The Warmth of Wai
We all have experienced that our memories begin to fade over time. So before this happens to me I decided to pen it down experiences from the fantastic trip that I had last weekend. Here is Part 1 of my travelogue to give you an overview of how the trip panned out.Years down the lane, when I, and those who experienced this wonderful trip, read this blog along with looking at the photos, I hope it will bring a broad smile to their faces.
On a cloudy September morning of 6th, when preparations were in full swing to welcome Ganpati Bappa later that week, my phone buzzed with a WhatsApp notification from Charuta. She stated that she was planning to go to Kaas Pathar on the 25–26th later of the month. She also asked whether I could join her on that trip. Prima facie, I was pumped up with joy with the prospect of going on a 275 km road trip. I hadn’t been on any road trip since COVID entered our lives. So even the slightest thought of a road trip made me joyous.
But then, as I checked the calendar, I saw a significant roadblock between Kaas and me- 13 Sept. Bang!- The date of results. It was a simple equation. So my immediate reply was if the results go in my favour, count me in. If not, I am out. 13 Sept arrived, and results turned out to be favourable. And so, Kaas was on.
Being an amateur weather enthusiast, I was constantly tracking the weather for Pune & Satara since the week before. It had either rained or been cloudy the entire week before our scheduled trip date. It was not a good sign. As the dates closed in, the forecast for Kaas was a bright sunny day. It was a big sigh of relief. As a pluviophile, it was tough to digest a trip without my favourite companion- the rains, but it was necessary to have bright sunny days with clear skies for the sea of flowers to bathe in the sun and bloom in their full glory.
As 24th arrived, with bags packed and all set to go, I was excited for the following day. As per the scheduled plan, we were supposed to depart for Wai at 5:30 am from Thane early the 25th morning. I left home at 5 am to reach our decided meet point. It was a delight to see often busy and crowded roads empty at 5 with not even a single vehicle running on either side of the road. Also, it was a pleasant surprise not to see any street dog chase my auto, which often is a significant hindrance in peaceful driving.
Rama reached Joshi Kaka’s place- our meeting point at 5:30 am, and the journey began. Fifteen minutes later, Charuta joined us at her pickup point. We realized she had a companion. The air inside the car was suddenly filled with a tantalizing aroma of some delicious mouth-watering food item. Her companion turned out to be a pack of fresh batata vadas. Having already eaten at home before departing, my stomach was way too full to eat even a little piece of those aromatic vadas. It was a sin to not eat those hot, delectable vadas whose aroma was becoming way too difficult to resist. But overeating would have potentially created a whole new set of unwanted problems. So I decided to defer it for later.
We quickly reached Panvel at around 6:45 am, and the journey on the best road of the trip began- The Mumbai Pune Expressway. As the first rays of sunlight lit up the scene, the milky white clouds surrounded those lovely morning skies making it a sight to behold. With the lush green mountains on one side and the long green farm fields on the other, our eyes were spoilt for what to watch. It was as if heaven had descended down on Earth with the arrival of fog as we closed in near Lonavla. We were experiencing serene winter vibes on a bright September morning.
As a part of my pre-trip planning, I had created three different playlists of almost 300 songs combined, categorized as journey songs, light soft music, and Sufi Songs to be played during the journey. With the early morning dance of nature in full flow outside, music added a new dimension to this from the inside. At Lonavla, we were surrounded by dense clouds. It was truly a mystical heavenly feeling driving in the clouds.
By 9:30 am, we had closed in near Pune. I had not seen or even bypassed this beautiful city since October 2018. I have always felt a sense of belongingness every time I have visited this incredible city despite the immense loathe for Puneri attitude. While outsiders are amused — or annoyed — by the Puneri attitude, as described by the famous humourist Pu La Deshpande in his well-known Marathi essay “Tumhala Kon Vhaychay “, Punekars are very proud people who see no reason to change. It is a city that stops and takes a pause. Life here is not as fast as compared to Mumbai. The Oxford of the East depicts a strong Maharashtrian historic culture proudly on the Map of India.
All these emotions and nostalgia for the city kept entering my mind as we entered Pimpri and exited the city via Katraj. It was 10 am. The bellies by now had begun to make noises. Having a sweet tooth, I ate the tasty honeybell cake brought by Rama. It was time for breakfast. We halted at the Vitthal Kamat restaurant and had our breakfast. I ate poha. Joshi kaka and Charuta had Medu Wada. Kaku had her misal pav, while Rama was content with having idli. After having my favourite early morning tea, we set on to finish the remaining part of the journey with enough energy in the tank now. With just 75 km of the road trip left, the tail end of the journey remained.
Having heard a lot of jokes about how terrible Pune-Satara road was because of the shoddy maintenance, it was time to experience it. Some patches were bumpy but not bad altogether. At 10:45 am, we were within striking distance of Wai. En-route to Wai, we saw a terra cotta pottery shop. Since time was on our side, we decided to have a quick sneak into it. It had a good display of some fine pottery work in it.
The landscape had changed entirely by the time we were near Wai. The four-lane national highway had narrowed into a two-lane state highway with an excellent road. On both sides of the road, the leaves of the giant banyan trees were basking in their complete glory, with its graceful sprawl seeming to invite us to swing on its roots, rest in its shade and enjoy the cool breeze of its leaves. The paddy fields had now been replaced with a sea of sugarcane fields that spread across far and wide, most of them even taller than our heights.
Having finally arrived in Wai comfortably by 11 am, we decided to rest for some time before starting site-seeing. An incredible road trip had drawn to a close. It was a hot sunny day in Wai. We reached Pandit Wada-our place of stay in Wai. Pandit Wada is an architectural marvel and a beautiful heritage homestay. It is a 300-year-old residential structure built during the Peshwa rule.
Wai, also famously known as Dakshin Kashi, is a temple town situated in Southern Maharashtra. It is surrounded by beautiful serene Western Ghats, giving picturesque views. We had hired an Innova for local travel and sightseeing. So as soon as our Innova arrived, we set out for lunch.
We had our lunch in Natu Farms, where Charuta and I decided to share and feast on the yummy chicken thali. After a satisfying lunch, we set out for the first spot of the trip- the historical Nana Fadnavis Wada.
Nana Fadnavis was an influential statesman during the Peshwa rule. He constructed the Menavli Wada in the 1770s. It also has two temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu and a ghat on the banks of River Krishna. The Wada is spread over 34602 sq feet of land. It has six courtyards with around 200 small and big chambers. It has excellent specimens of art in the form of wall paintings, well-carved wooden ceilings, cypress pillars with cusped arches. It also had a perfect drainage system to seep in the rainwater that went straight into River Krishna from the underground pipes. It is perfectly functional even today after 300 years. After clicking some beautiful photos, we left the Wada.
After that, we visited the two temples and the ghat on the banks of River Krishna just outside the Wada. It was peak afternoon with the Sun shining like a fireball with the white, fluffy clouds drifting across the clear blue sky. The clouds had formed a magical formation as if to tell the world from the top to come, look up at our beauty. We had a photo session with the charming sky on top of us.
The ghat also has a famous bell house which has in it a six hundred and fifty-kilogram bell. This bell was captured by Bajirao-1’s brother Chimaji Appa from a cathedral in the Portuguese fort at Bassein. Dated 1707, the five-alloy bell bears a bas-relief of Mary carrying the infant Jesus Christ cast into it.
Having said goodbye to Nana Fadnavis Wada, we went to the beautiful Dhom Dam. We also saw Nana Patekar’s farmhouse on the way. Music was a constant companion throughout the road trip that we did. Dhom Dam is a water reservoir of heaven brought down on Earth. A dam where there’s water on your left, water on your right, up lies the heavenly clouds which open up to pour water from the top and down we are enjoying this prolific show from all sides in a boat.
The water, with its mood swings, was on a full display here. The water reminded me of the sea as tidal waves kept lashing the shoreline creating a rhythmic series of soundwaves in the surroundings-a stark reminder of how the rough seas would be behaving during a storm. I wondered why one needs to visit the beach when you can have sea-type waters here. And not to forget the mountains that surrounded us from all sides. It was a combination of mountain and sea vibes at the same place.
Our boat ride was quite an adventure. The water level was probably at its peak as it had rained cats and dogs in the past few days. The boat was tilting left and right, moving up and down because of the high water current. I was narrating my recently concluded Rishikesh rafting session as I could feel the similarity in how our boat was tilting from all directions. Joshi Kaku and I got thrilled and terrified by the continuous tilting of the boat. The rest three were trying to capture the beauty that lay in front of us in their cameras. Rama was happily spotting and counting the black ducks that played hide and seek with us. To add to our adventure, the boat suddenly stopped functioning for a couple of minutes right in the middle of the lake. Captain Charuta, who sat in the front, refused to take orders from the crew members who hoped-for revival of the boat. We even joked about who all knew swimming just in case we had to. Then, suddenly it started functioning, and we made it back to the shores. It was a thrilling boat ride that we had in Dhom Dam.
There was a cute little hungry cat who had joined us after our boat ride. She was hungry as well as arrogant, hissing continuously at onlookers. I had a packet of Britannia 50–50 Chaska maska biscuits, which we all were eating. I thought of giving the same to the poor little hungry cat but was afraid of its hissing. That’s when Joshi Kaka came to the rescue and gave her quite a lot of biscuits to eat upon. It started to feast as if it hadn’t eaten in quite some time. A fat, lazy and adorable golden retriever also laid sleeping on the ground while the cat was dining in front of us. We quietly sneaked in from the place before the cat found us.
It was close to dusk by the time we had finished our boating. Now we were on our way back to Pandit Wada. Before that, we decided to pay a visit to the famous Dholya Ganpati temple. Although shut for visiting because of the government regulations, we paid our tributes from the sidings. Later, Charuta, Rama, and Joshi Kaku bought a pair of Kolhapuri chappals from the nearby shop close to the temple.
Wai at dusk looked serene. The grey clouds had begun to arrive from Panchgani, bringing a calm, pleasant evening breeze with them. The setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. The temples at the bank of River Krishna, along with the river’s calm waters, made me feel peaceful. The mountains of the Western Ghats only added rich flavours to this scenery.
Finally, we returned to Pandit Wada at 7 pm. After relaxing for a while, we set out for dinner walking on the bylanes of Wai. Each lane in the city had a beautiful sculpture of Lord Ganesha. After having dal rice for dinner, we retreated to Pandit Wada. It was a terrific end to what had been a fabulous day.
Due to lack of proper sleep the previous night, everybody was tired and decided to sleep early as another action-packed day awaited us. The Valley of Flowers was waiting for our arrival. The beautiful hill station of Panchgani was calling. We were pumped up for the last and final leg of our trip.
