Life Ho To Aisee

School Life

2011-08-07T22:06:00.000+05:30

Wait.. wait.. this is not about my school life !!

Will not bore you sharing those and I have forgotten most of that too :)

This is about Mrunmayee's school experience.

She is now regularly going to school, and learning so many things as well.

Identifyng colors, rhymes, numbers and alphabets are few samples of that.

Whole day at home, she will talk and sings things taught at school.

I've uploaded few of the shlokas, she learned in school.

1. Karaagre Vasati Laksmi

2. Guru: Brahma

3. Sarva Mangalye Maangalye

Also, she is learning few shlokas from her grand mother.

Here is one from that school !!

Let me know your comments.

Happy Reading,

Mahesh Masurkar

Present, sir !!

2011-05-23T22:58:00.001+05:30

Oops.. What happened to me? Am I same Mahesh as used to be earlier? Or I have changed? Looks a bit tough question..when? When you ask me these questions.. Basis.. no updates from my side. Hmm, its obvious and I apologise for the same. You all have the habit of reading "Life ho to Aisee". In fact, you are the one who always motivate me to keep writing. Thats a wonderful gift of having such a great circle. And nowadays the frequency of blogs are so reduced..almost none, then you are right.

But, really did I? One thing is sure, that I am same as earlier. Nothing has been changed except increase in my laziness!! Laughing.. this is true. Believe me, I have 3 blogs, started and not finished, at this point ot time. This is the 4th one, and if you are reading this, it means I have finished it :)

So good news is I am back !! Now you can expect regular updates from my side.

Keep reading !!

Your feedbacks and comments are most welcome.

Always yours,
Mahesh Masurkar

Night trek to Rajmachi

2011-03-08T13:41:00.002+05:30

Trek: Rajmachi

Dates:- 8th and 9th April

Plan:
8th April:
Leave from Pune on Friday evening and go to Lonawala by 7 PM local from Pune Station.
Dinner and then start the trek in night.
Stay at Rajmachi.
9th April:
Visit the fort and rest.
Start from Rajmachi at 3:00 PM
Catch the Pune local at 9:45 PM (Will reach Station at 11:10)

Individual Items to bring (MUST):

1) A haversack to put in all the things to be carried. So that one has free hands while trekking.
2) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
3) Sleeping bag/mat
4) Enough clothing
5) A good Torch, candle and match box
6) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
7) Cap, Sun glasses
8) Camera (optional)
9) Wind cheater (optional)

A) Food:
We will have dinner at Lonawala. And we will get food at Rajmachi, so nothing to carry much.
We will buy something at Lonawala.
B) Other items:
Knife (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)
C) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit
All:- As per individual requirement

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T01:22:00.001+05:30

To all the readers of Life Ho To Aisee:

" I wiish a happy and successful new year.
Hope all your dreams come true in Year 2011."

- Mahesh Masurkar

Blog thru cell phone

2010-12-19T12:26:00.004+05:30

This is my first blog thru cell phone. I am using cousin bro's card to access gprs internet. It works very well, even on my nokia 3110c. Pretty fast and convenient. I liked it very much.
- Mahesh

HAPPY DIWALI

2010-11-03T11:34:00.000+05:30

To,

The Readers of "Life Ho To Aisee"

" I Wish A Very Happy and Joyful Diwali.

May This Diwali Fulfil All Your Dreams. "

HAPPY DIWALI

- Mahesh Masurkar

A Mind Refresher..

2010-08-29T21:19:00.002+05:30

AWIM (A World in Motion) is an initiative started by SAE India for the school students to learn science principles thru fun. You can get more detailed information here. This weekend, I had been to ARAI for AWIM Teachers & Volunteers Training. I opted as a volunteer for Millennium School, Pune along with Girish, Harshal & Vikram. Two days training was really good & a nice experience to learn how to make the JetToy. It was like a mind refresher from the regular life.

Now the next task is to teach school teachers and more fun when we start teaching students. I am sure students will also have equal (or more) fun too.

I will upload the photos from the training very soon.

Read the news in Sakal Times here.
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Trek to Bheema Shankar - Part 1 (Plan)

2010-08-12T18:07:00.005+05:30

Trek: Khandas Bheema Shankar Khandas (KBSK)
Dates:- 14-15 AUG 2010
Finally, only 5 people are available for trek as Anant, Kapil, Atul, Milind and Mahesh
We are going by Kapil's car.

Final Plan:

14AUG2010:-
1) Atul will come to Kapil's house in the morning
2) Kapil will pick up Mahesh at Pune Station at 6:45 AM
3) Then Anant will be picked up at Dapodi chowk at 7:00 AM
4) Finally, Milind will board the car at Nigdi Fly over at 7:15 AM
5) Reach Karjat by 9:30 AM, and have breakfast.
6) Reach Khandas by 11:00 AM
7) Start towards Bheema Shankar at 11:15 AM by Ganesh Ghat (Not going by Shidi chi waat?? .. may be)
8) Reach Bheema Shankar by 4:00 PM
9) Stay at Bheema Shankar

15AUG2010:-
1) Morning visit to the temple (one of the 12 Jyotirliga temple in India)
2) Roam around Bheema Shankar, visit gupta Bheema Shankar, Nag phani
3) Lunch at Bheema Shankar at around 11:00 AM.
4) Trek back to Khandas
5) Travel back to Pune
Plan to reach Pune by 7:00 PM

Individual Items to bring (MUST):

1) A haversack to put in all the things to be carried. So that one has free hands while trekking.
2) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
3) Sleeping bag/mat
4) Enough clothing
5) A good Torch, candle and match box
6) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
7) Cap (optional)
8) Camera (optional)
9) Wind cheater (optional)
10) Tent (Mahesh - Sneha's tent)
Its raining heavy these days, so pack your bags accordingly to save them from getting wet.

A) Food:
Everybody has to carry
-- Saturday lunch
-- Snacks items (plum cakes, biscuits, wafers, cream rolls, jam and bread etc)
B) Other items:
Mug/Glass, knife (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)
C) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit
All:- As per individual requirement

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

No more Fish...........

2010-08-10T19:15:00.000+05:30

23Feb2003: Morning 9:00 AM, in Infotech office, waiting in a HR room, curious about what will happen next..very much anxious. There are 11 more like me, straight from the college. Here is the first time I met Vinayak, a small guy sitting silent.. little shy.

Next 2.5 yrs: This same Vinayak was my roomie with Sada. We enjoyed a lot. Our house was co-shared by other guttala members as well. Vinayak was open and mixed sometimes, sometimes reserved and locked in his room. This guy used to read a lot and to read anything.. don't have any restriction on the books. He used to read like an IAS preparer.

2Aug2010: 4:30 PM. In Casualty room at YCM Hospital, very much frustrated.. don't know what was the status of the mind. It was nowhere.. roaming from 23Feb2003 till date.. don't know. And I met him again.. ohh no.. not like this. One small mistake from the PMT bus driver had taken my friend miles and miles away from me.. it's unbelievable.

Life is unpredictable, but not for the close ones.. one of the worst post on "Life ho to aisee"

Vinayak, you will always be in my hearts.. no matter where you are..

- MM

DiCAPac DIWP610: Waterproof Camera Cover

2010-08-08T13:17:00.003+05:30

I lost one camera in one of the treks. So I always wanted to have one waterproof cover for my camera. Now the rainy and the trekking season is going to start, suddenly it striked my mind and I started searching for one for my SX110. I was browsing for it and saw a webiste for waterproof underwater covers for camera. I found it very much interesting, searched one compatible for camera. I found that DicaPac WP610 will be good for SX110. I had gone thru all the reviews available and decided to buy. Swapnil bought it for me and sent to India with his friends.
I decided to do the water proof (leak) test before using this cover. There are 3 point seals for this case, one like a air tight seal and other two are welcrows. I put cotton inside the case, closed and kept it under water for almost 10 minutes. Mru also joined to help me do the test. (Basically she wanted to play in the water) Once the test was over, I took the case outside and cleaned the outer surface with a cloth. (This is very very important.. this should always be done, before taking your camera outside the case.)
You can see all the test photos here.
Personally, I liked this case very much and I am going to use it from next trek onwards. One more gadget under my belt :)

Site where I bought this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Price: $ 41.99

- Mahesh Masurkar

Walk of "The life"

2010-07-20T23:32:00.000+05:30

Whats this post and whats its significance to my 'Life ho to aisee"?
Any clue, any idea.. what may be the correlation?
Some thing related to my trekking...
Think.. think..
Still not able to correlate.
No problem.. I am here to explain each and everything in detail.

Tonight, Mru and Anagha were sitting on the bed, and Anagha was feeding her "varaN bhat (वरण भात). I was sitting next to them,solving Sudoku and Marathi crossword (शब्दकोडे). (yes.. don't get shocked, I try my luck every night )
At the same time, we were busy watching Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (सारेगमप) on Z marathi. Mru was doing something behind Anagha, near to the wall. Mru came in front of Anagha, and suddenly Anagha shouted "अरे ही बघ, चालत पुढे आली !!" ("Look at her, she is walking"). We were very happy to see this moment. Mru was OK as if she did nothing. She fail down, got up again and started again. Anagha and I cheered .. ताल, ताल.. ताल ताल.. (ही मृ ची भाषा, बर का!) Then she realized that she started walking. She even took a 90 degree turn as well. I immediately jumped from the bed to get my cell phone to capture this memorable moment. What a moment to capture.. all parents eagerly wait for this moment. Normally, Anagha was the first witness for Mru's all developments and I used to hear it once I am back from office. But not this.. we were together when Mru started her 'first step' independently of 'her life'.. Isn't this the beginning of walk of the life?

Refresher trek to Lohgad - 17July2010

2010-07-18T10:36:00.049+05:30

After a long wait, rainy season started and we decided to have some small fun trek. There was a gap of few months in between our trekking. This one was like a starter even though last month I had been to Sinhgad.
Initially, almost every member of our group shown interest to join for this trek. But as usual almost everybody dropped at the last moment, leaving 5 of us.. TeJa, Atul, Sam, Dusty & I. Initial plan of going by Car and/or Local was cancelled and we decided to go on bike. Sam did not manage to get a bike and he dropped out on Saturday morning.
So finally Dusty and I on my (BIL's) bike and Atul & TeJa on Atul's bike. We met at Nashik Phata and started for Malawali. Though there were enough clouds that day, but no rain at all, some drizzle on the way.. thats it. Even the waterfalls on the way were very very small, discouraging us to go towards it.
This was Dusty's first trek after really a long time and first with our group. Atul and TeJa took the regular route, whereas I took Dusty on the shortcut way. After some time, Dusty called me and asked to shout. I thought he wanted some fun and I did. Then he said ," I am able to hear you, but not able to see you." Then I realized what might be the problem. Dusty was on "low sugar" because of this sudden exercion. We had our break fast at the base, but I guessed it had not yet enrouted to the blood level. I asked him to lay down there, close eyes and take rest for 5 minutes. Within 5 minutes, Dusty was on his feet. After crossing the small hillock, we had energy nutribars to refresh ourselves. Apart from this, the trek was a regualr one. Lohgad is now easily approached from Lonawala with a good tar road. Hence very much crowdy.
The food at the base (bhaje) was awesome and delicious.
I did not take my camera, but Atul and TeJa did. As usual, both have not shared the photos yet :)

- Mahesh Masurkar

Coding, decoding & I

2010-06-01T15:30:00.001+05:30

Shocked to read the title.. You might have thought .. whats this? An analyst doing coding rather than doing his regular analysis stuff. Yes..thats true. I was doing some coding after a long long time. I am little familiar with C & C++. This time I chose Python to work with as it offers great tools which I require this time.

We were in need of a code, which will reduce our work. Sneha and I started working on the same. She chose to work on C while I chose Python. (though we both used the same logic in writing the code !!) Recently, my colleague, Narsimloo did one code in Python and he helped me to start with. This was really a wonderful experience doing something new after a long time.

This is a small utility (called ProE Export Utility) to convert the output from ProE in Star CD format. I later enhanced it so as to export to Nastran format as well. It was fun learning the new language and doing programming. Obviously, google helped a lot when it comes to debugging or enhancing the code. Now the code is secured as well and nobody can use it without my permission. I own the copyright of the same. (Not going to sell it.. just for fun !!)

The next thing to be done is to give the code a good graphical look and a nice icon.
Hopefully, I will complete it very soon.

Thanks to Sneha, Narsimloo, Jayat and Bob for their help and encouragement in this small journey.

- Mahesh Masurkar

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380

2010-03-23T15:39:00.001+05:30

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380: "The A380 the new Lufthansa flagship, a special experience, the Lufthansa A380. Find out more about the fascination of a new era in air travel. Take part, Raffles, Downloads, Photos, Video, Gallery, First Flight in 2010."

Pls click on the link above and vote for this name. We can make this A380 named by great Indian name. Ashwamegh is a horse of a Chakravarti Raja and symbolically A380 will be the flagship of Airbus :)

So pls pls pls vote for this name and make the Great India History a part of New Era.

- Mahesh Masurkar

Plan: Harishchandragad trek via नळीची वाट

2010-01-29T11:49:00.003+05:30

Trek Dates:- Friday 29 Jan 2010 to Sunday 31 Jan 2010
Total count = 10 with 2 cars

Meeting place:- Nashik Phata
Meeting Time:- 6:30 PM on Friday 29 Jan 2010

Final schedule:-
Day 1: Friday 29 Jan 2010
Two cars by Nikhil and Gauss
Car # 1
Nikhil, Mahesh, Sam, Sachin and Anant
Mahesh is responsible for this car.
Car # 2
Gauss, Amol, Atul, Swapnil and Kapil.
Swapnil is responsible for this car.
Except car onwers (who are initially fuelling their cars), everybody else pls pay Rs. 600/- to me.
(Cost details:-Approx. Rs. 600/- per head
including tea, snacks/break fast, lunch, dinner, travel etc)

Both the cars will meet at Nashik Phata at 6:30 PM.
Then start towards Bail pada, have dinner on the way.
Reach Bailpada and hault.

Day 2: Saturday 30 Jan 2010
Wake up early in the morning (before sunrise), fresh up and start for the trek at 7:00 AM
Snacks/bread break fast at 8:30 PM
Reach top at Kokan kadaa by 11:30 AM.
Reach the caves by 1:00 PM.
1-2 PM is lunch/break time.
Start for descend at 2:00 PM. Visit to temples.
Reach Pachnai by 4 PM and then base camp by 7:00 PM
Then camping at base, dinner and rest

Day 3:Sunday 31 Jan 2010
Return back to Pune by 12:00 PM.

Things to carry:-
A) Individual Items to bring (MUST):
1) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
2) Sleeping bag/mat
3) Enough clothing, including warm clothes
4) A good Torch, candle and match box
5) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
6) Cap (optional)
7) Camera (optional)
8) A good haver sack to carry.
9) Soap, toothpaste, brush etc
10) Tent (Mahesh & Nikhil)
11) Bed sheet, kambal, shawl etc
B) Food:
Atul:- 4 Breads, Jams, Pickles, Chutney. Cakes, Biscuits, knife, Glucon D
Amol can share this with Atul (after their discussion)
Anant:- 1 Paatele, kerosene, maachis, men batti, rope, zaaraa/daav/paLi
Mahesh:- Paraathe, khichadi mix, paatele 2 (small), zaaraa
Sweet Lemons
Sam:- 2 kg onions
Swapnil:- All items required for chicken. (including onions and lemons)

C) Utensils:
All:- Plate, cup & spoon
Mug (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)

D) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit (band aids, cream, spray, tabs)
All:- As per individual requirement

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Natarang and I

2010-01-08T14:05:00.003+05:30

A new Marathi movie 'Natarang' is released thin January, rocking and getting house full all over the Maharashtra. Natarang is the story of GUNA, a farm worker from the backwad community, with ultimate dreams of playing the King in the traditional Marathi folk art Tamasha. He starts the Tamasha, but finds difficult to get the character of नाच्या (dancer). Then he has no other option, but to do the role himself, which he did.

When I read the story,it took me 6 years back, right in 2003. That was our 1st year in Infotech1 and we did a skit at Infotsav2 2003. Nikhil was the brain behind the skit. The final script, practise was done in our house. The skit's name was "Ramayana Reloaded" which was the biggest hit of Infotsav 2003. My part was overall management and songs collection.. kind of backstage. There is one female character named Shurpanakha (शूर्पणखा) in the skit and nobody was ready to do this role. So ultimately everybody convinced (or managed) me to do this role. I even had to remove my mustache. That was a last minute change which I did. It was fun doing that role.

Have a nice time !!
- Mahesh Masurkar

Note:-
1. Infotech Enterprises Ltd, Hyderabad => My first company
2. Infotsav - Annual Function of Infotech.
I just remembered this when I read about Natarang.. thats it !!
So no comparison/offence is meant to the Natarang story or the actor Atul Kulkarni.. he was superb in the movie.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-05T18:27:00.004+05:30

To,
All the Readers and Fans of "Life Ho To Aisee"

A Very Happy, Healthy and Joyful New Year to YOU.

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Note:- This Photo is taken from the John Deere internal publication. Pls do not copy this photograph.

New torch in the market

2009-12-31T13:58:00.004+05:30

I mentioned about the Red Everedy torch in my last post. Now there are two LED torches from Everedy. One is at Rs. 80/- and other is at Rs. 95/- Both are good. Only difference is in the focus. So one can prefer to buy the cheaper one. 3 batteries are provided with these torch. I have one small headlight (नागमणी) with me. Thinking to buy a new one to add to my kit.

- Mahesh Masurkar

Pointers to Vasota (Vyaghragad)

2009-11-09T14:52:00.009+05:30

Vasota is situated in the dense forests surrounded by the back water of Koyana dam. There are two ways to reach to Vasota. One way is from Bamnoli and other is from Konkan side village called Choravane. The route from Choravane is not so good and I'll rate it as Medium and will recommend it only for good trekkers. (We were amateur trekkers, so opted the Bamnoli route)

Hence I will describe the Bamnoli way only.

How to reach Bamnoli:

If you have your own vehicle, you can directly come to Bamnoli. It is 35 kms from Satara.

Otherwise, you can catch state transport (ST) bus from Satara to Bamnoli. First bus is available at 6:30-7 AM and will reach Bamnoli at 8:00 AM. One need to cross the back water of Koyana dam to reach the base place met Indavali using the launch service available at Bamnoli. This service starts at 7:00 AM.

Formalities:

One need to take forest dept permission to visit Vasota. The office opens early at 7:30 AM during week ends to help the trekkers. If not, you may contact Suresh Salunkhe, who stays opposite to Bhairavnat temple. The fees per head are Rs. 20/-. Boat services charge Rs. 1475/- for to and fro trip to Met Indavali with max capacity of 12 people.

Places to visit:

There are two places to visit during this trek, Nageshwar and Vasota fort.

After you get down at Met Indavali, register your entries at the office and then take the road going backside of the office. After 10 mins, you will find one Hanuman idol on LHS. Here road towards left go to Vasota and straight goes to Nageshwar. People who want to do ONLY Vasota can opt for the LHS road. Those who want to do Nageshwar or BOTH can go straight through the stream of water. Follow the stream end. This will take you to Nageshwar. You can see Lord Shankar Idol at Nageshwar, which is in a cave. The scenery from here is truely marvellous.

Just before Nageshwar, you will find water which is drinkable. Get your bottles filled here as there is no potable water at present at Vasota. (People doing only Vasota should also remember this !!). If you have to do ONLY Vasota, it will take 2.5 hrs from office till top of Vasota.

Nageshwar to Vasota is 1.5 hrs walk, half way along the ridge of the hill and remaining through dense forest. One can see Old Vasota, Babu kadaa, Hanuman Temple, Mahadev Temple, Reins of the Wada at Vasota. Vasota to Met Indavali takes 1.5 hrs for descend. Babu kadaa is very similar to "Kokan Kadaa" at Harishchandragad fort.

One have to reach before or at 5:00 PM to catch the boat for Bamnoli. Boat people do not wait for long time. Stay at Nageshwar or Vasota is nowadays prohibited. Otherwise the fine is Rs. 100/- per day per head, if you were found voiloating it.

A word of caution during rainy season. This area is full of litches in rainy days. So be careful and carry salt and/or tobacco with you to remove litch from your body. Don't pull them directly.

Camping:

One cay have camping in the forest, but at the opposite banks of Bamnoli. Charges for boat are Rs. 200/-. If you want tent, then rent for the same is Rs. 400/- for 10 people's tent (which can accomodate 12 to 14, I say). Or You can have your camping at Kaas lake as well. But it will be very dark till you reach there and you will not get same feelings like the forest.

If you want any other information, you can contact me at mahesh.masurkar@gmail.com

Thanks,

Mahesh Masurkar

Dev darshan:- Jotiba, Kolhapur

2009-10-30T16:13:00.004+05:30

I was enjoying my deewali vacation this year visiting Shirala, Sangali & Kolhapur.

But this enjoyment has other side as well. My tummy was enlarging at a faster pace. So I decided to do some thing. Waking early and going for a walk is ALWAYS impossible for me. I thought of going to Jotiba by walk. My cousin brother, Saurabh told he would join me for the same.

We started early in the morning at 6:30 AM on 24Oct. The journey so far was good when our bike got punctured.
=====
To be finished..

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/mahesh.masurkar/JotibaDarshan#

Vasota Trek Plan:- 31Oct-1Nov 09

2009-10-29T22:42:00.003+05:30

Trek Dates:- Friday 30 Oct 09 to Sunday 1 Nov 09
Total count = 10 with 2 cars

Meeting place:- Next to Toll booth # 1 towarsd Satara.
Meeting Time:- 7:45 PM on Friday 30 Oct 2009

Final Plan:-

Friday 30 Oct 2009
Car # 1:
Swapnil, Mahesh, Sushant, Tejas & Atul (or Milind)
We will start from TCI at 6:00 PM. Get Tejas at Swargate.
Go to my house and collect the materials.
Sushant will come to my house to park his bike too.
Car # 2:
Sam, Rohit, Yogesh, Milind (or Atul) & Phadke
These guys will start at 7:00 PM from JDTCI in any case.
Phadke to make sure that he will do so.
Or else, only 4 will leave.
1) Meet next to Toll booth # 1 towards Satara at 7:45 PM
2) Dinner break near to Satara 9:00 PM
3) Start for Bamnoli at 10:00 PM
4) Reach Bamnoli and rest
Saturday 31 Oct 2009
1) Wake up early. Catch the early boat of 7:30 AM
2) Break fast will be done at the other end at Met Indvali at 9:00 AM
3) Start for Vasota and reach there by 11:30 AM
4) Sight seeing, lunch at Vasota by 12:30 PM
5) Reach Nageshwar by 2:30 PM
6) Start for Met Indvali by 3:00 PM
7) Catch the return boat at 5:00 PM
8) Camping either at Bamnoli or Kaas lake.
9) Dinner preparation and camp fire.
Saturday 1 Nov 2009
1) Wake up, break fast and start towards Pune by 9:00 AM
2) Plan to visit Sajjangad if time permits or else reach Pune.

Individual Items to bring (MUST):
1) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
2) Sleeping bag/mat
3) Enough clothing, including warm clothes
4) A good Torch, candle and match box
5) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
6) Cap (optional)
7) Camera (optional)
8) A good haver sack to carry.
9) Soap, toothpaste, brush etc
10) Tent (Mahesh)
11) Bed sheet, kambal, shawl etc

A) Food:
Common:- Tejas has taken care of Saturday lunch.
Swapnil and I will be taking care of Saturday night.
Snacks for Saturday morning will be purchased Friday evening.
B) Utensils:
All:- Plate & spoon
Mug (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)
C) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit
All:- As per individual requirement

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Harishchandragad Trek - 2-3 Oct 2009

2009-10-08T10:46:00.004+05:30

This trek was planned in a very short time. Atul and Milind from John Deere showed interest to join. Mukesh told he will be joining along with his friends from Fluent. Then this detailed plan was made for the trek. But unfortunately, Mukesh had an accident (funny one though.. He stroked to one of the electricity poles while walking) causing severe pain in his already troubled knee. He had taken pain killers, but not of use. So he opted out from this trek at 10:00 pm Thursday and so did his friends.
Finally, we three were remaining. After doing a small sms chat, we decided not to cancel and to proceed further.

First Journey
I was not sure about my (oops.. Its BILs(1) bike) bike, but no option than to take it. It had been serviced recently, so no issues. We met at the Nashik phata at 7:15 AM, late by 15 mins than schedule. Milind had already reached at that point. Then we started towards AaLe phata, our next milestone. The target to reach there was 8:30 AM, but it was quite sure that we were going to miss it out because of wrong estimation. Distance from Nashik phata to AaLe phata is around 75 kms. We had our breakfast at Narayangaon at 9:30 AM. Atul did not have a torch. He got a good quality 1 LED Evereay make torch costing Rs. 95/- which was OK. We reached at AaLe phata at 10 AM. We reached at Khireshwar when the clock was showing 11:30 AM.. 30 mins ahead of the scheduled time. After parking our bikes and refreshing, we ordered Pithale Bhakari for our lunch. It took a little long time to get it prepared.
When we were having the beautiful lunch, a group of 5 reached there and they were tired at time. They neither knew anything about the trek nor any plans of stay. 2 guys from that group demoralized with our preparation and info of the trek. I did not see them anytime anywhere for next two days. Surely, they had gone back.
Herbie(2) & Drum beater
We started towards the fort at 1:00 PM. (It meant, we were on time !!) Seeing the past performance and growing age, I was quite sure that I'll be Herbie in this trek. Usually I was Herbie in all treks, but due to other novices, it was not so prominent. This was Milind and Atul's first trek to Harishchandragad. I was the only one, who knew the route. So I asked Atul and Milind to play the role of drum beater and to push me if I were taking more breaks than required. But surprisingly.. yes surprisingly.. I had not to play Herbie. Atul took that role. Milind and I were shocked.. Atul pointed that this was the post marriage effect on him. :)
I,then, had to beat the drum to keep him motivated. This time locating the marks were easy. Normally, we say, "TeJa (3), mark kahaa hai?" (TeJa, where is the mark?). But this time, it was different. We said, "mark idhar hai, magar TeJa keedhar hai? (Here is the mark, but where is TeJa?). We reached our next milestone, Tolar Khind (pass) at 3:00 PM.. not to mention, but again on time.
Final touch up
After a short break, we crossed the rock patch and we were on the top of the hill in less than 1 hr. Then we needed to cross 7, but small hills on the way. We had our bath on the way in a small stream of water. We reached to the caves well ahead of our planned time. There were 3-4 groups already present there. We got one of the caves for our stay at 5:45 PM and then we ran towards "Kokan Kadaa" - the most fascinating location on Harishchandragad. It was clear that we were not be able to see the sunset, but the view there was truely awesome. After sitting and enjoying the scene and the nature for more than 1 hr, we started back to our caves. Though we had torches with us, the full moon did not allow us to use them. The dinner (paratha and dashamya) was very delicious and best. At 9 PM, Atul and Milind were ready to go to bed, when I dragged them forcefully outside the cave. We spent 1 hr gazing at the stars and the sky.
2nd Day
We woke up at 6:30 AM, refreshed ourselves, had milk and biscuits and started towards Kokan kadaa at around 7:30 AM. Fog had filled all the surroundings and we were little nervous thinking whether we could get the view of kokan kadaa or not. But everything was started clearing slowly and finally we had the beautiful, wonderful view of the Kokan kadaa and the hills nearby. We had lots of photo shoot at this place. We started back at 9:00 AM. Nobody was interested to go to the highest peak, Taramati. So we dropped it from our plan. Last time also, we did not visit it. (TeJa.. we have one more reason to visit Harishchandragad again, right?)
We had bath followed by snacks and tea. We then packed our bags and went to visit the Harishchandreshwar temple.
Harishchandreshwar
This temple is marvelous example of the fine art of carving sculptures out of stones. It is about 16m high from its base. Near the temple, the river Mangal Ganga originates. There are three caves near the temple. The cisterns near the temple provide drinking water. Here another temple called Kashitirtha is located. The fascinating thing about this one is it has been carved out from a single huge rock. There are entrances from all four sides. On the main entrance there are sculptures of faces. These are faces of guards of the temple.
Kedareshwar
Going rightwards of Harishchandreshwar temple, we came across a huge cave. This is the cave of Kedareshwar, in which there is a big Shivlinga, which is totally surrounded by water. The total height of the base only is five feet or may be more, and the water was waist-deep. People were going there to make a round to the Idol, but we, after lots of "Ayes and Noes", decided not to go.
Descent
We started to descend at 11:00 AM, setting a target to reach Tolar Khind at 1:00 PM. We were little delayed.. delayed by 10 mins from our goal.. courtsey to our photographical adventure. We had our lunch break here. Few villagers who were travelling thru that khind accompanied us for lunch. By 2:40 PM, we were back to Khireshwar, our base village. We decided to refresh ourselves in the dam water, so we started quickly from Khireshwar and haulted at the dam. At 4:00 PM, we started back to Pune. There were no rain in our entire trek, but we were welcomed by rain in Pune. We reached our home at 8:30 PM, making a successful end to this trek.

Click here for photos of this trek.

JAY SHIVAJI, JAY BHAVANI !!

- Mahesh Masurkar

Note:
1 - BIL - Brother-in-Law - Ankur Tade
2 - Herbie - Slowest moving guy in the trail in 'The Goal' by Eliyahu Goldratt
3 - TeJa - Tejas Jadhav - our regular trek member

Harishchandragad Trek - Final Plan

2009-10-01T14:13:00.006+05:30

All,
This trek is now finalized. Plz be preapred for the trek.

Trek Dates:- Friday 2 Oct 09 to Saturday 3 Oct 09
Meeting place:- NASHIK PHATA on Old Pune-Mumbai Highway
We are going on bike. So make a pair beforehand and join at the place
Meeting Time:- 7:00 AM on Friday 2 Oct 2009

Final Plan:-
Friday 2 Oct 2009
1) Meet at Nashik Phata at 7:00 AM
2) Start towards Aale phata. Reach there at 8:30 AM
3) Breakfast time for 30 mins
4) Reach Khireshwar (base village) via Otur at 12:00 PM
5) Rest for 1 hr and then start for the trek at 1:00 PM
6) Reach to Tolar Khind at 3:00 PM
7) Reach the fort at 6:00 PM
8) Temple visit
9) Rest, enjoy, dinner and sleep

Saturday 3 Oct 2009
1) After Tea (??) & little snacks, start towards Kokan Kada at 6:30 AM
2) If time permits, go to Taramati (Topmost point)
3) Start for descend at 12:00 PM
4) Light lunch on the way
5) Reach Khireshwar at 4:00 PM
6) Return to Pune

Individual Items to bring (MUST):
1) A haversack to put in all the things to be carried. So that one hashands free while trekking.
2) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs od socks)
3) Sleeping bag/mat
4) Enough clothing
5) A good Torch, candle and match box
6) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
7) Cap (optional)
8) Camera (optional)
9) Wind cheater (optional)

A) Food:
Everybody has to carry
-- food items for Friday dinner and Saturday lunch
-- Snacks items (plum cakes, biscuits, wafers, cream rolls, jam and bread etc)
-- I'll get mosambi (2 per head)

B) Other items:
All:- Plate & spoon
Mug/Glass, knife (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)

C) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit
All:- As per individual requirement

More info of the fort at http://www.trekshitiz.com/
Last trek Photo: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/mahesh.masurkar/Harishchandragad#

HAPPY TREKKING,
MAHESH MASURKAR
9881 499 213

WI-FI Home

2009-05-31T10:36:00.005+05:30

Hi,
My friend, Manoj, calls me as a tech-savvy person. I have a passion to have new gadgets in my personal folio. I had a BSNL boradband at home. For past few months, I was eying for a wireless router. I had a dilemma between D-Link DIR-615 and Linksys WRT54G2. One month back, I saw Linksys WRT54G2 at Akki's (My sister) house. I asked more info and performance of the same and Ajit dada told me that its good and working fine. Then I zeroed in on Linksys WRT54G2. One more advantage of WRT54G2 is that it dont have external antennas, so it looks great on a wall or on a table.
Now, its purchasing part. I had $30 in my paypal. I sent that to Suji who bought the router for me. The final cost was $46.95 from newegg.com. Suji handed it over to Swaroop/Sneha and finally Digambar carried it to India (from USA). When I got it, I was very happy, anxious so tried to install it immediately. I tried it for 3 hours (till 1 pm), but was not able to make it work. Then I thought to give a try the next week end.
Today(31May09) morning, when I was about to do the settings, I remembered Ajit dada told me that he had lots of problems connecting it and now he knows how to do it. So I called him and luckily, he was free. Then he was on support for me (on telephone) for almost 1.5 hrs and finally we were successful to make the wireless work at my home. This was indeed a great achievement for me.
If you need any help for wi fi configuration, do not hesitate to contact me. :)

.... मै तो बाप बन गया ...

2009-03-28T10:51:00.001+05:30

I have seen so many countdowns। Many of them are in seconds like launching satellite or starting marathon. Some are in days like new vehicle launch or start of Olympics, IPL etc.

This time, it was a bit longer। Yes, it was in months and precisely speaking 9 months. We were counting down from 9,8,7.... to 2 and then 1. Then we came to days for counting. The wait was slowly inching forward from days, to hours and then to minutes. I was never so anxious and impatient, even in the exam time :) . And after waiting, waiting and waiting, finally the time came, the clock was ticking at 1710 hrs on 25th March 2009, when the new baby angel entered in my life॥ in the life of Anagha and me... in the life of "Life Ho To Aisee". I warmly, heartily welcome the new angel to the family of "Life Ho To Aisee". Thats the time, when there were 3 births, one of the baby, one of Anagha as a mother and one of me as a father. I am so happy at this time that I am not ableto get good words to write.

I'll try to keep you all posted on the updates.
- Mahesh Masurkar
=======
Best wishes and warm greetings of Ugadi / Gudhi paadawaa to the readers of Life Ho To Aisee from Mahesh, Anagha & baby
Photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/NewAngel?locked=true# (Sign-in required)
=======

Sinhgad Night Trek

2009-03-28T10:41:00.002+05:30

The Katraj Sinhgad night trek was cancelled. Everybody was asking me why and I told I may not able to make it. So the trek was reduced to only Sinhgad. At that time, I was in different mood and waiting for a call from Kolhapur any time.You 'll get these from my next post.

We decided to gather at Santosh Hall at 10:00 pm, but I was late and joined the group at 10:30 instead. We were total 8 together Milind,TeJa,Nikhil & his wife Revati, Jo, sarika, Sneha and I. This was the first trek for Revati and first trek for Sneha in our group. She always complains to Bob that I never take her to treks. So this time, she was in. We reached the base of Sinhgad at 11:30 pm. We parked our vehicle and started for climb. We took 2 hrs to reach to the top. It was a nice experience to go to Sinhgad in night time. Then we put Nikhil's tent at one place. Everybody except Milind, TeJa & I decided to stay back in the tent and we three went to roam around the Sinhgad fort. TeJa had done lots of treks, but this was his first to Sinhgad. So I showed him all the places. At round 4:00 am, we came back for rest.

After sleeping for 2 hrs in the cold wind, we got up at 6:00 am, freshed up and went to Balu's dhaba for the brunch where we had pithale bhakri, bhaji and dahi. At around 9:30 am, we started back to descent.

You can see the photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/SinhgadNightTrek#

Fun outing - Plan

2009-03-13T11:51:00.003+05:30

Don't be surprised after reading the title.
It's still a trek, but fun outing too !!!
This time, we are going to Sinhgad in night.

So here is the final plan for it.
Date:- 14 March 2009
Meeting place:- Santosh Hall, Sinhgad Road
Meeting Time:- 10:00 pm

We'll start from Santosh hall at 10:00 pm. Park our vehicles at the base of Sinhgad fort.
Start to climb the fort. It will take around 2 hrs to reach at the top.
There are many huts on the top where we can stay/take rest.
Next day, get up early, have the break fast (झुणका भाकरी + भजी) and start to descent.
We should be back to the parking place by 9 am.

- Mahesh Masurkar

Dream treks

2009-03-10T09:09:00.006+05:30

Hmm.. title looks interesting, isn't it?

Yes, there are few treks which are very interesting and they are my dream treks.

Some of them are in India and some outside.

So here it is:

1) Trek is Himalayas:

There are quite a good number of treks in Himalayan region and full of challenges.

These are really exciting treks. Two important factors in these treks are height and snow.

Youth hostel India arranges these treks and their feedback is very good.

I am planning to go for one next year.

You can get this information at http://www.yhaindia.org/program_bookings/index/national

There are good treks in Ladakh region also.

2) Norway trek:

As many of you know that my sister and brother in law in now in Norway. So why not explore the treks there? So I googled and found few interesting places. One of them is Preikestolen.

Near Stavanger in Norway there is a mysterious rock that rises 600 meters above the fjord Lysefjorden and to get there is not a climber's dream!
The Preikestolen (literally “Rock Pulpit” is perhaps the most famous attraction in Stravanger. Once you've arrived at the parking lot at an elevation of about 270 meters, you're at the beginning of the trail that leads to the summit of the rock terrace from which in a little less than two hours and another 600 meters you will get to the peak of the fjord.
This is really a amazing place. I am planning to go to Norway in next year or the next next year.

I am adding few snaps here so that you can admire its beauty.

Hope you have enjoyed my dream treks. The descriptions are not so elaborate.. why??

Cause I have not yet gome to these treks.. How can I write then?

So plz plz plz wish that I can complete all my dream treks and give you all the information.

After all, its "Life ho to Aisee" ....

The Best Trek Ever - Rajgad to Torana Trek

2009-02-23T15:27:00.041+05:30

Hi All,

Its quite a long time I was inactive on my blogging, but now I am back with a new article of Life ho to Aisee. Did you wonder to see the article name ' The Best Trek Ever'? .. of course you do. You may ask, "Mahesh, you do lots of treks and what’s the best this time?" Wait, wait.. I am going to explain everything very shortly.

During mid January, we planned for a bigger trek this time.. a 3 day trek from Fort Panhala to Fort Vishalgad. But this trek did not materialize as some of the members were not available. Then it was January end, and we were still thinking of a trek and suddenly it struck to me that we can do Rajgad-Torana trek. Then I started to gather the information about this trek and the names of interested people. Nikhil (Jo), Mukesh, Tejas, Prasad (Doc), Anant and I were in the first list, but Anant did not come as his fathers' health was not good. Bharat decided to join us at the last moment. And once everything was done, 6-8 February period was decided for the trek. Refer here for the final plan.

We all met at Swargate stand at 4:45 pm, caught the 5:00 pm "Rajgad chi Raani"(Queen of Rajgad). We got a hotel (Hotel Aranyadham) contact number from bus driver. Jo called to the hotel and asked them to prepare dinner for 6 people. We reached GunjaWane at 7:15 pm. Dinner was ready within half an hour. The food was very good; everybody was so hungry that they forgot we had to climb Rajgad afterwards. After finishing this tasty food, we started for Rajgad at 8:30 pm. This was my second night trek, after the Rajmachi trek, but 3rd trek to Rajgad. Initially, we lost the road, but within 5 minutes, we realized that we need to take the other route. The moonlight was enough to keep our torches off most of the time.The journey was quite easy and ok as we were walking in the night time. With sufficient breaks, we reached at Rajgad at 11:00 pm. This was awesome as I thought it might take 4 hrs because of night time. But we're able to cover up in same time as in daylight. Once we reached on top, cameramen started to show their magic. After a short photography, everybody agreed to move to the Padmawati temple for rest. As it was Friday, we found the temple to be closed. We're only present at that time. Normally people come to Rajgad on Saturday & Sunday.

Day 2:-
The Saturday morning was (as usual) very good. Initial plan was to leave early from Rajgad. Few of us (including me) had very good sleep, but some had not. We had break fast at 8:00 am full of biscuits, cakes & chiwada. We also had tea, one & only man from the fort office made it for us. We started towards Sanjivani Machi at 8:15 am. There we needed to exit at Alu Darawaja, but we still kept on going towards the end of the machi only to realize that we had to come back. Once we found the exit, one milestone was achieved, the time was 9:16 am.

The route from Rajgad to Torana was clearly visible through the ridges. At that time, Torana looked very near. We had read that normally it take 6 hrs to reach Torana. Also there was scarcity of the water on the way. So we had enough load of water with everybody. Our final time (to Torana) was calculated as 3:30 pm.

The road was ok, but slippery most of the times because of small stones and sand. Jo & Mukesh were leading us whereas Tejas and Doc were cautious and slow in this patch. It took us little more than an hour to come down from Rajgad. Now the time was 10:30 am, the "red hot sphere" was already started to make us sweat and we came to know that the journey ahead will be more sweaty ( and salty too !!!). We had some water, sweet lemons & Glucon D for the break. After 10 minutes break, we decided where to take our next pit-stop & started again. That was the milestone # 2 in our journey, a road crossing our route. I thought it will take around 2 hrs for the next break, but we reached early (or was the milestone nearer?) at the pit-stop at 11:50 am. Again, the same break menu as earlier was served to all.

Now the next milestone was the base of Torana.
Nobody thought we will stop again in short time, but we did। We found two huts on the way. We hoped to get some thirst quencher here and decided to stop for lunch. We were lucky to get good hospitality welcome here and water too. Time 12:30 pm. We are now halfway of the trek, still 3 more hrs to go. You'll not believe, but still everybody slept there for 20 minutes. The hot sphere was acting as expected !! The break was converted into a lunch break. We had wonderful thepale ( ठेपले) from Tejas with muramba ( मुरंबा ) and lemon pickle. We asked for buttermilk & the villager gave us a full can of buttermilk, 2 ltrs. I was in doubt whether we'll finish it or not. Buttermilk finished very quickly. How tired and exhausted these guys (me too) were !!
Rock patch # 1
After this short break (only 1 hr), we marched towards Torana. Soon others realized that lunch was as heavy as previous night dinner and it is difficult to walk with full stomach. We reached to the milestone at 2:45 pm. This is the first (rock) patch of the trek. Here again, we took a short break (15 mins) before staring the patch. I changed the order as Mukesh, Doc, Jo, Tejas, Mahesh & Bharat. This patch is ok, but very slippery with small stones & sand. When I was walking, I was about to pick & throw a stick on the way. But I was not able to do so as the stick
slithered away quickly. Oops!! I realized that it was not a stick, but a snake instead. The last person finished the first patch at 3:25 pm. Here again, we took a small break to finish the remaining sweet lemons.
Rock patch #2
Time was 3:40 pm & this was the best part of the trek. A rock patch with almost 80 degree climb on one side and deep valley the other!! Jo decided to go first and check the path, without carrying the bag. He managed to clear the patch, but was not able to come back. Mukesh told he would carry Jo's bag & come back to carry the others. Once he cleared the patch, no chance to come back. Remember the climb was 80 degree vertical and view from the top is furious. This was the crucial part of the trek. Was this a good time to get a cramp? Absolutely NO, but I had !!! Then I decided to go a little up and check the feasibility. I collected belts from everybody, tied to one another and made a rope. Mukesh then pulled all our bags on top. Now Jo, Mukesh & our bags had cleared the patch. We then climbed the patch in sequence of Doc, Tejas, I & Bharat. Here are the two videos of this climb (captured by Tejas from his Sony cam)
Mahesh:-

Bharat:-

Rock Patch #3
Completing the rock patch 2 brought us to Budhala Machi, which was the third milestone. We took little more than 1 hr to complete the rock. From Budhala machi, we can see two forts, Lingana & Raigad. Raigad was the capital of Shivaji Maharaj. Guys decided to take some rest here, but clock said its 5:00 pm. I told that we had one more patch and 1 hr of sunshine. So everybody (with more reluctance) started. Rock patch 3 was ok, not so tough. At last, we reached to our next milestone, Konkan Darawaja at 6:05 pm. After 15 minutes of walk, at last we touched our final destination, Mengai temple. (Total duration - 9 hrs.)
This was quite a hectic and tiresome journey on Saturday. Three patches were the best and most enjoyed by everybody. Mukesh, Jo & Tejas immediately went to the water tank to freshen up, followed by Bharat & me. Doc decided to rest in the temple.

We started our khichadi ( खिचडी ) preparation at 7:30 pm. We had the delicious khichadi along with thepale for dinner. As expected. by 9:15 pm, everybody were done and in their bed except Bharat & me, who preferred to do sky watching. Luckily, we received mobile signal to talk to our parents and convey our status. We also went to bed at 10:30 pm.

Day 3:-
Sunday morning, I was able to get the sunrise pics with Rajgad as the background.
Completing our morning activities, we started to prepare upama ( उपमा). By 8:40 am, upama was ready. We then prepared tea too. As per the plan, we started to descent at 10:00 am.
This time we beat our original plan and reached at Velhe at 12:00 pm, nearly 1 hr early !!!
After finishing lunch, we proceeded for Swargate.

This trek was really good. Few accomplishments’ of this trek are night trekking, climbing rock patches, 9 hrs of walk and most important, two forts in 1 trek.
We 6 thought that this was the best trek to be done.

I am sure those, who were not able to make up for this trip, are really thinking that they missed the best ever trek. But not to worry, you can see the photos at
http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/RajgadToToranaTrek

Also enjoy a small documentary clip of this trip.

Thaks for the review. Have a nice day ahead !
-----------------------------
You can download Project Management Prepcast at http://www.premiumcast.com/vp/19/13608/

Rajgad to Torana - Final Plan

2009-02-03T14:40:00.006+05:30

All,
This trek is now finalized. Plz be preapred for the trek.
Let me know your availability / unavailability at the earliest.

Trek Dates:- Friday 6 Feb 09 to Sunday 8 Feb 09
Meeting place:- SWARGATE BUS STATION.. Near BHOR platform (# 13)
Meeting Time:- 4:45 PM

Final Plan:-
Friday 6 Feb 2009
1) Catch bus to Gunjawane at 5:00 PM from Swargate
2) Rest and Dinner at Gunjawane.
3) Start trek for Rajgad at 10:00 PM
4) Reach Rajgad by 2:00 AM and rest at Rajgad
Saturday 7 Feb 2009
5) After Tea & little snacks, start towards Torana at 8:00 AM
6) Walk of 5-6 hours towards Torana
7) Light lunch on the way
8) Reach Torana fort at 3:00 PM
9) Rest and sight-seeing of Torana
10) Dinner
Sunday 8 Feb 2009
11) Light snacks
12) Sight seeing of Torana
13) Descent from Torana at 10:00 AM
14) Reach Welhe at 1:00 PM
15) Lunch at Welhe and then proceed for Swargate

Individual Items to bring:
1) Good pair of shoe (& enough pairs of socks)
2) Cap
3) Sleeping bag/mat
4) Enough clothing
5) A good Torch
6) Minimum two water bottles

Food & Medicine:
I'll send a separate email later to those joining the trek.

HAPPY TREKKING,
MAHESH MASURKAR

-----------------------------

You can download Project Management Prepcast at http://www.premiumcast.com/vp/19/13608/

SCENELESS: JULY 2008

2008-08-05T22:27:00.005+05:30

Hi All,
Surprised with the title of Life ho to aisee !! Any guess why ? No.. OK here it goes. Rainy season is very good for trekking purpose and you all know that the rain this year in Maharashtra was very poor, which resulted in the reduction of trekking . So no trekking and no photos. Hence the title this time. I was eagerly waiting for the rain. You can see this eagerness through my title on the gmail chat. There is a famous song in Marathi from Sandeep and Salil. So I put a sarcastic one as my title.
So what happened then in this month.. nothing.. is it possible?? NO.
This month, I visited Kolhapur to attend my BIL's engagement. He got engaged with Dr. Manasi Vaidya on 11st. Sunday (13th) I and Anagha went to Jotiba. It was a small trek of around 1 hr. Jotiba is a famous holy place in western Maharashtra. This is the only activity as far as trekking is concerned.
Eagerly waiting for your valuable suggestions/comments as usual. It inspired me to write more and more. See you next time. Till then stay tuned.
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar
-------
Forthcoming attraction:- HISTORY REPEATED AFTER 12 YRS

Life Ho To Aisee - June 2008

2008-06-23T17:25:00.008+05:30

Hi everybody,Its long back when I interacted with you.In one of my earlier emails, I mentioned that there should not be long breaksin between the communications. But it was and I do apologize for the same.In the mean time, many of you asked about me and about "Life Ho To Aisee" in particular.
Life Ho To Aisee was (and is) going at its own pace, but I was not able to update the readers.Now its a good chance to update. Yes, You guessed it right. Its the season of monsoon and ....And I love trekking.
Our planning was started in first week of June and date was finalised as 21st.Location was not fixed, when Jogi sent a good photo and I decided to visit that place.Everybody was agreed and trek was planned to Prabalgad.We have very little idea about the place as the location was new and nobody has gone there.Then google, google earth and wikimapia helped us. Few webpages were very useful in locating the exact place.
Coming to the members. I, Anagha, Anant and Tejas were the permanent members.Then at the last moment, Tejas had cancelled owing to his bad health.We never had shortage of people as there are so many interested in John Deere.But as Prabalgad is nearer to Panvel, we planned to go by Tavera which put limit on the final number.We were total 9 altogether as Mahesh, Anagha, Anant, Asit, Milind, Nikhil A, Nikhil J, Sam and Mukund.Last 4 were new to "our trekking club."
We started on 21st at 6 AM (in Acchut Maharaj's word 'Early in the morning before sunrise'). Our driver must have seen F1 the night earlier as it was clear from his driving and maneuvering skills. We reached to the base village Thakurwadi at around 10 AM. To go to Thakurwadi, one can take the Shedung exit near to Panvel. Thakurwadi is hardly 10 kms from Shedung exit.We left the car at Thakurwadi and started walking. Our first target was to reach at Prabal machi which is nearly at the half way. We heard that the road is not so clear and one might get lost in the dense forest.We inquired at Thakurwadi and got the info that road is pretty straight and clear till Prabal machi.And so the road was...The atmosphere was dry, sky covered by dark clouds most of the time, but no chance of rain.It made the trek little tiresome. We had several breaks on the way, including the golden break where we had alphonso mangoes. After walking for almost 2 hrs, we reached at machi. Life at machi was very troublesome. Its a small village with may be 10 homes. People have to go to base villages for their weekly markets, doctors and anything you say. Two boys from machi helped us to identify the path till Prabalgad. There were arrow marks on the way which guided us till end. Those boys told us that these arrows will lead us towards water tank, but there was no water on fort. There is nothing much to see on the fort. We went to one end from where one can see the Kalavantin burj and Matheran.

After a short break, we had our lunch mix of parathas, chapatis, bread etc. After taking a couple of photographs of the only view point, we started to descend. On the way back, we dropped Nikhil J. to Panvel as he wanted to go to Mumabi. Then our driver took a wrong side and a policeman caught us. He took Rs. 100/- to free us.On the way back, Anant, Asit and Mukund were on seventh heaven as they sung few beautiful compositions.
(Photos:- http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/Prabalgad)
Only bad news is I was carrying camera and a water bottle in a bag and after some time I found camera floating in water. So camera is no more. I'll buy a new one and let you know when I do.
Presently thinking of canon SX100. If anybody has any opinion on this one, pls let me know asap, Thanks.
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On 29th June, Anagha and I went to Sinhgad. We asked few of our friends, but nobody was seen interested.Though Sinhgad is a routine now, I have one wish to be with Anagha at Sinhgad in the monsoon. We started at 7 from home and reached on top at 10 am. Weather was very good, no sun only clouds and a little shower. Atmosphere was superb around, everywhere lush green. It was a wonderful time to go to Sinhgad and yes, it was full packed, more than 2 thousand people. After enjoying the bhaji(pakode), dahi (curd) and zunaka bhakar, we came back to home at 2 PM. (http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/Sinhgad29JUNE08)

Life Ho To Aisee - Sept-Oct-2007

2007-10-29T14:11:00.000+05:30

Hello everybody,

First, a belated happy dassera to all of you.
I know you all are eagerly waiting for "Life Ho To Aisee".
But time is not permitting me to write enough on this and then once the work is pending will remain same. (Something like first law of Newton).
One thing is for sure, the gap for "Life Ho To Aisee" does not mean it has stopped or there is nothing going on in life and so on.
I got lot of emails asking about this. I must appreciate you all for your patience.

So continuing on Life ho to aisee again….
(As it was pending for long, there are too much details. But I am sure, you will not get bored reading everything).

11th August, 07:- Our trekking group went to Koraigad. It is near to Lonawala and very near to Ambey Valley. We went there on bike. Good rainy season and road from Lonawala to Ambey Valley was awesome. It was full foggy and we could see hardly 10 mtrs of road. On the way back, we enjoyed the water falls and the beautiful Bushi Dam.
Only bad thing happened in this trek was with my mobile. Because of rain water, it is no more active.
But good thing is I bought new Nokia 3110c (with 1 GB card off course !!!)

14th August, 07:- We had independence day celebration in office and theme was tri-color. This is my get-up for the day.

Same day, we had pooja in house for newly married women called "mangalagauri". That day night was like a festival. We were playing lots of game and then antakshari till next day morning. It was a rest day at all.
I missed my sister during Rakhi Pournima. She is in Norway.

September, 07:- Then there is Ganesh Chaturthi and gauri celebration. This is the first time in our new house. So lots of curiosity.
We had Ganesh mandal in our society and hence everyday functions.
I and Anagha participated in Antakshari and won the game.

2nd October, 07:- I got a new vehicle on this day. It’s a two wheeler, does not require either petrol or battery. It is manually operated. Yes, you got it right… (Photo next time..)

6th and 7th October, 07:- Harishchandragad Trek (http://www.trekshitiz.com/)

I, Anagha, Bharat, Amol, Anant and Tejas started on Friday night to Khireshwar, base village for Harishchandragad. We reached there at 2 am, slept outside one house. Next day morning, we started for the trek at 8 am. It was a long trek counting 5 and half hours. We were thoroughly exhausted by the October heat. We got one cave (read as specious and luxurius hall) to stay. Had our lunch and then everybody slept. We got up at 4:30 and then started towards 'kokan kada', the most beautiful place at Harishchandragad. But weather was not so good and we were not able to see it. It was full dark and cloudy. So we decided to come here
again next day morning and we did. All the hills were covered by clouds. Its awesome.
It was truly a remarkable place. After taking tons of photographs, we started back to our cave.
We all were tired and cancelled the plan to go the top summit, Taramati, which is 700 ft still above.
We started our journey back, reached to Khireshwar at 2:30 pm.
It was really a wonderful trek of my life.

12 th October 2007:- Ghat sthapana (pooja at house)
12/13/14 Oct 2007:- Koyana nagar
Deepak planned for Koyana nagar. We joined the gang on Friday night. It was a nice upcoming hill station. Koyana dam is situated here, which generates the electricity for entire Maharashtra.
It was nice two days here, relaxing with the company of others.
Hmm… that’s the end for this edition. There are too much to write. But I do not want to taste your patience.

I know you like to read, but I'll stop here. One can call this as a Deewali edition of Life ho to aisee.
Anyway, keep updating about yourself and do not forget to send comments/suggestions.
There are very helpful and keep me motivating always.

In the end, I wish all the readers of Life Ho To Aisee and their families a happy, healthy and memorable Deewali.

Life Ho Ti Aisee - July Edition

2007-08-02T17:25:00.000+05:30

First of all, Monsoon greetings to all of you. OK OK.. I understand that there is not much of rain in July, but still..
Hope you had enough enjoyment in this rainy season, and not much of trouble.

Do you know whats special in this edition? NO ….
"Life ho to Aisee" has completed its one year.
Throughout the year, I got tremendous response ans support from all of you.
I really appreciate your pain in reading such a boring title, the title which gives only photos of forts and hills.
Anyway, I wish everybody will extend the same support in the near future.

July month was full of trekking plan, but only few came to reality.
Our trekking team was busy with their personal activities.
I went to Tikona on 7th and to Lohgad on 28th.
This time, it was only me and Anagha.
Both the times, it was heavily raining and we were fully drenched with water.
Tikona was a bit easy for trek. It took 1 hr to reach to top.
Lohgad was good. 3 hrs of walk. Lots of waterfalls on the way, attracting us on the way.
We enjoyed a couple of them, though interested in each and everyone.

I have just uploaded the Lohgad photos. I'll upload the tikona photos very soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar/Tikona_Lohgad_July_2007

As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..

Joie De Vivre - Sensational edition of "Life ho to aisee" (जून २००७)

2007-06-21T12:07:00.000+05:30

Hi All,
Its my pleasure to introduce this sensational edition of Life Ho To Aisee.
I just learned the word joie de vivre and thought this will be the title of my next edition.
This is the mid-June edition of this series.
Now, you will ask whats the sensational that forced me to compose this edition … Right ??
Hold on, hold on.. I am coming to the point…
Last week,
A one day trek to Rajgad was planned with company friends and Anagha.
Friday night 9 PM, Sujay told me that he is staying there on fort. I too decided that I'll stay on fort.
{ Its like, Like that AB's song.. Ek rahe iir, ek rahe bir …
Sujay bolaa mai fort pe rukungaa, Amol bolaa mai fort pe rukungaa,
Atul bolaa mai bhi fort pe rukungaa,
To hum bole…
}
We were 14 together, on 7 bikes.
As usual after assembling at Swargate, we started towards Rajgad.
Had a break at Nasarapur for MisaL.
Parked our vehicles at the base village, Gunjavane.
Started to trek on wrong way, but still continued. At one stage, we thought we lost the way 'cause we knew we had to go on top of the hill, but roaming around.
Then we had to climb a 50-60 ft patch in a dense tree surroundings.
Lot of scratches on hands,legs. To add to it, there were no rain.
Trek was planned assuming there will be rain. It took us 2.5 hrs to reach on top.
Rajgad has 3 machi's ( or legs, spreads) as Padmawati, Sanjivani and Suvelaa.
We entered thru a chor darawaja to Padmawati machi.
We kept out bags at padmawati temple and started for balekilla (fort on a fort).
Had our lunch at bale killa. Then six of us started their way back and we, remaining 8, were roamed on balekilla.
At around 4 pm, clouds started to gather and there was coldness and wonderful breeze all around.
Very soon, the fort was all covered by clouds.
After balekilla, we went to Sanjivani maachi. By this time, it had already started to drizzle.
We came back to the temple at 6 pm.
Had our food in the temple at night.. Awesome parathas by Sujay, breads,jam,ketups,and ……..
After food, we had some talk and everybody spread their legs in the available area.
In night, it was cold and raining outside. We could hear the sound of rain hitting the roof of the temple.
Morning, 8 am.. All fresh and fine, went to Suvelaa maachi after having tea. We started our way back at 11:30 am and reached to the base village at 1:00 pm.
It was raining at that time, but awesome weather to drive.
All the day from morning, I was having severe stomach pain, though I was walking in between the haults.
Weather was good..cool and raining.. But I was sweating like anything.
Evening 8 pm, I visited Dr. at last only to find that I was having infection due to water and nothing else.
Hope you will like the photos.

As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar
[ Joie de vivre:- A term used to express cheerful enjoyment of life. It can be a joy of conversation, eating or anything one does. ]

May 2007

2007-06-21T11:59:00.000+05:30

Hi All, I am very glad to send this latest edition of "Life Ho To Aisee"। Though this month, there is nothing special (read as pictorius), I thought not to miss this edition। After all, well wishers expect some updates॥ Right ?? Well, first of all sorry for not putting the Washington trip photos ॥ I keep forgetting it everyday। Start of the month was very hectic with my cousin sisters marriage on 6th। It happened so suddenly that I missed my Bangalore trip for Raghu's marriage। Then next week end, early morning 6 am॥ I went to Sinhgad along with Anagha, Sachin and Sandip। That was my first (kind of) trek with Anagha. Sinhgad as always was beautiful with the delicious food. This time, we tried a new dish available there॥ Vaangyaache bhareet ( a dish from brinjal) These are vacation days and house is full of relatives. So daily cricket, cards and other things॥ Only fun & fun॥ Ya.. I started swimming back again.. Everyday morning 6:30. Got shocked. Nowadays, getting up early so that I can swim. !!! Last week end was wonderful as we all went to holy yatra.. We visited AshTavinayak, Shirdi etc. 22 People together in a bus for 3 days.. Imagine the enjoyment.

Last Saturday, on 2nd June, again Sinhgad, with all bachche company and most importantly, my 70 yrs grandmother.
She climbed the whole fort. It was a great spirit from her. When she went to top, we all shouted like anything. That was the rocking moment of the day.
As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..
( Earlier photos are at http://www.picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar )
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

April 2007

2007-06-21T11:58:00.001+05:30

Hi All,
Here I am with the latest edition of "Life Ho To Aisee".
I have decided not to be late this time 'cause there were lot of concerns about "Life ho to Aisee" especially after my marriage.
There are few well-wishers(I know, everyone of u are, but ...!!!) who are very curious and eager to the edition.
Well.. This time no photographs.. Only update.
There was cold and rain at the start of the month. We had a long holiday of good Friday. (No no.. Black Friday is different, it’s a movie)
Couple of plans like going to New York or Niagara or smoky mountains etc.. But we finally decided to go to Washington DC.
It was a long 12.5 hrs journey by car. We started on Thursday evening, reached there at noon, visited Washington monument, Lincoln memorial, Jefferson memorial,
capitol, II world war memorial. (No time to go to Smithsonian museum ..)
This is the season of cherry blossom. Yes, we did visit the lovely cherry trees.. ( U must be blaming me for not putting any photo.. Sorry ..)
Night, we lift for Williamsburg. We had a stay there. Next day (Saturday) we had been to Busch garden… amazing rides, rides and rides.. Wow.. Never thrilling as before.
Rides at Minneapolis MOA were great, but rides here were terrible and breath stopping. Lots of fun.. Right ?? Same day evening, we came back to Washington DC, watched the fire works for the cherry blossom , then had a good Indian food and started back to home.
We reached Moline at 3 pm on Sunday. In the evening, celebrated bday of Bharat by cutting cake. I prepared special payasam (kheer) for this occasion.
Next week end, plan for chicago was cancelled because everybody was tired. So we roamed around moline only.
Yes, forgot to mention.. I had a chance to play table tennis at the local club. It was great !!!
Journey back to India was wonderful. Always..
Chocolates for frnds, gifts for relatives and Creative Zen Vision M: 30 GB mp3 player for my lovely wife.. That’s it…
As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..
( Earlier photos are at http://www.picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar )
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

February+March 2007

2007-06-21T11:57:00.000+05:30

Hi All,
I know you all are eagerly waiting for the new year edition of "Life Ho To Aisi".
It’s a bit late from my side. I am combining two months together now.
This year's Republic Day was quite different for me. I started realising that I am going to lose my bachelorhood very soon.
And it happened next day only. I met Anagha on 27th and and rest is the (HI)story..
My sister had to go to Norway. So obvoiusly marriage date was taken as early as possible. (Waise bhi sab se jyaadaa jaldi mujhe hi thee !!!)
11th March was engagement day and 25th was D day.. I mean marriage day. It happened so fast that I may had forgotten to invite you too.. Don’t know.
This was the Feb update. Starting from the march, I am roaming, very few days in Pune. First, the visit was to North India like Shimalaa, Manaali and Agra.
Now in USA for a short period..(yeah, 1 month is a short period, but looks like longer.. You understand..just married and then … )
Anyway, last week I had been to Minneapolis to see the biggest mall in America. No shopping as the whole time was spent in the in-door amusement park..
Coasters, twisters and …
Planning for next few weeks has been done. This will be updated in the April edition of "Life ho to Aisee".
You can get the photos at ==> http://www.picasaweb.google.com/mahesh.masurkar
As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

January 2007

2007-06-21T11:55:00.000+05:30

Hi All,
First of all, a very happy and prosporous new year to all of you.
May all your wishes/dreams come true in this fabulous year 2007.
I know you all are eagerly waiting for the new year edition of "Life Ho To Aisi".
It’s a bit late from my side.
This year, nothing much of interesting as far as trekking/outing is considered though it’s a nice and wonderful atmosphere for it.
But we have internal JD cricket tournament organised in this month and being the key person, I cant do any other activity.
It was a nice experience from ground booking, teams arrangement, schedule and much more.
Yes umpiring too..(though it blackened my skin a little bit !!!)
My team progressed till final, but came runners up. I was out of tournament after the league matches because of the injury.
I got 4 stitches on my right hand fingers. Now its OK and stitches will be removed in a couple of days.
That’s the only fun in this month or to say last two months..
Plz update me from your side too. There is a long break/gap in the communication.
(Breaks between the communication is welcome, but not communication in between the breaks !!!)
As usual, waiting for your valuable comments/suggestions..
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar