Varkari (Wiki link )
Text by Pankaj

After having the glimpses of the Palkhi and few hundred thousand devotees’ walk from the Pune city’s famous Lakadi bridge during the Friday evenings, we were eager to shoot this procession when it passes through the swirling spins of the Diveghat on the Saswad road, which is the most difficult patch of the Palkhi wari in its 22 days, 300 odd kilometers long walk from Alandi to Pandhapur.

Soumitra, Pankaj, Umesh, Ajinkya (front to back)

It was said and understood that we cannot go in Diveghat from the ususal route as it would be packed with warkaris and traffic is restricted on this road. And hence we decided for the alternative route which takes us to foothills of Diveghat via Kondhawa and Undri. But when we reached at the Kondhwa junction with our 4 bikes, cops raised barricades on that road too, refraining our bikes to enter on those roads. Few local people advised us to go from the Holkarwadi village and according to them that road would take us to Diveghat base. After couple of kilometers of tar road we found ourselves in a private property which was a full of barren land, small hillocks fenced by barbed wires. There was no sign of road after that. Fortunately another gentleman biker showed us a way out from there and went in opposite direction. When we traversed the path we found that there was no sign of civilization except empty farm fields and a pathways. Continuing our bike rides like a dirt track motocross and asking few stray people in that jungle we finally made our way till Sakal press after few bike slips and a topple.

When we reached at the Vadaki village the palce had become lively with the colorful atmosphere of warkaris, pandals, devotees and saffron flags. We could see Diveghat’s 6km stretch was full of walking devotees (Warkaris). We had to go to the top of ghat to have a vantage point for photshoot. Fortunately we a water tanker driver helped us and offered a ride atop sitting on a roof of its cabin. In a transit we could shoot the procession of the cabin roof. When we reached at the Zendewadi village atop of ghat steaming hot tea welcomed us for the great shooting day ahead. The person who runs a tea shop in a city (called Amrut-tulya in local marathi) was offering a tea for all devotees and visitors. He was determined to offer tea of a thousand litres of milk in a day, that too free of cost. Those who couldn’t go 300km walk offer their services to god by serving the walking devotees. That was a perfect example how devotion and convinience go hand-in-hand.

Weather was in our favor too, with few cloud, no harsh sunshine and cool breezes englfuing around. The atmosphere was pleasant. Even those chai-wala wre befriended by us and forcefully offered a tea cup per pic. We could not turn down their affection towards us had to gulp down at least 10-15 cups of tea. Around 2pm clouds took over the mountain ranges it started drizzle. Warkaris were maha-happy with the first showers during their toughest patch of the 22 days procession. All were chanting with the words “Maauli-Maauli” (English meaning mother) in a rhythm. Even in this joyous mood they hadn’t forgot the descipline. Few hundred thousands warkaris were divided into close to 200 Dindis and every Dindi had assigned a unique sequence numbers and they keep on following the same sequence for 300km, 22 days walk.

Around 4pm main Palkhi, a center of attraction entered the Diveghat and the crowd steeped up to the peak. Devotees, cops, administration services representatives, care takers, fire brigades, ambulances all were lined up for this procession. There wasn’t any sign of exertion on the faces of warkaris after otherwise tiring 6km ascent stretch. Once Palkhi passed from the ghat we started our walk down the ghat in the rain drizzles with our hearts filled with the eagerness of the upcoming monsoon, of which we witnessed few drizzles.

Palakhi ’09

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Nothing for sure matches the thrill to face the Royal Bengal Tiger in the wilds.

Just imagine you are sitting in an open Gypsy, and the only weapon in your hand is a  camera; you see a tiger and it slowly starts walking towards you; 250kgs, 3.5 m of sheer muscle mass!!! You are definitely within his leap and it keeps coming closer and closer to you. With every single step it takes, you are heart beats ten times faster. The tiger has no business with you and slowly walks past you while you are gasping for breath; you wait and watch it disappear in jungle. At this very moment you are just left overwhelmed!!

I was in the Bandhavgarh National Park (BNP) for seven days. Prologue to this story: A friend of mine Sachin Meerpargar had made reservation with Foliage Outdoors, for a safari to BNP from 4th May to 11th May. It happened so that Sachin was going to be very busy the same week he was traveling and he was not able to get a refund for canceling his trip at the last moment. Guess what? He calls me and asks me to fill in for him instead!!! Now that is why I am guessing people think that the God exists.

A Nikon D70 camera, 18-70mm D, 70-300mmeED lenses, 10GB memory, 4 t-shirts to camouflage in the jungle, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts and I was all set to go. Destiny!

I must say that going with Foliage Outdoors was awesome. The reason of stating this separately is that they get all the credit for the perfect arrangement of the trip (except for the train journey which was way too crowded). We had a schedule to follow: Get up at 4:00 AM. Get ready around 4:30 AM. Enjoy the early morning tea. Get into the respective Gypsy (shared by 6) and reach at the sanctuary by 5:30 AM and here is where you are all set for a wonderful trail in the wild for the next 4 hours.

We would ride all the way through the park and return to our hotel at around 10:00 AM. Freshen up (as one is covered with atleast a ton of  dust from the jungle) and have lunch by 12:30 PM. Catching up on the sleep was a must as everyone got up really early.

At 3:30 PM all of us had to be ready for the evening ride. We would get back to hotel at around 7:30 PM. Not to mention taking a shower after every safari was almost a must (an unwritten rule) followed by the dinner at 8:30 PM. After the long tiring safaris (the sun makes it tiring) everyone would turn in without any effort. With AC in the room sleep was a lot more comforting!

We had four incredible days in Bandhavgarh. We did five safaris into the jungle and one nature trail. All of it was very exciting and tiring at the same time. It was a wonderful experience to be with Mother Nature and enjoy its bounty! In these four days we spotted seven different tigers, and the site count was twelve. Twelve Times!!! That’s a jack pot!! We also saw spotted Deer, Sambar, Langur, Mucacs and the beautiful Peacocks dancing!! Bandhavgarh National Park is also rich with a variety of birds, a special mention to the wonderful Indian Roller. Every trip in the jungle offered the wildlife in abundance and no one left the park unsatisfied!!

Our species was born and evolved in the jungles it feels like coming back home. When you are in there, deep in the forest you feel like being an inseparable part of it. Its a marvelous experience to visit what was once a home to our ancestors (your native place as some say). I will definitely recommend folks to go to Bandhavgarh, stay there for a week and experience the nature for yourself a place where you forget everything and feel the jungle, the nature where we truly belong!

Bandhavgarh

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Goa!!!

It’s funny every time I recall how I ended up in Goa.

I got a call from a friend out of nowhere. He was leaving for Ratnagiri the next morning. I had heard from a lot of people that Ratnagiri is the most beautiful patch of Konkan. My friend asked if I wanted to join him for a day’s trip and come back in the evening. Although it takes a lot longer to shoot good photos, I said why not for the sake of some fun!

It was a beautiful ride! We left early in the morning passing through the Sahyadri mountains (mornings are often very picturesque in these ranges), Karad, Patan, Ambaghat, the Mumbai Goa highway and finally came to the destination Ratnagiri!

My friend had to run some errands and by the time he was free it was five in the evening. We decided to go to Malvan, stay there over night and come back to Pune the next morning. At the hotel some one told me that Goa is just 3 hours from here and the next thing I remember was boarding the bus to Goa in the noon.

Goa is not a place where one should go alone. It’s a safe place but one needs company to enjoy the quite afternoons else it can get very boring during the day time. I don’t like to eat alone. I need company. So I decided to return to Pune in a day. I was in Goa for 24 hours and I enjoyed every bit of it.

First I took the ferry ride (which sucks btw). Next I started the hunt for the cheapest room in the Panjim and got one after a little struggle. I paid Rs. 200 for a single room with a bed and a table fan and a single electric point. I could either charge my camera or my cell phone or turn the fan on.

Next morning at 5:30 am I checked out of my grand hotel. From that point on I covered almost every bit of Panjim on foot. I visited the Fontainhas, Panjim, the Portuguese quarter of Goa .Beautiful architecture and vibrant shades of yellow, blue and red. What a fantastic site!! A perfect eye candy! I was hypnotized the whole morning clicking one building after another.

Carrying a heavy camera bag and a bag full of clothes, I was too tired. I had lunch and then I headed to old Goa. I came back to Church Square and took some photographs. So much of travel and fun made me tired and I needed to rest. After taking rest I boarded on the bus back to Pune. That was one heck of a trip!!

Goa! It’s about friends, fun and ferry rides. It’s about the beaches, beer and Bangda (the fish). It is indeed very beautiful, refreshing, vibrant and full of life. Goa is worth visiting at any time of the year. However, Goa’s true glory is in the winter.

Goa

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