Tansa Road Trip

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12931393.post-1122224006149146222005-07-24T22:30:00.000+05:302005-07-24T22:25:08.716+05:30Tansa Road Trip<div style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: 12pt;background-color:#800000;color:#FFFF00;text-align:justify;"> There were a couple of plans for this weekend. Dhumketu had organized waterfall rappeling at Kondivade caves. An event I was not really keen on attending. The only thing that could have made me interested in that event would have been me setting up the ropes. Since that was not going to be the case, I decided on skipping the event where I would be a mere participant morally forced to do volunteer duties. :) The second option was a trip to Raigad, which too I wasn't keen upon. Plans were being made, mails were being shot and SMSes were being forwarded. My mind still was not really made up. Friday, I attended a training program at SEEPZ and was off by 5:30 pm. Varun gave me a call and he wanted me to return his SLR camera. When I met Varun, he asked me about the plans and as usual I had none made till then. We decided to do something on Sunday. So Saturday, when I called him up, he said lets do Mama -Bhacha. I thought it would be good for a short trek. So I called up my cousin Sanket, who at that point was keen on joining us. Sunday morning, Sanket called up and cancelled and Varun had a surprise in store for me. His friend was driving over to Tansa and we were both going to join up. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/1024/ShivajiChowk_Kalyan2.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/400/ShivajiChowk_Kalyan2.jpg" border="0" /></a> Shivaji Chowk So post-breakfast, I took a train to Kalyan station. We had decided to meet at Shivaji Chowk. I reached the place and started clicked a couple of photographs, only to be interrupted  by the policeman in the chowki. He just made a couple of general friendly inquiries. He was worried about the blasts taking place all over the world. It is ironic that a blast in Egypt or UK would affect a havaldar over here. I guess that is due to the global village, world getting smaller phenomenon. Varun called me up on the phone and then on it was a smooth ride towards Tansa. We stopped for air at a local petrol station. The route - Nasik Highway is a scenic one in the month of July. Black clouds were hovering over the route and we also faced the occasional showers. There were clouds all around us. I could see Mahuli Fort and Vazir pinnacle towards my left. Vazir made a pretty sight. It was shrouded in clouds. Mahuli too was surrounded all over. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/1024/Canopyoftrees.jpg"> <img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/400/Canopyoftrees.jpg" border="0" /></a> Canopy of Trees The route from Atgaon to Tansa is filled with numerous pot-holes. It also happens to a narrow road. However the canopy of teak trees on both sides of the route makes it a real pleasure to drive through it. Atgaon to Tansa is 12 kms on a tar road in case any of you would want to trek it. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/1024/Ploughman1.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/400/Ploughman1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Ploughman <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/1024/CattleEgret1.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/46/5972/400/CattleEgret1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Cattle Egret There were some farmers tending to their farms along the way. Some sights of cattle egrets and domestic cattle greeted us. A light drizzle of rains greeted us. Tansa is a huge expanse of waterbody and instead of going up to the filtration plant area, we got off at a point where we could take some snaps. Cameras are not allowed inside the dam. If you want to go inside the dam, there are certain forms to filled at the BMC water department. Luckily Varun had his central government ID card and the watch-man let us in. He too was worried about the blasts and all the stuff that is happening in some parts of the world. We left our cameras in the car and went out to the dam. The water-level was 417 feet. It would have to be 422 feet to reach the over-flow mark. The watchman assured us that by mid-August it definitely would. There have been some sightings of  Royal Bengal tigers, a truly magnificent animal. Apart from that leopards and some wild-boar. We did not see any of these animals. The watchman told us that the jungle that is here today is only 25% of the jungle. Then he added 95% of the jungle has been cut away. Obviously the poor guy was mathematically challenged. If you plan to drive till Tansa from Thane, please ensure that you carry BMC permission so that you can get on top of the dam wall. Also do not go on  a Sunday, since the canteen is not open. You will not get anything. An over night stay is also a wonderful option. The driving distance is around 70 kms. </div>abhijitnoreply@blogger.com