Glimpses of rural Maharashtra – Day 1

First week of March 2014 started with a much awaited visit to Pachal, a village in the Rajapur district of Maharashtra. The simple beauty of the place  mesmerized me and left me longing to spend more time there. Alas I had only a couple of days in hand. Nevertheless I tried to make the most of it foregoing sleep in the process. And it was worth every yawn! 😉

The village had a handful of buildings, no taller than three or four storeys. There were more of comfortable two  level houses with their own small gardens, a smattering of small village shops which sold the necessities and a single school and college, namely Saraswati Vidyamandir school & Junior College . For anything more, one would need to go the nearest town, Lanja in Ratnagiri district. And for watching a movie, one would need to travel for a couple of hours to Kolhapur city which is at a distance of around 75 kilometers from Pachal.

Google Map link to Pachal Village, Maharashtra

Day 1 – Even after traveling for almost 10 hours via the winding ghats of Mumbai Goa Highway, we were not exhausted. After a cup of tea and snacks at our host’s house, we were ready to go forth and explore. After a quick look at the village shops, we drove to a narrow pathway flanked on both sides by small houses. A Magpie Robin perched on the top of a tree seemed to greet us by singing at the top of its voice.

Oriental Magpie Robin

A few meters ahead was a wonderful view of the hills and wilderness. As I got down from the car to click a picture, I heard a cry from behind. When I turned behind to investigate, out host pointed out a snake on the opposite side slithering o a hay covered rocky wall nearby. A closer look revealed that it was a Rat Snake, a commonly found Non Venomous Snake.

Ratsnake at Pachal

We marveled at its smooth body and watched it slide away into its rock hole in the wall. The way after this had a a lot of Cashew Nut trees with raw green and ripe red Cashew fruits hanging from their branches. Later at dinner I was treated to a yummy green cashew vegetable cooked with Garlic, Ginger and Tomato Curry.

Cashew Fruit

After stopping to admire the garden of a nearby house whose inhabitants greeted us warmly and invited us for dinner (which we politely declined after promising to visit them next time), we took a short drive along another hilly road and then turned back for our host’s house at dusk.

Brinjal Plant in the Garden

Guava Flowers

Dusk over the Hills

Moon view from the Hills

Continued at https://lovethewild.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/glimpses-of-rural-maharashtra-day-2/