Ajivali is a beautiful green rustic village about 50 km from Pune. Devrai means sacred forest dedicated to the local deities or tree spirits. The forest in Ajivali is dedicated to Goddess Waghjai.
I went to Ajivali Devrai with a group of around 15 people, the monsoon trail organized by Western Routes. We started at 7am from Chandni Chowk and reached the Ajivali village by 8.30am. Ajivali is in Maval. The drive is very scenic. Coupled with lovely songs played by Shruti, my 5 year old son cuddling and enjoying the cool breeze, made the drive feel heavenly! About 1 km from the village the road was very bad. Actually there was no road, it was a mud path and our car was skidding! Thanks to the driving skills of Aditya (and me praying out loud to all Gods) we reached the village and parked our car.
Jayesh from Western Routes had carried our breakfast and tea. After a quick round of introductions, we started on one of the most wonderful monsoon trails I have ever been to!
Ajivali is a less explored spot around Pune and hence was not crowded and was clean. The walk to the forest is a gradual climb up the hill. The path is muddy and I suggest that you must wear floaters (no shoes, no socks).
Cool waterfalls, refreshing shades of green, a nice group of friends with the lovely background of brown mountains and gray clouds made me realize the power of nature - what an AC room, cushion chairs and warm beds cant do to a drained soul. I felt energized to keep me going for a couple of weeks! I envied the villagers who stayed in their huts there. And I felt guilty how we plunder this heaven to get materialistic pleasures that don't last long!
After about 30-45 mins we reached the devrai. It is a dense forest of trees growing 60 - 70 feet tall which form a canopy over the forest and makes it feel enchanted! There is a decent temple in the forest but again you realize that nature wins over the man-made temple. You will like everything other than the temple :) They say that you must not take away anything from the forest or the Goddess will get enraged and cause some calamity. Put your science in this belief and it does make sense!
We found a lot of littler, plastic bags, plates in the forest at some cozy picnic spots. I wondered - people left their littler but took away a part of the clean and natural forest. Fear if you believe in God, Think if you believe in science - And carry your litter back with you!
I went to Ajivali Devrai with a group of around 15 people, the monsoon trail organized by Western Routes. We started at 7am from Chandni Chowk and reached the Ajivali village by 8.30am. Ajivali is in Maval. The drive is very scenic. Coupled with lovely songs played by Shruti, my 5 year old son cuddling and enjoying the cool breeze, made the drive feel heavenly! About 1 km from the village the road was very bad. Actually there was no road, it was a mud path and our car was skidding! Thanks to the driving skills of Aditya (and me praying out loud to all Gods) we reached the village and parked our car.
Jayesh from Western Routes had carried our breakfast and tea. After a quick round of introductions, we started on one of the most wonderful monsoon trails I have ever been to!
Ajivali is a less explored spot around Pune and hence was not crowded and was clean. The walk to the forest is a gradual climb up the hill. The path is muddy and I suggest that you must wear floaters (no shoes, no socks).
After about 30-45 mins we reached the devrai. It is a dense forest of trees growing 60 - 70 feet tall which form a canopy over the forest and makes it feel enchanted! There is a decent temple in the forest but again you realize that nature wins over the man-made temple. You will like everything other than the temple :) They say that you must not take away anything from the forest or the Goddess will get enraged and cause some calamity. Put your science in this belief and it does make sense!
We found a lot of littler, plastic bags, plates in the forest at some cozy picnic spots. I wondered - people left their littler but took away a part of the clean and natural forest. Fear if you believe in God, Think if you believe in science - And carry your litter back with you!
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