Old buddies reunited… @ Singhad

My first trip to Singhad could not have been better timed; the Rain Gods have just smiled on Pune after a prolonged dry spell casting fears of water scarcity. We started for Singhad at around 7:30 am and sited a wonderful Rainbow by the side of Khadakwasla dam. I could also notice the change in water levels as I have been at Khadakwasla a fortnight ago.

Our sense of being very early to start the trek was short lived when we reached the Singhad village; people were on their way back after a trek. At this time Ajay shared that he remembers someone helding a record of completing the trek in flat 15 minutes. I wonder we could do that even in 1 hour after several rehearsals ;-). We took our first halt straight away for breakfast at the foothill itself, yes you got it right without starting the trek :-D. It was my not so favorite Poha and hot Chai. The ascend started after this break and it continued uninterrupted for another 15-20 minutes after which the group couldn’t resist the enticing smell of roasted sweet corn with salt and lemon rubbed on it and took one more halt J. Immediately after the break Sandeep and myself, more adventurous amongst other group members started taking not so risky shortcuts to reach the top. There were a couple of more strategic breaks to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of Sahyadri hills and also to capture the view for buddies who missed the trip.

After reaching the top, we stopped once again to enjoy Kairi (Raw Mango), boiled nuts and a few jokes from our little mascot Snigdha and our own Ajay. Everyone chipped in with their ideas to add spice to Ajay’s jokes; had a great time laughing at those jokes. We entered the fort from Pune Darwaza stopping briefly to look at the fort map and Sham explaining me some facts about the fort. Sham choose to wait in a hut while other members went on to explore the fort, Sanjay taking the lead to guide us (specifically me) to various spots and explaining the history associated with those places. We covered Dev Taaka (a fresh water tank, which serves most of the water requirements of the fort), Tanaji Samadhi and the steep cliff which was used by Tanaji to reach the top to fight Udaybhan Rathod and his army. Sanjay also told us about how Tanaji used a ghorpad (also known as monitor lizard) to climb the steep cliff.

From L to R: Sandeep Nemade, Sagar, Ajay Kale, Gurmeet Singh, Sanjay Karadkar , Meghasham Joshi & the little mascot Snighdha in the centre.

Our brief excursion at the hill top came to an end when we reached the hut where Sham was waiting for us. For the lunch we ordered Kanda Bhajia, Pithla Bhakri and Vangyacha Bharit (Baingan Bharta, hope I managed that well in Marathi). We started the descend immediately after the post lunch tea. It was at this point when we regained our sense of achievement of being early for the trek ;-) as there was a huge crowd in the evening for the trek.

A collection of few good quotes

1. Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.
2. Life is a sum of all your choices.
3. Making peace is much harder than making war.
4. I can disapprove what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
5. Don't indulge yourself in anger; it is whetting a sword to wound your own breast.
6. The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect is already in the cause.
7. A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.
8. A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.
9. Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
10. The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.
11. The only alternative to coexistence is co-destruction.
12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
13. People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what's bitter and move on.
14. People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
15. You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.
16. If you judge people, you don't have the time to love them.
17. Live as you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
18. In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
19. Nothing is permanent in this world; not even our troubles
20. The only people who fail are those who don't try.
21. Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue.
22. Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.
23. It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself
24. Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret
25. Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes
26. How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.
27. If you would be loved, love and be lovable
28. Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression;in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population
29. You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time
30. The part can never be well unless the whole is well.
31. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.
32. Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.
33. We improve ourselves by victories over ourself.
34. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
35. Peace cannot be achieved through violence; it can only be attained through understanding.
36. An eye for an eye only leads to more blindness in the world.
37. A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else for it.
38. We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from it
39. To help is not a virtue, but a pulse of existence.
40. The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.
41. If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want.
42. It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
43. Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
44. I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.
45. The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
46. The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have
47. Time, whose tooth gnaws away at everything else, is powerless against truth.
48. To be trusted is a greater complement than to be loved.