We are now in our eighth month of Lockdown. While many things have been allowed to reopen, life is far, far from normal. Schools, colleges, places of worship, swimming pools, and most importantly, local trains – the lifeline of Mumbai – remain firmly shut. Gyms, malls, theatres and restaurants that have recently been allowed to open are seeing a very thin trickle of customers. And even though we are now in the peak of the Indian “festive season” there is little cheer to be seen.
As I go about my daily life, I see increasing signs of Covid Fatigue. Fewer people are wearing masks. The obsessive hand and touch surface sanitisation we saw in the early months of the pandemic seem to have gone out of the window. More people are getting more careless about social distancing. And even though positive numbers are on a sharp decline, I am hearing of many more people who are testing positive.
At the same time, petty crime is on the rise, seemingly more so in Bandra than anywhere else! Chain snatching, mobile theft, bits of fencing uprooted for the price of the metal and CCTV footage of masked (of course) thieves jumping over building walls to steal anything they can. Uppity Pali Hill was so disturbed by this petty thievery they floated the idea of making the entire road a gated community!! A bit rich in my opinion! If Pali Hill does this, what stops all of us from making our streets and lanes accessible only to residents?
Meanwhile, in the rest of the country, all Covid-19 precautions and protocols are being flouted at numerous election rallies in Bihar, farm-bill protests in several states and by motley crowds protesting things I can’t keep track off. Suffice to say, I think we are heading for a second wave. The onset of winter in the North, with the need to stay indoors in shuttered homes, will definitely fuel the second wave. Remember, Covid struck India at the tail end of our winter in 2020.
And further afield, in the rest of the world, the US is seeing the closest fought election in history even as it’s Covid numbers continue to shock, and, hate crimes continue to rise. The UK has gone into a four-week lockdown. And in Europe; France, Italy, Spain and Greece have imposed strict Covid restrictions even while they beef up security in the face of brutal terror attacks.
Good news from anywhere seems a distant dream.
Back home in Bandra, Mumbai, if there is one thing that has been difficult for me in the last eight months, it is the drudgery and the sameness of each day. Once we got over the initial panic, it’s been the same old routine of wake, walk, clean, work, cook, eat, workout, cook, work, eat, Netflix, sleep. Repeat. This is punctuated by weekly trips to the market and fortnightly visits to my parents. No real hardship, but the niggling dullness of being stuck in a rut. Which is why, when our lovely friends invited us to join them for a weekend in Matheran, we leapt at the opportunity. Two days away from building and family responsibilities was easily manageable. A two-hour drive was no hardship. And a change of scene was very welcome.
Matheran, a tiny hill station two hours away from Mumbai holds many, many childhood memories for me. My Uncle’s family owned a largish house there and as kids, my cousins, older sister and I would be packed off there for weeks on end. Over several summers, all of us learned the basics of horse-riding and spent hours walking, playing, reading or climbing trees. It really was an idyllic time. And I don’t believe I am romanticising it.
Later in high school, Matheran was the base for the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme (DEAS) where we would go for character building treks and learn, besides other things how to tie a sailors’ knot, identify various flora and fauna, build a campfire and sing (off-tune) ditties. I am sure the Scheme was intended for more than just this and vaguely remember there being bronze, silver and gold levels, but all I really recall is the getting into the train from Victoria Terminus (as it was then) to Neral, walking up to Matheran alongside the toy train to a decrepit (even then) bungalow, where we slept dormitory-style in sleeping bags and sitting around the campfire late into the night.
A bit of background, Matheran is a classic “Hill Station”, i.e. a small town located on a hilltop. “Hill Station” is a term that originated in Colonial India. The elevation made it cooler and a welcome break from the hot plains. Even today, several colonial-style bungalows dot Hill Stations like Shimla, Ooty, Darjeeling, Mussoorie and Matheran; a home away from home for British Officers wilting under the blazing Indian sun.
So, bright and early on a Friday morning, off we drove. An extremely pleasant drive with (surprise surprise!) very good roads all the way. Our friend and host Le Grand Fromage Tax Lawyer said the road from Chowk to Karjat used to be an absolute nightmare with potholes and gravel and he was very pleased to see it had been concreted. From Karjat we went up the short but steep ghat to Dasturi Naka.
As many of you probably know, Matheran has been declared an eco-sensitive region, by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. It is one of the few places in the world where vehicles are not allowed. The only form of transport is on foot, horseback or in a hand-pulled rickshaw. The only vehicle allowed is an ambulance.
Anyway, back to Dasturi Naka – that’s the car park if you drive to Matheran. After that, it’s hand-pulled rickshaw or walk. Depending on where your home/hotel is, it could be a 15 to 45 minute walk. There used to be a toy train which ran from Neral on the plains up to Matheran, that was set up by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, a rich Bohri, but that is now non-operational.
We walked the 20 odd minutes to Le Grand Fromage Tax Lawyer’s family-owned charming Woodlands Hotel, while our second host Mr Banking and Hospitality Veteran who has a bad ligament tear in his ankle was forced to engage a hand-pulled rickshaw.
At a height of 803 meters above sea level, Matheran is cooler right through the year and has vegetation that is markedly different from the hotter plains below. Matheran has excellent tree cover even today. The red laterite soil [like that in Mahableshwar and Goa] is very fertile. The tree cover means monkeys are in abundance. Monkeys are actually a menace, terrorising children, pouncing on food, destroying fixtures, swinging on wires and generally making life miserable. The no vehicle policy has been a huge factor in ensuring that trees remain, hordes stay away and life remains stuck in a time warp.
The no vehicles policy has a far bigger impact on the economy than you can imagine. Everything and I mean absolutely everything, from bricks to cabbage and from to electrical fittings to Bisleri water is carried up on donkey back from Dasturi Naka. So, you have donkeys, their feed, their shit [literally] their handlers as part of the ecosystem. The costs of transport of everything being substantially higher, prices are also higher. And getting anything built or repaired is a logistic and cost nightmare.
Matheran today, is in a state of steady decline. It is no more a Class I hill station. The rich and famous of Mumbai have now shifted to Alibaug or Mahableshwar. At the best of times Matheran is a challenge with the lack of cars, especially if you are, shall we say, older.
Today Matheran is a young day-trippers getaway. College picnics, colony picnics and groups of friends trekking form a bulk of the visitors, all extremely price-conscious. Many of the older homes, some very large, are deserted and often in a state of collapse. Either they are totally abandoned or have been usurped by the family gardeners/caretakers who now rule the dilapidated roost. Maintenance is a nightmare with the destructive monkeys and the very intense monsoon and humidity during the monsoon.
But, despite this, Matheran remains special. Walking, something which we all should be doing much more of in Mumbai is something you can do to your heart’s content. No cars, no pollution, no signals, no beggars and wonderful tree cover all make for great walking.
We walked a lot…seriously. The weather was pleasant and as there were barely any people in the town, we shed our masks for most of the time which was really such a relief.
Our rambling walks took us to the top of Garbett Point with its stunning views and to the charming, well maintained Paymaster Park with its quaint gazebos and statues of the prominent and important figures in the history of Matheran. This included one of Hugh Poyntz Malet, the one-time District Collector of Thane who discovered Matheran in 1850. The statutes are in very good condition. The Park has a nice Bandstand or Gazebo, and, looking at it you feel you are in England. I can imagine English ladies sitting out here in the evening. Very pretty.
A slightly longer walk took us to the house my Uncle’s family owned till a few years ago and I sat on the same steps as I had when I was a 1-year old baby!
And, the more we walked the more I realised, Matheran is stuck in a time-warp. Nothing seems to have changed in the 40 odd years since I was last here. Yes, there are a handful of newer hotels and there is what seems like a cinema hall and entertainment centre on Bazaar Peth that seems new, but besides that everything is just as I remember it.
A recent, extremely well managed solid waste management and recycling initiative has been a big boon to Matheran. The Municipality worked closely with the Indian Centre for Plastics in Environment (ICPE) and the Matheran Bachao Samiti to give Matheran a much-needed clean-up. It was an uphill climb, but once all stakeholders were on board, the core team ensured that recycling, garbage segregation, vermicomposting and timely disposal of solid waste became a way of life and a source of pride. Unemployed villagers from nearby are employed to sweep and collect discarded garbage and I am happy to report that in the entire 2.5 days we spent there, I did not see any litter on any of the paths. Kudos to the team!
Despite this excellent initiative, Matheran is well past its sell-by date. However, there are some very bright spots if you make a little effort getting there. The “points” or scenic spots are truly beautiful, offering stunning views of valleys, hills, water bodies. The walks are indeed nice. The absence of cars refreshing. The weather with the tree cover, lovely.
Our stay at Woodlands Hotel was particularly pleasant. Extremely courteous staff. A Bengali cook who dished up the tastiest food. Hot batata vadas to welcome us and again to see us off😊. Late morning board games. Wine, conversation and hot Pakodas under the spectacular blue moon. Laughter, camaraderie and the company of good friends. And of course, the walks. There are 40 points you can visit and a couple of lakes. This will involve a lot of walking.
Give Matheran a chance, especially on a weekday when the crowds are thin.
