Planning for holidays gave us an idea to conquer the fort RAJGAD. ( Not to conquer, but to Suffer!! You will get it ahead!) Before the hectic exam session, the plan was ready! We were 4 students- Niraj, Sudeep, Sarvesh & Me(Amit). (2 others had to join later at Swargate station, Pune) & Oh....Forgive me for my grammatical mistakes !!
Day1:
We started at 9 p.m from Ratnagiri Bus Stand. Reservation of S.T bus was done earlier.Travelling through ST bus to Pune was definitely not a comfortable one. But, there was no any alternate option. We reached Swargate station at 6.00 am. Two more friends from Mumbai- Kshitij & Raj joined us for further journey .After refreshment , we move ahead towards Gunjawane, a village at the footstep of fort Rajgad. Reached there at about 11.00 am.( We got a bus at 9.15am and reached the village at 11.30 am). Since last night we had not eaten anything. We decided to do a lunch. But, every thing in the hotels was finished!!! The only option left was 'Bhel'! We had to compromise. We ate the Bhel and started our journey to the fort. Somebody told us to go straight as much as you can but, the way was divided into four routes and none of them was looking 'straight'! All of us were confused but, still managed to find the way. We were very fresh and enthusiastic for first 15 minutes but after that, we all realized that this journey is not going to be a simple one! we were feeling breathless and were sitting after every 5 minutes! Having 10 kg of weight on the back and climbing a Rajgad was not a simple task for a fresher.On the way , we met some people who told us that there was no adequate pure drinking water on the fort. And we had only 3 liters of drinking water left with us! Fortunately, one villager agreed to provide dinner and 6 liters of water at evening. After HUGE efforts we scaled up the fort-(to Snjeevani Machi ) in 2.30 hours...! Hussssh...!
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| Half the way |
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| Scaling the fort- Rajgad |
We reached the top through Chor Darwaja. Took 'Darshan' at Sanjeevani temple. And it was time to rest. We were exhausted a lot. There is another temple of lord Shiva. We decided to rest there for the night. After resting for a while, we decided to see the fort. Till 5 o'clock it was a sunny day. But the conditions changed drastically. Mist and Clouds covered the fort. Visibility dropped to very less extent. We decided to climb Balle Killa, but due to these conditions we escaped the plan. We went half a way to Suvela Machi. Roaming on the fort was the very great experience. Just imagining the history and those glorious days of Rajgad , was enough to get the heavenly experience. As a proud Marathi-Maharashtrian and devotees of Great Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, we were absolutely thrilled! Due to bad weather conditions we were not able to see most of the fort. We decided to move back to the temple. Everyone was too much hungry and the rain had started. The person that had to provide the foodstuff was not able to reach until 7.00 pm. We cooked the rice with us. A Little bit of cooked rice was really a feast for us. The person also came to provide the dinner at 8 pm. Amazing! That person had already climbed the fort for 2 times that day. And this was for the 3rd time! What a stamina! Impressive. There were no lights in the temple and it was freezing cold- 5-10 degree celsius! We were not expecting such cold atmosphere as those were Summer days. We managed to sleep quite comfortably. Good night.
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| Respect |
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| Sanjeevani Machi |
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| Fort of Strength, Mist of Hope |
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| I am a Photographer |
Day 2:
Morning was very cold but refreshing one. We were eager to see all the fort but the time was not permitting us. We had to catch the bus at 11.00 am. So, decided just to roam around in the vicinity of nature and history! We started climbing down, keeping in mind that we will be back again here to see our History and our Proud! We got the bus and reached Pune. After roaming Pune, everybody went to Mumbai, except me. I had to board the bus to Ratnagiri. Though we were unable to see all the fort, we had done a good trek (As it was our first trek). Lot of things to see are missing in this journy, but not for forever! This trek gave us a confidence and a Will Power to face day to day problems happily. Jay Shivaji, Jai Maharashtra!!!
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| Bastion on Bale Killa |
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| Down to earth |
