2010: Tough, Old, and Standing ....

My maternal grandfather(Appa)'s ancestors came from a village, Korle,  in Kokan, much inland from the coast.  History is available, for  7 generations before my grandfather. 

We travelled to this place to pay our respects .

The house is situated away from  the road, sloping down into the rice fields below. Surrounded on three sides by wide green rice fields, and coconut and mango groves  in the distance, the house stands facing it all.  5 generations lived there. And the last 2 generations  moved to the big cities of Mumbai and Pune.  

Facing the rice fields, is the samadhi (memorial)  of the  person who is considered the  original ancestor, and everyday, a lamp is lit in an alcove at the memorial.

Something tough and resilient about the structure, that has seen ups and downs, good days, bad days, bad weather, torrential rains, , and possibly, hundreds of years before,  a full running house; there is even a lock hanging  above one of the doors.

Today,  it stands, watching it all,  completely overrun by the  greens....

(The above has been written for me by my mother.She had visited it,  first 52 years ago with my grandparents ,  and now with me,  and was able to explain the history to me)

Taken on Canon A530 point & shoot camera....

2010: The Kokan Road trip landscapes

The green of the land was as enchanting as the grey of the sea.... Further pictures from our Konkan road trip.

A view of the Konkan Railway that passes through very difficult terrain. The first major railway project after the British left. This is a view on the Pen - Mangaon stretch.

A View of Velneshwar village from the MTDC holiday home on the hill near the beach.

A typical road leading to the village, Nevre.

My paternal ancestors came from Nevre.....

En route to Ratnagiri on the newly opened coastal highway. The coconut and rice landscape between Nevre and where we were, on the hill. 

Is it true for people or houses?



Some old, simple and native....Some prosperous, modern and new....

(visiting the village from where my mother's ancestors came)

A typical view from the mountain roads in Konkan.....The undulating green Konkan landscape and a river sneaking by....











Click to see  Konkan in all its monsoon glory.......

2010: Kokan Monsoon clicks and sounds

Road Trip to Kokan during the monsoon of 2010. All these pictures are taken at various beaches of Guhaghar, Velineshwar and  Ganapatipule.

The sea looks different during the monsoon and these are not taken in B/W. This is how the sky and ocean actually looked. With a roaring wind.........

Driving on hilly terrain above the coastline. A view of the native village at Velneshwar.

Ganapatipule beach wave games......

The mountains along Kokan coastline have thousands of these waterfalls.

Click below to hear the sounds of the monsoon waves :