Crossing the pipes

If you come up to the terrace of our hostel and look towards north, the first thing you will notice is a series of five parallel pipes. Those pipes lie just beside the wired fence of our hostel. Huge in size, those sky blue colored pipes carry water from Vihar lake and supply that to a huge portion of Mumbai population. Just behind those pipes there is this lively locality called Chancawalli.

Yes, it is the same place that reminded me of my hometown long ago. It is the same place where band parties practice each evening. It is the same place we visited for the Urus Festival. Although this place is just behind our hostel, to reach there the formal way is all the way around Powai lake. Why can't we just go there directly?

May be we can. Five of us started investigating. Finally we entered the beautifully kept and protected lawn of our hostel through a secret side passage. In a shabby and dark corner of this lavish green lawn there was the rabbit hole. We crept in.

And one by one, we were out. It was 6:30 in the evening. Fishermen in the Powai lake were packing up with fresh fishes in their collection. There was a narrow walking path running side by side insti fence. We went ahead. In five minutes we reached the pipes.

The pipes were huge; as tall as me. How to climb? We started walking forward. Then someone found the ladder to reach a manhole. We climbed up and started walking on the pipes towards Bhandup. I had seen localities jump from one pipe to another at ease. But for us it was unimaginable. Pipes were round and if by chance you slip, something or other in your body will break.

Night was falling in. Some part of our mind was telling us to go go back. We had heard people talking about this place. They say this is not a very safe place to be at night. All types of crimes are abundant. Although we saw no evidence, if someone kills you and throws between two pipes, nobody will find your body before next morning. Besides, we could not find any way to cross the pipes. And towards front as well as towards back, the pipes were endless. We came down at the next manhole.

But there was a portion of our brain, that kept telling us to move on and we did not stop. And after 10 minutes or so, we found a platform and a ladder. We went up and found that the platform joins the three of the pipes. But the fourth one had to be crossed some other way. Between the fourth and the fifth pipe, there is pipeline road. And I had seen an underpass to cross the fifth one. Hence, our final hurdle was this fourth pipe. We reached the third pipe using the platform and then again started going forward until we found a ladder in the fourth one. We dropped down and one by one climbed the ladder. Finally we were in the pipeline road. It was 8:00 pm in the night. And it was still not a safe place to be. We had decided not to go back in the same route. Hence the only way forward was through the pipeline road towards Renaissance Hotel.

The pipeline road ends near the entrance of NITIE. And there is a check post of Mumbai Corporation there. Should we really be here. We must have better excuses. Thankfully they did not ask anything from us. Finally we reached the spot of the Urus Festival, by foot.

And our journey continued. This time we took the road (public road this time) beside NITIE hostels and then Vihar Lake Road. When we looked down, we could see the locality beside Aarey Powai Road. Then we reached the bus depot. Just after the Bus Depot, there is the entrance of Vihar Lake.

Did we reach Vihar Lake? Wow! We could not believe this. But sadly enough, the entry to the park was restricted by the Mumbai Corporation. After all Vihar Lake supplies drinking water to a large portion of Mumbai. The guard stopped us. But we kept requesting. I don't know what worked finally, but after a lot of persuasion he allowed us to go inside on condition that we will not go beyond his eyesight.

Then we came face to face with the vast beauty. Vihar Lake at night. Deep jungles of Sanjay Gandhi National Park were in the opposite side. Evening breeze was curving patterns in the dark water. We stood still in the mesmerizing vastness for a long time. On the other side of where we were standing, there was a cliff and below there was jungle. Deep jungle.

We took a bus from the depot to come back.

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Disclaimer: Although the places mentioned in this post is real, the event not necessarily. Trying to correlate this post with reality is simply a waste of time.