Purushwadi :)

Reason to Smile: There is so much to see, there is so much to ponder, it is this life that has so much to offer that we only wonder what to wonder ! :) This feeling of umpteen is exactly what I felt at the banks of the River at Purushwadi, a rural village near Sangamner Road, Maharashtra. It is known for its fireflies sanctuary.

Special Thanks to Manoj Kalwar from Travel Trikon that he suggested we go to this place if we are planning to check out a new place over the weekend for fireflies; especially when we are totally 'fed up' and want to relax, feel the peace and value sheer serendipity :P

So the so called 'fed up' girls - Me, Madhurima and Monalisa just checked (Friday, at about 9 pm) whether we should just pack our bags and move?!?! Without a second thought or a single question asked, and before we even realize what could happen, we had already greeted each other in the second last local to Kasara!! :D I am indeed super blessed with friends like them that such impromptu plans get materialized purely on the basis of faith and trust ! Again a special thanks to Manoj, we had all the contact details handy to make our trip super successful :)

We reached Kasara by 2 AM. Our cab to Purushwadi was being set and Bhaskar (our driver) then dropped us at about 4 AM at a nearby temple. He left back to Kasara for another pick up early morning and promised us to pick us back on Sunday 10 AM for the return journey. There was absolutely no sight of the villager that we were searching for. Madhurima and Mona within no time slept for a nap. I kept my eyes searching for some human sight atleast before I dozed off.

Finally, wondering what must have gone wrong, a villager woke up and asked me what was I searching for. I hesitantly said "I am looking for Devraam's house from Purushwadi.. Would you help me find his house?" He sheepishly laughed at me and informed in Marathi " Madam Firstly there are so many people by the name of Devraam that you throw a stone and all will come running to you :P Secondly, you have come to a wrong village ! This is Khadki and Purushwadi is about 8 kms from here!" Bhaskar had dropped us to a wrong place ! Arrrgh !! Icing on the cake - There is absolutely no network in that area to even ask the so called cell phone to help us in need. :-x We were stranded !

I rushed to Madhurima and Mona, briefed them on the situation, hurried them to begin walking towards Purushwadi. So we did. Our walk took us about 2 hrs to reach our 'real' destination. On the way our entire anger on Bhaskar just flew when we spotted a Peacock!

On reaching the village while one milestone was achieved, the second still remained a challenge - to find our Devram ! We kept asking almost every house if they knew the one. A few mins later, like an angel, someone came out of the house and recognized Madhurima (God knows how) and invited us to his house. When he gave us Manoj's reference, we breathed a sigh of relief !! What an adventurous mystery unfolded finally :P We felt as if we conquered some fort for no reason :D

The real journey of unfolding the true essence of the untouched rural village began right then. He introduced us to all the village roads, took us to the Dam, showed us all the vegetation, the flora & fauna that grows there. Right from Mangoes to Pearl Millet, Onions to organic honey, it was all a splendid view. The day was scheduled to also enjoy a small 1km trek to see the Sunset and experience Fishing ! The river water was so calm that even a drop of a stone didn't disturb its peace and serenity ! We were astound by the many ways they do fishing and how its sold in the market. He was also kind enough to showcase some of the paintings he made that clearly depicted all the things that takes place at Purushwadi. From festivals, to the local birds , to the customary rituals they follow, the grains business, the local costumes and jewelry.. oh there were endless descriptions and expressions in his paintings that looked real and extra ordinary!

It is during the evening when all of us were enjoying the heavy breeze at the Veranda, it was time to see the fireflies flashing their sights or should I say lights?!?! Wow. Soon it became very dark and we could not just believe our eyes - Fireflies in millions ! What I recollect from one of the post is exactly how we felt -

"With every blink of our eye the number of fireflies kept on increasing. In no time we found ourselves amidst a carnival of fire flies all around us, Was this real or were we imagining these surroundings, it was truly a shot straight out of James Cameron’s Avatar, and better. Their soft blinks and fast but magical flights left us speechless. There were hundreds of trees, each tree was dotted with a million fireflies. They were blinking together but in a choreographed rhythm. Like disco lights that would go up on one tree and then the next one and then the next. This was nature at its best performance and we were mere spectators. This was music. This was magic! The swarms of firefly families had painted an unforgettable image before us that no photograph can ever capture. We were there with our eyes wide open, dazed and amazed while the time stood still. And now as we write about it, we feel an urgent need to go back and relive it all over again" :)

All in all a perfect weekend getaway adventure that we embarked on, it is indeed Manoj that I credit and dedicate this blog to ! Thanks again Manoj ! :)

Some pics uploaded on FB. Till my next adventure dive, Keep Smiling :)