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Matheran
Population : 5,500
Altitude : 800 m
Languages : Marathi, Hindi, English
Best time to visit : April–May
STD Code : 02148
"Do not crowd on one side of the coach, it is dangerous, reads
the cryptic sign, and the point is further driven home by
a graphic illustration of several stick-like figures weighing
the scales down on one side, while other helpless figures
hang in the air on the other balance. Parents and children
and weekending couples obligingly spread their weight around
inside the little toy train as it trundles up the winding
hilly slopes to Matheran.
The train ride sets the tone for the rest of your holiday—languorous,
and pleasant. Friendly dales, the shimmer of a lone waterfall,
a brief length of tunnel, and loamy stretches of green sweeping
upwards greet the eyes.
THE SERENE LANDSCAPE
It takes only a few minutes to realize why Matheran has this
untouched, pristine quality about it. Automobiles and vehicles
of any sort are not allowed into Matheran. This little hill
paradise has been left largely undisturbed, since the time
an Englishman, Hugh Mallet, Collector of Thane, discovered
it in 1850 and declared it a fine place for shady walks.
The inhabitants used to fish and keep goats; they still do,
though today the tourist trade takes precedence over everything
else.
The roads are still kutcha, there has been no attempt to prune
the hedges or smarten up the vegetation, or introduce any
kind of uniformity into its environment. Yet, nature herself
maintains a mild discipline. The heavy branches of trees are
not so thickly interwoven that you cannot see through them;
the shrubs do not spill over indiscriminately on to the roads.
Monkeys are your companions wherever you go. They sit in your
verandah and on your porch, hugging their babies, combing
their hair, squabbling occasionally as humans do. As you jog
along in your buggy, monkeys dangle themselves strategically,
one paw hanging free to grab your packet of chips. You could
wave your crooked pandhari stick (a kind of walking stick)
at them, but their mournful expressions would melt the sternest
heart.
It is possible that you will meet Abbas in Matheran. He belongs
to the village that nestles in the narrow picturesque valley,
a few furlongs from the bazaar. Abbas is among the younger
set of buggy pullers, and perhaps the most buoyant of them
all. He will keep up a lively stream of conversation as he
runs on light feet, describing the variety of trees and shrubs,
the lake, the bharang leaves that are used to treat snake
bite, and he will guide you with proprietary pride to the
most spectacular viewpoints. You can stand atop these peaks
and survey the wild ravishing landscape, and the reddish brown
mountain ranges.
The red soil is everywhere. Matheran is a continuous poem
of shady, thickly wooded paths of red mud and velvet moss,
stretching endlessly.
Getting away from a city is not always possible on a holiday,
it travels with you to the most unlikely places and is heard
blaring from portable transistors and motorcars, merging with
the raucous of streets overflowing with thoroughfare.
But in Matheran it is possible to forget that cities exist,
it is possible to believe that you are ensnared in a time
web from which release is not desirable. Such is the balmy
calm of the place, the quiet and the green of the woods that
seem to transform the most strident noises into gentler sounds.
FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION
Tucked away amidst these stalls are any numbers of hotels.
Some of these are simple lodges, while a few up the hill are
luxury places. The Regal Hotel at one end of the bazaar is
the quintessential Gujarati eatery. Large gleaming thalis
filled with sweet fragrant kadi, bajra rotla and ghee, dal
and undhiyo. Waiters drift around on padded feet, refilling
your glass of chas while carved murals in wood exude an ethnic
charm. As one goes up the hill, one comes to Scott Bungalow;
that is part of the MTDC Holiday Resort, and is a carryover
from British times. A sprawling, old-fashioned bungalow, its
rooms are let independently to guests. The rooms are large
with high ceilings, quaint long-stemmed fans and spacious
verandahs. Why is it that in Matheran, you think only the
pleasantest thoughts, people have been known to wonder aloud.
Perhaps it is because as you recline in your verandah, ancient
trees with spreading branches rest quietly with you, and you
are reassured of the sweetness of life and the continuity
of things.
HOW TO REACH
The nearest airport is Bombay (Mumbai), around 100 km away.
From Mumbai, one can take a local train to Neral, where a
tiny toy train waits to take people to Matheran. Mumbai to
Neral takes around two hours, while the toy-train journey
takes an hour and a half. Mumbai to Neral is around 90 km,
while Neral to Matheran is 21 km.
WHERE TO STAY
MTDC Holiday Resort, Royal Hotel (5 km from the station),
Rugby Hotel (about 3 km from the station) are some hotels
providing comfortable accommodation at Matheran.
WHAT TO SEE
There are numerous viewpoints like Chouk, Panorama, Garbut
Point, Louisa, Echo, etc., in Matheran.
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