This year, Vanvadi celebrates her 20th Vanutsav (forest festival) as a four-day Sangeet (music) Vanutsav.
It’s a glorious season at Vanvadi – a lush, collectively regenerated forest with brimming water bodies and flowing streams – in the Sahyadri foothills, 95 km from Mumbai. (See www.vanvadi.in for more information, including directions and Google Maps location of ‘Vanvadi Forest’)
The Vanvadi Vanutsav is a multi-generational, self-organized, open agenda gathering … ‘Celebrating Nature and Community’. The ethos is of collective sharing of talents and creativity; also of work and responsibility. Participants themselves volunteer to conduct or facilitate workshops, activities, discussions, … People are free to join whatever they like.
This year, there will also be much singing and music through the day. Following an early dinner, there will again be singing, music, dance till 11 pm around a wood-fire in our forest circle.
Requested Contribution (including food & shared accommodation):
We request a contribution of Rs 4,500 per person for 4 days; Rs 4,000 for 3 days; and Rs 3,000 for 2 days (minimum). Nothing for children below 5 years, and 50% for children between 5 and 10 years. (There must be at least one adult accompanying each child.)
Our Vanvadi Community House can offer shared accommodation for the first 20 people who register and pay. Those who register late may need to bring their own tent. Or sleep out in the open – if the skies are clear.
WhatsApp Contacts:
1) Bharat – 9967371183;
2) …
3) … (adding soon!)
Registration Link:
Bank A/c for Payment:
Account Name: Bharat Mansata & Rashmi Palkhivala,
Savings Account Number: 99380100005894
Bank of Baroda, Peddar Road Branch, Mumbai 400026,
IFSC No. – BARB0DBPEDD (The fifth character is a zero)
What to bring:
An umbrella or rain jacket; sleeping bag, or at least 2 sheets; change of clothes, including anything you would like to swim or splash in. And of course, any musical instrument you play! (Please try to avoid bringing – or carry back – non-degradable plastics/foil.)
Caution:
The big rock pool is over 18 ft deep and strictly for swimmers only. For others, please restrict yourself to the shallow, downstream zones, about 2 to 5 ft deep.
Program for Dussehra, 2nd Oct:
9.30 am: Breakfast, self-introductions
10 am onward: Decoration of puja area with flowers, leaves and natural materials collected from the forest; followed by a traditional, adivasi style celebration of Dussehra, including singing, dancing and exchange of ‘sona’ (apta) leaves, symbolizing wishes for good health, happiness and prosperity.
1 pm: Lunch
3.30 pm: guided forest walk through the Vanvadi forest.
Evening: free time for swimming, splashing, strolling, chatting …
7 to 8 pm: Dinner, followed with more singing and music around a wood fire in the forest circle.
Oct 3,4 & 5:
Multiple sessions offered by participants. You are welcome to volunteer a session or two when you register; or after you arrive.
Some sessions volunteered so far:
Land regeneration
Natural health and healing
Natural farming
Vegetable Gardening
Swimming)
Yoga
Creating a harmonious land-based community …
(Post breakfast, we generally have a half hour session with all participants — to plan and coordinate the day’s work and schedule. Post dinner too, we try to have a short sharing circle.)
By Car: From Karjat, we recommend that you cross the bridge over Ulhas river and take the Karjat-Murbad Road . At Kashele, turn left towards village Vare/Ware. After driving 7-8 km, you will pass a multi-coloured temple on your right. Then just before Vare village, you will see a hand-pump on your left, and a kuchha road just beside it. Turn left here, and drive about 1.5 km till you see a small sign that says (in Hindi) ‘Vruksha Mandir, Vanvadi’. Drive a little beyond till you cross a culvert, immediately after passing the ‘Whispering Woods’ clearance with a few houses. Here, on your right, you would see our Vanvadi sign painted on a wheel-shaped rock embedded in the ground. (Look out for it!) Enter and carefully drive a few hundred metres down this earthen track till you see a small gate and spot our stream-side community house across the large rock pool.
By Train:
From Mumbai: The nearest railway station is Neral (of Matheran fame) on the Central Railway. All the Karjat bound local trains from Mumbai stop here. The Deccan Express from CST to Pune also stops here; but you may need to buy a Rs 75 ticket upto Lonavla. This train starts from CST at 7 am. It halts at Dadar, Thane, and Kalyan, reaching Neral at 8.35 am. The Koyna Express that starts from CST at 8.40 am also halts at Dadar, Thane, and Kalyan, reaching Neral at 10.15 am. At Neral station, exit from the extreme rear end of the platform (towards Mumbai), and walk 5 minutes towards the Neral bus stand. Just before the bus stand, you will find the parking lot for the auto-drivers from Vanjarpada, Devpada and Chinchwadi villages. They all know Vanvadi well, and would charge Rs 250 to bring you (maximum 4 people) right into our Vanvadi forest, close to our community house. (The distance is about 10 km from Neral, and 3 km beyond Devpada.)
Auto Drivers at Neral:
Kiran: 7767065464
Narayan Bua: 9921943656
Sanjay: 7775929912
Sonia: 7507091548
Train from Pune: Take any long distance train from Pune to Mumbai that halts at Karjat; but buy your ticket upto Neral. Get down at Karjat, and catch a Mumbai bound local train from the opposite side of the same platform. (Neral is the second stop after Karjat. Travellers on long-distance trains are allowed board Mumbai local trains the same day.) From Neral station, walk towards the Neral bus stand. As bus frequency is still poor, prefer an auto as stated above. If you find a bus to Ware village waiting at Neral bus stand, this would cost you only Rs 25 or 30. (Ware is about 2 km from Vanvadi.)
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