Kanheri Hills Near Thane

Kanheri Hills is a part of the Sanjay Gandhi National park and it houses an

important Airforce station. The entry is restricted and hence most of the forest

is devoid of human activity. Good for the fauna and flora. It is supposed to

contain more than fifty leopards and nine thousand deers and Nilgai. I had an

opportunity recently to accompany a group of defence personnel to the top

of the hills. 

We went up the hill in the jeep and it was a wonderful experience. It was raining

throughout the day but my luck held and there was a break of a few hours in

the afternoon when we went to the hills. There was no need to take out our

umbrellas. 

A commonly found plant on the hill 

The Air force means business. No prosecution. Intruders to be shot !!

A pond formed in the path of a stream. Supposed to be home for a few crocodiles. 

Path leading to the top of the hill

A view of the mist covered hill range

Clear water rock crab. Available in large numbers on the hill. I recorded its movement and feeding too but it is a pain posting video in the blog. 

Another very common plant 

Single lane track leading to the top of the hill

The stream 

It was a nice drive up the narrow, slippery path leading to the top and I rarely

get an opportunity to traverse through an area which has no human presence

whatsoever.

But it was a pity that though the forest is said to be consisting more than fifty

leopards and nine thousand deers and nilgai, all we got to see was a lot of mist,

foliage and plenty of rock crabs. One particular crab posed nicely for my camera

and demonstrated its moving and feeding. I think that it ate a piece of decaying

leaf but am not sure. 

During our return I managed to coax one of the officers of our group to walk with

me on the road for some distance and also take a detour to visit a small seasonal

waterfall. I have posted some pictures with captions, mostly to record my visit to

the hills. 

Vile Parle - A window view

 I have just had my lunch and am sitting on the swing in front of the window of

the third floor apartment of my host in Mumbai.

The window overlooks the busy traffic junction in the middle of Vile Parle, Mumbai

and while watching the scene outside my window, I am tempted to imitate my

favourite author Ruskin Bond describing the scene outside his famous window.

I am unaffected by the traffic, the hustle and bustle and also the drizzle ! Mini

trucks and cars wait for the signal to turn green and auto rickshaws and scooters

try to manoeuvre their vehicles to the front. A street dog tries to cross the road

but turns back after almost getting run over by an autorickshaw. In the process of

reaching the front of the crowd, a scooterist brushes a car and there seems to be

an argument. The other road users put the fire out and traffic snails it’s way

past the signal. 

The mini truck of the sandwich wala is covered by blue plastic protecting him and

his customers from the continuous drizzle. I am unable to see his activities -

which according to my hosts is worth watching.

Crows sit on the high electric wires un disturbed by the happenings underneath

and look out for a bite of lunch. I am lucky to be having a full stomach, thanks to

my excellent hosts and as I write this, my eyes are tending to close and I  prefer

to stop typing and doze !