Random Ramblings

Apr 4, 2012

Most people think that MNP stands for Mahim Nature Park. But technically the name of the place is Maharashtra Nature Park. In fact, it is not even in Mahim - located opposite the Dharavi BEST bus depot, it is closer to Sion and even Bandra than it is to Mahim. Whatever you call it, it is one of the best kept secrets of Mumbai's bird lovers and nature photographers. Hope it stays that way because once "family" crowds discover the place, it would revert to it's original avatar of a garbage dump

Located on the Bandra-Sion Link Road and on the bank of the Mithi River, the idea of MNP was conceived by the WWF India in the late 1970s. The MMRDA website mentions that an area of about 37 acres, which was earlier a land fill, was ecologically restored and developed as a Nature Park by MMRDA. It also says that naturalists from the Bombay Natural History Society and WWF India have confirmed that MNP plays host to about 38 species of butterflies and more than 80 species of birds. As many as 200 tree species have been listed, many naturally planted by birds and insects

The MNP is open on Monday through Saturday, from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. The entry fee is Rs. 5 per person. You need to enter through the Main gate rather than the Nursery gate. If you are driving in from the LBS Marg side, you would see the Main gate (on the opposite side of the road) before reaching the Dharavi Depot. The building that houses the office, where you make your payment, and Education Centre is towards the right. There are many small trees and shrubs planted around it, which attract butterflies in the morning

Moving further, you would see three parallel paths moving towards the Nursery area at the other end of the park (exactly opposite Dharavi Depot). If you follow the outermost path (Path 3), you would go past a large pond and reach the banks of the Mithi river. The river is very wide here and the buildings of the BKC seem far away. On most mornings, you would see a host of water birds in the river, mostly towards the BKC bank. Path 2 is the innermost path that runs parallel to the road, while Path 1 is in the middle and goes past an Astral Garden that is on a raised platform. On my first visit, I did not get time to check it out, but I am told that it contains trees corresponding to all 27 rashis and nakshatras. Talk about mixing science and pseudo-science!

When my friends and I visited MNP recently, it was the middle of winter and there were not many flowers to be seen. But we did come across many butterflies, though mostly of common varieties, and a few not-too-common birds like kingfishers and coppersmith barbets. A pair of brown kites were nesting in the tress near the main office, despite the constant and raucous harassment of the park's many resident crows. I hope to make another trip in the post-monsoon months when I hope to see and photograph many more winged beauties

Palm Curtain

Prosotas dubiosa indica - Tailless Lineblue butterfly

Ixias pyrene - Yellow Orange Tip butterfly

Colotis amata - Small Salmon Arab butterfly

Beetle

Merremia vitifolia - Grape-leaf Wood Rose

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 2:34 PM. 2 comments

Mar 7, 2012

Sarasgad

The small town of Pali in Raigad district is famous for its Ballaleshwar temple, one of Maharashtra's famed "Ashtavinayak" shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesh. Looming over the town and the temple is a rocky massif that dominates the landscape and atop this, at a height 1400 feet, is the fort of Sarasgad. When I signed up for an "Easy+" trek to Sarasgad with the Mumbai-based MASK Group, I had no idea that the actual difficulty rating was more like "Moderate++"

Anyway, I joined the other trekkers and the MASK organizers in a hired bus as it took the Mumbai Pune expressway up to the exit for Khopoli, just after the Khalapur toll plaza. Then our bus crossed a bridge over the expressway and started down the Khopoli-Pali road. Some 30 kilometers from the expressway exit, after a quick stop for breakfast on the way, we reached Pali. There were signboards everywhere that guided us towards the Ballaleshwar temple

Leaving the bus at the free parking lot (courtesy of the temple), we walked towards the hill. Since this was MASK's first trek to Sarasgad, we were not sure about the trail but with some guidance from the locals, started our ascent. On our way up, at around 10:30, we met a group that was already coming down from the fort - a sensible schedule, considering the heat of the March morning. A relatively easy climb brought us to a small dusty plateau, from where we had great views of the rocky peak of Sarasgad and another triple peak further along the same ridge

This is where things started difficult for inexperienced trekkers like me. A section of steep stone walls, which we had to scale on all fours, was followed by some gigantic steps cut into the rock. For our already tired legs, each step required a huge effort and we had to take a break every few steps just to catch our breath. Either those steps were designed for giants, or Indians have shrunk in size over the last five hundred years or so. Anyway, after a long climb up the steps, we came to the arched door-like fort entrance and a rock-cut guards chamber just inside it

After resting a while at this point, we continued our search for the path to the top of the fort. Thankfully this section was mostly easy, other than a point where you have to walk along a narrow ledge holding on to the cliff wall. Finally we came to some caves cut into the rock itself. Most were dry but one still contained cool water, albeit covered by a film of dust. One of our team assured us that since there were fish swimming in the cave pond, it was safe to drink. Since our own water bottles were empty by now, we had no choice but to fill them up with this sweet water

Most of our group settled down in the shade of the cliff, not far from the water tank. On this other side there were smaller caves that were probably once used for storing food or as living quarters. Some of the chambers had been walled up with rock and bricks. Other than a few insects, and a few local boys who came to steal glances at the city girls in our group, we were totally alone atop Sarasgad for two hours. Once everyone had settled down after a shared lunch, the peaceful quietness of the place was unbelievably soothing. Many of the trekkers enjoyed a little nap

Meanwhile some of the team members had lost their way and serendipitously reached the top of the fort. They called us up and explained that the path was in the another direction from the one that reached the caves. But by this time, the majority of the group was in no mood to move out of the cool shade. So we waited for the summit conquerors to rejoin us, and then started the descent back to Pali. At some points this was even more difficult than the ascent, and we had to literally drag our butts down steep rocky slopes and slippery gravel patches. But once we crossed the plateau, things got easier and some of us reached Pali a good half hour before the rest

Because the actual trek took longer than expected, we had to forego the chance to get a darshan of Lord Ganesh. After quickly rehydrating and recharging ourselves with tea and juices, we got in the bus and started the journey back to Mumbai. Of course, none of us missed any opportunity to remind the MASK group that the next time they invited us for a summer trek, they should start the climb earlier, and more importantly, get the difficulty rating confirmed

Sarasgad Massif

Triple Peak on Sarasgad Ridge

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 3:47 PM. 0 comments

Feb 22, 2012

Yeoor - Butterflies

A cold winter morning, about 7:30 am. You board the TMT bus number 16 from Thane Station West and buy a ticket for its last stop, namely, Patonapada - a small village within the SGNP buffer zone. After some time, the rickety bus enters the national park via the Yeoor gate and runs along a twisting road that becomes increasingly pock-marked with craters as you along, past the larger and highly concretized village of Yeoor, till it finally drops you off at Patonapada

Here you see two smaller roads leading away from the main road. The right hand path would take you, through another small hamlet and a small grassy plateau, deeper into the Thane part of the forest. You take the left hand path, which leads you to a gate and a kuccha trail beyond. You start walking slowly, your eyes fixed not on the trail ahead but on the trees and shrubs on both sides, and even the fallen leaves, looking for butterflies basking in the early morning sunlight

Soon you see a dry stream running along the trail, on your right hand side, its deep bed full of rocks that have been rounded smooth by centuries of monsoon rains. You know that further along the trail is a waterfall pouring into this very stream - but that is not of interest to you in this dry season. After some time, the trail comes down to the same level as the stream. Leaving the main trail, you walk a few steps down to the stream bed where a thin stream of water still flows

Initially you don't see many signs of life. Then you notice a few butterflies flapping down, looking only half awake, and settling down in the fine sand in the stream bed. Some perch on the rocks a few meters upstream or downstream. Others make short flights in the undergrowth on the edge of the stream, not really coming out into the open. Along with the butterflies, you see some moths, big flies, buzzing bees and water striders swimming in the pools on the stream bed

All this while, you have been taking photographs of the butterflies, taking advantage of the sluggishness of these cold-blooded creatures to snap extreme close-ups, even real macros. Now you begin to lose that advantage for as the sun grows warmer, the butterflies become more active. At the same time, you are happy to see more individuals come out of hiding - you get to see more colors and more species. If you're lucky, you can see hundreds of these winged beauties

***

This is what my friends and I have been doing this winter, at intervals of 3 weeks or so. Sometimes we joined a larger group led by ace photographer Yuwaraj Gurjar, happy to get his tips on aperture or shutter speed adjustments that would improve our pictures. At other times, we ourselves went in groups of 2 to 5, some armed with very basic equipment and some carrying macro lenses and tripods (and of course showing off our knowledge in front of the newbies)

I have also been trying to identify all the butterflies I have seen and/or photographed. So, in case you are planning a trip yourself, the bellow list would help you identify the ones you spot:

Superfamily Papilionidea
Papilionidae - swallowtail butterflies
Spot Swordtail (Graphium nomius)
Pieridae - yellow and white butterflies
Psyche (Leptosia nina)
Nymphalidae - brush-footed butterflies
Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea)

Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis)

Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus Linnaeus)

Striped Tiger (Danaus genutia Cramer)

Common Indian Crow (Euploea core)

Blue King Crow (Euploea klugii)

Common Bushbrown (Mycalesis perseus)

Commander (Moduza procris)

Chestnut-Streaked Sailer (Neptis jumbah)

Common Sailer (Neptis hylas)

Common Baron (Euthalia aconthea)

Leopard (Phalanta phalantha)

Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana)

Chocolate Pansy (Junonia iphita)

Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias)

Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus)
Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

Lycaenidae - blues, hairstreaks and gossamer-winged butterflies

Angled Pierrot (Caleta caleta)

Striped Pierrot (Tarucus nara)

Dark Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra)

Gram Blue (Euchrysops cnejus)

Plains Cupid (Edales pandava)

Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus)

Tailless Lineblue (Prosotas dubiosa)

Common Acacia Blue (Surendra quercetorum)
Common Guava Blue (Virachola isocrates)
Riodinidae - punches & judies
Plum Judy (Abisara echerius)

Superfamily Hesperioidea
Hesperiidae - skipper butterflies
Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias)

Black Angle (Tapena thwaitesi)

***

Note that in summer, the spot mentioned above dries out completely and becomes just a sandy path off to the right of the trail. At this time, the attention of the butterfly spotters and photographers shifts to a point further downstream where the trail crosses the by now broad river bed. Instead of crossing it, you turn right, clambering over large and small rocks to reach a point where some pools of water still exist. Pouring some of this water on patches of dry sand creates the ideal "bait" for large and small butterflies looking for some mud puddling opportunities. Sometimes, you may even see hundreds of individuals from different species flocking to the spot. For even better results, you can pour some beer, toddy or buttermilk (no kidding)

***

Tarucus nara - Striped Pierrot butterfly

Moduza procris - Commander butterfly

Mycalesis butterfly (exact species TBI)

Graphium nomius – Spot Swordtail butterfly

Caleta caleta - Angled Pierrot

Leptosia nina - The Psyche butterfly

Tapena thwaitesi - Black Angle butterfly 'dry season form'

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 6:45 AM. 2 comments

Nov 10, 2011

SGNP - Nagla

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is divided into two parts by the Vasai creek, and the Ghodbunder road that runs along its southern bank. This modern road, recently widened to handle the heavy traffic crossing over from the Eastern Express highway to the Western Express highway and vice versa, is probably a descendant of the land route between the ancient ports of Sopara and Kalyan. Of late, the uncontrolled development of the area along Ghodbunder road threatens to overrun the borders of the SGNP. However there are still some relatively unspoilt and scenic stretches along the road, especially as you move away from Thane

The section of the SGNP that lies to the north of the Vasai creek is called the Nagla block. The entrance to the Nagla nature trail is easy to miss, if you don't know where to look. There is a small tribal village just off the Ahmedabad highway on the east side, a few hundred feet from the Vasai creek bridge. The trail begins here and climbs steadily upward for a while. There is a gully that, I was told, becomes a gushing stream during the monsoon. Later there is another small stream flowing right along the path, which leads down towards the creek. Our group unfortunately decided to turn back at this point, so I couldn't go all the way down to the creek

Our group leader told me that although one can see a few flowers along the trail just after the rains, SGNP generally is not a great place for flower photography, and especially not in November. But I did manage to get a few good pictures, thanks to the guidance of some senior photographers in the group. Also there were many butterflies and dragonflies, spiders and mantises, and even a few reptiles to be seen. I even spotted a monkey, probably a langur, jumping from branch to branch high in the trees. All said and done, it was an interesting trip and one I would like to repeat next September, when there would hopefully be more flowers around

Neptis hylas - Common Sailor butterfly

Mating butterflies

Junonia iphita - Chocolate Pansy butterfly

Eurema hecabe - Common Grass Yellow butterfly

Green Dragonfly

Grasshopper

Fern leaves

Red leaves

Orthosiphon rubicundus - Red Java Tea

Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya - Prickly Chaff Flower

Anisomeles heyneana - Western Hill Catmint

Hygrophila ringens - Erect Hygrophila

Thespesia lampas - Common Mallow

Barleria montana - Mountain Barleria

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 5:15 PM. 0 comments

Nov 5, 2011

SGNP - Yeoor

Mumbai is one of very few large cities in the world having a national park within municipal limits. Notified in 1974, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is a rare green zone in the concrete jungle that is Mumbai. Even this green lung is increasingly being developed, in the guise of improving living conditions for the few adviasis who have traditionally lived in small padas within SGNP limits. The fact is that most new constructions in and around these padas are resorts being constructed by influential politicians for the enjoyment of wealthy businessmen. There is also the growing influx of migrants into these villages, which further endangers the flora and fauna of the Park

Though some part of SGNP lies on the mainland of Thane district, most of its area falls within the island of Salsette (with some part in Greater Mumbai and the rest in Thane district). There are two main entrances for visitors - at Borivali and Thane (Yeoor). The former is mainly for tourists wanting to visit school picnic favorites like the Krishnagiri Upavan or the Kanheri caves. The Yeoor gate on the other hand is favored by morning walkers and nature lovers. The Yeoor walking trails, beginning with the metaled road leading in from the main gate and going deep into the forest, are a pleasure to walk along. Both in September-October (post monsoon) and in January-February (the beginning of spring), I have seen and photographed a wide variety of picturesque flowers

The area in and around Yeoor village has probably seen more land grabs than perhaps anywhere else in SGNP, including a resort that is favoured by MNC IT companies for outbound team building programs. Though to be fair to the said resort, they have not overdone the concretization and have developed some beautiful flower gardens and lawns on their property. But any development within a national park is still undesirable as the exotic trees and plants brought in for the resort can have a negative effect on the local flora. One hopes the forest authorities will take some concrete steps, no pun intended, to stop any further damage to the tropical rain forest ecosystem that is the SGNP

Commelina erecta - Erect Dayflower

Tradescantia pallida 'Purpurea' - Purple Wandering Jew

Eranthemum roseum - Blue Eranthemum

Cynarospermum asperrimum - Hill Blepharis

Trichodesma indicum - Indian Borage

Haplanthodes tentaculatus - Tentacled Haplanthodes

Centranthera indica - Undir Kani

Argyreia sericea - Sikly Morning Glory

Barleria prionitis - Porcupine Flower

Turnera ulmifolia - Yellow Alder

Cajanus cajan - Pigeon Pea

Crotalaria spectabilis - Showy Rattlepod

Oxalis corniculata - Creeping Wood Sorrel

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 10:16 AM. 0 comments

Oct 12, 2011

Thoseghar Falls

First look at the Kaas article... then read on

Continuing down the road from Kaas to Satara town, we turned right and passed through a small tunnel. Another right turn put us on the road to Kaas. Initially it was a level road through villages and farm land but it soon turned into a winding ghat road that led past the Sajjangarh fort. On one side we could see entire hilltops covered with the windmills that comprise the Chalkewadi Wind Farm. On the other side was another view of the Urmodi dam and reservoir. Reaching Thoseghar, we heard a loud roar that we soon recognized as the sound of the waterfalls. Even though the monsoon had ended, there was still a lot of water rushing off the cliffs into the gorge carved through the millenia by these powerful falls

Our auto driver was kind enough to act as our guide and show us the viewing points for the main falls as well as the smaller falls where many picnickers were playing in the water. Having noticed my passion for flower photography, he also pointed out a lot of flowers that I dutifully captured on camera. Finally we turned back and came back to Satara town, where our driver / guide pointed out a good place just opposite the ST stand where we could have our lunch. After a nice meal, we caught the next ST bus back to Mumbai, promising ourselves we would come back next year for another trip to Kaas and Thoseghar

Tree on Thoseghar Road

Thoseghar Falls

Thoseghar Gorge

Thoseghar Falls

Tree at Thoseghar

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 5:34 PM. 0 comments

Oct 8, 2011

Kaas

So much has been written about Kaas on so many online fora that it would be pointless to offer any more general information. Instead I'll tell you the story of how my trip to Kaas along with my brother and cousin almost became a nightmare... First, the Neeta Volvo that took us overnight from Mumbai to Satara was 2 hours late. Then, the driver dumped us on the highway instead of taking us to the Satara ST stand as advertised on the Neeta website. Then, we had to pay an auto driver 90 rupees just to take us the 3 or so kilometers to the stand. Then, we learnt that we had just missed the 6:45 am ST bus to Mahabaleshwar that would have taken us directly to the Kaas plateau and that the next bus was at 8 am, by which time the sunlight could get too bright to take good photos. Then, we asked a tourist taxi operator what he would charge for the round trip to Kaas, and he quoted an eye-popping Rs. 1200

Okay, now for the twist. Telling the taxi driving con artist we'd get back, the three of us started bargaining with some auto drivers near the bus stand. One of them finally agreed to take us first to Kaas, then to Thoseghar waterfalls, and then back to the ST stand in the afternoon, all for Rs. 1200. Though this still sounded steep, we knew that the road from Satara to Kaas involved even steeper climbs. Also, going from Kaas to Thoseghar involved coming back almost all the way to town, turning right through a small tunnel and then taking another ghat road. So we grudgingly agreed to the fare and hopped in. On the way to Kaas, the hillside road was lined with beautiful flowers, including some light blue morning glories that I had never seen before. But since I wanted to reach Kaas by 7:30 am, which I had been told was the best time for flower photography on the plateau, I sacrificed the blue ipomoeas and probably many other rare morning flowers. But it was worth it, since the auto driver stopped on top of the Kaas plateau, which was only slowly filling up with tourists, at precisely 7:25 am

After 90 minutes of exploring the plateau to find the few rare species left (it was already October 1, the fag end of the season, and most flowers other than the ubiquitous pink impatiens and yellow smithias had already disappeared), we got back in the auto and started the downhill ride towards Satara town and the tunnel leading to Thoseghar waterfalls (more about that in another article). To my relief, the friendly auto driver agreed to stop at many places on the way so that we could click some more beautiful flowers and also admire the Kanher and Urmodi reservoirs on either side of the Kaas road

Enough of the story, here are some of the photos...

Purple Bladderwort, Kaas

Law's Balsam 'violet', Kaas

Fringed Flower Rotala, Kaas

Greater Cat Ears, Kaas

Water Willow, Kaas

Mal Karvy, Kaas

Sharma's Pipewort, Kaas

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 4:29 AM. 1 comment

Sep 26, 2011

Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden

This last Sunday, I got up early in the morning and caught the bus from Thane Station to Borivali via Ghodbunder Road. Got down at a stop called Ovala Village. Waited there for some time for my colleagues to arrive by car. Just ahead of the bus stop was a small road going left. We went along that road for about a kilometer to reach our destination. Some of the guys were butterfly fanatics, others were just photographers and nature lovers. The park opens at 8 am and closes at 2 pm (on Sundays only) with an entry fee of Rs. 50 inclusive of car and bike parking facility. You can have tea and breakfast for another Rs. 50 per head, though for large groups, you need to give advance notice. We left the place by 11 am or so but not before clicking many butterflies (mostly my friends) and flowers (yours truly). Some other visitors opted for a guided tour by the park's founder Rajendra Ovalekar. A few tagged along with award winning nature photographer Baiju Patil, who happened to be one of the visitors that day. Enough said, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 5:45 PM. 4 comments

Sep 12, 2011

Koraigad

From the base village of Peth Shahapur near Lonavla, the hill on which Koraigad stands looks like an unlikely location for a fort. It seems more like the steep peak of a narrow ridge - you would hardly expect to find any standing room at the top of it. But once you pass through the village temple and start climbing up the trail, the hill looms ever larger and looks more and more like a mountain befitting its location in the mighty Western Ghats

Koraigad

Once you climb up the steep steps, past the Ganesh temple and through the gate of the fort, you come to an unexpectedly broad plateau surrounded by fortified walls. On the plateau stand a large twin lake, which sometimes overflows through the dam-like fort wall to form a waterfall, and also a smaller one towards the other end. There are also three temples dedicated to Korai Mata (after whom the fort is named), Vishnu and Shiva

Lake at Koraigad

Koraigad Scenery

During the monsoon, the plateau within the fort is carpeted by wild flowers, among which yellow Senecio grahamii blooms dominate. But if you look closely enough, there is enough variety to make this beautiful little plateau look like a mini Kaas

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 5:51 PM. 3 comments

Jun 6, 2011

Mumbai to Pune

Disclaimer: This article was written in 2001. My apologies if it sounds outdated. Also please forgive the poor quality of the photos, which date from 2005 and 2008

By the time I wrestle my bags on to the overhead luggage rack and settle down into my seat, the train is already speeding through the northeastern suburbs of Mumbai. Soon it is passing through Thane station, outside the city limits. Known for its picturesque lakes and tanks, Thane has its own special place in the annals of railway history. The first railway line in India was laid between Mumbai and Thane (then called Tanna), way back in 1854.

After Thane station comes the panoramic vista of the Thane creek, followed by a long tunnel through the mountain that separates Kalwa and Mumbra. Although there are tunnels later in the Bhor Ghat section as well, I think this one is longer than any of them. Emerging from the tunnel, the train crosses the Mumbra creek and speeds through Diva Junction, where Konkan Railway trains turn off on their way south. Next we pass through the South Indian strongholds of Dombivli and Thakurli on our way to Kalyan Junction. This is an important station on the Central Railway from where Mumbai local trains going to Karjat and Kasara go their separate ways.

Mumbra creek

A few minutes past Kalyan is Ambernath - this temple town is named after one of the most important Shiva temples in Western India, which is situated nearby. About a hour and a half out of Mumbai, we come to Karjat station. Situated on the edge of the Bhor Ghat section of the route, Karjat is also the terminus for local trains coming from Mumbai. It is also famous for its vada pav, that staple dish of urban Maharashtra that can be breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner depending on one's financial status. Purists assure me that the vada pav of Karjat is the real thing and nothing you get on the streets of Mumbai and Pune can match it.

The mountains of the Bhor Ghat are dotted with trees and shrubs all year round. But the rains really bring about a metamorphosis in their appearance. The dusty, dull greenery of the vegetation is transformed into a profusion of jade, emerald and other shades of green. The slopes are covered with wildflowers in various shades of yellow, pink and white. These look all the more beautiful when you look down from the British-built viaducts that still stand tall across the gullies and valleys.

British-era Viaduct

Adding to the natural beauty of the mountains is the strikingly magical effect of rainwater. What in the summer months were merely bare rock faces are now lined with cascading waterfalls. What just a few months ago were just rock-strewn valley floors become streambeds where babbling brooks hurriedly make their way down to the plains below.

The misty veils of cloud that hug the mountainsides occasionally descend into the valley as fog, giving an eerie touch to the landscape. Even as I write, the train is passing by a valley that has been transformed by the fog into a grayish-white river with green banks. In the mornings, this fog is even more beautiful and pure milky-white in colour. And if the mist is thin enough, the mountains across the valley with their necklaces of waterfalls and anklets of silver streams look even more beautiful.

Waterfall in Bhor Ghat section

Although there a few stops in the Ghat section such as Thakurwadi and Monkey Hill (named after the innumerable simians that inhabit its densely wooded slopes), the first real station after Karjat is Khandala. This pleasant, relatively unpolluted hill station has recently been immortalized by Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in the song Aati Kya Khandala?.

Among railfans, Khandala is famous for the British-built reversing station that was almost totally destroyed to make way for the Mumbai Pune expressway and Old Highway realignment. The reversing station enabled trains to climb up the steep slope of the Ghat, without the need for the tunnels and banking engines that do the job nowadays.

Remains of Reversing Station

Five kilometers from Khandala is Lonavla, which is slightly lower in altitude as well as easier on the tourists' wallets. Lonavla is famous all over India for its chikki - a sweet made of jaggery and peanuts (or cashew nuts or grated coconut).

From Lonavla, it's another hour or so to Pune. On the way are stations like Malavli, where you would alight to visit the famous Karla caves, and Dehu Road, where you get off for the temple town of Dehu. My train, however, speeds through these stations as well as through Vadgaon - scene of an important battle in Maratha history - and Kamshet, where the beautiful Indrayani river runs just past the platform. It doesn't stop either at Talegaon or the industrial centers of Chinchwad and Pimpri (the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation used to be the richest in Asia) or the army town of Khadki (the Khadakvasla lake and the National Defence Academy are located here).

Finally the train halts at Shivaji Nagar station. This is close to the heart of Pune City and is developing into a bustling center of business and commerce. Most people heading into Pune proper would alight here. I though, have to wait for another 5 minutes as the train crosses the Sangam Bridge on the river Mutha. It is named after the confluence of the Mutha and Mula rivers, just beyond the bridge.

Soon the train is pulling into its final destination - Pune junction. As I resign myself to another tiring week of hard labour at the office, I derive some satisfaction from the thought that someone will enjoy reading this little account of my journey. I hope you did.

Posted by Ajay Ramakrishnan at 4:39 PM. 3 comments

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