It was around 1 P.M and the sun overhead was shining as bright as there was no tomorrow.The heat was too much due to reflections on the water, but as wee moved away from the shore, it was cooler with the breeze from the Arabian sea. I have been on boat rides ferrying across rivers with good distance between shores, but this was a different experience. Being on the sea is a different feeling altogether. Hundreds of ships, all sizes and shapes, some known many unknown, gave me a feeling of the vast water body we were exploring on a simple motor driven ferry boat. One catamaran passed by and we hit the trail. The boat shivered up from top to bottom!
Elephanta Caves greeted us with a small toy train and 3/4 stalls selling only liquid(water in all forms till ice), with hints of solid in form of biscuits. I was ecstatic about the place and it is a good feeling when you hunch doesn't go wrong totally. For any person who doesn't love to travel or is less ready for an adventure, might find the place very dull, but thats not the case with me. I have great pleasure to visit places with fun, adventure and mystery. These caves were built between 5th to 8th Centuries and is currently in renovated form. First stop was for an entry fee, then a long climb to reach the top where the caves start. It was too hot and every drop of water was costly by Rs.10-15 per liter! Conserving energy was not important as we have to do a descend of a few hundred steps. We hurried through the steps, clicking the camera shutters here and there! All the space around the steps were filled with hundreds of curios, clothes and lots of eateries whenever there was a plateau structure available. And interestingly enough they all serve chilled beer! I guess they have a dynamo each or some coveted power plant!
At around 2:30 P.M. we were at at the top, took an entry ticket and cave one greeted us with a huge orifice, supported by beautifully carved, huge pillars. These were caves built by gods as the local traditional history depicts. The shaivas or followers of lord Shiva, built this cave and one can find many inner sanctums with the shiva lingas intact. There are many huge statues, about 40 to 60 feet in height and was a spectacle not to be missed. The walls were inscribed with stories from mythology of that day. I felt awe as to how many sculptors were engaged and in those days with non sophisticated modern day tools, how they managed to finish off with such intricate designs! I am not an archeologist and hence cannot give a detailed description, also this would become a more lengthy entry. Go and visit this amazing creation of man yourself, to feel it all. We visited three caves and it was time to go as exploring the Island meant we should have taken the very first ferry.
On the ride back, Rahul and Deepak dozed off, and I was drowsy too, but suddenly a sight made my eyes wide open. This was a bunker in the sea, few kilometers from the shore. It was resplendent with heavy firing guns on the turret and places to hide and fire. then there was a fleet of the Indian Navy, resting on another side of the place where we'll be getting off the ferry. It was a sight to be remembered as well. There were all kinds of fighter ships, frigates to destroyers. I felt very safe!
It was 5:30 when we were back on land and headed for churchgate station. We'll be boarding a train to Bandra, the posh area where almost all the demi-gods of indian Cinema have lived or still is living! Bandra is more like esplanade and park street of Kolkata, in certain characteristics and I found more autos than people on the road! As we went inside posh bandra, it felt like people who live here are millionaires for sure!My friend Rahul is a die hard fan of Shahrukh Khan, I am too.So we headed for Mannat, abode of King Khan. After a small photoshoot before Mannat, we approached bandstand, but from it's look it was one of the worst beaches I have seen. Payal joined us from there and we took two autos and headed for a good place for dine and wine. Stopped at carter road and took a walk to the CCD(Cafe Coffee Day). After a few considerations from the Mumbai kars (Payal and Deepak) we headed for MasalaCraft. MasalaCraft is an uptown restro-bar, with an ambience for both, the loud and the meek. They serve good food and drinks, though no surprises or extra credits for that. We took the non-smoking/closed space. It's a decent place where you can sit, chat, enjoy the delicacies in between your serious discussions as well. Interesting part was, when we had a disagreement on the ingredients as well as the preparation of
chelo kabab, they put it off the bill! That was an amazing gesture of courtesy and professionalism mixed with pride from the management. But one word of caution, if there is someone reading this, and wants to have a free lunch or dinner, disagreeing on all dishes and drinks. Please stay away from Masalacraft and my blog as well as me!
We had a peek of the famous Leelavati Hospital on the way to masalacraft, which was an extra sightseeing albeit from the auto.After a stumptous dinner, we headed for a cab to get back home, it was 11:30 P.M. Only one who missed out on food and drinks was Deepak, the poor chap had an upset stomach. Anyways, we steered past the Mumbai Ceiling (a bridge over a part of the sea) a very hyped place on it's opening day, and a quite useful track for daily commuters and people who just can't get stuck in day-time traffic. It was about an hour and half or a little more journey back to Kopakhairne, Navi Mumbai. Went to bed after a tiring day, and slept off instantly.
Tomorrow would be a day, when nothing is planned whatsoever, and I kept it to myself for meeting up old time friends.
