Ganpatipule

This year, I had decided to celebrate a completely eco-friendly Diwali. Completely, I meant it! Thus, I decided to spend the two holidays showered on us for Diwali, elsewhere. I narrowed down on Ganpatipule, which is a good place to visit for two days.

   

Ganpatipule is a small village on the western coast, and is 375 kilometres from Mumbai. Though it is famous for the Swayambhu Ganapati temple, the crystal white sand beaches and the serene and clear sea are the biggest attraction. If you are the person who wants to run away from the maddening city crowd, traffic, unending office work, hourly status updates to bosses, then this is the ideal place. For, you will hear nothing but the splashing waves, and see nothing but the sea.  

The best way to reach Ganpatipule from Mumbai is to drive by car. It should take seven hours, depending on how fast you can cut through the Mumbai traffic. If you don’t have a car, then train should be the best and most convenient option. Ganpatipule does not have a railway station; you have to get down at Ratnagiri, which is 35 kilometres from Ganpatipule. The third mode of transport is by a private bus, and here as well, plenty of options.

The trains were full - as always - and being Diwali time, I couldn’t even get a tatkal ticket. So, I booked a bus with KSB travels. I got into the bus at 7.30PM and crossed Panvel at 12.30AM. Five hours to just cross Mumbai. After that, the bus went at a superb speed. I woke up at 5.30AM to find the bus parked next to a dhaba. I thought it was a loo break for the driver. But an hour later, we were still at the same place. Upon enquiry, I found that there is a problem with the bus and that it would take an hour to repair. Time passed and the bus didn't move. A mechanic came down and told that it would be evening before the bus could be repaired. Then, the travellers accosted the driver and his helper, in Marathi. They demanded a separate bus; some took pics of the bus. I did neither! Thankfully, the bus broke down close to a town called Khed! I went to Khed bus stand. The next direct bus to Ganpatipule was four hours away, so I got into a bus to Ratnagiri, which took me three hours. The journey was very tiring, but the surroundings were exquisite. The road ran through picturesque valleys, rivers, mountains. It was then that I felt that one should drive down. I got down at Nivli Phata, twenty kilometres before Ratnagiri and hired an auto-rick to drop us at Ganpatipule, which is thirty five kilometres from this place. I was cursing the bus journey and my fate as well. Finally, we reached the MTDC resort in Ganpatipule completely sapped due to the strenuous journey.

The MTDC resort is exquisite. Spacious villa type rooms amidst plush greenery and facing the sea! The location of the resort is the best part; it is adjacent to the Ganapati temple and the beach. The room I booked was very big; even the bathroom was bigger than the bedroom of my house in Mumbai. The rest of the day went into exploring the village. People were having fun in the beach; some were playing volley ball, some were swimming. There isn’t much crowd here, probably, thats why most couples prefer to come here. We found out a tour operator who would take you on sight-seeing for a full day, to all the places around Ganpatipule. Most of the places – other beaches, forts, and museums – are near Ratnagiri. The tour was economical, but we decided not to go. Already a full day went into a bus journey, and we weren’t ready for another one.

The next morning, we woke up early and came down to the beach. There was ample light already and the other guests from the resort were there too. I was searching for the sun on the horizon, and suddenly realized that I was on the west coast, and not on the east – old Vizag habit. We took a long walk in the beach, occasionally collecting shells. The morning chillness, the faint moisture on the skin, the splashing of the waves on the feet, the grainy sand adding cushion to your walk, boy, it was just wonderful. Tranquillity! It wasn’t until then that I realized how much I missed Vizag. The white sand is the perfect setting to the gentle sea waves. No wonder Lord Ganapati had chosen this place to self-manifest.

After breakfast, we went to a museum nearby, where the ancient Konkan tradition is depicted with life-size mannequins. A Konkan village and the traditions are well constructed. A guide takes you through the entire museum explaining the significance of each Konkan tradition. I knew that Kerala came from the sea when Lord Parashurama threw an axe into the sea, and the sea receded. However, the guide told us that the Konkan also came the same way. So thanks to Him, for throwing the axe, for, this beautiful coastline came into existence. Later, we took a motor boat ride into the sea, and were lucky to spot a few dolphins.

In the evening, we took a bus to Ratnagiri, from where we had to catch a train to Mumbai, which took 2 hours. We got into the Konkan Kanya express at 22.30 hours and reached Mumbai at 5 AM next morning. That much convenient the train journey is.

So, that is how my eco-friendly Diwali went. So much eco-friendly it was, that I didn't even light a match stick!

I am not happy...

That sick, sucking, despondent gloominess has gotten over me again. Yet again! I am not at all happy. I just cannot recollect the last time I was laughing out heartily. I don’t understand how I have gotten myself into this energy sucking deep quagmire. No matter I do anything, I do not seem to find a way out of this crap. There are ample things to bother me all the time. I had been in situations akin, in the past, but never this long. I am bleeding since the dawn of this year, and the worrying fact is that respite is not in sight.

I am miffed with the decisions I have taken this year. The decision to call it quits with my previous organization. The decision to change the job at any cost. The decision to join the current organization. The decision to not listen to anyone. The decision that my decisions are correct.

This one bad decision I took, to change my job, is sucking all the energy in me. I am weighed down and defeated by the circumstances it has brought on its back.  

What have I lost? A promising career, a rewarding appraisal, happy times with my family and friends, and the most important of all, peace of mind.

What have I gained? Emotional trauma, more white hairs, fights with everyone, gloominess, irascibility.

I feel like kicking myself for taking such a lunatic step. But well, the truth is, if I ever knew it would be so bad, would I ever make such decision? Am I making any great money being away from my family? Nope! I remember this guy in my previous employment, who said that I am changing my job only for the lust of money. Money! What lust for money, you moron? Where is the money? Whatever I am earning is just enough for a basic lifestyle in this Financial Capital of India.

The office I work here is filled with leeches. People are filled to the core with ego. No one wants to help anyone and try all the treacherous ways to pull down someone. I am irritated to go to such antagonistic work culture, but there is no other go. I have to sit beside shit-faced people, work with them, bear their mood swings, but still accomplish the work I am assigned. Who do I go and complain to? My boss wants just results; he doesn’t bother what I am going through. How badly am I missing my boss in my previous org!

I want to meet God and question Him. I would put Him to trial; ask Him to defend Himself for what all He has done to me. I never got what I wanted! Oh, should I say, You never gave me what I wanted? I wanted to be a basket ball player, but I was only left passing the ball to Anand, who went on to become a state level player. I wanted to get into IIT, and despite my best efforts twice, I didn’t even qualify. I wanted to get into Infosys, but now, for the rest of my life I cannot get in there. Neither did I graduate in flying colours from B.E., nor did I get into the IIMs. What the heck is going on in my life? How much more do You want me to endure? Compromise with everything in my life? I am a loser; a loser who is better off being a loser rather than the fight the situations around, because I know that I ain’t gonna win a thing. I feel like shrieking at the top of my voice, “I am not at all happy”. Will my pursuit for happiness ever end?

Shirdi trip via IRCTC package

I had been on a trip to Shirdi, a package tour organized by the IRCTC. I was initially planning to go there on my own, but lack of tickets on the train to Shirdi from Secunderabad, forced me to look for alternatives. And that's how I chanced upon this package tour.

This package offers a 2 night & 1 day trip, from Secunderabad to Shirdi, and back to Secunderabad. The price per person, is Rupees 1850. Other offerings were two dinners, a breakfast, pickup from and drop to Nagarsol railway station. This, I felt, is an outrageous charge for a simple one day trip to Shirdi.

Since I had no other choice, I did go ahead with the booking of this tour for myself and my spouse. A week after I booked, I got a call from the IRCTC, about the confirmation of my booking, and an intimation that other details, like where to collect the travel tickets, would be provided a day before the journey. And so was it. An option was given to collect the tour tickets at their office near Sangeet theatre, or in the Secunderabad railway station; I chose the latter.

I was asked to collect the tickets at the IRCTC kiosk in the General waiting hall on Platform 1, where the IRCTC agent showed up at about 5 PM, just an hour before the train departure. He handed over a bunch of papers, and explained what each one was for and when it should be used, and wished us a happy journey. The bunch consisted of meal vouchers, train tickets and a complete itinerary.

The train we had to get into is Ajanta express, a daily, which runs between the Secunderabad and Manmad railway stations. This train departs from the Secunderabad station at 6.05 PM and reaches Nagarsol at about 5.30 AM, the next day. As per the tour, we are supposed to get down at Nagarsol, from where we would be transported to Shirdi – which is 50 Kms from here – by road. In the evening, we would  be transported to Nagarsol, and we are to board Ajanta express again, to reach Secunderabad the next day at about 9.30 AM.

We just settled into our seats in this train and dinner was brought in by a vendor. He handed over the hot dinner and took a meal voucher from us. The dinner was quite a heavy packing; there were  two chapathis, a dal variety, a masala curry, a biryani rice, a packet of white rice, one cup of Vijaya dairy, one doodh peda, and one banana. I had never seen such a big meal offered in any train; sure this must be a special packing for the tour.

The next morning, we reached Nagarsol at around 6.15 AM, a touch late than the usual time. There was one person holding a placard which read, “Welcome to IRCTC”. We walked up to him and he immediately addressed us as “two member group”. There was another group, a five member group, who had come on the same tour, hence he named us according to our size. We were asked to travel with another family, in a Maruti Ecco AC vehicle. The family occupied the front seats, so we had to sit in the rear. It was an uncomfortable ride, for, one – the road was bumpy, and two – the family had a baby, so they turned off the AC. After an hour of such riding, we reached Hotel Saish in Shirdi, where our accommodation was arranged. The hotel looked grand from the exterior, much different from the sleazy ones I had stayed in, during my earlier visits to this holy place. We were given a double room, which was big enough for four people to stay. Since we weren't going to stay beyond the evening, I felt this was a waste of money.

We got ready and headed to the temple. Bang opposite the entrance is the Udupi Hotel. We had some mediocre iddly for breakfast. Lesson one: Never have South Indian dishes in Northern India. However, the filter coffee was amazing. The taste is on par with any Sagars of Bangalore. Then we got into the Darshan queue, after crossing many hurdles of hawkers, swamis, touts. Lesson two: Hawkers say that we have to go inside the temple only with a garland, coconut and prasad. This isn't at all necessary, unless you have made an oblation. They try to scare you on god’s name and sell you these. We put our footwear in the Sansthan managed counter, which is exactly opposite the queue entrance. They dont charge you anything, but may ask for tea ka paisa.

The darshan of Sai Baba’s samadhi happened in less than two hours. The darshan queue is quite long, with two compartments, but it is continuously moving. In one of the compartments, refreshments counter is available. By the time we came out, the heat picked up and we were searching for water. There wasn't any available in the premises, so we had to go out and buy one. Next we went to Dwarakamai and Chawadi. Walking back to the hotel was like a punishment – the heat was so severe. We came out again for lunch, which we had  in a place named Goradia’s thali. There was an Andhra variety thali and a Gujarati one, anyone costing 100 rupees. The food is very tasty and the service is amazing. They don't just let you sit idle. Pulkas were served piping hot, one after another, until we said please no more!

The rest of the noon, we couldn’t step out of the hotel, owing to the heat. At 6.30 PM, we checked out of the hotel and got into the same car which picked us up in the morning. The night dinner was given in the IRCTC canteen, in the Nagarsol station. The Ajanta express turned up an hour later than the scheduled time. The next morning, in Medchal, we got breakfast – two iddly, two vada. And we reached Secunderabad at 10 AM.

That’s how my trip went. Overall, I felt it was a good one, particularly the quality of the food, the hotel, road transport – it’s a well organized trip. I calculated the expenses and it justified the 3700 rupees both of us paid. Here’s the split up (approximate amounts):

Train tickets	1200
Hotel room	1600
Dinner	100 * 2 * 2 = 400
Breakfast	25 * 2 = 50
Road transport	100 * 2 * 2 = 400
Total	3650

For more details, please visit the Rail Tourism Website