rATAnGAd....

Ambarish: It’s now, or never. We have made it so far.

Me: Yeah, I can see the god damn summit. Five minutes, seven at the most.

Gaurav: Oye, you guys are crazy! CRAZY!!! The rain is hurting and the waterfall at the entrance has multiplied its force. As if this isn’t enough, the ladder is broken at the top. And it’s horribly slippery up there. This is pure suicide, nothing short of it. Trust me guys, this point is as good as the top. Enjoy the view from here and let’s head down now, before it gets late. It’s alright, we have made it. 

Me: We have ALMOST made it, Gaurav. There’s a difference.

I am going up. Anyone else?

Ambarish: Me.

Gaurav: Fine. We will wait for you guys. Don’t try too hard. And please be quick. Are you taking the guide along?

Guide:  Me not coming up, sahib. Waterfall is too powerful. Waterfall is Dangerous. Don’t go, sahib.

Me: Whaa???  Screw this guy!  Let’s go, Ambarish.

Ten minutes later…

Oh fuck! The damned waterfall’s coming straight at me. Even the rocks are slippery as hell. lemme try this way ….

 

12:30 in the noon and both of us were shivering to death under the timid shelter of a cave, at the summit of Ratangad. It was all over. Another fort conquered; another clean victory. Although I must confess that we didn’t really enjoy the descent down the slippery waterfall entrance. It makes my hair stand at the edge even today, when I recall that petrified situation in my life. But that’s Ratangad for you, and if you have adventurous genes, you’re dead sure to love it. Got the balls, go and do it. I did it. And I have no regrets about my call; for beyond fear, there is success. The sweet taste of it always makes you want to go for it, again and again. Sort of like an addiction.

But our journey had started a long time back, and it started in an abusive tone…

12:30 (a.m. this time), Thane bus stand:  We finally found our golden Toyota Qualis, humming impatiently for our arrival. Except Mandar and me, everyone else was in that car, abusing us. Same shit, different day. When you are with Mandar, somehow this always happens. I have a strong notion that Mandar, in his previous life, must have been a physicist who fooled around with time travel miserably. Hence, the revenge.   

Finally we took off for our base camp, Bhandardara. A near four hours journey bundled up in the back of an uncomfortable Qualis bought us to our hotel at 5 am. We caught the first, and perhaps, the most beautiful glimpse of the gigantic waters of the reservoir. Unfortunately, it was too dark to photograph this magnificence, so this will be perhaps the only record of it ever made. As experienced on previous occasions, language fails to express such beauties. Sight, after all, is one of the fundamental senses for us. To search for an alternative that does justice to it is plain foolishness, if you ask me for an honest opinion.  

After a bit of rest, we got ready for our first day of exploration. If you are in Bhandardara, there are a couple of things which you are simply not allowed to miss. One of them being the deliciously hot kanda bhajjis near the lake (Introducing Mr. Sanjay, an extremely kind hearted fellow who can help you in a thousand ways. This also includes satiating your hunger by his awesome cooking skills). Try the lemon grass tea and the potato wadas…you’ll be licking your fingers like a hungry fox. Okay, I am not sure whether a fox actually does that, but I am positive that you will. Go for it!

Anyway, enough of freelance marketing for Mr. Sanjay. After a “happy go tummy”, we proceeded to sight- seeing around Bhandardara. This place is indubitably one of the most beautiful locations in Maharashtra, since a lot of the scenery is yet untouched by the filthy hands of our urbane population. Countless waterfalls litter every road, many of them jogging right over so that your car makes a grand splashage as it roars through them. On one such occasion, we also got a healthy feedback of local abuse. You can easily guess why.

One of the places we went to was some irrigation project high up the surrounding mountains of Bhandardara (I forgot the name, as usual). Freezing cold, high up, a cold wind blew us a welcome note as we stepped out of the comfortable Qualis to explore this place. It was at the edge of a mountain, and with a visibility of 5 feet, all that you could make out was the faint structure of an iron railing ahead. We all went and stood there, freezing in time, not knowing what lay beyond or below. Nothing could be seen, as we were engulfed in a massive cloud. Teeth chattering, feet scrambling, fingers curled around the camera, we all awaited for the moment to arrive. And it suddenly did! The clouds swirled back like curtains of an old cinema, offering us one of the most heart touching view ever! It lasted for hardly four seconds, but it was all our lenses were waiting for. The photograph below will speak for what we witnessed in those four seconds.

As the curtain of clouds engulfed us again, the cold got bitter and we voted to move back in the car. Next on the list was the famous ancient temple of Amruteshwar.  This is another of those beauties which exists even today, standing hard and cold out of a single rock since eons, bravely withstanding the ruthless forces of nature. Sadly, the only thing our archaeological department has managed to do is to fix up a simple board outside this monument, declaring it as one of those countless heritage structures who put up a silent show. They are a testimonial to our intellectual ancestors, who could build structures in those times which have survived till date. We have a lot yet to learn from them, but unfortunately, our fundamental building blocks today are bricks, concrete and steel. Though western ideas are concrete, they cannot match up with stones. Look at what I mean to say, you’ll understand.

The temple seems to be non functional, but the interiors truly emanate a spiritual charge through you. There is a shivling inside the temple, which is almost submerged in water during the monsoons, and looks mysteriously enchanting. This temple is a must watch, if you are to visit Bhandardara any time.

After loitering around the temple ambience, we decided to head back to our hotel for lunch. We had one of the most mouth watering meals consisting of chapattis, dal and a red-hot vegetable, with green chilies and onions. Oh, how we devoured it! Like a pack of hungry wolves, we gulped down chapattis after chapattis, until no more would slip down the throat. With thoroughly satisfying (and disgustingly unsocial) burps, we proceeded to our hotel for a short nap. (I was wondering if we were seriously on a trek, this seemed to be too luxurious for one?) Mandar’s behavior was truly bolstering this school of thought, since he made this trip as a complete luxury trip. No efforts at all. Hence, he was a hard target for all of us. Everywhere, anywhere, poor Mandy would be pulled into the conversation, and a couple of painful taunts would be tossed at him casually. (Swapnil). Not that he got affected in any way, Mandy’s an o’l sea dog who keeps his cool (and that’s how I gather up the courage to write shit about him in public).          

 Ambarish had joined the gang by now, from Pune. Not without earning his share of abuse, though. And the mangy fellow came for a trek with an umbrella, which tempted me to rag the living hell out of him. (Remember Lokesh arriving at one of the Matheran treks with a suitcase? You broke his record, bro!)

In the evening, we visited a monstrous waterfall, followed by the main gates of the dam. The water here was a shade of bluish green and petrifying to even the most expert swimmer. After taking a few good clicks around, we came back to the hotel to get ready for the big day – trek Ratangad fort.

0630 hours: Mandy, wake up! We got a trek to do. Today!

Mandar: Zzzzz…..

Me: Damn it mandy please fucking get up! No one told you to hang around till late night yesterday…

Mandar: Zzzzz???

Manndyyyyy!!!!!!!

Mandar:Zzzzzzzz…..

I rushed into the loo to get myself ready, and that’s when I realized that there was no electricity. It was pitch dark in the bloody bathroom and I was left with just one option: Candle light shitting. Try it sometime, if you still haven’t been fortunate enough to do this. You can’t make such shit, I’ll tell ya! It’s a situation of baseless (literally) fear, for the candle might fall at any time. And god alone can save you if that happens.

Ten minutes into this acrobatic stunt and I was out alive, unhurt, unscratched, un-burnt, and most importantly, lighter. After much running-bustling about, we finally got our sacks ready, dumped them into the car, and set off for Ratangad. Ahh, the weather! It was perfect – light rains, strong breeze, mild sunlight would ensure a cool trip. However, a sad turn of events took place when we reached the base camp, the temple of Amruteshwar. It was pouring heavily by now, and we encountered a group of fellow trekkers who had just come back from the trek. When we asked them about it, their reply was “No. There’s no use of going, you’ll have to turn back near the end. It’s impossible to make across the second ladder. ”

Wow! That’s exactly what we needed now, I said to myself. A bunch of losers who want to discourage enthusiastic, blood thirsty travelers hailing from lands far across. I had already made up my mind – I was in. Thankfully, many others were in as well, and so we set off on our journey. And what a terrain! Nine waterfalls, traversed across! I literally remembered the adventures of TinTin, and I much fancied myself to procure four strands of yellowed hair on my head, and snowy. The rains were pouring heavily, everything was drenched right to the core (except for my camera – it’s a miracle). Slowly, steadily, wading across the waterfalls, we made our way up the fort. Three hours and a couple of snack-breaks later, we found ourselves facing the first iron ladder which would take us to the top of the mountain.

We started climbing it up, and pretty soon we reached the top. This was the turning point. The rainfall had increased to such an extent, that it was literally painful. Huge drops hitting your eyes at terminal velocity made you blind, you couldn’t see anything in such inhuman conditions. The second ladder was bang in front, mocking at us like an un-conquerable monster. There was a waterfall growling right through the entrance to the fort, down this ladder, and it’s force had increased tremendously. All in all, it was a subprime meltdown situation.

Gaurav: That’s it, guys. We have done it. There’s no point going up there.

Ambarish: It’s now, or never. We have made it so far.

Me: Yeah, I can see the god damn summit. Five minutes, seven at the most.....