Event - Jivdani Pilgrimage Trip
Time - 17.00 hrs to 21.00 hrs
Date - May 1, 2008
Venue - Jivdani Temple, Virar East.
Around 14.30 hrs I got a call from Vijay(VJ) enquiring me bout different route for reaching Jivdani Top. And at the end of our talk session I received invitation from VJ to join him n others for a PILGRIMAGE Trip to Jivdani Temple with main agenda being Mataji ka darshan and Shooting the Sunset from top. I havent been there for quite few yrs so my answer was YES. I met the group - Rutu(Toungester), Amol Kulkarni(Self-Obsessed), Neeraj(Majdoor) and VJ(the.only.moron) at Virar station at 16.45pm. We started our Pilgrimage at 17.00hrs and after covering the first stretch of Stairs(5 mins) Mr Neeraj sent a SOS message to us which was "Mein aur nahi chal sakta, mere aankhon ke aage andhera chaa raha hai, chakkar bhi aa raha hai".We then asked him to take rest and follow the normal route which other devotees were following and we ourselves took the untrodden path coz the beautiful barren mountain was calling us for the trek which we cudnt resist. The terrain was a slippery slope and since it was summer the small trees / shrubs/ grasses were burnt making it difficult for us to get some grip. After few mins, Neeraj felt better and he joined us for the trek. Ppl were taking turns in slipping in which I created a record(coz i was wearing Bata rubber slippers only ;P).After first slippery loose mud-rock stretch came the Rock patch (10-12 feet). VJ took the most difficult patch and completed it by doing some bouldering stuff. I, Rutu and Amol took the moderate path and completed it with ease while Neeraj took the most easiest one kyunki kuch der pehele uske aaankhon ke aage andhera chaya tha. While Amol was doing his rock path his one wrong step left him hanging on one hand and he too sent a SOS to Rutu for help.But Mr Amol the self-obssessed cudnt stop himsef clicking his photographs while hanging on 1 hand.His Life n death experience in his words "Sab aage nikal gaye mein aakhri mein tha aur maine realise kera ki mein keval ek haath mein latak raha hoon, neeche hawa upar kuch nahi aur rutu ko help ke liye chilaya, jab tak rutu aata mera ek haath jo free tha usse apni kuch foto nikal li yeh soch ke ki yeh meri aakhri tasveere hongi [b]agar gira toh[/b]".Soon Rutu gave him a helping hand and we all were together again.Now we started our last patch, the slippery loose mudrock terrain (60 degree slope). By now my feet was fully sweating and not to forget I was wearing BATA rubber slippers as we had decided it was a pilgrimage trip. On inside my feet was slipping becoz of heavy sweat and on outside the slippery terrain was causing my slippers to slip.For once I decided to go back but going down was more worse than going up. If I wud hv loosed balance, I wud hv gone down slipping upto 30 feet then a 10 feet rock patch and then again 20 feet slope after which i cud hv halted only if i manage to grab hold of burnt tree branches / roots.I cudnt even remove my slippers as the mudrocks wud hurt me and there cud be possibility of me loosing the balance. My legs were shaking, My heart was beating harder and I was slipping with each step I took. But somehow I managed and finally covered tht last patch and reached the normal route where all others were waiting for me(whew...).After reaching here we had lots of fun by hanging upside down while trying 2 cross the steel rod(check the pics).Soon we reached main temple had our darshan and headed for Shooting the sunset.After that it was time again for having some silly fun. PPl started sticking coins on the rock surface and wishing that their wild-extravagant wishes will be fulfilled.No one cud stick a single coin but rutu did managed to pull down one coin of fellow devotee [:p]. After clicking the night pics from top and a group photo session by self timed cameras we started climbing down as fast as we cud. The stairs were barely visible bcoz of very few street lights but we continued at Rapid pace.VJ was heading the lot and after sometime we heard a huge THUD/THUND and VJ was down on his knees and then completely down.Someone shouted-- What Happened?? Amol thought a monkey hit VJ, someone else thought lightning striked !!. What actually happend was VJ's Head hit a 3-inch thick horizontal steel rod which was fixed at a lower height than normal(the structure was erected to provide shade). All this happened while VJ was speeding down at his fastest pace.Then there was long laughter session on VJ's fall and we soon reached the base.The trek was over but not the trip. On reaching Virar station ppl filled their empty stomachs with multiple samosas and Sugarcane juices and finally boarded Churchgate fast train thus bringing an end to our Pilgrimage trip which had bcome unexpectedly eventful trek.
Moral of the Trek :
1. BATA rubber slipper sucks, ACTION trekking shoes rocks.
2. The terrain that looks easy may not always be easy.
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