Boy, Oh Boy! For the past two and a half months, I’ve been pampering hard ground every weekend ; but believe me,  I’ve never been this satisfied as I am today after the trek. It’s been an adventure in the real sense! Walking through the dense vegetation with no idea where, when or how we’re going to turn up, not even remotely bothered of what could have been happening in the cities out there; losing paths and realising it after you’ve covered two or three kms;Tramping the 40+ kms in the splintering rain stopping just for nourishment en-route right from 09:00am all through till 09:00pm; taking respite in those scores of waterfalls rejuvenating our muscles and senses; crossing knee deep torrential streams just to find another just a few kms away; Groping to find directions in the dark.Phew! Indeed been one of THE best treks I’ve covered till date during my brief stay here in Pune. RAJMACHI ROCKS!

July 25th:

Even at about, 3:00pm the count for this weekend trip stood at four. Blame us for not planning things ahead. Dhok! Abhijeet and Rahul were pre-occupied with personal work. Just as I’m about to drop plans to have a trek this weekend and plan to head for mumbai, Suhas calls and says he’s game for the weekend, come what may. In moments we decide to head for Rajmachi and drop a mail to the DH group and the Infy BB. Surprisingly and thankfully we do not have many takers this weekend. Neither of us had been here before and all we had was blogs and posts elsewhere to guide us till the end; so but for Ashutosh we did not consistently prod anyone to join us. Besides, Dhok had mentioned the plan that i’d sketched was a bit too far-stretched and we’d have to run against time if we had to get back to Pune that very day.

Suhas calls me sometime at night tells me that the trek route that I’d decided upon would be a bit strenuous and we should consider the Lonavala side instead.  Bet he’s still accusing me for not having payed any heed to his advice.

July 26th:

Post his night shift, Suhas gives me a call at around 04:30am letting me know that he’d be at my house in ten minutes and damn! he’s right on time at my doorstep. Gaurav drops a message that he and a friend of his wouldn’t be joining us. Vishal, probably deep in slumber, doesn’t even pick up my wake up call. The final count ends at five – Akhilesh, Sunil, Suhas, Ashutosh and I.

We’d to board the 6:12 Sahyadri passenger to Karjat. Akhilesh boards  it at Shivaji nagar, while the remaining four of us board at Khadki. I spend the two hour journey deep in sleep while others enjoy the sahayadris at Lonavala. We reach Karjat at 08:15 am, hit on vada pav’s for breakfast and head quickly to the Karjat bus depot only to realise that we’d just missed the 08:15 service to Khandpe. The next bus was at 09:45am. It didn’t make much sense to waste time there so we pick a rick. to a popular place called ‘Bridge’ and from there move over to the Khandpe village in a Tum-Tum. The driver suggested he would drop us at Kondane but we decide to get down at Kondivane and trek from there.

The road less taken huh!

We’re at Kondivide at about 09:30am – right as planned. The villagers guide us in the right directions; fortunately, we had Suhas who could help us out with Marathi. Nature seemed to hint that we’re in for some trouble right at the moment we set our foot at Kondane village. We reach a Y forked road and decide to take the right arm and move ahead. A few more enquiries and we seem to be on the right path. At about 10:00am we manage to reach a place which remotely looked as the base point of the actual trek. It’s been raining heavily for the past few hours and there are no signs of it subsiding any time soon. Just to re-confirm we ask a few people if it was reasonable enough to climb to Rajmachi in this climate. They’re not really affirmative and suggest taking one of the villagers as a guide. But thanks to our eccentric minds we decide to take the final call and move on without a guide.

We’re invited to the dense foliage by murky waters. We had to climb uphill, so by logic we decided to follow the downstreams upwards whenever possible just to keep track of our path. This did help us definitely to a large extent and we soon manage to reach a tableland. A villager was selling corn by the side. That just gave us the much needed energy for the path ahead. We’re then directed to the right path again and then in a few moments trouble looms in again. We again seemed to be heading to nowhere.

Who even wants to be at Kuttralam?

A bit of groping and topographic analysis does help getting us somewhere. Just then the sound of gurgling water happens to surge into our ears and we quickly move in that direction. A small turn to the left and we’re stumped by the force with which water was rising from the rocks after having fallen from a height of about fifty feet. With no second thoughts the five of us head to the falls and spend some mighty good time there. It all looked like a conspiracy by nature to rejuvenate us and guide us along the right path! We’d already been lagging behind schedule so with a heavy mind we leave the falls and move ahead. A bit ahead the path seemed to be a bit laid out and we had reason to believe that we were in the right path at least for sometime. It was indeed difficult to cut short our desires to spend time at the innumerable waterfalls en-route. Every turn ahead had a cascade or a fall!

The Kondane Caves

Totally drenched as we move ahead hoping to find the right path, just another fall invites us. But this was totally different! I remember seeing this particular place in a pic. , as a forward sometime back. A powerful but thin sheet of water falling from a towering height of about 100feet and an architectural splendour in the form of huge caves right behind the falls – Looked like we’d been transmitted over to some time ages before the existence of mankind! These caves had two floors and were very spacious to accommodate about a fifty people easily. This could probably be a wonderful spot to camp at night. Akhilesh and I fancy making the trek an overnight camp but then we decide to leave it as the final option as we weren’t really prepared for it! Later we get to know that these were probably constructed by the Buddhists. The veracity of this is yet to be known though.

Climb up the fort:

Reminded of our final goal and the deadline, we move over with heavy hearts and start climbing. Fortunately from here we manage to find the right path. A bit ahead we encounter Ram Kaka. This old man was from the Rajmachi village that is at the base of the rajmachi hillock and he climbs down to the Kondivide village EVERY day to sell buttermilk! Just a few minutes and we’re into think conversation. In about thirty minutes we reach the base village at Rajmachi. A refreshing Poha with a peppy hot masala tea and we’re all set to head for Rajmachi. All spruced up we head for the fort. We walk for about two kilometers unmindful of the path ahead. The splintering rain, shallow puddles with slimy murky waters kept us way too busy! After about a forty five minute walk, the path bifurcates into two. This is when we’re suddenly reminded that we were supposed to take a left just moments after we leave the village. Damn! We nuts have been walking towards lonawala for the past forty five minutes with absolutely no idea where we were heading to! A quick retreat to the base village and we finally find the path to the fort. Half way up the rajmachi hillock, you come to a temple. From here there are two routes – each one takes you to a different fort – Shrivardan and Manoranjan.

It’s been close to about four years that I’ve visited a temple by interest. For some reason, I walk into it. Even now, I’ve no idea what diety exists in it or for that instance what it’s famous for. As I get out of it and look ahead, the mist suddenly happens to clear up and I get to see the phenomenal height of one of the forts and that meant miles to go before you could drop ! It started raining heavily as we started the ascent. What  made things more interesting was that we had streams flowing from the top of the hill. The sound of water rumbling down the hill and the chilled breeze swooning across your ears amidst those dense clouds is something that’ll get you moving even when things look a bit dicey! Surprisingly, climb up the fort wasn’t that difficult as it looked.

Hiking back to Lonavala

At about 4:00pm we start our descent to the village and manage to reach Ram Kaka’s place by around 4:30pm. Spicy thali was served almost instantly and after another bout of hot tea we decide to trek down towards lonavala. We could have as well got back to Karjat through the same way we’d come but doing that at dusk would probably be inviting deep trouble. Besides, we had just one torch and getting lost in the dense forest was something we wanted to avoid. Ram kaka was of the opinion that  the Rajmachi – lonavala route was just a plain 3.5 hrs stretched out walk. We leave the hotel at about 5:15pm and the walk back looked pretty simple as promised. About an hour into the walk, we get to meet a group of people moving towards Rajmachi. When asked about the time estimate to reach lonavala, they said it would take us about two and a half hours. We walk further. Again after an hour or so , we encounter another small group. To our surprise the time estimate was made three hours! If what they said was right, we thought we could as well pull the brakes and try looking for a spot to rest for the night! Our instincts get us going and we keep meeting people, each one giving his own version! The hike back to  lonavala is extremely simple . Just a bit of endurance and you’ll have a beautiful scenic walk. There’s this particular spot wherein you need to cross a gushing river in about knee deep water. The close to freezing water literally removes all the pain in your muscles and gets you moving faster! By about 7:45 pm we finally manage to get sight of the lonavala city. A few yards ahead and just as we’re about to feel a bit relaxed, a Y fort turns up! Damn, these Y junctions! We’ve had enough of decision making all through the day that we finally decide to arbitrarily chose one and try our luck. Later we’d come to know that had we moved in the direction we chose, we’d be reaching Lonavala but would be covering another 14kms extra! A couple of night gaurds fortunately get to us and redirect us in the right path. At about 08:00pm we encounter a couple who had just started their night trek towards Rajmachi. The guy says we’d need to walk twenty or so minutes to reach a village and from there we could get tempos to lonavala. The walk goes on and on. Suhas has sapped all his energy and is in no position to handle any more strain. We finally make it to the village but to our dismay they’re no tum-tum’s visible. With no option left, we continue walking . Round the corner a milkman pops and when asked the distance to lonavala, he says – Bas sab, sirf dus kilometer aagae hai. Akhilesh goes ecstatic with the expression on Suhas’s face. All of us are equally tired and totally fatigued! I plug in my neckphone to my ears and keep walking, least bothered about the distance to cover. What other option did we have? The path zigzagged and Suhas sways similarly from one foot to another. In fact looking back now, I guess he was the source of inspiration to all of us. Finally at about 08:50pm we get sight of a tarred road. Few yards ahead we manage to pick a rick to drop us at Lonavala station.

At about 09:25pm we manage to reach the station. The next local was at 09:45 pm so we did have some time to relax. Once in the train as we remove our socks, we get to see the toll that the 40+ kms trek and the incessant rain had on us. Drenched from top to bottom and stinking from every corner as we hit the wooden seats in the train, other wayfarers give us a sheepish look. Who cares? All that mattered was that we were in a train back and this time none of us were guiding the others to misguide, There were no more Y forks and the best part was that the lead knew the destination!

Now if you ask me – All this struggle and trouble on a weekend , Was it all worth it ?  I’ve no answer to that question. I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

Details:

Team : 05

Route: Route1 : Shivaji Nagar > Karjat > Khandpe > Kondividi > Kondane > Rajmachi village > Rajmachi fort [Relatively difficult] | Route 2: Shivaji Nagar > Lonavala station > Tungarli > Pambola village >>Rajmachi

Distance: Route1: Karjat -> Kondividi:~15kms, Kondividi -> Kondana: ~2kms, Kondana->Rajmachi peak : ~14kms [Hill climb] | Route 2: Lonavala -> Rajmachi : ~20kms [Simple]

Altitude: ~2100 FT above MSL

Endurance: Medium | Difficulty : Low / Medium based on route

Time : Karjat-Kondividi : 20mins. [TumTum] , Kondividi – Rajmachi village : 3hrs [Excl. of time spent in Waterfalls n caves enroute], Rajmachi village – Rajmach fort: 0.5 hrs | Rajmachi village – Lonavala station: 3.5hrs.

Transport: Shivaji nagar to Karjat : Train at 6:12 am. Buses at Karjat to kondividi: 8:15am , 9:45am. Or pick a TumTum to ‘Bridge’ from there another TumTum to Kondividi/ Kondane. Lonavala to Shivaji nagar: 9:45 pm, 11:00pm, Vehicles: Bikes / cars may be used to reach Rajmachi village during early monsoon – No tarred path.

Expenses: Rs 200 Approx.

Stay:One day / Overnight [ Accommodation available in base village - rajmachi ]

Suggested route: Simple: Lonavala- Rajmachi village – Rajmachi fort [ Flat path walk with shallow streams en-route to cross. To be careful at one particular spot about 2hrs from lonavala where river flow pace may increase at alarming rates all of a sudden].     Medium: Karjat – Kondividi – Kondane [ Scores of waterfalls and Kondona caves-Must see, Overnight camping possible here]

Best time to visit: Monsoon!

Accomodation / Food at Rajmachi village: Hotel Shirish [ Ram: 9881162648 | Suresh: 9850104191 ]

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dhok pings me and Vaibhav at about 4:00pm to let us know that we may have to get to Muralgad on bikes, as commutation by ST may become a problem. There were about eight of us and we weren’t really sure how many would fancy biking to the base. With all this, Muralgad as this weekend’s destination didn’t sound that interesting! I’m not sure whether it was me or Vaibhav who brought about the idea of changing the plan and getting Abhishek to agree on Torna instead. Couple of minutes later, Dhok sends out a mail to the Deccan Highlander group and by about 06:00pm the count stood at 7. Later, I get to know from Suhas, Dhok received a solid dose from him for changing the plan. I’ll let Vaibhav take that honorable priviledge .

July 19th

5:00 am as the regular Continental music wakes me up, I’m up in seconds. After the Katraj – Sinhagad trek, this was one of the first monsoon treks that fell in the medium difficulty category and besides, who’d want to miss the oppurtunity of trekking to a place that was approx. 4,600ft above MSL? Ashutosh, Sourabh, Omkar, Vaibhav and I reach Swargate at about 6:30 am. Abhshek Dhok by call, lets us know that he and Abhijeet would be joining us in a couple of minutes. The next bus to Vehli – the base village for Torna, was at 07:30am so we decide to have a quick breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Just as we start moving, Uwaraj and Swarnika pop in from nowhere with their ever smiling faces. Finally we’re 9!

We’re well ahead of time for the 7:30 am bus service. As the bus arrives and people board, we realise they’re not many takers to Vehli. In a way, I’m surprised. Torna is quite a famous destination for weekend treks and today it looks like we’re the only group all set to explore it. The first half of the 65 kms journey goes pretty somber with not much activity from anyone. Soon we hit upon playing Dumb charades and from then the journey gets interesting with people struggling to enact stuff; What with Uwaraj and Swarnika coming with the wierdest movie names!

At about 09:00am, the one and a half hour journey comes to an end and we reach Vehli. Two of Vaibhav’s friends were to join us at the base from Pune. They’d left from Sus road on a bike and were soon expected to reach there. As we wait for them for about fifteen minutes, Vaibhav and Dhok dole out spirit tales of various forts of Shivaji. There’s a belief that the Torna fort is haunted by a Brahmin Spirit who has issues with people staying on the fort overnight. Mythology has it that most of Shivaji’s forts have had human sacrifices to assuage the ‘power’s that may be’ to help them build the fort and maintain them. Before things got murkier and people started concocting wilder stories some noble soul decides to start the trek !

In quest of the spirit

Vaibhav,having trekked this place more than thrice led the group. Right at the base, once you walk across the small village households you come across a small cascade where you get to experience that real rustic atmosphere. The sight of little kids joyously fluttering about in the slimy water takes you back to those carefree golden days! As you move further ahead, the hilly terrain begins and the path that you need to follow is more or less starkly demarcated. From the base the peak stands to your left, so somewhere up there you need to be taking a left and keep following the path. Ashutosh , Abhijeet and I somehow happened to trail behind and at one point realised there was a short cut up to a certain point. Our wild instinct gets the better of us and even before we decide logically, we’re amidst shrubs and bushes. The humus soil and the steep climb up make things quite interesting and we manage to reach a level plain about ten minutes ahead of the remaining folks. Omkar, Vaibhav, Dhok, Sourabh and Uwaraj soon get along while Swarnika leads from behind! A quick break there and we start moving along. There’s this particular spot enroute wherein you get to see the towering hillock right ahead of you, a deep valley just below your feet and a cascade at a far distance away. In a way emoting and reminding, where you scarcely fit in this whole huge maze.

The last thirty minutes of trek uphill is indeed pretty interesting. Though you do have railings to support you in case you miss a foot, you’d do pretty good by just scaling up the rocks without their support . This part would have been a bit risky had it rained. Nevertheless, it isn’t something that is too life threatening. The climb uphill lasted for about three hours and we managed to reach the top by 12:30 pm. About a quarter of an hour is spent in the temple courtyard and then we leave to explore the ramparts of the fort. Thankfully, the climate’s in for a swing and it gets pretty misty. At one end of the forts bulwarks you get to have an panoramic view of the Sahyadris. We literally could experience the clash of two clouds! Who even wants to be on cloud nine when you could as well be at a prospective point of electric discharge? Eh! A bit too far stretched but I bet you wouldn’t have experience this even .

A few steps to that long arm!

There’s this particular spectacular spot wherein you get to have an extended view of the valley ahead of you. But for this, you had to get down a small iron ladder and then down some slippery rocks and walk a few yards around a narrow path to reach that spot. While Dhok and Omkar stood atop the rocks to give support to those of us who had interest to get down ; Abhishek , Vaibhav, Ashutosh and I trailed on the path a bit further only to get back as visibility was close to zero. The climb back to the rocky base and then up the ladder was probably the only risky and exhilarating part of the whole climb uphill.The Machi on the other side of the temple was pretty inviting too. You had to stoop on your knees and get to the other side of the Gaurd post. Probably this was one of the vital strike back point of those days.

At about 02:00pm we started the trek downhill. But for one particular spot which took a while to bypass the remaining stretch just required you to keep yourself on your feet and keep moving. We had a team of 150+ folks from Iflex who’d come to Torna that same day. Sadly, a few among them had dropped the waste after having their packed lunch. Abhijeet and Dhok happened to notice this and almost half way through the organisers of the ICE team had been at the receiving end !

Had a great time sprinting down the second half of the peak. The thrilling experience of not being bothered about the final destination but just being worried of where to keep the next step and deciding everything and orchestrating it to your muscles in nanoseconds is what I guess keeps me on my toes every weekend.

At about 4:00pm we hit the base. We’d arranged for food for the nine of us at a small restaurant at the base before we started our trek. From the restaurant owner we get to know that the next bus to Pune was at 4:30 which was supposed to leave at 4:45pm. So all of us have a quick lunch and we head back to the stop. Surprisingly, Abhijeet and Omkar had just spoken to a Sumo driver to get us to Pune. The nine of us and four others hunch into a Sumo and head back home! I doze off to glory and by the time I get back to my senses, we almost reach Swargate.

Details:

Team : 09

Route: Swargate > Old Katraj > Bhor > VelhI village > Torna

Distance: 65kms

Altitude: ~4,600 FT above MSL

Time : Uphill: 3hrs | Downhill:2 hrs [Monsoon]

Transport: Swargate – VelhI [ ST: 06:30am, 07:30am ] | VelhI – Swargate [ ST: 04:30pm, 05:30pm ].

Expenses: Rs 150 Approx.

Stay:One day / Overnight [ Accommodation available in temple - Believe you've got to take the keys from the base village]

Best time to visit: Monsoon!

Endurance: low | Difficulty : Medium

Misc. Details: Torna aka Prachandgad is believed to be the first fort conquered by Shivaji after he vowed for swaraj at Raireshwar. The vastness of the fort led to it being named Pranchandgad.

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

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One of those interesting forwards that I happened to get a few days back!

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Last thursday, late at night as I check my gmail, I happen to get a mail from Shashi with pictures of Kalvantin Durg. Almost instantly I decide to re-plan this weekends trip to this place instead of the Raigad trek. A few minutes later, as I get out of the instantaneous glory; intelligence looms and I realise that the Hyd folks would screw me real bad had any more changes been made! Just a day back I’d changed the previous plan of the Lohgad-Visapur trek to Raigad as the previous one had very few takers initially.

11th July:

As with most of the Deccan Highlander treks, At about 3:30 pm , Rahul sent out a final mailer having details of the almost finalised list of people who’d be joining us for the trek from Pune the next day. Rahul, Vishal, Uwaraj, Ashutosh kumar, Deepak, Nikunj, Amrapali and Ashutosh Dhobhal had been with us for a couple of previous treks. Sneha , Sumitra, Sourabh and Sandilya were the new ones to the group. From HydVentura, we had six folks – Hemant, Varaprasad, Abhishek, Raghu, Deepthi and Khushal who’d be pitching in early in the morning the next day. Santosh was traveling all the way from Bangalore ( a cool 16hrs! ) for this trek. This was going to be our first ever night camping trek for this monsoon season and we had 20 people aready!

12th July

Santosh wakes me up at about 05:45 am by a call telling me that he’d already reached Swargate and would be at Parihar chowk in a few minutes. The Hyd folks arrive at my place at about 07:05 am. The moment they put a foot in my house, I get behind their back prodding them to get ready quickly as we had a bus service to Mahad at 08:00am. Abhishek, Khushal, Santosh and Varaprasad leave as soon as they get ready. Soon Hemant, Raghu, Deepthi and I leave at about 8:00am. We’d just missed the 08:15 bus too and I could sense fumes out of Rahul’s ears as he kept calling, enquiring the status quo every five minutes. I prefer two positions while trekking – either the lead or the sweep. Most of the times, I end up being the sweep and this time I was sweeping even before we boarded the bus! I was the last one to arrive at Swargate and you could guess the emotions on people’s faces as I gave that royal entry .

To reach Raigad, one has to reach the Pachad village which is about 20kms from the easily accessible Mahad Village. Mahad is about 120kms from Pune ( Swargate ). Fortunately we had the next bus at about 09:00am. After a four hour long scenic journey through the Katraj-Bhor-Varandha route we reach Mahad at about 01:30pm. The next bus to Pachad was at about 2:00pm. Monsoon and high altitude, makes this route all the more beautiful with cascades at almost every bend and the ghat road adds to the breathtaking view of the Sahyadris. At 3:00pm we reach Pachad and from there manage to reach the base of Raigad in about 10 minutes. Nikunj and Rahul had been to this place before and they’d managed to find an awesome cave right behind the shop a bit up the hill. At that spot you would feel as if you’re inside a skull of a demon which was overlooking the village. Gusty winds whining through the two holes of the cave and exiting from the other side sort of revitalizes you. Indeed a beautiful spot and is a must visit if you ever plan to be to Raigad. The climb up the Raigad hill is just a climb up a flight of about 1500 steps, with a few long stretches here and there.

The Climb uphill

We had planned for lunch at a shop at the base but were compelled to be satisfied with Misal Pav. For some reason he wasn’t serving Thalli’s that day. At about 03:45pm we start the climb. The estimated time for the climb as put in various blogs and sites was about three hours. So right from the base we tried our best in keeping people on their toes all the time . Little did we know that, that timing was put for a dry season trek. An old woman sells sherbat and lemon juice at about 200feet from the base and you do have stalls which would probably be open during Summer. Half way up the hill you have a stupendous waterfall towering at about twenty five feet. We spend quite some time here and then move up to the peak. As you climb up the steps , you gain ascent very quickly and the look of the valley with the winding roads and mist filled atmosphere only gets more panoramic with every step.The visibility margin fades as you reach the peak and you can hardly look beyond a few feets ahead. Even before we realise that we’re reached the top , in about close to two hours we manage to reach the shed that has been constructed by MTDC for visitors. You do have a couple of guest houses but this would do good as much. We junk our bags here and leave to explore the fort.

Unknowingly we split

With real low visibility we fail to keep pace and happen to divide into two groups. Rahul, Nikunj, Vishal, Amarpali, Sneha, Sumitra and Uwaraj moved ahead while the rest of us for some reason failed to trail. Hemant, Sandilya, Deepak, Abhishek, Santosh, Raghu, Deepthi, Sourabh, Varaprasad, Ashutosh Kumar, Khushal and I start exploring the various chambers. We spend quite some time in the Queen’s quarters doing all sort of RDB jumps and keep clicking around. Ashutosh Dhobhal finds his way and joins us from nowhere. He’d wandered to the other side but somehow happened to listen to our howls and managed to track us. As we keep walking ahead we reach a dead end. This is when we wonder where the couple who were walking ahead of us vanished all of a sudden. We’d heard rumors of spirits existing up there and thanks to Ashutosh , Deepak and Sandilya things got lot peppier . Fortunately, somewhere near the ropeway we manage to find someone who guided us in the right direction. We find our way back and then enter the ramparts of Shivaji Maharaj’s quarters. Quite close to Shivaji’s Durbar we happen to meet the other group. They’d seen that part of the fort already so we decide to meet at the shed at 09:00pm. Rahul warns us of close to zero visibility near Takmaktok and Nikunj suggested we avoid getting anywhere close to that spot.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

It’s around 07:30pm and there’s still light all around. Soon in a few minutes it gets dark and the lights are switched on. The dense mist makes the light diffuse out totally and all that you are left with is the moonlight and the torches in your hand to guide you. We explore Shivaji’s chamber’s and his durbar. The spread out durbar, the long pathways and the towering entrance to the Durbar with Mist all around gives you a feeling that you’re on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris . Besides this place I’ve heard is also famous for it’s amazing acoustics. Wonder how people in those ages managed to build such magnificent buildings!

We wander through the supposed Bazar of those days and finally reach the Takmak Tok spot ( Execution point) . Sandilya gets ecstatic and reasons out to pay it a visit. We somehow manage to stop him and proceed to the Samadhi of Sivaji. It was about 08:30pm by then and we decide to get back to the Shed. Way back, Deepak and Sandilya plan to get back to Takmak tok at 01:00am .

Camp at base

Rahul and Nikunj had spoken to the attender there to cook food for the twenty of us. Food was ready by the time we hit the spot and after a sumptuous meal we get back to the shed. A huge mattress was provided by the attender at the cost of some self praise and finally after a quick change we hit the floor. To while away time we hit upon Antakshari which went on till about 12:30 am. Not to mention, it was stopped because the manager got pissed real bad listening to us bray with our mighty vocal chords and when he could barely manage anymore we thought it would only be wise to stop .

I wonder what we would have done had we not got this place to rest. It rained cats n dogs all through the night. Sandilya was all the while relating it to bullets in a warzone and we also had one spirited soul who kept snoring away in glory. A dog gave us consistent company and Sr. Pinto on an onsite deputation from HSBC made his way under Santosh and a couple of other folks late at night .

13th July:

At about 05:30 am I’m woken up by Nikunj and Vishal scurrying around for something. I soon follow steps and explore nature with a bottle of water . Later as we get back to the shed we get to know there were restrooms available a few yards away .

Hemant and Varaprasad had to board their train at 4:30pm from Pune. So we decided to leave for the base as early as possible. Soon we were about 13 of us who decided to trek downhill (?) and and the remaining seven stayed back to explore more of the fort. In about 45 minutes we hit the base. From there we arranged for a Sumo to drop us at Mahad directly. We reached Mahad at about 10:30am and from there boarded a bus to Bhor. The bus was pretty much empty and the 2.5 hr journey was quickly spent with dumb charades. From Bhor another bus got us to Swargate by around 3:00pm. Hemant and Varaprasad left for the Station while the rest of us hit back home.

Rahul and Co. I understand from Vishal , had been to Takmak tok and explored more of the fort. They’d got back at about 5:00pm . Reports from them yet awaited .

A long story cut short – An awesome place to be for a morning climb up the hill. A longer stay up the hill would do good given the long travel that you need to do reach there. And oh yes! Bigger the crowd, better !

Stats:

Team : 20

Route: Pune > Katraj > Bhor > Vandarvadi > Mahad > Pachad > Raigad

Distance: Raigad: Approx 150kms from Pune. | Mahad : ~120kms from Pune | Pachad: ~20kms from Mahad

Time : Uphill: 1.75hrs | Downhill:0.75 hrs [Monsoon]

Transport: Swargate-Mahad [ ST at 08:00hrs, 08:15hrs, 09:00hrs ] . Mahad – Pachad/Raigad footstep base [ ST / Sumo's].

Expenses: Rs 400 Approx. [ Pune <-> Raigad - All incl. ]

Stay: Overnight [ Accomodation , Prior booking facility available ]

Best time to visit: Monsoon!

Endurance: low | Difficulty : low

(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

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Five months of training, one month of quasi-bench, three months on a tool, three months into Prod Support and with this comes to an end , just another year in my professional career.

I never had to choose what was good for me. Folks out there always made the choices. Two days before I’m to report to the Mysore DC, I get a mail informing that I’m to report to the B’lore DC instead. Two months of generic training and they choose which stream you’d be spending the rest of your IT career. Mainframes, someone says has high demand in the IT market. I take it with two tablespoons of salt. Two and a half months of core training and then you’re almost randomly allocated to a unit that you only have a vague idea of. Wait, they also choose the DC in which you’d be working – Thankfully an iota of consideration is given to your place of domicile.You’d be lucky if you get a project in the very first month. Am I not complaining? But then there’s no one to blame. More or less every IT company does this!

Why did I join Infy? Infy was never my dream company – In fact I fail to admire any IT company. I never had a role model in the IT industry, neither do i have one now. It just happened to be the first option in hand. Infy was the first and only job interview I’d attended and oh yeah, the tag name mattered then and besides, at that point I had no other options open .

Today, as I tick off the 365th day as an IT engineer, I see nothing really magnificient that I’ve achieved professionally. I’m just one out of those umpteen number of software engineers strewn all across India, sitting in front of the LCD screens trying best to reolve tickets, meet deadlines, work on codes and prepare patches. They’ve been days when I wondered where my contribution falls into place in this whole big maze only to realise, all that I’m doing is donkey work. Every third engineer does what I’m doing! There’s no stark differentiating factor. Not a single person’s life is directly affected by what i do day in and day out. What’s the point looking for Onsite oppurtunities when you know you’d be screwed day in and day out at the Onsite location? Where you don’t get to enjoy even your weekends properly? It’s all a mad race to satisfy the person governing your monthly check. They elude you with rewards, opportunities and finally when it looms in your head that there’s a lot more left in life to do, you get your next appraisal.

All that said, there’s no denying to the fact that the work culture in Infy is stupendous. I got a platform to network real well, a place to vent my thoughts to the higher management as and when the need arose, a place to increase the scope of my Extra-curriculars. I’ve started clubs, joined groups, built up on my french, strummed the chords, built up on my hobbies, grown socially conscious, learnt mannerisms on the way and what not?

I’ve been receiving group congratulation mails right from the time I opened my Outlook today at office. But I still fail to realise what exactly the celebration is for? All it finally means to me is a small increase in my pay package and oh Yes, I’m no more legally bond to the company.

Probably I’ll be doing something starkly different next year or for all you know still be eluded by the mirage of recognition all the way lamenting ‘C’est la Vie ‘ and keep moving.

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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