The Magic of Cucumber September 6, 2010

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5 Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

(This was received as a forward in the mail. It is too good not to share, hence without any intention to get undue credits, I shall thank the originator from bottom of my heart and to the one who shared it)

Scientific meaning of Gaytri Mantra June 21, 2010

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma.This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

“Om-bhur bhuvah swah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. ”

The literal meaning of the mantra: O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty. You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction. The mantra, however, has a great scientific importance too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 mile s per

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

(A) OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH:

Bhur – the earth, bhuvah – the planets (solar family), swah – the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, “Omiti ekaksharam brahma”, meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy (prana).

B. TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM:

Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:-

C) BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI:

Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

D) DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT:

Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our(nah) intellect dhiyo. So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:

The total kinetic energy generated by the movement of galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity2). 2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen and Ameen

Apathy towards the majestic beast June 10, 2010

The much fancied growl…
The dreaded look…
The envious yellow/black stripes…
and that majestic walk…
I am sure most of us, in their childhood days, have seen a Royal Bengal Tiger in a zoo. It is hard to erase those childhood memories. Today situation has changed and many youngsters are fortunate enough to get the first hand feel of the beautiful beast in the wild.

Suddenly there were over half a dozen celebrities convincing through different media the need to save tiger…for general masses the consequences of project ‘Save Tiger’ are beyond their comprehension which includes me too.

Why is it so important to save the tiger?
Why so much of hullabaloo for a beast who stays in the wild and in a way doesn’t directly affect us?

A chance interaction with Mr. Dharmendra, an associate of Mr. Fatehsingh Rathore who doesn’t require any introduction for wild life lovers provided me with answers on how important tigers are for our own survival. It may sound selfish to the point, but if our coming generations need to survive; we need to save this wild beauty from poachers and help in every possible way to create more awareness in saving them.

Before I elaborate further on this loveable beast, it would be quite interesting for everyone to understand the passion, eccentricity and devotion of one man who almost single handedly nurtured and blossomed today’s Ranthambore National Park. Credited with over 50 years of love for the tigers, Mr. Fatehsingh had practically lived his early years while creating the tiger sanctuary amidst constant death threats. It went further to the point that he was brutally assaulted by locals for objecting the cattle grazing in the forest zone. Contrary to the beliefs of locals, this legendary hero resolved and fought even stronger to make the habitat tiger friendly. In due course, he succeeded in making the locals realise the importance of tigers for them and everyone. He is a recepient of International Valour Award conferred on him in 1983 and currently is the Honorary Warden of the Ranthambore National Park. He has started a school for locals with special emphasis on Wild Life Conservation.

Last summer, Bandhavgarh fascinated me to the core and therein decided to visit at least one wild life sanctuary every year. Keeping up with the promise, this summer I opted to visit Ranthambore National Park, located near Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. The real importance of why these national parks were created and subsequent attempt of the government to save the tigers was realised when we met Mr. Dharmendra in the school initiated by Mr. Fatehsingh for the local children.

Mr. Dharmendra, a close aide of Mr. Fatehsingh for over 8 years made sure that we had enough treasure of knowledge as would have been imparted by the legend himself. The praise worthy fact is his in-depth study under the guidance of Mr. Fatehsingh which he passed on without any reservation. According to him the project ‘Save Tiger’ could be called off if we are able to get the population from current 1400 to 3000. You would be surprised to correlate this figures, if you were to understand that once, India was home to roughly 40,000 tigers at the beginning of 20th century.

One is left searching for the answer to a natural question which pops up…why settle for less, when we managed with 40,000. The reason though is simple – we do not have enough forests to support a population of more than 3000 tigers in the wild. Flabbergasted? So was I. But as this article is about tigers, we will not deviate our topic to forest conservation. Forests will grow and survive, if we allow tiger to live peacefully and multiply in due course of time.

I am quoting few facts as understood from the interaction, which would help you realise the importance of tiger and why we need to save them -
1) The tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs are apex predators. If there are no tigers, herbivores will breed out of proportion, leading to overgrazing of land venturing into human territory for greener pastures including agricultural produce.
2) When herbivores overgraze, top soil is eroded during the rains, leading to floods and landslides. The catastrophe continues with loss in fertility of the soil, jamming of dams due to soil deposit leading to lesser storage of water and eventual loss to vegetation.
3) With loss of forests, rains would be sparse leading to water shortage. If river goes dry, hydel power stations will stop leading to crisis in supplies in cities and rural areas. With tigers there would be lot of trees around, controlled quantity of herbivores and lots of water for hydel power plants.
4)Tigers and other apex predators keep other secondary predators in check. In their absence, these secondary predators would drive their prey to extinction and then shall attack domestic animals and humans too
5) Depleting tiger quantity means depleting forests. Forests not only regulate temperatures, they catch and help store rainwater that recharges ground water. ” Today over 500 rivers originate from tiger habitat.” Loss of forests means river run dry leading to acute water shortage.
6) Forests play a major role in regulating temperatures by synthesizing carbon dioxide, which heats up the atmosphere. Save forests by saving tigers

For the time being, even if we do not want to care for tiger and are not interested in his beauty and habitat, at least for our own self interest, we have to make every attempt to save him. The life without tigers would be a series of catastrophes and probably too late to rectify.

खाद्यक्रांतिचा स्मृतिस्तंभ February 8, 2010

My in laws hail from Kolhapur. The city having its own uniqueness of people, language and a stupendous sense of hospitable nature. I have been visiting this historic city often in last ten years for the strong association mentioned earlier and unfailingly everytime have made it a point to savour the delicious ‘MISAL’ from the Hotel Chopdar owned by my in laws. Nothing beats the taste of it…I have rarely tried any other recepie from the hotel.

Located on Shivaji Chowk, the hub of Kolhapur, this hotel has its history of more than 90 years…The great old legends from marathi and hindi film industry had many a meals in this place and it was initiated and supported by none other than a legendary ruler of Kolhapur, Shri Shahu Maharaj himself way back in 1914 when eating in hotels was not the tradition. ‘Loksatta’ carried a special article which I am more than happy to share with you all.

Art of Shaving February 2, 2010

Disclaimer:
This article is not for men (and women) loving beards, stubbles. I do not mean to offend the smoothness of a perfect bearded man and the awesome looks which it imparts on some personalities. There may be time where I would opt for giving my Mac some rest. Lastly this article is only meant for facial hairs

Friends, I am definetly not an employee of Gillette or Palmolive as most of you might suspect with the subject on which I am writing. Since last decade or more I shave daily (almost) and wondered how few of my friends keep complaining about this daily and sweet chore, which allows you to be in meditative state for couple of minutes…This article is for them, who would like to keep it smooth and presentable (on most occasions)

1) Most often or not, treat this as a most coveted responsibility, not taking more than 3-4 minutes on an average if you are regular
2) They say- Will moves the mountains. Here we are addressing a small hair growth. So love the chore first.
3) For a closest shave nothing beats a straight-edge razor (ustara or vastara). Even, I am not used to it. It is best done by the barber or else one is sure to get a gashing cut. Any single blade, twin blade or triple blade razor would do.
4) Prefer to perform this ritual after a shower. This ensures your pores are free and skin smooth. This saves the amount of cream/foam used too. Unlike shown in advertisements there is absolutely no need to take tons of shaving cream or foam. That gimmick is to increase the usage and hence the repetitive buys. One knows with practise the correct formulation for every face.
5) Rub the shaving cream in a circular upward motion (this lifts the hairs) for easy cut.
6) Study the pattern of your hair growth (before applying the cream or some nuts may blame for losing the precious cream in bargain). It is usually moving from sidelocks to edge of the chin blade and different at the chin. Trace this shape so that it doesn’t becomes a cakewalk.
7) Never! Never shave in opposite direction of the grains. This (jokingly) was advised only on a Honeymoon night…Now its your choice…But a proper shave ensures smooth skin for life (this I can tell you at the age 37…do not guarantee for 50)
8) Its good to shave alone (to avoid unnecessary cuts and bruises)
9) Finish it with a splash of cold – hot water depending on the weather condition. After-shave is a personal choice and circumstantial (so to say)
10) Replace the blade as per your convenience. For different people the life will be different. Don’t overdo it. Store it upright after rinsing it thoroughly in water (hot if possible)

This sums up my theory session. Happy Smoothness for everymen.

श्री दता काळे हयानी केलेलि कविता February 2, 2010

माझे मित्र श्री दता काळे हयानी केलेलि हि छान कविता
(श्री दता काळे -  ’कोथळीचा भैरवगड आणि हरिश्चंद्र्गड” हा सलग ट्रेक केलया नंतर, भावलेला निसर्ग असा शब्दबध्द करावासा वाटला)

अनंत हिरव्या रंगछटांनी
सजला डोंगरमाथा
बेलागकड्यांच्या मधून फिरती
दुर्गम पाऊलवाटा

डोंगरझाडीमधुनी खुलते
रंग फुलोरी नक्षी
हिरव्या पानांआडूनी दिसतो
लाल-सावळा पक्षी

कडे कपारीवरुनी उतरे
वेगाने जलभार
कोसळूनी ओढ्यात उधळतो
फेनल, शुभ्र तुषार

खळाळ जल ओढ्यात पसरते
घेऊन तांबूस माती
भिजवीत काठावरची सारी
हिरवी लव्हाळ पाती

धुंद, गार वार्‍यावर डुलते
गवतफुलांची काया
हळूच उतरे गिरी माथ्यावर
मेघ सावळी छाया

Khopiwali – Ahupe February 1, 2010

Dear Friends…

This was long overdue…Sahyadris have varied positive impact on everyone who embraces them without a doubt. 
My humble effort to pen down what came to my mind….Hope so lot more is in store…

कोणी जर पुसले
सह्याद्रीच्या कड़े कपारी काय वसले?
उर भरून गर्वाने सांगा तयांसी
महाराष्ट्राचे हे वैभव साजिरे

शिवबाचे सगळे सवंगडी
ह्याच शिखरानवर पोसले
ह्याच निधडया सह्याद्रिने
स्वराज्याचे रक्षण केले

काळया कभिन्न रूप गोजिरे 
हिरवे शालू पान्घरिले
खळखळनार्या घलिन मधुनी
माय मराठी माज्ही हसे  

उर भरून गर्वाने सांगा
महाराष्ट्राचे, सह्याद्री वैभव आगळे

(I have used transliteration to type this and hence may have some spelling mistake. Just in case you find one )

Team AHUPE:
Dr. Kishore Palande (Group Leader), Prasad Rasal, Nitin Kulkarni, Ratnakar Dhakad, Dhananjay Mulay, Mittal Bhavsar, Atul Dhavale, Chetan Pethe, Sanjay Khorate, Sanjay Deshpande, Tushar Shelar, Bipin Shrotriy, Joshi Subhash, Joshi Sushma, Ghanshyam Wagle, Srinivas Kolhapure, Chirag Shadiga, Sangram

Date: January 31, 2010
Day: Sunday
Weather: Pleasant (Max 31. Min 12.5 Deg Celsius)
Height: 3855 ft
Mode of Transport: Bus (27 seater)
Distance: 165-170 kms (from Pune)
Difficulty Level : Easy but bit strenuous for beginners

Location:

Base village: Khopivali

How to reach Khopiwali: Pune – Express way. Exit the Expressway at Khopoli and touch karjat – murbad road. Ask for Mhasa, and from Mhasa you will cross Bandhiwali and finally touch Khopiwali.

(Note: One diversion on this route also may lead you to Khandas-Bhimashankar trek)

An Appeal:
To protect this beautiful nature and conserving our environment, we request all to please AVOID carrying food/snacks in plastic bags. Even, if you have to, by any chance, make sure you don’t dispose them in these pristine surroundings. Instead carry them back and dump ceremoniously in a proper dustbin. Please! Please! Do not litter this heaven with plastic and other non bio-degradable wastes and turn it in to hell. This is a small initiative but will go a long way in saving mother Earth for our future generations.

More about the trek

An early morning start at 5 am from ‘Pate Sanskruti’, Sahakarnagar and the pick up points at Kalaprasad, Nal Stop and Balewadi Road saw us touching Expressway highway at 6ish…The winter chill was missing and weather was soothingly cold. We made an exit on expressway near Khopoli and took to Karjat ie on Old Mumbai-Pune Highway…

One wonders how did this road took on such a heavy load of containers, trucks and innumerable cars and buses for almost 2-3 decades….while comparing it with Expressway….A short stop for tea, Wada-Pav (please mention the place where we stopped) was much desired one. Here on we took the Murbad road. A few guidelines from the locals to direct us to Khopiwali enroute Mhasa helped us. Worth mentioning here is the spontaneity of an old village lady who told us the route simultaneously requesting us to drop her enroute along with her husband.

We touched Khopiwali at 9.45 am. The majestic view of Gorakhgad and Machindra Sulka on the right and Ahupe Mountain in the centre was breathtaking…Everyone in the group was oblivious of the climb and route and with some direction from the villagers we started our walk.

It is important to mention here for the trekkers who will be first timers to ‘Ahupe’ that there is a clear and distinct pathway after you cross one small brook and a stream adjacent to it…and almost immediate after one crosses the huma habitat or else like us it will lead you to some different trail. Assuming we were on the right track with some pre-hesitations on alternative pathways, we started climbing to meet with some difficult terrains doubting the correctness of our route.

Half an hour later while we were still experimenting whether or not we were on right track, one local named Dhumal guided us on the right track….thereby accompanying us few 100 meters in forest. While we were all equipped with good trekking or sport shoes, here was a man without any footwear and happily treading the stones and may be thorns, running ahead of us.

The climb was becoming gradually steeper and the adjacent Gorakhgad and Machindra Sulka were keeping us the much needed company. The mesmerizing scenic beauty even after 5 months from monsoons was enough for us to realize how good this trek would be in monsoons (though somewhat more difficult too). This is a frequently traded path by the locals (even small girls do it with ease) who have some link or relatives atop Ahupe.

There are two water cisterns. One is on the path itself and the other one is bit on the side in the rocky patch (almost after 2/3^rd of the climb) Both of them are super good source of potable water, almost freezing cold, I can say.

Ahupe is very close to the well known trekking spot Siddhaghad. On the way (in monsoons especially) you would come across many waterfalls. The pinnacle is a flat land and has a small village of not over 25 houses and a approx population of 100. One portion of the plateau has a gigantic drop of several hundreds of feet on all the three sides. The echo point is as good as the climb. You can hear even a complete sentence after a seconds lapse. Try it. It is worth the efforts after such a exhaustive climb.

In the event, you are not planning to climb down, there is an ST at 12.30 pm from Ahupe. Make sure you are atop the plateau by 11.30 (in this case) as you may take some 20-30 minutes to walk to the village and the bus stop.

This climb was a trying experience for Nandu as this was his kind of first trek. Except for the first batch of Sangram, Sanjay and Atul, we were treading in small groups just a comfortable distance from each other. It took us some 4 hours to reach the top which otherwise the locals do in 1.30 hours. Here I would like to stress that in a big group like us, where 18 people are involved, it is not important to showcase the efficacy of an individual climber but to make sure that the last person is comfortable and enjoying the trek in oddest of the circumstances. In normal circumstances, I am sure we would have treaded this climb in less than 3 hours comfortably.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once atop, we had a sumptuous lunch with a culinary variety good enough to compete the best of seven star hotels down…Various chutneys, veggies, sandwiched, rice etc made us little lazy and dozing off (partly) for a while. Calculated 10-15 minutes of rest and we decided to climb down. The best part of Ahupe’s descent is its not so great impact on the knees due to many small rocks forming the path. You can choose to take baby steps to avoid unnecessary strain on the knees. We took the correct route (this time) and found the place where we went wrong. As I said earlier, the path crosses a major stream and is on the left side. It’s very very prominent. You cannot miss it at any cost. 

 

Sahyadris have an astounding effect on nature lovers. The serenity and quietude coupled with melodious chirping of birds can inspire anyone to re-think on the option of returning back to the daily city life. This small treks help us to unwind, observe nature closely and help us understand how miniscule are we in comparison to the colossal strength of the ‘Creator’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1000 hits :) January 30, 2010

This is not at all something to really get knocked off (as bloggers around the world have more than few thousand or million hits)…

But for me its special for its 1000 hits for my blog….the start of which was shaky, doubtful….and perhaps it would not have been possible but for the efforts and appreciation by few good friends to keep the momentum going…

Alongside, this number and their combinations have always fancied many on this planet….Some term is as lucky number and sometimes its just the fancy to see rythmic occurance. It could be on a speedometer of your vehicle (like 12345) or a date for a particular year (for eg: 08-08-2008) or still a registration number plate of your car or bike…Numbers are fancied a lot. Thankfully, I am not bitten by the vehicles number plate problem but still such rare occurences do create some sort of curiosity and feeling of subtle elation, in your mind…

I have seen vehicles belonging to Kolhapur with a fancied number ’9′. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if I put this average findings to be 80% to that number fancy…Anything that totals ’9′ is sought for….9999, 0990, 4545, 5454, 6336 and so on…

Ok, now coming back to my 1000 hits…in a customary way…(it may sound like kareena or shahrukh accepting the filmfare award) I would like to thank those known and not so known friends who cared to read (may be sometimes) what I have wrote….I know lot needs to be improved…and shall be on that sojourn of improvement always…

Blogs need to be honest expression of yourself…undiluted with what people of friends might think…and here the test lies…for whom i am writing…is it necessary to even consider this 1000 and so called stats…well…i am really clueless though i would prefer to pour my heart out….irrespective of the grammar and the n mistakes that would happen enroute while writing the blogs…You are all welcome to correct the same

As of today, I would wait for that 1111 or may be 1234 or 2000th hit which should not take much of time, if I write good and interesting

Hadsar Fort January 28, 2010

Team Hadsar:
Suyog Prabhune, Vijay Nandgaonkar, Raja Lokre, Datta Kale, Mayur Lokre, Sagar Bhosale, Chetan Deshpande, Prasad Rasal and Suyog’s Balero

Date: January 24, 2010
Day: Sunday
Weather: Pleasant
Height: 3200 ft
Mode of Transport: Balero

Before starting on detailing this thrilling trek….let me first officially apologize all the team for not making it in time. (stuck here for penning the reasons….but damn it….I made a dhakkan of everyone for more than 35 minutes….and no reason how so ever genuine will be good…and to top it…they were literally cool…unbelievable for me…)

About Hadsar
Hadsar fort is located around 110 -115 km from Pune. A typical route from Pune is as follows: Pune to Narayangaon (Nashik Highway) – Narayangaon to Junnar – Junnar to Hadsar (14-16 km).
It takes generally 2 hours to reach Hadsar depending on the halts one takes in between. Enroute you also spot Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chattrapati Shivaji.

Once you touch the base village, Hadsar, you have three options to climb the fort.
Option 1: On the east of the fort (right of the well) with little rock-climbing (40-50 feet) you can reach the top in no time. If you haven’t had an experience of a typical marathi adage ‘Kapalat Jane’ for a long time, this is the best route (and which obviously our preferred one…Rehmani shant karaycha ek uttam marg).
More details of this chosen course before I proceed further:
There was another small group of 10-12 trekkers preceding us. At first, we were surprised to find them spending so much time on the rock patch (as per suyog and raja and for them it was obvious as they belong to expert category)…From the bottom, it seemed easy. Soon we caught with them and found that 5 of them were opting for a normal course thru stairs. This in a way, dented the confidence of our fellow mate…Datta Kale.
When our turn came, Manya, the youngest climbed like a monkey in few seconds…enough for me to get the required confidence. I was second and preceding Sagar, the first time trekker who like me had some initial doubts but then got to the top easily. Datta bhau was hesitant right from the start and Vijay bhau’s leg had fight with his tummy while lifting up the rock and hence they both decided to take the alternative course of stairs. It is a different story, that with their experience, they could spot a relatively new course which we took while coming down (Simply phadu but good and exciting)

Option 2:
Second one on the west, is a bit long but comparatively easy. You can reach the top using staircase & reach the main majestic main gate (medieval architecture) of the fort and

Option 3:
Third one (which I cannot say is not opted at all) was an accidental find by 2 of our teammates (who earlier opted for stairs than the rock climb) and is in between the other two options (It’s a gully joining the two mountains…commonly called as ‘GHAL’ in marathi). Surely the second best after the rock climb option.
It is important to mention here that, we chose this third option for descent and was a real good experience.

Once on the top (from the rock climb) you can spot a couple of water cisterns. Most of them do not have potable water, but we could spot one small square one (covered with a tree) which quenched our thirst with its cold and good taste. A couple of meters away you can sight a temple of ‘Lord Shiva’ good for a stay (if its overnight trek for 4-5 people) but not in monsoons, I hope.
Further advancing towards the main entrance of the fort, there is a kind of small reservoir. Right of that, is a ‘Oudumbar Tree’ with water trickling in drops and too good to drink. (Note: This we spotted in January. Do not assume it as a perennial source of water. Carry a good stock of your own).
You see lots of cattles grazing on the top and they can be a major attribute for the worsening the water crisis by contaminating the cisterns with their shit and su-su…(animal lovers…pl don’t get pissed off….I too love these otherwise humble and good animals) Well they don’t have a choice too….so let them make merry….we can carry water (2 bottles minimum per person) bottles to quench our thirst

We were having good time on the top, with cool breeze blowing on the face waiting for our 2 mates to join us, when we spotted a storage place ‘Kothi’ underground…The doors of it were intricately carved. Sometimes, we doubt, whether they used control blasting in those times as the amount of carving done in the solid hard rock should have taken longer than what we could imagine…
What say?

It is said that this fort also known as ‘Parvatgad’ was built during Satvahanaas rule. Hadsar is amongst the other 2 forts; Jivdhan and Chawand which guard the Naneghat Pass an important trade route during the earlier days.
Documentary evidences show that this fort was a part of 1637 treaty signed in between Shahji Raje and Mughals. Later British forces conquered and mutilated, demolished this once standing glory (in their usual fashion) to rubbles.
You still can see some exemplary work of our architects when you spot a sublet besides the stairs allowing rainwater to flow without settling on stairs.

Coming back to the descent, the new found course by Vijay and Datta was absolutely an enthralling experience….The loose boulders and stones from the eroded side walls of the mountains made it a tight rope walk for most of us. ‘Budh’ ghasat ghasat kahi patches utarave lagle…The live commentary of Raja for boosting Datta’s morale was a treat to listen and watch…Finally after this descent, we laid our hands on the food at 6.30 pm near the well which again had absolutely fresh and cool water. Some few pit stops (for dinner and drinks) made for the wonderful end to this unforgettable trek to Hadsar.

Variants of a disaster in breaking December 18, 2009

when you pick up those stones
in the backyard of your home
to build a dream that has a soul of its own
you seek the well structured es that make it beautiful
the ones that make it strong
and the ones that make it stand

times will make you realize that you don’t always
fetch the necessary boulders to secure your demands
and not always will the weather support your hands
with strong grounds for the structure to stand

then there will be others who let your will down
for the time that you’ve spent could be worth some other rounds
but you stick to your norm and fight the plight on
listening to your soul heading towards the goal

for all of the strength calculated to build your dream
is just not enough to pull out the cream
you rely on your guts to defy all the ifs and the buts
grabbing every bit and stroking every inch
you move… you move…….. you… move
towards the glory of your goal

after all the days and the months
and the years of your thrives
that tiny moment… finally arrives
that… tiny… little… moment.
the moment that made YOU…
the moment made you cry
for the success that you desired
and the success that you’ve admired
the moment that flashes all your tides
in a second,
with your success side-by-side
with your glory in the making
and all the variants you saw…
of a disaster in breaking

the moment that sends shivers down your spine
to have imagined building something of that kind

to have tuned all the chimes
to have faith in all the sunshines
to have dreamed all night
to make the most of what you could
with all your might
with all… your bloody MIGHT

and you learn…
you learn not to stop
for you have now… MADE YOURSELF
made yourself… a craving soul that believes
a soul that believes, in itself
a soul, that defies gravity
a soul, that lives on goodwill
a soul, that extends to fulfil…
every startling thought
every enlivening emotion
every enticing dream
and every little hope… that you’ve been!

(A poem by Prads, my bro-in-law)