Monsoon Hike to Rajmachi Fort

 Adventure Sports, Hikes, Monsoons, Outdoor Adventure Trips  5 Responses »
Jul 272009
 

You wanted a more “trekking experience”, we bring it to you. Be prepared to go to Rajmachi Fort on the 15th and 16th of August 2009!

This is a more basic experience than our usual vehicles from Mumbai to Mumbai and resort stays that happen in open programmes.

We will be meeting at Karjat station ticket window (bajaar peth side) on the morning of the 15th August, and taking local transport to Kondivade after a famous breakfast of Karjat’s wada-paav. From here, we begin our hike to Rajmachi Fort. We pass Kondana Caves on the way, but this time, its just a lunch halt on our way to the destination. Remember to bring packed lunch.

We climb up to the fort and reach in time for late tea.

The rest of the day is spent settling ourselves on the fort and exploring.

We stay in the temple or a village hall overnight and wake up leisurely to spend some more morning time absorbing the timeless essence of the fort in the misty atmosphere of the monsoon.

All food is local.

Post lunch, we hike down to Kondivade, and head back to Karjat.

Please note that this is going to be a low budget hike, and we will be charging you from Karjat to Karjat. How to get to Karjat is yours this time, though we suggest the classic monsoon hike transport – local trains. You can co-ordinate with Raka if you like and plan to meet and catch the same train at Dadar or a station on the way to Karjat.

From Karjat to RajmachiCharges for this hike are Rs.650/- per head for the two days and include:

  • Transport (local) from Karjat to Kondivade and back on the next day.
  • Breakfast at Karjat – wada-paav and chai
  • Food and stay on top of the fort

Please note that this does not include the food/packed lunch to be eaten on the way at Kondana Caves. The reason for this is that we want that typical mixed food that comes from opening different tiffins. You may bring home cooked food, or buy to carry stuff of your choice, but it is your contribution to lunch ;)

Age group: 15 years and above.

Difficulty level: Moderate

Trekking time: 4 hours + halt times

See pictures of Rajmachi Fort

 Posted by Vidyut at 11:30 am  Tagged with: , , , ,

Online Leadership Development

 Leadership Development, Learning Lounge  No Responses »
Jul 132009
 
Become the Leader YOU Admire

Become the Leader YOU Admire

Quoting from an email a reader Preeta posted on my last post:

In your words, “this doesn’t help me”. You say your site is for sharing knowledge, so why can’t you actually share something that we can use in practical life?

This set me thinking. How can I share the knowledge of changework that I have with people here?

I AM guilty of currently working with mostly paying clients only, other than some volunteer work that I do. I had never thought of simply doing this online and with whoever chooses to walk in here.

I’m giving it a shot. Working with organizations and groups, is more complex than working with individuals, so I will begin with this simple initiative – how can you become the leader to be?

This will be in the form of an online learning course where we work with ourselves to understand our capacity to create change and positive results, which eventually, we will be able to spread to others around us. In a way, its learning how to facilitate by facilitating ourselves.

As the course proceeds, you could contribute your knowledge here as well in the form of posts that add dimensions to our quest.

It is a learning space for me as well, as I have never done something like this before online. But, let’s go for it.

For this initiative to work, it is important for us to have conversations around it, so I AM counting on your support in the form of comments which are transparent about how this series impacts you.

Here is how I am planning to do this:

  • I will be making regular posts here with regard to personal transformation work. They will be in a category called “Online Leadership Development” as well, so that you can easily refer to older posts.
  • It is not something you can passively read and benefit from. Each post will call for introspection, reflection, at times action, and most of all, commitment.
  • Depending on what we are working with, the frequency of posts will provide space to go through one process before we get into another.
  • Your job, if you wish to participate in this, is to respond freely, so that we have an idea of where we are as a community, what are the things we need to address before moving to the next, and so on.
  • It is also an online group learning environment, so learnings, insights and advice you have when shared here will have a large contribution in creating this success for all of us.

Some suggestions. Think carefully before jumping into this. Be mentally ready.

Be sure to check this space regularly so that you can stay in touch with happenings and are not overwhelmed by how much has passed since your last visit. One good way of doing this may be to simply subscribe to the RSS feed or to get new posts in your email. This will have the added benefit of freeing you from the need to keep coming here to check while keeping you in touch with everything coming up.

The next post in this series will be on the 16th of July 2009

 Posted by Vidyut at 7:57 pm  Tagged with: ,

Raka’s photo displayed at Girimittra Sammelan 2009

 Outdoor professionals  No Responses »
Jul 122009
 

Just got a phone call from Raka. Like I said in my last post, he is attending the Girimitra Sammelan today. In fact, he’s been gone since last night, meeting his friends, many of whom are involved in organizing the event, or have stalls there. He attended the talk last evening and went to stay with a friend.

When he came to know that he could submit photos for the competition, he had hurriedly scanned through the casual photos he had to select some to send in. He didn’t have much hopes that they would be selected, since he hadn’t really shot them from a competition perspective, but more from simply recording events mood. It was more the spirit of the thing. Participating to his best in whatever way he could.

For the last few years, he is so focused on working and other things, that he hadn’t really got the time to be in this space of mountain lovers – which is really what his roots are all about. He gets to go outdoors, to the mountains, do things…. as a part of his work, but a part of him mourned the close bonds that came from having deep and lasting friendships with like minded people, having that all important circle of belonging, where he wasn’t providing a service, but really being in the moment, with equals. Doing things for the sheer enjoyment, just being.

When he spoke with me last night, he sounded thrilled. People were just gathering, and he had already met so many people he knew. Some he was still in touch with, others he knew well years ago, but had moved to different circles, still others he had heard of and enjoyed discovering….

He seemed a little disappointed that not a single one of his pictures was even selected for display. He hadn’t expected any prizes, but I guess to him it was more about making his mark on the event, having his presence hold significance kind of thing. I was disappointed for him too, though I could understand when he described the prize winning entries and really praised the kind of photographs that were on display. In his words, my photos weren’t really anywhere close to that.

Imagine my surprise when I suddenly got a call from him today. He was browsing the pictures, and found one image he had submitted over there – displayed for everyone to see!!! He just had to pick up his phone and call me up. :)

I am soooooo happy for him. He is feeling very sentimental about being in this space after so long, meeting old friends, reconnecting with people he doesn’t get to meet often, socializing with his regular circle as well…… I KNEW how important it was for him that his contribution (that’s how he saw it, more than a competition entry) to the proceedings hold meaning.

So yay!!!! Three cheers for my guy and his awesome stuff.

When he comes back, I will update with the happenings from the event, the actual prize winners and other such things.

 Posted by Vidyut at 5:46 pm  Tagged with:

Parag Sahastrabuddhe leaves our world in the Himalaya

 Uncategorized  8 Responses »
Apr 302009
 

I got news yesterday that a friend of ours, Parag Sahastrabuddhe died in a freak accident while on a trek with his family to Triund near Dharamshala in the Himalaya. No one seems to know what exactly happened, as all seemed fine.

He was walking with his wife on the last day of the trek when he fell into the valley on a relatively straightforward trail, which is more like a rough jeep track. No illness, no warning, no yell, no injuries indicating he made any effort to grab on to anything to save himself, nothing. He fell off the edge of the road into the valley below and died on the spot due to extensive injuries. Strange. Scary.

Marathi newspapers have some mention of the event. He was an experienced mountaineer and had participated in expeditions to the Kangchenjunga and Everest and climbed mountains like Deo Tibba and Shailkoteshwar and Gangotri 1, and a cycling trip from Manali to Leh, so its inexplicable for him to be falling off the mountain on a simple track, with little risk. Yet, it sounds like that was exactly what happened.

He was travelling with a medical doctor I would trust with my life, but a doctor was no use in that situation – he died instantly.

I was not a very close friend of his – more of having been in the mountaineering community with him at some point years ago, and happy to meet on the rare occasions we ran into each other. An enthusiastic climber, mountaineer with an interest in the wellbeing of the people in the mountains rather than just the physical sport. If I have to remember Parag, it would be his inclusive perspective. He had the ability to see different sides of a situation without holding on to his own problems or grudges. Unfailingly cheerful and pragmatic. And of course, his clear and free voice that lent its own charm to countless campfires.

He was 42 years old and is survived by his wife, son, brother and father.

 Posted by Vidyut at 9:11 am  Tagged with: ,

Rickshaw cross country adventure!

 Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Dec 142006
 

I just came across this bizarre, but interesting bit of news on the internet. Where most of us whine about the sorrows of travelling on rough terrain in sorry local transport, here’s a novel idea that transforms it into an adventure anyone would wish to join.

Take a look:

Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry, is sponsoring the latest travel adventure in the name of charity, The Rickshaw Run – a 2,000-mile trek across India’s toughest terrain in the world’s most unsuitable vehicle, the auto-rickshaw.

Based on the success of this year’s Mongol Rally, an 8,000-mile charity race from London to Mongolia, the League of Adventurists and .travel, the top-level Internet domain created exclusively for the travel and tourism industry, have once again teamed up to bring travelers a memorable charity event.

Beginning in Cochin in Southern India on December 28, 2006 with a game of cricket, 34 teams from seven countries will embark on the two-week journey through India’s mountains and jungles, encountering everything from searing heat and mud to mechanical failure along the way – all in an effort to cross the finish line in Darjeeling for a spot of afternoon tea.

“These auto-rickshaws are uncomfortable, loud, smelly and totally unsuitable in every way imaginable,” says event organizer Tom Morgan. “They’re the perfect vehicle to tackle a monstrous 2000-mile adventure over wild terrain and dirt tracks. Each rickshaw is only 150cc and is sure to break down on us at every possible and inconvenient point. Think of them as a motorized mule.”

Throughout the course of the Rickshaw Run, the teams will travel through very remote areas with no support system of any kind. While there is no specific route, drivers have the option to cross a number of prearranged checkpoints. The knackered, bruised and dirty teams that manage to cross the finish line are expected to arrive for a celebratory cup of tea in Darjeeling after roughly two weeks. ”The Rickshaw Run is going to be incredible fun,” explains Morgan. “It’s a great adventure, but also a great opportunity to contribute to a worthwhile cause and help out some of the poorer members of the communities we’ll be visiting.”

“We are proud to be the title sponsor for this amazing event and worthwhile cause,” expressed Andruff. “As part of an initiative that promotes a new age of how travel information will be found and with a goal to galvanize the global travel community under its exclusive space on the Internet, we believe .travel provides the perfect ally for the League of Adventurists and their Rickshaw Run.”

Like the Mongol Rally, the Rickshaw Run also aims to make a significant contribution to charity. Each team must raise a minimum of about $1,300 to cover the cost of purchasing their auto-rickshaw, as well as any necessary repairs. At the end of the race, all vehicles will be donated in an effort to combat the injustices of excessive hire charges and exorbitant loans common to poor auto-rickshaw drivers. The process is being coordinated by a local NGO, monitored by Mercy Corps UK.

Established to lift the tourism industry out of the anonymity of the ‘.com’ web, .travel empowers the broad spectrum of bona fide travel-related businesses and organizations to better promote their products and services within their own industry specific space on the Internet. Travel entities that wish to purchase a .travel domain name can e-mail placenames@travel.travel or call 001-954-769-5999.

Link:http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/article/20061213103850191

 Posted by Vidyut at 9:42 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , ,
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