Dudhsagar(Goa) Falls

To leave your gender behind while leaving for a trek is something I understood on my very first trek. So, it was a contented ‘me’, with a smile plastered on my face , as I trekked the last kilometer fresh out of Turvi river, dripping happiness and bliss. An account of Railway Line Trek to Dudhsagar falls organized by Hydventura, is penned below.

We started from Hyderabad, twenty-two of us, for Castle Rock station (As they mentioned in the itinerary, the name has a nice ring to it!). We reached around 12 noon the next day and embarked on the 14 km long Railway line trek. Now, 14 km might not seem a heavy number for a plain road, instead it was a stone/rock bed lining the tracks, and after sometime the peripatetic nerve endings began mouthing profanities, communicating their displeasure to the other end, making you wish like hell that your shoes had an extra padding. It was a 6 hour long trek and the rain gods’ betrayal made it no easier. Even as the few streams we encountered on the way did their best to infuse energy and refresh us.

We reached our destination around 6 pm, crossing tunnels and bridges, a ‘welcome to Goa’ signboard… and the first sight of the falls was (pause...) as always - mesmerizing. The visibility was decreasing so we postponed further exploration till morning. The Railway line, running parallel, divides the fall into two halves and adjoining the railway bridge, is an elevation-a view point with two or three benches, some fifty feet across the fall. It was here that we decided to pitch in for the night. We made a to-do tent out of tarpaulin sheets, and with a childish enthusiasm we grabbed the places to sleep. We had our usual dinner of chapatti and priya pickles and after being allotted sentry duties, went to sleep in our respective sleeping bags under the blue roof. Our previous sentries woke me and Ashu up at exactly 00:00 hours. And in all conscience, I dare not describe the beauty that I witnessed during that pitch-dark hour.

The blackness of the night instead of concealing highlighted the milky white falls, whose aggression was, it won’t be wrong to say, literally visible. The sky was full of stars, clusters of them trying to outwit the clouds. Reclined on a stone bench under a star-lit sky, with jugnus (fireflies) atop mountain bushes and the sound of waterfall – music to our ears, we failed to comprehend the fog’s setting in and then thinning out the very next minute and now and then a passing train’s light which transformed the entire place. This one image will stay with me, for days to come, till sanity shall make its long overdue departure.

With much persuasion and mild admonitions did we finally leave our warm sleeping bags the next morning and started downhill via a forest path to reach below. I didn’t waste a minute to get into the water. The force was something to reckon with, the pressure had the ability to numb your whole body in the span of a few minutes; one false step and the water would take you along with it. Sunil (when he saw Ashu coming with a rope) came up with the idea of river crossing and somehow they managed to cross to the other side (the crazy four who left me) and then tied the rope to a tree on that end. We did a similar knot on this side and then started, on what would be, the most exciting and somewhat-risky adventure. We had to cross the river using the rope as a hand-line, and owing to depth there was no footing in the middle, the flow being at its violent best. We had to float and cross it, never letting go of the rope, and it was one hell of an experience.

We boarded the train from Dudhsagar to Londa and having some three hours to spare, decided to take a dip in the Turvi River which was nearby the station. The last shreds of un-fulfillment (if any), was washed away when Sunil managed to repeat the rope-river-crossing here. With borrowing kid’s cycles and trying to cycle over water, Kishore trying to catch fishes and people taking pics, we never realized when it was time to return. It was a fully satiated group that boarded the train back to Hyderabad from Londa.

Now, for the highlights of the trek… Gopal being christened Pappu (@Gopal – change your callout name in Infy Telephone directory!), guess-the-personality games in train, fighting over sentry-duty slots (Praneeth missing one), conversing with monkeys on Dudhsagar station, the laughs and falls…I can’t list them all. There’s one person though, who deserves a mention, Sunil didn’t have to make us a tent there, he didn’t have to take us down, he didn’t have to hold the rope while we all crossed, he didn’t have to take us to Turvi…but he did all this and sometimes I wonder, what separates some people from others is this. @ Sunil: I’ll stand on the table (In your case a mountain or a boulder) and say ‘O Captain! My Captain!’(People who’ve watched ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ will get this).

The intro section made us remember the names of all 22 of us. I hardly knew anyone this time, there were just some five or six from previous treks, but now I’ll get some more smiles in passing, and perhaps at the end of the day, that’s all which matters.

Jog - Gokarna - Apsarakonda

The 'if only' conjectures stay with you after a certain misadventure. But in certain cases as in this trek, they were verily nullified by what-was-about-to-come. For me it was Hydventura -> Take 2.

This trek couldn't have started more ominously with the two of us missing the train and the then deliberating decision to take a cab and catch the train halfway. I didn't hesitate taking the cab; the hesitations came later...sitting in that cab with eyes alternating between speedometer and watch, it was more than once that I wished we hadn't come. It was a long night, without a wink of sleep, for us and ya, you all guys too, who kept on the correspondence with us via cell (but then that is because none out of 23 pulled the damn chain!). We missed Kurnool by 20 min (imagine that, after travelling at 90 mph for 3 hrs!). That morning, seeing the train arrive at Guntakkal (which was where we finally caught up) and the sight of familiar faces, stirred in me an emotion akin to homecoming. I was so happy and relieved that I wanted to cry and shout at once. I did none.

We reached Hubli in the morning and took a bus to Jog Falls. At the view point the sight of four cascading waterfalls - King, Queen, Roarer and Rocket, was definitely a treat to the eyes. There was a momentary disappointment, kept at abeyance though, of viewing the waterfalls from a distance. But of all the things the one thing I was sure was this: even if there wouldn't have been any steps to reach the bottom, these guys would have found some or other way to take us near it (Thank God for those steps, otherwise you never know!). This much I can vouch based on past experiences. And we did go to the very bottom of the falls. There at the base, the boulders were dangerous temptation-one we didn't resist. To me they appeared less of an obstacle and more of an invitation and we kept on crossing each one of those huge boulders till the farthest one, where from we could see the water hitting the earth. We raised our eyes, opening them with much difficulty to see all the way to the top. And I know no words or pictures would do justice to either the view or the feel of those cold waters hitting/lashing us.
One feels completely alive and numb at the same time. And there's this spirit within you which kinda demands liberation and that's the only reason or excuse I've for climbing up that last boulder. When it comes to Nature you allow the tour-de-force to 'take' you as if submission's the only way of worship.

Night halt in a Youth hostel (luxury) and a sumptuous banquet for dinner in the form of Butter Nan (alias chapatti) and Butter Chicken (alias Priya Cut-Mango Pickle) and/or Paneer Butter Masala (alias Priya Thoku Pickle). The orders kept on pouring and it’s kinda strange how we all loved that. There was Dumb charade after dinner, and I'm just refraining from writing the names of movies you gave us...

The trip to beach on 2nd day (till 2nd day it was still trip, considering the luxuries of accommodation and commuting) was no less uneventful. Walking past the Om beach, crossing rocks to reach a somewhat nearby can-be-called-island, it was adventurous. With high tides and strong current, the waves tried their level best to curb our advances, but we did manage to reach the island and back. Then trekked on wrong route all the way to Half-Moon beach via a forest path (not wearing shoes for this particular trek-path was perhaps the stupidest thing I did on this trip). We found a fresh water stream kinda thing here (the origin of which fortunately or unfortunately we didn't know). Spent time, memorable I can say with the sea claiming T-Shirts and Goggles and floaters. In the evening the Gokarna beach was witness to the amazing energy levels and the passion with which the guys played Kabbadi and Frisbee. And the water being cleaner than Om, we spent some quality beach time. More luxurious accommodation than the first night. And real Dal Makhani and Paneer and Chicken. Still a trip : ).

The third day we crossed limits of luxuriousness by being allowed to sleep till six (On treks we usually follow military timings-wake up call max by 4 am, hence luxury!). Anyways started for Murudeshwar Temple, famous for its 18 storied gopuram as well as the offering panorama of being surrounded by sea from three sides. I bet we were mighty disappointed when we'd to take the lift to the 18th floor instead of taking the stairs (we were supposed to be on trekking, remember!).Anyways the best part here was waiting for lunch and the way we all ate the annadana prasadam. Payasam, Rice, Rasam, sambar, curry – the food served was fuming hot with liquid to solid ratio of 3:1, and we half-ate/half-drank the condiments….What should I say, that I found it tasty. I know, I'm not speaking only for myself when I say that the meager lunch called for the expression - 'chala santosham'. Post Lunch our leader was all set to give us a real trekking experience...I'll tell you, he was really pissed off, hearing us call it a trip. So we headed to a place which was kept as surprise till we reached there, and then we started trekking the Apsarakonda Mountains. Now mark here, that there were steps to top, but we didn't take that (how can we, with Sunil and Arjit being there!!). Instead they found us another way, and we went along with - slipping, climbing mountain, bouldering...I did just one rock, but believe me it was worth it. The view from top was amazing...the golden-hued evening sky, the sound of sea and the extended coastline. One always fails to hide that awe before the magnificence of Nature.

I need an extra paragraph solely to write about Apsarakonda waterfalls. It was like the perfect end to what started with the Jog Falls. For the feel of ice cold water plummeting from that height, I have only one comparison, I've never had had such beating in my entire life. The waters literally hit us. It was like stones, and standing right under it, for a while I thought my glasses will break with the sheer force. Max enjoyment at this place, with swimmers giving lessons to non-swimmers and diving and plunging and what not. I can't compare Jog Falls and Apsarakonda Falls; they left us with two different and entirely satisfying feeling.

Sometimes I wonder why I go on treks. I don't go for adventure or the kicks or making new friends, these things are extras, to be taken along, as they come and go. I have found my reason. I go so that for a moment I can feel being part of something profound, like the vast sea or the mighty waterfalls or the deep forests.

Monsoon Trek to Rajmachi

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal."

- Lord Byron

These were the opening lines in the movie "Into the wild"; and the very lines reverberated inside me when I was returning yesterday from the Rajmachi Trek. It was my first TREK in literal sense, for those little escapades-with my friends and siblings now seem like a child's play, compared to the expedition led by Hydventura this weekend.

Neither the chaotic tribulations of our wild dreams, nor our worst expectations had prepared us for what we experienced. Similarly no amount of words and pictures can do justice to the dejections and the final elation of what the eyes saw and the soul went through. When we reached the fort, with the clouds below us, and the mist enveloping us from all sides, I asked if we were still on earth. Now, I've been to places which subdue the tempests raging within and around, but this place transcended even peace. I knew not what I felt... everything was at once so still and so calm. Even the perennial, over flooding stream of thoughts stopped, as if charmed to a halt by the overwhelming tranquility.

The return trek from Rajmachi village to Lonavla was no less eventful. I don't remember when was the last time I'd literally played in water with such abandon. The clear rippling streams were so inviting that it wooed away the last shred of resistance...it feels just wonderful to be a child again, not to think, not to be afraid. The waters didn't just wash away the mud from our clothes and shoes, it washed away the remnants (if any) of regret or futility. It washed away tiredness and exertions of the previous day. And just to see the antiques and theatrics and the poses for pics, for those laughs, for those small things in life which comes free, I really am grateful.

I won't talk about the near-death scares or the falls some of us had. Nor the misadventure of climbing the wrong mountain and sliding through mud (speaking for myself I enjoyed every minute of returning down, oh! and I hated every minute of climbing up). In this case we had our respective and fair share of wounds and fears...In fact I regret I've less no. of bruises, for almost always I had a helping hand handy and some or other encouraging voice. And the tips that came every time I stumbled, from how to balance and maintain grip to crossing mud tracks without getting your leg caught...

Who all do I thank, it'd never be enough. Still, to Hydventura for organizing, to Jiddu Sir for his anecdotes and encouragement all through the way, to Arjit for somehow managing all of us and handling everything so efficiently, to Ravneet and Shuchi for just being there and helping me out before having to ask for it, to the family in Rajmachi village who provided us with night stay and hot dinner and tasty poha for breakfast, to Hari for walking with us and for the pics, to Perry for leading us, to two Sunils, two Anujs, Shyam, Vivek, Raghav, Praneeth, Anshul, Tejas, Giridhar, Rakesh, Ravikanth, Venkatesh, two Rahuls, Aditya, Nandkishore(some people I know by name, rest by faces, hope I ain't missing anyone... yet thanks to each and every one of you). I don't even know the names of all who might have given me a hand or helped me avoid a fall, so Thank You All.

P.S. (to whosover it may concern): I'll reconsider whether I want to die near a sea or atop a hill.