Scaling the watchtower of Sahyadris

Sarasgadh, a twin fort of Sudhagad, can be accessed by driving onto the Pune Mumbai expressway way just beyond Lonavla. As you drive in from the Khopoli exit you can’t miss this gigantic structure in the skyline. Pali, a bustling village where one of the eight Ashtavinayaks preside is close to this fort. As one pulls into the parking lot one only finds it more imposing. This fort is also known as the Pagadi killa because it resembles the type of turban which shot to fame after Lokmanya Tilak began sporting it. The Puneri pagdi as it is called was introduced by the social reformer Govind Ranade and was also awarded intellectual rights in 2009!

As we walked to the base of the fort, devotees in their colourful attires passed us to make way to the shrine. The streets were lined with local fritters of vada Pav  kanda bhaji, mirchi bhaji and the loved but dreaded gola valas (crushed ice popsicles). The start was sheltered and cool with a canopy of trees and shrubs, we walked through the gutters carved out by the rivulets flowing down from the hills due to the extended showers in the area. The landscape soon changed to open grass fields and we started feeling the heat on our backs. This particular season (post monsoons) has several bee sting incidents associated with it so it wouldn't be an exaggeration if one said I was paranoid of every buzzing sound here. This had made me cautious enough to carry my own bee bite kit of baking soda, vinegar, hydrocortisone, ibuprofen and even toothpaste because one of the many articles said so. Some of these sounds were coming from huge spotted mosquitoes that had super fast stinging capabilities. Very unlike our usual urban mosquitoes who will settle down on your skin, chill for a bit and then- maybe- sting. Just as the elevation changed so did the butterflies, there were pearly white gliding ones known as the Indian cabbage in the canopied area, the little flapping yellow ones- the spot grass yellows or the eurema andersoni shimai  in the grassfields to the graceful lilac fluttering which I haven't been able to identify yet.

This fort had a lot of interesting things about it. My favourite was the super steep rock faces. Now take a look at this. Paali village is at a height of 680 feet and the top of the Sarasgad stands a mighty 1600 feet. Just picture an elevation gain of 920 feet (280m) in under 3hours. Ofcourse, there were stark black rock faces at 70 degrees staring down at you, ramparts that make you concur to the the watchtower status this hill got from the Marathas. Shivaji knew this was an indispensable fort and spent 2000 gold coins for its fortification so that he had a birds eye view on the Raigad district.

 

As we reached the base of mammoth rock, 64 of 111 steps awaited us with a poker face. Each of its chiseled beauties were 2feet in height and lunged us to that elevation gain we talked about earlier. Heat throbbing was real, my Fitbit said mine was at 165 and must I add you don't need no George Clooney for it. There were 13 of us but not a whimper, just our quadriceps alarmed with our quest this weekend. The entrance to the dindi was a gaumukhi (cows face) one. It resembled a resting cow with its head looking backwards. This is a common defence tactic, to avoid the enemy attacking full blow. 

The majestic 64 steps right before the first line of defence

This stairway was the only place where we received any breeze throughout the hike.

Restoration of the Dindi Darwaza

Water being scarce and the hike being intense, the Maratha chief had ordered 10 water catchment tanks to be constructed in view of the harsh humid scorching this area receives. Unfortunately, we did not posses this far sightedness and carried only two litres of water with us. Walking up we reached a stark black rock face. Here, I saw something quite peculiar. You know when you have leaves turn yellow because of lack of water, well here they turned a bright pink. Like potassium permanganate pink! As if someone had put all of themselves out there to attract the flying creatures to pollinate it. We chose to head left to the adventurous but short route. My shoulder joints sore with lactic acid would have in hindsight cringed at this decision but I loved every minute of this rock climb. Scaling rocks is my favourite form of climbing unlike treacherous rubble mud or stairs. I smiled through and hoisted up to a large pond with the most beautiful pink lotus' in it.

As if testimony to cliched blossoming in adverse conditions. Hey, we all need a reminder sometimes. 

Our climb down was full of charred epithelial, quivering calves, parched throats and rebelling bodies but they left our spirits gushed and our souls humbled. The raspy October heat in December left us ill equipped and vulnerable.

As we turned to look at the feat we pulled off, the mountain seemed to wear a puckish look on it. I bade farewell to the Sahyadris, exalting of its protection to our people over centuries. To everyone else, make sure it is really winter before to prepare for a hike here. Both summer and monsoon can render this hike strenuous.

 

Picture courtesy : Raman Prabhu, Lakshminarayan Bhaskar.