ANDHARBAN...WANDERING IN DARK FOREST

      It was our dream trek, the name which kept fascinating and adding to the curiosity. This was our very first trek, which we had been planning for quite a few days now .As we read more and more about this DARK FOREST; the more it left us enchanted. We started looking for the groups which are having the ANDHARBAN trek, from a huge number of options finally we settled on the one with the “SG trekkers”, as we found the group to be quite reliable and trustworthy. Then we started our journey of adjusting our time schedules. There was a trek which was planned on 2 July. We were all ready, but the last minute minute office work left me in dismay, finally I had to give up. I was not able to join the trek.
   The beautiful pictures on the whatsapp group left me in awe with its mesmerizing beauty and then the feeling of being guilty for not visiting this beautiful place. All that I could wish was a trek to this beautiful place as soon as possible. Just 2 days after after missing the trek, I received the message that there is a Andharban trek planned on Saturday and few seats are available. The message just boosted me, and then it started convincing our friends and creating whatsapp group, and the other things. Finally I was having someone to join me in the plan. It was Ashish Gaikwad who gave the Thumbs up to the plan. All the others just ditched at the moment as usual. But soon I received the message from Sneha that she and her Room mate Arushi wants to join in the trek. Now we were 4 people and all having the same dream the common thread between all of us was “ANDHARBAN”.
This time we decided we give a chance and sunk in the nature for a while, away from our busy lifes and hectic schedules. So this was it a perfect gateway was waiting for us. Even though it meant taking an off on Friday and travelling all the way from Mumbai to Pune, But this was all we were waiting for…..
The Friday went in all the preparation’s and just to be sure that we do not miss anything as this was our first trek, and we were very naïve to all the Trekking business. We kept on calling each other and reminding ourselves that tomorrow was going to be the great day for all of us, filled with the excitement and thrill.  
Finally the day arrived, our excitement had already reached its peak. Even though going for trek means getting up early in the morning around 4am, To my surprise the idea of being there at that place hasn’t even let us sleep. All the night half awake, half asleep we all were waiting for our Big day. No one complained about getting early and we were already awake before the time, and we had reached our Reporting spot early  even  before Reporting time.
The reporting time was 5.30 am, But it was still 6.30 and we were all sitting at the same place waiting for bus, cracking our lame jokes, making faces, laughing at each other and sitting at one place but sending the messages on whatsapp just to check Finally the bus is coming, Finally we came to know that there are more people who will be joining and they were also at the same place, so in disguise we started searching for our other pals.
Soon we started searching the Mysterious personality Misbah, whom we didn’t even knew, we had no idea whether she was a girl or a boy, But we spent a pretty good amount in assuming that every next person we were seeing was Misbah. So finally when the bus arrived we came to know that the girl sitting next to us was Misbah. We all had a good laugh for all our faulty assumptions.
The next pickup point was Chandani chowk; we were now on our way, leaving behind the chaos of city and ready to embrace the mother nature. Being a “Pakka Mulshikar”, the road was not new for me as I had already visited the Tamhini ghat and Mulshi dam several times, but this time it was a new experience as this time it was with my best friends for the first time.
I don’t know when I closed my eyes while seeing the beauty of nature, But after some time the bus had halted and we have reached a hotel, where we were going to have our breakfast. The breakfast was tasty, but  still we were taking the time to settle down with the other members. We were not getting the feeling f the trek, the breakfast time and the way we were lazing around, we thought it was more ever like a trip.  Soon we were back in the bus again.

After the gazing of numerous mountains outside finally we reached our destination. Now from here starts the real fun we thought. We were greeted by the pleasant view of the Kundalika valley, The picturesque mountains and the long flowing waterfalls left us in awe. Soon we started taking the pictures. Now we came into the mood of the trekking in real sense, we just gathered in the round, we were a group of around 32 people. After a quick introduction the fear of first trek just vanished, it was because that from the introduction itself that it was first treks of most of the people. So it was just a ray of hope that we were not the only ones. But there were many people like us.

After a quick introduction, There was a small overview about what we will be doing, Pointing at the beautiful kundalika valley, our instructor of the day Rahul told us that we will be travelling all the mountains all the way to reach our destination. The destination which he had shown was far away amidst the clouds. He told us that “Andharban” literally means dark forest, as the forest is so thick that the rays of the sun are hardly able to penetrate the surroundings, and it usually starts getting dark, So after 3pm, it will start getting dark, and so we will have to rush a little bit as we were already late for the day.  

So we started our journey from the Pimpri dam, I had always imagined myself walking on this dam, But as today I was doing this, it was giving me a feeling of excitement, and a deep sense of satisfaction. We started walking more towards our destination, Every view of this journey compelled me to sing the song “Safar khubsoorat hai manzil se bhi”. We went on further through small narrow streams, the waterfalls, There was a urge to stop at every waterfall and admire the beauty of this beautiful creations by God. But because of the reason we were already late, there was less time for us to stop at this waterfalls, but that did not stop us from enjoying the splash in waterfalls, The fear of not knowing anyone had already turned down, and now we were all enjoying the company of one another.

The walk which  started at 10.30 in the morning, now it had been almost two hours since we started, not anyone of us exhausted, But we were enjoying the pace at which we were  moving through the numerous waterfalls, Soon there was a waterfall, big enough to make us crave for enjoying it. Soon we all were in the cold, transparent water; I remembered the scenes which I had seen only in the calendars. The water was neck deep, and soon we were in that water floating in it, The feeling just cannot be expressed in words, the deep sense of contentment, the serene beauty, and the cold water running all over the body made me calm and calm, and washing all the feelings in my mind, and cleaning the soul at the same time.

After almost a bath in the  waterfall we started moving ahead. It was when we came to know that Ayushi’s shoes have already started giving up and the sole was hanging from the shoes. I wonder how she was able to walk. Even though our shoes were strong enough, we surely were not able to match the speed with which she was walking. Soon after the news of first sole of shoe hanging, the other  sole had also started giving up and was hanging, Ayushi became the topic, the people came to know her not by her name, but the girl who’s shoes had already given up .She was trying to be normal as possible and avoiding the unwanted attention which she suddenly grabbed. She was left in a moment of bewilderment and shyness.

While walking we had already visited the places like the Independence point, the place from where you can clearly see all the waterfalls and , all the all this waterfalls come together at the Bhira Dam. Now after walking for few hours we could clearly see the trail and the mountains which we have crossed, and the place where we started. It was almost walking about 4-5 kms ,But when we asked it was always either one or two kilometers.
We kept on walking for a long and wondering when the Jungle would start, As it was a Jungle trek. But the then started the Jungle, the forest which seemed to be not so dense at the first, started getting darker and darker, as the time passed, There was a point when we would hardly hear anything, All we could hear was the sound of the birds, the  different insects, The wild flowers which we were able to see, were truly beautiful and the most of the trees were covered with Algae and fungi of  different types. The Different types of mushrooms, The  big anthills in the jungle. Soon we started getting exhausted as the walk started in the ascending direction. But  soon we were singing Hindi songs in the dark jungles, The Hindi retro songs seemed so meaningful in the dark forest. Soon we completed our Jungle part. The Jungle part was full of streams, Small waterfalls and the naturally created fencings, In some part we had to just jump over the trees, Some parts of the trees were small enough were we  had only one option of crawling and Bending. Helping Each other and bending  through the trees, we were Finally in open plateau.

There was a women in a trek, nearly the age of my mother. I kept on wondering how she is managing the trek, If it would have been my mother, then my mother would have surely left from the base itself, let it be climbing the mountains and trekking at this age. I really appreciate the way she   managed and doing the trek just like us.
The plateau part was the easiest I think so far, It was because, you could just go on walking and seeing the surroundings. The lush green  grasses,not less than a fairy tale. No idea what was more soothing the idea of Being free or the Lush green widespread grass which with its different colors was making us  soothe. But whatever it may be, but certainly I was enjoying this patch.
      
We waited on the plateau for quite a time. Before heading we needed some rest, By now the legs had already started paining, But it was a good experience sitting down with clouds above which can start raining at any moment, A bit of sunshine playing hide and seek, and the green surroundings , and the good people, what else do we need for a new life. I thanked god with all the gratitude for this moment in my life.      
The rain  which had stopped itself since the start of the trek, now it started raining. But I was quite happy, as I secretly wished to rain, not more, But even a little rain can do, and add to the adventure we were on. So after it started raining, all the selfies were stopped immediately and now all the jackets, were out in a minute. Each one trying to shield from the rain. The umbrellas were out. Two people sharing the same umbrellas, while some were busy getting drained  in the rain.  
Now started the long chain of slipping, as the rain started along with that a long chian of slipping as the rocks were getting slippery . Ashish was the first one in group to have a slip, after that Ayushi and many others. Then we started walking, now from lush green grasses to the the muddy murky surroundings. The rain was continuously pouring without taking a break.
Finally we had reached the Hirdi village. It was a small village with the houses small enough to make a count. I could hardly see any light in the houses, but only the lanterns, and the sound of some cattles. We waited there for sometime, So that everyone could reach. We thought  now it will be only a small distance after here, as it was almost afternoon, and we hadn’t stopped anytime in between, The legs now pained, and we wished we coul reach our destination as soon as possible. But no one knew that was the real start of the trek.
The descending part of the trek began, the rocks were getting difficult to put a foot on, the continuous rains, and the mist, all started , at the same time. We were having a difficult time to reach downwards. So after one hour of walk downwards, and taking small stops, we had reached the point, from were we could see all the waterfalls. But the mist had disappointed us, and we were not able to see anything. Soon after some time the view was clear, and the beauty was  out of bounds.

After that we started walking further, we just knew that we have to reach to Bhira Dam, But What I was thinking was totally different and the road was completely different. We were just descending down the path and soon there was again a path which would lead in the ascending path.   All we could hear was the sound of water we could not really see anything.
We walked and walked and from where we can see the beautiful waterfalls, and then came a thought to my mind “ The view is always beautiful from the Top”. Trying to  fill my eyes with the fascinating beauty, I took a deep breath, trying to feel the clouds.

The feeling   of loneliness now started, we walked all the way just to seek the glimpse of the waterfall which was waiting for us. We  could hear the sound of the stream near by, and a hope that we were near our destination, The steps which were running since morning , now had started coming to a halt. The steps were slowing down.
Finally, we reached our next halting point. The flow of water was  forcing us. We were trying to cross the stream. After that we just left our  bags and sat with all our shoes removed in  the water. The foot were swelled, after long walking in the water. Now they started looking like a Mannequins. Soon there was a huge round of claps for the Aunty who had successfully completed the trek with us. We all surely appreciate her courage and the efforts. 
It was around 6.30 and we were still in the same place. The sojurn was was beautiful enough that we did not even want to leave. May be another  reason was after a long walk from morning the place was giving us enough rest to our soul with its beauty. So after that forcefully pulled outside the water as it started getting darker we started walking again, Now this time,the walk was short enough and we will be ending our journey soon. Supporting each other and walking we reached the Bhira dam.
We were not allowed to enter the dam premises. We sat there waiting for the bus, and  grabbing and eating everything we could find in our bags. The journey which we started in the morning now turned into a bond. Again we came to know that Bus will not be able to come here and we will have to walk to the bus.
We started our walk again, this time we really needed support, we kept on walking with our hands in one another. I don’t seriously from where comes the power of cracking the most lame jokes and that also at the night time when you could hardly see anything. Telling each other about the Haunted stories from hostel to other haunted places and experiences we kept on walking. Then there was soon a message from our instructor that we would have to be a bit faster, because we have to cross the the path of the dam, and the doors of the dam can be opened at any moment. The night was so dark, that even the even the twinkling of the stars could not lit up the atmosphere. WE did not have the torch, So we used our mobile phones which served as savior at that time. The idea of crossing the empty path of the dam, when at any time the doors of the dam could be left open, gave us adrenaline rush. The slippery rocks and the crossing of rivers and the sudden whistle from the watchman at the dam door, gave us  chill through our spine. At the moment after crossing the path we were exhausted and catching for a breath. We were Done  for the day, we did not require anymore adventure. The thrill and the adventure which we faced all the day long was more than enough.
Our After the end of last adventure of the day, we were there, last 12hours we had not contact with the outside world, not a whatsapp message,nothing, We were far away from the world, in our own world. We tried contacting our home, but all in sane, No ranges for our phone. Finally we had a dinner. A perfect dinner of chapati, the sabzi, papad, varan bhat. The Varan bhat was more tasty then we imagined. After the long walks the  finally legs were numb.
It was all together one of the best experiences of my life. We had everything from adventure ,thrill, the quality time with friends which we wanted since long time.
Thanks to  the SG trekkers for this beautiful experience and waiting for many more such experiences in the future. My friends Ashish and sneha for accompanying me in this plan.Specially thanks to Ayushi Khera for walking  all the way with those shoes.
I don’t know but yes this trek has changed me for sure. This trek will surely be a reminder if I have done this I can surely do anything in life, I wished for. Creating new accquaintances,from strangers to friends, Helping each other,The trek has helped in improving my life skills and may help for a long turn in my life.