Kavnai Fort:Mystical Plateau visit with School friends

INTRODUCTION
Kavnai fort is like 2500 ft(762M) above sea level and is like 33 km from kasara station. It is one of the less explored hill fort and one of the easy trek which can be done even in heavy monsoon. Fort is said to be constructed by Mughals. According to locals 'Shivaji maharaj' during his reign  used to visit this fort secretly, low key used to spend his time. However like every other fort in the region during the fall of trimbak from maratha to british hand, captain Briggs visited the fort and found two houses at the foothill, make no mistake Harihar fort is still his favourite among-st all the ascent he did in the region.

INSIGHT
Population out here mostly consist of Oswal vanis, Kolis and thakur. There is a Ram and Hanuman Temple at the base. There is a saint who leaves on top of the hill fort in Hut from last 11 years, he can provide place to sleep if you want to spend night at the top.

JOURNEY
It was 26th August 2017, Ganpati vacation going on. As decided on whats-app Group, everybody gathered at Azad nagar Metro station on Saturday early morning. It was Me, Mandar, Anirudh, Dhiraj and Atul, we boarded metro to ghatkopar which costed us 70 Rs Return ticket per person, from there Local train to Karjat which costed us 40 Rs per person return ticket.
I don't know whether it was ironic or not, we all belonged to same school.So on train we started discussing about our school days, Just imagine we were the only batch who all never got the farewell due to many mischievous students in our batch, i think all those gangster and love movies during that era had a huge impact on them the way students were reacting.Since then i never attended no Farewell or Fresher party let it be Coaching Classes,College or PG.  Most of the time innocent students took the beating in the school for the wrong doing they never did, they were so nicely setup.

Finally we reached karjat station, we negotiated with many jeep wala - the price quoted by them ranged between 1500 - 2000 Rs return journey, finally after good negotiation one the Jeepman got ready for 1000 Rs return journey i.e 200 Rs per person.During the time of negotiation what i noticed was Anirudh is quite good at it while mandar is bad who easily say 'yes' to any price quoted.
Journey was refreshing, in the middle we took the break to do breakfast in one of the hotel. Me and  Atul Eat Idli and Medu vada while others eat Bhaji along with Tea, also Hot Vada pav which anirudh liked it very much so he ordered and eat it like 3 times back to back.It costed us around 50 Rs per person. Weather was little cloudy, anyway we continued with our journey.
Finally we were near kavnai village, on the way some of the women asked for a lift by lifting hand but seat was occupied by us, still driver went out for couple second and came back, while driving he told us ''one of the women among-st  them had a thing going on with him before she got married, they were in love like crazy but at that time he had no source of income''. After couple minutes we reached the base village and continued our journey on foot. There was some kind of women festival going on in the village near temple named Kapildhara Tirth, no men's were allowed there, however saint who lived on top of the hill fort and also a well known figure out here passed beside us straight near the temple. Couple more minute of walk, now we were at the starting point of kavnai fort. Scenery was quite refreshing, the feeling you get after consuming kratom. It was 11:30 am on the clock.

Anirudh, Dhiraj, Atul, Me and Mandar

View from Base Village

Atul and dhiraj hiking towards kavanai fort

We started with our trek. Like always atul and mandar were ahead, trail is simple and no worries of getting lost as the surrounding is not tropical and filled with vegetation. In between we took break, vaki lake is easily visible from here. Out here me and dhiraj did a little of 'Mayweather vs Mcgregor' Boxing press conference face-off cameo, as we were very much excited about that fight which was going to happen tomorrow on 27th August 2017.

Mayweather vs Mcgregor Cameo

Vaki Lake

In that mean time atul was on top of one of the rocks chilling, and out there just beneath the rock mandar encountered Honey bee hive, damn it looked scary. Atul was unaware of that hive, little bit of movement would have caused 'Group of honeybee' to go ham on all of us. On a side note avoid applying Gel, perfume or powder on yourself while you are on the trek, fragrance attracts them. It happened with us at gaumukh plateau, when we were chased by 5-6 honeybee.

Honey Bee Hive Beneath the Rocks

Further you will encounter staircase to climb , which i already did in some of my trek like - Kalsubai, Peb fort and asherigad. Those staircase will lead you to Fort entrance. It is little bit of slippery during monsoon so watch out.

Staircase to Kavnai Fort

Mandar opening the Entrance Gate

We reached the peak. For such an easy trek, the view you get from the top is too good, i call it a 'natural eye massage'. I was excited to see a pond on top of the hill.

View from Kavnai Fort Peak

Mystic Pond

Pond on top of the lake is said to be sacred, it's not a drinking water though.It is filled with fishes, it would be safe to say there will be more than 500 fishes easily that too of different breed like gold fish, Shark fish, Cat fish and many. What surprised me was that there is ample of water in the pond through out the season and according to locals those fish are here since ages, nobody got them here.

Sacred Lake

Shiv Linga and Holy water

There is also a Shiv linga and utensil pot with holy water filled in it which is supported on wooden stick.It was drizzling every now and then, so we went near temple, which is on the edge of the pond for shelter. There we eat Orange, Banana and biscuits. We threw pieces of biscuits inside pond to feed the fishes. You will see fishes jumping and eating those pieces like they belong to piranha breed. Click on the video above to see those fishes while we were feeding. 

Parvati Temple Closed

Dhiraj, Mandar, Atul and Anirudh

Parvati Temple was locked, as said above saint went to kapildhara temple on the base for some village ceremony.It will take you around 30-40 minute to explore the whole peak. It was 2:20 Pm on the clock when we decided to descent. It started to rain heavily, like every other trek we descended at a fast pace. By the time we reached at the base driver was already standing, so we hopped in to the jeep. On the way he told us '' There is a mystic valley resort out here in Igatpuri, where sex scandal was exposed recently, even politician hop out there on weekend to have fun''. I mean that driver had many insider info about what goes around out here. After reaching kasara station, we boarded local train to ghatkopar. On train we played Ludo where Atul lost,then he  made a crying face after we started laughing at him. 
From ghatkopar we took metro till azad nagar stop, atul was still upset. Dhiraj was like ''That loss resemble your life, which is quite similar''. After reaching azad Nagar, we all headed to our home. I was home till late evening.

• Total Per person cost - 360 Rs approximately.

Chinchoti: In search of Waterfall during Winter.

It was 22nd December 2017, as decided day before Me and yash planned to visit Chinchoti waterfall. I informed other tribes member also but they were like ''water in December month is very much impossible''. I saw some Recent pics on Instagram app which is a very effective travelling tool for me, just by looking at the pics through hashtag i got the good idea how the environment is going to be.

Early morning i boarded metro from azad nagar metro station to andheri station, from there to naigaon station, 'Yash was already out there by the time i reached. This was the first time i halted at naigaon, i was amazed after looking at the railway infrastructure, bridge nearby is rusted and should  be reconstructed.Then we took sharing rickshaw to chinchoti base village which is like 15km, there were 6 men inside rickshaw 3 men at the back while Me and yash at the front beside driver. The road to chinchoti base village is quite good, it goes through highway and top of that it was winter season, i was feeling the fresh air hitting my face early morning. 

Finally we reached Chinchoti base village around 8:20 am, then we started asking for direction from villagers about chinchoti waterfall who were quite shocked after hearing about our plan which was to reach waterfall spot early morning that too in December, little did they know that this flat trek was a 'walk in the park' for me as i have done more than 20 mountains trek in my life. Scenery around the base village was refreshing.

Base Village

On the way we met a dog, he started following us. First we thought he was following us with bad intention however later on we realized it was nothing like that, It's quite common in country side that dog start to follow y'all as they are well aware that these people got something to eat, last time it happened with me during prabalgad fort trek where dog protected me from notorious monkey at the peak of the forest.

Dog, Yash and Me

Path is clear, trekker with little bit of experience can easily differentiate between Trail and dried waterfall stream, every now and then yash was getting confuse with it.

   Way to Chinchoti WaterFall

It was a while since we were walking and no signs of water, yash was like ''Are we gonna see water body or not?'' I said be patient.One will encounter water body on the left side. Finally we heard water stream sound, there you go it was a clean/Transparent water body. It also indicated that chinchoti waterfall, the source of the water is nearby only. 

The water body y'all looking above right now gets muddy and water waves get crazy during monsoon, the reason it is crowded during that time. Based on my perception and research i prefer to see water body during winter season when it is calm, greenish/Blueish which is a good sign and also it is not crowded.We washed our face with that water,Took break and shared biscuit with dog who was with us and continued with our waterfall search.

Finally we reached Chinchoti waterfall, it took us like 90 minute to reach here, it was 10 am on the clock.There was a big rock on top of the waterfall, i was wondering where that water get generated from during winter season, it's not like we are leaving in some nordic region where ice get melted. 

Chinchoti Waterfall

We were very much eager to find the source of the water so we took the left route heading up ward the hill, as we trekked the route turned  raw and slippery, it was a dead end in to forest so we decided to hop back, in that process we slipped due to loose soil and it was very much red in nature. In between Yash screamed snake after that we both jumped turned out it was just a Charlemagne, damn. Anyway we went back to waterfall, rested for couple minute,shared biscuit with dog who slept for a minute,  he too was tired and after that we headed back to base village. 

We took the same means of transport as we used while coming here, Sharing rickshaw is frequent out here so don't need to worry. I was home till early afternoon and this trip only costed us around 100 Rs. Most of my friends were in shock after i uploaded the video of that waterfall on my whatsapp story.

Pelhar Lake: The Lost Treasure of Vasai

Introduction
Pelhar Lake is like 11 km From vasai station. Lake water is used in supplying water to the city, this is one of the main reason pehlar lake is kept clean and it gets it's water from Tungareshwar river.

Journey
It was 12th December 2017, Tuesday. Me, laxman and Yash decided to give a visit to Pehlar lake in Vasai. I left my house at 6:50 Am reaching Azad Nagar straight up boarding metro to andheri station which costed me 10 Rs while yash boarded train from Borivali , and i boarded train to vasai from Andheri station which costed me 20 Rs Return Ticket. As decided me and yash met at Vasai station, as soon as we hopped outside station we called laxman who lives in vasai itself and like always he was heading to take a bath.If it was't about vasai, he would have never said 'Yes' to this trip as he is little lazy when it comes to waking up early in the morning, secondly he is not fond of vegetation, Hills and lake which is fair enough , and i understand. In that mean Time we went to one of the hotel in vasai east where we eat Idli and medu vada which costed us 25 Rs Per person then we went to vasai west near gurudwara to pick up laxman, by the time he reached it was 9 am. Again we went back to vasai east to board rickshaw to Vasai phata which costed us 20 Rs per person, what shocking was laxman who lives in vasai, he himself was not familiar with Pelhar lake. Once we reached Vasai phata, we boarded another rickshaw to pelhar hotel which costed us 10 Rs Per person.
Once we reached Pelhar hotel, you have to walk straight in to the colony for like 8-9 minute which leads to Tabela on the right side, couple more steps you will encounter entrance gate.The closer we got, we saw that gate was locked and there were two men sitting inside,' one of the guy was the Watchmen so the other guy who was with watchmen said ''this lake is not accessible to human anymore as they got the permission from the government to not to allow anyone to enter, except locals and tribal people,  so we got worried  then he asked ''where y'all came from'' to which we replied Andheri, then he said ''we will allow y'all but give little chai pani (Bribe) to watchmen'' to which we said yes once we return.

As soon as you will enter gate, you will see steps leading towards the lake, then we were greeted by this beautiful lake, it looked so clean specially during winter season, 'yash and laxman both were surprised after looking at the scenery.

Yash and laxman walking towards Pelhar lake

On the right side of the entrance, there is a trail leading towards the coast of the lake with grass on both the sides of the trail.

Right side Trail of pelhar Lake

While walking on the trail, On the left side you will get the view of  pelhar lake with tungareshwar mountain range on the back, while on the right side you will get the view of the vasai city with baronda devi mountain in the backdrop which is on my trek hit list.

Pelhar Lake

View of baronda Devi Mountain

Weather out here was chill, whenever Yash and Laxman would feel something weird happening in the grass, they would get little worried telling me, bro lets go back, I mean yes I understand this kind of behavior as they are new to this, exploring nature and all, I told them not now. This place is also a gem for people who are in to insect and Butterfly photography. Click the link below to check my pelhar lake species photography, it will redirect y'all to my Instagram page where I have uploaded the pics -

My Pehlar lake Butterfly and dragonFly photography (Click here)

Tungareshwar Mountain in the backrange of Pelhar lake

Transparent and clean water

Place was so beautiful that I felt like spending hours and hours out here, to be honest I was surprised  after looking at so much water inside the lake, that too during the month of December, even the water out here was transparent, yes you can witness once you reach the coast on the right side. During summer season there is a lack of water out here and during rainy season flora and fauna looks beautiful but at that time water to some extent gets muddy.

On the left side there is a opening for dam, when lake's water start to overflow during rainy season, those dam gates are opened which in turn creates a waterfall.

Dam Gate

After exploring we hopped back, and gave watchmen 50 Rs like we promised while entering. It was 11:45 am at the time we left this place. We use the same means of transport as we used while coming here. I was home till early afternoon.

Total cost
Travelling Cost - 100 Rs per person
Breakfast cost - 25 Rs per person
Bribe to watchmen to enter Pehlar lake - 17 Rs per person

Sassoon Dock : 142 Year old dock which got transformed in to art space

INTRODUCTION
Sassoon Dock which is a 142 year old dock and one of the oldest fish market in the city, recently in November it got an art makeover by more than 30 artist around the world which includes Graffiti, Visual, Using waste to create different kinds of craft.
Out here in Sassoon dock you will find all kinds of fish at wholesale prices,  dock gained popularity during industrial revolution times.

Sassoon dock art project, which is free to view and is opened to the public until December 30th 2017, so make sure y'all give a visit.The place is opened from 12 to 10 pm, from Thursday to Sunday so that it don't disturb the fish market auction early morning.The organizers are trying to make exhibition as inclusive as possible without any profit motto. 

Journey
It was 14th December 2017, me and Anurag boarded metro from azad nagar during afternoon and halted at andheri station, then boarded Churchgate fast train, after arriving at churchgate we took taxi till Sassoon dock which costed us 50 Rs.As soon as we entered Sassoon dock i got the positive vibe after looking at the surrounding that this place is mecca for photographers.
Being a hip hop fan i came to know later on that on 21st November 2017 there was a hip hop gathering to make this event more successful which i missed it.

First thing i noticed when i entered the dock colony was colorful graffiti on the wall with notice on it - ''Keep Sassoon  dock clean''.

Next thing i noticed was local men sitting on the fish carrier, he looked happy after looking at all the Mumbaikar's and foreigners visiting this place, to be honest this place was barely noticed by anyone in the past except content writer and photographers.

Later on i saw the portrait of  people who were kolis of none other than Sassoon dock.
Everybody deserve to be on the wall not just politicians and Celebrity since we are dependent on unorganized sector which accounts for 86% of the Indian population which is ignored by all the government parties.

SASSOON DOCK PROJECT
Once you enter the Sassoon dock project, first thing you will be told to do is normal registration which will take around few seconds. for your kind information cameras are allowed without any charge on it.

 Visual of Sassoon dock project  

1) The Idea of Smell

First thing you will notice in this project is the concept of 'idea of smell' which is correlated with memory, by hanif qureshi prepared by nylon net with hundred of words flattering around like aroma of Mom's cooking, Dry leaf that reminds you of your childhood, Hash smell walking down the block. Fresh clothes in the cupboard,Strong smell of petrol pump or stinginess of dung or sewage.Personally this masterpiece art remind me of some matrix touch screen technology.

As soon as you walked down the Next room you will notice colorful clothes hanging on the pole  giving that abstract look giving a subtle confusion between 2D Painting and 3D Objects.

2).Plastic ocean 

Plastic ocean was created by Singaporean artist Tan Zi Xi after she visited dharavi ''Asia largest slum'' from where the 400 kg of recycled plastic was collected.The room is full of bottle, toys and plastic with mirror installed on four side along with blue light reflecting the feeling how we are trapped inside the ocean created by us throwing non-biodegradable waste.Plastic was my favorite among all the Sassoon dock art.

3) Neon walls

After this you step in to the room full of neon light and color, perfect reflection of 21st century, there is Boombox,T.V,Newspaper and magazine in the room, the art was created by Akash Raj halankar  who describes the art as '' what goes up must comes down'' which implies about corny capitalism that goes around the country, all we see is CSR activities by firms but in reality they do more harm to the nature than benefits which stays in disguise.

4) Livil

Oliver hozil works with stencil creating a gap on paper with blue and pink UV light passing through it.The art shows Kolis community working together and worshiping the sea which is a livelihood for them.

5) Overflow

Indian artist Shilo Shiv Suleman uses organza, fiber glass and lines from her own poetry to create an immersive experience for the spectator, there are love poems flowing all over the Room.
If any poet is good at deciphering them, this right here is the perfect room for him or her with sunlight passing through the window giving that golden touch to the art.

6) Wall potrait

Australian artist Guido van Helten’s  draws a monochromatic portraits of three local women on the walls of the warehouse that will surely leave you warm with light color which is used in painting the murals clearly reflecting the innocence in the eyes of the three women.It also shows that how women of early era lived a basic life behind four walls, spending most of her life for husband and children, and nothing beyond that. 

  

7) Dead fish

Arthat collective 'Dead fish' is a gigantic skeleton of a fish hanging from the ceiling, if u look at the art closely it reflects how the skyline of Mumbai has changed from sea link to metro to high rise building. I still remember walking down the road for 3-4 kilometers late at night back in 2002 - 2003, i used to feel so refreshed, now it has been jam packed from top to bottom, light has taken over, 'noises and pollution all around the places. People are lucky enough if they live in the Mumbai Pre 2005 era.

8)The Ugly truth

The ‘Ugly Truth’, by Sajid Wajid Sheikh, He spent days with the rag pickers in Turbhe, the dumping yard in navi mumbai and came away with random trinkets — plastic containers, chipped ceramic, a television — and brought back what you thought was gone forever.The idea is to tell viewers just because the garbage has been disposed does't necessarily means it is disappeared.

Personally, artwork reminded me of saw movie. people who have seen that movie will know what i mean 

  
9) Romantic Bathroom

This will give you that red light area feel in Indonesia, with red shade on the upper structure, leaves and  rose petal around the bathroom with bulb hanging on the ceiling illuminating the space.

There were more art which i would have included on my blog however it is difficult to cover everything, but make sure you visit the top of the building, the view of Sassoon dock you get from there is damn beautiful.The atmosphere on the terrace was so chilling, with breeze going on every now and then.

Entrance to terrace

View from terrace

 After all this we headed down, just beside the exit you will notice building covered in graffiti, it reminded me of 5pointz in newyork place famous for hip-hop graffiti. It was very eye pleasing, the abstract designed was done by 'Do and khatra'.

Then we headed home, to sum up this project, i would say these is one of the beautiful thing i have ever seen in Mumbai that too for free. Artwork was too strong filled with deep messages, maybe i must have missed the metaphor and deep interpretation.
As a listener of rap music there are single lines which needs a whole paragraph explanation so i do understand there is more to these art, which maybe i am missing what these artist were trying to convey so give a visit by yourself.