The Lake of the Gods -Devariyataal

 Dev means God

Taal  means  Lake

Devariyatal  - The Lake of the Gods

The name thus spoke about the  location, describing the place in its exact form and beauty and proving Shakespear's quote ' what's in a name...' , a baseless accusation.

 

A trek to Devariyatal

Locked in the pristine hills of Himalayas  lies one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.  It is rumoured that the lake ventures into the depth of the  earth ( paatal ) and the Gods come to visit the lake in human form.

For us mortals , we took a vehicle from Rishikesh to reach Saari village,   the base camp to Devariyataal.
Enroute , amongst beautiful landscapes , we came across two prominent cities Devprayag and Rudraprayag.

Rudraprayag is the confluence of the roaring Alaknanda taking the vivid Mandakini ( river ) into its fold  while
Devprayag is the confluence of the mighty river Alaknanda and the roaring Bhagirathi  both merging into becoming  the most pious reverred and sacred river of India -    Ganga 

Saari Village is a  small hamlet village with few basic (30-40) houses, a beautiful school  (sponsored by Tata group )  and a number of hotels for the tourists and trekkers. The trek to devariaytal is an uphill pagdandi of around 3.5 km . One will come across an old temple , few shops ( for tourists ) and a majestic view from the top.  The lake being a protected site has a fees with strict guidelines on cleanliness of the place.  We took a round of the lake which is around 1.2 km witnessing new species of birds birds , insects , flora and fauna taking pictures and relishing our visit. 

We went up on a machan ( man made elevated top) for a better view of the mountains only to be gushed by fresh waves of cold winds. The place amplified solitude with a serene and tranquil atmosphere , only to be broken by the humming of the birds, echoing, an innate feeling of paradise.

While we wanted to stay longer , we compelled ourselves to leave  and come back to Saari village. A longer trek awaited next day to the Tungnath temple -the highest Shiva temple in the world.

The Magnificent Don (Don Williams)

 There comes a phase in life when music overcomes and captivates our emotions , influencing the deepest strata of our soul and desires.

It was the days of stereo and cassettes , when I came across this husky country voice , never imagining that  I could fall in love with this voice and his songs.  An amazing voice displayed in perfection with utmost simplicity. I would often rewind the songs listening to them over and over again. The monsoon rain , a glass of coffee and Don Williams songs became my favourite acquaintance during my college days.

Some of  the evergreen songs of Don Williams mentioned below can take you to a different world

• I don't believe in superstars ..
• You are my best friend
• Rodeo Man
• Some broken hearts never mend
• I am just a country boy
• Tulsa time
• Good old boys like me ..
• Till the rivers all run dry

I am not a fan of live shows, yet going to a Don Williams live concert remained on my to do bucket list  but  with his demise (couple of years ago ) it  will continue to remain so forever.

His songs however remains a tribute to the country genre  and the genius amongst the voices lives with us eternally through his songs.

A Trek to Visapur Fort

When you miss the World cup soccer Final for a Monsoon trek , the expectation of the trek rises exponentially.  The destination for the trek  was Visapur fort  and at the end of the day it was worth it.

Visapur fort was built by Balaji Vishwanath , the first peshwa of Maratha in 1720  and is located around 9 km from Malavli railway station near Lonavala. It is a twin fort to Lohgad fort and held strategic importance in the capture of Lohgad fort by the British.  We started our trek from Mumbai at 6 in the morning with the Mumbai Rangers group in  a  small minibus and reached our base camp near Abuja caves at around 9 for a small breakfast.

The road to Visapur passes through many beautiful waterfalls sprouting through the mountains . With heavy rains since our departure , the sweet aroma of mud had long vanished into voluptuous volume of water on the road , sky and waterfalls. The roads were smooth until we took a detour at the Visapur Lohgad Crossroad.  The road turned yellow and muddy  as we moved ahead  witnessing the majestic sight of the fort hanging as a cliff. The climb uphill looked easy till we came across a waterfall route. Now this was the fascinating part which made the trek so delightful, we had to make a detour through and side of  the waterfall to reach to the top of the trek.  The intensity of the rains increased and so did the flow of waterfall, making it more challenging. I was a little worried for my son who is short of 10 and was on his first trek, however with the help of our trek guide he did better than the most.

After the rigorous walk through the waterfall, reaching the top is an achievement and the reward is the breathtaking view. We had a quick dip in a small waterfall followed with photographs,  lunch and some sizzling hot tea .  The weather turned much colder with rains , fog and heavy winds .  The fog enveloped the fort and the winds forced the water to move in the opposite direction but that did not deter us from taking a round across the fort. We lost the way to a temple on the fort but came across sights of a mini dam, walk across  streams , canons , ponds till we could find the right path back.

  The descent looked much easier than the climb. We were still reliving the memories of the trek as we took the tedious walk back to the base camp....

Andharban - The dark forest

Beyond the hot sultry summer, when rain start to pour down the subdued droplets reminscing the sweet smell of the mud into our subconcious mind , the very Monsoon becomes a paradise for trekkers in and around Mumbai. One of such a paradise trek route is the Andharban trek (Andhar meaning dark  and ban meaning forest ) . While it cannot be categorized as one the most difficult it certainly can be rated  as one of the most fascinating treks in the shahaydris.

The journey has all ingredients of a dream trek with breathtaking views , numerous waterfalls, flowing streams to cross , waterpools , reservoirs, plateau, green meadows and a dense forest.

We started from Mumbai at midnight reaching our base early morning . Post freshening and a sumptous breakfast we moved to the start point of the trek. We were a group of close to 75 people from sky adventures. The entry point itself was a sight to behold  as One had to cross an overfilled reservoir ensuring that the shoes are wet and conveying that the next 14 kms will be an integral part of the memory. As we went higher the fog engulfed us subsequently clearing with magnificent views of waterfalls and valleys. The further trail led to walking in stream of waters and finally jumping in a natural pool  

The pools , streams and waterfalls soon led into a dense jungle . Deep enough for light view but with sunlight blocked. The jungle led to a green meadow plateau and subsequently a very steep downroad with only large stones to rest our foot one. This was the most difficult and longest part of the trek. The rains had started by then and by the time we reached the foothills we could see a stream in sight. With No water and very less stamina we all just sat in the stream giving ourselves a new breath of life. Further down just before the base there was a huge reservoir . At the base we changed our clothes and were soon filling our hungry stomachs with an aching appetite. The journey back to Mumbai was filled with just the sweet memories of the adventure .

The Fault in Our Stars

"But it is in the nature of stars to Cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius Note ' the fault dear Brutus , is not in our stars but in ourselves' ".

"The Fault in our Stars "  is probably one of the finest motivating book (and movie) of our times, taking  the story of Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace into a fascinating world of  love and triumph. The dialogues catching the imagination of the readers, transcending into a loop reminiscing through our mind, over and over again. It has been a couple of months since i saw the movie and then read the book, and today when the article on the first page of 'Times of India' read " Two thirds of the Cancer are caused due to bad luck " i could not resist but wonder the truth about the fault in our stars.

To All my friends (and anyone reading the blog ) if you have not read the book , make instant haste to a near by bookshop and purchase it,  for Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace have shown us through their story, how to live our life in our small Infinities.

In Moments of Solitude

Someday, Sometime , Somewhere,
Away from the Stress and Chaos ;
Every person Yearns,
For Moments of Solitude !!

Growing old has it's moments of truth which slowly transends as figments of wisdom.
The Wisdom allowing us to demarcate the thin lines of Solitude and Isolation, and the pleasure one starts deriving from the former.  The wavering thoughts of expectation subliming into carefree abandon, a state of nothingness but Self.
Freedom of reminiscing the past years, reflecting the most beautiful memories and passion of our Lives, a new lease of stressfree instances weaving together " In Moments of Solitude".

Passion

Passion is the Source of our most beautiful, inherited memories and desire. A passionate person has an inherent thrust of happines endorsed, in the things he loves to do, doing it solely not for reason but for the voice of his heart. 

It is difficult to reason out why someone would spend his entire saving in purchasing a camera and wander in absolute isolation to capture some beautiful moments of life rather then socialising with friends over beer. And when someone looks for an answer , he is told 'there are passions which are more intoxicating than alcohol !!' Ahhhh .... and everyone thinks ... What a fool to resort to this kind of answer ?

None the less, I have had a fair share of being foolish and while in most cases, it fades away with time, some  remain to intoxicate me for life. To be true to myself, When i  look back,  there is not a single trace of doubt, that the most beautiful moments and memories of my life have been enveloped during these passionate moments.

Passion ( in all contradictions) is derived from the Latin verb patī meaning to suffer, making me belive that it has been derived by some passionate lover who Suffered from a heartbreak.
As far as I am concerened, I still recall it as my most intimate and desirable moments and will continue to relish so, everytime I look back at them.