Its been a much cherished holiday every single time I've been there.
The earliest memory is of visiting Ganapatipule with my parents. I was barely four at that time , and still recall my first rendezvous with the sea. Not very pleasant. I was scared by the incessant rumble of the waves - building into a crescendo and then crashing at our feet. I feared that if we didn't step away from the waters, we would glide all the way to the horizon and coming back would be quite some task!
I also recall mum n dad sitting in the sand, or walking bare feet by the beach.
And the pooja my dad did at the temple, sitting right in front of the ganesha idol. I remember watching the waves from the safe sanctuary of the temple - from a distance they looked quite harmless and even beautiful - small frothy rows rushing towards the shore, all neatly framed by the pillars of the temple verandah.
The beach as I remember was isolated - hardly anyone on the beach, miles and miles of soft fine sand, and tiny white crabs scampering sideways. The joy of finding shells of all shapes and sizes that the sea left behind, and watching the sun turn everything pink at sunset!
The next trip I remember was with my grandmom, aunt and cousins. I was the youngest of the lot, and had a great time with everyone fussing over me. But of the beach, I remember not much. Though I do remember collecting red seeds called goonja under the trees that lined the far end of the beach.
Another trip was with my classmates, soon after our 10th grade exams got over. It as a school excursion. We all travelled together in a big bus, and it was one joyride. Few places we visited were Lote-parshuram ( remember visiting a factory there - I think of Kokam products), then Guhagar, Dhabhol, Pawas, Chiplun. All these were in the proximity of the Dabhol area. The purpose of the trip was to meet the activists who were concerned about the environmental impact of the Enron power project coming there, and were working with the locals towards a possible solution.
In Pawas we visited the swarupananda math. Me and my dear friend V were in charge of the breakfasts I think, and we had good fun going about the arrangements. A few vivid memories are of early morning prayers (upasana) and moonlight walks by the beach - it was surreal! By this time, I had grown fond of the rumble of the sea, and found it rather soothing to ears - no longer an incessant noise.
Next trip was with my girlfriends, just before we started college. We all had booked with a homestay by Mr. Paladhe in Shrivardhan , all arrangements being made by my friend S. We travelled to Shrivardhan by state transport, and camped at Mr. Paldhe's place. It was a beautiful house, with a big front porch, ample trees and coconut and beetlenut plantations (wadi) in the back yard. Food was awesome, accommodation modest but comfortable and the beach hardly a couple of minutes away. We loved the waters, spent plenty of time on the beach, had great fun. We hired a tum-tum ( a six seater auto-rickshaw) and visited Harihareshwar.
When spend times like these with friends, you know you have friendships lasting for life.
Another encounter with Konkan came when I was studying Engineering. Again, it was an excursion. Being from the electrical engineering stream, we had a study trip planned to visit the Koyna nagar dam. The work for Koyna Hydroelectric project was under way. The ambitious project consists of 4 stages of power generation , with all generators located underground, in powerhouses excavated deep inside the mountains of the Western Ghats. I feel privileged to have been able to visit the project site! (thanks COEP!).
Well after the study of the trip, we had an over night halt , and visited Guhagar on our way back. This again is a much cherished trip, and brings back fond memories of the college years.
Over the years, I moved to the UK with my husband. I must say, I did not find much glory in the English seaside. They are rugged and breathtakingly beautiful ( only in summer!), but for me a beach is where you can walk into the sea, feel the soft sand between your toes, and plunge into the crashing waves - if you can't do this, well what else would you do on the beach then??!! I sorely missed the beautiful beautiful beaches of India and especially Konkan.
And, again after a long-11 year-last, we visited Konkan yet again. This time with my hubby C and our son K. And for the very first time, with my sis N and brother A too! Looking back, am really surprised that we 3 siblings never travelled together to Konkan before, though its one of our most favourite destinations and all three have visited it a couple of times before on our own!
Of course, mum and dad were with us too. The trip was a treat. We had fantastic stay arrangements in Diveagar with Mr. Limaye - again a home stay. They served wonderful home cooked veg food, had modest but nice,big and clean self-content rooms and very prompt and attentive service. Lil K just loved being on the beach and had a field day! Diveagar is quiet and quaint and still untouched by the mad tourist crowd. Its really a tiny village with small dim lit lanes and modest houses with big wadis. No hotels, only messes. Claim to fame is a ganesha temple, the idol being of gold and discovered in one of the natives' field. And of course the beach. Lovely silky-soft sand beach. We ate awesome food - sea food that is, visited the beach quite a few times, also did small trips along a picturesque route along the beach to Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar. We spotted dolphins leaping out of water as we gazed at the sea from the rocky shores of Harihareshwar. It was a very relaxing trip - far from the maddening crowd. we left Konkan refreshed and relaxed, with a promise to visit again soon!
There are still a lot of hidden gems of Konkan to visit - Kelshi, Hedavi, Nagaon, Alibaug, Murud Janjeera - and the whole Malvan region. Am already planning my next trip!
