Holi amidst Sun & Seashore !!

Holi for the last 2 years in Mumbai has meant running around looking scary with all sorts of colours on our faces in & around the lanes of Lodhivali Township ... Even after we were chucked out of the Township after a year we went back last year to enjoy Holi there & it was a day to remember ....

This third Holi will be remembered for a different kind of enjoyment.... It had been quite some time that we had gone anywhere .. that we felt we should not miss the consecutive holidays that we were getting ...

So there we were cleaning up our travel bags for a trip to Ganpatipule - described as a quaint village of sorts with a white sand beach & a beautiful Swayambhu Ganpati temple in all the websites that I saw...

We were 15 in all.. two in bike.. 5 in one car & 8 of us in another hired Qualis....

The onward journey was real fun ... All of us were in high spirits .... we were playing Anthakshari the whole time ...and it was unadulterated fun... the stops that we made for chai... the moment we missed the turn for Ganpatipule that we were supposed to take & instead ended up nearer to Ratnagiri... the path we then took to take us back to Ganpatipule with no trees on either side of the road... It was around morning 4.. and it looked really beautiful with the artificial light from the lamps & the shadows that were playing around it ...

A sudden awe struck us when we got a glimpse of the sea... It was really magnificent & the small portion that we could see just sitting inside the vehicle promised us a lot ....

When we reached the lodge that was already booked for us ..... I was simply too excited by the prospect of the beach that I couldnt let myself close my eyes.. But sleep I did.. what with all that travelling .. It had taken the toll on us...

We got up after some time ... & rushed to the sea beach... The Day of holi was spent running in the beach & pulling people inside the water ... It was sheer heaven.... The beach was not at all crowded ....it felt as if it was all ours .... Even though our fun lacked a bit of colour .. there were no complaints ...

After washing off the sand & salt in the lodge we were ready for visiting the Konkan village...

This Konkan village thing was a really new concept to me & I was really curious.... The local people with a bit of help from the Tourism department have set up some sort of a village in a hillock depicting the old customs & communities that had lived in that part of the Konkan coast 500 years back... All the clay models were so charming & neatly arranged .. & they dint mind us clicking off in our cameras....

The real test for me began when we reached the summit .... there was a bamboo arrangement called 'machan' which was a lookout of sorts from where you can view the valley down..... it looked really scary ... dint at all look as if it could hold one person let alone 5 people as it proclaimed .... People were like mad rushing to climb
.. I dint hold any such thoughts of climbing .. But after much persuasion & encouragement I climbed ... But it was worth all that drama I did when I got to see the view from up there...

After drinking Kokam sharbat & water from 'matka' .. We climbed down .. said 'Aabari Aahoth' to our guide & it was back to the lodge to catch some sleep...

In the evening we just about managed to miss the Sunset which is said to be very spectacular & visited the temple... The setting of the temple is quite unique.. Sea beach in front & a hill behind it .... We had a good Darshan & then did a pradakshan of the temple ..it felt really nice .....

After dinner we went back to the beach for bonfire ... We played Dumb C till 1 am ... By the time we went back to our lodge we were feeling so tired that I couldnt even think of getting up the next day...

With somewhat lesser energy as compared to the previous day we started off towards Ratnagiri .. to Bhagvati Fort .. again the view of the dockyard & the sea was breathtaking ....

That was the last glimpse of the sea for us.. we were then back in our vehicles to start our return journey.....

This journey was a bit of torture for us because of the scorching Sun... it was relentless in baking us ...
But some of us still had some spirit left in us to enjoy some games that were cooked up to pass the time....

After being held up for an hour in traffic jam we finally managed to reach home...

Even though we were dead tired as we were rightly supposed to be ... & felt a thing or two about the Sun ..

I am filled with so much remembrances of the beach,the temple, the 'machan' , the ride in the Qualis

and everything that I will relive the torture of the Sun for the chance to feel it all again !!

Signing off
Sundari