Matheran Next?

Arun Patil

Arun Patil has just returned from an eventful weekend at Matheran – a popular hill station barely 100km from Mumbai on the Western Ghats. He left last Sunday morning, around 8:00 and after a leisurely two-hour drive, followed by an hour-long trudge up the hill, was there before noon. “We booked rooms on the spot, had good homely food cooked by a local family and after a relaxed overnight stay, drove back to Mumbai on Monday morning,” he narrated.
The trip, as described by Arun, has revived interest in a Club picnic somewhere close-by – more so, to beat the heat in Mumbai. “The monsoon should descend within a fortnight,” Arun said. “At that time, Matheran will be heavenly. As it is, in this peak summer when I was there, it was very pleasant with a cool breeze blowing across right through the day.”

Nahid Khan seems to have already reached Matheran... mentally

He added that for those unable to take the eight kilometer trek up the hill, there was a train service, besides ponies and mules on hire.
Interesting as it may all sound, our biggest (and only) handicap is that we have no one to take this forward. None of us can claim the mobilising or persuasive skills of Shekhawat for organizing an excursion – even as it is long overdue and we can be well assured of an enthusiastic response. After all, it is more than a year since we last went on a weekend getaway or even a short one-day picnic in and around the city. But with Shekhawat at present recuperating from an open-heart surgery, involving him in this any time soon is absolutely out of question.
The other option, as Arun suggests, is to set out as a small cohesive group and leave it to the rest whether they would like to join – each on his/ her own. But that would be neither here nor there. Besides, here too someone has to take the initiative. As of now, many members are inclined to go but would rather wait and watch.
Harish Wadhwa:
* Arun-bhai, nice pose and picture too. You should put this picture on your email id.
* Nahid Khan-ji tried to strike the patented Shahrukh Khan pose, but ended up putting Khatoon-ji to discomfort (LOL).