Heaven!

A couple of years ago, I first drove down the alternate road via Purnagad which connects Ratnagiri to Rajapur. This road goes along the sea for a major part and I was completely smitten by the stretch. The tiny villages which dotted the road, Merve, Ganeshgule, Pawas and Mavlang among others stuck with me and I had always nurtured a secret desire to have a hut on the seafront along that stretch, since then. Cut to now. Was on a trip to Lanja and Rajapur, my native place a week ago. For the uninformed, Rajapur is a smallish town sixty odd kilometers from Ratnagiri, on the Mumbai Goa highway. It was meant to be a brief trip so I had really not thought about planning a drive to any nearby place. Just then, from nowhere, we got this idea of taking a drive down that route. It’s also very close to our farm so it would be just a small detour for us. So it was, that me and baba took off. A drive of 30 odd kms would take us to Ganeshgule. This sleepy village is two kilometers off the main road towards the sea, and that’s the place I wanted to explore. After a couple of roads that led us nowhere, we finally decided to ask someone for directions. Nothing that we had ever thought prepared us for the beauty of the place though. Pristine and totally unpolluted, Ganeshgule is minutes away from the finolex pipes factory. But the sweeping mountains which garland the shore offer a view which is stunning as it is calming. I have always been fascinated by the contrasting images the sea gives. And this is no different. There is, as in most Indian villages, small Ganesh temple on the top of a nearby hillock. We drove up the hill and were mesmerized by the view. Just stood there and gaped. The sea was a good kilometer away but our vantage position meant that we had an unhindered view of the entire coastline. A few entrepreneurial individuals have hapus mango farms while a few have coconut plantations. But what struck me most was the tranquility about the place. The ideal holiday would be to have a small hut here where your daily itinerary would just comprise of reading, sleeping and unwinding. Heaven.

how about this??

met an old friend, girish today. you wouldn't think so if you saw him but the chap pulls off some decent surprises. today was the mother of them all. "i've just come back from a 16 day trip to ladakh", he announced. but the clincher was yet to come. the trip was a drive in a mahindra scorpio, Mumbai to ladakh and back, with family in tow. i had and still have, serious doubts about his backpacking abilities, so i was suitably impressed. so how did this happen? apparently there is this Bandra cop, Mr. Rangnekar and his wife who organized it and he towed along. but we have put in a germ of an idea together. doing ladakh and Leh on our bikes next year. think about it!