Shivneri

The great maratha king "Charttrapati Shivaji Maharaj" was born here in Shivneri (शिवनेरी ) in the year 1630. Shivneri lies at 3500 ft on top of a rugged mountain that over looks the "Junnar" town in Maharahstra, India. Junnar or "Jirna nagar" as it was known in the ancient times was ruled by the "Shaka" dynasty. The era of the "satvaahan" was the most glorious, many artistic activities were carried out during their rule. Junnar becabe their capital city. The mountain on which the fort is constructed, is very well protected by steep scarps, and is suitable for constructing caves. It was named "Shivneri". After the Satvaahans the fort went into hands of "Yadavs" and then to "Bahamani" kings.

Shivaj Maharaj left this fort in 1632 and then it wents into the hands of the "Moughals" in 1637. In 1650 the local fishermen revolted against the "moughals" but lost and were assacinated cruelly on the fort. In 1678 the "Marathas" tied to conqure the fort but they were not able to do so. Fourty years later "Shahu Maharaj" brought the fort under his control. And finally it was under the control of "Peshwas".

The fort has a significant shape, like an arrowhead, point north. It is surrounded by about 7-8 forts in the region, and was biult to guard the city of "Junnar" and the ancient route of "Naneghat".

Rainy Monday Morning Blues

There are a few greyer combinations in life than a monday morning and rains. It is a strange thing, the sound I love to wake up to on a sunday morning, the swoosh of rain on the road outside, the drops dripping on the windows, I dread so much on a monday morning. Because rain on a sunday morning means more time in bed, reading the long lazy articles in the Sunday Times.

But the rain on monday morning is cold and damp, floods the road with garbage floating on the water and distrupts the trains and airlines and make me curse myself that I have once again postponed buying an umbrella.

And the idea of venturing out in the rain and then,finally doing so. Crossing the increasingly wet city through pools of water that ripple and rise in waves as vehicles pass through them, and the rain, lashing across the face, the back and the cold wind accompanying it.

It is not a healthy rain, the rain in the city it serves no purpose. It does not help the farmers nor it helps the water supply to the city because the lakes where the water is collected are outside the city often in places where it does not rain. And the raind do not clean the city either, because nothing can clean Mumbai, not even the municiplity.

I am not objecting to rains. I am only objecting to rains on monday morning.

Korlai's call.

Weekend had arrived ... this time around there were no last minute cancellations and finally we were travelling to Alibaug. This was the first time that my new car was going to travel so far..... and thankfully the journey was without any incident .....except for the "Engine Check" light that turned on mysteriously.... and thankfully went off after sometime in a similar mysterious fashion. We reached Alibaug at around 12:30 PM. Oh.... and BTW after reaching there Ashutosh and I realized that it was a Dry Day (26th Jan).

Problem 1: Finding some booze.

Solution 1: Vikram knew about the Dry-Day and he had managed to smuggle two bottles of whisky from his dad's cupboard........ problem solved.... :)

Problem 2: Finding a place to stay (.... place to booze actually)

Solution 2: Unfortunatley we were not the only ones's who had this problem. Wherever my eyes went I saw nothing but cars with numbers starting with either MH-01, MH-02, MH-03 or MH-04....... it seemed to me that the whole of mumbai was here in Alibaug. Every place that was there for renting was taken.... we decided to move ahead and go to Akshi or chaul..... After driving through beautiful tree lined road for 15 minutes we reached chaul.... only to find more MH-01's and 02's..... there was no place to stay.

We tried our luck at various other places.... but everything was occupied..... this weekend was turning into a nightmare...... somebody suggested that we travel to Pune and spend the night in some disc. But since we had travelled so far..we decided to try one last time..... therefore we crossed the Kundalika river and reached Rewdanda's Birla mandir..... but it was the same old story. Dejected we were about to go back when the parking lot attendent suggested us to go to a place called Borli which was just a few kM's ahead..... he said there is place over there and you can try....... we went there and Guess what.... Problem Solved.

The place was under construction owned by a person called Sandeep... he sympathized us bcoz he too was from Thane and moved here a few years ago. So after searching for 4 and 1/2 hours and burning almost 5 liters of petrol ...... we had finally managed to find a place to stay.

Problem 3: Arranging for cash to rent the Room.

Solution 3: Now we had the booze, a place to drink that booze.... but we were short of cash to rent that place. Following things were on our agenda.

Arrange for cash for the following:

1. Renting the room. (1000 Bucks)

2. Dinner (300 Bucks Aprrox)

3. Chakna for the booze. (200 Bucks)

4. Cash for emergency until we reached Alibaug (atleast 100 Bucks)

We searched deep inside our pockets ....and collected what ever we can... but felt short by aprox 700 bucks...... our only option was that some one stays here at Borli and I would driveback all the way to Alibaug..... cause that's where the nearest ATM was.

Vikram saved the day just like he had done last time around by arranging the booze. He was carrying extra 800 bucks and that settled all our problems.

All Problems solved......

Finally almost at 7:30 in the evening we had solved all the problems and were finally relaxed. It was then I realized how beautiful this place was. We had a half constructed house facing the sea. A private beach all to ourselves..... the wind blowing through my hair made me forget all the hardships that we faced during the day.

That evening we managed to finish off 1 and 1/2 bottle of booze..... it was one of the best experiences of my life..... I had never thought that after spending one of the most hectic day of my life looking for a place to stay... we would end up like this boozing on our own private beach... under the starlit sky with nobody to disturb us.

There is saying in Hindi that goes like this "Sabar ka fal meetha hota hai." Today I realized how true it was..... this was one my best experience on the Borli beach under the watchful eye of the ancient Korlai Fort and its beautiful lighthouse, that flashed its beam a long distance over the vast windy sea.

Old Goa Streets.

I had been in Goa for almost a month during my stay I travelled up and down the coast from PALOLEM in the south up to ANJUNA in the north via ANGODA and CALANGUTE. To most of us Goa is a place of beautiful unspoilt beaches and numerous churches... which is true.... but there is much more to be seen. Goa is also home to many famous temples like the MANGESHI and the SHANTADURGA. MAPUSA is a the capital of the BARDEZ dsitrict of Goa and it was my base during my stay here. Hotel Satya Herra is located just opposite the MAPUSA bus stand and is a landmark in this small town.

The Purpose.......

"Madiya Anubhava" is Sanskrit for "My Experiences" ........I am not a seasoned writer…..writing to friends via email to keep them up to date on my life and adventures has become difficult over the years. Describing your life doesn't always make an interesting reading, unless of course you have an eye for beauty, drama, and silliness. I have always cherished my experiences, and have always made a point to note them down; all of them are based on real events. What follows are some selected experiences of mine, I will keep adding to them as I write. Enjoy.

A lesson well learned....

This is a true incident that my father had narrated long time ago….. I will try to put it down in my words.

It was a hot Friday afternoon, the school was done for the day and there was nothing much to do. There was this new circus in the town, which he had heard about. In an instant it was decided that he will be going to the circus along with a friend.

Soon they were riding on his bicycle heading for the circus. His friend was riding the bicycle while he sitting behind him on the rack. In those days it was illegal for two people to ride the same bike at a same time (It might still be illegal today… I am not very sure). They knew it was illegal but the temptation of the circus was very hard to resist. As the moved along the unpaved streets, their eyes were constantly searching for the traffic policeman who might be standing just around the corner.

As they were passing through the market, they heard a sharp whistle blow, their nightmare had come true. A tall dark policeman asked them to stop, they obliged. “Don’t you know it is illegal”, he said pointing at the bicycle. My father started pleading but that was of no avail. “Both of you seem to be from good families, how you can guarantee me that you will not do this again”, he asked. They somehow managed to convince him, “I would let you go on one condition”, he said. By this time some curious onlookers had gathered around them.

“We would do any thing you say”, said my father. “Well, I will let you go, but for that you will have to slap each other, so that you will never break the law again”, said the policeman. This was a strange punishment, but since the policeman was not going to slap them they readily agreed and quickly slapped each other lightly and were ready to go. But the policeman was not going to let them go, he smiled at them and moved closer, still smiling he said “Haven’t you two had your meal this afternoon, I will show you how it is done” and without a warning he placed a tight slap on my fathers face, his friend also received one immediately. “This is how it is done, now go and enjoy the circus” he said pointing at the circus pavilion.

The whole crowd burst in to laughter. It was the most humiliating day of their lives but they had learned their lesson very well.