Velas ! The village of turtles!

This summer we wanted to go someplace peaceful and serene. Far from the rush and bustle of Pune; a place where we could lie back and enjoy the rare spectacle of a star-studded sky. Some research on the Internet, and voila we found the perfect place – Velas!

Velas is a quiet little village on the West coast of Maharashtra, about 194kms from Pune.  The journey from Pune to Velas is interesting enough! Lush ghats, hairpin turns, and a sprinkling of lakes make it a pleasant journey indeed. It boasts of a beach, a fort and marshy mangroves. But perhaps its claim to fame is the turtle! Olive Ridley turtles deposit their eggs on the Velas beach, and in time the little baby turtles must make their journey into the sea! A local NGO – Velas Kasav Mitr Mandal cares for these eggs and releases the hatchlings into the sea.

March and early April is the time these eggs hatch. The NGO representatives release the eggs on the beach in the evenings. The moment the turtle sets its foot on the beach, it scurries towards the sea, like a clockwork toy! Their first waddle is truly an incredible sight to see, an almost spiritual experience.

We spent our evening at the beach with the turtles. We watched the sunset, had some cooling homemade lemonade sold by the beach and headed home. The village offers a unique home-stay experience, and we were put up with a very sweet, friendly lady, Pratibha Tai. A homely dinner of vegetable curry, chapattis, rice, fried prawns, and yummy delectable modaks completed our day! Our host, Pratibha Tai, even taught us to make perfectly serrated artistic modaks! (Who knew modak-making was so difficult!). We even had cashew-fruits and jackfruit from their garden!

After dinner we sat in the backyard, beneath the stars and amidst the trees. The regular rhythm of the slumbering sea formed a beautiful background score to our hear-to-heart conversations. It was a perfect day!

The next day we visited Bankot fort and creek, which is just about 4kms away from Velas. The fort, although a small one, has an interesting bit of history to it! It was the 52^nd fort to be added to the empire of the great king Shivaji. Hence the name Bankot (a corruption of ‘Bavann-Kot’) means 52^nd fort.

All in all a glorious way to spend a short weekend! Turtle hatchlings, crumbling forts and the mighty sea – I definitely loved it!