Bhimashankar Trip, 25-26 Aug 2014

Come monsoon and I almost always long for a trekking tour in the Sahyadris. The Harishchandragad or Bhimashankar are the classics in the series of Sahyadri Treks.This time two other office colleagues were also interested in the monsoon trek and so , we three set out for tour on the evening of 24 Aug 2014.Our journey started from Guhagar as we boarded the 20:15 Guhagar-Pune bus.We reached Pune-Swargate early in the morning of 25 Aug 2015.We had to catch the first bus to Bhimashankar from Pune-Shivajinagar. We managed to catch the 5.30 am Pune-Bhimashankar bus.On the Pune-Nashik highway,the bus sped past through the thick morning fog of the Deccan plateau.The daily commuters till Manchar and Rajgurunagar , kept the bus-conductor busy , as we dozed off in our seats. From Manchar , the bus left the highway and headed to the hills.Daily commuters, mostly school children and staff were frequent upto Ghodegaon. After Ghodegaon the road had a steep ascent and many winding turns through the hills of Sahyadris. At every turn the breathtaking panorama of the valleys and mountains made me overwhelm with joy.As the bus climbed the ghats, the villages nestled in the lush green fields and forests seemed more picturesque.Being a monsoon season , frequent streams and waterfalls added music and joy to the occasion.

The panoramic hills at one of the turn on the road.

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                  Bhimashankar is a reserved forest area by the name of Bhimashankar Wild Life sanctuary.Bhimashankar is famous for its Shiva temple situated in the midst of the deep forest.It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of India.Having religious significance, it is frequently visited by religious-tourist groups.Most of the new hotels and lodges are situated near the forest entry point.Also private vehicles are to be parked nearby these places.Entry tickets are to be purchased from the forest department.From the forest entry point, the main temple is situated at a distance of 5Km (approx.).MSRTC buses goes directly upto the temple.Most of the old hotels and lodges are situated near the temple.

               As we reached Bhimashankar, we refreshed ourselves at the Govt. rest house and  had our morning breakfast.We immediately headed for the temple to avoid the long darshan-queue in the afternoon.Bhimashankar is quite crowded during the month of Shrawan (generally in August).

The temple at Bhimashankar.In the monsoons, it is protected by tarpaulin sheets.

After finishing the darshan, we headed for Gupt-Bhimashankar situated deep in the forest.A narrow forest-trail passes through deep jungle and finally ends up at a water-fall.A small Shiva-linga is established at the foot of the falls.This is known as Gupt-Bhimashankar.

Heading for Gupt Bhimashankar.

Wild flowers on the way to Gupt Bhimashankar.

Gupt Bhimashankar.

It is a paradise for the nature-lover, with thick forest on both sides of the waterfall, and a commanding view of the jungles in the valley below.

A commanding view of the valley below.

The water gurgles through a rocky bed and falls into the valley.The enchanting music of the water-fall and birds, creates a much needed relaxing effect, on the nature-tourist.

                 

 After visiting Gupt-Bhimashankar, we returned to the Govt.Rest house, where we had our lunch and proceeded to the village of Kondhwal, which is famous for a huge waterfall.

From the Govt. rest house, the village of Kondhwal is around 6 Km (approx.).We had no other option, but to walk to our destination.It was a lonely forest road and we trekked for 3 hours on the enchanting route.All through the way, we halted at numerous places to admire the nature and for seemingly unending photographic sessions.

On the way to Kondhwal waterfall. 

 

 

Rice fields near Kondhwal village.

Beautiful wild flowers near Kondhwal waterfall.

Villagers returning from work.

Finally , in the evening , we reached at the waterfall which was in its full monsoon fury.We spent a playful hour at the waterfall and then headed to the Kondhwal village to find a accommodation , to spend the night.

The waterfall at Kondhwal village.

A playful hour at Kondhwal waterfall.

  Kondhwal is  quite a primitive village with around 50-60 houses and with no hotels or lodges.

A distant view of Kondhwal village.

A village scene of Kondhwal.

We befriended with one or two locals and requested for tea.At one of the huts, herbal tea without milk was offered.It was a refreshing drink, after a tiring day.Then we enquired for some accomodation facility for the overnight.Our host quickly contacted the village school teacher, who offered us a stay at the village school.

Our accomodation at Kondhwal village school.

The local children were amused to see us at the school.

The village school was a primary school having two rooms.One of the rooms was opened for us.The school teacher also gave us some floor mats and our tea-host offered some beddings. We requested our host to make some dinner for us, which he willingly agreed.
In the evening, there was a heavy shower of rainfall for about an hour, and after that the village was engulfed in a thick fog.The rain and fog made the evening, more magical.

The evening fog engulfing the village.






Going for a evening stroll around the village.

We had a brief walk around the village through the mystical fog.The village was bordered by lush green rice fields and by hills on the horizon.To avoid the cold, we quickly returned to the school class room and spent our time chit chatting among ourselves.Our host served us an early dinner at 8.30 pm.The village already bore a deserted look by 8 pm.We had our dinner in the class room and then laid the floor mats and the bedding.The primitive pullovers were quite warm and offered ample protection from the cold night.We had long hours of chit chat , before we went off to sleep.

         The next day, we woke up to a foggy early morning.After the morning activities, we returned the bedding's to our host and offered him some money for his kind hospitality.He accepted our gift quite hesitatingly.From the village , we again headed to the waterfall.After a refreshing bath, we started our return trek to Bhimashankar. Admiring the lush green hills, the thick forest, the gurgling streams, and the seasonal wild flowers on the way, we reached Bhimashankar once again.We boarded a local bus which ferried us to the forest boundary and the main bus stop.We had a breakfast at a hotel and boarded a 9 am bus to Pune.

Spending time at Shaniwarwada , Pune.

           After a five hour journey we reached Pune city.We had our lunch and spent time in the city, before we boarded the evening bus to Chiplun.



Photo courtesy :

     Nilesh Padale

     Ashish Sharma

     Ashish Nimsarkar

Gopalgad fort- Anjanvel

The present day Gopalgad fort

The Gopalgad fort at village Anjanvel,Taluka-Guhagar,Dist-Ratnagiri is a sea fort with an approximate area of 7 acres . Most of the fort walls are still in a standing condition.Boulders can be seen adjacent to the exterior of the fort walls.The main fort has been extended by different rulers during different times.

The boulders parallel to the fort walls


















The boulders parallel to the fort walls

















Brief History
The main central fort was constructed by the Bijapur rulers in the 16th century.Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj annexed this fort during his Dabhol campaign in 1660.After the death of Shivaji Maharaj in 1680, this fort was annexed by Siddi Khairat Khan in 1699.In 1744 the Maratha warrior Tuloji Angre captured this fort and added it back to the Maratha Kingdom (then Peshwa rule).Further there was a dispute between the Angre's and the Peshwas and this fort went onto the Peshwa's in 1755.With the fall of Maratha empire in 1818, it went to the British.From 1818 till 1947 it was under the control of the British.
During his rule, Siddi Khairat Khan extended the fort walls down upto the sea level.The lower part of these fort walls is called "Padkot".The upper part of the fort walls , adjacent to the main fort is called "Balekot" and it was constructed during the rule of Tuloji Angre.Thus the Gopalgad fort consists of three parts
i.The main central fort
ii. The Balekot (upper extended fort walls)
iii.The Padakot (lower extended fort walls)














The Padkot and the Balekot
















The fort walls


Why the name Gopalgad ?
There is no unanimous opinion about the name "Gopalgad".Some say that it was named as Gopalgad during the rule of Shivaji Maharaj in 1660.Some say that it was named Gopalgad during the rule of Tuloji Angre, since he was a Krishna Bhakt (follower).Still some say that during the rule of the Angre's the killedaar (guardian) of this fort was a person named Gopalrao and hence the name "Gopalgad".















The west side small entrance to the fort



















Main entrance towards the east


The Fort
The fort is guarded by strong fort walls and has total 12 Buruj ( a Buruj is a cylindrical structure in the wall which enables a small troop of soldiers to be stationed).There are two main gates each to the east and the west.The gate to the west is smaller and convenient to enter the fort.As one enters through this gate one can see the guard posts on both sides of this gate.Inside the fort there are thick bushes and mango trees.But as one moves ahead, various structures are visible, the killadaar's residence, three wells, and many small and big foundations.On the fort walls is a

inscription of 1707 which reads in Persian as "If someone constructs a new building and if he dies during its construction, then the building cannot be said to be owned by anyone else.Only God is immortal.Rest all other things are perishable.This fort was constructed on the instructions of the omni-luminous ruler, but he did'nt survive to see the fort"
When there is not much grass on the fort walls, the whole fort can be traversed along the boundary walls.Interesting views of the sea and villages can be seen on this traverse.

Currently there are rumors, that this fort has been sold to some private party.However no definite information is available on this issue.Currently there is not a single notice board of Archaelogical Survey of India .Also there is no notice board of any private party.Readers are requested to share more information on this issue.


The story of Siddnaq
The story of Siddnaq is a classic illustration of the corrosive caste system in the Indian society.It demonstrates , how foreign enemies easily gained access to power by taking advantage of the differences in the Indian society.
During the year 1815-16 this fort was still under the Maratha's and this was the peak period of the caste system in Maharashtra.Siddnaq was a Mahar (untouchable) by caste and he was very thirsty.For a handful of water , he stood before the Anjanvel village-well pleading for water to be offered by someone.In those days a Mahar could not touch the village well, lest it will become impure.Siddnaq was a well-built strong man , but he could not touch the village well and was requesting the people around to offer him some water.
At this instance a message came from the fort that there was an Arabic horse trader on the fort and one of his horses has become uncontrollable.It was announced that anyone who can reign his horse will be rewarded by a honorary turban and a silver bracelet.The so called brave men on the fort did not dare to accept the challenge.The honor of the fort was at stake.Siddnaq could not withstand the humility and accepted the challenge.He offered a Johaar(a typical honorary salute) to the Killedaar and assembled on the horse with a lightening speed.As the beast sensed its rider , it galloped uncontrolled but after an hour Siddnaq returned with the horse fully tamed and its rider , riding it with a proud chest.The Killedaar's honour was saved and as declared Siddanaq was entitled for the award.But once again the caste system came into play.The Killedaar totally neglected Siddnaq. However the Arab trader was watching this incident with a keen interest.He was an agent of the British, Kernel Kennedy.The British had started a campaign to collect strong and brave Mahar men and raise their army to fight against the Maratha's.That night the Arab trader had a talk with Siddnaq and the next day Siddnaq accompanied him to Bombay .Within a short time Siddnaq became a Subhedaar (head) of the Mahar platoon and in 1818 the British gave him the assignment of assisting Kernel Kennedy in his Dabhol-Anjanvel campaign.Kennedy fully utilised the various local informations given by Siddanaq and finally Gopalgad fell to the British.
Now Siddnaq returned to his village Anjanvel as a winner.The defeated Killedaar, other Maratha officers and the villagers were before him.Siddnaq went and spitted in the village well.He yelled at them , " You treated me as a untouchable , did'nt you ? Now drink water from this well ! Our *Chokhoba's ashes are still alive in Pandharpur.If anyone among you is wise enough , one day we will get justice !" The villagers were speechless.
Later Siddnaq lived in Anjanvel village till his old age and died in the same village.His grave stands at a place where the river Vashishti meets the sea below the fort.



An evening behind Gopalgad fort












Foot-note :
*Chokhoba : Chokhoba was a Mahar follower of the Pandharpur deity Shri.Vithaal.His worhip could withstand all odds done to him because of his lower caste.Finally the Pandharpur brahmins had to allow his ashes to be buried in the foot-steps of the Vithaal temple of Pandharpur.