Ajoba Parvat

This is my fourteenth overall trek. Baba had informed me about the trek a week in advance. I had informed my friends who were interested to come, but alas everyone was busy with some or the other reasons. I was a bit disappointed but it was short lived as I relieved myself by thinking that there were very few friends in my previous treks too and every trek gave me a couple of good friends to cherish. So I started the preparations for the trek.

As usual the trek was a one day affair. Full fledge preparations started on Saturday. It included packing of bag packs, which type of clothes to wear, what should be the breakfast and so on. Such Saturdays are usually very exciting for me, as I eagerly look forward to the trek on the next day. This trek with my father’s group was taking place after quite a while. The last trek with this group was Malangad. To add to the excitement Baba told me that there was a group of around 30 people accompanying us. More the Merrier. The night was just not passing. I was waking up almost after every couple of hours to check if it was time. We had to leave our place at around 4:30am. It was decided that everyone would be gathering at Kalyan ST stand. It was convenient to most of people to gather here. I and Baba left our place at quarter to five in the morning. We boarded a bus to Mumbra railway station. From here we boarded an Ambernath local and reached Kalyan. After reaching Kalyan we waited for some time in Kalyan railway station. After refreshing we moved on to the ST stand. On reaching there, we enquired for the bus which would take us to Murbad. We were told that there were buses to Murbad after every fifteen minutes. So we waited for other group members to come. We soon started getting calls from them saying that they are on the way. At 6:45am first member arrive were Mr. Shyam Kulkarni. Soon others followed in. At around quarter past seven most people of the group were present with a few exceptions. So it was decided that those who had arrived would be leaving for Murbad. Baba and Mr. Suresh Santanam would wait for the rest of the people to come. So we boarded the ST. In ST the head count was 29. After buying tickets for everyone most of the people went asleep or were seen chatting with each others. Most of them being from MBPT they had much in common to talk about. Whole of the Sawant family had come. They consisted of three ladies namely Ms. Aishwarya Sawant, Ms. Manali Sawant and Mrs. Sneha Sawant. They were headed by Mr. Sanjay Sawant an old group member and our family friend. It took us forty minutes to reach Murbad. Once we reached Murbad we waited for our accomplices who were coming a bit late. Once the late latifs arrived we all boarded another ST to Shenve village. In the bus the headcount had increased to 35 owing to the latecomers. From here we reached Shenve village in another 30minutes. The bus ride was galore with songs ranging from Devotional songs to flirtatious songs. That was a very enjoyable ride. In Shenve village we had breakfast and tea. From here we boarded a jeep to reach to Dehne which was a village at the foot of Ajoba parvat. To carry 35 people we required three jeeps. The jeep ride was hell of a ride as 15 people were cramped up in the 9 seated jeep. In the jeep, we had Mr. Suresh Santanam entertaining us with his songs. It was a live in concert for on demand songs. Meanwhile at Dolkhamb village we were joined by some more accomplices. After reaching Dehne village in 45minutes we heaved a sigh of relief as this was the last ride which was t take us to our trekking destination for the day.

Once at Dehne, we made a headcount again and this time the number had swelled up to 39. Rounding it to 40, this was the largest group we had ever been with for a trek in Shyadris. After a formal introduction we started our trek. The age trek members varied from 16 year olds to 60 year olds. For onlookers it was like a huge rally up the hills. The weather was a bit misty. The rain clouds were eyeing us. The peak of Ajoba was chatting with the clouds. The nature was at its glorious best. We could see huge landscapes colored in every shade of green. There were dew drops on the leaves and the cool morning breeze was very much pleasing. After walking for around 45 minutes on a huge plateau like land we were greeted by rains. Heavy rains were all we were wishing for and that wish was fulfilled. We at once wore our raincoats. But still they could not help us from getting us wet all over. After tormenting us for some time it was reduced to a mere drizzle. But this was more pleasing than before. The clouds had landed on us and were playing hide and seek. Now we had entered the jungle region. There was muck all around. Those wearing floaters or sandals were having a hard time maintaining their balance and keeping their feet on the ground. While on the other hand those with shoes had to bear with wet sock and toes. This nature trail was providing us with magnificent views of the sprawling mountain ranges surrounding us. It was fabulous experience to witness the nature in these ornaments.

After trekking for around two and half hours we reached the ashram of sage Valmiki. It is said that the tomb of the great sage is on this mountain and here is the place where he taught lord Rama’s sons Luv and Kush. There are caves at the pinnacle were it is said that there are foot prints of Luv and Kush and also the cradle of Lord Rama’s wife Goddess Sita. From here we moved ahead to the waterfall nearby. The waterfall was a sight to behold. The cool water was what our tired bodies needed. A couple of minutes under the water fall were enough to reenergize us all. Soon everyone was looking for a place under the waterfall. I too secured a small place and enjoyed the cool water. But within ten minutes I was out of it as the ice cool water was making my toes numb. I didn’t want to risk contracting hypothermia so moved away. Everyone went back to the ashram from where we had come from. It was a perfect place to have lunch on a happening day like this. Soon we changed into dry clothes and kept my hunters to dry. Once everyone had changed we sat for lunch. Everyone had mice squeaking in their tummies. Soon the lunch was laid out and delicacies were shared. Everyone had brought something of their own. There were a few cows and a calf at the place where we were having lunch. They were so very interested in our food that every now and then they would inspect as to what we were eating then. After having lunch we cleaned up the whole place and sat for some cultural activities. Here again Mr. Suresh Santanam accompanied by Mr. Shirsekar enthralled us with a wide range of songs. The songs accompanied with the magical music of the drizzle were more than what one could ask for. After songs were sung we had a small photo session. We hung on the aerial roots of a nearby banyan tree. We also visited the shrine of sage Valmiki. There are a couple of scriptures over there carved on flat vertical stones. They are said to depict a story. But it is very tough to decipher the story. After trying to decipher the script we gave in started to descend.

Now the rain was not at all there. The wind was blowing and soothing us. The muck that we had encountered during ascend was comparatively very less. We reached the plateau region in around and hour and had a halt here. We decided to play football here. After playing for a good half an hour we were dead tired and had no energy left to climb down. So we had a group photo session so as to provide with some breathing time for us players. After taking another 15minutes snapping pictures we continued with descend.

While climbing down we discussed about next trek as to where it should be. Many options were coming up and many were being rejected as to being risky to complete in rainy season. It is very difficult to climb rock patches in monsoon as there is lot of fungus on the rock owing to the continuous contact with water. Such treks have to be done in winter season. While we were discussing all this we never knew when we reached Dehne. Soon we boarded a jeep to Dolkhamb. From there we reached Asangaon. Train from Asangaon took us to Mumbra were me and Baba disembarked. Bidding farewell to everyone and hoping to meet them all again on the next trek we parted our ways.

With this trek I recorded my fourteenth trek and another marvelous experience.