Thoseghar water falls / Chalkewadi Wind mills / Urmodi Project

It was day 2 of our trip to Satara. We were well partially disappointed at having come to Kaas early by almost two weeks and flowering was only partial. So we wanted a good 2nd day to even things up. We vacated our hotel immediately after breakfast and our first stop was the Thoseghar waterfalls which was around 25 to 30 kms from Satara town.

The route passes through scenic valleys and you start seeing a number of wind Mills which grow larger with every passing minute. We had plans to visit chalkewadi wind mills after visiting Thoseghar as this place was further down the same road. Suddenly was in a state of doubt - which came first Thoseghar or Chalkewadi. We decided to stick to the original plan and my assessment based on the maps that the wind mill farm lay somewhere after Thoseghar.

The falls has a large parking area, good walkway to reach the falls and a platform from which the falls could be viewed.

As we approached the falls from the parking through a comfortable ten minute walk, the roar starts getting louder and louder. There is an exhilarating feeling on seeing a large waterfall gushing down a steep mountain and this falls did provide it. The water gushing down from over 200 ft was breathtaking to watch. We were here towards the fag end of the monsoon and the rains had abated over past few days but still the water flow was decent. Was just thinking what a sight it would have been during the monsoon.

The falls created a mist around the landing area and with the sun beating down it formed a colourful rainbow effect. We could see flocks of small birds flying closer to the ground near the waterfall. Tried my maximum to get a shot of them in flight with the waterfall in the background which proved difficult with my 70-200 mm lens and the rocky terrain which provided good camouflage for the birds. However just adjacent to the platform we had a group of monkeys in a branch swinging around for our attention and making all kinds of noices. My daughter is particularly terrified of them ever since a small monkey picked her packet of lays at Sanjay Gandhi national park and she now started kicking up a fuss about the monkeys.

With our photos done we left the place and moved to the next stop for the day - Chalkewadi wind mills.

A further two kms on the same road amid some breathtaking sceneries of lush greenery which presented a picture perfect view under a clear blue sky with a few white clouds interspersed along, is the Chalkewadi wind mills. The last few hundred metres is a treacherous drive for the car as roads are non existent and we clung on to our seats like the Fevicol ad with the bus.

It was extremely windy when we entered the place. Hold on. It's a wind mill farm. It's supposed to be windy around. We entered the place to a guard of honour from huge wind Mills on both sides spinning away merrily. There were hundreds of them. The idea of coming to this place was to educate my daughter on the wind Mills and how they help. With that done and more photos taken, we decided to return back.

On the way back we stopped near Sajjangad fort base. There is a spot from where you get breathtaking views of the urmodi dam project on one side and the valley offering views till Satara on the other. After a rest for sometime here we descended down towards Satara. 

There was one more stop for a photo upon seeing this large and imposing Pavanputra Hanuman standing in all glory as a guardian of the hills.

With that our musings with Satara ended and next pitstop was Wai on the way back to Mumbai for a second visit there post monsoons. That's in another blog.

Kaas - The valley of flowers

Kaas is an Unesco heritage situated about 25 kms from Satara town. This place was hardly known to the public and used to be frequented mostly by botanists and naturalists till 4-5 years back. Since then this place has become a hot spot for the public during a specific 3-4 weeks period towards the end of the monsoon when the landscape just bursts out in frustration out of a year of being tied down and treats people to a myriad of flowers with huge variety of colors,putting up a spectacular display.  It is Maharashtra's answer to Uttarakhand's valley of flowers with the exception that you dont need to break a sweat to get to Kaas.

Even during the monsoon, Kaas is extremely beautiful with mist kissing your faces through out the day. At Kaas, you are truly in the laps of nature - the air clean, the atmosphere surreal.  The place receives copious amounts of rainfall during the monsoons and in the other seasons the plateau is mostly barren.

Its critical that the visit to Kaas is timed properly. This was the 2nd year in planning for me. Ever since I read an article in National Geographic Magazine about Kaas, I had decided that this is one place I should not miss.

Last year we ill planned the trip and the blooming was over by the time we decided to travel. This year, with lot of meticulous planning, visited the place during the 2nd week of September and we were early this time around by 2 weeks atleast. The blooming was just peaking. So much for being a Chartered accountant and Analyst.

Getting to this place is easy as it is with most places these days with google maps being the ultimate solution provider for travellers like me. We reached the place without much fuss and the expanse of the plateau just takes your breath away.

As per the officials there, the plateau becomes home to 370 varieties of flowers and plant species during this 4 week period.

The rules for visiting this place are slightly different these days. There is a website available - www.kas.ind.in where you can register for your visit. During the peak season only 3000 persons are allowed to visit this place during a day. There are 3 hour time slots for each person starting from 7 AM onwards. I doubt if they follow it strictly but 3 hours is a fair enough time to explore unless you are a serious naturalist.

Vehicles can be driven right upto the entry point in the plateau. However there is a big but. The parking is quite some distance away - atleast a km or so. If you have a driver its best. If you are self driving then you can park it at the designated place from where the authorities have transportation arrangement to the plateau entrance.

Its quite well planned and staff are helpful. Just dont try and throw your weight around when they are implementing certain rules. Its for the benefit of the people and the natural beauty of the place. Also the signal at this place is quite weak and you may have a struggle in reaching the driver's cellphone as we found out. In that case, just take the official transport to the parking lot and get in or at the entrance there is a ticketing counter. You can reach there and inform the officials. They will contact the parking lot and ensure the vehicle reaches you.

These places are fantastic to teach your kids the beauty and importance of nature. They are going to the flag bearers for ensuring the beauty of these places are enjoyed responsibly. So do teach them about the same. The biggest worry for Kaas is the crowd. Till a few years back this obscure location was not a tourist spot. It was a naturalists paradise. Today it is one and only time will tell whether it comes out in one shape.

Do visit Kaas atleast once and if possible twice once during the monsoon before the blooms and again during the peak of flowering. It will be an unforgettable experience and will drench you in fond memories.

Other points that may help :

• We travelled from Mumbai. Route was Mumbai - Pune - Satara - Kaas. Distance approx 300 kms.
• Road condition good to excellent. Time taken was about 6 hours depending on the time you start and number of stoppages in between.
• Can be done as a day trip as well especially from Pune. From Mumbai if you are a time bound traveller, you can. Best is to keep it a 2 day trip.
• Place is good to go with family and small kids. Hand hold them at some of the slopes and slippery rocks.
• No shops near to the plateau. So carry water bottles and snacks but please dont litter upon considering the delicate environment.
• Ideal place to halt would be Satara. Quite a lot of options available. We stayed at Radhika Palace. Average place but in the heart of the town. Cost is slightly on the higher side for the facilities offered.
• Other places nearby - Sajjangad fort, Kaas Lake, Thoseghar waterfalls, Chalkewadi wind mills, Bamnoli etc.

Fascinating temples around Kumbakonam

The name Kumbakonam for people from Tamilnadu evokes fond memories of the aromatic filter coffee, excellent mess food ( small eateries where food is almost like home made ) and above all fascinating temples stoked in history, stunning grandeur in architecture and the sheer size of some of these temples. Once I had attended a short MDP session in the IIM Ahmedabad. On the first day, one of the professors explained to us the rationale of the big walls of the IIM. He beautifully explained that the idea is to make yourself feel humble, show how small you are before the institution, to show that what you know is nothing compared to the enormous knowledge which you dont have and create an environment where you shed your ego and create an atmosphere where gaining knowledge becomes a priority. May be some of these temples in Kumbakonam also were done with a similar purpose. Not just Kumbakonam but temples across Tamilnadu mostly follow this pattern with each one engaging in a healthy beauty contest competition.

Temples across Tamilnadu are categorised into various sub groups like Padal petra sthalams ( 275 temples revered by the Saiva Nayanars and are among the greatest Shiva temples ), Divya desams ( 108 temples of Vishnu decorated by the Vaishnava Alwars ), Pancha bootha sthalangal ( representing the 5 main nature elements ), greatest living chola temples ( 3 of them comprising Brihadeeswarar, Darasuram and Gangai Konda cholapuram ), Arupadi veedu ( 6 important temples of Lord Karthikeya ) etc. These are just a portion of the total temples across the state.

Being from Chennai, I was always fascinated by the large temples around TN. Always make it a point to visit them whenever possible. My dad hails from Mayiladuthurai ( a short distance from Kumbakonam ) and these places always evokes fond memories for him.

This was my second visit to Kumbakonam where I stayed for 3 days at my usual abode - Rayas Grand ( good hotel in heart of the town, clean rooms and serves reasonable food ). The earlier visit was with my parents for visiting the Navagraha temples which are scattered around Kumbakonam. This time the visit was specific for visiting Vaitheeswaran Koil and the rest of the time available to visit the grand old temples around Kumbakonam including all 3 of the greatest living chola temples.

The rest of this blog is more of a photolog. In this case the pictures definitely do speak for themselves.

Built by Raja Raja Cholan , the Bruhadeeswarar temple also called as Periya Koil ( Big temple ) is a stunning architectural marvel. The main Vimana is over 60m tall, the temple has one of the largest shiva lingam and Nandi. The temple is over 1000 years old. The temple is the foremost of the 3 greatest living chola temples.

The quiet temple at Thiruvilanchuzhi is amidst beautiful surroundings. The place is famous for Swetha Vinayagar though the main deity is Shiva. The Ganesha here is said to be built with Ocean foam.

Built by Rajendra Cholan, the temple also called Bruhadeeswar temple is situated in Gangai Konda Cholapuram. The temple was built to celebrate the kings victory over the Pala dynasty. The name of the town literally means the land of the chola who conquered the Ganges. This is also one of the Greatest living Chola temples.

 Swamimalai Murugan temple

Main Gopuram of the Adi Kumbeswarar temple. Kumbakonam gets its name from this temple. The main gopuram is a huge structure.

Swamimalai temple steps leading to the main deity

Upppiliappan Temple

Sirkali Sattainathar temple. The temple has a very important place in history as its the place where Sambandar is said to have been fed milk by Parvati herself and he went on to become a great poet.

This temple at Thirubhuvanam was not originally in the list of places where we were to visit. However the driver on seeing our interest in chola architecture suggested this place. Its a massive temple with hardly any crowd. The temple for Lord Sarabeswara was constructed by the Cholas too.

Airavateeswara temple at Darasuram. 3rd of the greatest living chola temples. Some renovation work was going on when we visited this place.

Thiru Nageswaram temple. One of the Nava graha temples

Ambreshwar Shiva Temple - Ambernath

Being from Tamilnadu, we are used to temples which are humungous in size, intricate in its beauty and revered for its holiness. We moved to Mumbai around 3 years back and must say, we had a struggle getting used to the smaller temples over here. Not just that, the way of worship is quite different. In temples of TN or for that matter anywhere in South, you don't get a chance to get too close to the main deity, leave alone touching it. Things were different here. People hug around a Shiva lingam which if I had done in my grand mother's sight, she would have screamed her head off. Its a lot up close and personal over here. It took some time to get used to. When we visited some of the temples here, we obviously stuck to the practice of praying from the distance which some priests here even looked at us as though we had done something disrespectful. Sorry boss - I have been told that ummachi kanna kuthidun ( God will poke your eyes ) since childhood and am not gonna change that in a hurry.

So, it was more out of desperation, that I searched online for old Shiva temples near Mumbai and voila. Ambreshwar Shiva temple is an ooooooooollllllllldddd temple situated in Ambernath within 50 kms from Mumbai. The temple is said to be built around 1060 AD. So that's almost as old as the Brihadeeswarar temple at Tanjore, Tamilnadu. Once we learnt of the place, we were itching to go there. So we took off on a Saturday morning after looking into the Panchangam ( a book which lists out the important religious days, good times, bad times etc ) whether its any day remotely considered to be sacred for Shiva as then we end up loosing the peace and tranquillity of the prayer and the exploration which we were after. Thankfully it was just a dull day as per the book.

We started off pretty early and the place was quite easy to find, except the final km or two which were through narrow lanes and bumpy roads which were almost about to test my skill of changing a flat car tyre.  Thankfully Ambreshwar was quite powerful and we ended up safely at the temple. It was a real beauty.

Its a very small temple but with highly intricate carvings which were fighting hard to survive the test of time. Some of the carvings were too hard to even make out but that only added to the beauty. To reach to the Shiva lingam, you need to climb down a very narrow flight of stairs. Actually its just enough for 2 small guys to go in side by side but the temple had put a support right in the middle - one side each for onward and return which meant for jumbo kings like me, it was a slight tight squeeze. Luckily being early morning there was hardly any crowd and the embarrassment was more short lived. Its that time when you think - from tomorrow I am gonna work out.

We had a quick prayer - South Indian style and climbed back out to enjoy the temple a bit further. There is a small flight of stairs at a distance where you can just sit and gaze at the beauty of the temple which is just what we did. There is also a small pond behind the temple where there were turtles and my daughter was all excited on seeing them.

On the way back, we visited the Kidkaleshwarar  temple near Dombivali as well. The temple is quite small ( though considered very popular ) but it has a huge pond adjacent to it which makes for a pleasant viewing. A good half day trip overall.

Some pictures of the temple.