Genesis - soumya.org

Chasing The Monsoon

Cascading waterfalls, rivers in spate, the planting of rice paddy, a tribal king's palace, an abandoned fort and majestic mountain vistas overlooking myriad shades of green...all within the span of a 400 kilometer round trip! The smooth black tarmac between Manor on NH 8 and Igatpuri on NH3  took us through the pristine tribal areas of Khodala and Vihigaon where a left turn on the Kasara ghats deposited us at our friend's place for an overnight halt in Nashik. An evening of good food and spirited conversations led to a leisurely morning start past barefoot pilgrims walking towards the holy towns of Shirdi and Trimbak and brought us to Jawahar the erstwhile capital of the local tribal kingdom. With a surprise visit by the king nixing our plans of a palace tour, we had to be content with the magnificent views from panorama point before the pouring rain drove us to a roadside dhaba for shelter and hot lunch and tea. Fortified and content, we spent the afternoon meandering back to civilization, getting glimpses into the simple lives of the local farmers and finally returning home after an exhilarating short weekend of chasing the monsoon...

A Call To Prayer

Freshly washed by the early morning rain, the open doors of the Mount Mary Church in Bandra welcome the faithful to prayer...

The Recycled Leader

In a country where recycling is a way of life, a politician's watchful eye protects docked boats from the vagaries of monsoon weather...

Korlai Fort And Lighthouse

On a rainy Sunday morning, a scenic coastal road led me to Korlai, a small fishing village tucked away between Alibag and Murud. Apart from being one of the few remaining places in the world where a Portugese-Creole dialect is spoken by the locals, Korlai is also home to an abandoned fort built by the Portugese in the fifteen hundred's in their quest for domination of India's coastline. Past the quiet village village bylanes and fishing boats shuttered for the monsoons, a motorable dirt track petered out at the locked gates of a quaint lighthouse behind which began the steep steps to the fort. Failing to attract the attention of the lighthouse keeper (who was probably fast asleep at 6.30 am), I clambered up the hillside to discover some magical views from the ramparts of the fort once known as El Morro De Chaul...