Surajkund, 20th April 2012

Surajkund is just outside Delhi. Before you come to Surajkund, you can see the ruins of the Tughlaqabad fort and the walled tomb of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (14th century). Along a winding road through the severely degraded Aravalli hills, one comes to Surajkund as I did, decades after my last visit with the chance to stay for two nights in its vicinity.

It was after 5 p.m and the sky was grey, with a storm brewing and the pictures did not come out well. Anyway, Surajkund, or the Lake of the Sun, is an ancient reservoir dating back to the 10th century or maybe the 7th century, which had a Sun Temple alongside. The reservoir is semicircular with an amphitheater like stepped embankment. The natural catchment area is now almost completely destroyed due to environmental degradation and the reservoir fills up only during rains. 

  

One would like to think, as ancient lore has it, that the son of Krishna started his penance from here, to be continued in the other three ancient Sun temples at Kashmir, Konark and Dwarka but this places the Surajkund much earlier in history. Stone age relics have been found in nearby vicinities and carved stones have also been recovered from the reservoir bed ..

  

Attempts have been made for sprucing up the place, there being a dam nearby and a reserve forest, and the peacock can be seen in the wild. The one that I saw, perhaps 30 meters up, was truly huge! 

Fortunately, there were quite a few watering holes nearby, the Sunbird for instance ..

On that happy note, without further ado, let me wish you goodnight!  

On the Mahuli trail again!

Bundled into a minibus this time, with chaps from my office. The Mahuli peak is not very far from Mumbai, and is a one day trek from the village at the base. Its 2815 ft and pretty steep in the final stretches though. 

In the rains, a gushing stream, quite dry in January! 

A peak of the chimneys where the rock climbing chaps come to sharpen their skills ..

Very soon, the ascent became steep and we had to take breaks ..

This was definitely the place to lie down and contemplate the silence. Signs of cooking abounded, leftover marks of earlier treks!

Started on the ascent once again, keeping the chimneys to the left.

On all fours, mostly :)and a view from below the top. The Mahuli fort hails from ancient times,and was a significant military outpost from the 15th to the 17th centuries.  

We saw lots of wild banana and this small wild flower along the way 

Tremendously exhausted, we dropped down at base for lunch at 4:30 p.m 

Lunch consisted of mutton curry, rice and salad whew! 
And stiff legs for two days! 

A photography exhibition

One of my colleagues is a member of the Photographic Society of India and has won critical acclaim with many of his entries, over the years. The PSI was exhibiting in the Jehangir Art Gallery and he took us for a visit, one day. Amazing to meet grand old men who have undertaken hazardous journeys just in search for the perfect picture, the perfect setting and the perfect light! Amazing photographs!

My favourite section was b&w. There is a huge wellspring of emotion associated with b&w photography and there are few of the masters left. 

My personal favourite, a picture that appears evocative and simple but has actually been crafted carefully ..

After this treat, we checked some other exhibitions and then ambled along to a locally famous restaurant for some delicious kebabs. Four kinds of kebabs in a platter!

Delicious!

Twilight

Darkling I listen : and for many a time

I have been half in love with easeful Death

Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,

To take into the air my quiet breath;

Now more than ever seems it rich to die,

To cease upon the midnight with no pain.

John Keats

This was quoted by Khushwant Singh, noted journalist, author and editor in his weekly column in the Hindustan Times. 

From my college days, I have always admired his candour and the cascading flow of his language, right from when he was the editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India and his editorials were a never miss,  With Malice Towards One and All! 

His works range from political commentary and contemporary satire to outstanding translations of Sikh religious texts and Urdu poetry. Born on 2nd Feb 1915, educated in the Government College Lahore in undivided India and King's College Cambridge, he turns 98 very soon and I would like to wish him the best in his twilight years ... 

Worli Fort views

The Worli Fort was built in the 17th century by the British East India Company, when Mumbai or Bombay as it is well known, used to be just a cluster of seven islands. It provides a vantage point over the Mahim bay, and was used as a lookout point. These days, the fort overlooks the Bandra - Worli sealink, the first of a proposed chain. Completely surrounded by slums today, it is also used as a favorite spot for Bollywood and ad shoots. 

And then, we moved on to Bandra, Mount Mary's

Down a few stairs and the superhero's abode called Mannat.Children vied for a place to be shot in proper view ... and then, to the Juhu beach

The Juhu beach is a rambunctious place, alive almost up to the early lights of daybreak with its close proximity to the movie stars' bungalows, five star hotels, gawking tourists and street vendors, photographers, magicians, pony rides etc and I am sure it has lots of interesting stories to tell! 

The Christmas Eve Trek 2011

Days passed into weeks and weeks passed into months. Finally, a few of us could go out on Christmas Eve on a visit to the Malshej Ghats and the Shivneri fort. Looking back ..

Stillness in the hills, a magical feeling of belonging. Almost like home, that which we seek   all along ..

Walking along the Malshej Ghats, one of the minor privileges in this life!

After the ghats, we came to a village, at the house of one of our retired staff. He has good, cultivated fields just alongside the waters of an artificial irrigation lake 

And then we gorged on the mix veg curry and rice, and red hot chicken curry with bajri roti, bhakri with pickles :)) 


Time to move ahead, on to Shivneri fort .. 

The Shivneri fort hails from the Satvahan dynasty and then, various dynasties such as the Shilahars, the Yadavas, the Bahamani Sultans and the Mughals. It is the birthplace of the great Maratha warrior king Shivaji, born 1630. It is built on steep rocks on all four sides and the main entrance corridor has seven gates, the fifth being armored with elephant spikes ..

There is a pond at the center of the fort, and two natural water springs. Rock hewn cisterns abound. Clearly, there was a vibrant society in those times, inhabiting the citadel

The northern side is the narrowest edge and its a steep drop below. Rumour has it that traitors were thrown down from here 

And a view from the house in which Shivaji Raje was born 

Dusk. The time when temple bells resound across the plains below and the cows turn homeward. For us however, the fun started precisely at this point when we decided to take the steep, rocky slope down and quite literally, hearts in our mouths!

For the most part, the stone steps had been ground down the ages to a smooth slope and it was difficult to balance our tired frames in the fading light. The steel rope nailed to the iron post could not really help if we slipped, for the gap was too big, and the way down was too way down :))
Anyway, when we actually came down, it was pitch black with only the mobile phone lights to show the way. Altogether, a day well spent, wasn't it?