क्षणक्षण धुंदल्या सारखे व्हायचे. पावलापावलावर येथील कळ्या, फुले, पाने, वेली, गवत , प्राणी नव्हे सगळी सृष्टीच एका सुमधुर संगीताच्या तालावर एका लयीत धुंद झाल्यासारखी भासत होती. आता मला सांगा ही वाट काय तुडवायची आहे?
रम्य त्या आठवणी आमचाच नव्हे तर आपणा प्रत्येकाच्याच भुतकाळातील काही भाग आपणास, प्रत्येकास रम्य वाटतो. आपणास आपला तो तो भुतकाळ पुनःपुन्हा जगावासा वाटतो, हवाहवासा वाटतो. आपल्या प्रत्येकाच्या आयुष्यात अशी काही वर्षे असतात जेव्हा आपण ख-या अर्थाने जगलेलो असतो, असे आपणास आत्ता वाटते. त्या काळातील आपले ते जगणे, आपल्या वर्तमान काळात देखील आपणास जगण्याची आणि ख-या अर्थाने जगण्याची प्रेरणा नक्कीच देत राहते. आणि जेव्हा त्या आठवणी फोटो व डायरीच्या माध्यमातुन पुन्हा समोर येतात तेव्हा तर आपण टाईम ट्रॅव्हलच करतोय की काय असे वाटल्या शिवाय राहत नाही. आमच्या सुदैवाने आमच्या आयुष्यातील ‘तो’ रम्य काळ, तो सुवर्णकाळ थोड्याबहुत का होईना पण डायरीत लिहिलेला, फोटोंमध्ये चित्रीत केलेला आहे. ईष्टापत्ती यावी तसा कोरोना आलेला आहे. या आपत्तीतुन आपण आपापले कोर्स करेक्शन करावे. आपापले ध्येय पुनर्निश्चित करावे. आपापले सखे-सोयरे पुन्हा नव्याने ओळखावेत, आपले आयुष्य आपण नक्की कसे जगले पाहिजे याचे चिंतन करावे. कदाचित आपोआपच यशदिपकडुन जुने बाड धुंडाळणे सुरु झाले असावे. एकेक खजिना सापडावा तसे एकेका ट्रेकचे फोटो, लिखित वृत्त सापडत आहे. मलाही माझे काही जुने लेख, ट्रेक-वृत्तांत, फोटो सापडले. आपल्यापैकी अनेकांना काहीनाकाही सापडले आहेच. आमच्या साठी आमचा ट्रेकिंगचा तो काळ म्हणजे सुवर्णकाळ होता. नुकतीच बारावी होऊन मी संगणक शास्त्र या अभ्यासक्रमाला प्रवेश घेतला होता. कॉलेज सांगवीला असल्याने जाणे-येणे अवघड होते. एकही बसमार्ग नव्हता. टु व्हीलर (माझ्या वडीलांची एम-८०) घरी असुनही व चालवता देखील येत असुन तिने प्रवास करण्यासाठी परवानगी नव्हती वडीलांची. मग सपकाळ सर व जगदीश गोडबोले यांच्या माहितीतुन विद्यार्थी सहायक समितीच्या वसतिगृहाविषयी माहिती मिळाली व तिथे प्रवेश घेतला. गावाकडुन शहरात रहायला गेलेला मी न्युनगंडाने ग्रासलेलो होतो. वर्गातील एक दोन मित्र मंडळी सोडली तर माझे फारसे कुणाशी कधीही जमले नव्हते. माझे मन रमायचे ते डोंगरद-यांमध्ये. असे होण्याचे आणखी एक कारण होते, ते म्हणजे माझी ट्रेकिंगचे सवंगडी. सवंगड्यांतील काही चेहरे बदलत राहिले. पण तीन जण मात्र कायम होते. ते म्हणजे यशदीप, देवीदास व मी. त्याकाळात आम्ही तिघांनी अनेक ट्रेक एकत्र केले. आमच्या सोबत कधी माझे मित्र असत तर कधी यशदिपचे मित्र असत. असाच आमचा आणखी एक ट्रेक म्हणजे सांकशी-माणिकगड-कर्नाळा-अलिबाग! यशदिप ने तेव्हा लिहुन ठेवलेल्या डायरीत या ट्रेकचे वृत्त देखील सविस्तर आहे. यशदिप इतक्या बारक्याने सगळ्या गोष्टी लिहित असे हे मला माहित असले तरी नंतरच्या काळात मी ते विसरुन गेलो होतो. पण लॉकडाऊन च्या काळात त्याने हा खजिना पुन्हा शोधुन त्याच्या या विशिष्ट गुणावर साचलेले मळभच जणु दुर केले आहे. मला देखील लिहायची आवड होती, आहे. पण इतक्या बारकाव्याने लिहिणे मला कधीही जमले नाही. कुठे, किती वाजता, कोण-कोण, स्थानिकांच्या नावासहीत त्याने हे जे काही लिहिले आहे ते कायमस्वरुपी संग्रही ठेवावे असेच आहे. आमचा हा ट्रेक झाला तो एकुण पाच दिवसांचा. काय ते दिवस मित्रांनो. हल्ली पाच दिवसांचा ट्रेक करणे निव्वळ दिवास्वप्न होईल. अशी इतक्या जास्त दिवसांच्या ट्रेकची कल्पना देखील हल्ली करवत नाही. कॉलेजांना दिवाळीच्या सुट्या लागल्या होत्या. देवीदासचा नेहमीचा फॉर्मुला होता नोकरीमध्ये ड्युट्यांचे जुगाड करण्याचा. मला देखील वसतिग्रुहात जाऊन एक वर्ष झाले होते. त्यामुळे होस्टेलचा एक मित्र प्रकाश जाधव हा देखील सहभागी झाला होता. सोबतचा त्याचा चुलत भाऊ अतुल होता. असे आम्ही पाच जण. माझ्या साठी अतुल नवीन होता तर यश व देवा साठी प्रकाश व अतुल अनोळखी होते. पण ट्रेक संपताना आम्ही सारेच घट्ट मित्र होऊन गेलो होतो. ट्रेकिंगची हीच खासियत असते. २६ ऑक्टो ते ३० ऑक्टो १९९८ असे पाच दिवस आम्ही भटकत होतो. पहिल्या दिवशी मला विशेषत्वाने आठवते आहे ती दर्गा. आम्हाला जायचे होते सांकशी गडावर. हा एक साधारण गड होता. गावापासुन साधारण दोन तास चालुन आम्ही जेव्हा गडाच्या पायथ्याशी आलो तेव्हा अचानक ही दर्गा समोर दिसु लागली. त्याकाळी मला प्रश्न पडला की अशी दर्गा, इतक्या दुर, दुर्गम भागात कशी काय असु शकते व ती देखील सर्व सोईसुविधांनी युक्त अशी. दर्ग्यापासुन किल्ला अजुनही थोडा ऊंच होता. रात्री तिथे मुक्काम करुन आम्ही दुस-या दिवशी पहाटे गडमाथा गाठला. यशदिप ने या गड-भटकंती विषयी लिहिलेले वाचण्यासारखे आहे. यशदिपची बारकावे पाहण्याची व नोंद करण्याची क्षमता यातुन दिसते. दर्ग्यापासुन गडमाथा गाठण्यासाठी एक सरळ चढाई करावी लागते. गडावर पाहण्यासाठी काय काय आहे हे देखील यशदिप ने लिहिले आहे. या गडमाथ्यावरील यशदिपने काढलेला आमचा एक फोटो सांकशी गड पाहुन आम्ही मोर्चा वळवला माणिकगडाकडे. सांकशी पासुन माणिकगडापर्यंतच्या पायपीतीमध्ये एक सुंदर नदी लागली. त्या नदीच्या काठावर, तरीही थोडे दुर आम्ही दुपारच्या जेवणासाठी चुल मांडुन भात रांधला होता . भात शिजेपर्यंत नदीमध्ये मनसोक्त डुंबण्याचा आनंद देखील आम्ही घेतला. मित्रांनो लक्षात ठेवा असे अनोळखी प्रदेशात नदीमध्ये उतरणे धोक्याचे असते. त्यामुळे असे करणे चुकीचे आहे याची जाणिव आम्हाला नंतर झाली. त्यामुळे तुम्ही असे करणे टाळा. आज जेव्हा मी यशदिपचे हे लिखाण वाचले तेव्हा मला समजले की आम्ही त्याकाळी किती बिनधास्त जीवन जगत होतो. आम्ही दुस-या रात्री माणिकगडावर पोहोचलोच नाही मुक्कामी. किल्ल्याच्या पायथ्यालाच , खुपच जास्त अंधार पडल्याने आम्ही चक्क जंगलातच, एका भात खाचरातच मुक्काम केला. बिनधास्त असलो तरीही आम्ही आळीपाळीने जागरण करण्याचे कामही केले. त्यातच यशदिपची झोप एकदम सावध. जर्रा कुठे खुड्ड झाल की यशदिप उठुन बसतो. आणि मी त्याच्या एकदम विपरीत. अंथरुन असो वा नसो, कुठेही पाठ टेकली रे टेकली की लगेचच मी गाढ झोपी गेलेलो असतो. मला खाड-खुड अशा कशानेच जाग येत नाही. त्यामुळे जागरणाची माझी पाळी असताना देखील यशदिपच जागा होता, हे त्याच्या कडून मला प्रत्येक ट्रेकच्या अशा बिनधास्त मुक्कामानंतरच्या सकाळी समजायचे. असे बिनधास्त तरीही सावध मुक्काम आम्ही खुप केले आहेत. भिमाशंकरच्या घनदाट अरण्यातील मुक्काम, कोकणातुन वर चढुन आल्यावर भिमाशंकरच्या पायथ्याशी असलेल्या जंगलातील मुक्काम, सवाष्णी घाटातील जंगलातील मुक्काम, कैलास गडावरील मुक्काम, प्रचित गड जंगलातील मुक्काम, मोरघळीचा मुक्काम असे अनेक मुक्काम मनःपटलावर अंकित झालेले आहेत. माणिकगडाच्या वाटेविषयी यशदिप ने आवर्जुन लिहिले आहे की हेमंतने वाट चुकवली. वाटा शोधण्यासाठी वाटा चुकाव्या लागतात, त्यामुळे अनेकदा यशदिपच्या लिखाणात हेमंत ने वाट चुकवली असे लिहिलेले आढळते. याचे कारण असे की वाट शोधण्याचे काम पहिले करायला मीच पुढे सरसावुन जायचो. अनेकदा चुकायचे, वाट सापडायची नाही. आणि कधी कधी सापडायची देखील. पण उत्साह मात्र कधीही कमी व्हायचा नाही. वाट शोधण्यात मी अनेकदा चुकलो असलो तरी माझ्या सवंगड्यांनी कधीही माझ्या अविश्वास दाखवुन मला पुढे जाण्यापासुन रोखले देखील नाही. एकमेकांवर विश्वास ठेवणे, ते ही कठीण प्रसंगी खुप महत्वाचे असते. व असे धडे शिकण्याचे आमचे विद्यापीठ होते निसर्गातील अशी ही भटकंती. या ट्रेकच्या दरम्यान क्रिकेट वर्ल्ड-कप च्या मॅचेस सुरु होत्या. त्या दिवशी भारताची एक मॅच होती. देवाचा निम्मा जीव ट्रेक मध्ये तर निम्मा मॅच मध्ये होता. टॉस कुणी जिंकला असेल, बॅटींग कुणी केली, किती रन केले असतील, असे झाले असेल तसे झाले असेल अशा नाना कॉमेंट-या ट्रेकदरम्यान आम्ही ऐकत होतो. माणिकगडची चढाई, गड पाहणी, तेथील स्वयंपाक व देवाची (देवीदास ववले) क्रिकेट साठीची तगमग
You don’t have to be an expert astronomer for star gazing with kids; you can learn right alongside them. Stargazing as a family can be a lot of fun, but what you do need is time and patience—if you have a hard time locating objects in the sky, imagine how hard it can be for a 6 year old! The most important thing that you can do for your child is to help them to appreciate the beauty of the night sky, and to help them become children who look up and wonder. Provide opportunity One of the roadblocks for parents stargazing with their children is the timing—it obviously has to happen at night, right? While actual “star”gazing needs to happen when it’s dark, there are some astronomical events that can be seen in the daytime such as eclipses, viewing the moon at certain phases, and rare planet transits across the sun. These can provide some great introductory opportunities for children, but the real excitement definitely happens at night. It is certainly a great idea to learn a constellation or two, or find out which planets are in the sky so that you can point them out to your children on the way to the car after seeing a late night movie. These can be great learning opportunities for your children, but to really inspire a sense of wonderment about the sky, you need to be intentional about setting aside “stargazing time”. If you are a family that regularly camps, this can be a great time to stargaze. You are often already up later than usual, and normally in a dark area away from city lights. Another idea is to set up a “family stargazing party” in your own backyard or someplace close to home—just keep in mind that the amount of light around will determine how many objects you will be able to see in the night sky. Comfortable environment The best way to ensure a positive experience for you and your child is to provide a relaxing and cozy setting. Standing up with your neck craned to look up is only comfortable if you plan to be out for just a short time. If your plan is to be out for longer than a few minutes, have a blanket to lie down on or reclining beach-style chairs to relax in. Have with you any materials that you might need—a planisphere, a flashlight (paint the lens with red nail polish so that it’s not too bright), and guidebooks from the local library. Snacks Snacks are a great thing to have for children if they start to get bored—why not go with the theme and get Moonpies or make Meteorite Krispie Treats. This can inspire a lot of fun with young children, and you can re-name almost anything with a “space” name— i.e. “Cosmic Crackers” or “Martian Milk Chocolate”. For older children, bring their favorite snack along as a special treat. While a nice summer night is probably the most comfortable, consider stargazing in the winter. Early winter nights are ideal for children who have earlier bedtimes. Just put on your winter gear and don’t forget the hot chocolate! Bring something else to do While we would all love for our children to have the time of their lives gazing up at the sky for hours, this might not be a reality for most children. Have some things planned other than just stargazing. Bring along your Stargazing Diary. Have your iPhone programmed with a special playlist of space-themed songs, or just a few of everyone’s favorites.Check out a few astronomy books from the library and take some time to read various constellation myths. Whatever you do, please take this time to put away the media devices! This is a great opportunity to “unplug” with your child. Resist the temptation to quickly check your email, messages, whatsapp or send that text that you forgot about earlier in the day. Your children will take your lead on this. If you bring your laptop along, it won’t be long before they are begging to watch that YouTube video or check Facebook. Does it work? how? Keep the developmental stage and attention span of your children in mind as you begin to look at constellations and other objects. I have found that one or two new constellations are about all that most people (including adults!) can remember at a time. It’s best to focus on remembering one constellation than introducing 7 or 8 that you can’t remember. The ability to “connect the dots” of a constellation in the sky can be very hard for children depending on their developmental stage. For children who have a hard time “seeing” the constellations, encourage them to find their own. They can look for different shapes that the stars make in the sky, or find the first letter of their name in the stars. Utilize your child’s imagination—have them make up their own myths about constellations that they see. Check out books from the library on constellation myths and use this time to tell a few stories. Why wait? Get out and go star gazing with kids For any query regarding booking, kindly contact – 09049002053 / 07709007641 Note – If both the mobile numbers above are not reachable call 09822042117
Monsoon Road-trips near Pune Monsoon is fascinating as always. It amplifies happiness in multi folds for the people who depend on monsoon and also for the bio diversity around. Monsoon gives a make over to earth, especially to the western ghats of India. Why not go on a monsoon ride near Pune then? We are fortunate enough to have Western ghats around Pune. There are many monsoon destinations you can choose from for your monsoon drive or ride experience. Today, let’s get to know more about all these destinations and some tips, tricks and precautions to take while planning your monsoon ride near Pune. Velhe – Nisargshala overnight camping An overnight monsoon trip with adventure and stay in tents, with mouth watering, live BBQ, authentic village food and an experience of being into the paradise. Want to experience the monsoon to its best? Want to enjoy monsoon traffic free and hassle free? Want get away from crowd and rowdy public who booze and dance vulgar at Public tourists places(Like Mulshi)…Want to escape your hi-fi gadgets for a day or two? If your answer is Yes to all above questions, then Nisargshala is the destination you must to be at. There are many destinations one or overnight trips can be arranged to, like Madhe Ghat, Torna fort, Rajgad Fort, Ufanda Ghat, Rayling PLateau, etc. You get best of both the worlds. A drive through scenic western ghats, which is going to free from road jams. Instead of horns honking you might get to hear chirping of birds, whooping of langoors and mating calls from peahens. If you are planning to book a trip with Nisargshala, don’t forget to ask us about this scenic route to Nisargshala. At Nisargshala camping you would get to pitch your own tent, roast your BBQ, meditate at the river bank and also do some great adventure waterfall rappelling at the nearby waterfall. Once you are done with your camping and adventure @ Nisargshala, you can visit places like Madheghat, Torna fort, Rajgad fort, etc. Waterfall Rappelling @ nisargshala All time favorite MULSHI What you should see in Mulshi? Palase Waterfall, Kundalika Valley, Plus Valley, ghangad Fort, Telbail How to avoid traffic jams on Mulshi Road trips? Road to take – As it’s the most visited and crowded place near Pune with better road conditions and less distance, you should be more careful while planning this ride. You should start early from Pune. Use google traffic alerts to know the traffic jams to and fro. For last 4 weekends, I drove in the evening from Pune to Pirangut. And i have observed heavy traffic jams in Bhugaon area. Tourists who come back from Mulshi, dont follow traffic rules and make 3-4 lanes of vehicle towards Pune, ultimately results in heavy traffic jams of approximately 2 to 3 hours. To avoid this, know the alternate roads to reach Pune. First Option is Take left from Ghotawade Phata to go to Hinjawadi IT park, then Hinjawadi and then Wakad and then Bengalore highway. Second Option is Take left from Lawale Phata, via Lawale, Nande, Sus village reach Bengalore highway. These alternative road you can take while coming back from your Mulshi trip, you also choose to take these roads while going to Mulshi. Observe the lane discipline to avoid traffic bottlenecks. Avoid throwing thrash in the nature. Strictly avoid in take of liquor on a monsoon trip. If you see people boozing and creating chaos with loud music, immediately inform police. Sharing the phone number of local police station – 020 2294 3133. Mobile – 9850087499 . Keep it saved in your mobile. Lonavala In the peak monsoon season, the local govt body, keeps t Bhushi dam closed for tourists due to many unwanted accidents and deaths occured in last few years. If that is the case in your trip to Lonavala, what other places you must visit? Yes, there are plenty of equally beautiful places the area. To name few, Korigad, Telbail, Karla and Bhaje caves,Lohgad and Visapur Forts, Dukes nose, Kune Waterfall. Its recommended that you get a local guide with you if you don’t want to miss anything. Also please make a note that tourists should use public transport wiz the Mumbai-Pune Local train and then use local transport options. This will help reduce traffic jams and you will have worry free and hassle free monsoon trip near Pune to Lonavala. Keep Lonawala Police station Phone number handy in case you need any help or even if you want misbehaviour of other people to bring police’s notice. Lonawala Police station – 02114 273 036 Beautiful view of Sahyadri range with a cloud cover from Lonavala Malshej Ghat Approximately 120 kms from Pune. This ride is one of the best monsoon rides. Get your packed and belongings covvered in plastic and get wet in the waterfalls in the ghat. From a particular point in this ghat, you can see a reverse waterfall towards the direction of Harishchandra Gad. Less Traffic when compared to Mulshi, this road gets enough space to breathe and if vehicle drivers observe lane discipline, all can enjoy smooth traffic and have wonderful monsoon ride. But on weekends, heavy traffic is observed in last few years. Tourists from Mumbai visit this ghat a lot. Ale Phata Police station – 02132263033 Varandha Ghat Approximately 100 kms from Pune, this destination and also the roadtrip is a great experience in the monsoon. You can take Pune Begaluru highway and take right for Bhor town. Use google maps with directions navigation. What else you can see around? …Shivthar Ghal(शिवथर घळ). This is a sacred place underneath a waterfall, in a cave. His holiness Ramdas Swami, a poet revolutionary saint during the times of The Great Raja Shivaji. If you have some more information, that you think is useful to make someone’s monsoon trip even better and safe, please feel free to contact me on whatsapp (9049002053), I can add that information also in the article with due credits.
Parents should Encourage Kids to Climb Tree There are lots of reasons to encourage kids to climb trees, but many of them can begin to seem unimportant when faced with the possibility of our beloved child falling out of one. Besides the fact that kids just love it, here are my top five reasons, backed by science, to support tree climbing despite its inherent risks. Give your kids such platforms @ Nisargshala, a campground near Pue 1) Being Outside Reduces Stress Many studies over the past 20 years have shown that spending time in nature reduces cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, increases resilience, and supports cognitive function. And climbing trees is a great way to help kids engage in an outside activity that is fun and challenging. By encouraging this type of outdoor play and discovery, you’re putting your child into an environment that she has evolved to enjoy and appreciate. 2) Connecting With Nature Is Good For Us and the Planet Helping your child develop a personal relationship with nature has lots of benefits both to your child and to the environment. We humans are funny. When we care about something deeply, we’ll work incredibly hard to preserve it. So, by helping your child connect with nature, he is better off because of all of the benefits mentioned above and the environment is better off because your child will work hard to preserve the nature he loves so dearly. Working with children showed me that when kids understand the direct implications of their impact on the environment, they’re motivated to reduce their carbon footprint and are easily able to change their habits to live in more harmony with nature. For instance, after learning about landfills, many children become recycling activists in their homes and schools. And after a trip to a local water treatment facility where we got to engage in hands on demonstrations, I saw a marked improvement in water conservation efforts and interest in overall watershed health. 3) Climbing Trees is Good for Physical Development As I began to write this article I spoke to a local 7 year-old boy. I asked him, “what’s your favorite thing about climbing trees?” and he responded immediately, “Climbing!” Kids love the challenge of deciding where to put their feet and hands, and the exhilaration of getting high up into a tree. There’s a physical challenge and a huge sense of accomplishment that goes along with tree climbing. I wish more kids were encouraged to climb trees. Developing hand/eye coordination, muscle strength, and the ability to assess their own safety are all skills that benefit kids. And they’re the same skills that are often found lacking in today’s screen focused world. 4) Taking Risks Helps Kids Learn Their Strengths and Limitations By challenging themselves physically, kids learn their strengths and limitations quickly. They know when it’s easy, when it’s hard, and when they start to feel unsafe. It’s important for children to have the experience of pushing themselves and knowing when to step back and play it safe. You may be surprised to find that children have quite a strong sense of self-preservation when they’re allowed to exercise it. Yes, this does require us to step back, stop saying, “be careful!” and allow our kids to explore without us hovering and monitoring their every move. I know it can be difficult, and if you really have a tough time with it, I’d recommend sending the kids out with their dad (or other masculine role model). I’ve found that in general dads are much better at letting kids take physical risks than moms are. Even so, it’s still important to develop this ability for yourself, mom. Eventually we’re going to have teenagers on our hands and if we don’t allow our kids to take calculated risks now, they won’t be prepared for the life and death decisions they’ll be required to make once drinking and driving enter into the picture. 5) Spending Time in Nature Encourages Scientific Discovery Are your kids curious about birds, bees, squirrels, and raccoons? Spending time outside climbing trees is a wonderful way to encourage scientific interests. Maybe they’ll discover a next and get to watch baby birds being fed by their parents. Or perhaps they’ll discover a new species of beetle, never before cataloged. By encouraging kids to climb trees, you’re really encouraging them to explore the natural world in all it’s glory. How does a plant grow? Where does a tree get its nutrients? What does decomposition look like? And what happens if a bird’s nest is disturbed? Children are natural scientists and will create experiments, hypotheses, and conclusions about everything in life. Why not encourage them to conduct some of their research in the canopy? So, let’s all go out and climb a tree! And let’s make sure our kids get the opportunity to spend time outdoors, climbing trees, playing, making up songs and stories, coming up with wild theories, and just forging a relationship with this wonderful, wild, beautiful world we live in. Happy camping Team Nisargshala For any query regarding booking, kindly contact – 09049002053 / 07709007641