Alibag and all that jazz

I admit, stars define their own path and thus the course of events in one's life. Their trajectories are such that every shooting star falls where destiny wants to take you. And mine, fell somewhere over Pune. How else would you describe the way things have fallen in line for someone living miles away for the mermaids' song to reach. However, it didn't stop me from being in absolute admiration with the serene sight of a sunset over the unfurling waves of a beach. And just to add to the glorious unison of events, I got to visit one. Much of course in the esteemed company of my partner in crime, Honda Jazz X. Not just the company of sun, sand and shore, the visit was to bring some smiles too as the plan was to hit the beach geared and armed. Kayaking, Jet Ski, banana boat, the list was long and my mouth watered as a fresh hit of tsunami. The oracle read the first weekend of the month to be the day of our holy alliance and the place, Alibag!

About 150 kms of ghats and lovely open roads take you to Alibag, located alongside Arabian Sea and famous for water sports. The route majorly takes you on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway with a diversion off the highway at Khopoli towards Alibag, but we decided to make a back-door entry going via Mulshi, with a brief sing-along through Tamhini ghats to reach Kolad. The next step was to take the NH17 up till Vadkhal and then a final left to Alibag, the total of which accounted us for 180 kilometers. The route was a bit longer, but splendid enough to make Monalisa put aside her mysterious smile for a moment and show her pearly whites. It was a treat for all our senses to admire scarlett red Jazz X against the perfect green of trees and water-coloured blue of the lake, we met on the way. This called for numerous photo-ops too. Again, our preparation for the day's adventure, filled in big bags fit in Jazz's magic boot like the missing piece to complete a jigsaw puzzle. Tamhini was raided by a traffic of similar looking tourist vehicles and family cars with kids hanging out of the window, amongst which Jazz looked like a refreshing change. The calling of the breeze of hills was answered as we lowered our windows and turned the music off to hear the sings of nature. The road from Vadkhal to Alibag was however a sore to our bodies and poor Jazz. Journey to Alibag a mix of- still in their sleepy night-dress Pune-kars, scintillating glimpses of ghats, busy small-town crossings, tired and washed out scare-crows in the fields and then the songs of the waves by afternoon. As the sun came up and droplets of sweat emerged on our foreheads, we sang songs of praises for Honda for such effective air-conditioning in the car.

After reaching Alibag and then the new Mandawa jetty, we were handed over to the joyful and amicable waves of the Mandawa beach by our friends from Pioneer adventure sports. The rains had just returned, so the day was shiny and waves were small. Since the season had just started after the roars of monsoon, beach was absolutely empty with just Jazz X and the remains of a crashed container on one side to witness our excitement.

Even the onlookers were surprised to see as we took out a bag after the other to put a fine show of the excessive preparation we had come with and how the seats of a regular looking car could fold into a dance floor was something they could tell their kids a story about.

Wearing the life jacket put away my aqua phobia for some time and I was all ready to kiss salt of the sea. Where jet skis tore away the waves from the middle and slapped me on the chest of the sea, the kayaks were a test of my own strength and skill against the waves which were consistently trying to push me to the shore. The jet skis were powered by 1200cc and 1500cc engines and as they flew like magic carpets on water, Jazz had her share of fun by trying to catch up with them on wet sand. After hills, tracks, highways and city roads, driving something on water was a very different feeling, where waves are the only traffic but instead of the traditional way, you must accelerate just when you hit one. Kayaks were more about cutting the wave at 90 degrees and then smoothly sailing when water accepted your presence. Banana boats were good enough to hold milk before the ride and get milk-shake at the end of it. Trainers recommend you to have light food before coming for the ride; you most certainly don’t want your tummy to make more sounds than you. The rides are pretty safe and a trainer generally accompanies you unless you don’t want to challenge the sea alone. Ferry rides from the Gateway of India to Mandawa beach are frequent during peak season and aren’t very heavy on pocket too. But if you wish to kick-start the fun and are in a hurry to make it to the beach, speed boats can also be hired. A speed boat with the capacity of 13-14 people would charge Rs 6,000 for a 15 mins ride from the Gateway to the beach.

When Jazz could take standing ashore and merely looking at the fun no more, it was time for us to head back. Changing from our clothes full of sand, salt, shivers and smiles we dusted the beach off our beach and got dressed to tell the tales of the day to those who waited. The route back was rather simple and uneventful, if we don’t count bad roads and maddening traffic that is. The road was a narrow two laned state highway (SH-87) and cows claiming the road after some careless grazing was a common sight. From Alibag we reached Pen and after driving through the town, took a turn to reach Khopoli and meet the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. After this, the journey was all about tolls, dodging over-loaded trucks, sharp curves and sleepy hills.

I am in a deep fix on how to end the write up, as I know how much I don’t want it to end. I think this should serve- “You can bring me back from sea, but you can’t take the sea back from me!” Needless to say, I'll be back!