Chavand, Shivneri Trek
The monsoon has been delayed this year, however the weather seems much cooler now in comparison to summer. Perfect time to come out of trekking hibernation. Last Saturday we planned a trek to Chavand and Shivneri, two hill forts situated in Pune district. We started early morning around 6am from Pune and reached the destination around 7:45 am. Had a breakfast of tasty Misal at a small roadside hotel.
The base village of Chavand is a quiet and beautiful place. The houses in village are traditional with roofs mainly of roof tiles and metal sheets. There is a single main road that passes through the entire village to end of which there is a primary school. We parked our car in the primary school playground. Filled our water bottles and asked locals for directions to the fort and places of interest to be seen atop the fort.
The climb to the fort is not a difficult one, currently work is in progress for creating steps all the way to the top. The fort itself is a simple plateau without huge walls and big bastions. What’s more remarkable about the place is the restoration effort carried out by government with assistance from locals. It’s clear from one look that all money spent here in maintenance hasn’t been a waste. Although not a major tourist attraction still, there are enough sign boards in place. Most requesting tourist to maintain the sanctity of the place. There are thousands of tree saplings planted and cared for, in a few years’ time, visit to this place will be more of ecological one than archaeological. We all have a lot to learn from the simple village folks here, primarily heritage and forest conservation. There are remains of ancient Shiva temple on the fort which reminds you of the wonderful ancient art and architecture. To me it seemed straight out of an Indiana jones movie 🙂 .
The sky looked amazing with dark rainy clouds, however we missed the most anticipated rain. It would have been an icing on the cake. Having strolled around for some time, we descended the fort. At the foot of the fort met some village children who had picked two small plastic bagful of jambul (Java plum) fruits. They wished to sell those, shyly one asked if we would buy? We happily bought all the fruits they had, they would have given us the entire fetch for whatever we were ready to pay, but we decided to stick to our morals and give them a fair return. Back to our car, played bit of cricket with village children. Got refreshed at a well nearby drawing water using a bucket tied to rope. Once freshened up we started back to the fort Shivneri. It’s hardly a 20-30 min drive from Chavand.
Shivneri is birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha Empire. The place holds a good deal of reverence in my heart. It’s heartening to see lots of restoration work underway on this fort. However call me a skeptic but I do not fully appreciate the nature of restoration work carried out around most forts in Maharashtra. Restoration workers either have no idea of the aesthetic value of the place they are restoring or they are hardly bothered. The same is the case with contractors who are hired to do the job. Archaeological survey teams who can actually make justice to the restoration process are poorly numbered and cannot supervise every small activity. Still even use of simple common sense, and an effort at letting the originality shine and the patchwork be there to support the beauty and not obstruct it will make a great difference.
Like Pratapgad, Shivneri isn’t much of a trek but a long walk. Many beautiful structures still remain intact thanks to restoration work. There are enough spots for lots of photography. Green cover too on the fort is excellent and provides for a wonderful shade for weary tourists. The fort is huge and takes a good amount of time to cover up. It holds many still intact water tanks, a huge lake, few palaces and gateways. It does succeed in reminding you of the glorious past.
Back to the base, we started for Pune. Had a light lunch at a roadside hotel on the way. Were back to the city by 6pm.
Every time I return from a trek and the next day arrives, I always feel rejuvenated, the feeling is of having hit the reset button on all the unnecessary clutter created in life. Makes me reiterate a quote I found on this blog. http://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/travel-changes-you/
With every trip you take, you become just a little wiser.