Popagandhi

Matheran in the monsoon, this past weekend

Among the many things I love about India, it’s how this vast and diverse country has so much to offer, enough to even win over a well-worn India traveller. An overnight train ride northwards from Kolkata takes you to a completely different world, one infused with Nepali culture (Darjeeling), a former Himalayan Kingdom (Sikkim), where you can even cross into Bhutan if you like. Cross the scorching plains, then into the deserts and majestic colours of Rajasthan, drive down the Konkan coast, or up to the Punjab or the Himalayas. Several hours in any direction from any city feels like a different world altogether, whether it’s the snowcapped mountains of Himachal Pradesh, the backwaters of Kerala, breathtaking Kashmir, or the wonderful temples and Tamilian culture of Tamil Nadu. With slightly more time and logistical planning, the remote and rewarding world of the tribal Northeastern states are so off-the-beaten-path that there probably isn’t much of a path; the Northeast beginning from Assam, stretching across Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh (which China lays claim to, those bastards), Mizoram, bordering Burma at Nagaland and Manipur, are simply stunning.

In my two weekends in Bombay (Mumbai), I’ve gone on short trips out of the city with a couple of Mumbaikars: first to Alibag, then to Matheran this past weekend. It blows my mind that for 19 rupees (S$0.70, or US$0.47), one can take a train from Victoria Terminus to Neral Junction, 2 hours away, then catch a quick 15 minutes’ taxi ride up to Matheran for 50 rupees (or make the short hike up, if you’re fit like that). In Matheran, a tiny hill station with red soil and waterfalls and beautiful forests, all vehicles are banned — the only way around is to walk, ride a horse, or sit in a hand-pulled rickshaw. Matheran in the Monsoon: it didn’t rain but it poured, and it never stopped pouring. I could sit in my verandah in Matheran for weeks and just look at the rain, sipping chai… (check out someone else’s pictures of Matheran)

I know I’ve talked about leaving Bombay for weeks now, and it’s finally time to go. A quick hop to Bangalore tonight (the floods are terrible in the north, so I’ve had to put Nepal on hold), then it’s Bangkok, sweet home.