I was all planned to do a bike trip to Firefly festival in Purushwadi village of India. However, the things didn't went as expected but the successive events resulted in a wonderful experiences and adventure.
Fireflies. Amazing creatures they are! A single firefly can
make tens of children running on their feet. A lone nomad firefly
can make the boring night interesting. Can you imagine the thrill when not hundreds
but millions of fireflies dance around you? Yes, you heard it right.
And when they cover a tree to perform the dance of light you
just watch them dumb folded. It seemed so surreal so fantasy and like a fairy tale.
The city folks ask. But where are these fireflies? Well, if
you stay in Mumbai, Thane or Pune you are very close to them.
Let’s start the story.
One of my friends told me about the Firefly festival
organized by some NGO in Purushwadi village around 200 Kms from Mumbai. I went on
the NGOs website http://www.grassroutes.com to collect more information about the
event and came to know that June to July is the best time to visit there. They
had their campsite in Purushwadi and offer tent accommodation and home made foods, required you do advance booking with them.
Date was fixed 20th June 2015. Also, 21st June 2015 happened
to be World Yoga Day, massive celebrations was planned throughout India. What
then, we chalked out a plan to make our contribution to IYD.
The early shock:
4 people 2 motorcycles and a fine Saturday morning. It was less than a 5 Km of ride when my bike started misfiring and
losing power. Pushed it some meters to a garage on the highway. After a basic
check motorcycle mechanic said rectifier needs replacement which costs around Rupees
500. I asked him whether he is sure of the problem coz I felt there is some
sort of short circuit in the coil. He went back and opened the case where chain
ring connects to the crankshaft. He raced bike monstrously to check the
misfiring. This stupid act mis-timed the Valve and Piston which broke the Valve
rod.
I asked him to stop immediately. The damage was already done.
I and Rajkumar were heartbroken; we knew it was difficult for us to continue.
Replacing the valve would need at least 4-5 hours. Called Shyam uncle to tow my
bike to his garage.
Getting operated
It was 11:30AM. Other two folks had reached Atgaon which is
around 110 Km from where we were standing. Somehow managed a CBZ Xtreme from
Rajkumar’s uncle and started the journey.
We reached Atgaon at 2 PM and met the other two friends Sachin and Saurabh Shetye. NH 3 or Mumbai
Agra Highway was nothing more than a buttery ride. Took right turn from NH3 towards
Ghoti after crossing Igatpuri.
Landscape enroute Rajur
Landscape near Igatpuri
Rainbow bursting effect
Road scape near Igatpuri
Western ghats
Poser pic
Interview on the Go:
My final round of interview was scheduled at 4:30PM today. But the
joke was it was 4:25 PM and my mobile wasn't showing any network. I was riding fast hoping to find network
ahead. Watch showed 4:30, 4:35, 4:40 and my mobile was still motionless. Suddenly my mobile rang. The interviewer was late. I was saved.
Next halt was on the bridge of Pravara river. The sky today
was deep blue in color and clouds spread like white cotton balls.
Lineup on River Pravara bridge
Cloud reflections on river Pravara
Rajur is a town in Ahmednagar district which connects
multiple villages nearby. Post snacks break at Rajur we left for Purushwadi which was
another 15 kilometers from here.
Rajur to Purushwadi:
15 Km route is almost ghats. Riding in the dark on the ghat
roads have always been Fun Filled Fear.
Sign on road for Firefly festival of Purushwadi
First sight of the yellow green lights of Fireflies:
Our eyes popped out when we gave a look in the thick bushes
down the road. Hundreds of yellow green lights dangling down. We were
satisfied with the scene we saw but the thirst for yellow green lights was
getting unquenchable.
The Bad Argument:
Next on the list was to look for a favorable spot to pitch
our tents. Sachin approached the Grassroute campsite guys and don’t know whom
he talked to, he said to come up with our bikes. At the entrance a lady stopped
us and asked ‘Do you people have registrations?’ Certainly she was not from
this village.
‘No’ we said.
‘Then I am sorry you cannot stay here’ she replied.
We said ‘We have our tents and we are only looking for a flat ground
to pitch in’.
‘No we cannot allow you to stay here’ she spoke with her head
moving left right and popping her eyes.
‘Okay! No problem, not at your campsite but certainly we can
stay in the village or on the hills’ we said.
‘No sorry, you cannot stay in the village also. There are
chances of snake bites and scorpions we cannot allow you to pitch in the
village or nearby the village’ she said.
What NONSENSE! Had I paid 2000 everything
would have been just fine. I felt she is acting over rude and her words claimed whole village was hers. If anyone from the village had denied us it would have
been fine. But she claimed like she had the sole rights.
Then she said ‘you can go back to Rajur or Bhandardara which
is 40Km from here and arrange for accommodation there’
I felt like, have we come here to go back 40Km and in this
rainy night on the treacherous ghats road.
The NGO showed what they are and now it was the time for uncomplicated,
less educated, less rich villagers of Khadki.
Took a U-turn from Purushwadi and returned to Khadki. Asked
a man standing next to the road if we can pitch our tents here some distance
away from the road.
He replied ‘kahi bhi laga do. Yaha koi problem nahi’ i.e ‘pitch
anywhere there is no problem here’.
A mid-sized man with mustache came and asked ‘You do not have reservation and you are returning from Purushwadi right?’ Yes we said. ‘Okay.
Did you people eat something?’ he asked.
‘No, but we have items to cook for our dinner’ we replied.
He said ‘You won’t get dry wood in this monsoon. I have just
put my vessels I will cook for you all.’ Humble indeed!
Who was he? We don’t know. Probably a simple man from a
simple village of India with a big HEART!!
We thanked him for his offer of dinner and accepted to stay
in the Lord Shiva temple in the village some meters away from the main road.
Temple seemed a perfect spot. Before we could place our
luggage he opened the gate of a small hut and gave the key to us. He said this
is yours till tomorrow; keep your entire luggage here. It has utensils, chulha
and everything you people will need for cooking and staying.
Entrance of Khadki village
Spots marked
That man was Shri Bhangre, a teacher in Municipal school and
resident of Khadki village.
Adventure was on its way:
Meanwhile his two friends came and said lets go to the
river. Out of curiosity we asked why river, now.
Bhangre ji said the rains have started and crabs must have
come out. We are going on a Crab Hunt by the river side.
‘Can we join’ we asked. ‘Why not. Get ready, remove your
jeans, wear shorts, don’t wear shoes take out slippers, sandals. It will be
muddy and slippery down there.’ he said.
On a Crab Hunt by the river side in the Dark of the Night:
We all were excited and were ready for the night walk in the
Jungle by the river side. It was around 9:30 PM.
We asked how many would they catch. Bhangre ji’s friend
showed a big cloth bag and said we will fill this.
We kept following them for another one hour also getting
closer to the river. It was getting difficult to walk on the slippery rocks and slush mud in
the dark. Bhangare ji helped us to go through. Finally we were at the
river. Bhangre ji’s friends separated from us and went into the thick bushes to
continue the hunt, while we took a different route.
The Surreal Night and the thousands Fireflies:
We crossed the small check dam on the river and walked in
the ploughed fields. Our sandals were heavy with the soft sticky farm soil. While
walking on the boundary of farm plots our eyes went on the tree cluster down
the river. It was glowing with yellow green lights. Bhangre ji asked us to be
quiet and just watch.
It seemed every leaf of the tree was playing hide and seek with us. Our mouths were open and eyes struck on the dreamy scene. Nobody was
ready to move ahead. We stood there for a
good amount of 15 minutes. I was cursing myself for not bringing the camera. For photos follow this link Purushwadi Firefly Festival. Bhangre ji said now, the Kajwe or fireflies as it is called in Marathi are less, when the rain gets heavy they come out in numbers.
Midnight and shamshan ghat:
Night was silent and we were approaching the road. We could
hear the splashes of river water made by Bhangre ji’s friends footsteps.
Meanwhile he invited us to the Shamshan ghat or Hindu cremation ground in the
midnight. It was a good test for us.
We went with him and sat there. Bhangre ji started narrating
incidents where he probably encountered with ghosts close to cremation ground
in the river. Taking a small alcohol sip he said ‘You people know this is the
new cremation ground. Earlier bodies used to burn down the road from where we entered.
But the sad part is jab se ye naya wala shamshan ghat bana hai sala koi marta hi nahi hai i.e. nobody has died since this new cremation ground is built.
He looked damn serious and rolled his eyes through us. We
were taken aback. After a brief pause he started laughing heartily which relieved
us.
New shamshan ghat in Khadki village. Waiting for opening :)
Midnight relaxation in Shamshan ghat :) L to R: Bhangre ji, Rajkumar, Saurabh, Sachin ,Niraj Yadav (me)
We returned as soon as his friends arrived. Went back in the
hut and lighted fire to cook our meal, shared our meal with Bhangre ji, pitched
the tent in the Lord Shiva temple and took off from the day.
Thank you Bhangre ji and people of Khadki village for all
the adventure and support you extended to us.
Some information about the firefly festival:
1.Purushwadi is not the only place where Fireflies can be seen.
2.Places in the radius of 10 Km of Purushwadi are equally and
somewhere more filled up with Fireflies.
3. Fireflies come out only after a heavy spell of rain. Most
likely in the month of June 3rd week to July 3rd week. They gather in numbers near tree clusters close to water.
4.If you want to photograph do NOT forget to carry your TRIPOD.
5.Finally respect the culture and the people. Please do not
litter plastics.
6.No hotels, lodges, resorts are available in this area. If you are planning for camping in Purushwadi these NGO guys won't allow unless you register with them. Ask
villagers for help they are quite generous. But do not make them feel unworthy or
poor. They are much richer than us, it’s just the perspective.
Email me at budgetyatri[at]gmail.com if you need any help in
planning.
Let your friends know about this!
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