The New Busy Life

Well... Ive started writing again directly implies that I have been tremendously busy with work.

I had a job change in June 2010 and have been getting occupied with the same. Prior to the job change I was pretty much social with meeting friends, acquaintances regularly. Unfortunately ever since I had a job change, I couldn't do that. I could manage to meet up only a few close mates for a short period of time. A lot of things have changed since then with time. Do check my blog regularly for updates. Cheers for now

Jumping to Conclusions

This is one bad habit which few people have. First and foremost, I must admit that i have it.

A lot of us don't think about some things or rather don't sit down and analyze any problem before taking any decision or before speaking up. We often tend not to have any second thoughts and make a decision abruptly or maybe express our opinion bluntly.

It may be anywhere anyplace anytime.
For example: At work if there is a problem and one person is trying to solve it and after several attempts although he tried his best he is unsuccessful. Then some people may say 'He is useless... doesn't know anything' People don't consider the amount of hard work he's put in before making such statements. They just want results. Deadlines have to be met. No doubt. But these people will carefully watch what you are doing. If the person is successful in whatever he's doing, he climbs the ladder. If not then people start talking shit about him. The same person might have talent. He maybe able to solve or provide assistance in something else but not in the previous instance.

Similarly in our personal lives, we see many things. Lets take an example of a 30 year old unmarried male/female. There are many people who enjoy their single status and dont wanna get married. Some may have had a bad past. Some may have a genuine problem. Unfortunately few morons consider these people as losers without any direction in life.

Furthermore, when we make new friends or rather when we develop new contacts at a public gathering, we have a tendency to study the behaviour, likes/dislikes etc of the people we meet and on that basis, we strengthen the relationship. Little do we know what's in store for us. If you are in a business gathering people wud always be gud to you, coz they foresee Vitamin M in you.

There is a famous saying, "First Impression is the Last Impression" But is it true? Well the answer is maybe yes or maybe no. Don't jump to conclusions so soon.

Different People, Different Mindsets

In life, we come across many personalities.

Personally, there have been times where I've come across and met really very funny characters. Not only me, but I'm sure everyone does. Some people get wild easily, some like to speak up, some have a dirty habit of poking their nose in everything while some play the back-stabbing game.

It's a tough task to gel with everyone especially when your most common friend circle has people with different mindsets. You may say something, crack a joke, pull someone's leg. But then some people do not like it. Some may agree with you while some may not. Similarly, a leg pulling spree can be taken sportingly by a person. Unfortunately some people don't. They may forgive you, but will never forget you.

The major concern is "Ego", using the word "I" instead of "We". Using "I" while giving an opinion is absolutely fine, but some people use the word "I" in a very inappropriate manner, say for e.g. "I have decided that we will do this....." This is something that a person decides without involvement of others when you are in a group. And they don't like it when you point out mistakes to them. They are not open to criticism. Even if they invite suggestions, they are not fully convinced. This is what I feel is completely unfair. They get wild, back answer or have a grudge against people who point out the negative traits in them.

"Ego kills". I always tell few of my close mates. "The dustbin is the safest place to dump Ego. Do not carry it like an excess baggage.!"

There are people who are extremely talkative. They can go on and on. Irrespective of what people say or think. They won't change for anyone. There's one more category, the "Psssst, I'll tell you something... Don't tell anyone types" Ultimately you would realize that they have shared whatever they want to with almost everyone. One needs to be very careful with such people. They add fuel to the fire and run away at the crunch moments. There are also few who are very straight forward. If they feel that something isn't right, they would voice their opinion quickly.

Why am I talking abt this?? Coz I have loads of friends and I have a huge friend circle. I interact with many people. Everyone is different. No one is perfect. I'm not perfect either. Everyone's got some negative traits which cannot be changed by anyone. If it has to change, it will change as time passes by. Everyone has a different mindset. Different people have different mindsets.

Weekend Trekking Adventure to Ratangad - 10-11th October 2009

Right from college days, I've always wanted to trek. But somehow I didn't get the opportunity or rather I didn't utilize the opportunity I got in the appropriate manner. My friend Samir used to organise a lot of treks. He's been inviting me for almost 3 years now. This year I decided to join him. When the trekking season was declared open by Samir early in June 2009, I said "Yes". From June to End September, I've been lucky to visit few of the most scenic places in Maharashtra. I'd successfully completed 7 treks viz Kohoj, Kotligad(Peth), Bhimashankar, Lohagad, Mahuli, Tikona and Rajmachi. Each and every trek was enjoyable. You can check my previous post, I've shared my experiences.

My friend Rohan is a passionate trekker as well. He couldn't join me on the treks coz of his exams. Once his exams got over, he wanted to go on an adventure.

The Planning

Wednesday 7th October 2009 - Late Evening

It was a hectic day at work for me. In the evening just before winding up, Rohan pinged me on messenger and asked me whether I was game for trekking the coming weekend. I said Yes. We decided to meet. The place was undecided but one thing was sure, that we wanted to Trek. We met at a local coffee joint and were deciding where to go. We were thinking of Kalsubai (The highest peak of Maharashtra) but then none of us had been there earlier. So we decided to do some research once we reach home. Meanwhile, we wanted some more people to come as well. We checked with our old buddy Anand. He joined us at the coffee joint too. He was a bit confused as he'd never been on a trek and we assured him that although we (me and Rohan) were not so experienced, but we can guide him accordingly. Upon hearing this, he agreed.

Once we reached home later at night, we did a bit of research. We searched for places nearby Nashik/Igatpuri. For sometime we even thought of pitching a tent nearby Bhandardara Lake. But that would be too much of a risk, since we never knew how the surroundings are like. We finally shortlisted Ratangad and Kalsubai. I searched for railway timetables, connectivity of trains/buses to Bhandardara etc. Rohan was of the opinion that we should drive down as we could go wherever we want and go around the nearby places if we have time. I too agreed with him and we decided to go by car.

Thursday, 8th October 2009

Since none of us had been camping earlier, we decided to prepare a list of camping essentials. Self and Rohan discussed about it and I sent out an excel sheet the following afternoon after vetting it. We all checked the list simultaneously, bookmarked the very essential items we didn't have and decided to meet later in the evening.

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, I'd always trekked with Samir and his group. So I checked with him if he was available for Ratangad/Kalsubai. He gave me some valuable tips and also helped me in checking in some trek reviews online. He suggested us to goto Kalsubai instead of Ratangad as although Kalsubai is the highest peak, it was an easy trek very unlike Ratangad. Me and Samir were checking the reviews online and the difficulty level was Medium to Hard. It was definitely not recommended to take beginners to Ratangad. Whatever discussions we had and whatever reviews we checked I was sharing those with Rohan and Anand accordingly so that we all are well prepared.

Since we were planning to stay overnight, we needed to buy some items which included a stove, some kerosene, some fluids and few packets of ready to eat items. We met late in the evening on Thursday night, bought the required items from a local departmental store and went home.

Friday, 9th October 2009

With just one day to go for the beginning of our trip, we were already very very excited. Furthermore, we had one more confirmation on friday morning Shivanand. Even he was a first timer. We were again in two minds whether to goto Ratangad or Kalsubai. By late afternoon on friday, we finally decided to go to Ratangad. We decided to meet again later in the evening to finalize things. Just before meeting, we realised that we didn't buy kerosene but we had the stove. We checked with few sources and understood that surprisingly kerosene out of stock in most of the ration shops near our area. We were in a fix. We met in the evening and we were checking with almost every source whether kerosene was available. I met Rohan at Borivali station and prior to meeting him I asked a paanwala whether he knew any place where we can get kerosene. He told me that he'd get it for me for a price in black and also that but we would've to shell out extra say around Rs 50/60 per Ltr for the kerosene. I informed Rohan about the deal that guy had offered. We mutually decided to search for same in few shops and if we cudn't find it then we would take it from that guy. Luckily after checking shop-to-shop and walking for about 15-20 mins, we found kerosene at Rs. 22/- per Ltr. WOW!! Finally!! :) That means that paanwala wanted to make a quick buck by purchasing at the same price and selling us at a much higher price. Woah!!

Just between all this, I checked with another friend of mine Shantanu whether he would be available. He was ok with it and confirmed that he'll join. So we were 5 of us. A perfect number for a road trip cum adventure trek.

Now that 5 of us were confirmed, we needed some more food items. We again shopped for the required items and also bought some medicines for emergency. So everything was set and we decided to leave at 4 am on saturday morning.

The 1st Day - The Drive to Ratanwadi (Ratangad)

I set my alarm for 3-30 am and we had decided that the one who wakes up first will call the rest for better co-ordination. To my surprise, Anand was the first one to take an initiative and message everyone much before time, much before my alarm clock rang. :)

I left my place in Borivali and met Anand and Shivanand in Dahisar. Rohan too stays in the same colony however surprisingly he wasn't answering the phone nor did he come down. After trying to call him for a long time, finally he answered the call at 5-10 am and we finally left Dahisar at 5-30 am. Since Shantanu stays in Thane, we had to pick him up on the way. He was ready since 4 am but since we left late we finally picked him up at around 6-30 am. Once he was in we adjusted all our bags in the trunk and finally left for our destination :)

As mentioned earlier we did a lot of research before leaving. I checked out the route on Google Maps. To be honest, I used to trust google maps a lot. In fact, last year I found a place in Nashik just due to Google Maps. Hence, this time I trusted it without any doubt. As per google maps, we were supposed to take a right from Shahapur, on the Mumbai-Nashik highway. We did that and went in. As we proceeded further, the road kept getting narrower and narrower and full of potholes. We kept asking people on the way about Ratangad. They were clueless. We went ahead and after going about 15 kms, we arrived at a village. We stopped and asked them coz we couldn't see any sight of mountains nearby. To our surprise, one person who was a candidate for elections during that period told us that we were on the wrong track. We had to turn back then.

We proceeded to Igatpuri and then deviated to Ghoti from where the road to Bhandardara starts. The town of Ghoti was a cramped up town and reminded us of the movie Billu Barber . Too much crowd, people selling rotten vegetables on the street. It was a complete mess. Since october was the election time, there was a campaign going on. The guy was announcing on the mike and informing the people about the election date and the candidate to vote for. To our bad luck, we got stuck behind that vehicle and worse we had the van with the speaker behind us. It was pathetic. Just to cover a distance of 100 mtrs, we took 45 mins. Finally after some ear torchure, we managed to overtake the vehicle and proceed to Bhandardara. It was about 35 kms from Ghoti. The route was very scenic with mountains all around, windmills etc. We reached the Bhandardara Dam in a while but we did not waste too much time there since we wanted to trek and it was almost noon. After going further, we got a glimpse of the Arthur Lake. It was so tempting that we stopped the car and went towards it. Everyone was keen on taking snaps, posing for the cam. It was just amazing.

After spending almost an hour there, we proceeded to Ratanwadi. The road to Ratanwadi was very bad. It had loads of potholes and it was a tough task to drive through them. Although it was 22 kms from Bhandardara, we felt as if we drove much longer. We reached the base village Ratanwadi around 1-30 pm in the afternoon. Upon reaching there we decided to take help of a local guide who could help us in reaching the top. He helped us park the car next to his house and also offered us some tea and pakodas. After eating some stuff, we unpacked our bags, kept the non-essential items in the car and left for the fort. It was around 2-30pm and being the first time we were trekking at this time, I kept on asking the guide as to how far is the fort. The villagers are used to it. They always use terms such as "arda tass" "don tass" which means "half an hour" "two hours". But this guy assured me that we would reach before sunset. We had 2 first time trekkers Anand and Shivanand. I was behind them and made sure they were comfortable. Kept on motivating them, giving valuable tips etc. Tips which were earlier given to me by Samir. After around 2 hours, we came across a ladder, a metal one. We could not use the side support coz it used to shake. We got hold of the steps by hand and went ahead one by one. After one ladder we noticed another one. After the second ladder, there was a narrow patch and we had to negotiate it properly. The guide and Shantanu were ahead and were guiding all of us through that. With the heavy backpacks it was very difficult for all of us. This patch we had to do a bit of rock climbing. Step by step, one leg to the left one to the right, hand-leg co-ordination, proper balance was the key. Although we took some time, but we did quite well in the end. That was it. We had reached the top. All of us were very happy. As we went ahead, we saw a temple and further we saw a cave. We were excited. It was an awesome one. We could see mountains from both sides and the Arthur Lake just ahead of us. To be honest, I can't describe the view from there. Rohan had carried a tent and he began pitching it, me and Anand were helping him in same. I had got along 2 foam mattresses. So we were decently prepared for spending the night.

We needed some water for cooking purposes and were not keen on using drinking water. So 2 of us, Shantanu and Shivanand went in search of water. Over there they came across a group of amateur trekkers from an IT company in Mumbai. They had been fooled by some guide from Bhandardara. He had promised them to show a nice place to camp overnight and also told them that good water is available. The cave where we camped had some space inside for about 25-30 people and it was very much secure with steel grills. We camped on the outer part of the cave. The inner section was unoccupied.

As mentioned earlier, the ladders were quite steep and risky. We negotiated that patch through good co-ordination. However, we had some fear as to whether we'll be able to negotiate or not. The guide who was with the other group claimed that he knew a easier route down through the other side but that was a much longer route. Unfortunately though they had reached the top but they never got a comfortable place to camp unlike us. Shantanu and Shivanand offered to help them and told them that there is a cave on the inner side and that we had camped on the outer side. The sun had not set till then. That group had some female members who were trekking for the first time and were shit scared after climbing those risky ladders. They were adamant on moving anywhere. After filling up water for our food, both Shaan and Shiva put the ball in their court to decide whether they want to move to a better and a comfortable location near our cave. They exchanged numbers and told us that they will inform us. There was still some time for sunset and so they requested them to decide fast.

Shaan and Shiva came to the cave and we started the stove. The weather was pleasant. We needed something hot. Rohan and Anand started boiling the water for the soup. The soup was awesome. After all that, we rested for a while. We also shared individual experiences of the trek so far. Around 8 pm, we decided to cook dinner and sleep early coz we were all tired. Just as we were about to have dinner, we saw the same group which Shantanu and Shiva had offered help walk into our cave. They went to the inner portion of the cave which had a capacity to seat about 20-25 people. We could realise that some of them were really tired and scared maybe coz it was their first trek and they had negotiated a very difficult patch. One of the female from that group told us that "Humne mauth ko ekdum kareeb se dekha hai"

They had a guide alongwith them too. The guide was supposed to take them via a different route so we thought we could join them the next day. However, we ended up sleeping very late. It was getting colder too. Shiva was our official fireman. :) He made sure that everyone gets proper sleep. Shantanu was shivering and so was Anand. Shiva was up late at night just for this. It was nice on Shiva's part to help them out.

Few of us decided to wake up early in the morning and watch the sunrise. Just before sunrise, the group which was staying in the inner cave left the cave to start the descent. Due to the commotion all of us woke up. The sunrise was truly beautiful. The camera actually doesn't capture the true beauty of it. One should've been there to watch it. It was splendid.

Even though the sun was out, we were still shivering with the cold wind blowing towards our cave. We decided to have some coffee. Few of us started preparing coffee and few were juz cleaning the place, washing utensils, gathering waste materials etc. While we were doing that we saw abt 2-3 monkeys just next to our cave. As mentioned earlier, there was a temple just next to out cave, and few trekkers stayed there overnight coz our cave was occupied. They had thrown waste materials, food etc outside the temple andb there was no sign of them. The monkeys exploited the situation and gathered there one by one. While we were busy cleaning up the place and preparing coffee, one of the monkeys came too close to our cave and started making weird noises. I remember Samir telling me that these monkeys are dangerous. Do not trouble them. Hence I ignored that monkey. We all thought "Saala Kaccha Nimoo Hai, Kuch nahi karega" But it wasn't that way. He kept on coming close to us. On seeing this Anand told me to go two steps ahead towards the monkey and the monkey would go away. I did the same. Unfortunately the monkey too came two steps ahead and started making really loud noises. Well donno about others. But I was scared. And we were having coffee too that time. The monkey was roaming in our cave as if he/she had conquered it. Suddenly someone gave me an idea to come out with a Lion's roar. We never intended to hurt the monkey but then things were out of control. The monkey kept roaming in our cave and also eying on our food items. I started with "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Arrrrrrrrhhhh" (That was too stupid..!!) Upon hearing this the monkey started coming close to us at a decent pace. Just in the midst of this, Rohan picked up a stone and acted as if hez gonna hit the monkey. Woah!!! The monkey finally ran away upon seeing this. !! And all the frightened faces seemed alive again. "Yay Yay!! Now we know your weak point" "Hool diya toh bhaag jaayega" After that no monkey dared to enter our cave. Although attempts were made, but we gave them hool and they behaved themselves. :)

It was around 10 am. We started the descent. We were thinking all night about that deadly steep patch and how do we negotiate all that. One of us volunteered to go down and help each one out. That was a relief. We negotiated those tough patches in little over 30 mins. En route, we passed through a stream and few of us decided to freshen up, wash our faces etc. In the midst of this, most of us ended up tasting the stream water. It was so damn sweet. We were thirsty anyways. We decided to fill up two bottles and mix tang. It was so refreshing. We rested there for about 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, Anand had a problem with his shoe. The sole had come off. We tried to use some suthli and managed to attach the sole to the shoe temporarily as we knew that the base village was less than an hour away. Unfortunately, it wasn't working out. He had a pair of slippers and we resumed the journey to the base village. Within around 45 mins, we reached Ratanwadi. There was a mini-dam. All of us decided to go there and have a bath, but the water was not clean enough to have a bath. We just washed our faces and proceeded to the villager's house.

We had told him the previous day that we would prefer non-veg food and so he prepared desi chicken for us. Normally, during treks we eat almost anything and anywhere. We don't care about hygiene. We were served bhakris, desi chicken, rice, rassa and some onions. The desi chicken was not too great. None of us liked it but we had it coz we were hungry. The chicken rassa was awesome though. After about 30 mins around 2 pm, we were done with lunch. We paid him and started our return journey home.

We reached Mumbai by around 8 pm.

WOW!!! What a trip this was. This has to be one of the most memorable ones after Bhimashankar (July 2009). Believe me, we still talk about this place, its beauty and the monkey incident whenever I meet the ones who were part of this trip. :)

Trekking - For a beginner like me!!

Right from my college days, I used to watch a lot of Nat Geo and Discovery T&L but I'd never been on treks, outings, camping and stuff.

In my first year of degree college, I think way back in October 2001, I joined the Nature Club and we'd been on a trek to Tungareshwar (Near Vasai, Thane district). It was a very HOT day. We were sweating like pigs. Since it was my first one, I had a very tough time. We drank a lot of fluids. My calf muscles, thighs and knees were paining. I had a bad fall too, bruised my right hand.

Although it was an easy trek, It wasn't so easy for me. The view from the top was awesome. There is one nice temple on top and also a place to rest. We were served some herbal tea (The best one I had till date) . It was really very refreshing. We relaxed for a while, had lunch and started the descent. The way back was much easier but it had soft mud all over it. We successfully made it to the base within an hour and a half. We took the ST upto vasai station and came back home via train.

Upon reaching home, I just couldn't stand properly as my whole body and legs were paining.

I dosed off to sleep and skipped college the next day. I had a feeling that if this is the way trekking is, I'm certainly not up for it. But I love the nature, the flowers, the green pastures, the streams. I might be complaining about the pain after the trek but I have myself to blame for that. I never used to work out, no exercise, no walks, no jogs.... After college, I used to come home and sit on the PC playing computer games. No outdoor activities whatsoever.

After this trip, I never even attempted to try and go for treks. Well that was a decision taken by me way too early in life.

(2008) Seven years down the line

Seven years had passed and I wasn't the same Varun, I used to be while in college. I had gained a lot of weight say around 25 kgs and my tummy had began to bulge out. Loads of people used to criticize me for not working out including my family members who literally used to force me to go on outings, go to the gym to get back in shape. But I seldom used to listen to them.

My friend Samir who is like an elder brother to me organizes a lot of treks. He used to invite me a lot of times but somehow I couldn't go for some or the other reason. I had decided that one day I will definitely go.

One fine day in August 2008 on a hectic friday evening, I was chatting with Rohan, an old friend of mine and he was just checking with if we could go on a mini-trek to Kanheri caves. I was hesitating and told him about my harrowing first trek experience. He somehow convinced me and we decided to go ahead. It was a saturday and I had my weekly off. Our intention was to start early around 7 am and come back by noon. However, I ended up coming home late on friday night and woke up at 8 am on saturday morning. We started at around 9 am.

Although I've stayed in Borivali since 1985, I'd never been to Kanheri caves before. Initially I thought that we would take the bus upto the base of the caves and then start off from there. But we decided to walk it down. The walk is around 7 Kms and then the climb starts. The road leading to the caves is motorable with greenery on both sides. There are 2 bridges on the way with a river flowing underneath them. The main advantage was that although it didn't rain heavily it was very pleasant. It was just a perfect day for a start but the moment the climb started the wind had stopped and suddenly it was very humid.

I started huffing and it was difficult for me. I guess the reason for this was no workouts, no walks and poor eating habits. A week before i had undergone a complete medical checkup at Lilavati. My cholesterol levels were high and the doctor told me to reduce it. I could make out that I didn't have enough stamina. I really felt ashamed about the fact that at this age I'm having these problems. On the way to the top, there was a mini-water fall and I couldn't resist putting my feet in the flowing water. It was an awesome experience.

Around noon, we came back from Kanheri and I was feeling de-stressed. The hectic work schedule in the past few weeks had almost been knocked off from my brains. I relaxed on Sunday and started work afresh on Monday.

I really enjoyed this outing and was wondering that if Kanheri was so scenic, how would be the places like Lohagad, Rajmachi, Bhimashankar etc. I'd heard a lot of things about these places from many of my friends who used to trek frequently.

Post August 2008, I was very busy and couldn't get time to go on outings as the peak season had started. Although I used to get invites from my friend Samir, I couldn't join him although I desperately wanted to. I had to be at home on weekends for monitoring work emails and also I used to visit my granny.

2009 (The love for Mother Nature)

Well after August 2008, I hardly got a chance to go on outings, trekking and adventure trips.

I always used to be occupied with something or the other.

Come June 2009, I had decided to join my friend Samir and his group for treks.

The first trek of the season was to Kohoj (Near Manor, Thane district). The monsoon had just started then. It was very humid. We struggled a lot. This was my first trek. We trekked for about 3 hours, until we reached a flat land. We all were tired. But all the view from there was just amazing. After a gap of 2 weeks, a trek to Kotligad (Peth) was organised. Kotligad is one of the most scenic treks according to Samir. I had no doubt. It indeed was very scenic. We saw mountain crabs, beautiful trees, beautiful flowers, streams, waterfalls on the way.

Well Kohoj and Kotligad was just the beginning for this trekking season. The real trekking adventure had yet to begin.

On 25th July - A trek was planned to Bhimashankar. I had heard a lot about Bhimashankar from various sources. I wasn't aware that there is a trekking route to Bhimashankar. I had few friends who used to be a part of the "Biker Clubs" and they used to go to places like Bhimashankar and Bhandardara quite frequently. Its one of the most scenic treks I've ever been to. There are 2 routes to Bhimashankar. One is supposedly tough and the other one is longer but very scenic. Some morons on the internet have named this trek as "The Trek of Death". This thing scared me too, but I thought otherwise once we successfully completed it. The Trek of Death turned out to be Heaven on Earth. We started at 6am in the morning from the base village and reached the top at 2 pm. Its a dense jungle on the way to the top. We saw some amazing trees, flowers and breath-taking views of waterfalls. As we went higher and higher the visibility level was dipping. We could hardly see each other over a distance. As Samir said, Bhimashankar is not a trek.. Its a Pilgrimage.. Very true indeed. You can actually feel the positive vibes on the way.

A week later, we planned another trek to "Lohagad". I'd heard a lot about it an ideal trek for beginners. This time we had kids with us. Again, the weather was perfect. This place has become a picnic spot now. There is a motorable road right upto the base of Lohagad fort and we can see commercialization everywhere. People come, drink, play with monkeys, disturb the environment. All said and done. The fort is very beautiful. The walls are still intact. A perfect trek for beginners.

The next one was "Mahuli". Most of the previous treks were in around Lonavla/Pune region. This one however was near Asangaon on the Mumbai-Nashik Road. We were 8 of us. Our trek leader Samir had to miss this trek due to some personal reasons. It was a challenge for us as we never trekked without him. We started off around 8-30 am from the base village Mahuli Gaon. Initial part was a walk, then we had to cross a flowing river. This route goes through dense jungles. We had a tough time with wild mosquitoes and wild bees hovering around. We did not carry anything to protect us from them. Our hands and faces were red with those bites. Surprisingly in this trek, we took much more time for the descent. It rained very heavily once we reached the top of the fort. We had carried a map with us which was very helpful. There is a shiv mandir on top and the view from there was just amazing. We took less photographs in this trek as it was raining for most parts. But overall it was a great experience.

Samir missed the last trek and another friend of mine Shantanu missed quite a few treks. They were very keen to trek and thus a trek to "Tikona" was organised the very next sunday.

Tikona is very much in the interior. We had to exit the expressway, take the old mumbai-pune road and proceed to Kamshet. People use the expressway so much that they have forgotten about the old road. The old road is much more scenic than the expressway. Anyway, upon reaching Kamshet we had to proceed to Kale Colony on the Paud road. The road was quite bad. It was drizzling and it was very windy. The weather was perfect. We got off from our vehicle and started walking towards the base. Within around 2 hours we reached the top. The only difficult patch was those steep steps which we had to negotiate. Moreover they were slippery due to the rain and moss all over it. There is a Shiv temple on top of the fort. It had loads of positive vibrations. One could actually feel it. We stopped by the temple, ate something and then started the descent. We had heard that one gets a breathtaking view of the Pavna Dam from Tikona. However, due to the immense fog/clouds, we could not see anything. We started the descent soon after that. On the way down we were surprised to see a 2 year old girl trekking with her parents. She was very cute indeed. We actually took her snap. It felt nice to see parents bringing their children for treks. It was very satisfying. Everything was just perfect. En route to Mumbai, we stopped at the Pavna Dam backwaters. It was truly amazing. Another sunday well spent.

The next trek was organised for the last week of September 2009. I had heard a lot about it. It was a trek to "Rajmachi". Its a long trek. Hence, Samir decided to plan an overnight one. He booked accommodation for us at a person's house in the base village of Rajmachi and also booked the Indrayani express from Mumbai for Lonavala. There are two routes to reach here. One is via Lonavala and another via Karjat. It was decided to start from Lonavala and to come back from Karjat. We took the Indrayani Express starting at 5-55am in the morning. All of us came to different locations. Some at Dadar, some at Thane, some at Kalyan and few people at Lonavala itself. It was a very hot day. We started the trek around 9 am in the morning from Lonavala. Unlike other treks which were surrounded by dense jungles, this one was unique. Hot and Humid conditions and all of us were struggling. I almost gave up. We took breaks quite often and that really helped us. The weather was not supportive at all. No sight of rain. We finally reached the base village around 3 pm. Everyone was dead tired and hungry too. Village food is awesome. We had some Potato rassa and rice alongwith some dal and taak (chass). After having lunch few of us preferred to sleep whereas few others were chatting with the villagers. It was really sad to know that this village had no electricity. They had it 2 years back but there was some technical problem and no one has ever come there to repair it. In the evening around 5-30 pm, we set off to visit one of the 2 forts on top of Rajmachi. We did not reach the top but we quit after covering almost 3/4th part. The reason being fading light and there was a tricky patch on the way. We wanted to cover that in daylight. Upon reaching down, we saw few youngsters playing volleyball on the school ground. We requested them to allow us to play. They did and we played for about 30 mins. It was great fun. Team games are always the best. The next day we all mutually decided to get up early and start the descent as early as possible so that we could reach Mumbai before evening. The descent via Karjat wasn't as easy like the route via Lonavla. It was slippery probably due to the dew or the overnight drizzle and hence we went slow. Again the weather wasn't too great. Hot and Humid conditions prevailed. We had an option to deviate to Kondana caves and Kondana waterfalls but we decided against it as we were very tired. Upon reaching karjat, we had lunch at a local hotel and finally took the train home. It was a tiring trek indeed.

This is something I would like to share. You can never really compare treks. Every trek you go is a unique experience all together. I learnt this from Samir and this is what I believe in now.

Blood Donation - My Experiences

Blood Donation is something which I feel every healthy individual should do. Well some people are scared of it whereas some people purposely avoid it. To be honest, I was among one of them.

I still remember that when I was in college, I always avoided donating blood whenever there was an opportunity. I was of the opinion "Apna Khoon hai, Doosro ko kyon deneka?"

I know I was being selfish and now I wish that i never said something like that. My mom often used to tell me "Whenever anyone needs blood you should willingly donate. Its good to donate. You may save human lives and also its good for your body too" Those days whenever mom used to tell me anything like that I used to say in my mind, "Ohh!! What a lecture!!" But whatever she told me about blood donation wasn't a lecture at all. I graduated from college in 2004 and started working since then.

I would like to share few of my experiences:

June 2006

A senior colleague from office told me that his brother is suffering from Cancer and was admitted to Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel. He was badly in need of Blood (especially Blood Platelets). I could recollect my mom telling me about blood donation about 2 years back and i agreed to donate. I wanted to help someone whenever needed.

Donation of platelets is not as simple as donating blood. Initially I was called a day before to fill up a routine questionnaire, conducting a pre-donation blood test and also for checking my heamoglobin levels. Next day in the morning, I was told that my tests were OK and also told me that i could come to donate platelets. I was kinda nervous, scared and excited at the same time. While the preparations for the donation were on, the doctor at Tata Memorial noticed some nervousness on my face. He rushed to me and asked "Is this the first time you're donating blood?" I said "Yes". He asked me "Are you nervous?" I said "Yes". "Don't worry" he said.

He told me that if a person donates with a pre-conceived notion that something is gonna go wrong, then things will definitely go wrong. He told me to be positive and don't have that pre-conceived notion in mind. I followed his words and the donation went on well. It was a lengthy procedure though and the entire process took 90 minutes. But in the end I was satisfied. I donated for a good cause.

November 2007

One of my friend's mom was admitted to Hinduja Hospital. She was suffering from Bone Marrow Cancer. I was indeed very sad to know about it and I was bit shocked at the same time since my friend didn't reveal to anyone about this. Later she told me that her mother herself didn't want anyone apart from the family to know about this. She needed Blood Platelets. I was at work and informed my boss about the situation and he allowed me to go. I met my friend the moment i reached there. We went to the blood bank completed the normal formalities and then the doctor inquired whether I was a Platelet donor and checked my arms and forearms. For some reason, they said that I cannot donate platelets. This was despite telling them that I'd donated platelets before. It was probably something to do with the machine which was to be used. They said they would use the platelets available in the blood bank and told me to go for normal blood donation as they needed a replacement. I agreed to it and I was through with the donation in the next few minutes. Indirectly I donated blood to a patient.

September 2009

A senior office colleague's wife is also a cancer patient. Her blood count was very low and she was admitted to Nanavati hospital. The required quantity of blood was given by the blood bank after which she had recovered and was to be discharged that day. Suddenly few hours before discharge, the hospital authorities refused to discharge her stating that the blood provided to the patient from the blood bank was not replaced yet.

I can understand thats the normal procedure followed as in, whenever blood is taken from the bank the same needs to be replaced. But in such difficult times, people tend to forget about it. In view of this, he called another colleague who in turn informed few people and finally 2 of us from the office left for Nanavati. It was a normal blood donation and the process was over within the next 15 minutes. I felt really good after donation.

I again recollected what my mom had told me. I immediately called her and told her about it. She was happy and so was I.

I may not get time to donate blood regularly like some people do but i do it whenever its needed.

Why am I writing this blog??

I just want to tell people that they should donate blood whenever the opportunity arises.

Its good to donate your blood voluntarily. There are also some helplines, websites where you will have to register your name, your blood group and your contact number. Those people will call you whenever there is a necessity.

I read this somewhere, "Donate Blood - Save Lives"

My First Vote - April 2009

The last week of April was indeed a very great one. The Lok Sabha Elections were round the corner and everyone was excited. Well, obviously not for voting reasons, but for the Extended Weekend in store. I heard many of my friends telling me about the 4 holidays back-to-back. The Election day was on 30th April (Thursday), 1st May (Friday) was a holiday on a/c of Maharashtra Day and then the usual weekend (Saturday/Sunday). I had several invites for those 4 days but I wanted to do something which I never did before.

Ive heard many people around me telling youngsters that they should cast their vote as it is their fundamental right. But strange as it may sound, some people were surprised to find their names missing from the voter's list whereas people who stay illegally on government land with free electricity, free cable TV and all other stolen luxuries had their names in the list. Anyways, I wasn't the unlucky one. My name was up there and I decided to cast my vote. The polling station was an old municipal school with good signboards. Surprisingly, the staff was very friendly and helped the citizens. I was happy as I never expected this but I was also sad that the turnout was very poor. Despite several campaigns by the print media, NGO's etc, people didn't turn out in huge numbers. I thought maybe the poor turnout was only in the polling station I'd been to. But when i saw the statistics on TV, I was amazed, the voters turnout was indeed very poor. It made me wonder "Do the people of Mumbai really care??"

Well it was a morning with mixed feelings. There was happiness as well as grief.