A Weekend in the Sahaydris

It was a long time since I indulged in some hard core adventure. I was itching for some excitement. But time still did not permit me. So I settled for a feel of adventure and nature. Adventurous though it was, but very short lived. It was over before I knew. It was a very memorable and fun day nonetheless.
I booked myself with an adventure group for a Sunday trek to Tandulwadi on the 1^st August. I was told that there would be a total of 13 members in the group. So at 6 am I met the representative of the company at Bandra station…. An amicable, talkative, workaholic girl, Bianca. She worked effortlessly at getting all the group members together. We were all from diverse backgrounds…. Doctor, banker, tax professional, corporate professionals, creative people and so on, all typical Bombaiites (not mumbaiites.. mind you). It was a lively, young group. We left it 2 SUVs for… god knows where. I could not make out the direction we were going in. it was only when we reached Borivli that I regained my orientation. We passed places that I had only heard of but never seen- Virar, Bhayander, Vasai, Dahisar and a few more that I cannot recollect. The trip was noisy, with the 2 girls, Priyanka and Vanessa constantly chattering away and keeping us from going to sleep. Bianca kept up the tempo with her interest in knowing people. The others were bored stiff. The highway was in a mess, something I have become used to while in Mumbai. Though it was early morning on a sunday, but the traffic was anything but sparse. At last we were out of Bombay. The concrete was behind us. And all around was fresh, green vegetation- forests or fields. A welcome sight after living in that urban hell called Bombay. It was raining sporadically, sometimes a downpour, sometimes a shower. After about 3 hours, we turned towards what was apparently a village road. We came across a signboard displaying the name 'Tandulwadi' that meant rice bowl. And there were rice fields all around, with people working in them, knee deep in water.

We soon halted outside a village. This was the beginn ing of our trek. I had presumed that I would be a cakewalk and prepared for a leisurely walk. I was soon to be proven wrong. This was going to be some adrenaline pumping stuff. The initial part was actually easy. There was a light shower now and then. But nothing that required rain gear. In fact, I took off my raincoat soon enough, as did the others. As expected, the trek passed through a lush green forest. The climb was a lazy one. There was a lot of friendly banter going on. Some were quiet, others boisterous. That kept up the mood and the tempo. Gerard, the eldest among the lot was feeling the strain. He walked leisurely. But when he could not keep up with the group, he volunteered to stay back in order to not slow down the group. Soon enough, we reached a clearing in the forest. That was a beautiful sight. A green carpet all around, ringed by trees, and just ahead of us towered a steep, rocky mountain whose peak was shrouded under a blanket of clouds. The other hills nearby were similarly draped in a veil of clouds. This was picture perfect.

One could take wallpaper quality photographs here. It was raining fairly hard now. To add to it, it was very windy as well. Uncomfortably so. The scene was further 'enhanced' by the presence of two dogs and a bull. They had left their markings around. Priyanka was gracious enough to provide us entertainment by voluntarily stepping into them. Mark also made his presence felt by participating actively in all the tomfoolery, along with Oswin. We felt that the trek was about to be over. When someone sprang up with the thought that we were going to climb that mountain ahead of us, he was derided. But soon enough Bianca and Govind, our guide informed the group that we were actually going to climb it. Well… that would be something really. And we soldiered on.

Bit by bit we clambered. The climb was steep. We were more often than not on all fours. The rocks were slippery and really dangerous. I was covered wi th slush. The rain was sometimes torrential. But that was not a concern now. The raincoats were forgotten. We had to get out of this mess first. We made our way through the dense vegetation and met some interesting wildlife on the w ay, including crabs. My brief brush with rock climbing came in handy here. Each step had to be taken cautiously. There was no room for error. One wrong step and a lethal drop awaited us. No photography was possible here. I valued my camera more than some fantastic shots. We soon reached a small clearing which led us to an artificial pond filled with muddy water. The rain and t he wind made life miserable for us. There was n o tree cover. This was the end point of the trek we were to have lunch there. But the wind made it impossible. Govind suggested that we go to a clearing nearby which had tree cover and hence would provide some protection from the wind. He was right. There was another clearing some distance away which had a tree cover in the windward direction. We chose some rocks near the trees where the wind was less and set up camp ther e. Lunch was readymade. It consisted of thepla, sandwiches, fresh salad, farsaan, some fried stuff, and finally apples. It was satisfying and gratifying. We had our fills and lazed around a bit.

We were all wet and miserable. But the daunting task of going back the same way haunted my mind. That was gonna be something. Finally we moved on. Initially, things were ok. I chose to do the downward trek on all f ours. That was the safest and fastest way to do it. And soon enough I discovered that I was right. I clambered do wn relatively effortlessly at my pace, though I was looking like a slush covered wretch by the time the trek was over. The way back did not take as long as the way up, and expectedly so. We were totally sapped by the time we were half way back. There was total silence from the brat pack. We lumbered back like a sack of potatoes. We reached back and immediately changed into dry clothes as soon as possible. That was heavenly. We dosed off soon, except for the driver, that is..

The way back was dull and boring. Soon, we were snaking our way back through traffic……. Ugggghhhh. I better not spoil the mood.

Destination Norway- III

The third day was spent at the conference. The venue was Norwegian Trade Fairs at Lillestrom, the closest station to the airport on the local train. The conference venue was truly massive and very very spacious. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Mr Prithviraj Chauhan, Minister of Science. He spoke big words about India's role in the scheme of things at the pole. He was in Norway for his trip to the Indian Arctic Station, Himadri. The purpose of his visit to the Arctic and to the conference is still unclear to me. The conference was finally declared open by Prince Albert II of Monaco, the latest entrant to the Antarctic Treaty.

Multiple programs were on simultaneously. Polar cinema, reindeer herders' conference, multiple oral presentations, poster presentations, polar exhibitions……. All on at the same time. A diverse range of scientific disciplines were on display. Most of the program was latin and greek to me. Polar cinema was the most engrossing, with movies (mostly documentaries and short clips) from all over the arctic. There was very limited material presented from the Antarctic. The conference got over at about 4 pm. Then I went to Oslo central station, spent some time exploring the place, tasting local delicacies and then I went to meet Paresh, an online friend who happened to be in Oslo. It was nice to spend time with him and his wife and have good Indian food in Oslo. He was very hospitable and guided me about what to see in Oslo. It was now time to go back for some good conversation at the youth hostel, and a good sleep.

The next day was again conference time. But I had plans to explore the forests around Oslo as well. So I left the conference early and went to Sognsvann by metro. By the time I reached Sognsvann, it was raining pretty heavily. Luckily, I was carrying an umbrella. That's mandatory in Oslo, as it is in Bombay. Inspite of the rain, I went for a short hike into the forests. It was all coniferous vegetation. The surroundings reminded me of my treks to the Himalayas. Everything was quite similar, except for the terrain. Unfortunately, I did not take pics here because of the rain. Then I went back to Sognsvann and explored the area. It was a nice, quiet area with neat houses and pretty gardens. Not many people could be seen. This being the spring season, lot of flowers could be seen all around. It was a nice, easy and relaxing walk.

This evening, the conference organizers had organized a party at the Fram museum. The Fram museum was located at Bygdoy that was accessible most easily by ferry from the Aker Brygge. The attraction was the museum and not the party. The Fram is the ship that during its time sailed to the highest latitudes north and south. It was also the ship that carried the first man on the South Pole, Roald Amundsen to Antarctica. Therefore, it has a prominent place in the annals of polar exploration. The museum was built around the ship. The Fram was a wooden ship, like all ships made in that era, but had a reinforced, rounded hull, to be able to withstand sea ice. Numerous artifacts were from the expedition were on display there… clothes, food, rifles, skis, rations, so on and so forth…. I explored the ship from inside as well… rooms of all the occupants, including Amundsen. This museum took me back to Antarctica. I could relate to what his experiences would have been like, having experienced Antarctica myself.

The day finally ended at 10 pm, and I retired to my room. The next day was some big adventure… a cycle ride to Drobak, a small town 50 km away.