Sojourn in the Sahyadris - Kalsubai

Kalsubai


“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” 
― Barry Finlay, Kalsubai is the highest peak in Maharashtra, but that is not saying much; as at 1646 metres it is hardly the "Everest of Maharashtra" it is made out to be. Nevertheless it is an invigorating climb and though not a technical ascent it is steep and tests ones stamina. The panorama from the top make the arduous climb worth it.

Vishnu, the guide 
 There are many "how to" blogs on the net so I will refrain from a travelogue style, rather giving a potpourri of my experiences. Kalsubai is about an hour from Igatpuri and there are many ways of getting to Bari, the village at the base.  I drove from Igatpuri and taking a wrong turn finally ended up at Jahagirdarwadi, a few hundred metres short of Bari. It is possible to start climbing from here as well, so good luck for my guide Vishnu whom I found here, he was waiting and hoping for a stray tourist like me. I recommend that you engage a guide for two fundamental reasons, firstly you are contributing to the economy of relatively poor people; and secondly getting out of the cluster of huts in the village in the dark of early morning can be confusing. Besides, for a lone walker like me, Vishnu was great company.

The first temple about an hour into the walk
Start in the dark to avoid the heat of the day. I started at 5.30 am in January, it was pitch dark and I needed my head torch continuously  till the sun rose over the horizon at about 7.30 am.   Early in the morning at this time of the year it can be quite chill, specially before I started climbing.  I quickly warmed up into the walk and in a short while had to roll up my sleeves. 

Sunrise 
Due to the haze and hills on the horizon, the sun becomes visible a while after actual sunrise.Because I started early, I had finished the three hour climb (for me) before it became too warm. Once the sun is out it gets hot. Carry lots of water, as there is no natural source and the bottled water at the stalls en route are expensive.  I met families who had started on their "picnic" at about 10 am, I wonder how many reached the top in the heat later in the day?

The climb is steep
and there are iron ladders at three places to enable walkers to cross tricky rock walls. My walk-meter showed a climb of  900m in a little over a kilometer. Be that as it may, the steepness is evident in the thighs and calves on the return.  It took me three hours to reach the top and about two easy hours to return.  Being a Sunday, there were many people on the route, hundreds, and at some ladders one had to step aside to allow people to pass. 

Kalsubai, the top
is on a rocky promontory at the top of the hill. The rocky top is accessible by going up a steel ladder for about 20 metres.  Just before the final ladder, visible in this picture, there is a flat ground with many stalls selling food and drink.  The 'kanda bhajjia" were deliciously hot and tasty but the tea was insipid.  Most people stop for a snack here on their way down and on Sundays the crowd can be large. The flat ground around allows groups to gather and some to even camp for the night.

Kalsubai, the temple
is located at the apex, a tiny temple, but it has a flourishing economy of stalls selling "peda" and other pooja ingredients outside. During various auspicious festivals, I am told, crowds throng here for the pooja.  In this picture one can see some of the number of walkers at the top.  Some trekkers come the previous evening and camp here and around, or start climbing at 2 am so as to be at the top at sunrise.  The views from the top are breathtaking and despite the haze one can see the range of hills around. The view is enhanced by the long shadows of the hills in the range in the early morning.   

A hungry monkey
has two fruit,  one gripped in each set of paws.  Trekkers feed the monkeys who have become bold and aggressive, grabbing anything loose.  My guide told me that unattended rucksacks and water bottles  are often picked up by these animals. The route is dry and dusty at this time of the year; a fine dust is kicked up by those passing and many stall operators are seen covering their nose and mouth.

Stalls everywhere...
Most flat spaces have a local selling something, from the ubiquitous nimbu pani and  guava grown in home gardens, to the more commercial bhajjia and packeted eatables. The route is lined with commerce, a cloth spread on the ground, a table with the makings of nimbu pani and well covered stalls with tables and chairs. There is someone selling something somewhere.

And finally...
having been up and down, I drove off to a wayside dhaba and treated myself to the most delicious hot and fresh tandoori rotis and tadka dal.  The resort town of Bhandardara with its famous dam and waterfall is nearby and the route is lined with eating places big and small. Climbing is hungry business and so till my next walk I leave you with this sage advice:

“Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.”  -Edward Whymper

At Peace in Igatpuri - Rambling Through an Old Railway Cemetery

The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place.”

― Percy Bysshe Shelley

The poet could well be describing this Cemetery in Igatpuri which is indeed a quiet place, shaded by the trees in an old Churchyard. Here, lie at peace, railwaymen, soldiers,other British officials and their families.  Each had a life, long or sometimes short; a life, young or old; each with a story to tell; each shaping the "Empire" in a way big or small.  Complete lives reduced to a few passionate words on a tombstone. The cracked stones only hinting  of exciting or mundane lives.

The oldest Stone
 I could find, dated 1868 for an unknown Ann who was just 31 years of age when she died.  She was the "deeply regretted wife of...". This is just three years after the Thal ghat section was opened, in 1865.  The church where this cemetery is located was established in 1892, a full 24 years later.  The ages of the deceased on these plaques and old gravestones elsewhere indicate that life expectancy was very uncertain in those days. Less developed medicine, war, pestilence and wild animals all contributed to premature death! 

The Church and the sign
 that drew me to the church. The church is under much needed repair and the outer eaves are completed dismantled, giving the place a feel of disrepair.  This church has stood for over 125 years and the wooden roof of the main building seems good for another century. In the verandah there is an intact coffin cart, probably still in use.  It took me a while to figure out its purpose, but the handles and tow bar gave me a hint. It has a slide with latch for the coffin and spring suspension (lest we jolt the dead awake!)

The War Memorial 
and some soldiers graves mark what appears to be a First World War memorial. These soldiers were rather far from the WWI battlefields of Europe and so are likely to have died of wounds or disease in the garrison battalion. Soldiers were stationed at most hubs to maintain colonial order and protect assets of the Empire, in this case the all important railway.

The important railway influence 
is reflected in much of the cemetery. Igatpuri was a crucial link in the GIPR, being at the top of the then difficult Thal Ghat.  The railways were the steel web that bound the Empire,  a vital form of communication before  road and air became ubiquitous.The rail encircling this cross has obviously been made in some railway workshop to honour an important person. Buried here are  railway engineers, engine drivers, guards, "ghat keepers", "ghaut driver"  and Public Way Inspectors (PWI).  

Then there the families of the railway staff, ...
 The women who accompanied their menfolk out to these remote places had a difficult existence, not used to the heat, hard life and loneliness of mofussil  they often predeceased their husbands. Some of them became useful, but most simply adhered to an almost stifling code of Victorian social conduct and withered away. Before the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it could take four to six months to sail from Britain to India, so few families came out.

There are elaborate stones,
here's one with a floral tribute carved in bas relief in marble. It has withstood the ravages of time and the carving is largely intact even if the grave below is disheveled. 

There are ornate stones,
this one has a dove with a floral theme, all indicating a peaceful hereafter. Maybe more peaceful than their temporal lives in small towns like Igatpuri, specially in the early days. 

There are stones for children
 resting here, this particularly moving carving depicts a child reaching for glory of God.  Children had a particularly tough time, their childhood exuberance was tied by the strict mores of the time which governed whom they could play with, when and how. Child mortality was high due to the lack of hygiene and high humidity of places like Igatpuri. When the children came of school going age they were sent to England if the parents could afford it, else to one of the schools in the hills.

Decrepit stones,
Not all stones are well made or kept, In fact most of the graves are in serious want of attention. The stones range from the elaborate and ornate to the simple and at many places just a square of bricks marks the spot of interment.  

Plaques on the inside church walls 
mark the memory of more important and wealthy personages.  In this case a railway engineer who was also a Lt-Col. The church is a potpourri of the old and modern, it has a lovely old wood barrel vaulted  ceiling and beams.

A parrot embellishes
a column,  maybe a more knowledgeable study would reveal the different social significance and style of decorations through the 125 years. However this church seems to have garnered funds to renovate and keep the building in a decent state of repair.  The adjoining cemetery is however not in as good condition.

In eternal rest
each stone marks a life, as the life has been snuffed out and forgotten in the shroud of time, so has the grave.

"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,"
 phrase from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer