African Baba's "Cave Ashram" Atop The Mountain Outside of Karad--Part 1

 On the way up the mountain in the rickshaw, Swamiji told the driver to stop at a large, outdoor market in a village on the way. Sadly, it was dark--nightfall by then--so I didn't get any photos. But I was simply AWED by the great variety--and quality--of produce being sold there. Since I told him I had really been missing a good amount of veggies on my journey, he purchased armloads of them--way too much for the two of us, but who was I to stop him?! A practiced bargainer, he got terrific deals on the produce (and of course being Indian and speaking the language certainly helped!) 

Swamiji has a strange sense of time...or rather, lack of it! When he says something will take a certain amount of time, it is safe to assume the ACTUAL time will be about double what he claims! This was true of getting to the caves, and this was ALSO true of going up the mountain to his "ashram". He said it would take about 45 minutes... it took closer to 90, not including the shopping trip. I became more anxious as time went on, since I was hoping to arrive at his mountain abode in time to teach an online lesson. No such luck...and as I quickly learned, it was best to forego such attempts altogether when traveling anywhere with him!

In any event, we arrived at the mountain top fairly late. It became immediately apparent that we were in a VERY rustic, out-of-the-way village. The first villagers we met lived in a basic, concrete house... a very simple-yet-practical structure.  This was to be the case of ALL the village homes on this moutain top. 

After greeting the village "chief" there, we made our way to his "ashram". 

I keep putting this term in quotes for good reason: it was not like any ashram I had been to before or had any experience of. To wit: it was in a very simple, 3 room building, made of concrete and with a corregated tin roof, just like the rest of the buildings in this village (and in EVERY country village of India I have seen to date!) It was white, with brightly painted doors and windows...something Manakshi Giri had suggested that they do to beautify the place! It stood by itself, apart from the rest of the village by about 300 meters. Apparently, it had been built to be the community center/library/town hall of the village, but for whatever reason, this plan never came to fruition. So...it stood empty for years, becoming run-down, neglected...until Swamiji paid a visit. Then, because he is generally much beloved wherever he goes, he was gifted with this building. Besides being a base in which to create his ashram, he felt that it would also serve as the headquarters for his "Save The Caves" campaign. (An important aspect of this location is the fact that more ancient caves exist on this mountain, close to the village, and Swamiji is adamant about preserving and protecting them.)

Swamiji fixed up a "bed" for me, which consisted of a pile of blankets he had accumulated there, laid on the concrete floor and topped off with my precious air mattress (thank GOD I had the thing with me!!!). 

His bed was in the opposite corner of the same room, with only one blanket between him and the concrete floor, and another--very thin--one for a covering. But, after all, he was a wandering sadhu, and even to be within walls was somewhat of a luxury for him! 

The rest of the space consisted of a defunct kitchen--being used as a storage area for all manner of dusty junk--and a bathroom (well, actually 2 separate spaces: one small room for the standard hole-in-the floor toilet, and another for bathing.) 

There was NO running water-- the water had to be hauled over--in large pots--from the central village well. There was no DRINKING water, except that which came from the same well, and which of course had to be boiled vigorously before I could drink it. Bathing was done with buckets (no problem for me--I am used to this by now, and actually find this method more refreshing than a shower!). It was....well, pretty crude, to say the least!

And my lessons?!? Forget about it. I tried to use my hotspot from my cellular data...it failed miserably. No surprise that, in such a remote place, there weren't any cell towers near by! 

Still, it was an amazing place to land. There was NO traffic whatsoever. Sure, people had a few cars in this tiny village, but there was no road that went through to anywhere, so no cars at all traveling anywhere except down the mountain, and then generally only in the daytime. The moon was almost full and very bright... quite incredible. The air was pretty good up there... albeit, very dry. It was also so windy that a wind energy company had installed dozens of windmills on this mountain top...completely incongruous with the primitive setting of this village. 

The next two days up there with the swami were quite an adventure... so, to be continued!!!

Sunrise, the next morning, coming up onto the moutain plateau, silhouetting a windmill.
The mountain top, once rich with farmland, has gradually became more barren as the younger generations migrated to the cities to seek more income and modernization. This happens everywhere in India now, and the die-hards in the small villages scrounge what business they can to survive, still tending modest patches of farmland when feasible. I neglected to ask Swamiji how these people here earn a living... didn't see ANY farmland up here, only buffalo... oh, and goats. 

Yep, this is it: the "ashram"-- a small, single building with 3 rooms...only one of which is actually in use at the present time! 

Next morning: view looking down into the valley below. Hazy, but still not bad... 

More windmills, looking the other direction. Low-lying scrub brush and small trees make up the vegetation on the mountain top. I suggested to Swami that he seriously think about planting some more--and taller--trees, to add greenery and block the dust and wind!