Me and this world - a tête-à-tête

February 1661: It was 2nd of February and the Mughal Army was marching fast towards the Konkan region from Pune. The army consisted of Horses, Bulls, Elephants, small canons and men. They were equipped for a full fledged war anytime. Their head, Kartalab Khan, was a fierce Uzbek warrior. Trusted by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, he was sent to the Pune region to assist Shahista Khan to wage war against the Great Shivaji. Kartalab Khan was assisted by Kachhap, Jasawant Kokate, and the lady sardar RaiBaghan. The army had reached Lohgad and Khan had decided to take the pass between Lohgad and Visapur to enter Konkan. The spies informed Kartlab Khan that the Great Shivaji was resting at Kuruwande Village, roughly 4 miles west to the Lohgad. Khan instantly jumped at the opportunity to siege the Great Shivaji and gain higher ranks at the courts of the Emperor. Thus, the army changed its course and turned towards to Kuruwande. As they reached Kuruwande, they found that the informers ...

It has been years that I started trekking.  My first memory of the trek dates back to 1991, when a group of school buddies decided to go for a one day monsoon trek. The most enthusiastic girl in the class was our leader. It was muddy trail, and by the time we returned almost everyone from the group had become an experienced trekker. It took a while for me to understand what this business was. But it was that day when I got high with my insignificance on this earth. A pinnacle as proud as a nose of Duke, told me that to respect is the only way to appreciate the Mother Nature. Several years have passed by; Trekking has become most integral part of my day today life. But the love for this place is ever growing. Every year when the sky clouds with a promise of monsoons and greener earth, every wanderer gives a shout to the other, "Hey, his nose awaits us". The plans are made, dates are fixed. Every other commitment is compromised and the wanderers set out on a ...

Duke's Nose 08 August 201This was one of most happening treks, so many participants!!! Shripad's Shirdiwale, pardesi pardesi & Tejal's Tu agar from Raaz rocked the train journey in morning. Wanderer's legacy songs like Suragini, dehachi tijori remix, panyamadhe killa remix were the highlights of this journey. Ajit had organized for a small felicitation of pillars of wanderer's on the occassion of 250th Trek after the lunch & Harshad, you called at the right time. Shailesh, Pritam, Lucky, Abhay, Omkar were awarded a cadbury each which none of them shared with me. :-( Shailesh's camera met with an accident on the way to Mandakini fall & some guy's cell fell off the bridge near Tata's helipad were the hitchs & as always Ajit & Sachin were the Saviors. :-((( Like every year, Diwadkar's wadapav stall on Platform 2 on Lonavala Station sold us more than a 100 Wadapavs and almost same number of tea cups. Local journey to Pune was a crowde...