Our Journey to The "Wine Capital of India"- Nashik

Our Journey to The "Wine Capital of India"

When you are not planning god is planning for you, which is always better than our plan. Our ride was same as the sentence unplanned but as beautiful as I ever imagine.

On Saturday around 1 pm Shankar called me and said “Chal Nashik chalate hai, Imran and Sutta are also coming.” ‘NO’ is not in my dictionary.

“Pyass sabako lagti hai, gala sabaka sukhta hai” And tell you what we hit Nashik all the way from Mumbai, just to satisfy our thirst.

We meet at Bhandup pumping around 4.00 PM. Then we turned our heads towards Nashik, “Sula Wine”. Around 8.00 we reached Sula Wine, a wine factory surrounded by Grapes fields. Even in dark it was looking awesome, no light till sky line only grapes, grapes and grapes hiding soil. We had red and white fresh wines over there, and bundled two extra for night. Someone truly said.” Test of quality wine is as memorable as first kiss, you can not forget it.”

Again we came to the Nashik city and hired a room for night stay.

We were broke all rules and table manners and drunk wine like water. As usual Sutta and Imran were in form and Shankar was in defensive.

Nashik: Lord Rama, made Nashik his abode during his 14 years in exile. At the same place Lord Laxman, by the wish of Lord Rama, cut the nose of Shurpnakha and thus this place was named as "Nashik". Nashik in 150 BC was believed to be the country's largest marketplace.From 1487-1818, the city was under Mughal rule and was known as Gulshanabad (City of Gardens).The city got its present name in 1818 when the Peshwas got control of the city. Nashik, which has been referred to as the "Wine Capital of India"[2], is located in the Western Ghats, on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula on the banks of the Godavari River. In addition to supplying the name to the famed Nassak Diamond, the city is known for its picturesque surroundings and pleasant climate. The Godavari River flows through Nashik from its source, which lies to the southwest of the city, in Trimbakeshwar.

Morning we left the room by 8.00 am and moved towards, Trimbakeshwar.

Trimbakeshwar is a one jotirling out of twelve jotiling’s of lord Shiva, and one of my favorite spot. I have been there couple of times. Trimbakeshwar, which is 28 kms. (18 miles) from Nashik. We went to Mandir to take blessings of lord Shiva. The extraordinary feature of the Jyotirlinga located here is that it has three faces embodying Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Lord Mahesh (Shiva). All other JYOTIRLINGA have Shiva as the main deity. The temple is known for its appealing architecture and sculpture and is at the foothills of a mountain called Brahmagiri. There are three mountains behind the temple. Bhramhgiri is the highest among them; also it is the origin of Godawari River. Godawari is also known as Ganga of Maharashtra. Two years back I have done trek of Bhramhgiri and I tested water of Godawari’s ugam strot. Kusavarta, a kund is considered the symbolic origin of the river Godavari, and revered by Hindus as a sacred bathing place. That was the sweetest natural water I have ever drunk. The existing temple was built out of basalt after it was commissioned by Peshwa Nanasaheb. It so happens that the Peshwa made a bet on whether the stone surrounding the Jyotirlinga, is hollow from the inside or not. The stone was proved to be hollow, and on losing the bet, the Peshwa built a marvelous temple out of it.

Then from Trimbakeshwar we moved towards Jawhar, Jawhar Lake was our next destination. The road from Trimbak to Jawhar was awesome, it was winter season.

God sprayed green color everywhere. I think monsoon and starting period of winter is god’s favorite periods of painting. He sprayed all beautiful color free handedly on all corner of this area.

We had hardcore non-veg lunch in Jawhar. (Sorry Shankar is pure vegy.) Had swim in lake, thrown out what ever we had in lunch. Then we moved towards our home.This was funniest, enjoyed ride. Even we didn’t cover the large part earth, but ride was awesome. I was just a spectator as I riding on my Supersplender, Shankar on Karizma and Imran, Sutta on Unicorn, and they were going like wind. As I couldn’t compete them on straight roads, I was just following them.

We reached Mumbai around at 5.00 pm.

Journey ended, but we couldn’t satisfy our thirst, it is still there inside us.

Bikes:
Shankar: Hero Honda Karizma
Imran: Honda Unicorn
Prasad: Hero Honda SuperSplender


Distance Covered: 420 KM
Evg Speed: 70 km/hr
Total Expense: 2000/- Rs (Include Fuel)
Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/prasadmhatre120036thBikeRideMumbaiNashikTrambakJawhar#

LostRiders In Goa

LostRiders In Goa

28th May 2008

It’s time to shutter down and hit the road. Samit, Atish, Kirti, Shankar, Imran and me. OO sorry I forgot Sutta (Sudhar) without him our group can not be complete. Seven Lost riders are ready to hit the turf.

Our journey started by making our own room on Mumbai’s road. Till Panvel it was very bad traffic and then no hurdles…….. We reached Vadkhal around 6.00 pm for our first break. Appreciated Kirti’s effort, boss after two years he is riding a bike, still we managed to escape from Mumbai in 2 Hours. (Flash Back: With the Panchgani Mahabaleshwar rides experience Kirti decided that he won’t join us as Pillion. For him Manoj Sheramkar gives his sweaty, Thanks Manoj) we filled our tanks with Missal, Vadapaav and Tea, now its time to digest it.

Engines started to cruise towards Goa. We had dinner at Poladpur, and then one by one we left Khed, Ratnagiri to reach Sawantwadi behind. Everyone was ready to ride at night. What I like about night ridding is we can feel the fresh air, fragrance of flowers, soil. Amazing. Our entire six bikes were moving in single queue Samit was leading us and I am backing them all. Most beautiful and discipline bike ride I have ever done. We reach Sawantwadi around 8.00 am in morning. We can clearly hear a cracking sound of our bones.
That morning was special for us, we crossed Maharshtra border first time on bikes and entered in Goa. First sight of Goa was just a small part of its beauty; and it didn’t ended till we crossed border again. Tall coconut trees did warm welcome of us by bending and dancing on wind rhythm.

29th May 2008

Salute to Kirti for his mighty and courageous attitude, salute to all riders for continuous 18 hrs ride and salute to NH17.

Goa: The name Goa came to European languages from the Portuguese, but its precise origin is unclear. In the bygone days it came to be known by many names such as Gomanchala, Gopakapattam, Gopakapuri, Govapuri, Gomantak, etc.The Indian epic Mahabharata refers to the area now known as Goa, as Goparashtra or 'Govarashtra"' which means a nation of cowherds and truly it is.

We decided to reach Kalangud Beach for our first halt. We hired a home at reasonably good rate. After 6-7 hrs rest, we went to beach in evening. swaying coconut palms, the curve of soft white sand , bluish-green Sea that seems to touch the skyline, flock of sea birds, fishing boats simply marvels. Even though I have spent my life in a coastal village, I was amazed by this scenery. Night we were fully tight. Drinks, jocks, life experiences, girls talk and philosophy.

30th May 2008

Next day we went to Chapora Fort and then Panjim. Again we hired a room in Panjim.Evening we went to Kolwa beach. We played football, Frisbee. It was awesome ride from Panjim to Kolwa, totally indiscipline, fast and furious. We were constantly on 110 km/hr. I have touched my max speed on same highway…It was 132 Km/hr on my Bajaj Pulsar. Atish was competing with an Indica and I think he was gone pass 135 km/hr.

Chapora fort: It was built by the Adil Shah of Bijapur on the southern headland of the Chapora River. It was also known as "Shahpur" and is now mostly ruined. It has a commanding view of the Vagator beach and is near to Anjuna beach. The red laterite bastion, crowning the rocky bluff, was built by the Portuguese in 1617 on the site of an earlier Muslim structure. Deserted in the 19th century, it lies in ruins today, although the views up and down the coast from the weed-infested ramparts are still superb
Panaji: Panaji is the capital of Goa. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi estuary, in the district of North Goa.
The again in evening we back to our Panjim, again Liquor, Fish and chicken with it as usual girl’s and office talk.

31st May 2008
Next day we drop Sutta on bus stand as he is going to Bangalore, then we left Panjim to reach Sawantwadi, Amit’s place. (Amit Sahil one of my good friend, Sawantwadi is his native place.)We did rest their.

Now again lostriders comes out on roads, to burn it. In dark night road lightened with 6 headlights, Imran was leading us following by Samit, Kirti, Shankar, Atish and then me.
As decided we didn’t try to explore Goa or its culture it was just a bike ride and ended it was awesome bike ride. We did it throughout night both ways.

Bikes:
Samit: TVS Apache
Atish: Suzuki Fiero
Shankar: Hero Honda Karizma
Imran: Royal Enfield – Electra
Kirti: Hero Honda Splender
Prasad: Bajaj Pulsar


Distance Covered: 1500 KM
Avg Speed: 60-65 KM/HR
Total Expense: 4000/- Rs (Include Fuel)

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/prasadmhatre12003/4thBikeRideMumbaiGoa#

Journey To Aurangabad

28th Feb 2009-Saturday

As usual path finder starts journey alone humming a song “Ekla Chalo Re” of Ravindranath Tagor towards Aurangabad (Khadki).

My first destination was Shirdi which is around 270KM from Mumbai. I started at 9.00 am from Vikhroli (Mumbai).I took Igatpuri-Ghoti-Sinnar way to reach Shirdi because I want a peaceful ride instead of via Nashik. Igatpuri is surrounded by the highest peaks of Sahyaadri i.e. Western Ghats, Forts built in this area most of them are of Satavahana dynasty. It's heavenly for trekkers and hikers. Government has developed this hill area. We can see Dams, Windmills here to utilize maximum nature resources. And now this area is producing good quality of Rice, Wheat, Sugar canes and red chilies. Long queue of windmills on top of the mountains looks very beautiful, this windmills were dancing on wind music. I stopped there to capture their dance in my cam.

I reach Shirdi at 2.00 pm. I took blessings of Saibaba for my further journey, now I am ready to conquer the world.

Around 4.30 pm I started again and via Kopargoan reached Verul (Ellora) at 7.00 pm. It was 90 KM ride. While reaching Verul I was enjoying beautiful and peaceful rural life of Aurangabad, fields of Cotton, Sugar canes, Wheat, queues of Bullock carts. I saw an ancient Indian machinery which is still in use for many purposes like milking sugar cane. As Visitor’s entry is stopped at 5.00 pm in Verul caves, I decided to halt at Verul only. I got a good room in reasonable rate. I went to sleep as soon as I deep into the bed.

Distance covered: 390 KM

01 Mar 2009-Sunday

Good morning Verul. It was truly a great morning. As I entered in a Verul a beautiful Peacock crossed my path. And my whole day was like that peacock, beautiful!

For me Verul caves are like testy khichadi of Indian culture. Consist of Hindu, Jain and Buddha religion, all caves are full of beautiful marvelous sculptures but after entering a cave 16 you will definitely say Marvelous! It is a traditional in Shiva temple, each corner of temple is sheer artistic example. It is Kailasanatha Temple; Bhagwan Shankar’s different avatars have been sculpted on the walls. There are total 34 caves, 12 Buddhist (caves 1-12), 17 Hindu (caves 13-29) and 5 Jain caves (caves 30-34). Also first time I saw a beautiful statue of tridev Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh together.



After Ellora I moved towards Ghrishneshwar Mandir of lord Shiva which is just a kilometer away from Verul. Whole temple is made up of Red Stone, this beautifully designed and curved temple is a best example of Hemadpanthi Architecture. The Ghrishneshwar temple was re-constructed by Maloji Raje Bhosale of Verul, (grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in the 16th century and later by Ahilyabai Holkar in 18th century, who also re-constructed the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Benares, and the Vishnu Paada temple at Gaya. Outside temple you can see a beautiful tomb of Maloji raje bhosale.

After taking blessings of Ghrishneshwar I moved out from Verul to Reach Devgiri (Daulatabad); capital of Yadavas, capital of Muhammad Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi. Daulatabad was a capital of India for 2 years in Muhammad Tughlaq’s time.This magnificent 12th century fortress stands on a hill just 13 km. from Aurangabad.One of the world's best preserved fort of medieval times, surviving virtually unaltered, Daulatabad yet displays the character that made it invincible. This fort is surrounded by a huge and strong safety walls and Khandak’s. Some old canons are still present there.

I went through 'bhul bhullaiya' lonely, I took 15-20 min to come out from it. It was achievement for me to come out from ‘Bhul Bhullaiya’ without torch and guide, not advisable though. Scary bhul bhullaiya cave was full of Bats and their dirt. “Chand Minar” in Daulatabad was built in the Turkish style in 1435 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani to celebrate his occupation of the fort. This minaret is an outstanding example of Islamic art. This 30-metre high tower is a second tallest minar in India.

My eyes were satisfied, now my stomach is crying for it….satisfaction! I had Alu-Parotha and sugar cane juse. If it is your good day then you will get all awesome things in a single day. Alu-Parotha and curd was awesome, sweet sugar cane juse was like cherry on top of hot cake.

Now I ready to move towards Ajantha, but after 3 KM I saw a beautiful temple after Khultabad fort. It was ‘Bhadra Maruti’s’ temple. This is one of the two places where Lord Hanuman is in sleeping position.

Story:

“Khultabad previously known by the name of Badravati Nagar was ruled by King Bhadrasen, a kind and pious man. King Bhadrasen used to sit singing bhajans in praise of Lord Hanuman on the banks of Bhadrakund Talab. One day while the King was singing the devotional songs, Lord Hanuman appeared in front of him. Listening to the captivating music, he fell asleep on the ground. Later, Lord Hanuman pleased by the astute devotion of King Bhadrasen, granted him a wish. The good King desired that the Lord would stay there forever and fulfill the desires of all his devotees. Lord Hanuman granted the wish and disappeared. Much later, an idol of Lord Hanuman in a sleeping posture was found where he had stood. That’s how the name Bhadra Maruti or ‘Sleeping Hanuman’.”

I had to drive continuously 2 hours to reach Ajantha which was around 100 KM away. I reach Ajantha by 3.00 pm. MTDC department is not allowing any private vehicle in Ajantha; you have to go by ST bus.

Caves are maintained very beautifully. Actually it was wrong time to visit Ajantha, best time is monsoon. The caves are in a wooded and rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine about 3½ km from the village of Ajantha. There are 29 Buddhist caves, out of them 4 caves are incomplete. The monastic complex of Ajanta consists of several viharas and chaitya-grihas. All caves are full of beautifully painted pictorial stories of Buddha’s life and Buddha’s sculptures. Various places the art work has become eroded due to decay and human interference. Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and pillars are fragmentary.

Sleeping Buddha’s statue is most beautiful sculpture. You can see live expression on his face. Expressions of Peace and satisfaction, Buddha leave his palace in search of both this things and I think he got it as no one else. I think we all are running to get careless, peaceful sleep but we never got that and that’s why we all just running behind it.

While coming from Ajantha caves back I saw Ajantha Village, a perfect example of ancient village. That time big, important villages were surrounded by safety wall like fort.

I reach Aurangabad at 7.30 pm in evening; I hired a room in a guest house at reasonable rate.
My day is ended with a full of satisfaction as I saw two man made marvels, and a place which was known to be the safest place but unfortunately it wasn’t. Om Namo Buddhaye Namaha!

Distance covered: 245 KM

02 Mar 2009-Monday

Aurangabad is truly said to be a 'City of Gates' as one can not miss the strong presence of these as one drives through the city. The city was founded in 1610 A, D. by Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza. Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar on the site of a village called Khirki. In 1653 when Prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan for the second time, he made Fatehnagar his capital and called it Aurangabad. A Mughal emperor comes here to destroy Maratha kingdom but he couldn’t, he destroyed himself. We can see lot footprints of Mughals, Nijams and Yadavas Empire in city. Hindu and Muslims are staying happily together since many years.

Passing through the city finally I reach my last spot journey Bibi-Ka-Maqbara.

This beautiful structure is an exact copy of Taj Mahal. This master peace of architecture is made up of white marble. Bibi Ka Maqbara is a Maqbara built by Prince Azam Shah, son of Emperor Aurangzeb, in the late 17th century as a loving tribute to his mother, Dilras Bano Begam.I was just assuming the beauty of Taj of Agra while walking in garden of Bibi-ka-Maqbara. This Monument is also called as Dakkhani Taj. The curved nakkashi is just amazing.

Now it is a time to say good bye Aurangabad and hit the road again towards my home Mumbai. Again out of the route I choose Nevasa-Sangamner-Bhandardar-Ghoti-Igatpuri route to reach Mumbai.

In returning journey I waited at Pravara sangam, a beautiful sight where Pravara and Godavari rivers are confluences. Then I moved ahead till Randha fall of Bhandardara reign. It was amazing, adventures ride from Sangamner to Ghoti, curvy roads taking me up and down on the mountains. I went through base of Kalsubai, Bari Village; Kalsubai is the highest peak of the Sahyadris. I am aiming towards it in next season. Despite sun was right on top of my head, I was challenging his heat with my speed. Guys tell you what; you can not compare Royal Enfield with any other bike. It is pleasure to ride Bullet on such curvy tracks. Meanwhile I stopped at Randha Falls, to decrease temperature of my body by having bath in cold water.

This Randha, Bhandardara dams made this mountain area as a very productive area.

Finally after having lunch in Igatpuri I was cruising towards my home. This session of bike ridding tested my patience, the road was laterally burning, worm wind attacking me from everywhere. It was the hottest road I have ever driven on. Before sun reaches his home I reached mine.

Distance covered: 412 KM

Total Distance Covered: 1047 KM app.

Total Expense: 2500 /- Rs (Including fuel)

Avg. Speed: 50-60 KM / HR, I decided to maintain 60 avg speeds throughout the journey as my bike went through a heart surgery just 3 days before, and I succeeded.

My Route:

1st day: Mumbai-Igatpuri-Sinnar-Shirdi-Kopargoan-Verul
2nd day: Verul-Daulatbad-Sillod-Ajantha-Sillod-Aurangabad
3rd day: Aurangabad-Nivasa-Sangamner-Akole-Bhandardara-Igatpuri-Mumbai

THE RIDE ALBUM HERE

References:
Devgiri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daulatabad
Ellora: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellora
Ajantha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_caves
Bibi ka Maqbara: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibi_Ka_Maqbara

Our Journey to The City of Victory-HAMPI

Our Journey to The City of Victory-HAMPI

My Route:

23.01.2009 3.00 pm

This was another eagerly waiting for moment. Thanks to my boss Nadir, who gave us the permission to leave early, we left office at 3.30 pm and hit the road. On the way we took Santhosh luggage from his friend’s home and then commenced our move to Hampi - the City of Victory .

As is usual at the location, we got stuck in traffic at Powai-IIT. There is a sigh of relief as we cross the Gandhi Nagar flyover. Soon we were cruising towards Satara - our first halt. Even though there was heavy traffic right upto Panvel, we managed to reach Lonawala by 6.30 pm. Here we took a tea break. Lonawala, a hill station is a popular get-away with the Mumbai crowd.

We had to take the Pune by-pass as the Mumbai-Pune expressway is out of bounds for two wheelers. Unfortunately for us the by-pass was also jam packed. After Katraj tunnel we left all vehicles behind. It was a tiring stretch right upto Satara. On crossing Satara around 10.00 pm, we stopped for dinner. We had non-veg fare. Our day come to an end on reaching Karad., where we halted for the night. We got a room at reasonable rate.

Distance covered 322 Km.

24.01.2009 6.30 am.

We checked out from the hotel before sunrise and resumed our journey towards Belgaon. We had covered over 10 kms before the sun started its journey. We just had to stop to capture the breathtaking spectacle of the sunrise. In the emerging light we saw farmers huddled around bonfires – in an effort to drive away the chill. The rising sun symbolises new hopes of progress and prosperity.

Taking the NH4, we reached Belgaon at 10.00 a.m., The NH4 passes through Kolhapur.- the sugar bowl of Maharashtra . The sugarcane fields are interspersed with sunflower, which is grown for the oil. On an arrow straight high-way where we logged 90-100 km/hr, the greenery on either side kept us from getting bored. At noon we reached Gadag and resumed our journey soon after lunch.

We took NH63B from Gadag to Hospet via Koppal. A word of caution, guys, if any of you plan to visit Karnataka. There are speed breakers on most of the roads. Damn it, then why do they make it this big and wide?

After Koppal with fully laden trucks fully occupying the road, our progress came down to a crawl. So to reach Hampi we had to ride along the edge of road. This isn’t new to us, as to do it every evening in Mumbai, on the ride back home from work, to beat the bumper-to-bumper traffic.

We reached Hampi at 4.30 pm. The stretch after Koppal was particularly tiring, but the first sight of Hampi rejuvenated us. Man, it was just amaz..z..z…ing man.

Here, instead of checking into a hotel, we decide to hire a room from local. It’s real value for money. We put our luggage there, had took a shower – our first in 20hrs. Then we moved out to take in the sights of the ‘city of victory’.

I’m not sure where to start with my description of the City. Let me start by saying that it was awe-inspiring. Hampi has an abundance of ancient monuments - gigantic temples, palaces, and aquatic structures. All these are linked by wide streets. Hugh fortifications surround the City. There are a lot of other ancient monuments also. Even in its ruined state the city is impressive. I don’t think I’d even be able to imagine the glory, wealth, and beauty of this City when the Vijaynagar empire was at its peak.. Little wonder someone said, "If dreams were made out of stone, it would be Hampi."

We’ve spent almost 26 hours in Hampi and each new sight didn’t fail to amaze me – whether ti was the Virupaksha Temple , Vithala Temple Complex, Stone Chariot, Lotus Mahal, or Pushkarini Tank. These are undoubtedly among the most beautiful creations of man.

Hampi is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. I still don’t fully believe that these marvels are the works of men’s hands.

Brief History:

Hampi - the seat of the famed Vijayanagara empire, was the capital of the largest empire in pre-Mogul India , covering several states. The empire reigned supreme under Krishnadevaraya, the Emperor. The Vijayanagara empire stretched over at least three states - Karnataka, Maharashtra , and Andhra Pradesh. The unexpected attack and destruction of Vijayanagar by marauding Mogul invaders was sudden and absolute. In addition to reduced the city to ruins, they decimated the local population.

25.01.2009 6.30 pm

We had bath in a canal at Kamalapura. With the sun going down, we too decided to leave Hampi and move toward our next halt - Hubli. Leaving Hampi we are happy having come here and having ‘experienced’ a part of our glorious history. Again from Hospet to Gadag, the heavy traffic of heavy vehicles, bad patches of road and ever-present speed brokers marred the ride. We reached Hubli around 10.30 pm. We hired a room in hotel and had heavy non-veg meal.

26.01.2009 6.30 am

We checked out from the hotel, and tanked-up our bikes. We are all ready to commence the return leg of our journey - to Mumbai. Giving it our best, within 3 hours we had crossed Kolhapur , a distance of around 240 kms. Seeing a hotel Prasad we stopped there for masala dosas and tea (as it bears my name.)

We met our friends Shankar and Santosh near Karad, which is the latter’s native place. Santosh had an small accident there. However it were still able to move on till Satara, where we repaired the bike. At Bhuinj, a bath in the river rejuvenated us and we were soon looking forward to lunch. We were soon back on the road and reached Vashi (on the outskirts of Mumbai) around 8.30 pm after running a gauntlet of heavy traffic at both Pune and Panvel.

I would without reservation recommend a visit to Hampi once. You would need to spend at least 3 days to cover everything in Hampi.

A special thanks our friend Deepak Dongre for sharing his experience with us for being the inspiration for the trip and Samit for being in touch.

Total Expense: Around 4000 /- pre head (including fuel.)

Total Distance covered: 1705 km

Avg. Speed: 80 Km / Hr

PHOTOS : http://picasaweb.google.com/prasadmhatre12003/OurJourneyToTheCityOfVictoryHampi?authkey=2YPGjciKstI#