About
a fortnight ago, a friend suggested me that I join him for a day's
excursion to see the wildflowers of “Kaas.” To be frank, I was
quite apprehensive at first, perhaps because of my ignorance. I had
imagined the place to be just acres of cultivated farm flowers like
say tulips or roses, stretching before my eyes. I had felt that such
farm acres, though no doubt looking stunningly beautiful, they were
not worth a day's excursion. I however, did some browsing and
research on the net. What I read and saw on net, was difficult to
grasp fully, but nevertheless I realised that it was a different kind
of a dish altogether and I booked my ticket for a bus for a round
trip excursion along with a couple of friends.
“Kaas”
is a plateau on mountain tops, located deep in the ranges of Western
Ghat mountains that are spread north-south, along India's western
seaboard. It is at a distance of roughly 115 Km from home town Pune
and can easily be approached, since there is an excellent road
leading right up to the plateau. After having taken the plunge, I am
now off to see this plateau, popularly known as “ Plateau of
flowers.” The bus has left my home town around 6.45 AM and we are
cruising at about 80-100 Km/Hour on the busy Pune- Bengaluru Highway.
“Kaas plateau” (17 d 43' N, 73 d 49' E) is situated about 25 KM
west of the historic city of Satara and we need to pass through the
town.
Meanwhile,
everyone in the bus appears hungry, having started rather early from
home. We stop at a highway food joint for our breakfast with a
typical Maharashtra style fare; “Kandapoha” ( Flattened rice
flakes, moistened and cooked after lightly frying with mustard seeds,
turmeric, chili powder and finely chopped onions ) and “VadaPau,”
(round cakes of hash brown mixed with spices; dipped in gram flour
paste; deep fried and inserted like a patty in two halves of a fluffy
bread piece) and finally, sugary, milky tea- the way it is prepared
all over India. While others are ravishing on the spicy grub, I have
a look at our motley group- travelling together. There are four of us
middle aged( with my exception being a senior citizen) and who have
come to see the wildflowers. There is group of three families with
full complement of kids of various ages, who probably have come for a
picnic or an excursion. Then there is a group of IT guys wearing
black rimmed frames, Bermudas, printed Tee shirts and above all,
expensive DSLR cameras hanging from their necks and telling the world
that they are on a serious photographic expedition. Then there is a
group of young student type group of boys and girls, fun loving type.
Finally there are couple of ladies travelling single, one of them
very talkative.
I find
out that I am the only senior citizen in the group, a black sheep or
an odd man out. I feel slightly dejected, but I finish my Tea, buy
some “Chikki,” ( A sugary sweet bar made from peanuts and sugar),
share it with my friends and then slowly walk back to the bus. Soon,
the bus leaves for Satara. Relaxed, I put on my iPod earphones and
doze off listening to the music. I wake up to the hourly-burly noises
of a city, which means that we have reached the Satara city. Soon the
bus takes a diversion and we are on the “Kaas” road. The bus soon
starts climbing uphill, which means that we are now climbing the
ridge that connects the “Kaas” plateau with Satara city. This
ridge consisting of several hills in tandem is fairly a long one;
about 20 Km.
As the
bus climbs up, I can see the landscape changing slowly to beautiful
lush green meadows, interspersed with shallow valleys and small
ponds, full of muddy water. This is natural because the south-west
monsoon rains are just withdrawing. Within next two or three weeks
all this will change, with lush green meadows changing over first to
yellow brown and then disappearing altogether, exposing the reddish
Lateritic soil underneath and patches of blackish basalt rocks. I,
however leave the future scenario at bay and concentrate on the
things around me as on the moment.
I also
notice the change in weather, which is turning surprisingly pleasant
with a cool refreshing breeze. The altitude of “Kaas” plateau is
above 1200 meters (4000 ft). This is the reason for this sudden
change in the weather, which ensures that our trip is likely to be a
pleasant experience. We cross some wooded groves, perhaps with trees
planted by forest department, but they make the environment soothing
to the nerves and rather charming for the first time visitor like me.
I see more green meadows ahead but now stretched longer and flatter.
The
total area of “Kaas” plateau is huge, about 1800 hectares (4500
acres) and as we enter this pristine land , what could be a better
welcome for us than the sudden appearance on both sides of the road
of stunning beautiful clusters of golden yellow flowers, swaying with
the breeze and dazzling on the widespread background of lush green
grass. The yellow wildflowers are known as Sonki (Senecio
bombyensis.) These are members of the large Asteraceae family to
which many commonly known flowering plants like the aster or daisy
belong.
The
bus moves among the flower meadows of yellow wild flowers. Soon I see
a barbed wire fence stretching on both sides of the road. I try to
look beyond the fence, I can clearly see small dots of pink, white
and purple in the greens. I know, we have arrived at “Kaas.”
(To be
continued)
1st
October 2014
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