What is a dream? It’s a series of images, ideas, emotions and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. That is the literal meaning of dream. According to me, dream is the conscious and constant effort of the brain to touch the soul with memorable events of life that has happened or may happen in your life.
Why am I telling you’ll about dreams? Well I had a dream a few months back. I was going on a ride on my bike to this wonderland, wonderland having long and winding roads with not a man in sight, clean and unpolluted air gushing through my lungs, green canopy, brooks, streams and rivulets running parallel to the road, divine mountains wrapped in clouds, serene valleys with rivers, small villages camouflaged by mountains, cool breeze kissing your face, bustling waterfalls and friends to die for. I dearly wanted to go to such a place but was unsure whether such a place existed. After a while I got busy with my life but the craving to go on such a ride increased. As time passed, my yearning turned into desperation and that’s when I made up my mind to hunt for the place.
I got cracking on the internet and voila! I came across a website indiamike.com which detailed about a ride to Jawhar via Wada-Suryamal-Khodala route. I had been to Jawhar in 2007 but via Western Express Highway which was one of my best rides but this ride was something which I was looking forward to with bated breath. The blog charged me up and my excitement knew no bounds. I called up Pari, (who is always ready to go for a ride anywhere and everywhere) and recommended him about the ride on 1st & 2nd of August ’2009 to Jawhar via Suryamal-Khodala route and he readily agreed as expected. I sent a mail to other members informing them about our next adventure along with the photographs. This ride became all the more important because by next year most of the part will be destroyed for Middle Vaitarna project. So I wanted to go on this ride before the ink was dry.
The response to the mail was tremendous as ten people agreed to join us (Pari and myself), but on the D-day only six of us were left to make the journey. Disappointed but not discouraged we set off for a dream ride. Suhas Jadhav, Nitin Poojari, Pari Veeramani, Vivek Parab, Ashish Soni and myself were the fortunate ones who were going to explore the siebthe Himmel and the unfortunate ones were going to regret their decisions for sure.
We stopped at Borivali flyover to pick up Ashish and then went to Mira Road from where Vivek was to join us (he was the last minute entry). We filled our tanks at Kashimira and started our journey towards the heaven. We stopped somewhere after Kalyan and had our breakfast, the mouth-watering Sukka Chicken and Idli which was specially made by Nitin’s mom for the journey. We ate to our heart’s content and left towards Atgaon from where we would be moving towards Tansa Lake, our first destination. We reached Vasind and asked for the directions. The man informed us that this road will take us to Tansa faster than the road from Atgaon. So, we took a left from Vasind not knowing that the man has taken us to the garden path. He did this so that we can drop him to his village. But I believe that whatever happens happens for the best cause we embarked on a road which was worth riding on. Smooth roads, green cover on both sides of the road, streams running side by side which reminded me of those unfortunate beings that couldn’t get around making this ride.
We reached Tansa at about 10.30 a.m. which is one of the lakes (others being Modak Sagar, Bhatsa river and Vaitarna river all of which are in the same region) where we get water from but unfortunately due to scanty rains the volume was low. Tansa Lake covers around 54 sq.km and is more than 100 ft deep. It is surrounded by imposing mountains on all sides. The view was spectacular and it filled our souls. Though we intended to stay for a while we had to leave the place with a heavy heart as we were short on time.
We reached Tansa village and had a cup of tea with snacks and rested for a while engulfing the silence around and moved towards Wada from where we took a left turn towards Suryamal. Suryamal is a small village on the Suryamal plateau. The ride was the best ride I’ve ever had as we were greeted by gorges and beautiful valleys and greenery all around. On the way we discovered a picturesque waterfall and with not a soul in sight, we decided to get in it and get sanctified. The water was cool, white and pure and the location was celestial, overlooking mountains. It cleansed our souls and body and we felt divine taking bath in it. After having a ripper and a peg of the pungent Chivas Regal in the waterfall we decided to move towards our next destination. The location of the waterfall is between six of us and the Cat’s whiskers.
We reached Suryamal and enquired about the government rest house for the night but we were asked to find an alternative arrangement at Khodala, 10 km from Suryamal. Unfortunately, even the rest house at Khodala was not available and hence we were left with no option but to go to Jawhar. When we left Khodala we were blind as a bat and we had to ride our bikes in total darkness. We reached Jawhar at around 9.30 p.m. and headed straight to Shivneri Dhaba for dinner as we were hungry like a bear. After Bon appétit! we found ourselves a shelter at Pushpanjali Hotel. We went to bed after the game of flash at around 2.00 a.m. The next day we had planned to go to the famous Dabhosa Waterfall or Dabdhaba as the locals call it, the Hanuman Point and Bhopatgad.
The next morning we headed straight towards Hanuman Point. The view warmed the cockles of our heart. The entire valley was covered with acres and acres of greenery surrounded by mountains which was covered with black clouds. The milieu was a sight to behold with range of natural colours mystifying us. Even a thousand words are not enough to describe this unforgettable view. It’s engraved in our minds and we would treasure this moment for the rest of our lives. We clicked some stunning snaps and decided to move towards the famous Dabhosa Waterfall.
We bought some beer for ourselves and headed straight towards Dabhosa Waterfall. There was a huge crowd at Dabhosa which really was disappointing. Anyways, we decided to go down the valley to reach the waterfall. But seeing the steep descend and bearing in mind the condition of the people coming up, four people decided against it. Pari and I however continued to move down towards the Waterfall. The force of the waterfall was unbelievable. The droplets caressed our skin as it came crashing down with deafening sound. People were having the time of their life in the pond formed by the enthralling waterfall . After spending about half an hour we started our treacherous climb. The climb was no walk in the park. When we reached the top we were not surprised to see the members having a gala time sipping on their beers. We found a comfortable spot to sit and decided to refresh ourselves with chilled beer enjoying the scenic view of the waterfall from the top. It was already 4.30 p.m. by the time we left Dabhosa.
We bought some more beers en-route the Shivneri Dhaba, ordered our lunch and went towards the Tribal lord’s Palace. After finding ourselves a cosy little place we decided to wet our whistle before lunch. The place was simply magnificent and it’s hard to put it in words. We left towards the palace after refreshing ourselves and spent a good hour at the grand palace. Though we couldn’t see the palace from inside the view from the backside of the palace was enchanting and irresistible. The temptation of spending more time at the valley subsided when our stomachs started making noise. We returned to Shivneri Dhaba and feasted on the spicy Chicken Handi and rice bhakris whereas the vegetarians gorged on delicious paneer. The lunch was sponsored by Ashish Soni. We went to our Hotel, packed our bags, settled our dues and bid adieu to the ‘Mahabaleshwar of Thane District’.
Though the rain-gods eluded us the whole journey, the climate was awesome with clear skies, cool climate and waterfalls. We were forced to stop umpteen times by Mother Nature as the landscape all around was a sight to behold. We rode, we sat and we even slept on the roads. We were mesmerised by each and every panorama we took a look at. The scenery around us had cast a spell on us. We took around thirteen hours to cover a distance of just 250 kms. It started as a dream and ended as a dream journey. It was my dream and we ‘The Furj’s’ fulfilled it but to many, it will still be a distant reverie. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” and how true it is. The people who did not embark on this journey will never know what they’ve missed and they will certainly rue their decision. Yes indeed it was a “Dream come true” but I haven’t stopped dreaming cause I want to live my dreams and satisfying those dreams is my primary objective.
I would end this dream and this dream journey with these beautiful words by Pearl Buck...
There were many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, But what really broke a heart was taking away Its dream – whatever that dream might be. So chao, adieu, Astalavista, Auf wiedersehn, goodbye for now but the journeys will continue………. À bientôt!
A Picture Says A Thousand Words
The Riders & Their Machines
Way To My Dreams
Streams Feeding My Dreams
The Mountains And The Valleys
The Waterfalls
Palace of my dream
Dreamy Panoramas
Map To The Dreamworld
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