Mumbai was hot, sweltry and hazy. The month, October and the year, 2023. The hindu calendar had earlier informed that the year had an additional month (adhik maas). This meant that some month lasts well over the usual 30 days. This time it was Shravan, which lasted for well over a month...almost 2. The Ganesh festival arrived with much fanfare almost mid September and by the time it was over in late September, the skies shown blue and azure. We got busy with a much delayed trip to Mangalore - a land with which I have not just a familial but cellular connect.
The trip as always felt good. Bonding with family, walking the familiar streets, delighting the taste buds with memorable goodies. The rains were receding and the weather was lovely. It was unlike the usual hot and humid coastal weather.
Once we were back, Pari insisted that we visit Kaas. After a little exploring we realised that the season was almost getting over. The Kaas plateau in Satara is known for its beautiful indigenous blooms which blossom soon after Ganesh festival and before the navratras (so broadly around late Sept and early Oct).So just at the onset of navratras we set out - we had to do it on a weekday to avoid the crowds and traffic; afterall we lived in a populous country with 1.49 bn population and an equally populous city of 12 mn. Just digressing - we were discussing how unfair it was for Israel to expect 1 mn civilians to evacuate North Gaza in a couple of days before they launched ground warfare. While we were discussing we realised that it was like asking one-third of Andheri (a Mumbai suburb) to be evacuated in 48 hrs. Hmm! Lips sealed
We pulled out of the driveway on an early Monday morning - packed just enough to manage 2-3 days. The drive from Mumbai to Satara is ~6 hrs (about 350+kms). After a few kms of driving we stopped at Dutta's snacks for some kanda bhaji and wada pav and a loo break. We then proceeded non stop to Kaas (Satara). Much like in Mumbai this time of the year, there was quite a haze throughout. We were wondering if we would get to see the blooms with such lousy visibility. This is quite characteristic of Mumbai and now I presume, most parts of India. The days post the monsoon see changes in wind pattern which lead to pollutants settling at lower altitudes. The high PM (particulate matter) indicative of poor AQI is upsetting and so is the haze. Possibly because we were heading to the country side the haze cleared up (a bit) and thankfully the air we were breathing got much cleaner. We could feel our lungs do a short jig.
It was around 2pm as we reached our cottage - it was at an higher altitude close to the Kaas plateau. Our host was ready to serve us a some local fare - we had the popular Indrayani rice (its a sticky and fragrant variety indigenous to this region) and some malwani chicken. I would rate it at 3/5. Since we are not fussy eaters we filled up our tummies and set out to Bumnoli - known for a beautiful sunset at the Koyna river (one of the main rivers supplying water to the region). The visibility was disappointing and so once in the boat we could see only sketchy hills and some islands. There were a few temples around the river which we noticed. The Koyna dam which is a few kms away ensures that Satara gets its water supply. Even the wind mills that usually make a pretty picture against the blue skies were barely visible. The silver lining however was the clean air and cool winds.
Bumnoli
The ride from our cottage to Bumnoli is through the forests. While we drove, we were watchful to see any wild beasts. The only lil creatures that crossed our paths were birds and a mongoose. The drive was beautiful, we kept the windows rolled down and enjoyed the gentle and pleasant zephyr. We halted when the bird cries were close and watched our lil friends chirp, sing or simply attempt to attract a mate.
We spotted the lark, long-tailed shrike, pied-bush cat, bulbul, partridge, bee eater (it was not green, it was more yellow). This was possible only on our way to the Bumnoli as on the way back, it had gone dark with the sun having set. No bird pics here because we had to decide between watching them and clicking them. We opted for the former :)
Drive back from Bumnoli through the Koyna forests
We reached back in good time - @7:30 pm and closed the day with a simple dal khichdi from a place called the Heritage hut. The food was simple and adequate ; nothing much to talk about. We were up the next morning to visit the much awaited Kaas Paathar - it is a plateau which blossoms with tiny indigenous flowering plants (some 25 species) each not more than 10-14 inches high. A little bit about this UNESCO world heritage site.....over the years the tourist population to this place for these 15+ days in a year has been on the rise. Earlier it was not fenced and so tourists walked through these fields, plucked and often knowingly or unknowingly destroyed the vegetation. The committee along with the Environment conservationists decided to fence off the place but that had a flip side. Fencing it with permanent metal fences meant that the cattle could not graze in those spots. These cattle are responsible for cross pollination and for imparting fertility to the soil. So with cordoning off of these spaces, the flora once again did not flourish. After careful thought, they have now fenced it off with nylon nets which prevent tourists from walking through the fields of blossoms during the season. The fence being nylon is easy to take off during off season to let the cattle graze and help the flora to flourish.
I would say a very sustainable option to conserve the site
Unfortunately we had missed the thick of the season and so managed to only see patches of blossoms rather than swathes. We had used reference of some influential person in the committee and so were shown around closely in some areas
Shuts by 12 noon
Blooms once in 7 yrs
locally called Sonki
An orchid
By the fence
Red curcumin
Appears like a kandeel (lantern) but dangerous for its food (the insects). The sticky fluid inside this kandeel traps the lil insect and digests it. It is a carnivore
The mickey mouse :)
Vignaharta (resembles ganapati)
We also visited the white lily pond (called the kumudini talab). Here the lilies look very different l with tiny hair on their petals (like a hirsuit...ha ha)
It was sunny all the while but the winds were gentle and pleasant so the ~4km walk despite the sun did not feel like a chore. It was lovely. The plan was to now head back to our cottage- pack up and get back home. Once we headed back, we had a bright idea - why not do Wai known for its temple (often seen in many Bollywood movies when they want to depict a North Indian temple but want to shoot in Maharashtra) and for its historic Nana Phadnavis wada.
Here are some pics of the sites we visited in Wai...
The Shiv/ Parvati temple at Wai (often seen in bolly movies)
The Nana Phadnavis wada belongs to the 1770s era. Details in this pic above. We happen to bump into the 5th generation Phadnavis who was there for a recce. The family has managed to take on the preservation and restoration completely on their own initiative and funds without involving any public enterprise. A part of it is restored and looks beautiful. Pari mentioned to him that it was Nana Bhanu (his actual name before his job as a chief accountant was then fixed as his surname) who was instrumental in getting one of his Sathe ancestors married into the Peshwa clan.
The murals (over 200+ yr old). The one to the rear uses slaked lime to preserve the painting and protect it from environmental harm. The one in brown and white uses gheru which when partly wet is drawn on and painted with lime. Much like the frescos
One of the sopas on the 1st flr
This sopa is the place where the ladies of the house
conducted the haldi kumkum ceremony
Wai temple right outside the Phadnavis wada
The 200+ yr old African Baobab tree which was brought in by the
Arab horse traders and planted here.
Pari had to pick up some kandhi peda - because it is popular in the region. While I resisted it at first, the aroma and texture tempted me enough to pick one. It simply melted in the mouth. Made with milk and ghee and of course sugar (the secret ingredient); it was delicious. Our lunch was at this place called Manas which is known for its Bhakri (indian bread made with millet) and jatra mutton (ie mutton in gravy). We had the indrayani rice and mutton ukkad (pls note - Pari kept mentioning that Sandeep at Pune made it much better). While the gravy and rice went very well; the meat connoisseur expressed his disappointment at the (lack of) tenderness of the meat. We set out on our drive back to Mumbai. The highway was dotted with marigold fields, turmeric, paddy, sugarcane. Before we wondered too long why we could not spot a sugarcane juice vendor, the good Lord answered our blessings - we relished a few glasses of freshly extracted sugarcane juice with ginger and lemon, farm fresh!!!
We grabbed a misal pav (typical marathi snack) @ Jogeshwari misal which had been recommended to us by our host back at the Satara cottage. It was tasty but "SPICY". This is the first time I saw the accompanying pav lightly toasted with a generous amount of butter.
Our drive back was comfortable until we hit the Pune area and then we were back to the crazy urban grind....more haze...more traffic....more development and a yearning to go back to that clean, simple town we visited.
So, if the question is - do I recommend Satara (and Wai). Yes! for a short weekend getaway when the weather is cooler, skies clear so make sure to get there before October when the plateaus have just blossomed. The simplicity and quiet pace of the town is a plus after the hustle bustle and crazy life in the urban jungles.
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