Adventure of majgad

 Adventure of Majgad

 I spent every vacation in my native place, Raigad. Before the announcement of the lockdown I went there with my family. This was the 1st year in which all my friends were present.

Lockdown was announced all over india. Restriction had been put on movement of people. Only essential service was allowed. Sarpanch had given warning to all youngsters. As he knew about naughty youngsters who never take any seriously.

We secretly planned to go to Majgad which was 25 Km away from the village. No vehicle, no concrete road. We had to walk. Not exactly walking but climbing mountains.

 

A local boy (Vikky) was to guide us. There was no other direct way to go. No clear road as we had to go from the forest. From the road, there was a risk of being caught by police. Before the adventure I took all required material from food to safety tools.(biscuit, snacks, chopper, sickle, wooden sticks etc.). 

Our journey started at 6 am in the morning. With a small small group we moved in different directions to meet at a common place. So that no one will ask us where we were going. We met at an old temple in the forest. Then we start climbing a mountain. Total we had to climb 3 mountains. First we already crossed. The 2nd was a little challenging where there was risk of being bitten by snakes, scorpions. This mountain had old foot ways. Big trees with dense thorny shrubs-and-bushes.

After successfully climbing the 2nd one we reached the place called Gani where an old water system was available. Our ancestors made that. There were two water tanks. We rested for 5 minutes. Fill empty bottles and move forward. Vikky got confused in which direction to go. There were two ways to go. First was just a straight road which required climbing the steep sloped mountain to reach at top and then move toward majgad. Another was a clear road but it would take a lot of time. So we all decided to go by the first route.

Third mountain was very challenging and difficult to ascend. It was flooded with dense shrubs, thorny bamboo. Apart from it there were wild pigs , cobra, maybe a tiger. Vikky forgot the way he used to go as he didn't remember the marking point. For half an hour we just wandered here and there. Fortunately, we got the marking point and started climbing. I was afraid not of any wild tiger or pig but of snakes. This route was such that we had to move in que. If anyone slipped , he would fall down until he stopped by any barrier. Vikky by his sickle was clearing the way. After 20 minutes we reached the top. I can’t express the beauty of nature in words after watching the amazing scenery from top view. Green trees, the pleasant sound of birds, and blowing wind made me cheerful. From the top I saw a range of mountains, creeks, dams, small villages on both sides of the mountain, grazing cattles, women with firewoods, and monkeys jumping from one branch to another.

There was a reason why we came here was the chor bill (thief care) . This was a natural rock cave at the top of a mountain. Previously , people who came here to graze with cattles used to take shelter. In this cave at a time 5 people can adjust. This is amazing because it is away from human settlement. One can enjoy the top view. Best for photography. Actually there were three caves. We got only two. The 3rd was major which was big in size. Old pots, utensils are kept there. But unfortunately we were unable to find it. 

Without wasting time we proceeded our journey. After walking a few meters we realized that there were a lot of thorny bushes on the way. Viky got tired by clearing it with a sickle. If we had kept doing this we would not have reached there on time. Actually we were on the right path but unaware of the shrubs and bushes. It has been a long time since people have been here. Old foot ways vanished and were occupied by it. Returning to the same way was not a good idea. So we came down to walk from the middle slopes of the mountain. This way too wasn't easy. It was mixed with wild bushes, thick ivy surrounding trees that connect other trees. We had to move by bending ourselves. There was no space for walking in an upright position. Initially we didn't receive any trouble. But as soon as we moved forward we had back pain from continuously walking by bending forward. Some friends moved faster and some stayed behind. Vaibhav who stayed behind fell down by slipping his leg on a stone. He rolled gol until held by a tree. He became so red with anger. Used all abusive words to vikky who was responsible for all this. We were also worried about wild animals as footprints were present. Everyone was covered in blood as they walked through the thorn bushes. Even though the journey was so scary I was  experiencing something new in life and was enjoying that moment. After walking 1 km we reached a place with a little space available for standing. There were a lot of dried out leaves on the ground. We stopped there. Waited for others to come. They were coming by uttering abusive words to vikky. When I was trying  to make them chill,  something was itching on my leg. I turned my neck down. Oh my god! What I saw was a black snake rounding my left foot. Without any delay in reaction I shouted loudly, “aai ...aai...aai…Snake..snake...”. My heart was beating so fast. I was jumping here and there. It looked like I was dancing in the rhythm of my screaming. Friends were worried that if anything happened to me how they would take my body out from here. It is difficult to move to a single man. How we will take him out. Vaibhav came forward. Stopped me and removed the dried vine which stuck in my shoes. I got silent for a while. it took a sip of water. They asked me to relax. First, Swapnil got angry with me as he was too scared by this. Suddenly my friends laughed at me for my such stupid behaviour. We somehow managed to get out of the thorny forest. Lot of open space grassland. Its topography was terrace like structure. The gentle breeze was blowing over our wounds. We saw some villages and proceeded ahead.

We were about to enter a village.  None of us was ready to go first. We were worried about what people would ask and how we would answer them. Vaibhav told us that if someone asked us we will tell them we are here to search for a bull. Vikky asked everyone to wear a mask. There was complete silence in the village. Only a few people were wandering. They just looked at us with a question mark. We filled empty water bottles there. Now we reached the main road. Villagers told us that a police van runs from this road. Be careful. I was requesting everyone to go back home. But after so much struggle, who would be ready to return? Whatever happens we will not return. Whenevers I hear the noise of a moving car, my heart beats faster. Now we came near to majgad. But before that we had to cross a village. At the entrance, there was one old well. On that well some ladies were washing clothes by removing water from it. There was 1 married aunt, 2 young girls and 3 little kids to help them. Aunt was very clever. She knew our intention of coming here. She asked,’’ what are you guys doing here? “ We are searching for one bull which has been missing for two days,” we replied. Where are you from ? she asked. I was about to Say the village name but Vaibhav stopped me and replied “we are from a nearby village, aunty”. The young girls were shying and smiling. Our naughty boy Sahil was teasing them. If that aunt was not there he would have taken their mobile no. But bad luck sahil. 

Now we're at the foot of Majgad fort. We asked Vikky how we would climb this fort? No staircase available to go up. One village man came. He inquired about us. Given a warning, ‘’ get out of here as soon as possible. Police van will come at any time”. We just shook our necks and waited for his leave. Fort was at the top of the mountain. There was no clear cut road to reach there. We all followed vikky. He took us by the thief route(chor rasta). It had very steep slopes such that we had to climb by using both legs and hands. Apart from it we had to ascend faster before the police van came. While climbing I fell down twice. I was about to quit but in fear of the police I climbed it  by taking the support of a small root plant. Without its support climbing was difficult. At the end we reached  the fort. Once upon a time Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj  visited this fort. This was very old and underdeveloped. From here we saw beautiful diveagar beach. It was an amazing view from the fort. Now we were worried about returning . We had no other option but to return by the same route. We started getting down in a small small group. Vikky and the other 3 get down faster. Me vaibhav, Sahil and Swapnil left behind. We were alighting in a sliding down position with the support of small plants. While doing that Swapnil holds fragile dried plants. It got rooted out by the force of sliding down. He loses his balance and strikes on sahil. Salil got in motion and hit his legs on vaibhav.  Vaibhav rolled down faster and fell. He got injured. Sahil had scratches on his back. 

This way we returned to our home. I know that we faced so many challenges but we enjoyed it a lot. We return with unforgettable memories.