Reviving Trek To Tikona

We all know the hand of second. How fast does it run? We all run with it.

We are ruthlessly bounded to our jobs and we have to do it by hook or crook. Though our mind needs rest and it reminds you many a times, we reluctantly ignore it and run to achieve our targets, finally our short term and long term goals.

But do we think that there is life beyond all this? There are lots of things which make our life vivacious.

Going for shopping and following all western standards to enjoy the weekends is I think not the correct way to relieve stress. By doing such things today’s youth is straying from the path of ethics and finally ending up with not contributing anything meaningful to society and to themselves also.

I think the best way to forget stress and rejuvenate life is Trekking. It can not only make your life exuberant as you go close to nature. It adds vitality and pride to your life as you remember the incredible lives of Marathas which are filled with miraculous adventures of Shivaji Maharaj (the incredible emperor of Maharashtra) and their divine aspirations of making the motherland independent and prosperous by gaining victory over evils.

I am going to share my experience of trekking with you all.
One day we planned a one day trek to tikona fort, which is near to pune city.

Tikona is a hill fort in Maval in western India, located near Kamshet around 60 km from Pune. The 3,500 feet high hill is pyramidal in shape and the name Tikona means "triangle".

Our team leader was Tanmay who is a proficient trekker and has all the knowledge regarding trekking. It is really important that you are guided by an experienced person while trekking.

He took a small meeting of all the amateur trekkers and provided all the necessary information like Items to carry: Water bottle, Caps, Sports shoes (recommended), Dry food (Preferably more biscuits and less oily stuff) for breakfast, Optimum one or two pairs of clothes, Cutting knife, Lunch, Safety matches, First Aid kit.

He also made us aware of all the DO AND DON’TS. Do’s include instructions like -Keep the surroundings clean, Collect and dispose them once back to the city, Trek together and ensure the safety of your fellow friends in the group. DON’TS include the instructions like, Avoid noise pollution (music systems, screaming, etc) as this may disturb the silent surrounding, Do not throw garbage around, Do not smoke and consume alcohol.

Finally keeping all the instructions in mind we started the journey. As we crossed the city area after chandani chowk, we started coming across the village life. We crossed the ghats leaving behind amazing sites of water reservoirs and finally reached tikona peth , the village near the fort . As Tikona is located in the region of Pauna Mawal and hidden just behind the twin-forts, Tanmay showed us the forts adjacent to it, like Tunga.

As we started climbing the hill, we could see clouds crossing the hilly area of Tikona, which was the ultimate view. We started climbing the difficult route and heard chirping of some birds which can be considered as extinct. As we crossed the first hill, the view was extremely delighting and the cool breeze was like a cherry on the cake.

The way was extremely beautiful; appearing like a green carpet sizzled with tiny, colorful flowers. The hill in front of our eyes was lush green and full of tiny waterfalls. Violate, Red, Purple, Yellow and White colored flowers were ensuring nature’s unbelievable art. Nobody could control the numerous clicks of camera.

Here we took a small halt to eat though we were totally fed by the amazing views. We started the trek again to explore the pages of glorious history.

As of now the route started becoming difficult to climb. It forced us to admire the energy and courage of Marathas who conquered numerous forts which were extremely impossible to climb.

We climbed the hilly area and enter the jungle. Here the instructions of the trek leader were really mattered a lot, as there were huge rocks and slippery steps to go up. We came across a huge green wall where we thought that we lost the route and there is no way to go up. The only word we could utter was “Khul Ja sim sim”. But trek leader guided us the correct way to go up and we were shocked.

The huge creations of nature were literally making us humbling. The colleagues were extremely helpful to each other, which was a good example of team work.

Nobody was tired, but keen to reach to the end, which was in front of our eyes. Suddenly it started raining and we all became mesmerized with the beauty of nature. The temperature was extremely soothing and cool. We could feel the purity of air and redefine the fresh air.

Finally we reached to the end and saw the divine creations of nature. We were among the clouds. We started singing jingoistic Marathi songs. It was hard to see down as we were on 3,500 feet high. Still we experienced the thrill.

I was astonished and happy to see that other trekking groups were also following the rules. The environment was very clean and beautiful. It was hard to find Plastic bottles and dishes there which we generally see on forts and historical places.

We ate our lunch in the caves enjoying the dripping water. We also went to the two ancient temples on the fort. This obviously made us spiritual and tranquil.

Unknowingly we were connected to nature and not willing to come back. By keeping the heart-throb view of Tikona in mind we headed towards the way of return. This route of returning was easier as there were no huge rocks and hills. We finally returned to the base where we parked the vehicles, and planned to visit Pauna dam. We crossed the ghat and explored the beauty of this water reservoir and took the way to Pune.

This astounding experience was plainly reviving and cheerful.
So when are you going for a trek?

All photographs by: Tanmay Mehendale.
For amazing snaps of this trek, visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tany4uonline/TikonaJuly09