The Built Up
It was almost 6 months ago when I had last been to Mumbai. People, who know me, would be really astonished with the time period. But that's the way it goes. Ostensibly, I was a bit too busy with other stuff that included a promotion at work and a perpetual grapple for a home loan from SBI. Having said that, handling 3 projects in a quarter is not everyone's cup of tea :) But, I guess, it was time to recuperate myself and enjoy the rains at Mumbai. My cousins Nimish and Bhairavi (from Nagpur) had also arrived for their vacation to Mumbai; aai had promised them a trip into the clouds. Believe me it’s possible, well almost. You would come to know how, but you need to read this blog throughout..he he he...
The trip
It was early morning on the 3rd of July and after having a filling breakfast, we started on Mumbai-Pune highway towards the hills. It was raining very heavily and supposedly, we had chosen a perfect day for a perfect monsoon trip. The milieu was fantastic; nice cool breeze, rain water trickling on your face and the coveted odor of the earth were all an integral part.
N.D. Studio
It was only around 8 kms that we had travelled, when we started discussing about the N.D.Studio that is built very near to the highway. My mother happened to tell us that "Jodha Akbar" movie was shot here and the sets were still standing and were pretty much visible from the outside.
It was both, a bit of curiosity and interest; we turned to the studio. Coming so close, who would remain content with just a view? Few phone calls from my mother to the top officials made way to a guided tour of inside. Lucky we!! Slowly, almost all the sets, from the Jodha's palace, to the set where Akbar has a tussle with a mad elephant, to the Akbar's darbaar were captured in our cameras. 
We also got an opportunity to witness a Marathi serial being shot. It was based on Shivaji Maharaj and it was no surprise that they had chosen some sets of Jodha Akbar's to depict Auranzeb's abode in the serial. We could recognize some of the Marathi actors but were too shy to take their autographs; rather we didn’t want to disturb their work. As it was a guided tour, we were made aware of some of the technicalities of movie making from the directors themselves. We realized that movie making wasn't easy as it seemed. As I write this blog, radio mirchi is playing "Kehne ko jashne bahara hain...." a nice coincidence, isn't it?
The Hills
Cut2, we were on the highway again and a seemingly endless association with the rain began. Travelling further on the highway saw us at Khopoli, a town at the foot hills. We decided to have batata(potato) wadas from the famous Hotel Ramakant. For benefit of some, Hotel Ramakant was the most visited eatery on the Mumbai-Pune old highway as the food there served as a perfect fuel for the commuters to start ascending the ghaat. Expressway had dampened the business, but we chose not to break the tradition. A nice cup of tea and soon we were on the hills.
While climbing we could see the dark blanket on the mountains and as aai had promised Nimish, we were heading for the clouds. The zigzag, snake like road and every curve leading to a valley made the travel very thrilling. The greenery, the waterfalls, the dark clouds, the red soil and the zephyr was unrealistically a deadly combination. Soon we were at Khandala, the place where we could see the clouds while ascending.
It was very dark and raining very heavily now. Certainly we were among the clouds; all we witnessed were the dark clouds below and above us. A real visual treat, albeit it was really chilling and we were literally shivering. But it was such a heavenly experience!! An experience that would remain with us for a long time to come. Nimish, was the happiest person on Earth. Obviously his dream of visiting the clouds was fulfilled in some regards.
A fifteen minute decline and we could get a bird-eye look of Khopoli town. The rains had stopped and the environment was crystal clear. Sun shone brightly; we knew what to expect now! Yes it was a nice rainbow amidst the hills. What better site we could have asked for!
Summing Up
The whole trip rejuvenated us a lot and we have now decided to have similar trips every year. Don't hesitate to join us. You're always invited... More the merrier :)
It was almost 6 months ago when I had last been to Mumbai. People, who know me, would be really astonished with the time period. But that's the way it goes. Ostensibly, I was a bit too busy with other stuff that included a promotion at work and a perpetual grapple for a home loan from SBI. Having said that, handling 3 projects in a quarter is not everyone's cup of tea :) But, I guess, it was time to recuperate myself and enjoy the rains at Mumbai. My cousins Nimish and Bhairavi (from Nagpur) had also arrived for their vacation to Mumbai; aai had promised them a trip into the clouds. Believe me it’s possible, well almost. You would come to know how, but you need to read this blog throughout..he he he...
The trip
It was early morning on the 3rd of July and after having a filling breakfast, we started on Mumbai-Pune highway towards the hills. It was raining very heavily and supposedly, we had chosen a perfect day for a perfect monsoon trip. The milieu was fantastic; nice cool breeze, rain water trickling on your face and the coveted odor of the earth were all an integral part.
N.D. Studio
It was only around 8 kms that we had travelled, when we started discussing about the N.D.Studio that is built very near to the highway. My mother happened to tell us that "Jodha Akbar" movie was shot here and the sets were still standing and were pretty much visible from the outside.
It was both, a bit of curiosity and interest; we turned to the studio. Coming so close, who would remain content with just a view? Few phone calls from my mother to the top officials made way to a guided tour of inside. Lucky we!! Slowly, almost all the sets, from the Jodha's palace, to the set where Akbar has a tussle with a mad elephant, to the Akbar's darbaar were captured in our cameras. We also got an opportunity to witness a Marathi serial being shot. It was based on Shivaji Maharaj and it was no surprise that they had chosen some sets of Jodha Akbar's to depict Auranzeb's abode in the serial. We could recognize some of the Marathi actors but were too shy to take their autographs; rather we didn’t want to disturb their work. As it was a guided tour, we were made aware of some of the technicalities of movie making from the directors themselves. We realized that movie making wasn't easy as it seemed. As I write this blog, radio mirchi is playing "Kehne ko jashne bahara hain...." a nice coincidence, isn't it?The Hills
Cut2, we were on the highway again and a seemingly endless association with the rain began. Travelling further on the highway saw us at Khopoli, a town at the foot hills. We decided to have batata(potato) wadas from the famous Hotel Ramakant. For benefit of some, Hotel Ramakant was the most visited eatery on the Mumbai-Pune old highway as the food there served as a perfect fuel for the commuters to start ascending the ghaat. Expressway had dampened the business, but we chose not to break the tradition. A nice cup of tea and soon we were on the hills.
While climbing we could see the dark blanket on the mountains and as aai had promised Nimish, we were heading for the clouds. The zigzag, snake like road and every curve leading to a valley made the travel very thrilling. The greenery, the waterfalls, the dark clouds, the red soil and the zephyr was unrealistically a deadly combination. Soon we were at Khandala, the place where we could see the clouds while ascending.
It was very dark and raining very heavily now. Certainly we were among the clouds; all we witnessed were the dark clouds below and above us. A real visual treat, albeit it was really chilling and we were literally shivering. But it was such a heavenly experience!! An experience that would remain with us for a long time to come. Nimish, was the happiest person on Earth. Obviously his dream of visiting the clouds was fulfilled in some regards.A fifteen minute decline and we could get a bird-eye look of Khopoli town. The rains had stopped and the environment was crystal clear. Sun shone brightly; we knew what to expect now! Yes it was a nice rainbow amidst the hills. What better site we could have asked for!
Summing Up
The whole trip rejuvenated us a lot and we have now decided to have similar trips every year. Don't hesitate to join us. You're always invited... More the merrier :)
