Balaji Temple - Narayanpur

September 24, 2011. After a cup of hot milk and a few songs of MSS on the nice Saturday morning, I decided to go to Balaji Temple at Narayanpur. I started at 11:30 from my house. Took an auto from Kothrud and reached Swargate. From Swargate ST stand I took a bus that goes to Bhor. The route to Narayanpur was so splendid that I kept sticking my head out of the window of the bus like a kid to enjoy the sceneries. After an awesome journey for about an hour I got down at Kapurhol. From Kapurhol there are share taxis that ply frequently to the Balaji Temple. I took one and reached the temple at around 13.30. The atmosphere in the temple was very calm and peaceful. Cameras and mobile phones are not allowed inside the temple. There is a place where you can deposit them. At the entrance of the temple there is water flowing from a pipe with holes where one can wash the feet before entering the temple. This is similar to the entrance in Tirupati. There are sannidhis of Chakrathalvar, Mahalakshmi, Andal, Venugopala Swamy, Hanuman. In the main sannidhi the Lord Balaji is present in his majestic form with ornaments and beautiful decorations. As I completed the darshan and came out I was in for a pleasant surprise. There was a person handing out the famous prasadam... awesome laddus. He was also providing the lunch coupons. I then proceeded to the Annadan Prasadam Bhavan where the lunch is served. People are allowed inside in batches for the lunch. After every batch, the staff clean the entire area. The place is maintained sparkling clean. The lunch comprised of kesari, steaming hot rice, sambar, rasam and a chutney. After the sumptuous meal, I took my camera from the place where I had deposited and clicked some photos from outside the temple. Then I started walking towards the exit. As I walked out, I saw share taxis waiting. There were even taxis direct to Swargate. They charge Rs. 40 per person, however one has to wait till the taxi gets full. After about an hour's travel I was back at home sweet home. Wow!!! now that's a Saturday well spent.

Raigad and Harihareshwar

After a busy week at work, what best way to rejuvenate than a trip to the hill stations in monsoon!!! Me and 4 friends of mine decided to go on a two day trip. We had decided that we will go to Raigad on day 1. We kept the plan for day 2 open and decided that we will think about where to go, when we complete our Raigad visit. We booked our accomodation at Raigad in advance. Accomodation booking can be made through MTDC or Millennium Properties (P) Limited (http://raigadropeway.com/reservations.htm). We booked through the latter.
We took a cab and started from Kothrud, Pune in the morning at 8:30 on day 1. Route that we took: Paud Road - Dawadi - Bhira Top - Adarwadi - Nizampur - Via Mangaon Road Mumbai-Goa Highway - Mahad - Raigad (a distance of approx 150 Km). The entire route was awesome and we could not help but stop at many places enroute to enjoy the nature's beauty. We reached the Raigad ropeway station at 13:30.
Ropeway facts:
Vertical height: 420 metres
Rope length: 760 metres
Electrical motor capacity: 70 HP
Cabin weight: 100 kg. Each
Backup/safety measures: On failure of electricity there is provision of generator, diesel engine and manual operation. Stranded passengers can be safely transported by using rescue ropeway.
The ropeway landed us at the top of the fort near Mena Darwaja which was the special entrance for royal ladies and queens. There is an entry fee of Rs. 5 per person for entering the fort premises. One can also ask for guide. Guides charge somewhere between Rs. 200 to Rs. 300. We decided to explore the area on our own. It was raining pretty heavily and we got completely drenched. The fort has six Queens' chambers or the Rani Vasa. In front of the Rani Vasa there is the Palkhi Darwaja the entrance for the convoy of Shivaji Maharaj. There is an office complex of the advisors of Shivaji Maharaj. There are three dark chambers near the Palkhi Darwaja which are believed to be the granaries of the fort. Nagarkhana is the grand public entrance to the Raj Sabha. The accoustics of the place are too good that the voice gets carried clearly from Nagarkhana to the royal throne. The other areas include a market place, samadhi of the Maharaj and a Jagdishwar temple. (for more details visit http://raigadropeway.com/fort.htm).
We stayed in the guest house on top of the fort on the night of day 1. The accomodation was economical but not great. The bed spreads were dirty, however the staff were very courteous and provided us with clean spreads and sheets. We had an awesome dinner of Bhakri and Pithla. The rains were so heavy at night that it sounded as though someone was running on the asbestos roof of the guest house. On the morning of day 2 the staff said that the ropeway starts at 8:20. We took the first one down and then went to Harihareshwar which falls in the Konkan. After a quick tour of Harihareshwar we decided to start for Pune. But we thought we will drive through Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. Due to heavy rains all the view points and sight-seeing locations were closed down. But the drive through the mountains during the monsoon was so beautiful and made the detour a worthy one. At Panchgani we stopped at Mapro garden and had awesome sandwiches and bought loads of stuff. At Mapro garden there are numerous varieties of fruit crushes and juices. After a good feast we took the Satara highway and reached Pune. Wow!!! now that was one great trip. We reached home and crashed on the beds and it was a heavenly sleep after the awesome journey.