Cycling to Belapur Fort – the last vestiges of an era gone by
When it gets to Saturday evening, I usually start feeling the itch to figure out a route to ride on Sunday. Last night was no different, and with the current theme of riding to all the forts in and around Mumbai, I looked up Belapur Fort.
The location of Belapur Fort really surprised me – for it lies at the junction of Palm Beach Road and Uran Road – a place I have driven by several times, and also cycled to before. I did not know that a fort lies hidden among the trees there.
As you can see from the map above, there are two locations that are supposed to contain forts in Belapur. (In fact there were even more locations that are now lost and destroyed.) The first location is at the end of the Belapur Island near Divale village in Sector 14 of Belapur. The second location is near the junction of Uran road and Palm beach road.
The fort has an interesting history:
Built in 1560–1570 by the Siddis, after they wrested control of the area from the Portuguese, it is located atop a hillock, near the mouth of the Panvel Creek. In 1682, the fort was recaptured by the Portuguese, who had managed to annex the regions controlled by the Siddis, near Belapur (at that time known as Shabaz)
In 1733, the Marathas, led by Chimnaji Appa, wrested control of the fort from the Portuguese. He had made a vow that if it were to be successfully recaptured from the Portuguese, he would place a garland of beli leaves in a nearby Amruthaishwar temple, and after the victory the fort was christened as Belapur Fort. The Marathas ruled the area until 23 June 1817, when it was captured by Captain Charles Gray of the British East India Company. The British partially destroyed the fort under their policy of razing any Maratha stronghold in the area
During its active days, the fort stationed four companies each of 180 men, and 14 guns ranging from 4–12 pounds (2–5 kg) in weight. An underground tunnel is also supposed to exist, which many locals believe connects it to Gharapuri Island, the site of the Elephanta Caves
I was eager to see the fort, and left at 5:30 am from Andheri, and cycled via Airoli to Thane-Belapur Road and then turned right towards Palm Beach Road at Nerul. Once I joined Palm Beach Road, I cycled till Belapur and first visited the Divale village location.
But when I reached the village, the villagers who are all fishermen told me that there was no more any fort there, and only a Mosque remains at the top of a small hillock.
The road in Divale goes along the coast where the fishing boats are moored at the coast and the fishermen lounging around on the street on a lazy Sunday morning
I parked my cycle at one point and talked to the fishermen to inquire about the fort. They said that there was no fort any more and a Hindu cemetery and a small garden has taken its place
A narrow pier juts out into the creek from the cemetery
In the garden next to the cemetery, there is a small temple that stands out with its brightly painted colors. But Ganapati inside seems to be caged in!
I then climbed up the hillock on with the Mosque but was disappointed that it had been reconstructed with modern materials. So I was left to merely enjoy the view of the creek from there
Around the Mosque there is a small shady garden that provides a nice place to rest a while for this weary traveler
I then head off to the junction of Uran Road and Palm Beach Road to investigate the other location of Belapur Fort. The first part of the fort lies on a traffic island at the junction. There is a small garden full of thick trees and this watch tower is hidden inside. I have passed this traffic island several times, but did not know about this hidden treasure.
A watch tower lies at the lowest point of the fort next to the river, which is now preserved on a traffic island with a small garden around it. The bottom of the watch tower has an enclosed room that was used as a prison.
I walked inside and around the watch tower. It seems to have been suitably restored and is now well maintained.
A view of the watch tower from behind
This is the view from the pavement around the traffic island. As you can see, the tower is well camouflaged by the trees
The tower has several windows from which one can see the Panvel river clearly and must have been an important location to secure the island
I then went looking for any other remaining part of the fort. Behind the traffic island, a small road leads inside a residential area that is thickly wooded. Here, a CIDCO guest house now occupies what used to be the fort’s interior. There are other residential building here too.
The only remaining vestige of the fort is a bastion that lies at the top of a small hill. There is no proper path to climb the hill and one has to find one’s way through thorny bushes.
The bastion is thankfully still standing, though it is severely damaged.
The entry into the bastion is through a small doorway that leads into a rectangular room
The rectangular room in the bastion seems to have a long slot and some small nooks in the walls that are not really windows. Wonder what these were used for.
One can also climb up on the upper level of the bastion using some fallen rocks of a broken section of the bastion
Once you climb up on the higher level, there is a walk-way around the bastion with arches all around
In each arch, there is a small port hole through which you can see the surrounding area
The view from the bastion towards Panvel creek reveals the Uran bridge, which we could see from a distance from Divale village
Finally it is time to head back down, for I have already spent over 2 hours between the two locations, and it is already getting quite hot.
I find my way back down hill and get back to my trusty steed that is locked to one of the fence posts at a residential building curb
I take a short tour of the Belapur port that is just ahead from this road, but it turns out to be quite nondescript, with a few yachts moored there, and people busy cleaning and painting them.
On the way back, I stop for a while at Airoli to admire the flamingoes feeding on the mudflats below the bridge
Here I met a fellow cyclist who is a resident of Airoli, and was enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning
He was also kind enough to take a photograph of me with his cycle
I then rushed off, leaving him to enjoy his morning in peace. Though it was quite hot, the cool but moderate head wind was comfortable without forcing me to exert myself too much.
I reached back home by 10:30 am. This was a good ride – over 80 km of cycling – but I was left with a melancholy mood about the disappearing historical sites.
The route map:
Cycling and Forts at Kelve, Shirgaon, Mahim and Satpaati – the Palghar Circuit
For a change, this was a planned expedition as an extension of this year’s project of visiting all the forts in and around Mumbai.
Having already visited Vasai fort and Arnala fort, I was itching to go further north in the Palghar area. There are over 6 forts along the coast near Palghar. I found the references of from Dinesh Nair’s meticulously documented trekking experience. I had originally planned to ride ahead to Tarapur, but later decided to skip the extended ride and spend more time enjoying the places in Palghar itself.
Here is the list of forts that span the Palghar coast from Kelve to Shirgaon.
- Paankot / Alibaug Fort at Kelve Beach
- Kelve Fort / Madla Bhurj at Kelve Beach
Danda BhurjBhongad / Bhavangad Fort- Mahim Fort (Kari De Mahim)
- Shirgaon Fort (Sirgao / Seridao)
I put up my rough plans on the cycling groups on FB and managed to get five riders who were willing to risk accompanying me. One of them dropped out later due to inadequate sleep.
The riders:
Akash Nigam
Ajay Parswani
Ashutosh Bijoor (me)
Bharat Bhatia
Mihir Parmar
Purnendu Nath (dropped out)
Here is the updated route map:
We started at 3 am on Sunday morning in two cars with cycles mounted on bike racks. The drive to Kelve took about 2 hours with a few missed turns due to unfamiliar roads but thanks to online maps, we reached without too much of a delay. After reaching Kelve, we parked the cars in a resort and headed out at 5:45 am with our cycles towards the beach.
Our first halt is called Alibag Fort or Paankot. The fort is almost a kilometer out into the sea at the mouth of the Vaitarna river that separates the west facing coast of Maharashtra between Virar and Kelve. This is a relatively small fort of about 75 ft by 40 ft. But the location is striking! The only way to reach this fort is during low tide, when the water recedes by over a kilometer, exposing the vast beach over which one can walk to the fort.
In the gentle light of the morning sun, the earthy colors of the fort and the silk cotton trees inside looked like a forgotten ship that struck ground years ago.
The only way to enter the fort is to climb the walls at places where there are these rectangular windows, by stepping into the cracks in the walls. We climbed up on the sea facing wall and got inside the fort.
Inside the fort, there is a fortified bastion on the sea facing end, with windows all around to keep watch on enemies coming from the sea.
The view from these windows today is peaceful, with fishing nets laid out by local fishermen and the vast beach that extends for kilometers along the coast.
The lone bastion inside the fort at the sea facing end makes the fort look like a ship. An interesting feature of the fort is a couple of silk cotton trees called Semul. My daughter’s name is derived from a Bengali version of this tree’s name – Shimul
With the rising sun behind, the silhouette of the fort with the dark clouds hanging above look menacing
The view of the fort from the sea is truly imposing. It looks much bigger than it actually is, for one can see the bastion and not the lower part behind it
After admiring the fort and climbing inside, we walked back to the main beach through slushy sand and shallow water
Our next destination was Kelve Fort or Madla Buruj. We cycled along the beach for a few kilometers to reach the second fort
Kelve Fort that lies hidden among the thick forests of Casuarina that line the coast. For enemies that got past the sea fort, this was another point of defense that would have decimated them before they entered the land
The fort itself is quite small with 4 bastions at four corners, the ones facing the sea seeming bigger and better fortified than the land facing ones. There are windows that look out to the beach and the sea, allowing the occupants to keep watch on unwelcome visitors
Posing for photos…
… the famous five!
The next destination is Shirgaon Fort, which is about 10 km from Kelve. We decide to skip Mahim fort that is on the way and visit it on the way back.
On the way to Shirgaon Fort, we came across a small village with a huge Banyan tree with a small brightly painted temple under it. Behind the tree there was a well where a woman was washing clothes. Smoke from a fire lit somewhere nearby wafted in from behind, lit up by the rays of the morning sun to make a scene straight out of a Bollywood movie
Shirgaon Fort is easily the most impressive and well maintained structure in this area. The entrance is from the north facing wall into a bastion with a small tower and minaret above it
The entrance into the bastion is from an arch on one side of it, which leads inside the roofless bastion. The sunlight streaming in from the entrance casts a long shadow as it is still not very late in the morning.
The arch that leads to the fort from the bastion is perpendicular to the arch at the entrance. This is a pattern that is repeated in all forts, and serves to slow down any large crowd or battalion surging into the fort.
As you enter the fort from the bastion to the north, there is a clump of bushes on the left, overgrowing around a small water tank or well that is now dried up.
To the right of the entrance is an unusual palm tree that does not look like a typical palm that usually grows with a single long bark with a clump of leaves at the top. This palm tree has a single bark at the bottom, but splits out into several individual branches, each of which has a clump of leaves at the top. This is one of the unique features of this fort. There are more such palm trees around the fort.
The ramparts of the fort are accessible via small stairs that on all four sides of the fort.
Inside the fort on the west, next to the rampart that faces the sea, there are several rooms that are similar to other Portuguese forts around. These may have served as staying quarters for the occupants, or for armaments or storage. None of the roofs of these rooms survive, and some of the walls are crumbling
Beyond the west facing wall, there is a large meadow which separates the beach from the fort. We saw some horses grazing in this meadow. Apparently when the fort was built, this meadow was fully covered by thick forests of Casuarina, thereby keeping the fort hidden from view
The bastion on the north east corner of the fort has a tower that one can climb up on using a small narrow staircase. The tower seems to be reconstructed with modern materials like cement. It must have been originally constructed with lime plaster.
The riders rule the fort on this day!
From the tower windows facing the fort in the tower , one can see the entire fort’s interiors and the sea at a distance from the west facing wall
From another window in this tower, one can see the entrance that lies next to the tower with the minaret, and keep watch on whoever enters the fort.
The bastion on the north west corner, there is an old cast iron cannon, similar to cannons found in all Maratha forts in Maharashtra. The cannon is really heavy and none of us could manage to lift it alone. Finally two people combining forces could barely lift it a few inches
On the inside of the east facing wall is a small temple built into the wall that seems to be used for worship even today
The fort was so beautiful that we ended up spending over 2 hours there. It was getting hot and sunny, and we started pining for a cold drink! So we headed out from the fort into Shirgaon village
We found a small beer joint there and a cold beer seemed like a welcome break from the heat that was mounting
In the garden behind the beer joint, there were some lovely red flowers… with Bharat’s red jersey, this was a real red riot!
We stopped for a short while at Shirgaon’s beach near the municipal school
Then we rode about 5 km ahead to Satpaati, which is a quiet fishing village that abuts the northern end of Palghar area, separated by another creek. There we stopped for breakfast at a local restaurant that is run by a cranky old man who is a stickler for process. He made sure we kept all our equipment in a corner that would not disturb other guests, and also gave excellent local food
While we were sitting and having our breakfast, a group of local traveling musicians arrived
With painted faces and adorned with beads and a crown.
They sang beautiful devotional songs for us and accepted a small token payment
After breakfast, we headed into the center of the town where we met these drummers who were waiting to play for some function in the temple. We requested them to play for us, and they gave a an enthralling performance!
After that rousing performance, we headed back towards Kelve. Though it was hot, the breeze was still nice and cool, and the road was shaded by the many trees that lined it. When we reached Mahim, some of us branched off to visit the fort that lies towards the shore, in a small lane that turns away from the main market in Mahim village.
Mahim fort is between Kelve and Shirgaon, and is in quite a dilapidated condition. It lies at a corner of Mahim village which is just 5 km north of Kelve.
The fort is rectangular structure with two bastions on extremes of the sea facing wall, and an entrance on the opposite wall that leads into the small and quiet street outside.
There is a stairway that starts in the middle of the western wall and splits up midway to go either ways towards the two bastions…. somewhat like the stairway made famous in the Titanic movie! Just next to the staircase on the right, there is a small well that is now dried up.
As you climb up the stairs on the left, you come to a wide doorway which is overgrown with a large banyan tree whose roots make a nice swing.
We had parked our cycles on the street that one can look down upon from the ramparts above.
After all, we did complete the four forts that we had planned to see! Now it was time to get back to the resort for lunch
Finally back at the resort, we had a shower and were treated to a simple but tasty meal
We mounted the cycles on the cars…
…and we were ready to head back to Mumbai!
Thanks to Raj Resort and Rohit Raut, it’s owner for the hospitality and allowing us to park our cars safely in their parking lot while we cycled around.
One final photograph of the famous five adventurers!
On the way back from Kelve, we had to cross a small mountain range, and this nice temple at the base just as you begin the climb up.
We reached Mumbai at around 3:30 pm, just over 12 hours from the time we set out in the morning. This was really a fun ride! Thanks to great company and with no impediments we enjoyed the day in the best possible way – riding our cycles!
A video compilation of the expedition:
Benefits of Cycling – an Infographic
Benefits of Cycling
Jonathan Hart has created an amazing infographic on the benefits of cycling for Atlanta Bicycling Coalition, and coveys facts about cycling and its benefits to both the individual and communities
Thanks to Bill Buse who posted this!
Cycling expedition to Ghodbunder Fort, Thane
This was a totally unplanned expedition. Slept late on Saturday night but put an alarm for 5 am by habit. 5 am on Sunday morning, I was wondering where to cycle to that would be a relatively short ride, for it gets really hot after 9 am in May. I thought of visiting another fort somewhere within an hour’s ride from Andheri… that pretty much limits the distance to somewhere in Thane. So I googled “Thane fort” and the first hit was Ghodbunder Fort. I looked up the map to see how to get there.
The round trip distance is just over 45 km – which can be easily covered in 2 hours at my normal speed, so I would still get an hour to spend at the fort and still be back before 9 am.
I left home at 5:30 am and rode along the highway till Mira Road, then took the detour towards Ghodbunder village. I reach the fort in just about an hour at 6:30 am. The fort is in the Ghodbunder village, nestled among small village houses along the coast.
In 1530 the Portuguese came to Thane but they only began building the Ghodbunder fort in 1730. The Portuguese name for the fort was Cacabe de Tanna. The British captured the fort and made it their headquarters of the district administration with a district collector stationed in Thane. It which was under Portuguese rule till 1737 when it was also the site of a Portuguese church. This Church was used as a hotel and is now abandoned.
As you enter the fort, you are greeted by a corridor of arches, that lead to one large bastion.
Behind the arches there is an entrance to a big courtyard
The courtyard has some rectangular rooms, that reminded me of similar construction in Sewri Fort that was also Portuguese
This is the biggest bastion that lies to the north west corner of the fort. The view from this bastion extends out to the sea on one side and on the other, one can look into the courtyard within the fort walls
The view from the bastion extends far and wide and one can see the vasai creek that lies next to the fort in this view
The fort lies at the junction of Ulhas river and Vasai creek. Here you can see the river flowing next to the fort.
There is a huge open space in the center of the fort. No free space in India can escape the inevitable cricket pitch where local kids and adults enjoy the game. Here, one can see practice nets with stones placed as stumps.
In the center of this ground stands a proud and tall tree. This tree quite likely must have seen the entire history of the fort since it was built.
On one side of this ground, almost touching the ramparts to the north, is a huge mango tree. There were ripe mangoes fallen on the ground half eaten by birds. I tried and succeeded in getting one partially ripe mango but it was quite sour.
Behind the mango tree, there is a huge fresh water tank. Climbing up on the ramparts one can look over the tank at the arches near the entrance
On the way back, I notice some of the arches near the entrace that are overgrown with trees, similar to the Angkor Vat ruins we saw in Cambodia
The fort is by and large in ruins. There has been no restoration work in this fort, and wild flowers and trees have overrun the place. This flower is called Mandar or Rui and is a poisonous plant but with certain medicinal uses.
A last look back into the fort before I head out
Outside the fort, the villagers are busy with their daily chores, while a mother hen herds her little ones around, looking for grains and worms for their breakfast
Just behind the fort rampart towards the sea is a private property that is guarded by a gate. Inside the property there is a nice path that leads up to the sea shore. I managed to convince the security guard to let me in
The path reaches down to the shore of Vasai creek, where a shapely tree clings to the shore and gracefully extends its arms over the water
From here one can see the boats floating in the gentle waters of Vasai creek
Finally its time to bid adieu to the place, as it is now almost 7:30 am and time to head back lest I burn in the sun on the way back.
Evolution of big data at CERN – a short overview by Dr. Tim Smith
There is a mind-boggling amount of data floating around our society. Physicists at CERN have been pondering how to store and share their ever more massive data for decades – stimulating globalization of the internet along the way, whilst ‘solving’ their big data problem. Tim Smith plots CERN’s involvement with big data from fifty years ago to today.
Dr. Tim Smith
Dr. Tim Smith works in the CERN IT Department leading a group that provides services for the 10,000 strong CERN user community covering the domains of Audio Visual, Conferencing, Document Management and ePublishing. This includes a team which develops, installs and maintains instances of Invenio, the CERN Open Source Digital Library system which powers the CERN Document Service.
Here’s a quotable extract from his talk:
If big data has been around for so long, why do we suddenly keep hearing about it now? Well as the old metaphor explains, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – and it is no longer just Science that is exploiting this.
The fact that we can derive more knowledge by joining related information together and spotting correlations can inform and enrich numerous aspects of every day life…
- in realtime such as traffic of financial conditions,
- in short term evolution, such as medical or meteorological ,
- in predictive situations such as business, crime or disease trends.
Virtually every field is turning to gathering big data…
- with mobile sensor networks spanning the globe
- cameras on the ground and in the air
- archives storing information published on the web
- and loggers capturing the activities of internet citizens the world over
The challenge is on to invent new tools and techniques to mine these vast stores, to inform decision making, to improve medical diagnosis, and otherwise to answer needs and desires or tomorrow’s society in ways that are unimagined today.
Mountain Biking at Yeoor Hills – Off road bonanza!
A short but nice off road track exists in Yeoor Hills. The Thane cyclists headed by Jose George of Haybren Adventures had announced the ride and about 30 riders turned up. We started at 6:45 am from the base of Yeoor Hills. The entrance to the park at Thane provides access to Yeoor. The road climbs up to Yeoor hills in a steep but smooth tar road. However, one needs to take care not to run into the several vehicles that are driven on this road.
To reach the off road section, take the left at the last bus stop inside Yeoor. At the end of the road, there is a private road to the right and straight ahead is the off road track that heads into the forest. About 6 km long, it is a rocky path with gentle ups and downs, that culminates in a dried river bed, that has water only in the monsoon.
Starting point of the off road section. On the right is the private road, and straight ahead is the entrance to the off road track into the forest
We waited for the rest of the riders to climb up the hill and reach the off road track
The track is quite rocky, and in monsoon can get quite slippery
We rode through the forest in single file, as the track was quite narrow
We reached a small clearing and took a break to wait for the other riders to arrive
At one point, a tree had fallen and blocked the path. We had to lift the cycles up above the tree and circle back to the track on the other side
The final resting point before the last descent to the river bed below
There was a steep descent down to the river bed and it was rocky… would be quite dangerous in the monsoon. But this time of the year its dry and safe
The group of 5-6 riders who rode ahead of the rest
Broad smiles reflect the joy of being outdoors
After waiting for a few minutes we decided to head down to the river bed
My video camera was mounted on the handle bar, and it shook so much that I could just pick still shots from the video
Everyone reached the final destination safe and sound, with no major injuries
A 30 minute water break and time to get to know each other
The river bed was completely dry, but would be great to see the water in monsoon
There were MTBs of all makes, some with heavy duty suspension that is ideal for a track like this
As it was getting really hot, we decided to head back
The return journey was exhausting, thanks to the heat and the mostly uphill climb
At some points, there was no option but to lift the cycles up
There are some stretches that are just perfect for mountain biking
Some who are confident enough hurtled down the path at full speed
The forest cover kept the heat at bay till we reached the road. From there on, the full blast of the heat caught us all
After we climbed down from Yeoor to Thane, I still had over an hours ride back to Andheri through the hot sun. Thankfully, I managed it without incident and was back home by 10:30 am.
Crank it Up – first cycling festival in Mumbai
This was a fun weekend for cyclists in Mumbai. A group of cycling enthusiasts led by Zubair Lodi, Meenal Sharma, Dipti Shah and Bilal Moolji conceptualized and put together this event in the Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu. The best part is, the event was announced online on Facebook, invitations sent to all cycling groups online, registrations happened online, and everyone just turned up! A total of 265 people registered online to attend the event! The awareness and interest in cycling is growing by the day, and that is really great to see. Thanks to all the cyclists like the organizers of this event, and the leaders of all the groups who tirelessly work to keep the communities active!
Crank it Up – Mumbai’s first cycling festival
The first race was the Men’s open race – 27 km – a circuit starting from 10th road to main beach at Juhu. The winners were way ahead of the rest of the riders, and it was a pleasure watching them tirelessly maintain their speed
Zubair Lodi is a quiet and unassuming guy. He loves cycling, and is an expert at maintaining and customizing cycles. He runs Bichanix – a workshop where he works on his projects, and also rents out high quality cycles to people. Zubair was the main organizer of the cycling festival and he was also supported by all cycling groups in Mumbai
Officials of Crank it Up – Cycling Festival
This bunch of young kids had come with their BMX cycles and looked really chirpy and eagerly cheered participants in all the senior races. Then they had their race too… and the went at it with gusto
This picture is when they finished and crashed out exhausted.
These kids dressed up themselves and their cycles for the cycling fashion parade. What a great way to spend a Sunday at Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu. The park has a nice cycling track around, where cyclists can ride unhindered by traffic and pedestrians.
The youngest participant of the event, this little girl was all dressed up and was the star attraction of the cycling fashion show, and she stole everyone’s heart!
Rony Bill had dressed up his cycle like a bird. Carefully decorated with golden wings and a bright pink breast in front, with a little bird on the handle that flapped its wings! Hats off to him for taking so much effort!
This is the little birdy on Rony Bill’s cycle
Participants of the BMX Stunts competition went through all kinds of contorted maneuvers with their cycles – not once sitting in the saddle and both wheels touching the ground
Flying cyclist – these guys kept the crowds enthralled with their stunts
Unconventional riding style
Drawing a circle with the cycle… geometry lesson?
Flying cycle – rarely did their wheels touch the ground – they were jumping all over the stage – with little or no infrastructure for BMX rides, they did a fabulous job!
Another crazy stunt by the BMX devils
Firoza gets an award for the cycling fashion ramp show, dressed like one of Mumbai’s famous dabbavala!
The Winners – Crank it Up – Cycling Festival
The Winners – Crank it Up – Cycling Festival
See the entire photo album here
And here’s a wonderful video compiled by Nasir Nash with shots from the event:
City Oasis – a creative journey by Shimul Bijoor
As a proud father, I’m happy to show off a video created by my dear daughter Shimul, from clips captured during our last weekend’s sojourns together.
Radio Interview at Pittsburgh Technology Council
Jonathan Kersting – Host of talk show at Pittsburgh Technology Council
During my visit to Pittsburgh at the Accion Labs head office, I was interviewed at Pittsburgh Technology Council by host Jonathan Kersting.
Jonathan runs a regular show titled Tech Vibe Radio, and has had a string of interesting episodes. I was honored to be able to talk to him, and am excited to be an extended part of the Pittsburgh Technology Council.
I talked about two of my favorite topics – Science Fiction and Big Data Technology and how they are coming together.
Cycling in Aarey and Borivali National Park to Kanheri Caves
Having done an interesting ride to Elephanta Caves, I was planning to ride to the other famous Buddhist caves in Mumbai – Kanheri Caves. With no specific plans this weekend, I made the usual last minute decision of cycling there on Saturday night, and roped in Sameer to join this adventure.
We were hoping to be able to convince the forest officials to allow us to use the route via Vihar Lake, but found out that the road was permanently closed after the leopard attacks in the park. So we had to take the normal route from Borivali National Park. However, as the distance is quite short, we decided to do a bit of a round-about route in Aarey before heading out to Borivali.
Here is the route we took – a total circuit of just above 50 km.
We started our cycling tour from Aarey Milk Colony at 6 am, just as the light of dawn started penetrating the darkness.
Dawn at Aarey Milk Colony
The eerie light of the street lamps
Wonderful colors of dawn
Our first stop was at Powai lake. Though it is April, the clouds looked ominously like monsoon… but rains are always welcome in Mumbai!
Powai Lake wakes up to the dawn
On the way back, we took the route via Royal Palms and got back into Aarey, to then take the Western Express Highway to Borivali.
The park opens for cyclists at 7:30 am and we were there exactly in time to be let in. There were hordes of visitors waiting in line to get in, and we stood in the queue for buying tickets, and then headed inside towards Kanheri Caves.
The road in the park is beautiful, surrounded by dense jungle on both sides, and yellow flowers lining the roads on both sides. There were several visitors who were walking or jogging, as well as some cyclists. We met Jagat, a fellow cyclist who joined us till Kanheri.
At Kanheri, we had to park our cycles below the caves. We locked both mine and Sameer’s cycle together to a pole, and headed up to the caves. The ticket booth was managed by an impressive ex-armyman with imposing looking mustaches.
Portrait of ex-army man with imposing mustache
There are lots of monkeys around near the base of the cave. This monkey was about to snatch my phone as I was taking its photograph. The monkeys here are very bold, and actually come and snatch food and water bottles from your hand. I saw one monkey snatch a bottle, puncture it with its teeth and try to drink. When if did not manage to do so, it threw the bottle back to the owner in anger!
Beware of monkeys at Kanheri Caves
The first cave number 1 is an unfinished chaityagrha, originally planned to have a double-storeyed verandah and a porch, apart from the pillared hall.
Cave number 1 at Kanheri Caves
Cave 11 which is also known as ‘Darbar Hall’ consists of a huge hall with a front verandah. It has several sections. One such section has a small hall with a stupa. The hall has a shrine on its back wall and cells on two sides. The floor of the hall two low stone benches resembling Cave 5 of Ellora
Cave 11 – the darbar hall at Kanheri
Stupa in Kanheri Caves – cave 11
Entrance to hall in cave 11
Buddha in standing positions
Buddha in different sitting mudras and asanas
Lateral view of cave 11
Cave 4 has a small and intricately carved Stupa. I did a bit of research to find what the significance of a Stupa is, and found this info:
The stupa, universal throughout Asia, evolved into more than a reliquary monument. It has become an expression of the ideal of Enlightenment. Statues represent the Buddha’s body, Dharma texts his speech. Stupas are representations of the Buddha’s mind. They reveal the path to enlightenment, or how the mind can actualize its full potential and be transformed into enlightenment. Stupas can be seen as an expression of the five elements.
- Earth, which spreads out in the four directions, provides the solid basis.
- The dome is the garbha (“womb”), primordial, creative
- Water – formless potentiality. It is also called the anda, or egg.
- The conical spire is Fire, which always rises upwards. It represents the wisdom which burns away ignorance.
- The crescent moon is Air, expansive, waxing and waning (an ancient symbol of the feminine).
- The circle is Space, wholeness, totality, with no end or beginning.
- Finally, above the circle is a jewel, which represents a higher state of reality, gone beyond the five elements. It is the ushnisha, present on the crowns of all Buddhas, revealing their perfect, enlightened state. This ascent to perfection is laid out with precision in an Enlightenment stupa.
Stupa in cave 4 at Kanheri Caves
The most prominent among the excavations at Kanheri is the Cave 3, which is a chaityagriha which was excavated during the period of Yajna Satakarni (c. 172-201 A.D.). The entrance of the cave has three doorways.
Entrance to Cave 3 at Kanheri Caves
Cave 3 is adorned with two giant, up to 7 m high figures of standing Buddhas on each side of the entrance porch. It seems that it was these statues of Buddha in 6th century that started a tradition to create collosal statues of Buddha – a tradition that spread all over Asia.
Large Buddha statue at Cave 3 in Kanheri
The chaityagrha inside this cave is one of the largest in India. The chaityagrha closely resembles the one at Karle in Pune. It consists of a large rectangular hall with an circular back, a verandah and a spacious court in front. A row of 34 pillars divide the hall into a central central area or “nave” flanked by two aisles on either side. The roof of the nave is barrel-vaulted while that of the aisles is flat. The pillars have different styles and shapes and are not really symmetrical. The stupa at the back is at the center of the circular area.
The main hall in cave 3 at Kanheri
Next we climbed up the hill above the first level of caves. We first saw an unidentified cave that had an interesting set of carved panels.
Carved panels in unidentified cave at Kanheri
Carved panels in unidentified cave at Kanheri
View of Borivali National Park from Kanheri Caves
Sameer meditating at Kanheri Caves
The next cave was number 90. Cave 90 is famed due to the oldest preserved mandala shaped in early 6th century AD.
Cave 90 at Kanheri Caves
Cave 90 at Kanheri Caves
Inside the caves are carvings and inscriptions. The inscriptions are written in the Pahlavi language. They have apparently been left by Persian travellers who visited Kanheri. One inscription is historically significant as it refers to the marriage of the Satavahana ruler Vashishtiputra Satakarni with the daughter of ruler Rudradaman I in a futile attempt at preventing the decline of Satavahana Empire.
Cave 90 at Kanheri Caves
After this impressive dose of history, it was getting quite hot with the sun blazing down at us, and we decided to head back after a brief tea and vada-pav snack.
Shapely tree at Kanheri Caves
The tour was not very long – 50 km end to end, but the caves were worth the visit. Must do this again in the monsoon, when the entire forest comes alive with a bright green!
See the entire photo album here
See the video clip of the ride:
