KARAD SATARA RANGE – 09 FORTS 3 DAYS – NISARG TRUST TREK
18th August... It’s dark outside... I
can see some clouds covering up the moon which makes my windy balcony a better
place to be in – especially when I have a mug of steaming coffee to give me a
company. I don’t want to go out – Gopalkala crowd has not yet withered and the
drums, pollution and other noises outside aren’t appealing at all. I close my
eyes. I am tired, but neither my thoughts prefer to stop; nor my mind stops
wandering – I wonder why this happens to me after every damn trek? May be it’s
just a hangover of being so close to nature, or might be my brain needs time to
re-adjust with these city routine, noises, lights and crowd. Or let’s make it
simple - my mind refuses to come back from the wonderful memories of
Karad-Satara range trek I am just back from!
It was one of the longest expeditions we had
taken in a while and yet, one of the least planned ones too. The targets were
set a bit higher than we could think of – 09 forts in 3 days – the range itself
starting at about 280kms from Badlapur. It all started at our base – Nisarg
Trust office - a few days before the long weekend of 15th August of
2014. It was a long weekend indeed – Friday, Saturday, Sunday and a bonus
Monday which happened to be Dahihandi and hence a holiday. It was an open session
and Yogesh’s proposal to cover the Karhad-Satara range was accepted without any
resistance – challenging an experienced trekker as good as a live GPS is not
advisable and when it’s Yogesh in this role, it’s the worst thing I can think
of! So the range was set and we started our own homework. Initial plan was with
four of us – Ruturaj Joshi, Yogesh Nagardeolekar, Sagar Chandane and myself,
Makarand Karve.
The Homework:
The range was new and so were the forts. None of
us had been to this side of the ghats for trekking and hence the excitement was
on the peak. We started the research – which are the forts in this range, which
ones are must-visit, which ones need endurance and so on. The routes had to be
discussed; the stays were to be confirmed. Such treks require a deep study of
the technical aspects and the geographical facts of the region – the heights of
the forts, forest type, rainfall and weather conditions, caves and temples
available on the forts, base villages and food sources around them, water cisterns
on the forts, availability of drinking water on the forts, the wildlife in the
region, things to be carried, requirement of sleeping bags, packed food stuff,
tents etc. Planning plays a very important role in trekking – may it be a day
trek or an expedition. A perfect planning ensures a successful trek. 13th
August – we were well prepared with our homework and data bases. The final
planning had yet to be done!
The Plan:
Yogesh declared – 09 forts minimum had to be
covered! Machindragad, Dategad, Morgiri, Vasantgad, Sadashivgad, Bhushangad, Mahimangad,
Vardhangad, Chandan-vandan were on the list. Though the forts were about 3000 –
3500 feet, we had figured out that hardly any fort was more than 1500 feet to
climb as when we reach Karad, we would have already reached on 2000 feet above
the sea level by road. The weather on the plains in August had been recorded
better and the rainfall was in our favour. Yogesh had to report to school on
account of Independence Day till 1pm. So the plan was to leave Badlapur by 3pm
– Ruturaj’s Ritz was our transport. We had to pick up Sagar from Lonavala at
5pm and reach Karad by 10pm. But when it’s with guys, plans always change... or
at least delay for sure!
15th August 2014:
1pm... Packing the bag is never easy. It’s an art
that demands presence of mind and a bit of smartness. Everything you pack is
placed in an order it is utilised in the trek – it’s a reverse planning and
takes time. I managed stuffing it up and called up Ruturaj at around 2.45pm.
Yogesh was ready and so was Sagar. Ruturaj answered my call to give me a shock
– he was still stuck up with some work and would need another 2 hours to
depart! The plan had to be delayed which meant we would now reach the base by
12 in the midnight. Every second became heavy to digest till 5pm when finally
we gathered at Ruturaj’s place in Badlapur. Ruturaj being an avid and
professional trekker hardly took time to pack up – Nandini’s help to do so
cannot be ignored! Nandini, Rutu’s wife & also a religious trekker, wasn’t
feeling well then and had been asked to take rest. But the energy and the
spirit which was created in the room in those 30 minutes couldn’t resist the
trekker in her. Surprisingly, in next 10 minutes, even Nandini was ready with
her bag – ready to go with us! It’s a rare case wherein I had seen a biological
woman get ready in 10 minutes sharp with a bag of 3 days without a word or a
fight – strange! But once a trekker, always a trekker! And there was my team of
4 ready to move out – shoes, bags and a smiles on our lips – Karad-Satara
expedition was on!
Struggling through the Friday traffic in
Lonavala, we reached Manashakti Kendra to pick up Sagar. 15 minutes before we
met Sagar, we got pampered with chocolate fudge and onion bhajji from a sweet
friend of mine in Lonavala – Mayuri – her efforts deserve a mention! Soon we
were 5 of us – 5 bags, 5 trekkers, one goal... and lots of snacks which Sagar
had carried. We had dinner at a place called Jay Bhavani Mutton Thali – a
highway-side restaurant on the left side of the road immediately after the
Katraj flyover which offered us mouth watering mutton dishes. The drive
continued with full stomachs and sleepy eyes. Roads were bad. I took over the
steering wheel post dinner and drove further. Reached Machindragad village which
was the base village as per the plan – the road is from Islampur near Karad.
It was Pitch dark when we reached and the clock
had struck 3am. Unable to navigate to the top of the fort, we managed to find
out a locked Gram Panchayat office with a small verandah – a perfect place to
sleep after a long tiring drive. We unpacked our sleeping bags, made our beds
as comfortable as we could – using carry-mats on the chilled ground – and dozed
off without a second thought. Our peaceful sleep couldn’t last long – thanks to
those mosquitoes which screwed up my night! I resorted into the car and slept
in 3 folds for rest of the night. The darkness took over.
16th August 2014:
People say hardly after an hour that we slept,
the watchman dropped in to check the water in the taps. No one knows whether he
tried to wake us up. Even if he had, I am sure there was no chance that he would
have succeeded... we were dead asleep! The first memory of 16th
August is the sound (or rather noise) of the loud speaker at 6am coming directly
from the temple atop the fort. I opened my eyes and got the first look of
Machindragad!
Just a minute! It’s a basic rule and common sense
that any trek cannot be done on empty stomachs – especially when it was the
first in the morning and we had 3 more to be covered in next few hours. Breakfast is something you cannot skip in
the morning as climbing needs energy and climbing empty stomach can lead to
acidity and other related problems making the trek irritable – for others! So
we first set out to find some food for us with no results. Seemed like no one
till Islampur wakes up before 9am – lucky folks! Finally we landed up at a chai
tapari & ordered Cutting and some biscuits. I never thought just the
presence of Sugar factory in the surrounding would give the localites such a
sweet-tooth – the tea was just sugar slurry with a tint of brown colour to be
called a Tea! I felt better with some duplicate Marie biscuits, equally
sweetened, but still manageable as we had no other choice! In next 15 minutes,
we were on our way to the fort. Car parked, a wonderful windy day, bright sun
and 10 eyes eager to learn something new, find something new, explore something
new!
Machindragad:
Machindragad is a medium sized stand alone fort.
The base village is Machindragad village, few kilometres from Islampur. The
village must be a site of 100 odd houses, a school, couple of temples, some
local shops and is well accessible by road. The way to the fort starts from the
village.
Well built steps lead you to the top which take about 20 minutes to
reach the top. The stairs are built up of basalt and stones and are supported
by iron railings – which have made it convenient for the villagers to reach the
temple, but at the same time, have made the fort to lose its charm as a
trekking mountain. The fort has shrub forest with a considerable number of
Custard apple trees spread all over. We saw a number of butterflies including
the beautiful Red Pierrots. On the fort, we were welcomed by a host of larks. There
is a rock cut natural well but the water is too deep and isn’t audible. Further
the road takes us across the ‘meghdumbari’ or the umbrella structure recently
built as a tribute to the Maratha king. It’s said the Machindragad was the last
fort which Shivaji maharaj had built.
There is a Navnath temple, again built in
cement and decorated with boards, banners, photos and tiles, spoiling its
natural beauty. A black rock-cut Nandi sits outside the temple.
One gets a very good panoramic view of the surrounding plains
and sugarcane cultivations from this fort – the basic goal of the fort must
have been to keep a watch on the movement in these plains. We started climbing
the fort at 7.30am and were back in the car by 9.45am with a host of good
images of birds and butterflies.
Ancient Temple at Nrusinhapur:
We left. One fort down, nine more to go. Staring
the raptors hovering in the sky over sugarcane fields is always a wonderful
sight. In the same area, we had also listed down an age old temple of Nrusimha,
the spiritual character supposed to be an incarnation of Vishnu, half lion half
human, who killed Hiranyakashyapu, the cruel father of Pralhad. We all know the
story. What made us visit the temple was not the over hyped spiritual fantasy
but the fantastic architecture of the temple built in hemadpanti style and most
importantly, the main part of the temple being built under the ground! Hemadpanti Sculpture is an architectural
style, named after its founder, the prime minister Hemadpant from the court of
Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri.This building style was formed during the 13th
Century in Maharashtra, and incorporated black stone and lime, which were
readily available. Tulzha Bhavani temple, or the Audha Nagnath temple in
Maharashtra are notable examples. There are a number of temples in Maharashtra
built in this style of architecture. The history says that a king named
Bhimdev Kundal found this Nrusinha idol in 107 A.D. and established a temple in
its honour. Further, the famous king Ramdevray of Yadav Dynasty (Devagiri)
rebuilt the temple in Hemadpanti style and also created the underground
‘Gabhara’ or the main chamber in year 1273 A.D. Later visitors and controllers
include Samarth Ramdas, Adilshah and Shahu maharaj from Satara who developed
the temple further in their own styles. There is also a system in the temple
wherein one can drop donations from the ground floor and the donations directly
falls on the idol in the underground chamber. We had a lot of expectations from
such a temple with a rich history. But as they say, development comes at a cost
– and in a country like India where people have lost sensitivity towards our
historical and geographic charm, this is what happens – the stone structures
are now covered with plaster and have been painted in white oil paints. The
stone stairs have been fitted with Granite tiles. The Deep-Stamb is the only
structure which is still intact apart from a couple of gates; rest entire
structure has been re-built in cement and re-decorated in POP sheets. The god
idol has been locked up in steel rods and no one is allowed to touch the idol.
Again, the idol of Nrusinha which was once a jet black piece of sheer beauty is
now painted. Overall, it feels bad to see such a wonderful structure being
modernised on papers and destructed in reality! For those interested, the
postal address says – Shri Kshetra Jwala Nrusinha Teertha, Kole Nrusinhpur,
Dist-Sangli. Need a lot of awareness folks – or else soon it shall turn into a
modern commercial temple types!
Dategad:
Next on the list was Dategad. Dategad, also known
as Sundargad, is one of the lesser known man-made miracles. Road to Dategad is
a mud path which is an off-road drive of about an hour from the town of Patan
on the way to Chiplun on Koynanagar road. The nearest village is Tolewadi, a
small human settlement in Bamnoli forest range. The road helps you to acquire
much of the height and the climb on foot is hardly about 15 to 20 minutes. The
fort is a huge rock structure among several similar structures in the range.
The fort’s actual entrance, now deserted, has 2 life size idols of Hanuman and
Ganesh adjacent to each other sculpted in the rock itself at a right angle – if
I happen to enter the fort from this gate, I shall see the Hanuman idol in
front of me and the Ganesh Idol lies to my left hand side. The idols are
exceptionally carved out well and are in perfect proportion with realistic
details. This gate, though now broken, must have had a beautiful dome and a
stone slab – the remains, the hinges and the joints help you to re-construct
the scene. Further comes the best part – a stone carved rock cut well in a
shape of a sword – about 100 to 150 feet visibly deep – 30 odd narrow, rock cut
but slippery steps which lead you down the well. At the bottom just before the
water level, there is a Shivling in a small cave. The story says that it was a
natural depression which was then carved out as a well in a sword shape. Being
there inside this well is the experience of being on Dategad. Strangely very
less is known or written about this beautiful fort. The fort is well fortified
– somewhere with stone walls, and other sides as natural walls. There are
remains of constructions which should either have been huge rooms or stables
when the fort was operational. One more interesting part is that at many places
on the fort, the land has cracked and deep cuts are seen – must be because of
erosion and earthquakes in recent years. Dategad is one of the most well
structured forts I have seen.
Morgiri:
Finally we reached our 3rd fort of the
day – Morgiri. Every fort was at a drive of about 40 minutes from one another.
In this meantime journey, we managed to have our lunch at small places – mostly
Missal Paavs or Chicken Rotis had been our patent breakfast and meals
respectively. A fort which has no reference on internet or in the history was
Morgiri. So we had to reach the base village – Morgiri – and then take a call.
It was 5.30 in the evening and the mountain seemed to be considerable heighted.
It was a challenge as there was no specified route to reach the top and there were
chances that we had to climb rock patch – it could have been risky – it was
drizzling too. As Rutu always says,
decision making is an art – one wrong decision and everything goes wrong. We
took a collective decision. Nandini chose to stay down – a responsible decision
by a sensible trekker when she knew that she was not prepared to do that trek –
it takes a lot of courage and thoughts to go against your cravings and desires
and wave goodbye to your fellow trekkers. Rest of us went ahead – we climbed
90% of the fort in hardly 20minutes. But as mentioned before, there was no road
or path and we lost. We knew the directions and finally managed to find the
rock steps. In no time, we crossed some risky patches and reached on the top of
the fort. The fort has a small top and had a rock cut well which we couldn’t
explore in details due to increasing darkness and time limitation. We climbed
down. On the way back, Rutu, Yogesh and Sagar also explored a huge cave in one
of the natural walls of the fort which now served as a residential colony for
Swifts and Swallows. Last but not the least, a royal majestic peacock seen in
the base village justified the name of the fort – Morgiri !!! Due to Sugarcane
cultivation on a large scale, we saw a number of peacocks at various places –
on the forts and in the villages. The Peacock calls marked the mornings. Feels
good to see the national bird flourishing at least in some parts of my state –
wherein at rest of the places they have been hunted down for their flesh – a
sad truth!
Vasantgad:
The plan demanded that we complete our forth fort
and stay at the base of the fifth village. But somehow we had delayed the plan
– we had been awake since last 40 hours, had been travelling for last 28 hours
with a sleep of just 2 hours, had trekked 3 mountains without a break and had
negligible meals – the delay was justified. At 8pm we decided to take a break
on Vasantgad and call it off for the day. We reached the base village of
Vasantgad, Talbeed, which is also the place, remembered for Hambirrao Mohite, Shivaji
Maharaj’s second Commander-in-chief. There's a memorial here in his remembrance.
This is also the place of the brave Queen Tarabai, wife of Raja Ram, the second
son of Shivaji maharaj. We wanted to
stay in the memorial but it was locked when we reached. Some localites informed
us about a dhaba 2kms away on the highway which was the only and last dinner
choice for us as there was no hotel in Talbeed. So 2kms back on the highway we
went to have our dinner. Fortunately we were served hot and delicious non vegetarian
cuisines which made up for our tiredness! Reaching the base point back in
Talbeed, we parked the car on a local schools’ play ground and started climbing
– yes we did – at 9.30 pm – torches and moon light – and 5 pairs of tired legs
craving for some rest walking up the fort. The route to the fort starts from
outskirts of Talbeed. The fort entrance has been destroyed. We lost the road but
did not divert much because of the lights atop the fort helped us to be back on
the trail. Soon we crossed the Ganesh idol carved in the ramparts. Further
towards right after ascending the steps, we reached a temple.
The Night:
It was pitch dark. We had been walking for almost
an hour and 20 odd minutes. On the top we saw a light far away at some 150
yards. There was no one on the fort except the five of us and crores of insects
around us. The way was watery and wet grass made splashing sound with every
step in the darkness. We reached the temple. The temple had a huge verandah
outside the main complex building covered by asbestos sheets at a height. The
temple was nothing more than a room divided in 2 chambers – a common area and a
gabhara, the main chamber where the idols were placed. This temple had light
inside and was covered by tiles on the floor. There were few things which
showed someone must have been staying there on regular basis – some baba or a
care taker, who must have gone down that night to get his daily needs like ration.
We settled down. The temple seemed to be of Chandrasen, the son of
Shoorpanakha, Ravana’s sister. We were sleepy and planned to sleep inside the
temple. But as soon as we stepped in, we figured out that the temple floor was
covered by black ants which refused to disappear even after being swooped,
scared and mass murdered by each of us. So the final option we had is to sleep
out on the verandah. We laid our beddings close to each other and soon dozed off.
“HUD HUD HUD HUD SSSS”
Ruturaj started screaming. It was dark outside
and I could see Nandini and Yogesh bounce up at equal speed. In no time, I had
sprung out from my sleeping bag. Sagar was almost on his heels. I could see
people getting worked up in the dim light from the temple. It all happened in
just fractions of seconds in the dark night. It must have been some time passed
midnight. Sensing we all were safe, we calmed down. Five blank faces stared
each other in horror first and then in sarcastic looks! We all laughed out loud
and re-constructed the scene. We all were tired and dead asleep. It had started
raining that midnight. Soon the sheets above us had started leaking which had
drenched Yogesh’s carry-mat. Yogesh woke up and might have tried waking us up.
In marathi, Yogesh had exclaimed ‘Pani pani’ which means ‘water water’... but
Ruturaj, who was equally deep asleep, had heard it as ‘prani prani’ which means
‘animal animal’ and his Hud Hud Hud was a spontaneous reaction to scare away
this imaginary beast! The whole scene got reconstructed. There’s nothing better
than laughing out till your intestines swell on a lonely fort after two
exhausting days with four of your best friends on such a comic scene at
midnight! Indeed a night to remember. We finally became shameless and fearless;
shared the room with the ants and had a peaceful night thereafter!
17th August 2014:
6.30am... we woke up... surprisingly the ants had
disappeared. We woke up cracking jokes and pulling each others’ legs on the
last night scene... Hud Hud Hud was one of the best highlights of the trek.
Keeping the jokes apart, it had made us think about our own presence of mind,
decision making in crises scenarios, our own co-ordination in the team and
other similar aspects – as each one of us had reacted differently in those few
seconds – a lot to learn! We freshened up and started the fort visit. The
mountain top is extensive, and is well fortified by strong bastions. We found a
doorway in the bastion on the south side of the fort. This entrance is of
“Gomukhi” type, and the carvings here are still intact. The ramparts are also
intact. There is a big grinding wheel on the fort. It takes around one and half
hour to see the fort. From the top we got a good glimpse of Koyna River and the
surrounding area. The weather was too good – chilled and misty – it had rained
the previous night making it difficult to walk on wet mushy grass. We managed
to convince an old man, who we later found out to be an ex-military, to provide
us some tea. He had been on the fort since morning and had set up a small tea
stall for the trekkers and devotees who came on the fort temple. We clicked
some good images on the bastions and climbed down. It took us 20 minutes and we
were in the car by 8.30am. We had 6 more forts to achieve the set target!
Sadashivgad:
Next on the route was Sadashivgad, which almost
took our breadth to reach the top and left no stone unturned to disappoint us.
Sadashivgad is a barren mountain with well constructed cement-basalt steps for
the gradual and boring climb of about 45 minutes. There are no trees on the way
and those available are too short to help the trekkers by offering any shadows.
Bright sunlight and humid hot weather made it further irritating for us to
climb. But we had to be on schedule and we stretched ourselves to make it to
the top. On the top, there is a Shiva temple, again developed in cement, tiles
and oil paints all over. A huge basalt water tank can be seen. On the banks, a
canopied Imli tree stands which is supposedly the only big tree atop the
mountain. Apart from a well, the temple, a couple of mini temples and this
water cistern, there is nothing to see on the fort. It’s merely a temple
mountain flooded with devotees. We could see that there are some plans to make
a motorable road soon to reach the top. Hence, in next few years, Sadashivgad
would no longer be seen on any trekking list! We moved on – a fact that on an expedition, there are times when you don’t want to
climb, even a step further, and you know there is nothing to see or do; but you
still stretch – not to prove your strength but to be loyal and dedicated to
your own self. Trekking Spirit indeed!
Bhushangad:
Bhushangad – one of the forts which can be
ideally termed as “cute” – a small hill, densely covered in the same species of
shrubs making it look wrapped in a bright green carpet all over, detailed and
intact bastions and protecting walls, a typical warm and well constructed
entrance, a shiva temple, couple of water tanks and lots of picnickers and
local bag packers – Bhushangad done! Bhushangad was the much required leisure
break to digest the frustration of Sadashivgad. It was easy to climb as the way
upwards is well built. The canopied greenery and lantana shrubs made the fort
more welcoming and colourful. Beautiful views on the fort and from the fort
made it an ideal picnic spot for the localites. We enjoyed this mini trek and
had not expected this fortress would make us feel so good. The biologically
sensitised vision possessed by Ruturaj highlighted a major point that the trees
growing on Bhushangad had killed all other species of plants and trees on the
fort – their dominance was a threat to the surrounding forests and the endemic
species of plants and shrubs. Any species of plant or shrub when creates its
dominance at such a level, it can be termed as weed and should be consciously
controlled so as to save the rest of the endemic forests. But like mentioned
before, we live in a country where money speaks louder than any other component
– may it be research or systematic analysis! We left Bhushangad and moved on to
Mahimangad which was at a short drive.
On the way to Mahimangad:
Mahimangad is almost 37kms from Bhushangad which
meant it was a long drive. Mahimangad region is comparatively a dry zone with
shrub forestation and vast plains with selected trees on the hillocks and
bandhs between the dry fields. “Isska matlab samazhte ho Daya?” We were in an
area which could be ideally a bird sanctuary – limited water holes, limited
nesting sites, but lots of food around which attracted lots of birds. Sagar had
been a serious bird watcher since years and he sensed the potential. Rutu and
Yogesh were equally alert with the lenses, cameras and binoculars! Next few
minutes we were lost in colourful quails, birds of prey and various birds
endemic to barren lands of Karad and Patan. The whole region was a birder’s
paradise, Got to learn a lot from Rutu, Yogesh and Sagar – the drive was
worth!
Mahimangad:
Once again, one the best forts I had been on this
trek, was Mahimangad. During ancient times, Bijapur – Pandharpur – Satara – Wai
– Mahad was an important trade route. To safe guard and control this trade and
the traders, a chain of forts was created along this route, mainly between
Satara and Pandharpur. These forts also served as guardians of Satara city which
was then an important trade centre. It is said that a garrison of about 75
troop members was consistently maintained on this fort so as to serve the trade
safety. The fort has East facing entrance. On the pillars of the entrance, there
are magnificent elephant carvings which depict the power of Maratha Empire. The
entrance is not visible till we get very close. There is a Hanuman temple on
the fort, with a big pond and few more cisterns, which collect rain water. On
the way to these cisterns, there are remnants of porches of various buildings -
residential and official. The ramparts are still in good shape all around.
Towards the eastern end of the fort, there is a huge well built wall which
safeguards the fort from the eastern side which is accessible and hence could
be a potential danger. Two small doors through this fort wall allow us to visit
the other end of the fort. There is a secret way to climb down the fort very
close to these doors. The strategy must have been to build a wall to that if
the eastern front of the fort falls or surrenders, the main fort still has a
standby protection from where it can be fought on. Further, in case it’s a time
to surrender completely and escape, this wall can allow the soldiers to take up
this secret escape way and vacant the fort in no time. A huge Banyan tree
growing parallel to the ground, originating from the forts fortified wall is a
magnificent view. The fort can be climbed in 20 minutes and takes about an hour
to see the entire fort.
Vardhangad:
It was almost 5pm and second day of our
expedition – we had covered 8 forts by now which was good enough – but yet far
behind the target. Though physically tired, the spark was still alive and all
required was a direction. Sunset was close and we had few options – Chandan,
Vandan, Vardhangad and so on. We had to take a decision. Once again, a
collective decision was taken – we decided to drive till Vardhangad base
village and then decide whether to climb or to stay or to move on further. As
we drove closer, Vardhangad appeared bigger and tougher. We reached the base.
Vardhangad was far huge than we all had expected it to be. We parked the car
and decided to go as far as we can. We started to climb – everyone at their own
speed – but a common spirit – to reach the top as soon as we could! The sun had
set. It turned dark. Every step it felt like the gates are getting closer; but
they dint! Finally I saw the huge, well constructed gates of Vardhangad! Yes –
we had done it – together – happiness was beyond the words. Few minutes back we
were not sure if we wanted to do any further treks, and now we are atop
Vardhangad, exploring the construction and the temple in our headlamps and
batteries.
Vardhangad has a rich history. Vardhangad was one
of the forts which Shivaji Maharaj built after the historic defeat of Afzal
Khan. Maharaj himself stayed on vardhangad from 12th October to 11th
November 1661 so that he could personally supervise the fortification. Later,
after the cruel death of Sambhaji maharaj, Aurangzeb conquered Panhalgad and
focussed on the forts in and around Satara. His general, Fatehullah Khan,
proposed to make Khatav village as their base which is close to Vardhangad. The
Marathas on Vardhangad made a strategy and sent a preposition to Fattehullah
Khan that if he allows safe passage to the people on Vardhangad, they shall
surrender the fort without resistance. Khan agreed only to be fooled by the
Marathas – as no one turned up post this communication. In the mean time when
Mughals awaited Marathas to hand over the fort, Marathas gathered power and
finally fought against Khan. Unfortunately Marathas lost and Mughals won the
fort. Soon, Marathas won the fort back and controlled it ever after till Mughal
took over the country.
We had done nine forts in 48 hours and had been
satisfied by our own endurance and spirits. It was the second night and we
needed rest. So we decided to drive further till Satara and take a night halt
at some good hotel. Ruturaj drove for next 2 hours and we reached the city of
Satara – hungry and tired. He had been to Satara before and knew a place where
they served authentic Gujrathi Thali. The concept immediately tingled our taste
buds – we had been surviving on missal pavs and biscuits in last 2 days except
at times where we got good meals. It must have taken us more 15 minutes to find
the hotel, but we religiously did. Next 30 minutes we hogged, hogged and hogged
more! Every penny paid to the Gujrathi cashier was justified! We booked a
decent hotel at a short drive and dozed off – sleeping on bed felt good like
never before – last two nights we had been sleeping on carry-mats and in
sleeping bags – on ground and amidst variety of insects! Hotel room was nothing
less than a heaven that night. We switched of the lights and slept like stones.
18th August 2014:
The last day of the expedition – waking up on a
bed felt good as much as sleeping on one! We were served tea which was one more
feel-good factor of being in a hotel. We checked out – relaxed and self
content. I had heard of a fort called Ajinkyatara located right in the heart of
the city. The road takes you up right till the main gate and hence it was a
simple and accessible fort. I wanted to see it – I dint know when would I come
back to Satara, that too to visit a fort – it’s not often that you get a chance
to visit forts with experienced trekkers like Yogesh, expert naturalists like
Ruturaj, and wonderful friends like Sagar and Nandini! I was in no position to
miss this one and hence I insisted – and they agreed! Tenth fort of the trip
was Ajinkyatara! The fort has a restored authentic wooden gate and is well
constructed. The bastions and the walls are still intact. The fort is
surrounded by forest cover and is often flooded with joggers, trekkers and
local picnickers due to easy accessibility.
Ajinkyatara:
Ajinkyatara is also known as ‘Satara Fort’. It
can be seen from anywhere in Satara city. Ajinkyatara is built on the mountain,
which belongs to “Bamnoli” range that starts from Pratapgad. Ajinkyatara was
the fourth capital of Marathas, the first one being Rajgad, followed by Raigad
and then the fort of Jinji. Shilahar King Bhoj-II constructed it in the year
1190. This fort was captured by Bahamanis and then by Adilshah of Bijapur. In
the year 1580, wife of Adilshah-I, Chandbibi was imprisoned here. Bajaji
Nimbalkar was also imprisoned here. During expansion of Swarajya, Shivaji
Maharaj ruled over this fort from 27th July1673. Shivaji Maharaj had stayed on
this fort for two months due to ill health. After unfortunate death of Shivaji
Maharaj, Aurangjeb invaded Maharashtra in 1682. In 1699 he beleaguered the
fort. Prayagji Prabhu was the chief of the fort at that time. On 13th April
1700, the moghuls dug trenches and used explosives to blow the bastion named
‘Mangalai Buruj’. They succeeded as the ramparts were destroyed and some
Marathas were killed. Fortunately Prayagji Prabhu escaped with minor injuries.
At that moment there was another explosion and the broken ramparts fell on the
moghuls. The war progressed and Subhanji took the fort on 21st April 1700. It
took four and half months for the Moghals to win the fort. It was renamed as
‘Azamtara’. Tarabai’s army again won this fort and named it ‘Ajinkyatara’.
Moghals took back the fort again. In 1708 Shahu took the fort by treachery and
declared himself as the ruler. In 1719, mother of Maharaj Shahu, ‘Matoshri
Yesubai’ was brought here. Later the fort was inherited by Peshwas. After death
of Shahu-II, the British captured the fort on 11th February 1818.
The Onwards Journey:
Post Ajinkyatara and a filling breakfast, Yogesh
further took us to a beautiful temple in Wai town – Dholya Ganpati Temple based
on the banks of Krishna River. Wai has the epithetic name "Dakshin
Kashi". In old times, it was also known as Virat Nagari. Wai is known in
Maharashtra for its ghats on the banks of the Krishna River and its temples,
including especially the "Dholya Ganapati" temple on the
"Ganapati Ghat" which Yogesh ensured we all visited. This 18th
Century temple is beautifully built in Hemadpanti architectural style and is
indeed huge. Apart from the big Ganpati idol and the magnificent Nandi in the
premises, something unique is the Window carved out of a single rock plate on
which there are 2 snakes carved – interestingly if you start from one head of
the snake, you reach the second one. It’s a master piece and attracts the
visitors.
Nana Phadanvis Wada, Wai:
Yogesh and Ruturaj further insisted on visiting
Nana Phadanvis Wada in a village called Menavli. The Wada is a large
six-quadrangled, perimeter-protected wada. This construction was completed in
1780. Bhavan Rao Trymbak Pant-Representative of Aundh and Raghunath Ghanshyam
Mantri (Satara) bestowed the village of Menavali to Nana Phadnavis in December
1768. Nana Phadnavis settled the village and built himself the Wada with the
ghat on the river Krishna and the two temples, one dedicated to Lord Vishnu and
another to Meneshwar (Lord Shiva). Temples were traditionally built on ghats.
Nana, being the Peshwas' "Phadnavis"
transcribed and maintained their documents of accounts and administrative
letters in the ancient "Modi" script. These documents, known as the
famous "Menavli Daptar" were preserved in this Wada at Menavali.
After Nana Phadnavis died in 1800, the Peshwa Bajirao-II, confiscated the Wada.
The Nana Phadnavis Wada today remains with his descendants.
The bell house of the Meneshwar temple houses a
six hundred and fifty kilogram bell. This bell was captured by Bajirao-1’s
brother Chimaji Appa, from a cathedral in the Portuguese fort at Bassein. Dated
1707, the five-alloy bell bears a bas-relief of Mary carrying the infant Jesus
Christ cast into it.
An ancient tree, with a massive conformed trunk
has a platform constructed around it as old as the Wada. This tree has been
featured in the Bollywood movie Swades. Several Bollywood movies have been
shot, using the wada as an exotic location, some of them are Yudh, Mrutyudand,
Goonj Uthi Shahnai, Jis Desh Me Ganga Rahata Hai , Gangajal, Sarja and Swades.
The film crew of the Bollywood movie Swades, once camped at the ghat to shoot
some footage. The crew cleaned and painted the old stone walls of the ghat and
the temples.
Home Sweet Home:
Mesmerised by the site of Menavli Wada, we
started our journey home. We dropped Sagar back in Lonavala. He insisted and we
all enjoyed the famous Missal at his work place – the Manashakti Kendra,
Lonavala. Waving Sagar a goodbye wasn’t a good feeling, but with a fact that we
cannot be permanently on a trek we moved on. In next couple of hours, we
reached Badlapur. Shubhajit had come to pick me up. It was almost 6pm. We
dropped Yogesh and waved good bye to Mr. And Mrs. Joshi at their residence. I
made a move, confronting my mind which always wanted to go back with all of
them. I reached home – but as a new individual – with new thoughts, new
approach, increased database, more points to introspect on, more aspects to
improve on, and needless to say, with loads of wonderful memories and a sense
of achievement!
