Trek to Torna

with the rains hiding just around the corner, is it possible to resist the temptation to go on a trek??? i dont think so…

and that is exactly what happened.. cancelling our plans to go to malshej ghat to see the rains (for the uninitiated.. malshej ghat is a hillspot close to mumbai.. where the rains break havoc, literally, much to the delight of the weekend revellers!) .. we decided instead to go on a trek to one of shivaji’s numerous forts around pune .. and enjoy the climate…

the fort that called out to us was torna.. supposed to be one of the most difficult forts to conquer…. and the one that shivaji conquered right in the beginning of his career. Situated at approx 65kms from pune, the trek to torna is easily a one day trip.. a destination that is frequented by many of the trekking clubs in pune…

our day started early in the morn at 5 am.. after about an hr on the road, we reached the village at the foot of the fort, called velhe, at abt 630ish… after a hearty bfast and chai at the restaurant in the village, we set out for the fort at arnd 730. Right from the beginning the fort showed us why is it a difficult fort to conquer… most of the faces are really steep, even the route we took was considerably steep for the foothills of a mountain..

the climate was just rite for a trek… no sun.. loads of cloud cover.. and the possibility of a shower.. real soon… see for urself..

the climb to the top takes about 3 hrs at an average-to-slow speed.. with the tonnes of pit-stops we took enroute.. it took us more..

about 3/4th of the way up.. came this plateau.. with really strong cross winds.. and loads of cloud..and rain…. from then on, we climbed up in clouds. crouching down when the winds got really strong..

the top of the mountain was completely in clouds… the fort does have loads of points to see.. this fort is considered important strateically because is can see 6 or 8 other forts o a clear day.. but the dense clouds prevented us from seeing the sites..

after spending a little time on top, we started climbing down the hill… the red mud on the hill made climbing down some spots reallly diffucult.. walking down some, sliding down some, we reached the bottom of the hill..

after two cups of refreshing ginger chai, and some hot snacks.. it was time to bid adieu to torna.. and make our way back home..

Paus Aaala Re!!

…. And the rain gods have blessed us!!

over the last few days monsoon arrived in mumbai.. making the city more beautiful than ever.. the cloudy skies forming a dark, greyish background that makes the tiniest detail of the skyline standout, the sweet smell of the wet ground (yes u do get the smell of wet earth in a concrete jungle like mumbai) and the greenery that suddenly sprouts out everywhere… mumbai wears a different look when it rains…(yes yes i know ppl out ther must be dying to say how dirty and mucky it all is.. … but to them all i say is…  look above it all… tell me one place that doesnt get mucky and dirty in the rains…  )

to reallly experience the rains in mumbai.. mumbai-ishtyle.. go to marine drive when its really cloudy and rainy… sit on the promenade,  sip on a coffee from the coffee-wala on the cycle, maybe eat bhutta with extra masala and nimbu… take in the strong sea breeze and get wet in the sea spray…. then u’ll see what i mean when i say — aaaaah… how i love the city!!

Where has the Jhankaar gone?

“Jhankaar” is the Bambaiyya lingo for the dhin-chak music that is often heard blaring from autorickshaws …. (and yes this phrase was very much in existence before the movie appeared!) …. for the uninitiated its a typical remixed version of regular hindi songs - with a specific “chan chan” sound (like the sound of ghoonghroos) to accompany the myriad of instruments that go into the making of a hit hindi song…

As unappealing as it may sound to connoisseurs of music, I must say the jhankaar music in a rickshaw can lighten up even the longest (and full of traffic) auto ride in Mumbai.

the rickshaw-wala’s for their part say that installing a music system in their rick leads to more trips… customers like listening to music while travelling.. and no wonder; since loads of youngsters prefer to travel with a music-wala rick. However, over the last few weeks in b’bay, i’ve hardly seen music wala rickshaws… or for that matter even heard the jhankaar. which brings me to my question…. where has the jhankaar gone???? have the number of rickshaws increased so much that the erstwhile significant proportion of “music-wali rickshaw” decreased to an insignificant amount?? or can the “Freakonomics” thoery be applied here??? Nokia and other cell-fone giants didnt know they would be causing this effect when they launched cheaper mobile handsets with radio… nowadays practically everyone has a cell-fone with radio… with music available at everyones fingertips… is this the real reason why the jhankaar has disappeared??

food for thought eh!?!

Thoughts of jhankaar and music are invariably accompanied by this incident that always brings a smile to my face….

This was while in college…. some years ago… A friend wanted to hail a rick to go Bandra.. but the condition was that the rick had to have a music system… now usually, there is a whole line of ricks rite outside our college gates.. so my dear friend went peeking into all the ricks.. to see if anyone had a music system… as luck may have it not one of them had a system… so madam stood around waiting for one that did have a system… all this while a rick-wala stood silently observing her… and to our amazement came up to her and said.. “Madam hamare rikshe mein music nahi hai.. par ham gaa denge… aap baithiye to sahi” !!!! …

The gastro corner

What :: Blueberry Cheesecake

Where :: Out of the Blue, Pali Hill, Mumbai

I admit… i’m a total cheesecake fan…! ther’s just something about that dessert that totally bowls me over.. yummmmmm!!!

the blueberry cheesecake on offering at “out of the blue” was the bestestt i’ve had so far!!! the cake just melted, the sauce had the right amount of tang and the base was suitably crumbly….

at 170 it might be a tad heavy on your wallet.. but i suggest u head over ther for a taste when u are in an indulgent mood.. and u wont come away disappointed!!!

P.s. :: the views expressed above are strictly mine… i declare that i have no connection with the management of the restaurant, nor have I been paid to ramble….

Of old friends and new

This weekend was one of a kind…

One day I caught up with friends of the days gone by… spent a day reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”…. cracking up at the silliest jokes.. gossiping, bitching.. (yes.. does happen esp when u’ve graduated from an all girls college… ) … did i mention laughing… and generally acting very very stupid…

while the other day was spent “bringing in” the new comers… Met my juniors at MBA school.. well, actually my to-be juniors (they hvnt registered yet… could my comments hv driven some of them to take up other options… i wonder… hmmmmm ) … talking about how much fun school is.. what the campus is like, how the day is, which professors should they be wary of, how the hostel is, what the food (yes. its still officially called food.. though i would like to very much differ on that opinion) is like… blah and some more blah….

The “me” on both days —- Quite a stark contrast!!!!