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An initiative by tribal community is looking for sustainable means of livelihood by turning their indigenous art into tattoos.

A youth group from the tribal hamlets of Jawhar is using Warli body tattoos to draw attention to native art and boost tourism

What is the best way to build a bond between your colleagues you ask? Take an adventure with them and explore the answers along the journey. You will be surprised to know how much one has got to offer outside the formal office setting. One such experience I had was during our team trek to Jawhar Hill Station in Palghar District, Maharashtra. It was a perfect monsoon getaway to boost everyone’s morale and to look forward to new opportunities as a team. The trip instilled great amount of peace and restored our strength and zeal.

A team of early birds!

The journey began on the road before the sun had risen. Little did I know that the camaraderie we shared was going to increase by many folds by the end of this trip. Our accommodation was in Prakriti Agro Farm. I felt an instant connection with the homelike environment of the resort. Ritu says, “I’m glad we spent time in nature, rather than some concrete jungle”.They provided great hospitality and food which was local to the city. Everything prepared was organic with farm fresh ingredients. It was a lovely experience to enjoy the food and relax amid the sounds of rustling leaves, cool breeze and the rustic smell of the Earth.

Putting the right foot forward, together!

After an energizing lunch, we set out to visit the majestic Dabhosa Waterfalls. It is one of the highest waterfalls in India, measuring 300ft. and the trek to the waterfall is a challenging one. The steep walk was bumpy, rough and tough. The path was covered with rocks of various dimensions and forms. As always, the team was excited about a new challenge and everyone was keeping a lookout for one another. The magnificent waterfall was awaiting our arrival; every team member came to each other’s rescue and aid. The witty jokes and words of encouragement helped us reach the destination quickly by eliminating most of the challenges in our way. The waterfall took my breath away and sharing that moment with the whole team made it extra special.

Stars, Communication and Games!

The time at the waterfall flew by. I discovered new things about each other – who likes to take risks, who likes to compete about who reaches first, who knows the names of the trees we were crossing and who will slow down to give company to a tired team member.

Back at the resort, the sky shone with clusters of stars, the wind whistled, the fireflies danced with a spark of their own. This perfect setting called for an interaction session wherein we individually spoke about our experience so far. I was intrigued while listening to everyone’s insights and inputs. We concluded by promising to invest in a healthy mind, body and soul. Pranav says, “It was the best team building and bonding exercise. Awesome location and delicious food and the most enthusiastic group of people, what does one need more?”

We decided to play games to test our social skills and cognitive abilities. A communication game which involved imitating each others’ actions, tested our ability to carefully observe and remember the actions of our teammates. It depicted how crucial communication is to every decision making the process at the workplace. Even though the take-away was a serious one, the game itself was hilarious and had everyone in splits till their stomachs hurt. Later, we divided ourselves into two groups to play dumb charades. It was interesting to see everyone possessing distinct qualities to come together and work as a team. It enabled us to test our social quotient with one another under stipulated time. Mukta says, “I was overjoyed to see everyone bond, encourage each other to get out of their comfort zone”.

It’s a wrap!

Next day, our plans included visiting a village, having local food and trying our hand at Warli painting. Warli Painting is a tribal art which originated from cities of the Sahyadri region, Jawhar being one. The walls of houses were decorated with intricate designs, representing seasons, festivals, nature, wildlife etc. It was awe-inspiring to witness our guides describe everything about their town and way of life. I could see the pride in their eyes as they narrated their stories. The locals live a challenging life but their smiles and joy said otherwise. Nature helps them to survive and thrive.

As we returned to our homes, each one of us felt happy and satisfied to be a part of a team that sticks together. Now we are back to work with a refreshed mind that is bubbling with ideas and solutions.  I can’t wait to have more adventures with my fearless team!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Road trips are a different kind of therapy, however, they are addictive. After a weekend getaway to Dapoli, I was tempted to take another adventure. I was planning something for 15th Feb weekend ( for the love of nature and outdoors) and everything fell in place.

Why Jawhar & How this plan?

I wanted to explore Jawhar from quite some time, however, I am so busy moving out of the state, that I haven’t explored Maharashtra fully. This year I am planning to explore more nearby places.

One morning I got a comment on Instagram from Deepali aka Albatraoz_stories that my travel stories are amazing and I am an inspiration for others. Well, that definitely made me feel good and I checked her profile, got impressed and followed back. She’s a bike rider documenting her explorations and journey to happiness. After some time I saw her story about Jawhar. That picture was with a waterfall and I was curious if that was a recent picture and she immediately confirmed the same. My next step was to connect with Jawhar Tourism and finalize my plan.

The people at Jawhar Tourism are prompt and super-friendly. Vaibhav got in touch with me and helped me finalize my plan, suggested which driving route to take and took our food preferences as well. I usually don’t wait for the company, however, my 2 girlfriends Sharanya and Pragya were willing to join. Girls’ day out on a Valentines day weekend 😉

Chalo Jawhar:

We decided to start at 10 am. It’s approximately a 4-hour drive from my place to the Jawhar Tourism office. We took the Ghodbunder road and NH48 route as the roads are good, and I am used to driving on GB road as my previous workplace was almost at the end of Thane’s GB road. The route is very familiar till Hotel Fountain. The fun starts when we take the right from there, continue on the NH48 and after crossing Vasai-Virar. I usually take my car out towards Panvel, so the drive seemed refreshing with view of hills and greenery around us. We took a lunch break around Ghol at a Dhaba as after that we leave the NH48 and enter Dahanu- Jawhar Road.

Dahanu-Jawhar Road is a treat to the eyes, a lot of times “Countryroads…” played in the background in my head. It felt good to finally hit the country roads. The road is surrounded by trees and well maintained as well.

As soon as we entered Jawhar, we were greeted by the statue of Maharaj Yeshwantrao Mukne, the last ruler of Jawhar. We missed the turn for the Jawhar Tourism office and realized that we were on Hanuman mandir road. I recollected that Hanuman Mandir was a viewpoint and thus continued even though Google maps kept on saying to take a U-turn. We halted for some time, enjoyed the view and clicked a few pictures there.

Jawhar Tourism:

After a short detour, we reached the Jawhar Tourism office, a small shop surrounded by beautiful Warli paintings, artwork and handicraft products made by Warli tribe. We met Shubham and Nutan mam there. Shubham was our host for the event, and Nutan mam joined us for the camping. We finished the formalities and began our journey towards the campsite. Well, we had no idea that the campsite was 10 km away from the tourism office, and that it would be such an amazing ride.

Reaching the Campsite village, Dhapar Pada:

We had to follow Vaibhav as he led with his bike and Nutan joined us in the car. We got to know that we were the only group for camping that night. That made us happier and we were like Private Camping yay! We crossed Jai Sagar Dam and Sunset point, which are the two main viewpoints of Jawhar. Thanks to Nutan she kept on sharing information with us.

The roads became narrower and greener as we followed Shubham; with every turn adding to the excitement. We crossed green patches, villages and finally reached the village where we were to camp. We parked my vehicle, and as soon as we got down the first thing we observed the beautiful Warli art on one of the houses. Then we saw a house with a notice on it, which read – “Warli Painting Workshop”. We were excited to try our hand at Warli painting and to interact with the locals.

Warli Paiting Workshop:

We entered the house, a clean minimalistic house with Warli paintings and were awed by the art. Kalpesh introduced himself and we bombarded him with questions about the paintings. All the paintings were made by him. We settled and our workshop started. It was fun understanding the motifs but what was more fun was to interact with them and understand the culture. We did not realize and it was one hour already, around 5:30 pm. My mind was getting distracted by that time as a wanted to watch the sunset I finished the painting and went out for a walk. Once we all completed our paintings and clicked pictures, we proceeded towards the campsite.

Sunset, Chai and Photography:

With Khadkhad Dam on one side surrounded by hills and trees, the campsite looked beautiful. The Golden hour had started, so we just kept our bags in the tents and went a little ahead. The sunset was mesmerizing, we dipped our feet in the water and watched the sunset. It was that kind of moment when you feel like putting a pause button on time. All our tiredness or worries were left behind and all we had was that beautiful moment.

There are few adjectives that can rightly describe Sahyadri and Western Ghats in monsoon. While it is beautiful all year long, monsoon enhances its natural beauty to a sublime degree.

I got a chance to visit Jawhar recently, a quaint little tribal hill station in Maharashtra. It is known as one of the places to receive highest rainfall in the state and for its Warli paintings.

It is a village in tribal district of Palghar, in northern Maharashtra. It has 95% tribal population, with 30–40 types of tribes. They are deeply rooted to their culture, and exist in harmony with nature.

The journey to this rustic getaway was filled with greenery soothing our eyes. Paddy fields on either sides of road, dotted with tribal settlements, showed us a slow and scenic village life.

The final stretch was winding ghats, through green forests, and the temperature began to drop steadily.

I first came across Jawhar when I was nine. My parents had one of their government offices there, and needed to report to a superior officer regularly. They’d tell us about how beautiful and unexplored the place is, about how their office was adorned with Warli paintings on the inside as well as outside. They even took us for a visit there! It was intriguing for us children to walk in a palace so old and see the possessions owned by the kings back in the day — their furniture, cribs, bathtub and piano! My favourite memory is that of walking through endless cashew nut plantations leading to the palace, and getting drenched in rain while watching the green valley at Hanuman point.

History

The region of Jawhar was ruled by Mukane dynasty from 14 thcentury. In their heyday, they ruled the region spreading from Silvassa in the north, to Bhiwandi in the south. Jawhar was always a part of Maratha empire and later became a part of the Bombay Presidency during the British rule.

Jai Vilas palace

This architectural heritage has a distinct charm, and is made in pink stone. Also called Raj Bari, it is located on a hill top, with view of hill ranges around.

The old palace is in ruins, and the new palace was made in 1940 and has 80 rooms. It is a nice experience to walk around the palace, which is nestled in 500 acres of cashew nut plantation.

The walls of the palace are adorned with paintings of king Yashwant Rao Mukne, his sons and wife.

We were shown the darbar, king’s and queen’s rooms, their children’s room which have wooden toys, and a telescope. Queen’s room had most furniture like bed, chairs, and tables in the shape of lotus.

The king no longer resides here. He stays in Pune and keeps visiting the place, the caretaker informed us. It is now rented out for film and TV show shooting.

(In picture: Jai Vilas palace)

Waterfalls and Dams

Perhaps most famous for its waterfalls, Jawhar has plenty of them, namely Dabhosa, Kalmandvi, Domzira and Hiradpada

It also has beautiful dams like Jaisagar dam and Khad-khad dam, which draw many nature enthusiasts.

The most famous tourist attraction here is Dabhosa waterfall. The flow in the waterfall is astounding. It cascades down from a height of 300 feet, into a crater shaped bowl. The view of water rushing through dense forests and forming the waterfall is glorious!

(In pictures: Dabhosa waterfall, Khad-Khad dam, Kalmandvi waterfall — picture sourced from internet)

Hanuman point

Spending time at Hanuman Point was definitely refreshing! It has dense green valleys on three sides, with view of sheep grazing leisurely at a distance. Katya Maruti temple welcomed us to this place and the palace is visible on the right side amid greenery.

Shirpamal

The place has a panaromic view of the surrounding area.

It is an ancient structure on top of the tallest hill, with a commemorative plaque inside describing Shivaji’s visit here. Shivaji Maharaj had camped with his army in Jawhar en-route Surat, and the king of Jawhar had welcomed him and put a feather in his crown.

(In picture: Shirpamal)

Warli painting

We made our way back to the village, where most houses had beautiful Warli paintings on their walls and doors. We were taken to an artisans’s house, who not only showed us his beautiful Warli art collection made on cloth, but also generously taught us some basics of Warli paintings.

Famous for its vibrant Warli art, Jawhar is one of the few remaining tribal regions in Maharashtra. These artworks are themed around scenes from daily life like farming, fishing to celebrations like marriage, Tarpa dance and rainfall. My favorite is the one showing a peacock dancing in rain!

They are now made on other articles like coasters and bags as well, for the purpose of sale as souvenirs.

(In picture: Warli painting workshop)

Bhopatgad fort

It is a small fort on the outskirts of Jawhar. It was made during Shivaji Maharaj’s rule, and was used to hold formal meetings.

A popular legend about the fort is Lord Ram, with wife Sita, and his sons Luv and Kush visited this place, and four smooth rocks with four pair of foot prints are believed to be theirs.

Bohada festival

The famous Bohada is a mask festival of the tribal community in Thane and Nasik district, which happens in the month of April-May each year. It has celebrated with a display of individuals wearing 52 masks of Indian Gods and Goddesses, giving performances in a procession. The purpose of Bohada is so pay homage to village Gods and Goddesses, for creation and sustaining of life.

Jawhar is not just a land of lush greenery and beautiful waterfalls, but also rich culture. The tribal communities here have preserved their culture and traditions well. The efforts of local villagers to promote tourism and safeguard their culture are commendable. During our visit here, they offered us mouth-watering home cooked breakfast of poha, upma, egg bhurji and tea. My suggestion would be to spend more than one day here to soak in its homely vibe.

If you’ve read so far, thank you very much for your time.