A trip to Wai

Tripoto
8th Nov 2020
Photo of A trip to Wai by Chinmay Mungse

This coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown had put a comma on my weekend adventures. With the fear of contracting the virus constantly lingering in the air around had taken a toll on my mental health. Add that up with the constant assignments given by the college, I began feeling claustrophobic. Sitting in the confines of the four walls of my house, I desperately needed some air. So last Saturday, I called up a couple of my friends and planned a getaway. We decided the destination at 2 in the night and next morning at 8, we were on the way to Wai. A scenic village 100km from Pune.

Driving on the Pune-Bangalore highway we were greeted by the view of the Sahyadri mountain range. The monstrous mountains stood tall as I couldn’t stop thinking about my tiny existence in this world. Gazing at the natural wonder, I was brought back to my senses when my friend Yash played Chaiyya Chaiyya at full volume on the stereo and thus began our in-car concert as well. Well, that’s the thing with friends, you don’t judge them for their stupid singing. You join them instead.

The Pune-Bangalore highway cutting through the Sahydari Mountain range

Photo of Wai, Maharashtra, India by Chinmay Mungse

Continuing on the highway for 75km, a sharp right turn approx. 50km ahead of Satara took us from the 6-lane highway to a 2-lane narrow road. On both sides of the road are sugarcane fields and bordering those fields are tall, fat dense trees which cover the road as well. Making for a scenic drive. A 30 min drive later, we arrived at Mapro Gardens. Mapro is a Panchgani based fruit-based confectionery which also operates food parks in areas like Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala and Wai. It was 11 am and our stomachs were growling with hunger. We settled on a bench under a tree and ordered a pizza, three mocktails and a Mapro speciality, Strawberry cream ice-cream.

Sumptuous lunch of garden fresh pizza and mocktails

Photo of Mapro Food Park, Wai-Surur Road, Wai, Maharashtra, India by Chinmay Mungse

Strawberry cream ice-cream, a Mapro speciality.

Photo of Mapro Food Park, Wai-Surur Road, Wai, Maharashtra, India by Chinmay Mungse

After having the sumptuous lunch, we continued our journey to Wai. The distance between Mapro Garden and Wai is just 5km which took us 10min. We had heard about the Wai river a lot and went to the destination, only to find out that the accessible route to the river goes through a temple which has been closed due to the pandemic. Not letting our hopes sink, we decided to drive a little further to Dhom Dam. Dhom Dam essentially serves as a power station for the areas nearby. We searched for a place to relax but couldn’t find anything due to the mud caused by the rain.

Therefore, we decided to look the other way around. We explored a tiny settlement nearby. Interacting with a few locals we got to know they had no clue about the severity of the pandemic. They showed us their cattle and farm and told us to go up a hill to get a good view of the lake. We took their advice and climbed up the hill. It was an easy climb with the way already paved by the villagers. This hill was just adjacent to their houses where they’d take their cattle to graze. The hill was covered by tall fern on one side and grass donned the upper half. We could see cows grazing the grass and were manned by their caretaker. While on the other side we could see the Dhom lake. We continued to tread the path and were greeted by the sight of a dried-up waterfall. The fall was approx. 6ft tall. Due to its small height, it had formed a pond where we could see tadpoles swimming. We did the ritual of clicking some pictures and then descended along the same path.

Photo of Dhom Dam, Velang, Maharashtra by Chinmay Mungse

"I walk this lonely road, the only one that I have ever known" plays in the background

Photo of Dhom Dam, Velang, Maharashtra by Chinmay Mungse
Photo of Dhom Dam, Velang, Maharashtra by Chinmay Mungse

It was 4 in the evening when we started our trip back to Pune. On our way back we stopped for some refreshing sugarcane juice because the blazing sun had sucked out every joule of our energy. While drinking the juice Yash spotted a shop selling beer. “What’s a boy’s trip without some beer. Eh?” he said. I was convinced and we popped open two bottles of Heineken. Relishing our outing more than the beer, we sat on a bench watching the vast expense of flat land and sugarcanes.

What's a boy's trip without some beer, eh?

Photo of A trip to Wai by Chinmay Mungse

Thus, ended our day of fun as we drove into the sunset with Post Malone singing ‘Memories’ on the stereo.