A walk to my birthplace - Day 0

Right from my childhood I have never been very fond of any form of exercise. In fact as a child I was fairly obese and never a sportsman. I was always more into theatre, elocution and anything that took me to the stage!

Life went on and I kept fooling myself that I am tall ( 6Ft 3) and so do not look really obese till one day at the age of 37 the weighing scale showed reading in excess of 100 Kg! That was a wake-up call. I was little disturbed not only because of weight but there was something else. My son was just born. Though I was financially much better off compared to the time when my daughter was born, I felt something amiss. You can bring any number of gifts for your child but what every child deserves is hi-energy parents – that was it! In next 4 months I managed to lose 14 Kgs with help of disciplined regime of diet and lot of walking/jogging.

Some years went by and I realized that I was getting back to my normal. Yes – as I am 43 now, I have started putting on weight again. I also realize that not being an athlete or sports person or even a fitness freak, I always need some external motivation. I am also not much into Gym – all the Gyms in the surrounding area can stand testimony of my generosity of donating money regularly without using any services.

The only form of exercise that I enjoy is walking. My natural inclination being stage, I decided to set a stage for myself to perform. By the way not only with my physical fitness, I am also currently struggling with my writing fitness. I decided to combine the two needs and thus came the idea of “A walk to my birthplace”.  It’s simple – I currently stay in the city of Pune and I was born in Kolhapur. Kolhapur is about 240 Km from where I stay. So I decided that I will walk everyday about 4 to 5 Km and walk 240 Km in the balance of 2013 – gives me around 56 days to do that. “A walk to my birthplace” is also a  metaphor. A rigorous walk is also the time when mind is in the best condition. So, as I walk to my birthplace I will go on discovering myself – bare open all my thoughts, inhibitions, apprehensions and also beliefs! Hopefully as I enjoy my walks, you will enjoy reading “A walk to my birthplace”

The Dream Drive - Day 6

Day 6 – now to the final destination Leh! From Kargil to Leh the road is simply beautiful. Nature is at its raw best. Generally the heights are correlated with Hill stations and greenery – Leh is desert at more that 10500 ft!


Once you leave kargil, you pass through many towns like Lamayaru, Khalatse and Saspol. These places are beautifully embedded in the mountains. From the distance they more look like Ant houses peacefully carved in nature than man encroaching on nature.

Fotu-La (La means pass) point is the highest point at close 14000 Ft on Srinagar-Leh highway. But the road condition is impeccable and once you have done Zoji-La – this part is a “No-stress” zone. The whole Kargil-Leh road is nature’s “Rock-N-Soil” show at its best. This is not a green zone but the rocks change colors to provide a really colorful vision.

Once you cross Fotu-La you pass by the river Indus. The drive is mesmerizing – River Indus is on one side and you pass through the narrow passage created between high walls of the mountains. This combination becomes so beautiful at places that you have no option to stop and admire. There is a particular patch where you pass through tall purple walls created by the mountains as the green river flows through brown rocky land next to you!

As you come close to Leh, you come across a place where River Indus meets River Zanskar. You get a top view of this confluence from the road. You see the confluence not only because of two streams meeting each other but two streams also have distinctly different colors. One of those spots when you realize that photography is extremely easy in this part – you just have to take out your camera and randomly click – pictures generally are outstanding – and it has got nothing to do with your photography skills 

As you approach Leh, the road passes through a vast land of desert and the highway is excellent. As you come closer to Leh you are blessed by holy Patthar Sahib shrine – a beautiful place which Guru Nanak-ji blessed with his own presence. There is a rock (patthar) that was hurled at him from the top. But as the rock touched him – it softened and just left an imprint of his back. Hence the name Patthar-sahib. When you look at that rock – you get a very distinct feeling that Guru-ji must have been here – simply impossible to describe in words.

There is a place on the way called Magnetic Hill. You can park your vehicle on the road and turn off the engine leaving it in Neutral – the vehicle starts going up the hill on its own – quite an experience!!

When we finally could see Leh – it was a moment to behold after driving for 6 days through different terrains and more than 3000 Km! Our feelings were summed up by the lines so well written by our Armed forces – “Terrains so difficult that only the fiercest enemies and best of the friends dare to visit us!”

The Dream Drive - Day 5

22nd May was the day when the most exciting part of the journey started. The road up to Sonmarg was beautiful and we covered it just under three hours. Right now the troupe movements had not started and so there was no fixed time to go to Zojilla pass. One of my colleagues – Col Dinkar Pandere had been a commanding officer at Leh. He called me just before the Zojilla pass to wish good luck and that helped.


Now, started the part of drive – the most exciting – the great Zojilla pass. Mostly it’s a dirt road with lots of rocky patches – so it is literally hiking expedition with your vehicle. While you pass on the narrow strip of the road, one side is a deep valley and the nature is at its raw best! As I was driving through the mountains for the first time I was very cautious and was letting everyone overtake me. The only mistake I made was to stand on the slope to let couple of vehicles pass. Now, that’s a trouble at height where oxygen is little less - because the vehicle refused to climb from a stationary position on the slope. It actually started sliding back – I was ok as it was one of the wider parts of the road. I let the vehicle come back to the base of the slope very carefully. One local driver who was watching all this came to me and told me “Saab gaadi pyaar se chalana kucch nahi hoga nahi to mein chadha dunga (Sir – drive with gentle care and your vehicle will be alright – if required I can help you to take the vehicle up)” – I thanked him from the bottom of my heart –took a deep breath and started again – for sure we covered the hump peacefully. Throughout the pass there were soldiers standing at certain points. They used to look at me and encourage – “You are doing great –keep going”- it really helped.

As we cleared Zojilla pass, the scene changed – we had snow on both sides of the road but thankfully the road condition was much better. As we passed the famous Tiger Hill, we stopped at what is now called Capt Vikram Batra transit camp – This is the point at which brave Capt Vikram Batra laid is life for the country in Kargil war to reclaim a strategic location. While we were reading the information, two soldiers approached us asking about whether we are from Maharashtra. They just wanted to talk to us in Marathi and it was really a touching experience to talk to those two bravehearts. They advised us not to miss the Kargil war memorial at Dras. This was one experience that I will never forget in life! As I saw the war memorial – I wept – must be after years. Such fine young men laid down their lives to protect us and that too just because we have a neighbor that’s nothing more than a failed state! The line written said it all – “We gave our today to ensure your tomorrow”.

Road from thereon to Kargil is scenic but honestly I don’t remember much as I was too overwhelmed with what I saw at the war memorial.

The Dream Drive - Day 4

21st May is when we set on the road to Srinagar. This time there was no time wasted in negotiating the city roads to come out as we were next to Srinagar Highway in a place called Hari Niwas Palace. This is situated on a hillock next to river Tawi and must be an even better sight when the river is flowing with full force. Right now the river was pretty dry but the location is superb. The hotel itself is ok to stay. The road to Srinagar was scenic but there is no stretch of even 5 Km that is without turns.


This was a part of the journey where we started traveling through the green zone. Suddenly at point we had a first sighting of a snow capped mountain range of mighty Himalaya. Right now it’s a two lane road and one has to drive little carefully. The challenge is to keep focus on the road when the road is quite scenic 

We had no clue as to where we would get some decent food. Usually we do eat outside in roadside joints but on a road trip like this it is better not to be adventurous about your food! After driving for about 4/4 ½ hours we came across a joint run by J&K tourism department – stopped over to have our Rajma Chawal (Kidney beans curry and rice). When we asked about estimated time to reach Srinagar, the answers varied from 5 Hours to 7 hours. Finally decided to figure it out on our own and it turned out to be closer to 5 hours from that point. Once you cross 2 ½ Km long Jawahar tunnel you suddenly arrive in the valley of Kashmir. Our hotel was just opposite Dal Lake and the view was outstanding.

We were staying in a hotel run by a family friend’s father. When I met my friend’s father and uncle that evening, they both were worried about our adventure! Their expressions and some comments put me in some serious doubt. Every time when you are on an expedition, there is always a point when there is a self-doubt as to why are you into this – this has happened to me sometimes on night trek or a night in the jungle – this was that moment on this expedition. When I came to the room I was really troubled – am I putting everyone at risk as we drive through those difficult terrains? At these occasions it helps to have a life partner who is equally mad. Pallavi told me to relax and everything will be alright. But I had some visions of Zojilla pass as everyone talked about that being a treacherous road. While I went to bed my mind was still troubled!

The Dream Drive - Day 3

Day – 3 drive started from Gurgaon. We were now going to travel on the road that we had not travelled earlier. As a precaution we decided to start early. When you travel with family and lots of luggage, you can never leave a place by 7/730 - even when you have a family that is quite seasoned road traveler. We started by 8 from Gurgaon and spent next 2 hours negotiating early morning traffic through delhi. The GPS navigator is a great instrument but Indian version of GPS navigator - “Bhaiyya, kaha se jana hain? (gentleman, which road should I take) is better in some places.


Road from Delhi to Jammu is a lovely four-lane highway. The heat was as scorching as previous day. The two things that strike you are – lack of traffic discipline and lack of roadside facilities like restrooms. I guess if these two are handled – a lot more people can enjoy the road journeys for vacation. Road journeys have a charm of their own and I just love going miles after miles with family.

When you travel through Haryana and Punjab, you cannot but admire the vast tracks of fertile land – contrast to what is seen in Rajasthan. Though it was not season to admire green landscapes, we could see scores of sunflower plantation on the way. This part of the road has number of Café Coffee Days and Mcdonald’s – so that really takes care of your safe intake of food – well I am not commenting on the healthy part of food – it just helps to eat predictable food and not be adventurous when you are traveling by road for long distances with the family.

We reached the border of Jammu & Kashmir by evening 5 pm. When you enter the state border you are stopped to enroll your driving license and the car registration papers. I have always found this little irritating within the country but the staff was very courteous.

The sun was up in the sky almost till 7 pm but the heat had gone down. There was twilight almost till 745. Finally we reached Hotel Hari Niwas Palace almost by 745 pm – tomorrow the valley starts!

The Dream Drive – Day 2

Day-2 was from Udaipur to Gurgaon. This distance is just over 650 Km and very unlike us we started as late as 9.15 in the morning – generally we prefer to leave at latest 730 AM so that we can cover maximum distance before noon.


There are two roads to Gurgaon / Delhi – one via Nathadwara and other via Chitorgargh. I had earlier traveled by the Nathadwara road and would have traveled by that same road. While chatting up with the petrol pump assistant told me about the other road. Thankfully it was a lovely 4-lane highway till Jaipur and I was saved of negotiating on the old road negotiating with trucks loaded with huge marble slabs. Yesterday I talked about beautiful ecosystem on highway and today I met a maniac driving his car as if he was on race track! Thankfully no untoward incident happened though I was quite mad at him. Now-a-days due to promise given to Pallavi, I don’t pick up fights – so just let him go with just a few expletives 

It was terribly hot and the temperature was above 42 most of the time. The Endeavour performed well and we could keep going pretty decently. This is stretch of road which is through barren land and can be boring. I resorted to my childish pleasure to keep my mind away from boredom. This is a trick which I have used for years and it works. I keep calculating the distance travelled each hour and if the next hour can be better than the earlier hour without taking stress. I still enjoy it if I can cover a little more distance than previous hour. There is continuously mental arithmetic going on in mind about how much distance will be covered this hour if I have covered so much distance in so many minutes – this simple childish game keeps your mind alert and helps driving.

The road from Jaipur to Delhi that was a pleasure at a point in time is in terrible condition due to the huge construction work going on. But thankfully reached Gurgaon by 630-645 pm

The music was continuously on and to keep our 6-year old son in good humor we had to play a particular Shah Rukh Khan song after every 45 minutes – I doubt if Shah Rukh Khan himself has also heard it so many times.

Just couple of times when I came out of the vehicle I realized how terrible the weather was. When you see all the people actually walking or working on the way – you can’t help wondering the tenacity that is built in their system.

So far tough we have technically covered almost half the distance, it was a straight road that we had traveled earlier. Now eagerly waiting for the next part of the trip when we enter J&K tomorrow.

Dream Drive - Day 1

Today is the first day of our “dream drive” – drive to Leh starting from Pune. Day-zero was 17th May evening when we drove from Pune to Chinchani – north of Mumbai.


Lot of people asked me “but why drive all the way??” Honestly the simplest answer that comes to my mind is “I have to”! When I think little more, I think there are a few reasons. I come from a middle class family where car itself was a fantasy and my childhood fantasy about cars is still fresh. Another reason is my introvert nature – when I go on the long drive – its almost being left alone in your own private zone.

Today’s drive was up to Udaipur – by now it’s a standard drive as I have done this road twice before. It’s a lovely four-lane highway all the way from Mumbai to Udaipur. I just love driving on the highway as there is an ecosystem that exists on the highways. Apart from a few road maniacs, I just love the way people driving on highway co-exist and collaborate thru simple gestures. Slow moving trucks are always a pain but more often than not these gentle giants guide you about the right time to overtake them. When you travel on Indian roads, you get mixed feelings. While you enjoy the ride, you also see the basic struggle people have to go through. Our pathetic public transport system ensures that people travel hanging outside those private taxis risking their lives. While it can be a funny site to see so many people stuck on a vehicle, deep down I always feel worried about the safety of those unknown people. An incident happened today that almost stopped my heart. A man was riding bike with his kid in the scorching heat. The boy sitting behind the man may be hardly 7-8 years old. As we passed by the duo, I noticed that the little boy was almost dozing off and was on the verge of slipping anytime though he had held the man in front. We all just waived our hands to request the man to stop and told him to make the child sit in front of him rather than back. I guess he also realized the terrible thing that could have happened and thanked us. We moved on. This is what I mean by a lovely ecosystem that exists on our highways. I also have been the recipient of someone’s kindness so many times on the road – it could almost make a set of essays if I decide to write down all the incidents

Driving on the highway for hours is like Test match batting, you have to enjoy the stay on the pitch! There are times when you make up the distance fast, as the road is clear and there are times when you drive in slumber – though the vehicle and you are working in tandem you almost have periods of rest while in motion!

Tomorrow is another day as we explore one more day on road!