A select few of us, helpers at Fr. Robins Camps got invited to a weekend at St. Stanislaus Villa, Lonavala. As soon as I got that invitation I made up my mind to go. My plan was to take the afternoon train into Khandala... A beautiful ride during the monsoon as the bogies wind through the lush green Western Ghats peppered with waterfalls and at Rs. 60/- for a ticket from Victoria Terminus to Lonavala its a steal for the pleasure it brings. Unforgiving work schedules and ultra short weekends have always made me give the trains a miss and opt for a speedier bus, car or truck from Dadar or Panvel Junction. I was expecting Ryan to join us over the weekend, but he had other engagements.
I was travelling solo, the way I like it, giving me a lot of alone time to ponder my life and play out memories while staring out the train window. I missed the May camp that just went by and so if nostalgia struck I'd pluck out an old camp memory much like how someone revisits a favourite book or movie collection. Nishtha missed camp this season too and required a dose of Khandala so I let her in on my plan. She managed to hitch a ride on my train on Saturday afternoon and we boarded the Sinhagad Express just minutes before it left for Pune. Staring out the window nostalgia overtook me reminding me of teenage escapades to Khandala at a moments notice! Those beggary days of budget travel permitting only train (schedules of which were known by heart) or the Asiad Semi Luxury bus from Dadar TT that took the Old Bombay Pune Highway and drivers refusing to make any unscheduled stops along the way unless they were buttered up and bribed. As we passed the hills of Kalyan the scenery changed gradually after crossing the Thane creek. Seated by the door we had a good view from both sides of the train as business folk and beggars coaxed passengers to part with their money. We ordered Omelette Sandwiches from the in house pantry for lunch and settled down to enjoy the rest of the journey. This was Nishthas first long distance train ride(3 hours) and she seemed to enjoy the travel. I was pleased I managed to pull off a train ride in the monsoon with good company as a bonus.
An hour later we were hungry again and not finding the Bread Cutlets and Sabudana Wadas enticing enough we settled for tea and coffee as we waited to sample the famous Karjat Wada pav! From Karjat it takes another hour to reach Khandala making an upward journey winding through old tunnels dating back to days of the Raj. We passed Monkey Hill and prepared to disembark as the train pulled into Khandala at 17:15 hours. We walked to Gupshup to buy our welcome drink to celebrate the KBA spirit, picked up a six pack and went to St. Mary's Villa where we were met by 2 guards (one armed with a rifle all wrapped up) The man with the gun warned me we had only 15 minutes and I wondered what were the rules for trekkers who chose to descend into the Valley. Saving that query for later we went down avoiding Shooting Point and the scattered crowds on Table Land and found a quieter rock shelf by the edge of the mountain that allowed us a view of Kune Mission, The DEAR Falls pouring itself into The Garden of Eden as we dug into some Cold Beer and Roast Beef. Almost half an hour later we walked out the gates and none of the guards even bothered so I guess like most of the work force they're not paid enough to care to do the job well. Fr. Robin warned us that Auto Rickshaws didn't ply on the other side of the railway line and so we had along walk ahead of us. We walked past a long line of stalled cars and bikes heading back from Bushi Dam as we entered the Blue Gates of Snehasadan almost an hour later. The hounds let loose on the grounds (a cheaper security option) gave us a roaring welcome as they smelt the Beef and we fended them off as they circled us snarling and barking as we walked across the open ground. We tried sweet talking them without much luck, then we walked on not wanting any of them to muster courage to snap and charge. Once we entered the wooded section that led up to St. Stanislaus the dogs however, fell back as we entered our own territory.
Walking past the Chapel we heard singing and thought Fr. Robin was at Mass but he and Giles were waiting anxiously for us keeping an eye out on the front gate. We were shown to our rooms and after we dumped our luggage we returned to Fr. Robins lair for a nice long chat. Giles told me he missed me during the camps expecting me to pop in any moment as I often did. Fr. Robin brought us up to speed about the 4 days of rain that lashed Khandala before this sudden dry spell. Nish and I went down to the corner shop down the road to buy some cold drinks and toothpaste. There was another prayer group in the camp and we bumped into them at dinner time before they retreated once more into the chapel and we took comfort in the spirit as well. We lightly planned our next days schedule and I told Fr. Robin I was perhaps expecting a couple of friends to come by for a trek and so we could have an early Sunday Mass. He coaxed us to ride back along with him in the Car on Monday Morning over cups of hot coffee (I laced my with some rum) once he learnt we didn't have a fixed plan to return the next day. Giles was troubled with some medical emergency in his family and needed to chat so he strolled into the verandah where I was nursing my drink. Once the shepherd was gone, Like a wolf, I veered Shawn the Sheep away from his fold to indulge in some good old Navy Rum. After some conversation with our new found companion Nishtha retired to her room for the night. I too broke in my new sleeping bag, purchased in Jammu using it to sleep on the table outside my room.
The next morning I was woken up by Ginger licking at my hands. Thankfully she couldn't reach my face as she stood with front paws on the table over my chest. I crawled out of my bag, shooed the bitch away and went out in search of Fr. Robin. He was milling about his car but before I knew it he had already driven off to the market to get us bread for breakfast. We had mass at 8:00 am followed by breakfast and I tossed up 6 eggs to be had Sunny side up and Ulta Pulta along with Cheese. Giles sent us some Scrambled Eggs and Macroni Hash they put together for Camp Breakfast. We made our own coffee but a sudden power outage rendered it too cold to be enjoyed. My friends didn't show up so Nish and I proceeded towards DEAR Falls. It was sunny, save for a light drizzle that counted for nothing and we were'nt sure the walk was a good idea especially if we left for Bombay later that evening and had another long walk till we found Transport to Bombay. I any case we walked on, I twas mostly down hill till the railway tracks, we soon crossed the Highway and once we were headed down that old familiar road to Kune Mission there was no stopping us. Like ponies who know there way home we climbed up the slope into the Gates observing all the changes along the path as we crossed the bridge across Buffalo Falls. We said hello to Meena and paid a visit to the Chapel, gave the lookout a miss altogether as we went up to the Grotto and a while later headed to the Pine Trees that provide a wide angle view of all the places we love... Kune, The Twin Falls, Eden Valley and the Sausages. Next we trekked down the monkey trail to the DEAR Falls and as we set out on that unused path I sniffed the air to check if the falls were taken over by bootleggers. A long time ago we came upon them with unhygienic drums brewing Moonshine, we negotiated a deal for them to let us pass in return for not ratting on them as they brewed White Lightning that could smite you. This time with all the news about 100 plus deaths due to spurious liquor consumption at a hell hole in Malad, Bombay I doubt they'd be open to reason and didn't want to take any chances or crash their party and surprise them. I cautiously made the descent and finding the valley empty of humans and distillation units we went as far as we could. We couldn't reach the waterfall before the Leopard Cave as the water levels were up so we backtracked beyond the first pool to some shallow tubs of clear water.
An hour of soaking in cool waters, trapping fish and drinking a cold beer or two we made our way back up to the Pine Trees and down the way to the Old Bombay Pune Highway once more. We negotiated a deal with a rickshaw guy to take us by El Taj to pick up the Tandoori Chicken already ordered by Fr. Robin and then drop us off to St. Stanislaus. He was good enough to do so but unwilling to come by and pick us up around 4PM. on account of the diversion of traffic from Bushi Dam. After lunch we said our goodbyes to Giles and Fr. Robin, packed up our mess, washed up, and cleared out our rooms. We left around 3:15 PM walking all the way to Lonavala Railway Station passing a caravan of stalled cars and bikes, then crossing the bridge to the other side leading to the ST Bus Stand. Another quick deal and we were seated comfy in an SX4, 3 of us in the back as it stopped by Khandala Lake to pick up a fourth passenger before we took the Express Way back to Bombay.
