GIRINAGAR - MONSOON PARADISE NEAR PUNE

GIRINAGAR - MONSOON PARADISE NEAR PUNE
By
VIKRAM KARVE

From My Travel Writing Archives:

It is a Clear Bright Feel-Good Day in Pune.

After a long spell of rain, it is a sunny day.

The air is pure and the weather is pleasant with a cool breeze blowing softly.

The Visibility is excellent.

From where I sit on my desk in my study in Rohan Tarang Wakad ahead of me in the distance as I look out of the large window I can clearly see Sinhagad Fort with its two mammoth towers (the TV Tower and the Microwave Communication Tower at either end of the towering mountain ridge) and the unique Potato Point at the southern tip.

Lovely View, Pleasant Weather, I am Feeling Good.

My mind harks back to the lovely days I spent in Girinagar in the foothills of Sinhagad overlooking the placid blue waters of Khadakwasla Lake - so, Dear Reader, be so good and permit me to post a piece I had written long ago when I lived in that Pristine Paradise in Pune called Girinagar.

GIRINAGAR 

Pristine Paradise in Pune

By

VIKRAM KARVE 

Tell me, which is the most beautiful, most pristine, most unpolluted and most verdant place in Pune?

I’ll tell you – it’s a lovely place called “Girinagar”.

Pune has changed – for the worse.

The pleasant, salubrious, tranquil, stress-free, easygoing, cozy, affable Pune I once lived in no longer exists.

Yes, the Pune I once lived in no longer exists...!!!

Every nook and corner of Pune has suffered the ravages of “modernization”.

Except one place – GIRINAGAR

Yes, there still exists a pristine paradise in Pune – a Pristine Paradise called Girinagar.

With the mighty SINHAGAD Fort towering as a Sentinel, Girinagar is a fascinating place located on the slopes of the hills adjoining the cool blue Khadakvasla Lake.

The view from the Girinagar ridge is amazing.

You can see backwaters of Panshet and Varasgaon dams in the distance, and close-by down below the serene expanse of the Khadakvasla Lake held back by the mighty dam.

The metamorphosis at sunset is enthralling.

The dance of colours, on the waters of the lake, from yellow to orange to crimson to blue to grey and then a still darkness – I have not seen a more magnificent sunset view anywhere else.

In the mornings as you climb up the hills cleansing, refreshing, revitalizing and invigorating your lungs with the clean unpolluted pure fresh air, you look in the distance and see the heavy layer of smog settling down over the city of Pune, and you know how lucky you are to live in this paradise called Girinagar...!

When the monsoon arrives, and it starts raining, the sensuous mist envelops all around, everything is a soothing green, and the atmosphere, the environment, the ambiance in Girinagar is simply magnificent!

Truly a “pristine paradise” in Pune...!

Pune may have changed but time stands still in Girinagar. 

All the green hills in Pune may have disappeared but lush green verdant hills of Girinagar still stand strong.

Yes, Girinagar remains the same as it was in 1984 when I first visited it. 

(Some old timers tell me it is the same since the early 1970s)

In the evenings, I often stand in my tall balcony high up on my 9^th Floor Flat in Rohan Tarang in Wakad and see in the distance the silhouette of Sinhagad Mountain outlined vaguely against the fading light of the setting sun and my mind harks back to nostalgic memories of my unforgettable days in Girinagar.

It is monsoon time. Sinhagad, Girinagar, Khadakvasla and Panshet and its surroundings are most beautiful during the rainy season. 

As you go up the hills it is like a Hill Station. 

Do drive down in the rains and take a weekend trip to this wonderful pristine paradise near Pune. 

But do remember to take plenty of water and food with you.

Here is the link to the map of Girinagar Pune: http://g.co/maps/8d7n2

Link to the maps and photos of Girinagar in the foothills of Sinhagarh Fort on the backwaters of Khadakwasla Lake: http://g.co/maps/56ucn

Sinhagad Fort: http://g.co/maps/cgvhy

GIRINAGAR is towards the northern tip of the map. 

Have a nice weekend

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB

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Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013. All Rights Reserved

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional  and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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