The monsoon memoirs from Charmadi Ghat

It was somewhere in June 2018, I was driving my new car towards native via Charmadi ghat. Thanks to prolonged concrete work at Shiradi Ghat, I chose route via Charmadi ghat to reach my native. It rained heavily overnight at ghat area but fortunately during my day journey, the weather was calm and rains had relented. Being onset period, There were no landslides either despite heavy rains. It's history that the subsequent rains in August were crazy and ferocious ones almost decimating the regions near Western ghats.

Meanwhile it was noon when I reached Kottigehara. The en-route fields had plenty of water. I was apprehensive and scared to pass through ghats. Probably, a psychological one. But things cleared when there were no rains on entering ghat jurisdiction. There were wonders all over path. The highway cutting the ghats are narrow and steep. There also menace of boulders falling over. None happened to my luck. As I drove past Kottigehara towards the door of western ghats, heaven unfolds. The never ending mountain ranges, myriad of silver streams, innumerable thundering seasonal waterfalls, impeccable Rainforest and why not the every enthusiastic monsoon clouds shrouding the hills eager to shower on the benevolent western ghats. The unison, undoubtedly creates natural splendor and a festival for nature lovers. Of-course, it becomes sometimes hell on the drive due to dilapidated roads.

Not sure when will I get chance again to have monsoon drive via these beautiful ghats. Currently the roads are completely blocked to unprecedented rains amounting to 1000mm in just 4 days. The ravaging monsoon is back and showing its might in this August too! A revenge of nature for 3rd consecutive year. It is clear that nature wants to reclaim its space in western ghats. It wants to replace the tea, coffee and rubber plantations with Rainforest trees. These tall pinnacles which underpin the mountains are being incrementally decimated owing to human greed. The nature has retaliated again and it may do so till the human race understands it.

Mighty mountains are crumbling due to lost foundation. These tall Rainforest trees were protecting the mountains for years. Now the endearing Rainforests are endangered by the human greed. The nature is silently retaliating in form of disasters and its recurring. Ironically, humans fail to understand the emotions of nature and grieve on these disasters. Lets distance away from abode of wild and leave it pristine. If we don't listen now, year on year the nature will render such places uninhabitable.

The Charmadi ghat stretch such a wondrous path. There are innumerable charming streams flowing down the mountains and every 100m stretch is a joy. At some points, the water slides down to main highway too! An exceptionally alluring place for nature lovers. There are instances of traffic jam too due to raise in visitors who wholeheartedly enjoy the majesty of nature.

Here is a short video to revisit those memories. Hope I can behold them eternally in days to come.