Journey with the unknown

Going to unknown places with unknown people by unknown means has an unknown pleasure, which I came to know on Saturday.

A group of like-minded people came together from the company bulletin board and decided on hiking the unknown locations. The agenda was travel/adventure, spend minimum money, know the local places and forget the luxuries. Where the company of the people is important and the journey, not the destination, plays an important role.

On Friday evening, a meeting was organized and about 12-14 people attended it. We decided to kick-start with a short trip to a nearby place. This would give an opportunity to know each other and know the energy levels of the group. With a consensus, we decided to travel towards Matheran, a small hill station where there are no roads and no vehicles are allowed. Also, as it is situated amidst a forest on the hills, it would be cool and shady.

Around nine to ten people confirmed their travelling plan. We all met at the Shivajinagar railway station at 07:00hrs after people started calling each other from 05:30hrs! It was a pleasant surprise that all those who had confirmed, arrived. Mohit, Sanket, Vivek, Gajanan, Akanksha, Deepali, Ravi, Ashwani and I boarded Shayadri Express at 07:20hrs to Neral, which is about 100kms from Pune. The train journey we had would always be a memorable event for every person present there. We all had just met, but it seemed we are a bunch of langotiya friends! Everything under the sun was discussed, cursed and laughed upon. We had an enlightening experience with Eunuchs! At 10:15hrs we reached Neral.

There is a toy train which runs between Neral and Matheran. As we couldn't get the tickets for the same, we decided to use the cabs which ply between Neral and Dusturi. This journey took about 20 minutes through some high slopes. The vehicles are only allowed till Dusturi, from there we started walking towards Matheran. It is a 2km walk through dusty paths and forest trails. On way we helped some cart pullers, had refreshing lemonades and cracked some hearty jokes. We visited a couple of Valley Points too.

On reaching Matheran, we discovered it was a small and peaceful village, and the main market is commercialized to cater the visiting tourists. I talked to a few locals to get more information about the place. By 13:00hrs, we all were famished and tried some local/wild fruits and had the customary lunch. After that we started walking towards the lake through some dense forest trails. We spent some time there and visited a couple more of beautiful valley points before we started walking back towards Matheran railway station, determined to get the tickets for the toy train. And we were successful. The train started at 16:25hrs and boy! Was it beautiful! Through the mountains, forests, on tiny tracks, we had some really good time after the exhaustion. We reached Neral at 18:15hrs and had some refreshments.

From Neral we boarded Mumbai local to Karjat at 19:00hrs. From Karjat we took Shayadri Superfast at 19:40hrs. The general couches were overwhelmingly filled with people, so the troop decided to get in the sleeper coach, but me, being an enthusiast of travelling in general coaches in India, pushed my way into one. And I was even lucky to get a seat, on the steps of entrance. Cool wind in my hair and legs dangling out, it was a really nice feeling coming towards the end of the trip. We reached Pune at 21:40hrs, from where we bid our goodbyes to each other and proceeded towards our destinations.

Sometimes we remain confined to our comfort zones from the fear of unknown. In doing so, we never realise how much we miss on life! Sometimes, venturing out would not be such a pleasant affair, but this one, was sure a memorable journey with some sweet unknown people.