Entered the Mumbai-Pune expressway by mistake. It is closed to two-wheelers but only came to know of this from an astonished petrol pump attendant on the Pune exit road. The sandwich-maker at the Subway booth there said locals are allowed to use two-wheelers for short trips so it's possible I was taken for an adventurous local. Some beautiful roads right after Navi Mumbai.
The valley town Khopoli appeared unexpectedly on a mountain turn, tucked like a hidden land among the hills. The concrete has an ambitious sprawl that gives the appearance of creeping up the frayed green edges of the slopes.
Reached the Katraj Bypass turn for Bharati Vidyapeeth by about 4 in the afternoon. The Jain temples can be seen silhouetted on the hill:
Next, caught up with college-time buddy Sachin at an old watering hole, pehelwan's chai tapri. Here is a write-up from my Google Earth post on Pehelwan ki Chai. The linked page also has a downloadable placemark for the exact location. The entry is from 2006 so some information like prices, neighbours etc. may have changed but all current sources indicate that the flavour still remains top-notch - a "masala-tea-taster's delight".
Pehelwan's chai tapri (tea shop) is a favourite haunt of Bharati Vidyapeeth students. The guy who runs it is an actual taaleem-based (maharashtrian graeco-roman) wrestler, sunlighting as tea-gourmet. The chai, curiously, has a slight cocoaey taste and packs a punch more potent than any caffeino. A 'full' (topped glass or simply 'chai') is Rs.3 and 'cutting' (3/4 glass) is Rs.2.50 served in the container of your choice (cup-saucer or the staple, fluted-glass mini-tumbler). Cream rolls are also available but stocks can run out at rush hour (mornings and evenings). A paan shop flourishes on the same premises and can extend you the joys of a magai, masala or 320 paan, cigarettes from the hardnosed Tipper to Davidoff and lighters from fire-and-forget knicknacks to zippo genuine replicas(+refills). There's also a sweet shop next door where you can pick up samosas, idlis or dhoklas to go with the tea (be sure to ask for a 'bashi' or saucer for the chutney that comes in its own sachet). A vada stall across the road can supply you bhaji (pakodas) and vada-pavs ('vad-apps') in the evenings. It's also a nice place to just relax and think about life in general - you happen to have woken in the afternoon and just want to sit around and chill, watching people and traffic go by-as it's located next to the Dhankawadi central road that runs via the post office to the Dhankawadi bus stand-with a 'garam chai ka pyaala' (hot cuppa).
A rendezvous for yuppies and philosophers alike, this is the BVite pitstop and a landmark for the discerning Puneite.
The next stop was Talzai hill in Sahakar Nagar, a place where many student-era days, even nights were spent. The building at the head of the hill had an alleged ghostly history, an amusing story that became scarier after dark.
Here's a description from my Google Earth entry on Talzai:
Legend-Trippin' Perfection! The Talzai hilltop house and environs were
built as a pleasuredrome in the 19th century by the Peshwas and gifted
to their loyal Sardar (General) Thuve. The rest of the story borders on
myth and a lot of handed-down and overheard information (I personally
spoke to an old shepherd in the nearby meadow and the watchman of a park
further up the mountain road and they had similar concepts about the
history). It seems the Thuves fell on black days, and their wealth
dwindled so that only this edifice remained, where the last of them
drowned himself in women and wine. An emotional fellow, he marked the
end of their line when, after a dancing girl spurned his love, he
chopped her up in little pieces and then hung himself in the hallway,
perhaps thinking it to seal the final coming-together of their souls in
the eternal afterlife. As it turns out, the girl never forgave his
Jack-the-ripper impression and the other-worldly consolidation failed to
materialise, with the tortured souls causing even more grief to those
still battling the cycle of life and death on this terrestrial ball.
Unsuspecting trespassers were soon relating gory stories of ectoplasmic
encounters in separate locations in the building. Though never seen
together, it is believed the basement 'playroom' still comes alive after
dark, with the sound of the dancing girl's ghunghroos (anklets) going
"chham-chham", while the love-drunk wino may be observed staggering in
and around the house. The building in the day offers a panoramic
birdseye of Pune with Parvati Hill appearing just a stone's throw. A
sadder coup de grace in its story was dealt when the roof collapsed in
2004 from the beatings of the monsoons, taking with it the mosaic floor
of the open-air bathing pool contained by it. The authorities,
hopefully, are working on restoration measures. Spooky at night, yet
beautiful by day, offering a view of the city amid the greens of the
hills and the ruins of history - this is a not-to-be-missed heritage
sight for all eyes sore or otherwise from the maudlin, antithetic glares
of love-celebrationary marble monuments.
The concluding idea is that Talzai is a realist's counterpoint to the Taj. Emotionally, the dark vs. sunny love story and historically-politically, the Maratha house-on-the-hill of the Deccan comparing with the Mughal palace-like mausoleum-by-the-river of the north. Sadly, the idea has struck a bluer note now the contrast is also of physical health. The world-wonder whiteness remains a frozen teardrop on the cheek of time while this crumbling grey hillhouse may end up just a blink of time's eye. Talzai's once imposing structure is ungracefully aging and collapsing, the mysterious aura caked in layers of mud, imploding walls overrun by wild plants at a rate that may see it return to dust in a few years.
The pictures afford a few
glances into its earthy charms and unfortunate lot. I'm also hoping
readers might provide some ideas on existing process towards restoration and what city folk can do to help.
(Please write your thoughts/suggestions in the comments section.)
The way to the basement room. It was too small to have been a recreation hall as the stories claimed.
Meanwhile, a dog peacefully sleeps.
And the views continue to enthrall...
Headed back to Pehelwan's, to find Abhijeet waiting, already 2 cuttings down. Being a Bulleteer himself, it was a holy obligation to give the Lightning a go, and subsequent two-thumbs-up blessing.
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Day 10: Pune to Panchgani
