The Logan’s clutch plate gave up in one of the many trips we took while visiting relatives in Kerala. We gave the vehicle to the garage to get it fixed and were told that the car would not be ready in time for our return on Saturday.
This meant that we started our return on Sunday, 31 May 2026.
We started early in the morning and made our way to Coimbatore. Google Maps pointed us to a road in parallel to L&T Bypass in Coimbatore and we followed that path. Rakesh ettan also confirmed that they were suggested the same route yesterday (30 May).
We made the breakfast stop at Sree Sarvana Bhavan at 8:30 AM. We’ve stopped here each time we have passed through and have had good food here.
We had to make more frequent refuelling stops as my fuel gauge was not giving the correct picture. The fuel tank would be full and the gauge would show that it is not. I refuelled every 300 km or so.
Rakesh ettan told us that they had a huge traffic going into Bengaluru at the Atibele toll. Hence, we decided to have an early lunch when we reach Atibele and do not want to be stuck hungry in the Bengaluru traffic.
We stopped for lunch at Srinidhi Vaibhav, a little before the toll gate. There was a police vehicle outside the restaurant but the huge contingent was only taking an early lunch break as well.
We had nearly empty roads through Electronics City as we made our way to NICE road to bypass the city and go towards Tumkur. There were many by-passes as work was in progress on the Highway.
We made more time in the evening. We were discussing in the car about where to take our stop. I wanted to stop in Hubli again but at the different location other than Hotel Naveen. Rakesh ettan had stopped at the Fortune Park Airport Hotel. We decided to stop at the same spot.
We stopped at a nice stop called Naivedyam Family Restaurant at Madakaripura and got a few nice pics from outside the restaurant.
We reached the Fortune Park Airport Hotel at 9 PM. We had called the hotel earlier when we reached Naivedyam. They had told us that the stay for the kids was free. However, when we reached the hotel they charged more for the extra bed that they would need to sleep in than the cost of the room. Do they expect the kids to sleep on the floor?
I left the point as we were tired after a long drive and paid up. We liked the dinner at night which was a buffet style. There was work in progress in the hotel and so the gym, the swimming pool, and the spa were closed. Hence, we started at 7 am in the morning.
Google Maps pointed us to a way that took us out to the Highway directly and we were riding in under-construction highway roads which we usually skip when we go to Hotel Naveen.
We stopped at Hotel Udipi Vaibhav for breakfast around 8 am. We enjoyed the food and had great service there.
We stopped at Atithi Family Restaurant for an early lunch a little after half past midday, after we crossed over into Maharashtra. We got to fill our stomachs but the food wasn’t the greatest.
We reached home a little before 5 PM on Monday. I think the fact that it was a Monday hit us only after we reached home. We missed the early evening traffic of office-goers returning home.
We had dropped my wife’s parents at Pune railway station the previous night and it was a little past midnight when we slept. We set the alarm for 4:30 in the morning for our road trip to Palakkad.
Two weeks earlier, my parents had taken both of our kids to Palakkad for their summer vacation. This meant that it was only the two of us on this journey.
Routes
We usually take the Pune – Kolhapur – Davanagere – Chitradurga – Hosur – Salem – Erode – Coimbatore – Palakkad route. On our last road trip, we tried the Sathyamangalam route after Chitradurga, turning at Tumkur. This time, we wanted to try driving down NH 66 (what was the Panvel – Ernakulam Highway and then NH 17).
I remembered a road trip that I went with my family from Mumbai and this was a scenic sea-side route along the Arabian Sea. That road had gone beside beaches, through towns and cities, and on coastal and ghat roads. I wanted to experience that again.
I took Google Gemini’s help to decide where to stop on the route we were planning to take. It suggested that we stop somewhere between Murdeshwar and Udupi.
Rakesh ettan shared notes on the Pune – Sawantwadi – Goa leg of the trip. It was a route they had taken for their vacation in Goa.After taking this route to hop from NH 48 to NH 66, we would follow NH 66 to Palakkad.
Day 1
We woke up at 4:30 am and left from home around 5:30 AM. Google Maps guided us through Sinhagad Road to meet NH48.
We made good time in this early morning leg and stopped at what has become our usual Vithal Kamat stop just before riding up Khambatki Ghat.
Good progress has been made on the bridge cutting out the Ghat from NH48. It looks like we may not have to traverse the ghat on our next road trip.
We crossed Satara and around Kolhapur began a series of diversions for construction work on-going on the NH. It was sad to see many of the trees getting cut down for expansion work. Why can’t we move these trees like Singapore does?
We crossed into Karnataka and after one more diversion at Nipani, we made the turn towards Goa at Hotel Goa Ves. We joined NH 548H at Uttur Phata after going back into Maharashtra at Bahirewadi. We realised a little late that we had taken an earlier turn than intended.
We returned to the route we had intended towards Amboli Ghat on NH 548H. By the time I had crossed Amboli Ghat, I had already crossed a few smaller ghat roads, and was now beginning to tire.
Dhanya and I at Amboli Ghat. Image: Pradeep Mohandas
We really loved the scenes at Amboli Ghat. The trees were different at different heights. The smells were different. The soil seemed different.
At the exit of Amboli Ghat we got tempted to follow a short cut route into Goa. But, we had to return after a few kilometers as work on the highway had created a traffic snarl. We returned back to NH 548H.
We then set our sights on Sawantwadi and headed there on the main highway. Sawantwadi town had a Mall Road like the north and still had some colonial vestiges. My wife’s neck pain got severe at this point and she could not turn to look towards my side (which was the side that looked towards the sea).
NH 548H reached NH 66 at the Insuli RTO checkpost. We crossed the Terekhol river and had a Goan fish based meal at Hotel Anandi at Banda.
We then took a series of bridges in Goa that took us through but never let us be in Goa. It by-passed the whole state except parts of Madgaon. The bridge had high side-walls which meant that we didn’t even get to see Goa.
I later realised that they had changed the alignment of the road.
We got the first sight of the sea at Goa Velha at the New Zuari Bridge. Then, we passed through Karwar Ghat and into the new naval port area. We also saw a lot of signboards for beaches but the disappointment that was the Goa by-pass meant that we just wanted to get to Udupi.
We entered Karwar around 3:30 PM. Udupi looked unreachable and so we wanted to at least target Murdeshwar to sleep at. At this point, Murdeshwar also felt unreachable.
It was getting dark by the time we passed Ankola. A bit of a downpour made driving slower. We went past Gokarna, Kumta, and Honnavar after sunset. We pulled into our night stay at the RNS Highway Hotel at Murdeshwar.
The RNS Highway Hotel has an attached restaurant which is not under the same management as the Hotel. When we went there, the restaurant was busy serving a party of 20 and had only two chefs. We had to wait 30 minutes to be served and the food was not great.
After a long and tiring first day, we decided to leave at 6 AM on the next day.
Day 2
We started at 6 AM as planned. We decided to have breakfast at 8 AM at Udipi. On the way we saw the bit of a beach by the road at Maravanthe and decided to get down on the beach. This strip of road and beach has the Kolluru River on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other side.
Dhanya had been disappointed that we didn’t get to go down on a beach in Goa. We might have to plan a trip just for that.
Selfie at Maravanthe Beach.
She enjoyed her time at this beach and was much more positive start to the drive that day.
We then went into Udipi to have our breakfast at MTR 1924. We then drove out and made good time before we entered Kerala. The roads in Kerala were also good with elevated highways.
We were driving at a nice clip in Kerala when the diversions began. There were several diversions which went into the towns as well. We took a diversion into Kannur just before lunch. It was a bit early for lunch and we enjoyed the drive by the beach. But, most of the diversions were onto the service roads with no or closed restaurants.
We decided to have Thalassery Biriyani at Thalassery for lunch. Dhanya searched online and found Paris Restaurant in Thalassery to have the best Thalassery Biriyani.
We went off the Highway into Thalassery to have biriyani. After a short drive where we missed the car parking place for Paris Restaurant, we parked. We were diverted to the newer AC restaurant. Another look at Google Maps pointed us to the traditional place.
The traditional place was a house with a bunch of rooms serving as place to eat. With an efficient seating arrangement consisting of desks and benches with enough room for people to sit and move around. We got a corner seat and had a sumptuous lunch.
Selfie in front of Paris Restaurant at Thalassery. Image: Pradeep Mohandas
We then went back to the Highway on the same road that we came to the Restaurant. The roads got much better after we crossed Kozhikode. Dhanya had wanted to try Paragon Biriyani as well but we decided to go there on another trip.
We turned towards Palakkad at Valanchery. On the road to Palakkad we stopped at a cafe in Cherpulassery for a coffee and snacks.
We reached our home in Palakkad at 8 PM. It was great to be reunited with the kids after a long gap of 15 days.
After the trip to Ballaleshwar and Varadavinayak, we went to the Chintamani Temple in Theur on 11 April 2026. We had gone to Chintamani earlier before we realised the importance of visiting these places in a particular order.
This temple had lovely woodwork and a Portuguese bell kept here after the Maratha conquest of the fort where it was initially hung. There were many sparrows in the temple courtyard. Some parts of the temple was undergoing renovation. I have found the temples managed by the Chinchwad Trust to be better maintained and cleaner than other temples.
This is relatively closer to Pune and hence, the drive to and from the temple was more leisurely for us. We drove without stops.
It had been a long time since we left our Ashtavinayak Pilgrimage. I have written here about our trips to Mayureshwar and Siddhivinayak temples. We had done these in January 2026.
Personal illness, kids exams, etc led to a delay in the next trip. We headed for Ballaleshwar on 28 March 2026. A day earlier we met Rakesh ettan and family the previous day during our weekly run to Kerala Stores. He suggested that both Ballaleshwar and Varadavinayak were close by and hence could be covered in the same trip. They had done the Ashtavinayak circuit in 3 days.
Ballaleshwar Temple, Pali
We left home around 7:30 am. We took the route through Nigdi out towards the Mumbai Pune Expressway. I was happy to see the conditions of the road had improved at Ravet. We made a pitstop at the Hindustan Petroleum bunker which hosted a German Bakery for a bathroom break for us and a refuel for our Logan.
We headed back onto the Expressway. We took the exit at Khopoli and went down to Pali to reach there around 11 am.
I parked the vehicle a bit farther than usual thanks to a Mandir security guard he wanted the vehicle in the free parking spot provided by the Temple Trust. This was farther and left our vehicle exposed to the harsh March Sun. It also robbed us of a shaded pay and park provided right outside the temple entrance.
We went directly into the Ballaleshwar temple right past the Dhundi Vinayaka shrine. We prayed at the Ballaleshwar Temple quite peacefully. We didn’t experience the usual pushing and shoving one has gotten used to in Hindu temples.
When we left the temple, we saw a sign that said that one usually prays at Dhundi Vinayaka before one prays at Ballaleshwar. So, we prayed at the Dhundi Vinayak shrine and then took a route from within that temple into the Ballaleshwar temple.
I loved the atmosphere in the Ballaleshwar temple. One could play a big drum placed on one side, ring the bell, and we sat for a while in a wooden outer sanctum for a while before we left the temple a second time.
Ballaleshwar temple’s legend was narrated by Sharath A Haridasan in his series on Ganesh Puran. My wife and I had heard it together. So, when I mentioned it to her she remembered it easily. This shrine is associated with children and we related it to our daughter as well. Our son was more interested in the animal figurine toys along the two sides of the path leading to the temple.
We had food at Hotel Sukh Sagar. When I searched for the Varadavinayak temple, I found out that it was only less than an hour away from Ballaleshwar. After a light meal we headed off to Varadavinayak temple.
Varadavinayak Temple, Mahad
Google Maps acted weird on the way here. We had to drive around a little to figure out the entrance to the temple. This place had parking with some tree cover but with the Sun directly above us, the trees offered little to no shade. My wife carried my son all the way up the hill.
The temple had a very unassuming modern structure unlike the other Ashtavinayak temples we had been to so far. It was on top of a hillock. We were allowed to do puja ourselves – which was an offering of coconuts, some hibiscus flowers, and some peda. Our son didn’t have the patience to offer the peda to the God and so took it away before we had the chance to offer it.
It was 3 pm by the time we left the temple and headed back home. Google Maps took us through the old Highway and I enjoyed driving up the big upward curves on the ghat roads before we entered the flattish Expressway.
We stopped at the McDonald’s after the Talegaon Toll Plaza for a bathroom break and some cold coffee for a respite from the heat.
We returned home happy to have completed half of the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage.
After the visit to Morgaon, we were wondering where to go next. I went down the rabbit hole of Ashtavinayak orders and lists but finally decided to follow the list given on Wikipedia.
We visited the Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek on 17 January 2026.
We left from home later than usual. We drove out through Nagar Road, went past Theur, past Daund, and reached Siddhatek in two hours.
The roads, both the National Highway and the State Highway after Daund were really good. Most of the traffic was agricultural machinery moving from one field to another or transporting to the traders.
On the State Highway between Daund to Siddhatek, we were flanked by the Bhima River on one side and the railway line on the other side.
The parking at the temple was on the road. It was a light day and hence we did not face too many other pilgrims and got parking space quite easily.
The darshan was calm and quick. We went in and came out after our prayers.
We wanted to do the feri around the mount. The information online varied about the time the feri would take. It went from 10 minutes to 1.5 hours. It’s much closer to 10 minutes than 1.5 hours, and then it would depend on your speed. We completed the feri in 15 minutes.
We got somethings from the shops outside the temple. We had sugarcane juice and wada pav. There seem to be quite a few tannaries around the area. I got two belts made for myself – one in black for work and one in brown for casual wear.
We returned from Siddhatek on mid-day. We stopped at Savla Veg for lunch. Google Gemini suggests Kkanchan Veg but there is also a Vitthal Kamat on the other side. It seems to mostly have breakfast options, though.
My daughter was bugging me to go somewhere, anywhere. I told her that we would meet her brother and her relatives on Saturday (10 January 2026) after her Parent Teacher Meeting.
My son likes to play with animal toys and seem to enjoy watching birds.
We had driven through Katraj (via the ghat) when returning from Kerala in September and it got me curious what it was like inside.
These were three data points I used to decide that we should visit the zoo.
Collage of photos of my family and me at the zoo during one of our breaks. Image Credit: Pradeep Mohandas, Collage created with Collage on Google Photos.
For the drive to Katraj, Google Maps took us right past Shaniwar wada and Dagadhushet Ganapati Temple. It took us past Swargate and on the road to Katraj. There was public parking available outside the zoo. We parked there and walked to the zoo through the dilipated platform of the bus stand.
The road outside is full of hawkers selling fast food, finger foods, and fruits.
Once inside we took a ticket to enter the zoo and entered at half past twelve in the afternoon. My daughter was still expecting her relatives to join us. We went past a sea of school kids who were either having lunch or running to the bathrooms to go to the bathrooms ourselves.
After our bathroom break, we wanted to take the tour of the zoo in one of the four battery operated vehicles but after the fourth vehicle left their bay, we were informed that the vehicle that just left was the last one over the next hour. Instead of cooling our heals while waiting for the bus, we decided to walk it.
We went through the snake park with my daughter finding the turtles cute. Most animals were on their afternoon siesta here, a pattern that would repeat throughout the visit.
We then went on a long trek with boards pointing to animals but no signs of the animal themselves. My 3 year old son walked the distance. We walked past dears, antelopes, etc. but that did not seem to enthuse my son. A bear walking across its enclosure to probably eat food or drink water got my son’s attention. We were back to walking again.
We saw the elephants and then took a snack break. We used the opportunity to fill our water bottles as well. It was well-advised that we carry our own snacks. We carried makhana and broken-idli-pieces (this is specifically for our son).
I tried to tell my daughter that when we told her that we are going to visit her relatives, we meant the animals in the zoo. She did not believe me and still expected human relatives to meet us here. As we walked back and she realized that what I said was true, she expressed her anger and did not talk to me for a while.
The session after this was more interesting with a white tiger, tigers, cheetah, etc. Most animals were enjoying an afternoon siesta after their lunch (probably). Many of the visitors were joking that Indian animals would anyway be lazy like the rest of us.
We tried various methods to keep the children enthused on the return. We pushed and walked more than on the way back with fewer rests.
Much of the zoo was in various stages of repair. They are probably getting ready for their summer peak.
We ate pav bhaji and misal pav from one of the hawkers from the pavement outside. There was also a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a softie machine.
The family all fell asleep on the way back. I drove in silence with only my playlist playing providing ambient music. The way back was through Camp and Bund Garden. Although, we have been in Pune for almost 7 years now, we haven’t explored many of the places around Pune.
I was happy that I had taken my daughter somewhere. But, she meant going to the mall and wasn’t happy that we wandered in the zoo under the afternoon Sun.
My family and I drove to Morgaon on 4 January 2026. It was the first long drive I undertook after the operation in the second week of December. It was a two-hour drive one-way.
The drive to the temple was on mostly good roads except for a stretch between Hadapsar and a little beyond Phursungi. After that the roads were good and mostly empty. We made a stop at Kamat’s at Khalad on NH 965 for tea and our bathroom break.
We didn’t make any stops on the way back. We stopped after we crossed Magarpatta to snack on some makhana.
I first heard about Mayureshwar Temple associated with the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage circuit. It is the starting and ending temple to visit on that circuit. There are some fascinating myths associated with the temple.
The temple was really well planned. It had good parking space, not too many heckling commercial establishments, and really well kept temple surroundings. We had a good darshan after a small waiting time. I found it hard to pray though the darshan was relaxed.
I did not notice too much on this journey because I was really focussed on driving and my own driving comfort.
Addendum: 16 January 2026
I watched this post on Instagram that gives the story of Khandoba at Jejuri. This is near Mayureshwar. While standing in line, we saw several people who seemed bathed in turmeric and we were curious to learn more.
We drove down from Pune to Palakkad for Onam. The route we took was Kolhapur – Chitradurga – Tumkur – Sathyamangalam – Coimbatore – Palakkad.
My main concern before the start of the journey was repair work on the Pune – Bangalore Highway (old NH4, new AH47 or NH48). Multiple people warned me about it. So, we were actively considering the Solapur – Vijayapura – Chitradurga stretch to avoid the repairs on the Kolhapur stretch.
Two days before the drive, Rakesh had consulted multiple people himself and suggested that we take the Kolhapur, as a known bad road was better than an unknown road. I was concerned by the lack of mobile connectivity in case of any issues with our vehicle. Google Maps showed instances of roads being drowned in one or two stretches of the Solapur alternative.
Colleagues at work I asked said that the stretch towards Bangalore was good but had no food stops nor mobile phone coverage for nearly an hour and a half as the roads went through wildlife sanctuaries.
Following Rakesh’s advice we chose the Kolhapur alternative.
It was Ganesh Chaturthi that day and we started off with some Ganesh aartis. We had mentally prepared for multiple road blocks which appeared on Google Maps but did not exist on the road. Multiple times in Maharashtra, Google Aunty would ask us to take a diversion where none existed and seemed flummoxed when the car went straight ahead.
The diversions on the Maharashtra stretch were much better built. There were potholes in some places but that was expected given the incessant rains in the past two to three weeks.
Google Aunty did much better with the diversions on the Karnataka stretch of NH4. Here, the roads were much worse than the Maharashtra stretch with unnecessary speed bumpers, non tarred roads, and numerous potholes.
We made our first stop at the Kamat’s in Satara just before going up the ghats. The meals were good. We carried some snacks from here for what we expected to be a bad Kolhapur stretch.
The Kolhapur stretch wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We went through but at slower speeds.
We crossed the border into Karnataka and stopped at a McDonalds (called Viraj Junction) just past the RTO check post for bathroom breaks and some coffee.
There are not too many food places on this stretch upto Chitradurga. So, we stopped at a familiar place for lunch when we saw it. It just says Restaurant but Google calls it Itagi Cross.
We met a foreigner here who was going the other way on his Honda Goldwing. My 2 yo son waved hi to him. He waved back and asked him how he was. My 2 yo said, I’m fine. We had rice and dal here and it was really good.
We had planned to reach Tumkur by evening that day but the Dharwad- Hubli stretch had other plans. This stretch was the worst stretch on our way to Palakkad. But, I’m happy they are expanding it now. When we reached Chitradurga, it was half past five. We stopped for tea and decided to push to Tumkur.
We called ahead and booked Hotel Sadananda. We then had the first spell of rain on the road. This slowed us down a little. We then stopped for the night at Hotel Sadananda and had dinner from there. We had a simple meal at the hotel which was fine but not great.
We had a hot water bath and had a good night’s sleep. We decided to leave around six the next night.
My father is visiting us from Kerala. We went to Phoenix Mall at Viman Nagar on Saturday. I wrote this post about the drive to Tamhini yesterday after we returned. A line I wrote there reminded me that I had originally planned to visit Panshet first. That trip was forever postponed as life kept throwing things at us. Since my father was here, I took the opportunity to drive to Panshet.
Drive to Panshet
The drive to Panshet took us right through the heart of Pune and out the other side. We started late in the morning. The road extended up to Lavasa went past Khadakwasla before it reached Panshet. The dam seems to have created two catchment areas. I did not fully understand the geography and having just returned, I do not understand it completely.
There was minimal traffic in the city itself. There were multiple road closures because of construction of the Metro.
Once we were on the road to Khadakwasla and at the lake side, there was enough traffic as there was parking only to one side of the road. Bamboo sticks were used to stop vehicles from parking on the lake side of the road. But the views were lovely. We did not stop here.
A little bit up the road, past the defence lands, there was a Mankar dosa point with multiple other eateries. It also had a clean, decent toilet facility since it was new. We stopped here for a bathroom break and had basundi tea.
There was still some heavy traffic headed towards Khadakwasla but as we turned away from Sinhgad Fort at Donaje, the traffic was lighter. We made good time on the road to Panshet but the views slowed us down.
At Tamhini, we saw a lot of jackfruits being sold on the road sides but mangoes dominated the road to Panshet.
We also drove past a lot of paddies on the banks of the Mutha river. We saw some terrace farming examples of paddy as the water gushed down the sides of the hill to meet the Mutha.
We passed the little town of Panshet before the dam dominated the view on one side. The canals taking water away from the dam seemed to be full but the river itself had dried up. We took a road to the side which took us past the MTDC resort where we briefly considered having lunch at.
My father wanted to go to the top of the dam but we found a small road down one side which took us unexpectedly to the boating place.
At Panshet
Unlike Tamhini, where we just drove to a point and then took a U-turn, we decided to do at least one activity while at Panshet. We went boating. My wife is crazy about boating and everything related to water.
On the side of the hill, we looked at the lake that had been formed by the dam. The water level had gone down considerably. When we left the parking lot, the hotel was on the lake side and one level down. The boating place was at least a few levels down from there. One could fit an old Bombay styled two story building between the lake side hotel and the boating place.
We had standard Maharashtrian food at the hotel. It was delicious because of the taste and because of the hunger. My son caught my father’s hands and walked up and down the length of the old Bombay style two story building between the hotel and the boating point.
We chose a standard motor boat. I am queasy about boat rides but got in without too much hassle. I somehow expect the boat to sink on one side while I get in. The boat went a distance to the side to get some paddlers away from trouble. After that we resumed the boat rides. We acted touristy, posed, and took pictures. I found it harder to get off the boat.
The walk up the cliff to the hotel was a hard one. My son encouraged us on the way up. He took one step at a time. We rejoiced and took a step behind him. So reflective of life.
Once we got up the cliff, my daughter wanted to play in the park filled with rickety old park things – swings, slides, etc. After a while even she found it hard to enjoy there and we decided to return home.
Ride Back Home
The ride back home was disappointing. I guess the same scenery didn’t excite us. Or we were just too tired to notice. We stopped at a roadside sugarcane place, one of those operated by a bullock. The sugarcane juice was lovely. We had just got network back on our mobile phones and the first things I saw was an alert about how sugarcane juice was bad for you.
We stopped at the same place at Donaje for some cold water, some tea and bathroom breaks.
We then drove home non-stop. At some point the road was not the way we had gone. But it was standard Pune fare. Nothing noticeable. On the way back, I showed my father my work place. We got back just in time for evening tea.
After Travel
For certain parts of our journey, we make use of the mobile to lull our son so that we get a good attempt at eating some food. This is not possible when you try to stream content he likes. We must remember to download it for such times when network isn’t available.
We made the same mistake at Tamhini but did not learn our lesson. But I used this opportunity to tell my daughter of a time when this was how it was done. She expressed happiness that she did not live in such times. I guess she doesn’t know what she is missing.
We did not carry clothes for change this time and we had multiple places where we could have enjoyed the water otherwise. I may not have stopped for this, but the possibility existed and we weren’t ready for this scenario.
My prior understanding of Tamhini Ghat was that it was a dangerous place to drive.
My wife wanted us to go somewhere to escape the heatwave that hit Pune in the month of May 2024.
May 19
I was going to give a talk about space policy at the Fat Labrador Cafe for its Policy Adda. I usually don’t talk to the Uber driver but he had come in a Maruti Suzuki S-presso. I asked him about the car and he spoke of how he tolerated it more than drove it. He said it was a wonderful city car but not one that could be taken out for a long drive. The talk of long drives led to a conversation about how only the Harihareshwar Beach was the only Konkan beach worth visiting. We spoke of many other things. I spoke about space policy. I returned home late that night but slept early.
May 20
I went to Mumbai with Rakesh in his Old Monk to cast my vote in the Indian General Elections 2024. I was discussing the conversation I had with the S-presso driver on the day before. I mentioned about Harihareshwar Beach and wondered what was the best way to reach there from Pune. This was when Rakesh mentioned Tamhini Ghat.
May 25
Through the very hot month of May, my wife and I were discussing getting an air conditioner for the bedroom. The nights seemed to be hotter than the days and she had to be at home with two infants through the night and the day. For the n th time, I said no to buying an air conditioner. It was at this time she asked that we at least go somewhere. Since the conversation with the Uber S-presso driver was so fresh in mind, I suggested that we go to Harihareshwar Beach in the morning of May 25.
We carried some clothes in hand just in case we actually did drive to Harihareshwar Beach. I was preparing my mind to face the dangers of Tamhini Ghat. We even considered going to Mumbai just before we started the car. We got a very tempting invite from my aunt. But, I put my foot down (not on the accelerator) and said we should drive up Tamhini Ghat if not all the way up to Harihareshwar Beach.
My daughter’s close friend’s birthday was one of the prompts for this rethink in destination.
Then, I put my foot down on the accelerator and we were on the way to Tamhini.
Drive to Tamhini
I had come to Pune in July 2019. By the time we got setup at our new house, it was the pandemic. After we got out of the pandemic, our second child was on the way. The aforementioned second child was not someone who was easy to take on a drive. He cried, felt uncomfortable in enclosed spaces, and wriggled out of his mom’s hands all through the drive. Contrast this with my first child who fell asleep when the car began to move.
We slowly drove towards Tamhini in the late morning of May 25. We passed several hotels which were full upto the brim despite lunch time being an hour away. We did not pay attention to these cues. We drove past the village of Tamhini. We were mesmerised by the views of the dried up Mulshi lake. There was still some water.
We saw some wonderful geological features up-hill. I cannot name them nor did we take photographs of them.
We drove for half an hour past Tamhini when we spotted a clearing with road side food places on both sides of the road. We stopped here and turned around.
Return from Tamhini
We turned back home an hour after what should have been our normal lunch time. We had not had lunch. We had seen a pair of hotels on the way to Tamhini. We decided to eat there. We drove about twenty minutes to reach there. Between running behind our second child and eating, we did not feel full but felt confident about returning home. We shot a few videos, took a few photos, and had much better conversations.
On the way back, unable to help myself, I taunted my wife to have Mutton Bhakri. I annoyed her enough times that she asked me to stop at one place I was pointing out to her. We stopped but it looked quite shady. She lost her appetite for Mutton Bhakri and I quit taunting her. The son fell asleep at this point and we drove back in silence.
Post travel
I was very calm about the whole trip despite the prior negative information that I had heard about Tamhini. The roads were good. The traffic was sparse. The drive up was awesome. It generated in me some confidence about driving here in the rains, if need be. You can never be too confident about driving in the Western Ghats.
I did some reading about the Western Ghats to understand its geology but not enough to identify landforms that I saw there.
If the rains have not started, I want to drive down to Panshet. That is the first place that I had in mind for a drive since it has a MTDC resort.
