Travel With a Couple

Traveling and blogging have opened up a whole lot of interesting experiences for us. Of which, one we cherish the most is the blogger friends. After interacting with them online for some time, meeting them in person (that too unexpectedly) adds to this pleasure.

Thomas and Shilpy of Walkthewilderness (http://walkthewilderness.blogspot.com/) is another couple-blogger like us. Passionate about wildlife and photography, their blog is a visual delight. Thomas has been generous to us with his tips on photography. We were looking forward to meet them at the auditions for the Great Driving Challenge. After three fun-filled days, the exuberant Thomas and composed Shilpy have become our friends in the real world too.

Our neighbours are always excited about our travels and adventures. When their brother-in-law from Bhopal visited them, they became eloquent about us. They didn’t know that the brother-in-law and we were already online friends. It was a surprise to open the door and see the smiling face of P N Subramanian, whose blogs are a treasure trove of history, archaeology, travel and numismatics. He writes in Hindi (http://mallar.wordpress.com/) and English (http://paliakara.blogspot.com/), though we manage to read only the English one.

We are now sure that more will follow…

Meet Sraddha. She is about 12 years old and stays in a one-room house along with her parents and siblings. The sparkle in her eyes perhaps hides the difficulties of her daily grind.

Since the past five years, she is experiencing a new life. Apart from her school, she now tries to fast track her learning of English and Maths. And hopes to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer. Thanks to Akanksha, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation working in the field of education. Akanksha’s core belief is that giving a strong educational foundation, self esteem and values to the less privileged children will help them improve their quality of life.

Today, Sraddha  had more reasons to smile. For she was enjoying her first ever adventure picnic near Kanheri caves at Sanjay Gandhi National Park along with many of her friends. And for us it was a different trip as facilitators.

It has been a long time since we did ‘packing-bags-on-early-Sunday-morning’. There have not been many one-day treks of late. So when Nature Knights planned an adventure activity session of rock climbing, rappelling and valley crossing for about 35 kids from Akanksha, we did pack our bags and joined them.

Volunteering for this event was quite an experience for all of us in Nature Knights. Matching up to the kids’ energy levels and answering their innumerable questions was a task by itself. The impact of Akanksha was evident in the confidence displayed by the kids.

More photos here. More about Akanksha. More about Nature Knights

At first glance he would pass off as an uncle next door. Ever smiling, but certainly not the patronizing ones. His nimble body is deceptive of the exceptional feats it has accomplished. Scaling more than 120 peaks in Maharashtra. An unbreakable record of 40 virgin peaks. And 40 odd new routes to some of the known mountains.

Meet Pradeep Kelkar, affectionately called as Pradeep Sir by mountaineering lovers in Maharashtra, a winner of many national and state awards including Shiv Chhatrapati Award. If humility can be measured in heights, one has to add up all the mountains he has climbed so far and perhaps the ones he is yet to climb.

We were fortunate enough to be trained in rock climbing and rappelling by him during the Ratangiri mountaineering adventure organised by Nature Knights.

While at Ratnagiri, after an exciting day, we chatted up with Kelkar, getting to know about this unpretentious man and his adventurous life…

Kelkar’s long-term affair with mountains started way back in 1978 when he did his first trek to Dhak-Bhairi. Initially, rock climbing was just a hobby for him. It later became a passion. In 1979, at a time when harnesses and other equipment and techniques were unheard of, Kelkar scaled the Lingana pinnacle, a daunting formation of rock between Torna and Raigad forts, with the aid of only rope slings and pitons. After 28 years, during the night of December 31, 2007, he again successfully climbed Lingana to welcome 2008. This amazing performance also proved that he still retained his fitness and stamina!

Kelkar got his formal training in mountaineering from the Manali Mountaineering institute (now Atal Behari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports). He completed the institute’s mountaineering training programme with an ‘A’ grade and first position among all the competitive participants.

By 1994, he had completed 120 successful climbs, including 40 virgin peaks and 40 new routes. The highest peak he conquered is Aaja Parvat at 4,500 ft in 5 days.

The humble Kelkar does not take the full credit for his success. He never forgets to thank his team members for their support. His team, under the name Ratnadurg Mountaineering Association (RMA), conducts training programmes for adventure seekers. RMA’s summer training camp for kids at the Bhagvati Fort in Ratnagiri is a big hit, attracting more and more participants each year.

In addition, Kelkar and his 20-member core team use their skills and abilities for many public causes. RMA has been in the forefront of many rescue operations including the Bhuj earth quake. The snake experts in his team rescue snakes that find themselves in the middle of human habitat and let them back to their terrain.

Kelkar, also employed with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking (BEST), is supported by his wife and son on his adventures.

A five-light junction. A cow and a calf wandering around. A small bus stop. A public tap. Two or three shops. A slice from the enchanting Malgudi town was coming alive, at Kulgi barely 12 kms away from Dandeli town.

Arun Bandekar’s Hotel Apoorva is an extension of his small, non descript shop selling some snacks for the school children and perhaps a bit of grocery for the locals. Arun, who came from Sawantwadi in Maharasthra to Dandeli some three decades ago, runs his enterprise along with his wife.

The Bandekars’ hospitality and culinary expertise eventually made Hotel Apoorva the base camp for many of the ‘non-touristy’ travelers as well as a chosen destination for ‘khana’ (food – lunch & dinner). There are a few ‘loyal’ families who drive from Mumbai and Bangalore every year, stay at Hornbill or Bison resorts but have their food at Bandekars’.

They have now converted some available place at home to rooms so that a few guests could stay over. There is a large hall, which is under construction. Many trekking groups and backpackers stay at Bandekars’

It is not just the great home cooked food. Bandekars will also help you get everything organized in Dandeli – the safari, local transport, kali river rafting, trekking, hiking and more…

The interesting thing about travel is not just that you get to meet some interesting people. It is also that many a times you get to learn and feel so humble. Budget travelers and backpackers often have good justification to avoid paid services wherever possible. So when we landed at the Sindhudurg Fort, which is separated from the mainland by a 15 minute boat ride, we chose to explore the fort on our own.

A few guides approached us; we refused them flat as if we’d been at the fort many times. After a while we realised that in the limited time we had, we would not be able to cover all the points at the fort. But then we did not want to miss the important ones. As luck would have it, this cute little boy approached us and offered himself as a guide. We were skeptical. But soon his innocence, earnestness, and spirit was sold on us.

And, at that auspicious moment, Gajanan Phatak, all of 11, became a guide for the first time in his life. We, his first customers. He had been following and observing his uncle who works as a guide and runs a cold drink stall at the fort, and is now ready on his own. Gajanan stays in the mainland, the Malwan town and had come to visit his uncle during Diwali holidays. At Rs 30, his requirement was very less, but we were humbled by his intention to use that amount to fund his schooling.

Phatak Junior indeed was good at his job. He took us to the main bastions of the total 52, the three fresh water wells named Doodh (milk), Shakar (sugar), and Dahi (milk), and various temples, with a liberal explanation of each and the history of the fort.

We salute this budding talent and his entrepreneurial spirit. And did not forget to contribute to his schooling fund a little more than what he had asked for.

Guhagar, being 320 odd km away from Mumbai means fewer crowds. Or so we thought. We forgot that Pune was probably only 200 km away. We reached Guhagar a little late in the evening, around 7.30. We were a bit overconfident that in these little not so known places, hotels, lodges or home stays would be easily available. But as always Murphy has the last laugh. All (two or three) known hotels were full. People indeed are traveling. We drove a few times up and down through the main street knocking the doors of a few hotels and a few houses where they have put up a couple of extra rooms for guests. No luck. Most people could talk only Marathi. Our friend who could speak Marathi reasonably well was getting highly irritated since the responsibility of talking and finding a place fell on him. His concern was that his Marathi was not so good that he had to think, pause for the right word every time, and talk. But it was better than we staring at people without any words. Finally, an elderly lady checked at the local temple hall, which again to our bad luck was full. She then made a couple of calls to some families and at the end found a place for us.

We spend the night with this traditional marathi family, who gave us some space and mattresses in their living room. They could not make food; so they called up a nearby restaurant and ensured that our dinner was taken care of. The family runs a small shop and a distribution setup for some soft drink brands.

And they are setting up two rooms for guests. Next time, we are sure to stay there.

Anand Mishra is not the kind of guide we often meet at the historical sites of our country. Conversant in English, knowledgeable about his job, punctual, and eager to learn from whatever sources, Anand perhaps reflects the spirit of the much-talked about new, small-town India. To top it all, he has a fellowship from NASA. More than what you expect in a sleepy, dusty, village-town of Lonar in central Maharashtra.

But then Lonar is not just a historical place. Far removed from the typical tourist circuits and itineraries, Lonar is a place where history, geology, astronomy, ecology, and mythology meet to give a unique experience for travel lovers.

Anand, a college-educated boy, takes travel lovers in and around the crater telling stories that are part history and part mythology with the same ease as he explains the science behind the crater, its coloured rocks, and the pH value of the water.

Apart from having local knowledge, Anand’s comfort with English has helped him land a post of being a local assistant to researchers from many international universities and institutions including NASA, who camp in Lonar every winter. And there lies his NASA connection as well. He certainly is proud about his connections and enjoying his job well.

Not too often you get some unusual travel opportunity where you get to spend on a training session for a bunch of energetic youngsters. To start with, this was not meant to be a ‘trip’. When one of our friends, a terrific training professional, mentioned about a two-day training programme, we volunteered to play some supporting role for him, though only for the first day. And quickly plugged into the itinerary was a drive to Pawna lake (17 km from Lonavala) next day for a dip and swimming.

Spending a day with these youngsters, listening to their aspirations, dreams, their drive & fire, and fears was a learning experience. Participating in their activities was invigourating as well.

Our offer to volunteer was driven by a selfish need of getting an opportunity to learn rather than teach. A well spent weekend for both of us.

Scene 1: Four backpackers – wearing capris and coolers – were taking a walk along the rim of the Lonar crater. A villager grazing his cows wanted to show his hospitality to the tourists. He smiled and asked, “Who is the country?” The backpackers looked at each other, thinking “who’s the country among us?” After a moment they realized the villager wanted to know which country were they from. Seeing the capris, coolers, and backpacks, he mistook us Indians for foreigners. Also, he didn’t expect Indians to walk the 5-km stretch under hot sun. When we said, “Mumbai se he” and started laughing, he too laughed out aloud to hide his embarrassment.

Scene 2: The same four backpackers were trying to locate the remains of an ancient temple and were walking along a narrow road inside a village colony. People stared at them. Fine. But when a father explained to his son – “Angrzi log he” (meaning “They are English”), we couldn’t stop laughing and responding, “Angrezi nahin, Hindusthani he” (meaning “Not English but Hindusthani”). Maybe our brown colour was mistaken for suntan.