Cherry blossom symbolizes spring which is a time of renewal. It also symbolizes the transitory nature of life. Cherry blossoms bloom in several shades; the common colour is light pink and dark pink colour. But they come in shades of white, yellow, and green. The yellow-green or white-green blooms turn pink as they age. The trees grow and establish themselves relatively quickly, but they don’t last very long. These blooms often last not more than two weeks therefore they symbolize transient nature of life. Though the blooms are short lived, they represent beauty and hope.

In psychology, cherry blossom personality implies an introverted, analytical, yet knowledge seeking person who understands the world around him/her. But these people are happier from inside. The don’t waste their energy much on talking, they are observant, and they make decisions based on their observations.  

Cherry Blossom is the national flower of Japan; they call it Sakura. To the Japanese, cherry blossoms indicate the coming of spring, hope, and renewal. In a more symbolic sense, due to their delicate nature and short lifespan, for the Japanese, they are pure expression of the temporary nature of life and beauty. The outer beauty of human is temporary. Japanese hold ‘flower watching’ parties known as Hanami which is celebrated as a springtime custom. It is about appreciating the beauty of the seasonal flower.

In China, cherry blossoms hold elevated status signifying love and the female charm which is beauty, strength, and sexuality. But, nowhere in the world are the elusive flowers more cherished than in Japan, home to thousands of cherry blossom trees.

The pops of pink mark the ending of winter and signify the beginning of spring. Due to their quick blooming season, cherry blossoms also symbolize the transience of life which is a major theme in Buddhism too.

In India we get to see cherry blossom in some parts. In Meghalaya, in the east’s Khasi Hills people experience a beautiful season of cherry blossoms as soon as the spring season approaches. Shillong even hosts a festival, International Cherry Blossom Festival that is dedicated entirely to the blooming flowers. Shillong is known as India’s cherry blossom hub. The whole town is covered with lush and fragrant cherry blossoms, so much so that even the sky looks pink. In November, the city also hosts the International Cherry Blossom festival. The Northeast states Sikkim and Nagaland also celebrate the season of cherry blossoms.

Bangalore bursts into bloom in March, swamping locations such as like Silk Board and Kundanahalli Gate with pink cherry blossoms. They are lovingly referred as “Bengaluru’s own cherry blossoms.” Bangalorites eagerly document their city’s cherry blossom on social media pages. To witness Bengaluru’s version of cherry blossom trees, one needs to head to the city’s iconic Cubbon Park.

Even Mumabi sees the bloom in certain parts of Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli from December to February.  The scent of cherry flower is indeed subtle and mild.  The scent features like lilac, rose, and magnolia with a mild tone of vanilla. These days cherry blossom perfumes are available in the market. 

I am concluding this article with Murasaki Shikibu (famous Japanese Novelist) quote “There is much to be said for cherry blossoms, but they seem so flighty. They are so quick to run off and leave you.”

Marathi theatre has always been regarded as one of the most culturally rich theatre traditions in the country. Right from the 18^th century the Marathi theatre has been present. It seems King Patwardhan of Sangli requested novelist Vishnu Bhave to write an evocative play for entertaining his guests and Bhave wrote ‘Sita Swayamvar’ which was performed on November 5, 1843, in that princely state. It was inspired by Karnataka’s folk theatre form of Yakshagana.

The Marathi stage has evolved in Bombay (now Mumbai) because this city has always been a business city; it had the infrastructure and money which helped the formal performers to grow. Because of the majority Maharashtrian workers community in the city who lived in the chawls the free time was used to practice dramas, keertans, pravachans and powadas. The artists used to practice in whatever space was available to them; sometimes varandahs, staircases and the open grounds. Lavanis such as “Mumbai Nagari Badi Banka, Jashi Ravanachi dusari Lanka” by Patthe Bapurao and Annabhau Sathe’s “Mazi Mumbai, Arthat Muumbai Konachi” were super duper hits those days. People flocked to the theatres to watch these lavanis.

Maharashtra has had long theatrical tradition, one of its early references is found in cave inscriptions at Nashik. Marathi theatre started flourishing in the middle of the 19th century. It includes forms like Sangeet Natak (Musical drama), Tamasha (folk dance), Ekpatri prayog etc. It continues to have a marked presence in the State of Maharashtra. Marhathi theatre is not famous outside Maharashtra; maybe because Marathi as a language is quite difficult and a lot of stress is laid on the richness of the language by the writers; the gamut of Marathi dramas ranges from humorous social plays, farces, historical plays, musical, to experimental plays and serious drama. We have seen the likes of Annabhau Kirloskar, P. L. Deshpande, Vijay Tendulkar, and Mahesh Elkunchwar, Bhalaji Pendharkar, Raja Paranjape, Annabhu Sathe, Vinda Karandikar, Arun Sadhu, P. K. Atre, Daya Pawar etc who were known and are known even today for their par excellence.  But, there is one big problem in staging a drama and continuing it for long time. We find Marathi dramas live a short life span, though some of them have great content. They are forgotten easily. Perhaps it is because Maharashtra faces multiculturalism and therefore the Marathi theatre takes a backset. Most importantly, Marathi theatre faces many political and social undercurrents. There is a sea change in terms of quality and context which are changing like never before. The conditions today cannot be compared to the previous decade.

Marathi Theatre can be described as never-ending energy; live moments, live interaction, superb dialogues, and great backdrops of stage, superb background music scores, and a strong tradition of 150 years which can never die. Besides, Marathi dramas are sharp, witty and very rich in content. They make you think even hours after you’ve watched a show. Marathi theatre is evolving with newer ideas, newer concepts and much more experiments. The new breed of directors is experimenting with forms of theatre. No other place in India has so much of ‘commercial theatre’ like that in Maharashtra. If you have three movie shows in Plaza, the theatre bang opposite to it, Shivaji Mandir, has three shows of plays on the same day.

The various genres of Marathi scripts are also a reason for people to watch plays. Comedy, serious depiction of the society, political satires, musicals, romantic, tragedy, rags to riches stories and mission – it has it all. Marathi theatre fascinates its viewers with its large variety.

The cultural connection of Mumbai and Pune with its regional theatre shows that the stage is not dying, it is experimenting and it has long way to go. It has managed to carve a special niche and that’s reason enough to say that there’s plenty of hope for the art in the state of Maharashtra.

Both cinema and drama are based on story. Both drama and cinema depend primarily on performers who resent and communicate the story to the audience. A stage play or a screenplay is like reading a novel. Dramas are livelier and thrilling as you see the actor’s performance right in front. The audience can clap and applaud the actors on the stage. The actors also in response give their best dialogue delivery, voice modulation, gestures thus bringing in more energy in the theater. Drama is on the spot. There are not takes and retakes; it delivers effect on the spot therefore it connects with the viewers more honestly. Drama is more difficult for an actor.

Both drama and cinema share certain common features; they both use sets, props, costumes, music and other sound effects. Communication is the essence in both drama and cinema. Even in the silent era, films relied heavily on human speech that was understood through contextual instinct; a combination of gesture, facial expression, and lip reading; and inserts of printed, projected text. If a drama is dull or boring viewers crate a commotion whereas if a cinema is boring they simply walk out of the theatre. Bothe cinema and drama have their fan following. Everybody cannot enjoy drama; an audience that has been raised on films, do not enjoy dramas.

Marathi theatre has come a long way. While Gujarati, Hindi or English theatre is ‘merely weekend theatre’, catering to the thinking and upper class, Marathi theatre is all about the masses mainly because of the way it gets people to relate to the script. Mumbai and Pune are hubs of Marathi plays. In Mumbai and Pune, there are these niche classes of people who usually do not miss watching a play every week. Mumbai is the economic capital and Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra state. There are at least 15-20 theatres in Mumbai which host only Marathi plays right from Prabhadevi to Thane: Rabindra Natya Mandir, Shivaji Natya Mandir, Ranga Sharda, Dinanath, Gadkari Rangayatan and many more theatres are witness to the love Mumbaikars have for this art form. And in Pune: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Tilak Smarak Mandir, Bharat Natya Mandir, Sudarshan Hall, Moreshwar Hall, Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Mandir etc are famous for Mrathi drama lovers. Mumbai and Pune showcase the love for performing art relatively much more, compared to other cities like Bangalore or New Delhi which relatively have fewer auditoriums.

The amount of theatre that is being done on the commercial as well as parallel stage in Marathi cannot be compared to any other regional theatre today. It is facing some technical, political and financial problems today, which I am sure, will be sorted out sooner or later. The Marathi theatre scene is the most happening in the whole of India.

 Panchgani is a perfect getaway to recharge your spirit, relax, and feel revived. The air is clean, you can hear the birds chirping, and you can see variety of green shades in the endless grasslands.  Visit Panchgani to reconnect with your loved ones over delicious, healthy snacks and meal. Get relief from stress and boredom.

Beautiful Panchgani was discovered by the British superintendent John Chesson and he was assisted by one Mr. Rustomji Dubhash. The English men were looking out for a summer resort, and they found Panchgani most suitable for the purpose. Pnchgani got its status as a hill station in 1860. John Chesson is credited for doing good work in the hill station; he planted many plant species from the western world in Panchgani; some of the plants like silver oak and poinsettia, which have flourished since then. Mahabaleshwar was the summer resort of choice for the British, but it was uninhabitable during the monsoons. Panchgani was developed as a retirement place for the British because it remained pleasant throughout the year. Panchgani is set in the vicinity of five villages: Dhandeghar, Godavli, Amral, Khingar, and Taighat. Hence the name Panchgani was decided for the hill station. Chesson encouraged various professionals such as tailors, dhobis, butchers, vegetable vendors, building contractors, electricians, carpenters, and hoteliers etc. to settle in Panchgani. He did this to develop the infrastructure of the hill station.

The Krishna River flows below nearby creating the lake of Dhom. The temperature in Panchgani is around 12 degrees during the winter, and sometimes reaches 34 degrees during the summer; however the humidity level is very low. The Monsoon rains hit here hardest and the rainy season spans between June and February, allowing the region three months of relatively dry and sunny spring. The five hills surrounding Panchgani are topped by a volcanic plateau, which is the second highest in Asia after the Tibetan plateau. The tableland is the highest part of the hill station elevated above 4550 feet above sea level covering almost 95 acres. In the months August and September the tableland is covered with lush green emerald carpet of grass. The tableland is raised by pressure between the earth plates. The area has high seismic activity, due to an epicenter near Koynanagar where the Koynanagar Dam and a hydroelectric power plant have been built. Even Koynanagar dam is worth a visit.

Panchgani is a thriving hub of food processing units today. Panchgani is surrounded by vast tracts of arable, agricultural land and is known for its agriculture and agro-business. Panchagani’s proximity to urbanized markets such as Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Aurangabad etc, changing food habits and dependence on ready to eat food, cosmopolitan nature of the city, connectivity to JNPT port has made the processed food cluster of Panchagani very famous. It exports jams, jellies, toffees, pickles, chtanis to many foreign countries. Panchagani cluster is developing very fast and is home to about 3000 plus small and micro entrepreneurs. The cluster produces a range of products comprising semi-processed ready mix products, pickles, jams, jellies, squashes & syrups, Ready to Eat/Ready to Cook products ground & processed spices and papad.

Even today you see a colonial style town in Panchgani. It has many Parsi styles of houses. Go for hiking to the Rajpuri caves or visit Pratapgad fort. It has many handicraft and Kolhapur chappal stalls.  With spectacular valleys, winding river, tall trees, scattered hamlets, greenery and wild flowers Panchgani is indeed the best hill station for a leisure holiday.

If you want to take quick break away from your frantic and exhausted life, you want enjoy the soothing scenery and you want just a day’s trip here are some famous spots near Mumbai & Pune. Take a look and drive down without any further delay one of these weekends:

MORACHI CHINCHOLI:

This is small cozily tucked away village. You will see lots of Peacocks here; in sense you can watch them from a short distance. It is their home. You can call this village as The Indian National Bird’s Habitat Centre. It’s just about 50 kilometers away from Pune on the Pune-Ahmednagar State Highway. What is most appreciable about the villagers is even when they have faced drought-like situations they have saved the peacocks without any government support. The village is lush green in monsoon and is well-maintained by the villagers.

Peacocks are slightly used to the local surrounding though – but withdraw the moment they see crowd of tourists. Please don’t shout loudly, don’t use stones etc. Immediately the peacocks go in hiding. We are supposed to respect their natural behavior. Every forest has its rules to follow. Don’t harm the nature. Don’t cut seeds, tree bark, roots and any other part of plants and trees, don’t pluck flowers; in our enthusiasm we tend to do these acts – by doing so we hurt the plants.  Use path and trails indicated for walking to minimize the damage to natural beauty. Please do not throw litter anywhere put wastes where it belongs. Do write on the trees. You will realize the plants, trees and animals have their own way of communicating with the surrounding. They can respond to the unspoken thoughts of humans.

Don’t waste time; take an immediate trip; you will see the dancing peacocks in the monsoon. Here you will find abundant tamarind tress and therefore it is called ‘Chincholi’ tamarind in Marathi is ‘Chinch’ and Chincholi means a plot of land of chinch trees. The best time to spot the peacocks is in the morning between 6 and 8 am and in the evening between 5 and 7 pm. Once you reach the village, you are treated to a delicious breakfast by the host. You can take a tractor/bullock cart ride to the farm and experience the irrigation and farming life. Take an afternoon nap under the shadow of mango trees. You will experience the typical Maharashtrian village life and you will return home with pleasant memories.

PHANSAD WILD LIFE SANCTURY:

If you are fond of wildlife do visit Phansad in Raigad district. It falls in Murud and Roha Talukas. It was created in 1986 by Government of Maharashtra to preserve some of the coastal woodland ecosystem in the Western Ghats. This sanctuary consists of 6979 hectare of forest, grasslands and wetlands. The area was once part of the hunting reserves of the princely state of Murud-Jannira. This wildlife sanctuary is not very far from both Mumbai and Pune. It’s about 145 km from Mumbai.

You will find about 90 species of butterflies, large variety of rare birds, Leopard, Hyena, Muntjac, interestingly, you will see the Indian Giant Squirrels here. You will see a beautiful mix of flora and fauna here. It is so soothing to eyes and it just enriches your soul. Feel fresh, inhale the pollution free air, and just be with the nature. You will inhale a mild floral fragrance the moment you enter the sanctuary. This sanctuary also houses around 710 species of plants like Ficus, Jamba, teak and many more. Medicinal plants like Clitoria, Biflora, Ramphicapa Longifolia and others are also found here.

There are four main trails through the sanctuary that take in the main waterholes, Gunyacha Maal, Chikhalgaan and Phansadgaan, that are some of the best places to see wildlife. The “Sacred Groves” are located near Supegon. The sanctuary consists of pockets of open grassland, which in Marathi is called mal. The sanctuary is best approachable by road from Murud-Janjira and Roha. The nearest railway station is Roha.

We need more National parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries; because it helps save several animal populations and endangered organisms. Let’s realizes just how many animals and plants are going extinct, and how much it’s already affecting our environment. We need more places that can protect these animals and keep them safe. Visit Phansad; it is worth at least one visit.