MEASURED STRIDES IN MAHABALESHWAR: QUEEN OF MAHARASHTRA’S HIL-STATIONS-

MEASURED STRIDES IN MAHABALESHWAR: QUEEN OF MAHARASHTRA’S HIL-STATIONS--JANUARY 2024 By Rochelle Almeida

Thursday, January 11, 2024

I had long desired to make a trip to Mahabaleshwar as I had been there just once—for the first and last time when I was about 13 years old. Some of my memories were vivid, the majority were as hazy as the fog that envelopes the Sahyadri Mountains in whose folds the little hamlet lies tucked away. So, not only did I want to retrace some of my own childhood footsteps, but I also wanted to introduce my husband, Llew, to a part of Maharashtra with which he is unfamiliar—its glorious mountains and their gracious majesty.

Departure at the Crack of Dawn and Journey to Mahabaleshwar:

Accordingly, after having made accommodation and private transport arrangements, we were all set to leave Bombay on Thursday, January 11, 2024, for a three-day break in the arms of Nature. Our driver, Ravi, arrived at 5.15 am (15 minutes behind schedule) to pick us up in a private SUV, an almost new and very spiffy car, for a journey that was supposed to take us approximately seven hours, depending on traffic. I have to say that we really did luck out and, in fact, reached there in under six hours with one pit stop just past Lonavla at McDonald’s for breakfast burgers and hot chocolate/coffee at about 7.30 am.

The drive was just delightful and with our personal music on our ear-buds and the serenity of the passing scenery outside the window, we really did not find it long, irksome or tedious. Just past Lonavla, we went through the exciting tunnels of the Sahyadri Mountains (also known as the Western Ghats) and spied the peculiarly-shaped mountain that juts out into the horizon that is known commonly as the Duke’s Nose! Past the Sahyadri Mountains or the Western Ghats, we were back on flat plains again until the drive changed course after Poona with its astonishing residential high-rise developments that brought us into another set of mountains known as the Eastern Ghats. From this point on, we were in the heart of rural Maharashtra’s affluent field and farmland with well-irrigated sugarcane plantations and cornfields as far as the eye could see. It was extremely clear that agriculture is a thriving occupation in these parts and that the soil lends itself well to produce.

A little while later, we began our climb into the mountains that would form the final leg of our drive. The road is narrow and constantly winding, its hairpin bends providing stunning views as the car climbs ever higher and the anxiety in the pit of one’s tummy grows proportionately with the height.

Strawberries Everywhere:

We drove past Panchgani, the neighboring hill-station which is on the same road as Mahabaleshwar. Just a little ahead, we stopped at Mapro Garden Center where we treated ourselves to the strawberries and cream for which the place is famed. It turned out to be an absolutely gigantic glass coupe of freshly sliced strawberries served with scoops of strawberry ice-cream and freshly whipped cream for Rs. 395 each. The restaurant overlooked strawberry gardens and the hills just beyond and was filled with flower beds, cascading waterfalls and nurseries laden with potted plants that one could buy and take home. All along the main road from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar, we passed by vendors selling mounds of strawberries as we had arrived bang in the midst of the strawberry season when these deeply-prized jewels are packaged and sold all over the country.

Arriving at our Hotel:

About a half hour later, we arrived at our hotel—Sai Deep Residency—which we had found through bookings-com which is the website I have used for at least 15 years when attempting to find accommodation in different parts of the world. It turned out to be right in the heart of the bazaar—so while it was a convenient location, there was nothing picturesque or pretty about it. In fact, it was a very modest place for which we paid a very modest sum of money. However, our room on the first floor was spotlessly clean as was the en suite bathroom. The reception staff and the one cleaner who seemed to look after everyone’s needs were both courteous and eager to please and they did everything they could to ensure that we were comfortable. As we’d be using the place only to sleep at night, we were honestly not too bothered about how spartan it was. However, Llew did say that if he were to do this again, he would opt for a pricier and fancier hotel.

Off to Explore Venna Lake:

One of the biggest attractions in Mahabaleshwar is Venna Lake. In years gone by, it used to be called Yenna Lake, but for some reason, its name has been changed and now it is uniformly known as Venna Lake. As it was still before noon when we reached, we decided to take a short nap of about an hour and then leave for a stroll around Venna Lake. This was exactly what we did. In fact, we had been led to believe that there was a walking route around the periphery of the lake, but this turned out to be untrue. Although we did try to explore on our own, there was really not much to do and we returned to the main drag of the lake that is well-trodden and quite commercial with vendors selling eats, roasted fresh corn, more strawberries and such things as sun hats and leather footwear. We soon found out that ‘Mabi’ (as it is known for short) has a thriving leather footwear home or cottage industry and that the sandals produced are delightfully soft and comfortable (I ended up buying two pairs which is how I know). We walked downhill for quite a while and ended up deciding to eat a very late lunch at a local eatery which happened to be purely vegetarian. We opted for corn fritters and corn pakoras with a strawberry milk shake and they were all delicious. In fact, since all the ingredients are so fresh and local, it is really hard to find a bad meal in Mabi.

Exploring the Market:

As in most Indian small towns, all life centers around the radius of small streets that comprise the market and we decided to explore it. Of course, we did mainly window shopping as we thought it made sense to find out what was available and then buy at our leisure as we had two more days in the place. We found loads of gram or chick peas (all grown locally in the fields in the plains) in varied flavors with all sorts of herbs and spices adding to their taste. There were also loads of gummy sweets made from pure fruit juice as the fruit industry is huge. Mapro and Mala are the two companies that lead in the production of fruit juices, pulps, canned processed fruit, jams, jellies, preserves and fruit gums. These delicacies are sold in small hills in every shop and sit cheek by jowl with other small shops that sell leather goods, wooden carved items including carved walking sticks. After we had explored most of the market and achieved a good understanding of the kind of local items we could take back with us as gifts, we made our way back to our hotel where we had another bit of a lie-down.

Dinner at The Grape Vine:

We were not quite sure where we would go out to eat an early dinner and quite by chance we happened to pass by The Grape Vine which was in the same lane as our hotel. When I saw a sign at the entrance that advertised its ‘Parsi food’, we decided that it would be our cuisine for the night. We were not disappointed. The Grape Vine has an excellent reputation as one of the best restaurants in Mabi. It happened to be empty when we stepped in and it stayed empty for the rest of the evening.

We had excellent service from the lone waiter who brought us prawn patio as our starter together with Mutton Dhansak with brown rice and a kachumber salad (with onions, tomatoes and fresh lime) as our main dish. We did not opt for dessert as we were very full, but our meal was truly outstanding. This lovely restaurant serves Indian and Continental dishes too and I could see that the fish and chips and the prawn cocktail would certainly be worthy of a try.

Luckily for us, the place was just a five-minute walk from our hotel and in no time at all, we were back in our rooms and ready to bed down for the night as we’d had a very early start in the morning and needed to make up for lost sleep. Mabi presented itself as a charming and very unsophisticated hill-station and our first impression of it was certainly very favoriable. We had no doubt we would enjoy the rest of our stay in the place. Until tomorrow…