Dam it! in Selaulim

What would be your reaction if you planned a trip, charted the route, packed the essentials and drove two hours to a breathtaking view, only to find security guards who say, NO CAMERAS ALLOWED… well yes… Dam it! Ironically, it was the Selaulim dam that was the target this time. 🙂

Thanks to digital camera technology (and cell phone cameras), I did manage to get a few shots from afar…

I read that the Selaulim dam ranks as one of the ten best dams in India… and not surprising. As we walked along the perimeter we were drawn towards a 10 meter high water spray.

It was the famed “duckbill spillway” of the Selaulim dam. Water that is released makes its way to over 50% of Goa’s population that includes Salcete, Marmagoa and Quepem Talukas.

Unable to brave too much of the scorching afternoon sun, we moved on… and took a short detour to another archaeological treasure — a ‘transplanted temple.’

The 11th century Mahadeva Temple is a little distance away from the Selaulim dam.

Originally located on the banks of the river Selaulim. The construction of the dam across the Selaulim river threatened the submergence of this temple hence it was systematically dismantled and reconstructed at this place with a similar topographical setting!

The triptych displays the complexity of reassembling a work of art — a couple of female devotees on either side of the door jamb, markings on every single stone of the sanctuary and the lintels and drains on the walls

We had spanned the ancient with the modern and it was time to return home.

What is HOPE?

Everything passes away — suffering, pain, blood, hunger, pestilence. The sword will pass away too, but the stars will still remain when the shadows of our presence and our deeds have vanished from the earth. There is no man who does not know that. Why, then, will we not turn our eyes towards the stars? Why?
– Mikhail Bulgakov, in The White Guard

HOPE
a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. (Wikipedia)

Hope for a better tomorrow… for a better today… The audacity of hope… false hopes…

And after the thousand words, here is the picture…

I submitted this for a contest titled ‘HOPE’, on the occasion of World Photography Day. (Contest details can be found here). The picture was of a little kid outside our house looking up at his mother. The moment itself was very touching…

Ajara via Anmod

There are some places where a single visit is not enough. You have to return to it again and again and discover it anew. Ajara is one such place for me.

Located just beyond the Amboli ghat it promises a relaxing drive and a weekend photo op. However, this time there was a roadblock in the plan! Amboli, was sealed off because of a landslide. There had to be another way.

Anmod! A ghat that I am not too familiar with loomed ahead. Challenge accepted!

So we went through Ponda, crossed the ridiculously narrow Khandepar bridge (which mind you is still NH 4A!) and gasped at the breathtaking sight before us!

Anmod! (literally translates as ‘the place with innumberable turns’)

The clouds look majestic and welcoming from a distance, but once you drive in them, it’s an altogether different story. With visibility just a few meters there was no option but to drive at a cautious 10 kmph.

Anmod comes alive in the monsoon with its range of waterfalls. Here was one such… that was free from the infestation of beer bottle wielding “tourists”… (I fail to understand why these hordes of tourists travel all the way up here only to create a drunken ruckus!)

Despite the ‘experienced’ navigator travelling with us, we did manage to lose our way… but it only meant cruising through idyllic villages such as these

Our first destination…

Ramtirth, is not much of a waterfall… but I like to call it the ‘Niagra’ of Ajara..;)

True to the definition of ‘water’ plant!

The river flows on bringing life and prosperity to the vast township around.

A very amusing set of crows, who braved the rain on this weather-worn tree.

The return trip had its own share of exciting sights! Take this rock for instance…

I wonder how long it will take for it to shift a little 😉

This was another sight that called for a closer inspection. The entire rock was strewn with flowers. Here today, gone tomorrow.

The weekend was over… the memories remain.

Will I make another visit to this place? Anytime!