Lonavala has long been a favorite monsoon getaway for most weekenders in Mumbai and Pune. Situated amongst the picturesque western ghats, over 600 meters above sea level, this hill station is known for its waterfalls, dams, a candy-like sweet called "chikki" and a private city called Amby Valley.
While I have always preferred a weekend getaway to quieter, less populated places, Lonavala has been an exception. Its not the love for chikki or the huge dam (infact I have not seen the dam in the ten years of my holidaying in Lonavala) that take me back to this crowded hill station; rather its a small village a little before the amby valley called Jambulne. A little known place, difficult to traverse to without your own vehicle, it is home to a 25 acre forest land owned by the friend of a close friend's father. The first time I visited this place - I probably was a ninenth grader and knew little about trekking and camping in forests - I was spellbound with the beauty and serenity of the then huge forest land.
From then to about a few years back, I have been to the place (better known amongst us friends as the 'Farm') atleast once every year. Having born in a month that experiences peak monsoon, I have been lucky enough to celebrate many a birthdays in this heavenly abode just the way I like it - aloof. Three small tin sheds - a kitchen, a bedroom, and a toilet - was the only human construction initially, covering over a couple of hundred sq feet of more than one million sq feet of land available. The simplicity and closeness to nature - no electricity, no gadgets just some solar powered lights - was the main attraction of the place. It made the tedious travel to the place a looked after event each year. We would pack our bags with ready-to-eat food before taking an early morning bus from Mumbai to Lonavala. Upon reaching Lonavala, the first task would be to head to the market and shop for food, water and beverages before queuing up for a 17km ride in the local trax on a share-a-seat basis. The jeeps (or sometimes trucks carrying rocks for construction) would drop us at a junction from where we would walk up 4kms to reach the farm.
If you are scared of reptiles and insects, well this aint a place for you - nature is not just about waterfalls and flowers. You would be greeted with a lot of crabs, centipedes, millipedes and a few snakes (if you are lucky) depending on the season. During most of my stays at the place, we would stay, eat and sleep in the open, using the tin bedroom only to store our backpacks and the kitchen to cook. While most of these places were located close to each other, there was one special place hidden artfully - the Machan. A short walk around the pond, across the grass shed, would lead to a small wooden bridge locked into the floor. Cross the bridge and -la, behold - you are standing on a wooden plane, between the branches of a huge tree and over 40 feet above the ground. What a spectacular site it would be, standing mid-air with the lush green valley in the front. Scenic, charming, enthralling, charismatic??.no word could completely describe the experience on the machan.
The old farm
A couple of months back, while planning our usual monsoon getaways, a friend of mine send me a link to a place that sounded familiar. She mentioned it being a little away from Lonavala, with a nice tree house in a quiet forest-like area. While it did ring some bells, I had no clue that she was talking about the same farm that I used to once visit so often. I checked the website of this place called 'The Machan' and to my surprise, it indeed was the same place. The only difference being that the machan, that was once a platform made of bamboos, today is a huge wooden house with hanging rooms and glass walls, lavish architecture and a height of 85ft (the highest point of the house) above the ground. From a farm with three tin sheds being visited by a bunch of young boys, today the place has transpired into a luxurious four-level farm house with writers, actors, photographers, bankers and nature enthusiasts frequenting the place. This place and its magic has truly grown over time. Hats off to the owner of the place ? not many can turn dreams into reality.
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