30 everyone got seated. And all the passengers were ready to soak in the forthcoming panoramic views.  Time ticked away and the train did not seem to be starting. On enquiry, we learnt the train which is coming towards Matheran has got stuck on a single track due to some technical snag and hence our train could not start unless it reaches Matheran. Finally after two hours, we started our journey. The journey through the forests is very good. After Matheran, the train travels along the hills. The view down is breath taking.

At some points,  the width is just  enough for the railway and track with hill on side and deep valley on the other.

We found a group trekking along the rail route. There are two stations on the way. This is to let the other train move along.

 

The period just after monsoon will be very good with greenery all around and you can catch some waterfalls also along the way.

 

Long distance train passing along the Neral junction

It took 1 1/2 hrs to reach Neral. From Neral, took a local to Karjat and boarded the Bhuvaneswar bound train at 5 from Karjat and reached Pune at 7:00 PM. Except for the delay for the train to start, the trip was good and had a nice time.

Flower show at Empress Garden

There was a flower show for 3 days at the Empress Garden, near to the Race course, Pune. We visited on Sunday and it was the last day of the show. The garden has many huge trees which gives much shade to the sprawling garden. I am visiting the garden for the first time. So I don't know how the garden is during the other days. But most part of the garden looked done up as part of the on going flower show.  There were stalls featuring flower arrangements based on Kitchen theme, Ikebana, Bonsai plants. A stall had flower portraits too. There were many nurseries selling potted plants, garden related tools, manure, pots etc. For those interested in gardening, this was a good opportunity to spruce up their gardening space. The competition entrees was displayed in a separate stall which had different flower arrangements, fresh produce and cut flowers. I loved the Rasoi Theme arrangement very much.

Here are some shots taken at the flower show.




Rasoi Theme




From the Competition Entrees



Bonsai

Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon

Its been a long time since I updated my space here. After Jan-2010, I didn't travel much. I had planned to write about the various temples in and around Palakkad. But it did not take shape into blog posts. And my husband's job brought me to another state. I thought life in a new place will give me some material to blog here. The initial few months went into settling down in the new place and had to travel thrice to hometown in a short span and out of that twice I had to make it on my own. On one of such trips, I extended it to make a surprise visit to my parents at Gurgaon. I decided to make it to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. It was more of shock than surprise when my parents saw me at the door since as per my version, I should have reached Pune at the same time. So their shock is understandable. Few minutes on, their shock gave way to joy indeed. It was just a week stay. My sister had planned a visit to the Kingdom of dreams. During my last visit to Gurgaon, that was under construction.

The Kingdom of dreams is near to the Iffco Chowk metro station. It is a 15 minutes walk from the station. Auto/cycle rickshaws are also available. We went to the Cultural gully. There are some other live shows also (Nautank Mahal, Showso theatre inside). Each has a separate entrance ticket. For cultural gully its Rs.500 till 6 in the evening and its Rs.750 after that and for weekends too.

Out of the Rs.500, 100 goes as entrance fee and 50 is refundable. You have Rs.350 to be spent inside. For children below 4ft height, its free.



What you see inside

Its an airconditioned gallery with an artificial sky, that gives the feel of an exhibition, on an open ground. The sky is well done.

The cultural gully, as the name signifies, is art,crafts, culture and food under the same roof. 14 Indian states are showcased there. The cultural heritage of each state shines through. The food served is awesome. We sampled food from Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi and Rajasthan. Few has open kitchens and few have in house restaurant. There are many tables laid in the centre area, which gives an ambience of a food court. The first floor has a massage parlour, plam reader, tarot card reader etc. There is a pastry shop too at the first floor. The paintings, pillars are very exquisite.

Its a wonderful place to have a get-together. The ambience is so good and with finger licking food and good company, you can enjoy a good evening there.

I clicked quite a lot there and here are few snapshots.

Entrance to the Cultural Gully

Mumbai

Painting

Kaali representing West Bengal



Rajasthan




The magnificient sky like roof top



Chennai

Kerala modelled on a house boat

A lorry infront of Punjab block

Delhi



Bridge connecting the two blocks on the first floor



Handicrafts for sale

Old charm retained - You can see matchbox labels painted on the left.

Murudeshwar - Karnataka

Boarded the West coast express (Chennai-Mangalore) on 14th at 9:00 P.M. Reached Mangalore at 4:50. Headed straight to the waiting room. After refreshing, got tickets to Murudeshwar and travelled by the Mangalore Verna Express (Train No KR2). It left Mlore at 6:30. Most of the passengers were tourists to Udipi/Mookambika/Gokarna etc. The journey was good with lovely sights of greenery and water bodies on the way. We had got two packets of idli from the M'lore station. The idlis were cup shaped and very soft too. We had our breakfast in the train. Murudeshwar temple and beach is around 2 kms from the station. Took an auto to the resort. He charged Rs.30. The best places of stay in Murudeshwar is close by the temple and beach. You can find some other lodging boards on the way to the beach. There are two hotels adjacent to the temple and one little away but near to the beach. RNS Guest house and RNS residency is close by and Naveen Beach Resort is little farther. We stayed in the resort. Resort is very calm and serene. Only 11 rooms in the resort. It has in house restaurant too. The food  in the restuarant is very good.  Just walk across the road from the resort, you step onto the beach.

The Naveen Beach Resort

Most of the tourists make it a half  day trip to Murusheswar. They spend some time on the beach and take a look around the temple and the big Shiva statue and move on to the next destination.  After reading about Murudeshwar, I wanted to spend a day there. Since it was solar eclipse on 15th and temples will usually be closed during the eclipse time, we  chartered that day for Murudeshwar for a day's stay.

The tourists occupy the beach near the temple, but few feet further, you can find uncrowded place. Sadly, tourists have littered the shore with all sorts of  garbage. The local civic authorities doesn't seem to bother about cleaning the place atleast taking into account of the inflow of tourist to the place.

There is an ancient Shiva temple near the beach. The surrounding area along with the huge Shiva statue is developed by a private person Mr. R.N. Shetty.  The story behind the Murudeshwar temple is connected with King Ravana securing "Atmalinga" from Lord Shiva by worship and penance. As per the story, Lord Shiva, while giving the linga was told to Ravana, that he should carry it home walking and should never place it on earth even for a while, failing of which, the Atmalinga would be eternally embedded in the place where it is kept. Ravana set out to his country through the path of west coast. All Gods who got frightened by thi, got together along with Sage Narada takes the help of Ganapathi. Ganapathi disguised in the form a of Brahmin Vatu succeeds in placing the Atmalinga at Gokarna. Ravana in anger and dejection attempts to remove the Linga in vain. In sorrow and frustration, he threw the cloth and thread to various places. The sacred cloth is believed to have fallen in the Kanduka hill assuming the form of Murudeshwara, a Linga without a pedestal. The very ancient temple which was in ruins was revived by its cheif patron Mr. R.N shetty. Other than the temple, all the other attractions around the temple is the efforts of RN Shetty.  There is a 249 feet tall gopuram with 18 floors on the entrance to the temple. They have a lift facility charging Rs.20 per head, which will take you to the 18th floor. The view from the top floor is spectacular. There is one open window on all four sides.

(Story courtesy :The booklet published by the temple trust)

The Shiva statue in penance is on top of a small hill. There is a small temple below. Work is in progress in the temple. There is a man made cave around the temple below the hill. The cave is dark and air conditioned. The story of Ravana and Murudeshwari s depicted in stone sculptures that comes to 20 in number. The story is played on a CD. The narration is in Kannada. Rs.10 is charged as enterance fee.

There is a huge Nandi statue in front of Shiva. Ravana holding the linga is also on the front.  Varius sculptures depicting the incidents from mythological tales can been seen around.

Another attraction is the beach restuarant which is built on the beach near the shore. The restaurant has 3 floors and you can have a beach view while dining. The food was good not to say very tasty. And its a vegetarian restuarant.

Because of the eclipse, we could not make it to Gokarna. But we had a nice stay at Murudeshwar, which was a much needed break from the routine life.

Vacation at Mumbai

The vacation destination for 2009 was decided to be Mumbai. With dates rescheduled twice, I wasn't sure, if we will make the trip. So I did not plan much on what to be done after reaching Mumbai . Tickets were booked. To confirm my fears, the media was blaring non-stop about the spread of Swine flue. We had almost decided to drop the travel plans to Mumbai. Finally with some pushing from R mama, decided to go ahead. So reached the city of Amchi Mumbai on 21st of August.

The city was fully geared up to welcome their favorite God Ganesha. We saw both huge and small Ganeshas taken to the pandals/homes accompanied to the beats of drums and Ganapathi Bappa Morias.

At home too, we were busy with the preparations and on the day of Pooja, modak-both sweet and savory were made.

As practise at our uncle's home, Ganesha was taken for Visarjan, the next day, to Juhu beach.

On Monday, the 24th, we left to Shirdi by bus. Stayed two days at Shirdi. We had a lovely Darsan. It was less crowded, may be due to the ongoing Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations. Attended both noon and night Aarthis. The first time when I stood in the queue inside the mandir, I was choked with emotions. A longtime wish of mine was fulfilled. As Baba says, its only when HE wills that we can reach there. I have been reading Sai Satcharita , close to two decades. So all the chapters and incidents are almost kind of memorized. I was overwhelmed when I got to see the places and objects like Dwarakamayi, Chavadi, ever burning Dhuni, Neem tree etc. which I have only read about. I am sure when I read Satcharita again, it will be a different experience. Spent most of the day inside the mandir premises.

We went to Sani Shinganapur, a famous shrine for Lord Shani,which is 70kms away from Shirdi. It takes about 1 1/2 hrs by car. The road is good. The route is picturesque on both sides of the road with fields of sugarcane, bajra etc. You will get a picture of rural Maharashtra. The statue of Lord shani is a huge single piece of granite stone with no temple walls to around. Only male devotees are allowed to mount on the platform with wet clothes on and can do abhishekam on the statue with water or til/sesame oil. Women devotees can have darshan standing below the platform. One of the unique aspects of the village Shiganapur is that houses/shops have no door for safety. The people here believe that it is the benediction of the god that no crime ever occurs in this village. I found no doors in the shops I saw and also there is no gate to enter the temple premises.

On Wednesday night we returned to Mumbai with a peaceful mind. We visited few relatives. And for that, we had to travel the length and breadth of Mumbai. I had decided earlier, we will be visiting only the closest relatives. So we could cover the visits in 2 days. I managed to meet one of my blogger friend Harini. It was a wonderful meeting.

On Sunday, we decided to take advantage of the less traffic on roads and headed to have a darshan of Goddess Mahalaxmi and took the new Bandra-Worli sea route. It was a nice feeling to travel through the sea link -the new pride of India. We started at sharp 8:00 A.M from Malad and returned in flat 2 hours.

Did good amount of shopping artificial jewellery, clothes and some kitchen accessories. Sampled all kinds of Mumbai chaats, pasta, frankies, ice halwa, different flavors of kulfi (Liked chikko more) and various savories. Never missed a chance to drink Kesar Lassi to the extent that on the day of leaving, me and my husband had two glasses each. Infact R mama used to lure us with the mention of lassi, to visit Mumbai . L mami and our cousin M saw to that we sampled food from the various outlets which they frequent. M treated us to a wonderful Gujarathi thaali (unlimited) at a nearby restaurant. We indeed had an overdose of jamoons, malai sandwich and dahi wada. L mami also cooked variety of food at home.

All in all, it was a well spent, memorable vacation at Mumbai. On 1st we flew to Coimbatore to celebrate the annual visit of King Maveli/Mahabali.