End of March 2018. The sun had started its power play in southern India. Mahaveer Jeyanthi & Good Friday fetched long weekend holidays across the country. This is one of the advantages of living in a secular country. As usual, I made a last minute plan to hit the road. My bestie, Athul hailing from God’s own country, who is an aspiring singer/actor and also acquires the knowledge of drug formulations and interactions for various diseases joined me in this trip.
 |
| DSP with Athul. |
Confused with three destinations on the mind, my inner compass pointed towards Pune, the city of the young population often referred to as Oxford of the East. A couch surfer from the city accepted to host us in his apartment. A host in a metropolitan city is a blessing for these reasons
1) No need to spend much time checking the hotel reviews in make my trip, tripadvisor, trivago
2) A Well-wisher in an unknown place with similar interest in traveling
3) A chance to explore the city like a person from the place itself
4) Lastly, save your time in swiping ATM cards in POS machines. (Hope you got what I mean to convey)
 |
| Typical Adda in Pune |
Christopher, my couch surfing host had a spacious flat in Salunke Vihar road. He received us warmly in his apartment. Being in the event management profession, Chris was busy most of the times. The flat was located amidst green spaces in a residential area with some commercial establishments. I liked the small-joint eateries and cafes in Pune serving Chai, Coffee, and snacks. These joints are flocked by youngsters, and adults sneaking in for a cup of chai, conversations and cigar dose. Chris took us to one of his regular adda for brunch. We spent a couple of hours in the adda, ordering a few cups of masala chai every 15 minutes. We hadn’t done homework regarding the trip to Pune. I was thinking of having a very leisurely time in Pune. Athul was on his heels to hit the road soon. Chris helped us to hire a bike in Koregon Park, one of the most affluent locality in Pune. Soon, we are on the road towards Sinhagad fort sneaking the Pune traffic.
 |
| Backwaters of Khadakwasla |
We took a small break in the backwaters of Khadakwasla dam entroute Sinhagad. The dam was built in river mose, with backwaters spreading across 20kms. The dam was almost full to its storage capacity. Weekenders on bike and car were playing with waters. It was evening already, realizing the gates to the Sinhagad fort would be closed sooner, we left from the backwaters. The Marathi hamlets were picturesque with typical agrarian touches. As expected, the forest guard in the foothills of fort stopped us mentioning the visitor’s time has been closed for the day. We were not disappointed though, as we already knew how to manage the situation. I produced my para-military dependent identity card from my wallet to the gentlemen. After a few minutes of conversation, the guard let us go inside the sayadhri ghats.
 |
| Valley view from Sahyadri! |
The roads leading to the fort was completely deserted. We reached the Darwaza of the fort, we found the steps leading to the main fort was very much steep, and the villagers were closing their shacks. Standing on the imposing fort perched on Sahyadri mountain ranges, we watched the sun in its twilight diffusing in the west as usual with golden red and orange shades. It was pitch dark, by the end of the day, we completed exploring the fort, its bastions, ammunition storage complex, military horse stables, memorial of Tanaji Malsure, the great warrior and military leader in the army of Shivaji Maharaj.
 |
| Roads in Rajmachi ghats |
Next day, we started our trip in the Pune-Mumbai expressway towards Lonavala-Khandala. Driving through the expressway was an adrenalin filled experience, as superbikes and luxury cars ply between Mumbai and Pune frequently. After roaming around Lonavala & Khandala scenic ghats, we drove towards Rajmachi fort. The road was smooth for a few kilometers. The roads disappeared as we entered the thick forest. I was flabbergasted on seeing the colossal luxury bungalows with boulevards, grape yards, and Bollywood movie studios in the middle of the jungle where there were no proper roads. Athul was driving crazily in the wilderness, as I was checking the GPS to reach the fort. We crossed military Jungle Warfare training camp approach road and went further deep into the jungle for more than an hour. A strange feeling gripped us, we sensed that we are lost in the trail. With no GPS signal, we parked our bike to seek any human intervention. With no hopes of seeing anyone around, we gathered all our guts to proceed further. Finally, we reached a tribal village in the middle of nowhere with thatched mud houses. To our surprise, all the houses were locked, a few kids were playing on the mud.
 |
| Rajmachi fort |
On seeing us, an old man approached near our bike. I asked him, the directions to reach Rajmachi fort. He replied in Marathi making hand gestures to another mountaintop adjacent to the village. I was stunned completely and started chuckling. Nevertheless, we didn't give up. We continued our mud trail towards the adjacent hill. We spotted a huge grey langur more than five feet sitting in the middle of the road. I was scared for a second while Athul was driving confidently ahead. As we drew closer to it, the langur jumped into the deep valley holding the barks of a huge tree. Our hearts skipped beating for a second. We drove back till the jungle warfare camp, crossed many rivulets and streams, and braved many boulders to reach the base of Rajmachi fort. It was mid-day already and it was scorching hot. We quenched our thirst from a water spring under a shady rock. I refilled the bottle with natural spring water for rest of the day. We finally made it to Rajmachi peak in March, an unusual season, skipping the much-recommended monsoon. We didn't care about the weather, the season, the tough terrains, the mud roads, the scorching sun, the lost GPS, the lost direction, and the huge langur. The determination and our exploring spirits made us reach the destination peak of Rajmachi against all these hurdles. Of course, some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost. We reached Pune by evening after exploring Bushi dam, Lions point, Tigers point, and Amby Valley.
 |
| High in Social! |
Exploring nightlife in Pune was one of our trip agenda. Our host Chris, arranged our tickets for BAR HOP at Phoenix Market city in Viman Nagar road that night. Hopping seven affluent bars, ten drinks, two bar bites, live music performance by Yasa music band for just Rs. 699/- was a jackpot. After many dress trails, style-conscious Athul settled in a dark blue shirt and denim for the night. The band was slow for a Saturday night. Next, we hit the Social pub. The ambiance was perfect for the night, jam-packed crowd, with high decibel music and dance floor. Pune’s social ambiance resonates with college campus theme with a lecture gallery style seating, pages from discarded college notebooks adoring the walls, and the city of Pune map on the floor. With Margarita and Trip on the drip shots, we hit the dance floor. As time evaded, the crowd went high on drinks and dance. The tables went high to the ceiling with the help of suspended strings; making more space to dance. Few hours of unwinding is social, second day came to an end.
City & Sex
We woke up to a mild hangover of tequilas shots. We took some time to explore the local Pune city and Shaniwarwada palace, fortification of Peshwas of Maratha empire. The palace was built using stones, lime minerals, and teak wood. The palace was featured in Bollywood film "Bajirao Mastani" starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and PC. Osho Garden in Koregaon park was our next stop to explore.
 |
| Osho in Garden! |
My Pune trip would not be complete without stepping in any of the Osho affiliation centers. Osho Garden is a beautiful 12-acre park created on a wasteland closer to Osho Ashram. The sewage water is treated systematically by filtering the solid garbage waste using iron grills. The slightly filtered water is made to course over the land for maximum oxygenation of water with water hyacinths. Fish like Gambusia and Silver carps in the water get nourished by the pollutants and mosquito larvae in the filtered oxygenated water. Then the water passes through the sand filter, making the water almost pure for irrigation. This water flows in the park as a small natural stream on the rocks. The sun rays reflect on these waters passing through the dense foliage. The park was silent and serene for a relaxed stroll and meditation. Osho sculptures adore the park for inspiration and peace.
 |
| Enlightened Osho in Pune! |
I was longing to visit Osho Ashram for many years. But I am waiting for the right time to step into the world of Osho to experience the blissfulness. Since my adolescent days, Rajneesh always induced an ultra-sense sexual curiosity in me. He was portrayed badly as a sex cult; people reading and following him are seen contrarily. I was attracted to his appealing doped eyes. Moreover speaking about Rajneesh was considered offensive in my high school days. This offensiveness aroused a curiosity in me; started reading about him in secret whenever I get the opportunity. I was amazed at reading his book titled, The Ultimate Alchemy, and he writes - So really it happens that the more sexual a person is, the more inventive he can be. The more sexual a person is, the more intelligent. With less sex energy, less intelligence exists; with more sexual energy, more intelligence, because sex is a deep search to uncover, not only bodies, not only the opposite sex body but everything that is hidden. Since then I have to conclude sex makes you intelligent, more sex makes you more intelligent.
With mindfulness of Osho, I continue to search the hidden trails in all my journeys.
P.S : Those who expected something sleaziest content in my article after reading the title, I have to remind them once again, "Dont judge the book by its cover"
Special thanks to
Couch Surfer - Mr Christopher for hosting me in Pune
Toast Master - Mr Balaji Ramasamy, Bangalore for editing my article
