By Mansi Ghuwalewala
When we leapt off our rickshaw (10 Rs. per head from the Karjat naka) at the turn for Kalote on the Mumbai-Pune highway, our expectations were quite moderate. We just wanted to find a relatively less crowded lake among the many that dot the Western Ghats during monsoon. Only, there was more in store.
As we followed two head-loading village women and a mildly inebriated old man on a short uphill walk, Kalote village slowly revealed itself to us – an almost-still settlement around a lake circled by lush hills and howling wind.
My friend and I exchanged a look that said, this is not a scene, it’s a place. We were here to celebrate our birthday, which falls on the same day. The whole thing felt symbolic in the way that it was just another day in this place. This place was itself every day of its life. It just stayed there being this way. Anyway, our little ‘getaway’ had begun well.
A private property sat on an island in the lake. A couple of understated resorts, followed by a small village and a ‘dabdaba’ up ahead. The rest was all open spaces.
The Experience
At the first resort, the lady (hands covered with flour) told us she had no rooms. Having had only ussal pav and chai at Karjat for breakfast, we were famished. At the next resort, Mrs Khan sat on a swing, breaking coriander. She offered us a ‘package’ of Rs 1500 per head per day, with three meals. When we tried to bargain, she said, “The food is excellent” so matter of factly without as much as looking up from her dhaniya that I believed her. And good that I did. The food, simple and sumptuous, is just by the way in a place like this.
There’s a lot to do in Kalote – walk around, look around, walk around some more, laze around and gaze at the lake. You can’t go into it for a swim because that’s where the drinking water for the village comes from. ‘Dabdaba’ is the Marathi word for waterfall, and it’s your free, natural spa! The best part was walking barefoot to and into the waterfall and then becoming one of the rocks.
Well, that’s what we did for a day and a half. So good.
Even the highway feels like a different place in the monsoon. Especially when you’re in a rickshaw back into town and you know the air is going to smell its familiar smoky texture soon.
Note: A naturally formed Lake beside Mokashi village of the Khalapur Taluka of the Raigad district, Kalote Lake is the main water source for the entire region. There is a small dam beside it known as the ‘Kalote Dam’. The lake is surrounded by undulating hills.
