Mesmerizing Woods

You may call me ‘Anti Social’. My hate list is pretty long. But frankly, I hate the traffic sounds. I hate loud speakers and I hate congestion any which ways I hate crowded places, long queues, smoky air, too much perfume and of-course meaningless chatter. On one such occasion, after a hectic week, the Friday seemed more taxing than anything else. We were looking forward to the weekend and wondering if we could get our solace and peace.

Aditya called up, “Pack up your bags. We are moving!”

A call like this at 8 PM seemed unbelievable. Where will we go now? Isn’t it too late to start?

But I decided to trust this dear friend. His choices generally don’t fail to impress me. He is a person, thirsty for different experiences and so am I. So bags packed and the car arrived. We bundled in and started off.

The drive was not far. The destination was hardly 45 minutes from my house in Aundh, Pune; that too, through the Infotech City of Hinjewadi. All the techies were returning home after a long week. I could see their tired faces and so was mine. As we crossed, Hinjewadi Phase I, across to Phase III the traffic had gone sparse. We continued ahead towards a village called Rihe.

A few minutes’ drive and we had come to a small village road, dark and silent. We had left the traffic behind. We had left the concrete jungles behind. Hillocks on both the sides and we arrived at a place called ‘Mesmerizing Woods’!

Security check done, we entered stone wall compound. And my goodness the first sight was actually mesmerizing!

A robust wooden log house made out of Russian Pine wood stood in front of us. The shape was that of an old fairy tale castle. To welcome us a little swimming pool was waiting with its calm waters. Before we could think of settling down, we all jumped inside the waters!

A moon-lit sky, darkness of the mountains, a wooden jungle house for your safety and cool water enveloping you; what else does one crave for. Our tiredness had vanished in thin air. Silence had enveloped us. After laughter and giggles, this silence paved way for some introspection. I think introspection happens very smoothly in silence that in sound. Our thoughts could sink in, emotions could flow, the space of this house sent positive vibes. Not once did we feel scared at all. Although ours was the only castle / house in the entire mountain but so much positivity we could go for a walk in the darkness!

A long lazy swim, then a home cooked Dinner of Bhakari and the village style vegetable and the gentle breeze just made our day. We decided to retire for the day under the starry sky. Batteries were already recharged!

The night was fabulous. We slept off listening to sounds of different birds. The temperature so perfectly adjusted and the breeze making it pleasant. We woke to bird calls and chirps. A peacock right in front of us! He strolled away once he realized that we were awake. A little deer jumped its way through the forest. A few rabbits enjoying their morning; what a lovely sight! Have you ever thought that such a jungle stay is possible right accross the Hinjewadi mountain. Had the bear just crossed this mountain, it wouldn’t have seen just the other side, it would have witnessed another world. The city gave us speed. These woods gave us space. The city next door gave us luxuries of an AC, these woods gave us fresh air to fill our lungs. The city gave us complex luxuries these woods gave us the freedom of simplicity.  We had decided never to go back.

Swimming, reading interesting books, some board games and a lazy Saturday made us forget all that had happened during the week. The tensions were gone. The body fatigue had evaporated. We hiked in the mountains enjoying the views and enjoying the dance of cool air on sweat.

What made it so special was that the drive was a very short one. We did not spend time just dodging the cars and waiting at toll plaza queues. We were out of city limits and the destination was right there.

If I were working in Hinjewadi, I would surely love to spend each of my weekend here in this jungle log house. We blessed its creator, Mr. Vivek Talghatti (+91 98903 00500) for his vision, effort and investment. Gratitude and heartfelt thanks.

The drive back on Sunday was quick too. We had refreshed completely and ready with zest and zeal to take on the week with new enthusiasm.