Malshej Ghat!!! I had heard a lot about this place and its
beauty. Some of the photos which I had seen had made it one of my ‘destinations
to be visited’. So when there were discussions about various destinations to go
this monsoon and the option of Malshej Ghat came up, I ended casting my vote in
the favor of Malshej Ghat. And we ended up finalizing Malshej Ghat. We were
going with an NGO called Nisarga Mitra Mandal.
Soon we registered ourselves for the trek to Malshej Ghat. From the date
we registered for the trek, all were eagerly waiting for 4th Of August!!!
The monsoons this year had been satisfactory so far which raised
our expectations that our trek will be in a rainy weather. But God had written
a different story; as we don’t give importance to the things easily achieved in
life. As there were about 10 days to go for the trek, there was a landslide at
Malshej Ghat. The road was closed for few days. Then there came news that the
boulders had been cleared and the road was open for traffic. We started our
planning for the trek. But this
happiness didn’t last for a long time. When there were 2 days to go for the
trek, there was news that again there was a landslide at Malshej Ghat and it
will be closed for few days. Now we were worried about our trek. One of us
called Nisarga Mitra Mandal to confirm, and to our surprise we were going!!!
Yayyyy!!!! The clouds of uncertainty were now cleared and we had begun our
preparations for the trek. Life surprises us at times when we expect least from
it.
And the much awaited day came. We had to leave on 3rd
of August in the night. So it was me, Amol, Bharat and Sandesh who were going
for the trek. We gathered at the
reporting place at our reporting time. There we were joined by office mates of
Sandesh (Abhilash, Anchal, Harsha, Mohini and Saurabh). And now were a group of
nine. All of us were pretty much excited about the trek. The thing which
doubled the excitement was that it was Friendship Day the next Day...
When our watches showed 12 o’clock, our bus started and we
yelled “Happiee Friendship Day”!!! Whoa!! What a start to the friendship day it
was... We just had to ensure that we enjoy the next 24 hours to our fullest… Soon
we had a small photo session in our bus itself. Then started India’s most
favorite game while travelling, antaakshari. We were also joined by others who had come
for the trek. We became so busy singing songs in our strange voices that
we didn’t realize what time it was until our bus stopped. It was 1.30 AM. It
was a halt for Tea. Sipping Tea with friends on highway at 1.30 AM on
Friendship Day, what else can one ask for?
In a little while we were back in our bus and the fun started
again. Antaakshari was followed by some jokes and funny texts. Now, some
wickets had begun to fall. But few (including me) were unable to sleep of
excitement. When I was about to sleep, our bus stopped again. I checked the
time, it was 3.30 AM. Now what? Was it another stop for tea? Sandesh stepped
down the bus out of curiosity. I closed my eyes and tried sleeping. The very
next moment, Sandesh knocked at the bus below our window. “Dude, the other bus
has got some problem and that’s why we have stopped also. Come down.” I
followed his instructions and stepped down the bus. It was little cool out
there. All I could see was farms on both the sides of the road. There was no
vehicle passing by on that road. We called everyone else out of the bus. Just
then the sky caught my attention. How beautiful it was!!! Innumerable stars
were twinkling in the sky. In fact they were the only source of light there. It
was a scene which we never see in our cities. It reminded of Nehru Planetarium
in Mumbai. But this one was real! So it
was about 3.45 AM and we were on a quiet road with one of the bus failed. And
yes, it was Friendship Day!!! So the enjoyment began there also. We clicked
some snaps trying to utilize the camera’s flash to its fullest. Soon, we were
set to go. The people in other bus were ‘adjusted’ in our bus. To our
disappointment, our group was separated. Me, Bharat & Sandesh were at the
middle of the bus while others occupied the last row. But the excitement couldn’t
let the three of us sleep. Now it was the time of ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ in mobile.
But after realizing the amount of battery it would eat, we stopped it.
Meanwhile, Sandesh was ‘run out’. It was me and Bharat for the last wicket partnership.
We decided to enjoy every moment of the day and hence didn’t sleep. Time passed
quickly and it was dawn.
At 6.30 AM we reached Lenyadri. After having breakfast, we
marched towards the temple. Bola Ganpati Bappa, Morya!!! The temple is located
in caves which are at a height. So we had to climb. We enjoyed clicking photos
and observing the monkeys on our way. After offering our prayers to Bappa,
we headed towards Malshej Ghat. The journey is amazing as one can see mountains
covered with fog and little drizzle was like an icing on the cake. Our players
who had gone to the sleeping pavilion were back and we again started the Masti
in the bus. Once the Ghat started, all we could see was fog. The visibility was
as low as 5 to 10 meters. And our bus slowed down, took a little turn to its
right and stopped. Everyone rushed down of excitement. This was the point from
where our trek was going to start.
We walked down the Ghat by road for about one Km. The best
part of it was that we could hardly see the road ahead because of fog, but were
able to hear the sound of waterfalls around us. After walking
for about one kilometer, we had to climb down the mountain. Now the real
adventure had started. (One more thing, our phones had no network. So no texts and
no calls to disturb) Climbing down the mountain was fun. We made our way from
the bushes, carefully putting the feet at proper place so that we don’t fall.
And if someone slipped, we had to catch the other. We were at last, behind
everyone. We could hear noises (yelling in fun) of those who had reached down.
There came a point where we stepped down and the scene which I saw in front was
_______ (I fall short of words to describe it). There was water coming in from
the mountain which we had climbed down and all those who had reached down were
enjoying in that waterfall. We all jumped into it and started splashing water
on each other. We had to climb this waterfall following the direction it came
from.
At times we jumped, slipped and also pushed each other into the water. Standing
still and letting the water fall on us with its full force was a heavenly
experience. (Go to hell all water parks; this was the best one) Next three
hours were full of Majja, Masti, Dhammal, Dhingana & fun… In between
we were blessed by rain which made it more joyful. We had clicked so many
photos, that everyone has now got the stock of Profile Pictures and Cover
Photos for a year!!!
At about 1.15 Pm, we completed climbing it and reached the
road. We were supposed to be back by 1.30, but we were before time. Hurray!!!
What a celebration it was… We danced like anything on the road with weird
steps. Most of us would have called it madness, but we were enjoying it all
that time. And how can I forget the Left_Right wala march by holding
each other’s shoulders.
On our way back to our bus, we discussed how this was their
best experience ever. We reached our bus and dried ourselves. By that time we
all were very hungry and we attacked our lunch boxes. The other bus had also
joined us till then.
On our way back to Aurangabad, we were taking back with us
lots & lots of memories to cherish for. We had a look at our photos clicked
out there and made fun of each other. We continued singing and playing games.
We should have got tired after the whole trek(and a sleepless night in the bus),
but our mind didn’t stop us as we had decided to enjoy the Friendship Day to
its fullest.
Even now as I write this post, I am flooded with
notifications on our Malshej Ghat Photos, which don’t allow my mind to come out
of it. This is where I should stop now. A Special Thanks to Nisarga Mitra
Mandal & everyone who made this ‘The Most Memorable Trek’ as well as
‘The Most memorable Friendship day’.
