The conquest of Singhgad Fort

Rishabh Sharma, 3 years 7 months old, conquered Singhgad fort in 4 hrs on 8th Nov 2009.

the youngest trekker in the family

Saturday evening, while having my dinner, I said to Geeta, 'Let’s go for a trek tomorrow.' She agreed. After some deliberation we decided on Singhgad, a favourite place of Geeta. We decided to do a night stopover at Vineet mama's (Course mate of Wishu mama) place. Last time when we were at Vineet's place, Soma, his better half was away and we agreed to come again for a weekend when Soma is back. He stays in a beautiful defense accommodation near Khadakwasla dam and Singhgad is approximately 12 - 15 km away from his place.

Geeta called Soma around 8:30pm and arranged everything. Vineet & Soma, nice people that they are, were very happy to have us. We made a quick checklist of things to do. Geeta to clean the kitchen and clear the mess in drawing room as Maousi had gone to Satara, to see her ailing mother. Me to get the backpacks, camera, water bottle (shiny ones; not the ones that Rishabh takes school) and do the packing. Rishabh to get ready, take his "Danda" (one he got from Panshet Dam), fishing net and his floppy.

We all started doing our things, but Rishabh could not find his "Danda", so we had to pause and look for it. I collected everything in our bedroom and waited for Geeta's nod to pile the stuff in the backpacks. Rishabh selected a T-shirt (Green one) and got ready after his usual drama. He then rushed with his fishing net and "Danda" to get the car keys from the drawer. He then hopped and jumped to reach the Lift and pushed the down button. From then onwards he had to leave "Aabhi", he kept oscillating between the Lift and our bedroom, calling us and the Lift.

Smarty did one of the cutest things ever. Like a big people he hung his kit; fishing net & key, on the handle of the door. So, that he doesn't forget. I called Geeta to have a look at it. It was, as I say a 'Proud parent’s moment'.

Look at the handle of the door in the picture.

All set we left Magarpatta at 10 pm. Geeta gave a quick call to Soma, ‘We are leaving now for your place. We will reach in 30-35 mins.’ She assumed there will be no traffic on the road after 10 pm. But, that was not the case. By the time we reached Rishabh had ... (you would know). He sleeps in great style; front seat pulled back, his little hands folded back on his head and legs resting on the dashboard of the car. Eyes close and innocent face; not bothered about anything.

Geeta took directions from Soma and we reached her house. She was out waiting for us. I guess she was looking forward to meet Rishabh, but was disappointed to see him sleeping. Geeta got him out of the car and put him on the bed. We did not bother to wake him up, so that he gets up early in the morning. I did not know Vineet had exams. He had 9-10 days left for preparation. He was studying hard day and night. I was disappointed to for two reasons; first, he couldn't join us and secondly we disturbed him or rather distracted him with Rishabh. Both of them are great friends. Rishabh like to sit with Vineet mama on his bike and go crocodile hunting.

Soma called Vineet who was studying with his mates in the top flat. We all chatted for some time. Geeta and Soma kept chatting after Vineet left for quite some time. I intervened, "We should sleep. We have to leave early morning tomorrow." We leave for the trek in the morning as soon as Rishabh is up.

In the morning, Rishabh got up and asked "Where are we?” Geeta,"At Vineet mama's place." "Where is Vineet mama." "He is sleeping in the other room. Go and say Good Morning!!" Rishabh left and could not recognise Vineet mama as he was all draped in blanket from head to toe. He stood leaning against the wall. Soma wished him and Geeta introduced her to Rishabh. But, Rishabh was keen to meet Vineet mama. We had morning tea and left as soon as Rishabh finished his milk. We waved good bye to Soma mami and Vineet mama.

It was 8:30 am when we left. The 10 km drive was beautiful. We reached the base of the Singhgad fort and parked our Wagon-R near the trek start point. Took our backpacks and started the trek around 9ish. As soon as we started walking Rishabh wanted to be taken ‘Godi’, in the lap. Geeta sorted him out by explaining him about trek and its rules. Next thing was to find a "Kathi" for him. He forgot to bring his "Danda" from home. He was happy with his new "Kathi" and continued.

Rishabh with his new "Kathi"

Singhgad fort is a popular trekking place; it has trails for beginners and amateurs. Some people come here every weekend. I am told some come every day. It takes approximately an hour to reach the top for people like us. We had company of all kinds of people athletes, college groups, couples, families, elderly group, elders, fathers with their sons and locals. Rishabh was not the only young trekker; he had competition from others too. But not many;
 

We started our trek under the expert guidance of Ms. Geetanjali. All of us rocking and kicked about the trek.

Rishabh liked the trail and everything on and around it. Mud, stones, dried leaves, grass around etc...

Rishabh was in a good mood and enjoying. He did "Tthak, tthak" (knock, knock) on the stones with his 'Kathi' and stepped on it. He was checking them out.

I think Rishabh wanted to get some kind of feel of the trail; so he just sat on one of the stones. This was our first unofficial break on the trek.

First unofficial break on the trek.

We soon reached an empty space from where one could see the Singhgad fort, which is some 800 meters climb. Geeta told Rishabh, pointing to the fort on the mountain, “There is the fort. We have to go there.” “Oh!! Towar”. That (Tower) is all he could see of the fort from here. I guess he thought we have to go there, but did not fathom the distance and the effort. This funda worked for him as Geeta kept him motivated throughout.

Rishabh with his 'Kathi' ready to go.

One little step.

I was busy thinking about the photography, while Geeta guided Rishabh. We kept walking listening to the stories of Rishabh, as he picked pebbles or twigs from the trail.

We were going at our own pace and weren’t concerned about the time. None of us had watch. Rishabh was liked the different kind of stones, pebbles and roots which passed through the trail. By now we had completed 25% of the trek.

Rishabh liked negotiating challenge on the trail. I loved the way little hands held the rocks and cute shoes pushed the body to get through. As afterthought, I think any trek is easy for grownups, but far more difficult for kids. They have to stretch their little legs and take support with their little hands for things which are as small as stones for grownups but are boulders for them. It is far more tiring for them.

Locals have made small huts on the trail, where trekkers can stop and take rest. They serve fresh lime water, buttermilk, cucumber etc... at a reasonable price. If you plan to go ensure you have enough change / coins. We stopped to enjoy the cool breeze and the amazing view around then decided to sit under the shade one of the huts to drink some water and enjoy the fresh lime juice. It was fun to drink water from the water bottle.

It was fun to drink water from the water bottle.

Geeta & Rishabh relished lime under the shade.

As we continued on our trek, Rishabh chanced upon some berries on the shrubs. They were all along the way. He stopped at every berry tree; plucked berries and put them in his pocket. He started with green ones, but graduated to pink and then to red as he saw more and more of them. It was a nice way to make him move faster.

On trek

Rishabh taking a break to relish his portion of lime.

We reached a flat land, kind of a plateau. We had to take our second official stop as the view from here was magnificent. It was windy and cold. A group, which comes every Sunday on trek, was resting. They wanted a picture of them from my SLR. I agreed but said can’t give a hard copy but can certainly email. Geeta took the details on her fundu mobile. She saw the time on the phone; it was 10:30am. By this time we should have reached the summit. We were not slow, but very slow.

Even after taking such a picture, Ms. Geetanjali, our guide, warned me not to take more pictures, walk ahead and no stopping.

We hurriedly continued our journey. Rishabh’s mood started to sway. We suspected hunger; he just had milk in the morning. The other common thing to ask Rishabh when his mood starts to wave is “Susu aya” and look in his eye for an answer, for he will always say ‘No’. I told him to do it over the edge so that he can fill the valley below. He liked the idea and was excited. He went over the edge and did a long “Susu”. He turned around and watching his mischievous eyes was a treat. He sat on tree from where I was watching him.

It was getting sunny and we started getting tired. One could sense the variation in Rishabh. But, we had too many things to distract Rishabh and keep him moving. Geeta would show him some yellow flowers. He would run to the tree, pluck the flower and keep it in his pocket. There were just too many yellow flowers and berries. So he asked Geeta to hold it for him. I helped Geeta in moving Rishabh by playing the same game with white flowers. Geeta asked him to collect some stone and she would keep it in his backpack so that he can throw them from the top.

Yellow flowers

At one time Rishabh just gave up on idea of going to the top and said let’s go back down. He turned and started going down. However, Geeta encouraged him and kept him motivated to go up. We took a halt and had some buttermilk. Kaka, the man, selling the buttermilk modified Rishabh’s “Kathi”. He broke it into half, thinking it will be convenient for Rishabh. Rishabh was not in a good mood and just did not like it. He started crying and wanted the same one back. Kaka, got a big new “Kathi” for him, but he wanted the old one. I pretended to scold the Kaka and told him to repair the “Kathi”. Geeta sat next to Rishabh and took out a shining new bottle from his back up which had frooti, a mango drink. He didn’t like it. He told me not to take any of his pictures, as he did not like it. He had few sips and we moved on. 

One of ideas I used to keep Rishabh moving was Sharekhan. He had come to trek in this jungle so that he can catch the Sharekhan by his tail, spin him around in the air over his head and throw him. Little Krishna!! you know… those things. So when we were passing through the bushes, I told him that Sharekhan is ahead of us and I can see his tail. He asked me to run after him and don’t be scared as he will come for my rescue. I would shout “Rishabh, help me.” He will reply “Acha! Aar aha hun.” It was fun, people around were wondering why I was shouting. We played this game for quite some time. I had my hand eaten by Sharekhan while catching him. So, I waited at one of the huts for Geeta and Rishabh. We had sugarcane juice here. Rishabh wanted ice in it but bhaiya did not have any. So he gulped it.

We resume our journey. Rishabh after some time said he is feeling sleepy. He closed his eyes while walking. Geeta was held him from behind. She gave another dose of motivation and encouragement and he was on track. I think this was his drama; it is very difficult to believe this smart-aleck some times.

Most of the time people returning would ask him his name and age. Motivate him and say all the best. Twice Rishabh got chocolates from one of the elderly trekkers, first time when he went up and second time when he was coming down.

Rishabh tried.

This part of the trail was amazing. It had yellow flowers on both the sides and touched each other at the top putting an arch on the way to go through. I would have loved to take a picture here, but given Rishabh’s mood & Ms. Geetanjali’s order, I kept moving.

We started meeting people who were behind us in the morning but went past us and were returning from the top. They stopped to encourage Rishabh. It was a “Proud parents moment” for Geeta and me.

Geeta kept Rishabh moving by playing butterfly catching on the trail. Rishabh liked very much. I also joined. There were so many butterflies but we could not catch one. It was getting sunny, so we kept Rishabh moving.

Keep moving.

After completing some 80% of the climb Rishabh refused to move. He was cranky and just did not listen. He wanted to go down and to be taken “Godi”. So I took him over my shoulders and continued the trek. I tottered and wobbled. I explained Rishabh, if he continues to be on my shoulder or “Godi” we both will fall down and get hurt. Rishabh was not comfortable and after barely 20 steps he was on his feet again. Fort wall looked very near. Geeta promised Rishabh to give him a binocular if he finished the trek. Rishabh agreed and wanted a “Badawala”. We agreed. I stopped at a hut where a local was selling curd. I thought Rishabh would be hungry. But, he did not like it. We asked how far the fort is, and man replied 10-15 mins. Rishabh was in a good mood and we were near to the finish line, it felt good. But, after walking 5 min Rishabh gave up. He wanted me to bring the Wagon-R so that we all can sit in it and go home. We told him it is parked on top. He walked for 2 mins and stopped. This time I said Vineet mama has come on top with his bike. Rishabh again stopped after 2 min. We promised a camera. He walked another 2 mins and stopped. Sharekhan did not work, berries did not work, and butterflies did not work. Geeta was very anxious; we were so close to summit. She desperately wanted Rishabh to complete the trek. All of us could see that finish line is just around the corner, less than 25 meters. She explained Rishabh that we will take a taxi down and it is standing next to the wall. By this time we could hear vehicle and their horns. Rishabh walked till the corner and we saw the final frontier. The final step. I reached the wall and started calling Rishabh. It took him 10 mins to take the final 5 steps.

As soon as Rishabh completed the trek, Geeta completed her trek to cloud 9. She was so happy that I can’t tell you. She patted him on his back and gave him a big hug. I was happy too. We hugged each other and celebrated the achievement. Rishabh, completely unaware about his accomplishment, was more interested in having the steamed groundnuts. His first demand after the climb was instantly fulfilled. We had cold fresh lime juice and Geeta, the proud mother, got busy making calls.

We then went to a restaurant in the fort for “Kanda Bhaji”. As all of us were hungry we had two Omelet pav, two “Kanda Bhaji”, two chai, two lays and one coke. We realized it is 1 ‘o’ clock and Soma was expecting us at lunch. So we decided to take a taxi down, though once Rishabh agreed to go by the same way.

Yes !! I did it !!

We took a taxi. Rishabh tried to be awake (he asks funny questions when he does that), but could not and dozed off. We got down at the toll naka. Geeta and Rishabh waited for me while I hitchhiked to get the car from parking. It was some kilometers away.

View from Singhgad Fort

We reached Vineet mama’s place by 3 pm. Soma mami had cooked a lavish lunch. Food was delicious. Rishabh went with Vineet mama for a bike ride. We took some pictures and left at 4 pm.

 I drove home a proud mother & youngest trekker of the family sleeping on the back seat of Wagon-R.