AMROITES IN KONKAN At last the AMROITES decided to go on a Konkan Trip. The trip was organised through Konkan Krushi Paryatan Vikas Sanstha Nashik. We all gathered at Mumbai naka at 10:0 pm on Feb 7th, 2010. The scheule departure as to be at 11:00 pm but what a start ????  We were late in getting the bus -- the bus did not arrive at the stop till 1:00 am and the students including the faculty were getting a bit upset over this as all were already tired. Nonetheless the bus did arrive at 1:00 am and we were finally off to a roaring start at about 1:30 am. So Konkan here we come

DAY 1  ( FEB 8th, 2010):

We drove through the night with heavy traffic jams ( I guess we had to be delayed from the start ). Unscheduled stop at Hotel Ruchi where we has a morning cup of tea and off we went to Dive Agar (our first major halt). We were staying at the beautiful cottages the Ambiance Cottages. Nature at it's best. We were surrounded by Coconut, Supari, Black Pepper plantations. I thought Kerala was Gods own country but boy it was a re-live Kerala once again experience. We were there by 10:30am  and immediately upon arrival we were served with Pohe, Tea / Coffee breakfast (light because the schedule was changed a bit). Right after that we were instructed to freshen up and assemble for lunch as we had to go for sight seeing ( Janjeera Fort). Right after a  good traditional konkani lunch we boarded the bus to the nearby port to board a small ferry which would bring us to the even smaller boat to bring us to the fort. The fort visit was excellent with a pre arranged Guide who gave us the history of the fort . It was indeed educational. I am sure every one was happy with the history. The only sad thing was the pathetic condition of the maintenance. I really don't want to point fingers but as I was lead to believe that it was the Central Govt in charge for the upkeep so like any other national monument it was in a pathetic condition. We can blame all the govt agencies but what it boils down to the fact is that IT IS US THE VISITORS who are responsible for its shabby condition. There were plenty of trash cans visible yet  one of the rare sweet water ponds was filled with empty plastic bottles. The bottles were thrown by some irresponsible visitors who did not care for the national monuments.

After coming back we had sufficient time to go to the beach ( very close by). the students and faculty were involved in playing games there. Some decided to stay away from the waters all together.. Just before the sunset we decided to return back to the Cottages followed by excellent dinner Some of us said what is a Konkan visit without a seafood meal. Hence it was decided to buy some Surmai fish and the ladies of the cottage made an excellent fish curry ( the taste of which is still in our mouth). After the dinner we had a relaxing Camp fire where the students ( not all of them) and faculty joined in for Antakshri game. The older group won by 3-0 margin who were accused of being old to remember old songs hence the losing team lost but nonetheless it was fun. We called it a day at about 11:30 pm.

Day 2 ( Feb 9th, 2010) :

This was our last day here at the cottages so we had quick breakfast Upma with Tea Coffee and checked out of the cottages and thanked the owner, Mrs. Patwardhan, an excellent lady who knew how to serve with a smile and kudos to her entire team. Madam we thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts. After boarding the bus we went to see Suvarna Ganesh Darshan ( the Ganesh idol made up of pure gold was found while the earth was being dug for the construction). So in place there is a temple for every one to visit, what a tourist attraction.

From here we went to Shri Haraeshwar Temple in Mahad area. What a drive full of twists and turns. The legend is that we are supposed to visit Kal Bairavnath Temple before going to visit the Shiva temple and at the end again visit Kal Bhairavnath once again. I tried to find out the reason from the priest for such an activity but was given a lousy answer that it is a tradition. Remember us Indians do not do ant thing without a reason. So we were not satisfied by the priest. We were running a bit behind schedule so decided to have quick lunch in the vicinity ( we thought it will be quick but we ended up spending some extra time for the Cinnamon plantation, Pineapple plantation and also to see  how the Suparies are extracted from the shell). Now we were all set for one major stop of Raigad Fort which was about 3 hours drive from the place where we were. hence we started our journey. Just about before going on the tough ghat we decided to have an evening tea break. Quickly we were on our final climb to the fort . The drive was a bit rough and circular but our driver was excellent and drove with extreme caution. But on the way  the trip organiser ( who was accompanying s through out the trip ) gave us the bad new that the Rope way to the fort is closed due to maintenance. So we decided to go upto the foothills of the fort and got disappointed by this news. The Organiser Mr. Bhalerao tried the next best thing by purchasing a VCD from there and we watched the highlights of the fort on a CD. Sorry folks better luck next time. So what do we do now. we started driving back to Nashik but on the way the folks decided to visit one of the Ganpati temples ( Ashtavinayak) at Pali. This is how our last stop was . Oh wait we still had dinner to have before embarking the bus for the final ride. We stopped once again at Ruchi Hotel (where we had made our first stop a day earlier for tea). Every one enjoyed one last Konkan meal on this tri and we started our journey home. Finally we touched Nashik ( first stop Pathardi Phata) at 4:30 am. The Chairman declared a day off for all those who had participated in the trip.

GOOD SHOW MR. BHALE RAO and our own Rohit Patil  It was their hard work that this trip was successful. No matter how we started all this  you know what they say ALL IS WELL IF END IS WELL. We all AMROITES are sorry Mr. Bhalerao for the outburst on Feb 7th. We are sure the next trip (I am sure every one would want you as an organiser) would be better for all of us. So until next time it is ADIOS and CIAO CIAO

Our Team Members:

Mr. Rajan Soni
Mrs. Sunanda soni
Ms. Reena Soni
Mr. Rohan Soni
Mr. Tushar Achalkar
Mr. Purshottam Bagad
Mr. Prakash Amrutkar
Mr. Rohit Patil
Mr. Vaibhav Tandale
Mr. Amol Patil
Mr. Bhushan Patil
Mr. Winfred D'Souza
Mr. Ramiz Node
Mr. Shrikant  Kulkarni
Mr. Sandeep Pande
Mr. Nikhil Sonawane
Mr. Mohit Bansal
Mr. Devendra Chand
Mr. Farhan Shaikh
Mr. Ajay Pawar
Mr. Nilesh Padol
Mr. Sandeep Kangane
Mr. Sylvester D'Souza
Mr. Rohit Sonawane
Mr. Manoj Avhad
Mr. Ambadas Gulve
Mr. Rahul Sanap
Mr. Ankush Kakad
Mr. Nitin Patole
Mr. Sohaib Mirza
Mr. Shivdas Kale
Mr. Yogesh Suryavanshi
Mr. Nilesh Dhige