Andhera kayam rahe! - a different Matheran

Whoo!

That was real quick!. P2 got over and it was such a lightning fast idea to go out. Nothing decided.. where to go where to stay and when to come back… nothing!!
Only thing that we all knew was that we’re leaving at 6pm.. we were ready to go anywhere, and to have fun

We gathered at main gate around 8pm (?) .. trying really hard to get an auto and at the end we had to go by bus to Kanjurmarg. First train from Kanjurmarg to Thane. Then according to some really confusing directions from ppl around, from Thane to Kalyan!. And then from Kalyan to Neral. And in the mean time, Pushkar and Hemi managed to miss one train and change bogies three times inbetween, Suresh missed both the local trains and landed up in an express!!

For us anyway that trip was awesome. Three mallus and one bechara gujju, Mr.Dipesh parmar!. We started singing all the mallu folk songs and Parmar enjoyed it a lot! See the videos. (coming soon)



Even after getting down at Neral Station we didn’t stop. We kept on singing. People were looking at us thinking you know what.

The first group started towards matheran in a Maruti Omni, when the other group waited at the station for Suresh.

Pushkar, Nikhil, Dipesh, Deepa, Ketki, Kavita, Deepti, Dharma, and myself in the first lot. Once reached the Matheran gate and got the entry passes, we started walking towards Matheran… the other team; Manoj, Hashim, Ratika, Roli, Hemant, Benjo, Parasar and Juny were waiting for Suresh.





Dense jungle, Hardly any streetlights at many of the areas, Pitch black.. not even moonlight!. Walk from the gate to matheran was really awesome. Could’ve been bloody scary but Dipesh, the 24/7 entertanment box kept us smiling all the way up. Singing “♪♫Gumnaaam haaai.. koi.. ♪♫ “ and other mast mast songs relevant to the occasion!



We reached on top around midnight. Got a place to stay luckily. And the first thing to do was to get something to eat. It’s off-season time and it’s midnight. No hotels are open. And can’t even think about getting something to eat.

Upon our extreme requests, the hotel owner made arrangements for Poha and chai! That was a big relief (though he charged Rs15 per plate the day after!!!)





We waited there until this thing was made and by that time, the second team also reached! And then it’s hogging time! :D





Plan to have fun games right in front of our room didn’t work out. As we started having fun in the IDC way, people started coming out of their rooms shouting :)





The next option was to go right into the jungle and play there. And whoa!.. that was a nice decision. Don’t know how the plan to play games changed but it ended up walking into the jungle, hardly any street lights.



Pitch black darkness. Just like the way it was when we were climbing all the way up.

It was fun walking.. walking through the woods and at one place we found a lamp. Somebody said “chalo, lets sit under this lamp post!” and Bhlup!.. lamp went off!!! Indeed it was scary..

We walked a lot again. Our aim was to find an open place somewhere to lie down and relax for a while. But that kind of a place was nowhere to be seen and some of the gals had already started howling mommy!!

Well.. some of us decided to end the trek for the time being and sit somewhere where Hemant, Suresh and Parasar decided to stay back!

We went to nearby pond spending some time there cracking jokes and pushing Hash to Act and Direct the i-pill ad that he handled when he was working in Lighthouse Productions.



Things started feeling a little boring and we came all the way back. The toy train had come back at the Matheran station near by to which we were staying. We spent the night at the station, climbing up the bogies, playing dumbshi and stuff.





After spending whole night there most of the team went to sleep except for Hash, Manoj, Pushki, Juny, Deepti and me who went again back to the jungle to find a place to see the sunrise! And obviously yet another awesome experience of going to unknown places in complete darkness.

(we're waiting for Hash's pics)

The sky was transforming to blue slowly.. the moon and the Venus had risen a long way up in the sky from the horizon. We could find a nice place to sit with an awesome view of the eastern sky changing colors from pink to purple and grey in no time. It was really cloudy and we couldn’t see any sun as such!

A walk again into the jungle was great where we found another sunrise point and a parsi Graveyard where there were tombs constructed in 1861 and around!

***

We checked out from the lodge and started walking back. Although it was December it wasn’t that cold.



We had to walk a lot to reach our first destination, the sunset point! Whoa such a huge, vast space with lots of wind blowing right on the face.









The lion face rock tip was an amazing thing.





Some lied down there at the edge of the plateau, closing their eyes and enjoying the wind.






Lot of masti, group pics and then, the next destination that narrow cliff!



It was a tip a few meters wide and a 360 degree view of the entire area. We lied down there and literally slept there for sometime when Parasar and team were jumping around and clicking pics.









But where’s puskar???
He had stopped at some point while coming here. Me and Ratika went back there looking for him and what we could see was!!!! GOD saved him. Bloody bugger was sleeping in a slope right at the edge of a cliff!!!!!



There was not much time left to catch the toy train we started our way back. 4.20pm the train started from Matheran all the way to Neral. Yet another fun trip!



Well of course.. a risky trip.. walk in the jungle right after midnight… at the tip of the cliffs.. Leaning from the train.. God saved us… especially Pushkar from the edge of the cliff :)