Kanha Adventure I

Monday, 7th Nov
Its 7 pm and I am still to make up mind , to attend office and rest my stiff neck, or head off to Kanha. DJ calls me up for a last try, and in a split second I make my choice. Screw the office. Kanha is a Go!


At 10.30 pm, We gather near the AS1 compartment of the Sanghamitra Express (Secunderabad to Patna). with all our bag, bagagge and assorted gadgets. Soon the engine rumbles and we embark on a journey which would end up being memorable in all respects.


I spend most of the train trip, sleeping ,munching on bread and cheese sandwiches with liberal sprinkling of Domino's oregano. (Thats my motto, Always order extra oregano!). and of course nursing my stiff neck.

DJ is as excited as a boy who has just discovered that the law of gravity does not apply to him and gallops across the whole train.





Tuesday, 8th Nov, 6.00 pm. We land in Jabalpur Station,pack into a auto and head off towards the hostel.

First impression of Jabalpur (or Jubbulpore as per the Angrez) is cheery; busy roads, bustling markets, friendly people, and of course the chaotic traffic that makes us feel at home.There's a delicious nip in the air, which comes as a blessed relief from the Hyderabadi heat,
We reach the Youth Hostel, at Ranital and are welcomed warmly by Mr Vinod Nigam and Mr Maheshwari , dirctor and co-director respectively of the MP chapter of the YHAI.Over the next three days we would experience the hospitality of these fine gentlemen, which would go a long way in making our trip a memorable one. When we first view our allocated room, we are stunned into silence. Dusty floor, ramshackle beds, distinctly buggy mattresses, bulb-less bathrooms, a cold and moody water supply leave Mr DJ shellshocked, while Ajit and myself console ourselves, "Dudes, we have seen worse!". Our initial enthu is distinctly dampened, Is the rest of the trip going to be as big a disater as this room?
Mr Vinod "Remember the Garbage Box inscription" Nigam introduces to the other members of the group (a party of bankers from Gujarat, and a archtypal Jat from Hissar) and briefs us on the rules of the YHAI jaunts: strict discipline, get and wash your own utensils, no alcohol and drugs, and no hanky-panky with the ladies. Since ours is going to be a stag party, he is distinctly relieved on the last front, while we are understandably disheartened. The physics lecturer from hissar, Ankur is so distressed by this fact , that he promptly falls sick.
We quickly head off on a shopping trip, to purchase steel plates, bottled water, medicines, mosquito repellent, and assorted supplies. Ajit decides to start the adventure by shaving off his head, while DJ in a moment of sheer brilliant inspiration purchases a heating rod. Over the next few days, it will turn out to be a true friend, providing some warmth from the chilly air and icy water. Ajit and I, regale DJ with stories of how heating rods are traditonally banned in all hostels, and ways of using it on the sly.
Around 9pm, we enter the mess, and are greeted by a hot delicious meal. Now we are talking! Good food always helps in restoring the balance of things. During the whole trip, the quality of the food, and the warmth with which it is served, will be one of the highlights. Hot cooked meals, and packed lunches ensure that one can go the whole trip without needing to eat outside.



With full stomachs, and restored courage we drop into the beds for blissfull sleep, well blissful for all but one.

Wednesday, 9th Nov.

In the morning we wake up at 6 am to hot, refreshing tea. DJ informs us that he could hardly sleep the whole night, and his nose has detected a "fine layer of dust in the air". I try sniffing my nose in all directions but sadly its not skilled enough to perform this astounding peice of skullduggery.With the surreptious use of the rod, we perform our daily ablutions, and on the way shatter DJ's assumption that the whole human race takes monthly "head-baths". He is shaken to the core to discover that we wet our hair daily during baths!
At 9 we are packed like sardines into a rickety Vikram, and start off on the 2 hour drive to Marble Rocks, Bedaghaat. Thats right, you read it correctly, Bedaghaat. We sure encountered some quaint names during our stay: bedaghaat, duandhaar falls,chaman stores being the most memorable.

Boat Trip
We reach the shore and start haggling with the boatmen, and end up hiring a big blue rowing boat with a chatty guide having a distinctly filmy flair. 600 bucks is a total paisa vasool for a hours jaunt on the river. The Narmada flows magnificently though this valley composed of mutli-colord marble rocks. Our cameras click way noisily as the boat slowly makes it's way though the maginificent gorge, while the guide regales us with trivia about the place. Asoka and "Jish Desh main Ganga Behti Hai" being some of the movies which were picturised here, quarrying marble is forbidden nowdays, and on moonlit nights , the trip is even more memorable, our guide assures us. The water is as deep as 300+ feet at some places,and I do feel that making all passengers wear life-jackets would be a good idea.



Gauri-Sankar Temple
After landing back at the shore, we do some shopping and then start walking towards the Dhuandhar Falls.On the way we climb upto the Gauri-Sankar temple, which was constructed way back in the 13th century. The panditji diverts his attention for a bit, from the cricket commentary, to inform ur that it is the only temple in India, to have an idol depicting Shiv-Parvati riding on Nandi. The inner sanctotum is surrounded by some eighty plus statues of goddesses. Sadly many of them are in a dilapidated state, and seem to have been ravaged by thieves and trophy hunters.
The temple itself seems to have been built in a fortress-like style , with slots in the walls, for firing weapons and commandingly located on a hill.

Dhuandhar Falls
After climbing down from the temple we continue walking towards the Dhuandhar Falls. Reaching there , we are greeted by an unruly mass of humanity, many of them clamoring to bathe themselves in the river. Apparently the place is considered to be holy by some. The three of us soon detach ourselves to a secluded place, and start demolishing the aloo parathas. After silencing the hunger pangs, we reach the falls, which are pretty impressive. By this time, DJ is distinctly feeling under the weather and retires to a dhaba to rest, while Ajit and myself deicde to have our seista on a part of the river shore which seems to be free of the frenzied bathers. We spend the next couple of hours enjoying the sun on our backs and posing with the incumbent goat family.


At5 pm we start back to our base. During the trip back we discover DJ's ailment. The guy has become dehydrated because he has been avoiding drinking water!. We reach by nightfall. DJ is plied with food and medicines and packed off to bed with a string warning to consume bucketloads of H2O. Meanwhile Ajit and myself decide ,the rules be buggered, we do need some spirit-ual sustenance. Sleep is more comfortable tonight and the world seems totally hunky-dory.