This mini travelogue is more of a self-indulgent post in which I relive my 2 day visit to Ratnagiri district in Konkan. In the peak of summer; which happens to be my least favourite season. And Konkan is known for its hot, humid climate. For all those who debate which is worse – heat or humidity, let me put that to rest. IT’S THE HUMIDITY!!
Whenever I visit a place, I like to visualise it on a map in my mind. I’m also one of those people who obsessively track the route of the plane during flights. Food, movies, music, sleep- none of them can hold my attention as much as the little screen in front of me showing the topography of the places we cross. In real time!
So, this is Maharashtra, where I am. The brown part is the Deccan Plateau where my city Pune is. And the green strip along the coast is the Konkan. To reach the Konkan from Pune, one has to descend from the plateau to the coast by descending the ghats that make up the Sahyadri ranges (see map!)
For context, here is a detailed map of the Konkan showing the place from which we travelled (Pune), the towns we crossed on the way (Satara, Karad) till we finally reached Ratnagiri and the village we visited (Pawas). And no, I could not find a map of Ratnagiri. But there’s this!
But let’s start at the very beginning- this is a self indulgent post, remember? The trip was about going mango picking at an ‘aamrai’ or mango orchard. Ratnagiri is the home of the Hapus or The Alphonso mango. And the Hapus is the king of the mangoes which is the king of all fruits, All Hail The King. The last two points are not up for discussion because this is my blog and my post.
Some more context: having spent the first two decades of my life in a house with a garden that had several varieties of mango trees, the ‘aam’ has been a large part of my childhood memories. Right from the winter months when the golden-yellow ‘bor’ flowered on the branches to the tiny green pebbles that later grew into larger fruits that we would relish while they were teeth numbingly sour and tasted best with salt and chilly powder. Then came the final stage where the mangoes would be plucked and kept in a room to ripen and fill the house with their scent. Summer was spent mostly in climbing mango trees, looking for fallen mangoes, picking mangoes, sampling mangoes and then once the last mango was eaten, beginning the wait for the ‘bor’ to once again scent the air with their fragrance.
So, when I came to know about this mango-picking trip, it was like an opportunity to revisit those idyllic days of my childhood, to walk among the trees, pick some mangoes and eat them right off the tree instead of right out of the cartons that they now came in. As it turned out, the mango picking was just one of the highlights of this memorable trip, but more about that later. I am still on Day 1 of Part 1 of the Konkan Diaries and we haven’t even left Pune.
It was a cool morning when we set off, but we all knew what lay ahead. Not that it dampened our enthusiasm; the general mood was one of anticipation and cheer. It’s an 8 hour drive from Pune and each time we stopped for a break, the heat made itself felt. But we had left the grey, concrete city jungle far behind and that is a mood up-lifter like none other.
Our vehicle wound its way through villages and green fields, and as it climbed up and went down gentle tree-covered slopes, a sense of peace began setting in. Even the air-conditioned air we were breathing seemed purer! It does sound hypocritical to say that one feels this connect with nature; seated as we were in a metal container which ran on fossil fuels releasing carbon emissions into the very air that we didn’t have to breathe, protected as we were by the tightly closed windows of said metal container…but it was there!
Once we had descended the curves and bends of the road that snaked through Ambe ghat we were officially in Konkan- its rugged terrain of hills, plateaus and plains stretched invitingly ahead. We left the interstate highway and headed for our seaside resort. The road got narrower, the burnt red earth gave way to slopes dotted with innumerable fruit trees while coconut trees stretched their fronds invitingly; as if beckoning us to the sea.
By the way, it is possible to work up an appetite by just sitting in a vehicle for the better part of eight hours and we were ravenous by the time we arrived at the resort. We were welcomed with glasses of chilled ‘panna’- a refreshingly tangy, sweet-sour drink made of raw mangoes. After which we gathered around the tables in gleeful anticipation of our first konkan ‘thali’
The remainder of the day was spent in sleeping off the lunch, then walking off the lunch by taking long walks on the beach, followed by working up an appetite for dinner and thinking about what we would be served for dinner. By late evening the humidity had become oppressive and just when we were about to dissolve into sweaty, sandy puddles, the rain came thundering down and soaked everyone to the skin. Which was welcomed even by those who had been splashing around in the pool.
We turned in for the night, all the time assuring ourselves that we would be up at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise and get in some bird watching as well. It didn’t happen, of course, which is unsurprising. But as the poem goes- ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’ and all that.
(To be continued…)
butterfliesonmymindblog 