Harihareshwar-Dive Agar Expedition

The Route:
Pune - Chandani Chowk – Paud village – Mulshi – Tamhini Ghat – Vili – detour - Mangaon – Morbe – Sai– Mhasla – Srivardhan - Harihareshwar



DAY 1
8th April 2006


STRAP-PURR-ZOOM

‘Pune Trekkers’. That’s the name of the online group. However, this time we decided to give the Trek a slip and instead go for a trip. Of course, a trip with a dash of adventure. To Harihareshwar, Srivardhan and Dive Aagar, two places kissing the Kokan coast, and known for its pristine beaches and famous for its unique Ganpati temples.
Ritin, was the lead organizer and we were 12 of us plus 2 kids. Mode of transport was to be bikes. The seeds of an adventurous journey were sown the moment we revved up our bikes at 7.30 am. We took the road to Paud village from Chandani Chowk. Barely 30 min. of riding and the first casualty blessed us. Amit, a hunk dressed in body-clinging T, suffered a fall off his bike while trying to avoid an old man who couldn’t resist the urge to jump on the road. Miraculously it was Amit who got all bruised, on hand and legs. In most cases it’s the pillion who suffers more.








BREAK NO.1

Our first halt was for fuel, not for our bikes but for ourselves. We stopped at Dishaj, a decent roadside hotel after Mulshi Dam. After a modest breakfast of ‘pohe’ and ‘wadas’ we roadies once again took to burning the rubber. By 10.30 we were navigating our way up the winding roads of the picturesque ‘Tamhini ghat’. On our way, we took a halt to appreciate and take in a beautiful waterfall site that comes into its elements in the monsoons. Ritin and I (I was the pillion) reached first. Little did we know at that time that halt which was supposed to be for 10 min. was to extend to a full 2 hours! Soon the other bikers arrived only to inform that one bike had a flat tyre some 7 km behind. It was Harsh’s Pulsar. They had enquired and the nearest puncture shop was a good 8 km ahead. Some of us decided to stay put at the same spot with the luggage. Two bikes went ahead to fetch the mechanic while two bikes went back and give company to the deflated guyz. By the time it was fixed, it was 12.30 pm and the sun had started blazing on us. God willing, the next stop was to be Vili, a small place that’s 97 km from Pune.








SHOCK @ 60kmph

As if Amit’s fall and Harsh’s punctured tyre were not enough, Vili welcomed us with a rude shock. The locals informed us that Srivardhan was still 75 km. away from Vili and Harihareshwar another 16 km further. That made Harihareshwar approx. 190 km from base camp Pune. 60 km more than we had anticipated. And all the ‘reliable’ websites and books had put it at 132 km. That meant more work for us. We doused ourselves with 2 pegs of cool ‘Kokam’ sarbat each and headed along.

After arming ourselves with enough water to fight the steaming sun, we proceeded ahead. The road till Vili is butter-smooth. The road after is the exact opposite. But nowhere is the road a straight patch. It’s all winding with a lot of blind corners and steep climbs followed with equally steep declines. It’s a different kind of thrill in itself. On top of it, the sun was at its hottest best. Not only were the UV rays doing their job efficiently, but the warm current rising from the tar road was also directly hitting our faces, tanning it with every passing moment. The surrounding countryside was equally parched and to add to it the villagers had burnt the dry grass in their fields to make the soil more fertile in the coming monsoon.

After a brief ‘sarbat’ halt at Srivardhan we finally parked our tired asses at Harihareshwar at 4.00 pm. A journey that was supposed to be of just 3-4 hours, lasted a good 8 ½ hours on the ‘oven fresh’ road. Complete with a freak accident, a punctured tyre and a gross miscalculation. But the feeling of relief on reaching our destination and the thought of a cool dip in the salty waters made us forget it all. We were already looking forward to the Harihareshwar sea.










AT HARIHARESHWAR

First things first, and that’s accommodation. Our weekend timing made sure that all the hotels were booked. Ritin and Saurabh managed to find one big hall which would house all 14 of us. And it was pretty cheap too. Just Rs.600/- for a day, with 2 bathrooms and erratic supply of water. The accommodation system in Harihareshwar is pretty unique. There are no hotels as such. Since tourism is the main industry there, every house has been turned into a mini-hotel. Since space is not a constraint, the rooms are quite spacious and well ventilated. There’s one resort, but that’s some 2 km. before the main temple town of Harihareshwar.

We quickly freshened up, got into our bathing suits and left in earnest towards the beach. Only after devouring 15 plates of freshly prepared ‘pohe’. Suraj had found out a secluded beach, away from the main beach. The first sight of sea and we all broke into a sprint to dive into it. We were cautious at first but soon realised that the sea bottom was all soft and even. Quite contrary to the infamous Harihareshwar rocky beaches. Also, the waves were not strong and it was almost like we were in a giant sized swimming pool. But to soak in the fun and have all the fun is what we had come for and that’s exactly what we did. With dark, we returned to our room, had a refreshing bath and headed for the ‘homely’ dinner. The rest of the MBT team went for a ‘lil jig at night and came back, all scared, with ghost-on-the-beach stories. Only to have a hearty laugh the next morning.


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DAY 2
9th April 2006

The next day, as planned, couple of us early risers went to the famous Shiva temple for darshan. The temple is as much known for its Pradakshina as it’s known for its archaic values. The Pradakshina takes approx 20 min. if you go non-stop. But as we proceeded, we realized that the captivating beauty of the Pradakshina keeps you thrilled for more than an hour.





THE PRADAKSHINA
Initially we had planned to skip the Pradakshina as we had planned to leave for Dive Agar early in the morning. But then we decided, what the heck, we have come this far and it would be very unfair if we skip it. So we went ahead. Ritin, myself, Pranaam, Ajit and Venkat. You have to go round a mountain which resembles a Shankar Pind, hence the pradakshina. There are proper steps to climb.

But the real surprise that awed us beyond imagination was the small stretch that actually passes through the sea. Luckily it was low tide and we could easily walk, danger-free. During high tide people are prohibited from going there, and rightly so. The stretch is made of razor sharp rock formations. That mountain side forms an amazing pattern of holes caused due to centuries of waves lashing out at them. And the pattern rises to more than 15 feet in height. Wonder how gigantic a wave it would take to punch holes in rocks so high. Has to be during the monsoons when the sea is at its violent best.
At a place a cave has been formed. On our way we saw many dead, crushed crabs on the rocks. Guess the sea spares no one. If aquatic creatures couldn’t survive how can humans stand up to the sea’s fury. No sooner, we noticed names of people and a date written on the rocks at specific places. These were the people who lost their lives while traversing the patch. Still wonder why people caution you about the sea at Harihareshwar?

In between there were small ponds that housed an amazing ‘underwater kingdom’, with beautiful formations of green algae. Not anticipating this pradakshina to be this ‘out-of-the-world’ none had brought their cameras along. So we had to make do with Ritin’s mobile cam. After a brief photo shoot we proceeded back, the images imprinted on our minds for a lifetime.
One fitting description that comes to my mind about this Pradakshina is, it’s like having drinks (sea water) ‘on the rocks’.








OFF TO DIVE-AGAR

No sooner had we topped ourselves with ‘pohas’ and sarbat for breakfast, we packed our stuff and once again took the road. Today, to Dive Agaar via Srivardhan. It’s around 35 km. from Harihareshwar. 7 bikes with 2 dedicated groups, one from MBT and other from Ritin’s office means a sure invitation for polarisation. This meant that some bikes went ahead and some stayed back at their own leisurely pace. The first and luckily the only miss on our way back was at Srivardhan. Our road was to pass through the village, unlike the time we came. Few bikes took the detour while four of our bikes proceeded forward after a wait.








THE SURPRISE PACKAGE

ON our way we were in for a great surprise. A beautiful, virgin beach greeted us as soon as we left Srivardhan. With clean, cream and white coloured sand stretching for a good 2 km was an invitation we couldn’t turn down. We straightaway hit the beach, but with our bikes. The biking trip on the beach was simply memorable. So far movies were the only means to experience it. A good half an hour of playing heros and a nice photo shoot, we
headed towards our destination. We reached Dive Agar around 1 pm.

We first decided to take Ganpati Darshan at the famous temple and wait for the ‘missing’ others to join. The temple is not big or extraordinary but the Ganesh murti here is made of solid gold. Chamatkar is what you can say, but Amit was already present at the temple. His tired, irritated face told us that they had reached there a good 1½ hour and were cooling their heels at a shack on the beach. Again, first things first. We ordered food and were told that they could serve us only after 2.30 pm. NO problem. The Dive-Agar beach awaited us.

Dive Agar is a dream-come-true. It’s a small place but houses beauty in every corner. Typical Kokan village setup. An independent house surrounded by innumerous coconut trees gently touching the sky. Just looking at it makes one go on a pleasure trip. We rued at our missed opportunity, as Dive Agar is a place where one night stay is a must.








DIVE-AGAR BEACH KE BEECH MEIN

The beach is equally marvelous. The clean white sand stretches till you eyes can reach. Even in the scorching heat and baking hot sand, a dip was simply irresistible. 100 mtrs. away form the beach MTDC cottages are coming up and they’ve built 3 small shacks for the same. We camped at the deserted shacks and plunged in the sea. The waves were gentle but cross and not straight i.e. right to left. So with every single wave one drifts a bit to his left. It took a while for us to realise this. And by that time we had drifted a cool half a km from where we had started. Scary at first, till you get used to it. After a fun filled hour in the sea we reluctantly went. A sumptuous, typical Kokani lunch awaited our hungry souls. A fish thali cost Rs.80 and a veg. Rs.40/-. Both equally delightful. Soon after, we were on our way back . The time was
4 pm.








ON ROAD. OFF LIMITS.
The ground was still ‘oven fresh’. But evening was not far away and that relieved us. Our first halt was to be at Vili, 85 km away. A tall order in the heat but nevertheless we decided to give it a try. Not surprisingly our first halt came a bit before Mandgaon. After finishing our water we headed ahead, three bikes. We reached Mandgaon at 6.15 pm, exactly 2.15 hrs after we left Dive Agaar. So, we were on schedule. Till the time the rest of the bikers joined us and we left it was dark. The sun had set and we wondered how much time it would take on these narrow winding roads in the dark. Ritin’s Boss with his two kids, Ajit and Venkat went ahead as they wanted to reach early.

Riding at night was fun. The speed slowed down only marginally. Credit goes to some good riding by all bikers. We decided to halt straight at Hotel Dishas at Mulshi. As usual, we took a mini-halt in between. Finally we reached Dishas around 8.30 pm After a good 30-40 min of chatting we left for Pune.








TOUCH BASE
Chandani Chowk soon greeted us with its illuminated night spots. Time: 10.15 pm. We were back in the mad city rush. But this time round, our bags full of sultry memories of a wonderful trip to cherish. Looking back, the 14 of us had covered a total of 440 km in 15 hours, over 2 days. We had successfully negotiated the peak summer heat, a flat tyre and the mother of all, a gross miscalculation of the distance. Nevertheless, Harihareshwar-Srivardhan-Dive Agar was one trip that’s difficult to fade away in a long time to come.



Dhaval :)