It was September 2011, best time to see Western Ghats or Sahyadris as they are known.
I had been introduced to Thull ghat (Ksra-Igp section) in the recent summers in one of my visits to Mumbai from Aurangabad. I went to Mumbai for an examination and during return journey to AWB(Aurangabad Janshatabdi).I saw the beautiful Thull Ghats. I was left awestruck. As soon as the train left Kasara station I hurried to the door. I could see the train climbing the mighty hills. I wondered how the yellow ranges would appear during rainy season. Immediately I decided to visit Thull ghats during rainy season.
I...
more... convinced my friend somehow and the two of us left for Igatpuri station from Aurangabad. We boarded Devagiri Express at about 0000hrs and reached Manmad at around 0230. The crowd was unbearable, so we decided to take some rest at Manmad. Manmad is pretty entertaining as far as skipping trains are concerned. Trains run at MPS, and hence are a delight to watch. We boarded RJPB-LTT Janta express early in the morning as the general coaches had manageable crowd. We finally reached Igatpuri at around 0800. We had a heavy breakfast(2 plates of idli wada each :p) and started walking towards Kasara end. We were welcomed by the green hills and small streams finding their way through the rock cuts. The sun was shining bright with some clouds and mist around. The 1st beautiful view was the bridge on the down(EX-CSTM) line which was long and high enough. The pictures might give you a better idea. After 1hour rain started to pour down, it was one hell of a rain!!! I witnessed such huge drops for the 1st time as it was chiseling my skin. We somehow managed to reach a gang hut. We had trekked along the tracks for about 3 hours and reached the 1st tunnel. There we saw a gangman who was busy tightening the bolts of the rails. He stopped us and advised not to go ahead along the tracks, as RPF might take action against us. We followed his advice and took rest in gang hut for about an hour. We had seen Geetanjali, Tapovan and Pushpak express on the down line and Shalimar-LTT Express(see the train going inside a tunnel) on the up line. The gangman told us to catch a train to Kasara. Every train halts near the 1st tunnel on the up line due to catch-siding. We saw 2 hours late running Sewagram Express and climbed in the SLR coach. Hence we landed fast and early at Kasara. We then boarded Godan express till Nashik Road and then boarded Awb Janshatabdi. And this is how an awesome experience of travelling through hills during rains ended. It left us overwhelmed, but at the same time it was tiring......I still admire the half chapati with chilli chutney which was offered by the gangman(so mean of me....but I can't refuse to the food offered... :p)
I admire the tiresome and responsible work of gangmen who beat the climatic and geographic anamolies and work to the full capacities,even beyond....
Thanks for finding time and reading this huge blog.....I wish it might help you in someway....
P.S.---- I apolozise for the low quality pictures as I had a Nokia phone with 2MP camera. You can see the rain intensity in one of the pictures; it has a hazy look. The generous and caring gangman can be seen with his tools,getting ready for his duty.
