Ganapatipule, the Silent Beauty

The beginning has also beginning; as Shri Rabindranath Thakur said. That morning was not the same as all other ones, when I wake up seeing my roommates sleeping face. Woke up at 6 a.m., in a train middle berth, immediately rushed to the door with my senior Satishji. And what we saw! Can’t be spoken or written in pen and paper. Still I try. Dawn sky, full of grey clouds and a drab lone moon at the middle of it, symbolizing total loneliness. Fully green hills wearing light white cloak, slowly waving in air. Very frequent waterfalls and even more frequent tunnels, the longest one was of 7 km. Every journey ends to its destination, so was ours. We got off from train at Ratnagiri. It was a fine morning. From there how we reached Ganapatipule, was interesting but not very noteworthy. All I remember a narrow road through hilly forests and small villages. The turns were awesome too and don’t know how that driver managed that big bus so easily on that road, but I believe in magic and one did happen in front of my eyes. MTDC resort was booked, and we got a room which had a sea-face balcony. We quickly reduced our clothes and ran for the Arab sea. Beneath bright Sun, we played with sea wind and big waves. Soon we got exhausted, took rest for a while and started again as children do with their new toys or drunkards do with their drink. Actually, we fell in love with the place. Anyway, it was noon and we were hungry and tired as dogs. I already was very pleased with the place and said Satishji, “paisa wasool hai boss”. In the afternoon, we visited a nearby Ganesh Mandir, around 600 years old. Then we walked along the beach till it was dark enough to become nearly invisible to each other. Returned to base where we had a very long and sumptuous supper. It was around 11:30 at night, wind and wave both were roaring as always. The sky was partially filled with dark clouds. However, we were moving in the beach in a Brownian motion as usual.  Then suddenly, the Moon shone between those dark clouds, and within a blink of an eye, the whole scenario changed. The beach turned to light golden brown, waves heads became snow white, and behind us the hilly forest became mystical field of greenish black and white. It was so sudden that I almost lost all my consciousness and totally absorbed in that mystic beauty of nature. In that dim silver light, the greatness and vastness of nature came in front of me. I was in good hands, who in no time brought me back to the party mood and we started our act of doing nothing but jumping over the waves. Around 2o’clock we were dead tired and returned to room. The day ended so beautifully and with a high hope for the next day. Next day we walked around the beach till noon and then we hired an auto rickshaw to return to Ratnagiri. This route was different than the route we travelled earlier. The road was through the hills and the long and clean beach was clearly visible throughout the journey of 20 km. It was raining heavily which even ornamented the beauty of the beaches, green fields, forests, back water and hillocks. The calm and elegant beauty of nature came in front my eyes in unity and I ingested as much as I can. Our journey ended with a picturesque sun set.

I believe elegance of nature is so easily visible in this part of world, which astounds even the common man like me. I love the place so much that I wish to visit Ganapatipule again and again and again.