Singhgad Trek Report-1

I planned to go for trekking on this weekend but suddenly I had to go to my hometown for some urgent reason. I was not sure about my availability still Saturday afternoon but the great weather around tempted me to cut my stay at home and join my friends in Pune for trek to Singhgad. After 16 hours journey in one day (Mumbai –Home- Pune) I reached Pune on Saturday night and confirm that I will be there on next day. As decided by the trek group (total 7 members which comprises of my SPANDAN friends and COEP juniors) I reached at the bus stop near PMC around 7.30 am and found that nobody was there. The weather outside was very pleasant with intermittent rain showers. I waited till 8.00 am and when this junta came up we boarded a bus for Singhgad. We reached at Singhgad around 9.00 am and a heavy rain welcomed us. A view of fort engulfed in clouds of fog was just fascinating. We halted there in a food stall for Chai and Vadapav. Around 10am we were ready to start our journey There are 2 paths which leads you to the top of the fort, the longer one (around 8 km) is built for the vehicles and the other one is short (nearly 3 km) but tough to travel in rainy days. We choose the later one. There was continuous raining since we started climbing the slope. As we reached up merely 800 m, the raining ceased for a while and we got a clear view of the surroundings. The two waterfalls coming down from the top of a hill/fort were great to view. Still the top of the fort was not yet viewable and as it was my first time to this place it was really difficult to estimate the height. Just when I managed to shot 2 snaps it started raining again. We resumed our trek. As I was traveling for the last 2 days and didn’t had enough rest, I started feeling low and was barely able to balance myself. So we decided to halt at one of the stalls on the way. The menu available was Chai, limejuice and buttermilk. I opted for the lemon juice hoping that it will give some energy to me.

Images Continued

More images

Some Images of Singhgad Trek

Images from my trip to Ellora

A Blind Who Open My Eyes............

This week my visits to the JJ became frequent and also I had varied experiences in and around there. I told SPANDAN members many times that we need to concentrate on the Hospital section more but somehow it wasn’t worked out.
One evening when I was returning, while I was waiting for the bus I seen a person who was very much conscious about the sounds around and trying to judge the type of vehicle from the sound heard. Initially I found it strange but later when I saw a white folded cane in his hand I realized that he was blind. I started talking with him and came to know that he is Education Officer with NAB (National Center for Blind) and worked in their Warali office. He used to travel to Mumbai Central to teach one student Brel and then travel to his home at Jogeswari. Then I asked him when it is difficult for normal person to get in crowed bus and also to get in train how he managed it daily. He told me there is no other way to this. Later I helped him to get into the bus. I asked him more about his work and can we volunteer in NAB activities and he told that it will be great if we help them in some areas like teaching. So I got one more action item for SPANDAN.
Way back to Borivali I thought God bestowed me with so many things and I do not understand the importance of these and keep complaining for petty things. This person though blind OPENED MY EYES and gave me new vision to look at my life.

The Virar Train (Terror) Experience…………..

I had heard about it from many people but luckily had not experienced till last Sunday.The reason is I am not a regular commuter to Western Local and rarely travel by it.
But that day was different. I was traveling from Mumbai Central to Borivali and that also during prime time of evening. I thought Virar Fast would be the best option to reach early and tried my best to get in. I didn’t know how it happened but just after few minutes I found myself packed in crowd in middle of the compartment and barely able to move inches. Later I realized this train was meant only to get in and not to get out as people over there were not giving way to get down before it crossed Dahisar (and one more thing if they realized you are Borivaliwala in Virar train they will definitely block your way still Virar). Borivali station crossed in front of my eyes and I watched it helplessly. Then I decided to go out at any cost in next 2 station and tried my best to get out at Mira Road and that also after lot of Dhakkas and Bukkis.
One more unforgettable experience in Amachi Mumbapuri!!!

Saturated with the parties…………

This is too much!!! Five parties in a week!!
I just got saturated with the EATING OUT lifestyle.
First it was DJ party at office terrace. It started at 7 pm and went on till 10 pm.
We were dancing nonstop for 3 hours (Should I mention what was our condition next 3 days??……..You are smart enough to guess that)
Then it was Saturday and there was Anurag’s Birthday party, which we enjoyed at
Urban Tadka.
Thanks on Sunday no more party and I (and my stomach) had good rest.
Then it was Thursday night and there was Nitin’s Pre-Onsite party at Sara-Sagar.
And today team outing to Dhara’s Dhaba.
No more parties now I just got saturated with them!!!Will be going home for next 5 days to have Ghar ka Khana, which is always BEST over the REST.