Shrivardhan: Essentials and tips

Getting there:
By bus: The town is about 165 kms from Pune and 185 kms from Mumbai...there are plenty of direct buses from Mumbai and a couple of direct buses from Pune..if you are not able to catch a direct bus from Pune, you can get many buses to Mandgaon from where, again, there are many buses...bus ticket costs about Rs. 250 and takes about 5-6 hours to reach.

By car: It is very convenient to have your own car as there are many places to visit around the town...car journey takes about 4 hours...roads are not in a great state and driver should be advised to keep eyes on the road, no matter how tempting the surrounding scenery is..it is advisable to travel during the day as ghat can be treacherous. There are a couple of gas stations/ petrol pumps available in the town...so you can re-fuel the tank and continue onward or around the town.

Stay:
There are plenty of home-stays in the town and a bed can be hired for as less as Rs. 250 a night...if you are willing to spend, it is possible to get a room with TV, air con etc for Rs. 1000...for a group, it is also possible to rent the entire house ranging between Rs. 2500 to Rs. 5000 a night...most home stays provide food at around Rs. 100 a plate for vegetarians and Rs. 200-Rs. 300 for meat-lovers.

A friend owns a place there, here's the contact info:

Food and drinks:
No denying that the place provides some of the cheapest and best sea food in the country..a ready made decent size fish costs about Rs. 200 per catch...it is possible to buy the fish directly from auction at as low as Rs. 600 for 8-10 fish...make sure to bargain a lot and tradition is to start with 50% of the price offered and settle down at 60% to 70%. The place is such that you do not need alcohol to relax..still if you are keen on drinking, ask around for local Madi..best time to drink Madi is between 8 AM to 11 AM.

Activities and attractions:
There are a number of temples in the town. If you are in a homestay, ask the owner to show around the rich wadi to get the feel of vegetation. The firm sand at beach provides an opportunity for a game of football and cricket, in addition to water sports such as banana rides, jet skis etc. offered by local tourist companies. It may be possible to hire/borrow a cycle to go around the town and find more secret beaches. Hareshwar and Diveagar (more famous attractions) are within 10-15 kms of the town, but if you want to avoid the crowd and experience real konkan, stick to this town or its surrounding area, talk to locals, eat and drink with them.

Buy:
If you have an ice-box, do buy sea food from auction to carry back home. Other specialties include Jack fruit chips, Jack fruit snacks, Kokam drink and spices. There are a few ATMs available in the town, so do not worry about cash...but most people accept only cash and not cards, so be aware of that.

Konkni wedding, fish auction, Madi and a secret beach

We left for the wedding by the car..the wedding was at the hometown of the bride, Shekadi, about 10 kms from Shrivardhan...we passed by several locals rushing to their daily routines, school children not so much rushing to their school and a few tourist cars coming in for the year end..soon we left the town and started climbing the hilly winding road...a few farm lands on the left side and hills on the right...as we continued on northwards, a turn revealed beautiful, deserted beach..continuing on the beach-side road, we reached a small village, heard a wedding band playing some music, saw a crowd moving in a lane and realised that we had reached the wedding place...

There was no marriage hall booked, but rather, whole village was converted into a marriage hall by putting overhanging "mandap" with the houses providing the support...my friends met the groom, their school friend, who looked quite relaxed for such a big day, surrounded by many a people, his relatives, friends and some wedding-crashers, like me... as the tradition dictates, a bullock cart was kept ready for groom to ride his way to the bride's house..which wasn't a long way and we fell behind him as a procession moved towards the bride..entering the village-cum-mandap, it could be seen that entire village was present for the wedding..all houses were open, no doors locked...you could literally walk in the house, take a nap and come back out and no one would say anything..such is the simplicity of life there...

Procession

Once again, i felt being a part of the ceremony..i wasn't an outsider, at least i wasn't being treated as one...except for may be curious glances towards my bad dressing sense..main ceremony got over sooner than I expected and there were smiles all around..through the crowd, i caught a glimpse of an older man who carried an expression of satisfaction, relief and happiness and guessed that it was the bride's father...as the couple sat on the makeshift dais, friends and relatives started crowding the area to give their wishes and the gifts for the newly-wed couple..

Well wishers

Main ceremony

Having a nice lunch of dal-rice at the wedding, we left the town to drop Dhananjay to the Shrivardhan bus stand and pick up another friend from there..

We reached back home to be greeted by Abhijit's family who had decided to spend the weekend there too...afternoon was spent in a different bigger wadi, trying to keep a dog at bay and then at the main Shrivardhan beach and its surrounding area, dotted by huge trees, farm-houses and farm-lands..

Abhijit, relaxing in Varandah of his home

A perfect house

Ancient Banyan standing tall

Shrivardhan Beach

Shrivardhan Beach

In the evening, we decided to catch some action at the fish auction and headed to the dock..it seemed like the most busy place in the town...there were a few ships out in the sea and many smaller ones running to and fro from them to transport the fresh catch ashore...the agents were shouting out aloud the bids, hoping for a bigger one from someone else..and no matter how big the last bid was, they would sound disappointed while announcing the winning bid..bidders were mostly women who would sell in the market or on the streets and some consumers, who might be buying for a feast planned.....there were prawns, pomfret and other fish of different sizes, squids, crabs and one big sting ray (though we were not sure if the sting ray drifted ashore dead or was brought there as a catch)...men kept bringing back the catch relentlessly and tirelessly, and agents kept on shouting for more bids...there were a few keen observers apart from us, dogs and cats, waiting for all of it to get overs, to feast on the leftovers...crows were not so patient though, and started snatching fresh meat from unattended baskets..wind was pleasant and kept us from sweating even a little bit..i could almost exactly feel what dhananjay would feel during the times spent there..i was reluctant to go back and was enjoying the whole scene there...

Agent and bidders

The catch

Small boats and bigger ships in the background

A Carrier

Pomfret basket

A sole sting ray

Thats something weird

Next morning, we left for the secret beach these guys had found as kids..on the way, passing through a small locality, we stopped to ask for Madi..madi is a country liquor, naturally produced from coconut tree..it tastes a bit like mixture of butter milk, coconut and salt..after a few inquiries, we were directed to a person who invited us to his house to taste it before purchasing..his was a small hut, just enough to give protection from sun and light rain and i could not help but imagine the heavy storms that are so common in these parts...he and his wife were happy nonetheless and their family also included many cats and kittens who were feeding from the milk and bread kept in the bowl outside..he filled us two bottles of fresh Madi for a reasonable Rs. 60..

The secret beach, as expected, was deserted...due to low tide, the sea had retreated back a little and that opened up a large expanse of the beach front...the sand was smooth but firm and walking on it bare feet felt like walking on silk...we walked till the edge of the water and coming back a little sat in the middle...no one was talking then..each in his own thoughts..passing madi from one hand to another...it was noon, but the wind was cool and persistent and never allowed the strong rays of the sun affect our mood..which was vaguely nostalgic and mostly relaxed...the drink help relax it further...and soon, we started imagining a few more luxuries to go with such an amazing beach...an umbrella, lounge chairs and a crate of beer! Well, maybe some other time...

Retreating waves

Secret Beach

Silk sand

Into the memory lane..

Konkan..the word has something in it, that takes me back to my childhood memories...it may be because of Hareshwar temple I visited so often as a kid with my family..I always associate it with the endless ocean i am so afraid of and the coconut trees i am so fond of and smell of fish and the konkni accent..

A friend of mine asked me casually, if I would like to go with him to Shrivardhan, a small town in Konkan, and my immediate reaction was yes! And so, the quorum was decided, four natives of Shrivardhan, who had to attend a wedding of a school friend there and me, a tag along..

As Hendre's i-10 grand left Pune, then Mulshi and headed towards Tamhini ghat, though the quality of road was diminishing significantly, my excitement level was increasing out of proportions..i wanted to confront the ocean, perhaps my greatest fear..sit in front of it and hear it roar..

Shrivardhan is a typical konkni town, a small one, with perhaps one school, one hospital, one bank and very simple people..it lies between the two more famous towns i.e. Hareshwar and Divegar..as we entered the town, there was a significant change on the faces of my companions..all talk about politics, songs and cricket stopped all of a sudden...and it was replaced by a profound sense of homecoming...a sense that is so warm and cheerful that its hard not to partake in it..their eyes lit up, there was childish grin on their faces and they started acknowledging their old friends, neighbors, relatives, teachers...! They were so involved in the feel of the town, the smell of the air, a familiar face, a temple they used to go to, their school, vada paav seller, that I felt I belonged there....i felt equal amount of excitement..nothing was strange to me anymore..as if, it was homecoming for me too!

As everyone reached their homes and me at Abhijit's, there was no tiredness, no exhaustion from a long road journey...we all were feeling quite laid back already..

Betel Fruits

Betel Nut

One of the companions was quite keen on catching the sunset at the beach as he had to go back to Pune, the next day and so I accompanied him to the beach..we took the two wheeler and headed to the beach..the lanes of the town are very small, mostly running parallel, maybe a bit confusing for a new comer..but, very clean...the discipline of the town folks was visible everywhere...on the clean streets, neat houses, the gardens and the beach...we passed many konkni houses, a few hotels and the only high school there, before reaching the beach..Sun, however, had already deserted the town and gone beyond the ocean..but there was still some light and still some activity on the beach...a few families enjoying a nice evening..a few boats crowding up near a dock on the northern shore of the town, a few birds making themselves heard..Dhananjay explained me about the dock at the northern shore, where fresh catch of the day is unloaded on small boats, taken ashore and then auctioned to be sold in retail...he told me that at times he would go there just to see the auction and observe the proceeding..through all the noise at the auction, crowd and smell of fish, he would get a different sense of satisfaction there...peace to his mind! It was very strange but interesting to know this..but I could relate to his feeling...sometimes, crowded places do provide a sense of liveliness and peaceful feeling..particularly, when you are not part of the crowd, but observing it..

I did confront the ocean, but not in the water...keeping safe distance from it...as if i did not want to make it angry...after a while, other 3 joined us and we sat there for a while..listening and observing the waves and police whistles and families retreating back home and a pani puri seller winding up his business for the day..my companions were once again back into the past...similar evenings they spent there as children..

Kamlesh had invited us to his grand house for an authentic konkni dinner of fried fish, fish eggs and prawn curry..i was amazed at the ease they showed towards me..they were all Abhijit's friends and they treated me like a guest of honor...kamlesh also explained me a few details of fish, fish eggs and quality thereof..

The next morning light really made me appreciate the surroundings of Abhijit's house..."Wadi" is a garden containing variety of vegetation, meant mainly for selling..coconuts, lemons, betel nuts, a few fruits...all grown and maintained neatly...we walked through the Wadi, below the green canopy of the coconut trees...Abhijit would point at a particular crop or tree or a small plant to tell us something interesting about it..or give us a few leaves of a random tree to eat...A water well in the Wadi, would start another series of memories for him...his eyes would reflect those memories..maybe, he cried at the edge of the well, when he was learning to swim or after a long day at school, he, along with his friends, would jump in the well and have a bit of water therapy..maybe he wanted all that to come back once again and was ready to trade his present for his past...maybe, all four of them felt the same thing...

                         

Green Canopy

                                       
                                       

A typical Wadi

                                       

Wadi

                                   

Memory Well