Myths shattered at Diveagar ... !!

Diveagar is one of those places that I have always relied on for a good time. I have been there so many times that I have formed an alliance with lots of stuff connected to Diveagar. For example, the place to stay, the time to travel, the route, the place to eat, etc. All these myths were shattered this weekend.

I had been to Nagaon some time back and the road condition from Pune to Nagaon is extremely good. When I was going to Nagaon, I had seen a diversion towards Mahaad (this is not the Ashtavinayak destination). I knew that Mahaad is situated some way after Mangaon, a town from where the actual diversion of Diveagar is situated. I wondered if I can take this path on my next trip to Diveagar coz the original route for Diveagar (read Chandni Chowk - Mulshi - Tamhini - Nizampur - Mangaon - Diveagar) is frought with potholes and is capable of damaging the vehicle as well as some of your limbs. We opted for the Pune - Pimpri- Khandala - Khopoli - Pen - Nagothane - Kolad - Indapur - Mangaon - Diveagar route. It was close to 50 kms more than the Mulshi route but we reached Diveagar in less than 4 hours. I dont think I will be going from Mulshi unless I hear the road condition improves drastically.

We always thought that leaving from Pune at around 7 am is the ideal time if you are travelling to Diveagar. We had been to Goa 2 months back. We had started from Pune at 1 am at that time in order to reach Goa by 8 am. We tried this with Diveagar too. No, we didnt leave at 1 am. We left at 4:30 am and reached Diveagar at 8:25 am ... in time for some lip smacking Konkan breakfast.

Now that I am talking about food, another myth stands to be broken. I have always been fond of fish and prawns whenever I go to Konkan. I didnt battle an eyelid before deciding that I will have it at the residence of Mr Potnis. The lady there made amazing fish fry and prawns curry. For veg food, it was either Bapat or Kelkar. When we reached Diveagar, we went to Potnis and expressed our desire to have fish and prawns. We made it a point that we want only fish and prawns and that we didnt want rice, chapati, etc. We were told that they dont serve anything like ONLY FISH AND PRAWNS. They serve a Non veg thaali which has chapati rice, prawns curry and 2 pieces of fish. Thats hardly what you want if you are craving for fish and prawns. We vetoed the option of Potnis right there.

We walked towards the beach in search of a good Non-veg haven. We saw a board of SUNNY KHANAVAL. It is run by Mr Kshirsagar. We asked them for fish and prawns and they told us that they dont have any problem serving just fish and prawns. Plus, they also allowed us to have liquor (this decision of theirs was influenced by the fact that we were a family. They dont allow stags to booze). We were over the moon. But, will the taste be good? We asked them if we can taste a sample fish dish. The lady was extremely humble. She just asked us to give her 20 minutes and Bingo ... we were lapping up the most amazing Konkani fish fry. We told her that we will come in the night. Just for the information, a plate of Pomfret cost us Rs. 20 and a plate of Surmai cost us Rs. 30 (one plate consists of 2 pieces). A plate of prawns fry cost us Rs. 40. We ordered 20 plates of fish (they just had Pomfret in the night) and 5 plates of prawns. We needed some rice and chapati too since everyone was not fond on having LOTS OF FISH AND PRAWNS. They didnt charge us for the chapatis and papads. We were done in Rs. 500 (we asked them for a discount since we ate a lot). This is what we craved for and we got more than what we expected. The lady also told us that if we get fish and prawns ourselves ... she will cook it for us for only Rs. 90 irrespective of the amount of fish and prawns. Now we know what to do next time ;)

My brother-in-law has a pet Great Dane called Simba. We had not brought him with us coz the place where we stayed didnt allow us to get pets. Simba was at Pune and the neighbours were taking care of him. Whenever we saw a dog, we missed Simba. Hence, we kept asking at other places if they allow pets. We found 2 such places. One was Mr Kshirsagar himself but they are busy constructing 2 rooms. Currently, they dont have rooms for accomodation but once these 2 rooms are ready, they will allow pets. The other is Mr. Sanjay Patil. I will write down all numbers later in the piece.

During my visits to Diveagar, I stayed mostly at Mr Potnis' place. But he no longer allowed anyone to stay. Hence, we had booked 2 rooms at Mr Prasad Kelkar's place. This is not the famous Kelkar from Diveagar. The famous Kelkar is put up at a place called Saket. Insetad, Prasad Kelkar was a bit of a lottery. We didnt know anything about him or his place. But it turned out to be a fabulous experience.

For starters, they dont stay too far away from Potnis. In fact, its a 5 minute walk down from Potnis. Their place is called Shubham and is situated bang in front of the High school. They have a big parking space, capable of stacking atleast 5-7 cars (this is big in Konkan). There are 3 sets of 2 rooms each. Both rooms in each set are interconnected. But, there is door bisecting the 2 rooms. So, if you want just one room, you can always latch you side of the bisection. There are 3 bathrooms and 3 urinals. Both English and Indian style. There is provision of hot water right next to the bathrooms. Being a Brahmin family, the Kelkars have maintained top class cleanliness in their rooms. bathrooms, urinals as well as their Aangan. There is a huge dining area capable of hosting atleast a 50 people at one go. All this for Rs. 400 per day per room. There is a limit of 5 people per room. We found it very affordable especially with that kind of cleanliness. The food was typical Konkani veg food ... lip smacking. Another myth broken ... Bapat is not the only place where you get good veg food and Modaks. Prasad Kelkar has the potential to topple Bapat ... Yes ... this is being said by a person who still feels Bapat is the best place for Veg food in Diveagar. Some pics of the place ....



























On the flipside, there is not enough of a solid partition between the rooms ... in the sense that you can hear what people in the other rooms are speaking even if they are marginally loud. We were asked by one of our neighbours to calm down during midnight coz we were laughing out loud. Anywayz ...

Apparently, its a good feeling that the myths have been shattered in a good way. There will no longer be any dependency on anything in Diveagar.

The contact numbers are as follows:

Kelkar (Saket) - 02147 224242 (does not server lunch and dinner ... only breakfast ... but is renowned for the service they provide ... excellent accomodation)
Kshirsagar - 9421167304/9869850687 (this is the place where we had lots of fish and prawns ... if you are not going to make a lot of noise ... you can convince them to allow you to booze ... there is no accomodation as of now)
Potnis - 02147 224096 (this guy is very moody ... they dont allow u to stay there nowdays ... excellent non veg food ... but limited fish and prawns)
Prasad Kelkar - 02147 224279 (this is where we stayed ... excellent rooms and a very clean place ... excellent veg food and modaks )
Sanjay Patil - 9420837064 (accomodation as well as veg and non-veg food available ... allows pets)

The distance break up for the route we followed is as follows:

Pune - Khopoli - 80 kms
Khopoli - Pen - 30 kms
Pen - Nagothane - 25 kms
Nagothane - Kolad - 18 kms
Kolad - Indapur - 15 kms
Indapur - Mangaon - 10 kms
Mangaon - Mhasla - 27 kms
Mhasla - Diveagar - 18 kms

I have said so much about the myths that I almost forgot about the best surprise that we received. Dinesh and Prakash drove all the way on a bike to Diveagar to surprise us on our special day. They opted for the Mulshi route and suffered the after effects of that horrible road. But ... the cake, the T-shirts and the mugs that they gifted us with were priceless ... I am fairly convinced that it was the best gift that I have personally received. Thanks mates ... !!

I am now dead sure of my next plan to Diveagar ... Cheers ... !!