CKRT: Day 01 - Murud Janjira to Shrivardhan

Continued from CKRT: Prologue ....

Finally the day for which I was going crazy waiting for, arrived.

On Friday evening itself, Pravya had made it to Pune and we had completed our "pre-deployment" checks. Equippment, plan, maps, stay strategy, distances between different locations, time estimations, plan-Bs etc etc. Things were in order and the only thing that was giving me those llibbitaajeebees (borrowed from the awesome King Julian of Madagascar), was - well, self doubt. Time and again, that old notion that we had not planned anything this long before, and had no inputs from anyone experianced, was giving rise to that self doubt. And then somehow it had got dissolved into thin air, with the electric atmosphere that autmatically manifests when old buddies get together after a long time.

Vile Bhagad MIDC en route Nizampur

We got up early in the morning, got ready and left home at around 6:15am.

Odometer Reading: 24937km

The haversacks that we were carrying were bulky enough to make an elaborate arrangement for us to sit comfortably. So Pravya took the bigger one on his back, while I took the relatively smaller one in my front, resting it on the petrol tank, such that I can see the tacho and speedometers just barely. For 8 days we carried on like this.

Route: Pune -> Tamhini Ghat -> Nizampur -> Mangaon -> Indapur -> Murud-Janjira -> Dighi (jetty) -> Diveagar -> Shrivardhan

Pune to Nizampur was quite a straighforward ride. At Nizampur, we asked for a shortcut to Indapur, but people suggested avoiding it, since it's an outside area and we maynot get help if required. So we went via Mangaon. Mangaon to Indapur was on NH17, towards Mumbai, and within even those 10kms, we got the taste of why the highway is one of the most dangerous. My cursing had no bounds. But it ended shortly. 

Indapure to Tala was a road of excellent quality. It was a biker's paradise, with smooth surface and twisty ghats, covered with dense tree canopies. One of those roads, where you leave everything behind, just take your bike, put on some sticky rubber on the wheels, and get your adrenaline rushing while cornering at high speed. Someday.

In the Murud town, on the way to Janjira, there was this very historic-looking architecture that caught our eye. 
There was no information there, apart from an ASI notification board that it was a historical monument and govt property and that vandals will be prosecuted. We spent some time clicking and moved on.

Over time, by around 11am, made it to Rajapuri, from where sailing boats leave for Janjira fort. Odo was reading 25107km when we parked. 

JANJIRA

Going to the fort, in non-motorized, (seemingly) unstable sailing boats, is a nice experiance. And if you get comfortable with the wavy boat, you keep wondering about the entrace to the approaching fort. It's not clear unless you get close. The entry gate is very well hidden. One of the characteristics of these sea forts and even some land forts, that we observed throughout this road trip.

Our Sailing Boat - Moving toward Janjira

Janjira Fort - Entrance Gate

We had taken a guide to the fort. Janjira has a long and proud history. It's the only fort in Maharashtra (maybe even in India), that remained invincible till as recently as India's freedom in 1947. It was built way back in probably 15th or 16th century by Siddi Jauhar - an Afrikan! I was unaware of the Afrikan roots of this Jauhar clan.

Their kings used to be of quite romantic kind it seemed. And they had imagination. There was one large circular pond, which was, we were told, used only by the Begums (queens) of the kings for their bath and relaxation. There was a circular dome like structure built around it, which, as we were told, in the olden times, used to have glasses of 7 different colors. When the sun would rise, and these queens would enter the pond for their bath, due to these 7 colored glasses surrounding the pond, it would glow like a rainbow! Interesting!

Then there were the regular features - like the cannons. The biggest one here, which, as we were told, was immobilized and sealed by the Jauhars before handing over the fort to Indian government, was named कलाल बांगडी (Kalal Bangadi - meaning unknown). It was prepard by sticking together rings created of पंचधातू  (metal prepared by mixing 5-elements together). The result was, despite staying in the hot sun for all day long, the cannon would always remain cool. As soon as our guild said this, everybody touched the cannon in a reflex, to verify. And boy, our clothes were hotter than that metal! The cannon was built over several years, by bringing one बांगडी (metallic ring) at a time from  Afrika. The कलाल बांगडी cannon and it's long range, was one of the reasons behind the fort staying invincible throughout. 

	कलाल बांगडी तोफ

All its details and features aside, I loved the name कलाल बांगडी. So much so that, right then and there I decided - I am going to name our cat कलाल बांगडी, if we happen to get one again in future, that is. And if a dog, then it will be फाजिलखान. It's a name taken from N. S. Inamdar's magnum opus in Marathi - शहेनशाह - (Shehenshah), which, by the way, is a novel which is a living proof that we as a society, still have the capacity to consider and portray opposing and troubling point of views, without keeping biases. Anyway, better to keep it for some other time.

Another wonderful story about the fort is the way its fortification was constructed. It's a fort built into sea, and there is a continous 6 hourly cycle of high and low tides in the sea. The construction was done very smartly. During high tides, the workers would come inside the fort, and carve out stones and prepare other material required for the fortification. During low tides, water would recede, and the workers would use the carved out stones and materials to lay the fortification further into the sea. They were following Agile Practices for building (constructing) a product! Back in the days of Siddi Jauhar! Brilliant!

Rest of the fort, though mostly in dilapidated condition, was large and loaded enough to give a fair idea about its bygone glory and importance in history.

BIKE AND THE FERRY BOAT

We were hungry by the time we returned, and were told that the ferry to Dighi, out next destination, would arrive in an hour. We had our relaxed lunch by the sea side till then, and got ready when we saw the boat approaching the jetty.

The descent that was steeper than it looks 

This is a small ferry boat, and takes only 2-wheelers. 4-wheelers have to take a long detour to reach dighi and diveagar. I was told to park the bike near the docking spot, and I realised the problem only when I got near it. There was a steep descent, only couple feet wide, that connected the jetty and the parking lot. And I was supposed to ride my bike down that 2-feet wide accident-trap. Even a small loss of concentration/balance, and I would go hurtling down alongwith the bike.

I positioned my bike there, looked down at my predicament, and looked around. Many faces were staring at me. Many of them with a - boy-am-i-going-to-witness-an-incident-here - kind of expression. But thankfully, nothing happened and I took the bike down without an incident. Bringing it up, would have been a different story altogether.

Eventually the bike was loaded on to the ferry boat, manually, by lifting it! This was a motor boat, and was quite smooth on its way. 

Loading the bike at Rajapuri

Unloading on reaching Dighi

THE TWIST

We reached Dighi by 3:15pm. Since we were a bit ahead of the schedule, which we had set for ourselved, we took a detour and went to Adavane beach on the way to Diveagar. A calm, small, unexplored, and unfrequented beach. It has a long sea-side drive, which we took, and then got back on the way to Diveagar. 

Adavane Beach

A rocky part along the drive

The Diveagar beach, is a featureless beach, and I dont like it due to the touristy rush and the garbage that follows. We were out of there in 15mins straight, and were moving towards our desitnation of the day - Shrivardhan.

A Cattle Egret settling on a branch of a tree

En route, we saw a large group of egrets (in their breeding dress) feasting on dead fish in a dump yard along the road. It was a large group, and we were tempted by the photo-op. Carefully off-roading the bike, I tried to get as close as possible, but the birds, as usual, got nervous, and before we could get even a single shot, all of them flew away.

Cursing them, I got the bike back on the road, and started back. But that was not the end of the story. In fact the real story started only in next few moments.

Within a kilometer, I started getting an ominous feeling, and stopped by the roadside. My fear had come true. The rear tire had sagged. There was a puncture.

It was a beautiful spot. We were on a mound, overlooking the sea from a hill. The sun was about to set in sometime. Cool sea-breeze was flowing across. And there we were - having a ~20kg each of luggage on us, with a punctured bike, and clueless as to what to do next.

A passing 6-seater driver suggested to remove the wheel and and have it repaired. We didn't have experience in so much as removing a wheel. I had only once observed a mechanic do that. That's about it. All our future predicaments flashed in front of my eyes. Stranded in an unknown area, during evening time, uncertain about getting any help at all, lack of hands-on about bike mechanics and uncertain whether it will be possible to get it repaired before it gets dark, even if we manage to get the wheel out.

There was no point in wasting even a second. I rushed to get the toolkit out. It was a struggle to understand what in the toolkit fits what on/in/around the wheel. Then it took some time to figure what all should be removed to get the wheel out. I didnt want to end up breaking open something that will need elaborate tools to get it fixed later on. It would put the whole trip in jeopardy.

It was a big struggle before we could pull the wheel out. Since it would get dark very soon, we quickly decided on a future plan of action, considering lots of ifs and buts. I left the bike and luggage with Pravya, on the roadside, and waited on the other side of the road, for a lift till Diveagar. I was a little relieved to see Pravya calm and composed. I had brought him into this, and was a bit restless with the thought of the nightmare that this situation can turn into.

An M80 rider had stopped by, and he didnt need me to explain him the situation; he told me to hop on even before I finished. In next 10-mins I was standing in front of a puncture-repairy shop, while the puncture was being attended to. I didnt even get a chance to ask the M80 rider's name and say thank-you to him for being so nice. He had already turned back and had left while I was handing over the wheel to the mechanic.

I was expecting to be charged at least Rs.100/- if not more. After all, I was in big need, I was looking like a tourist, and I was having 2 phones with me. He charged me Rs.30/- that's it! Boy, was this world different from the one in Pune!

I paid him, and was asking if there was a way to get towards Shrivardhan, since my bike was lying in the midst, on the roadside, when even before I had finished, he let out a loud whistle, the one which required him to put his 2 (dirty) fingers in his mouth. Next moment, I was running towards a 6-seater, which had stopped on his 'signal', and was on my way towards the bike.

There was still some time left for the sunset, there was light around, and the puncture was repaired. We got down to fixing the wheel back in its position. And it turned out to be even harder a job than taking it off. Of course, breaking down stuff is way easier than putting it back together. We struggled for almost half an hour before we figured out how things attached together. In the process we had taken the drum, of rear drum break, apart, then had put it back together; we had tried, in vain, to fix a bolt inside the drum, while it was meant for the outside. That half an hour was a time of total dispair. I was loosing hope of fixing things before dark. And then something flashed, and just around the sunset time, we had the wheel fixed, and bike was ready to go after a test drive.

The setting sun, over a roaring sea, had an orange glow around. Some fluffy clouds were flirting with it, and birds were returning to their nests. There was a cool but strong and pleasant sea breeze flowing around. The world looked more beautiful than it actually was. It was a perfect consolation for the trouble, struggle and mental harrassment of the past hour.

We were quickly on our way to Shrivardhan, hoping we had fixed everything correctly, and that nothing would come off out of the blue. If it had to, I prayed for it to do that near a garage next time round.

SHRIVARDHAN

Finding accomodation in Shrivardhan was a quick job. Got a very decent room for dirt-cheap rate in the heart of the town. Everything was clean and well arranged.

Depositing our luggage there we roamed around the town exploring the markets and other bustling areas. By 11pm we were well-fed and were deep in sleep.


Next: CKRT: Day 02 - Shrivardhan to Anjarle