THE ‘GAP’ OF TAILBAILA FORT
It was long
time I haven’t written blog. Say I was not getting that ‘Kick’ to write. I was
waiting for a spot on which I can form story through my lens. And here it was-
Fort Tailbaila.
Before
starting on this magnificent geographical structure I would like to give a
little intro on what is Sahyadri..And its formations which fascinates every
Artist and Photographer. Interestingly Sahyadri Mountains are the faulty
mountains. No, they haven’t done any fault actually. But the way it has evolved
is considered as a geographically faulty process. But my heart says its
geographically ‘Different’ process and not ‘Faulty’. In terms of geology these
ranges are much older than the Mighty Himalayas. The Sahyadri range which is a
prominent part of Western Ghat is a result of a domal uplift; the underlying
rocks are ancient- around 2000 million years old. Basalt rock dominates its
terrain. At a beginner’s level this much intro is more than enough. Let’s get
back to main point- The ‘Gap’ of Tailbaila.
You might be
wondering why I am telling you all these. It has a reason. The spot which we
are going to travel today is formed due to such ‘Faulty’ process and is one of
the amazing sites to visit. Get ready for the roller coaster ride of this
Tailbaila Fort.
Standing
tall at 3332 ft above sea level; this fort is considered as the best example of
‘Dyke Formation’ in terms of geology. It is a thin wall of Basalt having ‘V’
cut dividing this wall into two parts. Situated in the beautiful region of
Lonavala(Everyone’s Fav.) this wall is about 200-250 ft tall. To climb this one
need to know the climbing techniques and has to be done under strict expertise
guidance. But one can reach to the base of the wall by hiking for half an hour
from the base village- Tailbaila. And once you reach here, you are into heaven
guys. Seriously. See the 2nd picture. The wall appears like a
pinnacle from this side and it is damn huge. OMG. I was afraid on the very
first sight. I was imagining what scenario it would have been when this
structure was taking amazing shape million years ago. Simply outstanding. The
moment you trek through bushes and you find this guy welcoming us; you fall in
love with him. Have a look on the picture below.
Historically
this region was a trade route connecting the Konkan and the Deccan plateau.
Hence our ancestors found it necessary to build watch towers on hills which
later got converted to the forts. This region consists a series of forts namely
Sarasgad-Sudhagad-Tailbaila-Ghangad-Korigad. And believe me, all of them are
just awesommmmm. A quite fort with no battles fought since it was used for
keeping eye on the surrounding territory. But more than fort this is famous for
its breathtaking Natural wall and is often climbed by pro climbers and
trekkers.
To
incorporate some of the most stunning locations in my Sahyadri Photography
Project I was desperately waiting for this one. This time I took two of my
buddies Vaibhav and Sanket with me. As planned we had to catch Indrayani Exp.
and get down at Lonavla stn. We did so. This was followed by ST bus travel of
1.15 hrs towards Bhamburde village. We got down at Tailbaila point and walked
for around 3 kms towards the base village. And finally the mighty wall started
appearing large opening its arms and welcoming us warmly. This sight was
something I was dreaming to visit past one year. It raised Goosebumps on my
body. Wow. Meanwhile a local guide met us while walking; giving directions to
the home where we were planning to stay. Mr.Rokade is a genuine person and he
regularly provides stay facilities for the trekkers throughout the year. We
banged our heavy sacks on the floor and rested a while in his open space. Such
a relief. We were too tired by travel
from Kalyan-Tailbaila village. Rokade’s wife welcomed us with cold water which
was the most needed element at that stage. It was 12.30 noon by now. We decided
to have lunch we had bought. This was followed by A little rest in the
afternoon as it was too sunny that day in spite of being monsoon season.
Strange!!! After this ‘power nap’ we decided to head towards the much awaited
wall. Every step was giving me immense joy. I was very happy to be here.
Crossing the farms bloomed with yellow flowers got me back to my childhood and
I started playing with every petal. Soon I realized I was getting late and
pushed myself faster. Within an hour we reached the base of the wall and this
was one of the most cherished moments of my life. The view from here is just
stunning and this huge wall makes you mad guys. I decided not to click for the
first half an hour. I wanted to feel this place. I wanted to get lost in my
fantasy world which I usually do on my every treks and shoots of the Sahyadri.
Once again I was in love with the Sahyadri.
We started
exploring the region making way straight under this wall keeping it to the
right and valley at the left. There is one temple dedicated to Bhairav Deity
and it is regularly cared and maintained by the villagers. This is the ‘V’
place from where pro climbers bring this wall under their ‘control’ by reaching
the summit. I felt so proud of them and decided that one day I will be doing
the same for sure. I was in love. The rocks were communicating with me saying
to climb as soon as possible else they would be disappointed. I promised them
assuring to come soon with expertise and pro persons. We clicked some
self-silhouettes as there was too shadow and sun being right behind our back.
Again
returning to the starting point we relaxed a bit. It was sunny day till now but
suddenly climate changed so drastically that any photographer could only dream
of this. It was like golden chance for me and I was ready with my AK-D5200 (
Aniket Kasture D5200) to ‘Shoot’. Lol. I hardly got time to change my lens
since there was so much happening all around me with lightening speed. I
decided not to waste time and shoot as much as possible.
Strong cool
winds approaching us rapidly, fresh Blue sky converting itself into dark grey
shade, Valley getting disappearing in the fog with a little strong light
through the clouds making a strong presence was like watching a Hollywood film
based on Fantasy World. Seriously. Please have a look on photo no.6. It was
this rock under which I sat for a while to have a self dialogue. This is my
regular ritual on every fort. These are the moments where your spirituality
gets awakened all of sudden. Nature in its own way makes us realize who we are
and what we ought to do in our life. This trek was very much needed for me since
I was going through some serious personal problems. And what a curable medicine
it gave me. Wow!!! The only thing I did there was to stare the wall
continuously. And this strategy answered all my questions.
So after
this ‘awakening session’ it was time to leave. The toughest part for a travel
photographer-writer is to leave that place. Giving it a final good bye look we
started descending. The next target was to capture sunset shots of this wall.
We descended within 15 minutes and I started exploring the surrounding area to
get ‘that’ angle of sunset. It was 5.30pm by then and I needed to work fast.
Finally I fixed my angle and got some good pictures. Have a look.
Hope you
guys liked these sunset shots. The reason why I am asking you is that I not
only click for myself but also for the viewer. If the viewer likes my shot I am
more happy and satisfied. By the evening we were too tired. Entire day was a
hectic one; right from Kalyan to base village, exploring the fort, sunset. So
this was a well deserved resting time for three of us. Often Travel Photography
is considered as an easy job and it is moreover seen as a fun job. Dude, it’s
not that easy and funny. “Kabhi shoot ko aja mere sath…..Photo nikalna toh dur,
tu thik se chal bhi nahi payega pura din”Neways
Have a look on some more pictures clicked at the base during sunset.
After the
conversion of all light colors to dark colors i.e. Sunset; we were hungry
badly. As usual we ordered typical local food prepared on clay stove. ‘Pithala-Bhakri’.
So yummy!!!
Heart filled
with satisfaction and tummy filled with this delicious dinner. It was 10pm by
now and we got to sleep early to catch the sunrise the next morning.
What a
pleasant morning. My alarm was the chirping of the birds getting ready for
their daily routine duties; and reminding me of my duty to click the sunrise.
Indirectly they were saying that Dude you are going to witness one of your best
sunrises shoots ever. And yes indeed it was. What a divine light was entering slowly
behind Fort Ghangad which is very near to Tailbaila. I always love to see the
dark blue sky being enlightened by the very first rays of the sun. Amazing. I
was not able to stabilize myself. After the ‘Raireshwar Sunrise’ it was this
one which stunned me the most. Simply beautiful. Here are the shots.
This picture
of a lady farmer and her bull is my personal favorite shot. It’s inspired by an
Indonesian Photographer. I captured through my vision.
From the
entire three pictures one can easily make out how softly light enters on the
Earth’s surface. Probably the light takes care not to disturb the mother earth
by appearing all of a sudden. Once the sun started dominating the terrain of
the farms, it was time to hunt beautiful subjects to shoot. The light was
totally in my favor. I was so blessed.
This time I
decided to use the terrain of the farm as my subject and clicked some shots.
Unlike any
village under the Sahyadri this village was too beautiful. It tempted me to
click few shots depicting its presence under the mighty wall of Tailbaila.
You might be
wondering what that White colored patch behind those houses is. Is it Effect?
No. Is it morning fog? No. It is the smoke of the chulhas (clay stove) which is
burnt every morning in the houses here. I took this as a readymade advantage
and got the HDR effect without doing so. It was 7.30am by now and I realized we
had to catch bus at 8.30 to Lonavla. Once u miss out this bus then long wait
for hours for the next is sure. I hurried and was about to pack up my kit, something
stroked me. Yes, the final Panorama shot. Again removing my tripod I fixed my
camera and got one nice shot. Have a look on the picture below.
After this
shot I went back to my stay house. I packed my entire sack keeping a watch not
to miss any of my things here. Bus was late by half n hour. Return journey was
very soothing. I got window seat. Observing this area’s beauty from a window
seat is always a rewarding experience. Morning time added a special flavor to
its beauty. I was accompanied by many school children in the bus who had this
only bus to catch their school timing. They were very cute and innocent. I just
love children from rural land. There were few teenage girls also and yes they
were beautiful too. Lolz. Hence observing all these stuff we reached to our
destination soon unknowingly. We were too hungry by now and so had a heavy breakfast
and got ready for the return journey towards Mumbai.
Note- All
Photographs are having copyrights under Aniket Kasture Photography. Any use of
these photos will require prior permission of the Photographer.
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convey your remarks, comments, suggestions on this blog through FB, mail&
Phone, Watsapp. Your words will definitely help me in writing my next blog.
Thanks for reading.
Aniket
Kasture- 9664284368
Watsapp-
9167979686
Mail- kastaniket@yahoo.co.in
FB- Aniket
Kasture
