STANDING TALL, THE AGE DEFYING STRENGTH OF SAHYADRIS BEARS TESTIMONY TO THE FACT THAT THE WRATH OF NATURE COULD BE SERENDIPITY. THE CHARRING HEAT OF THE MAGMA THAT BLASTED THROUGH THE EARTH AGES

AGO AND DESTROYED THE THEN EXISTING BIODIVERSITY, NOW IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF INDIA - THE SAHYADRIS.

Western Ghatsand

SahyadrisAn Overview

Western Ghatsand

SahyadrisAn Overview

Text and photographs by Rohan R. Raofor soon to be launched adventure and travel magazine - An iVenturez Co.

The beauty that Sahyadri heraldsencompasses a wide domain ofsubjects ranging from natural

flora and fauna including some exquisiteherbs and rare species of wildlife.Beside the bio-diversity that it houses,the sky kissing heights of Sahyadrisplays an important role in the redirect-ing the potential of the torrential mon-soon winds. And ofcourse, one cannotforget the magnanimous role that it por-trayed in the Swarajya movement in theyesteryears - of course that is with a richhistorical perspective. Sahyadris is trulya sentinel of glory, a standing testimonyto the magic of nature, geology and his-tory.

The Western Ghats and the SahyadrisMany a times, Sahyadris and Western

ghats are exchanged for cross refer-ences. However, to be specific Sahyadriis just the northern part of WesternGhats. The Western ghat, as the namesuggests runs along the length of coast-line in a North-South direction and sep-arates the coastal plains of Konkanfrom the Deccan plateau. The westernghat runs across the states ofMaharashtra, Goa, Karnataka andKerala - including the ranges of Sahyadris, Nilgiris and Annamalairespectively. They cover an area of about 160,000 km² and stretch for

1,600 kilometers from the country'ssouthern tip in Kerala upto the Taptiriver basin of Gujarat in the north, withonly the Palghat gap in Kerala. Theentire length of the Western ghats alongwith the Srilanka has been labelled asone of 34 global biodiversity hotspots.

GEOLOGICAL ROLEAs the geography dictates, the ridge of

the western ghat runs in North-Southdirection and is flanked by the Easternand Western slopes. The eastern slopeof Western ghat (towards the Deccanplateau) is more gradual and of an easi-er gradient as compared to the westernslope, which is more or less a steep fallof thousands of metres into theKonkan plains. It is this steep gradientthat plays a very important role in therain showers in these parts. The steep

rise of these peaks from the Konkanplains prevents the monsoons windsfrom passing over and confines theheavy rains to Konkan, leaving easternparts of the plateau in relative rain shad-ow zones. The crest line receives maxrainfall where measurements vary from4,000 to 6,000 mm (with 80 percent ofit falling during the southwest monsoonfrom June to September). Lying in therain shadow, the eastern slopes of theSahyadris receive significantly less rain-fall, but the hills and favourable terrainserve as a critical catchment for keyeastern-flowing rivers such as theGodavari and Krishna. Whilst on theother hand, on the Konkan side theRivers run a very short course beforeemptying in the salinity of Arabian Sea.

The Sahyadris serve a crucial role inproviding nearby cities with a perennialwater supply. As we have in these parts- an eight-month dry season, it is thepresence of these forests andfavourable terrain to absorb and retainmonsoon rains and crucial role play bythese parameters is of utmost impor-tance to continue to cycle. Our com-mercial capital - Mumbai, more than anyother city, is completely dependent onreservoirs and catchment areas likeTansa, Vaitarna provided by theSahyadris. Other major hubs like Pune

2

Kalsubai with a height of 5400 feetis the highest peak in the entireSahyadri range i.e. Maharashtra andis one of the only three peaksabove 5000 feet in the state

Gorakshanath peak

and Nashik too benefit from the protection of the natural forests in thehills.

EXTENT AND GEOGRAPHYWestern Ghats is formed predomi-

nantly by the Saputara and Vindhyaranges extending in East-West directionand forming the northern limit; theSahyadris and Nilgiris running inNorth-South direction forms most ofits length and the Annamalai range inthe Kerala bordering the southern endof the ghats. Though the term'Sahyadris' is used interchangeably withthe description of the entire WesternGhats, it is more accurate to associatethe Sahyadris with the hills runningfrom the tri-junction of Goa, Karnatakaand Maharashtra northwards to the

Tapti River near the Gujarat border.The Sahyadri range is narrow, about

10-20 km. wide from east to west, andabout 640 km. long running along thelength of Maharashtra and some partsof Goa. As mentioned above, the west-ern face rises dramatically and verysteeply from the moist Konkan Coastwhile on the eastern flanks they fallmore gently into the expansive and arid(relatively; owing to the rain fall patterndictated by the topography) DeccanPlateau. The average height is roughly1,000 m. in the Sahyadris; Kalsubai nearNashik with a height of 1,646 m. beingthe highest peak in Maharashtra.

FORMATIONThe Sahyadri range and the entire

Western ghats is the result of the unin-hibited Volcanic activity - The largestand most severe form of Volcanismthat earth has witnessed, around 60 mil-lion years ago when the Indian platedrifted over a mantle hotpot on its wayto collide with the Asian plate. Well, thedisturbed activities of these plates andthe movements that eventually led tomagma burst had been the contributingfactor for the typical step ladder patterninnervating the slopes of the Sahyadrihills at regular intervals amidst patches

of vegetations. The basaltic origin ofthe black cliff lines is clearly evidentagainst the lush green of the Ghats.These steps or traps represent basaltflows that are the most dramatic rem-nants of the formation of the Deccan.In contrast, though the southern partsof the western ghat (Nilgiris and othersouthern ranges) are older formations.The difference in their ages and periodof formation is clearly visible in thestrikingly different topography. Notonly the southern ranges are loftier, butthey have gentler slopes and this has pri-marily been responsible for denser for-est cover on their slopes. While inSahyadris, most of the formations are'peaked' with cliffs and steep basaltfaces being a distinct feature.

FLORA AND FAUNAMostly, the rugged topography of

Sahyadris, except for the lush green dur-ing monsoons, adorn a golden yellowishhue of its soil and grass and black basaltwith sun baked deciduous shrubs.Evergreen forests do exist, but in patch-es, small enough to be inconspicuous inthe deciduous carpet. Evergreens occu-py the wet areas along the crestline ofthe Sahyadris and the Konkan belt.Konkan areas like Ratnagiri, Amboli in

3

Anaimudi peak in the Annamalai hill

of nearly twice that of the Kalsubaipeak

Salher - The highest hill fort in Maharashtra

in the western ghat with an altituderanges in Kerala is the highest peak

southern Maharashtra have goodamount wet evergreen forests and hosta range of typical rainforest species.Rising up to the crestline, on the plateauare the densities of Koyna Nagarforests. However, due to predominantlylying under a rain shadow zone exceptfor the crestline and Konkan belt, theseevergreen forests are in fragmentedareas and there are only a few largestretches of contiguous forest areas left.Drier areas further east have moist-deciduous and dry-deciduous scrubforests mixed in with grasslands wherethe soil is shallow and loose. The variedrainfall pattern and different soil condi-tions coupled with terrain irregularitiescater a wide variety of flora dispersed inthe entire ghats and plains, which isbeyond the scope of the discussion atthis point of time in this introductoryarticle.

Just to mention the variety - TheWestern Ghats is home to more than5000 species of flowering plants seg-mented across 2200 genera and 217families. More than one third of theentire floral is endemic.

Depending on the forest cover andrestricted habitat the faunal features of

the terrain differs markedly too.However, the present fauna thatSahyadri houses is no where near towhat it was a few decades back. Just tomention the dwindling numbers of'Bibtya' (Striped member of the Big Catfamily) and relative inconspicuousnessof the 'Shekhru' - sub species of theIndian Giant squirrel is alarming andstaring threat in our faces. One of thereasons for this is definitely unmindfulbio-hazardous activity under the pre-tense of rural development and uplift-ment. Well, being rational and trying toidentify the causes it has been the irriga-tion projects, number of dams beingconstructed, power projects, bringingforest areas under cultivation, commer-cial forestry and such. The reasons var-

ied - but the impact is unity - thinningforests and wildlife.

Vertebrate diversity and endemismacross the hotspot is impressive. Just tohave some bare stats - approximately140 mammal species have been record-ed, although endemism is relatively low,with only 18 endemic species. For anOrnithologist and bird enthusiasts atotal of 457 bird species occur regularlywithin the Western Ghats and SriLanka; for a herpetologist about 265species of reptiles have been recordedand so on. These bare stats indicate andspeak volumes about the bio diversityexistent in this region. The WesternGhats shelters the largest population ofAsian elephant with over 10000 of theseinhabiting the region.

Interestingly and rather disappoint-ingly, most of the animal speciesendemic to the Western Ghats areabsent in the Sahyadri ranges. There areno lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri tahr,and Nilgiri langur in the northernranges of the Western Ghats. As com-pared to the southern ranges of Nilgirisand the Palghat, Sahyadri is lesserbestowed with the blessing of faunaldiversity. The existing faunal and its

4

ghat - The Sahyadris are older andhave been formed much before thesouthern part - The Nilgiris, evident by their differing natures

Gushing waterfall on the way to Rajmachi

The northern part of the western

probable future would be discussed inthe following issues.

SAHYADRI AND HISTORYHistory books have included it, the

glory reiterates it own saga loud andclear - melodious of course, Marathiauthors and stalwarts like BabasahebPurandare and Shriman Yogi have madeit possible to permeate the minds of acommoner with the historical signifi-cance and the glorified history of theyesteryears - The great era of the greatChattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It tookyears and years of slavery under thetyrant, until a visionary like him con-ceived the might of Sahyadri - as apotent tool, a weapon and also as ashield to fight the atrocious rulers. Thesteep precipices, inaccessible cliffs,abysmal depths of those falling valleysand the flat tops that these mountainshave, all made it ideal defensive strong-holds. It was this cognizance that ledShivaji Maharaj to build hill forts onthese peaks. It all began from Pune -Torna to be precise and the rageextended across other areas - Sinhagad,Rajgad, Raigad and such to mention afew. It was his genius that extended thisvision to be applied to islands as welland build impregnable sea forts like

Suvarnadurga, Vijaydurga, Sindhudurgaand numerous others.

These hill forts offered ideal foil forthe strategic warfare - the Guerilla thatShivaji Maharaj relied upon tactically tocombat the might of Moghals. The hideouts in the deep valleys, hill tops, rockcut caves, ravines, wild infested forestsand such made it a perfect avenue forthe Guerrilla war fare. Panhala toVishalgad escapade and the famousmention of Pavan khind - a perfectexample of what applied topographyand unparalleled spirits could deliver.These Khinds, Ghats and fortresseshave been mute witnesses to many suchbattles and escapades and still bear thetestimony for an enthusiast.

SAHYADRI - GHATS, KHINDSAND CAVES

Sahyadris with its might and all rightscontinue to impact the lives of the localvillagers and hill men in a positive way.However improbable and inaccessible itmay seem, the Sahyadri ranges arestrategically disrupted by number ofghats and khinds offering a mode oftransport and connectivity between thelow lying plains of Konkan and the ele-vated 'Desh' on the eastern slopes ofthe mighty Deccan plateau. Not only

these passes and ghats served as a meanof transport for masses, but it also wasthe only available mode of trade routesthen. The significance of Nane Ghatand Bhor Ghat can never be overesti-mated and the significant role it playedin the erstwhile eras. The six laneexpressway today can never dim thespirited ventures through these passesthat take us back down the pages of his-tory books.

Another interesting feature that wan-derlust may come across is the sheernumber of caves carved in the belly ofimpregnable basalts, along the foothills,on the steep slopes and cliffs and on topof the mountains. These rock-cut cavesseem to be omnipresent. These servedas rest stops along the montane routesof the ghats and khinds. Nane ghat is aclassic example to offer in these regard.

5

The rock cut caves, the shendoormasked deities, the cave temples,Hemandpanti architectures and

to the architectural grandeur

A rivulet flowing from Ajoba peak

such always attach a spiritual touch

Many of these caves were the shelters ofthe then hermits and saints. ManyBuddhist monks were paid for the exca-vation of caves and hermitages alongthe way. Karla, Bhaja and Bedse cavesnear Lonavala all bear testimony to thisactivity. The interesting use of animalmotifs (elephants, lions, tigers, variousbirds, etc.) suggests a time when the areaabounded in wildlife. The most prolificof these rock architectures can be safelyassumed to have occurred during theSatvahana rule and many lithographicstudies elucidate that many of thesecaves dates back to the before Christ era.

DEVELOPMENT ANDCONSERVATION

As far as development is concerned, alot of these areas are already under thecover of tourism and allied activities likewildlife trails and adventures. Althoughsuch activities provides a good source ofrevenue to the local villagers and tribes,rampant, haphazard and unregulatedflow have caused an irrepairable damageto the eco system already. The situationis still not out of control and it is never

too late to conserve the remaining. Inthe same wake, a lot of these areas arebeing brought under the covers of pro-tected areas and forest reserves. Indiahas a national protected area system inplace for the purpose and with passageof the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972

and the National Wildlife Action Planof 1983; it was further reinforced to aconsiderable extent. India as a bio-diversity hotspot is segmented in 10 bio-geographic zones, of which the WesternGhats has the highest percentage ofprotected area coverage on the main-land (15%), which is represented in 20national parks and 68 sanctuaries.

It is heartening to see these legal support and laws being passed in theright wakes, but the onus lies on us.There needs to be an urge to under-stand the significance of the tangibleassociated with it - the bio-diversity, thetourism industry, the ecology, revenue;and of course the intangibles like therich history, deep rooted cultures andmythology woven along with it.Problems do hover along on the hori-zon with penetration of road ways,hydro electric projects, mining and agri-cultural expansion, but one can takeheart from the fact that there is certain-ly an increased level of awareness nowabout these issues than ever before. Thefuture of conservation is still obscureand a matter of concern. Sheer inacces-sibility can be viewed as positively andnegatively. Negatively because it has forthe most part prevented their develop-ment; positively because surprisinglyand very refreshingly number of trailshave a blemish-free feel to them.

We need them, and we better starttaking the responsibility on an individ-ual basis.

6

Sahyadris was the lifeline ofMaharashtra in the golden ages ofHistory and continue to do so inthese times of concretization, however negligent we tend to be

Ajoba peak from Chinchwadi