March Madness – Mahabaleshwar

We spent two wintry months curled up at home or at a cafe and drinking hot chai. It was much too difficult to even imagine waking up early for a trek, and weekends went by in deep sloth-ness. “Let summer come” we whispered and sunk deeper into our couches.

Summer did come, and how! The skies cleared overnight and the blazing sun parched the ground and everything in his way. The only Indian summer I’ve known eight years ago was the Bangalorean one, which was milder than this at double the altitude. This one taught me that I should have expected Arizona instead of Oregon. I never ever thought I’d yearn for a little rain and cooler weather, but it does cross my mind every couple of days now. I know I’ll frown at the muck in the rain, but I’ll make sure to relish it this time.

But hey, summer means a birthday! We kept up the tradition of travel on my birthday by heading up to the hills – home to the best strawberries of this region – Mahabaleshwar. It was fun to poke around, but it was just as hot as Pune and very crowded. We heard the word again – monsoon – visit in the monsoon. Okay. This year, I’m gonna yank out my knee-high boots and rain jackets from storage and try to brave the muck beyond this city. Erm, who knows, the muck might just drop beyond the city limits. Stay tuned :)

Mahabaleshwar – the striated rock special. Did I fondly recollect Grand Canyon memories? You bet.

Panchgani – vast plateaus nestled in the Sahyadris.

Strawberry Fields! That name has a certain ring to it, methinks.