The Konkan Log - The Last Episode

Episode 7 - DiveAgar A Photolog (Previous)

Chapter 9: Farewell to Konkan

The next morning we went to the beach to experience the sunrise, the sea looked fully blue under the gentle, still yawning sun.

The day wasn’t fully started with the entertainments.

People were just preparing themselves to start their day.

And that’s why the regular flyers were not worried and engrossed in their morning chores.

In the backdrop of the rising sun, the silhouettes of the costal trees looked unearthly.

Bidding farewell to Konkan, we set out towards Pune. With a stark contrast to the seashores, we drove back through the hills.

With ours spirits lifted up, we became one with the Konkan, the concrete jungle of the city seemed to be a distant and faded dream, which were soon to become the harsh reality of our lives.

And hereby my tale of Konkan is also over, at least for this one time.

The Spirit of the Western Coast - The Konkan Log - Episode 7

Episode 6 - Aravi Beach (Previous)

Chapter 8: Diveagar – Photolog of Another Sunset

3. The setting sun, waves and the colour of water:

4. The sun, setting at the distant horizon:

5. The happy and united family:

6. The sun has set, but the enthusiasm of some has just set in:

7. The dark overpowering the day gradually:

8. Gorgeous colours of the fading day:

9. Finally, time to go:

Last Episode - The Farewell to Konkan (Next)

Well, this is the second sunset at Diveagar for us. I am not going to bore the readers which the same kind of narration, but would just like to share a few photos of our second sunset at this flawless shoreline.

1. Reflection of the setting sun on the water, a golden treat to watch:

2. Children and their horse-cart ride, one of the few entertainments in Diveagar:

The Spirit of the Western Coast - The Konkan Log - Episode 6

Episode 5 : Shrivardhan (Previous)

Chapter 7: Aravi Beach – One of the Best Beaches in Konkan

From Shrivardhan, driving towards Diveagar through the narrow village roads and through the magnificent coastal route, took us to the unspoiled and virgin beach of Aravi. The beach does not boast of any resort, no hotels and absolutely no form of unnecessary commercialization.

A tarred motorable path separates the Aravi village from the beach. We parked under the shadow of a tree, and went on the beach through a series of stairs.

It is almost stretched to a mile and one cannot miss this while driving through the road. The beach, from a distance, looked like a white sand beach but a closer inspection confirmed that it also was a combination of white and grey sands, but more white than grey.

Like a typical Konkani beach, as I noticed earlier with the other beaches, this one was also surrounded by hills.

The village was full of greeneries in the form of coconut and palm trees, the combination of blue sky and the green array of trees along with the whitish sand was too picturesque to be missed.

The above is an example of co-existence of a typical Konkani village and the beach.

Walking up towards the hills through the beach filled our minds with joy and peace. We only watched this kind of spellbound beauty in the Hollywood flicks. The coastal route penetrated the steep hills with a seemingly dangerous inclination. As I said in the introduction, India is truly a place with the most diversity.

A closer look on the hilly road is below.

The place where the inclination ended in a flat stretch of a valley and the hill and beach became one, we found there are some reefs formed by the salt and water dumpings from the sea waves on the rocks. This was the speciality of Aravi beach.

The rocky beds surfaced from beneath the water and held their heads high against the waves – a perfect romantic place for the couples who would like to spend a quality time in serenity with each other. But bathing may not be ideal and suitable at this side of the beach.
 

The village seemed to be far far away from this side. I was so over-enthusiastic I went into the water to click the following snap.

We walked through the beach for a long time, to and fro, many times.

My wife, as per her usual custom now, indulged herself on collecting the shell-souvenirs. Unlike the famous tongue-twister, she will never sell the sea shells on the sea shore, or anywhere for that matter.

The sea shore was not completely devoid of human soul. The villagers, mostly fishermen, were busy fishing, children were playing on the beach and still it looked fully secluded, perhaps because of the absence of the urbanization. I doubt how long Aravi can sustain its purity.

The snap below is one of my personal favourites.

Bidding a farewell to Aravi full of grief but with a promise to come back again, we headed towards Diveagar.

The whole Aravi beach was visible from the top of the hills.

If your nasal ability doesn’t betray you, you will surely not miss the dried fishes on the way.

At one place, the villagers anchored their fishing boats, waiting to set sail again next day and the day after and so on. The life goes on.

The monochrome effect of the same:

Episode 7: The Beauty of Diveagar (Next)

The Spirit of the Western Coast - The Konkan Log - Episode 5

Episode 4 - Harihareshwar (Previous)

Chapter 6: Shrivardhan – A Sea Shore of the Birds

After Harihareshwar, we drove backwards to Shrivardhan. It used to be a small little Konkani village, but nowadays urbanization has engulfed the place. So it was not difficult to find a place to eat.

After the lunch, we drove towards the main attraction, the beach. Unlike Harihareshwar, Shrivardhan is a smooth beach, and one can drive on the beach as well.

It was again a white and grey sand beach with a stretch of at least a couple of miles.

When we reached, the beach was completely secluded, apart from a few enthusiastic tourists, who gave more priority to the beach than the lunch during the lunchtime.

Just like a typical Konkani sea shore, the beach is blocked at two sides by towering hills and a Konkani village was nestled at the lap of the hills, bang on the beach.

The waves were gentle and submissive, relentlessly going back and forth.

There was a small jetty at one side, the motorboats and launches were visible at a distance, their whistles echoing all around.

The beach was very serene and peaceful. And perhaps that’s why we saw them, a group of coastal birds, probably feasting on the weaker sea-lives. There were many of them together, some chirping, some cooing and some of them communicating with each other in a different way. The scene made our day, really.

When the feast was over, they flew away to some more lucrative destination. The backdrop of the Konkani village when they flew was marvellous.

Not much activity can be performed in this beach so we (the ladies in the group) indulged ourselves on picking up some shells, a natural memento gifted by the nature.

When we were planning to leave, we saw more inflow of people, the lunchtime was over. And some means of amusements too, their silhouettes gave an opportunity to click the below.

Once again, we hit the coastal route towards Aravi beach. The route was truly breathtaking through the cluster of tall, sky-kissing trees – a combination of light and shadow.

Another monochrome creation of the coastal beauty to finish this post is here.

Episode 6 - Aravi - Another Fascinating Beach (Next)