The Eden Of The Deccan

‘A sweltering open-air sauna, bang in the middle of a huge dust bowl’ – is the best description of the Deccan Plateau in the Great Indian Summer. Except for the occasional scrawny tree clawing out life from a thin layer of topsoil and negligible water, many areas on this central Indian plateau-land can eerily resemble a desert. Yet, come the first bleating of rain and life crawls out of the rocks, stones and fine red lateritic soil. It shakes off the dust with a fillip from the cheerful monsoon breeze and declares its urge to paint the tablelands green.

With the many embraces of the triumphant monsoons, the Deccan transforms, almost overnight, into a veritable paradise. What was once a meagre splattering of burnt yellow patches on red, brown and black inverse swiftly as shades of green dance through the distance and in the haze of a dense fog, meet the oncoming floating grey reservoirs of water. Driving on the highway through this lively landscape, it is ridiculously easy to completely miss out the small city of Satara and drive straight through.

Situated at the confluence of the rivers Krishna and Venna, Satara has a rich history from the time of the Rastrakuta dynasty in the 4th century. Its golden period was undobtedly the middle 17th century when it was the capital of the Maratha Empire under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Named Satara from Saat(seven) and Tara(hill) in Marathi the seven hills which surround this fair city are Ajinkyatara, Sajjangadh, Yawateshwar, Jarandeshwar, Nakdicha Dongar, Kitlicha Dongar and Pedhyacha Bhairoba. Almost every hill overlooking the city hides a fort which has witnessed time traverse through Satara and change it from a sleepy village to the fiery heart of Maratha supremacy in the Deccan and then a bastion of the Indian independence movement before settling down as a satellite to the much bigger city of Pune.

For those who do turn away from the highway and spend a couple of days in Satara, there are many places to visit and explore. Besides the main Satara fort (Ajinkyatara) where Shahu Maharaj was crowned, there is also the Sajjangadh fort on the hill of the same name. It is the final resting place of Swami Ramdas, who is considered one of the spiritual gurus of Shivaji Maharaj. It was after Swami Ramdas took up residence here that the fort previously called Parali was renamed Sajjangadh (fort of the pious). It is today a popular pilgrimage destination.

In the monsoons waterfalls abound in the hills and forests around Satara though the Thosegar waterfalls are perhaps the most popular. Several treks lead to various points and hilltops, which offer amazing views of the plateau lands. Several temples like the Parali, Pateshwar and Shivpeteshwar amongst others complete the ‘something-for-everybody’ offering of this city. Yet the show-stealer for Satara is the Kaas Plateau on which nature puts up an altogether special show.

While the grand spectacle of sudden life plays out almost uniformly across the vast expanse of the Deccan plateau, one small piece of land (approximately18 sq. km) is not quite satisfied with hues and tints of just green. It demands the entire box of crayons and with it paints in HD, a vista so spectacular that even the Gods would stop to stare.

Tucked away securely in the folds of hard unmoving rocks, just out of reach (approximately 20kms) of the furiously expanding concrete jungle of Satara is the Kaas plateau. The origins of this name are uncertain and could be either from the ‘kaasa’ plant (Elaeocarpus), found here, or from the local dialect wherein kaasa means a lake. The plateau is itself a vast flat expanse with a road running through the middle of it. It is on the flanks of this unremarkable road that nature unfolds its miracle year after year punctually and determinedly.

The Yavateshwar hill range erupts almost unexpectedly after a small tunnel on the western fringes of the city. A right turn and the ghats begin. A 5 km drive will reach the village of Yavateshwar. Another 5 kms of graceful turns and curves bring into sight the village of Petri. Cross the village and begins the top most plateau in these hills – the Kaas Plateau. During the monsoon, it is shrouded in a thick mist and a chill wind blows insistently across it. First time eager beavers racing the sun to be the first on this upland have been known to drive right through the fog and overshoot the plateau. Yes, it is that small.

However, its size belies the gusto with which it springs forward wave after wave of colourful offshoot. The festival of colours at Kaas begins in June and lasts till October. It peaks in August and September when plants literally unleash a riot of colours and carpet the plateau. There is no one time where Kaas displays all its wares. It needs to be pursued persistently to know its various moods and to understand all the mischief it stealthily sprouts around the heedless tourists.

It all begins with the advent of the monsoon in mid-June and the blossoming of the ground orchids (Habenaria). Soon this is interspersed with pink blossoms of the Aponogeton Satarensis – named to highlight the fact that it is found only in this region. These are replaced, within a fortnight, by the bright yellow Sonaki blossoms of the sunflower family. Accompanying these are the yellow with red eyes Smithia flowers that are popularly called ‘Mickey Mouse’ flowers, the association of which requires some lateral thinking. As the season unfolds, so does the drama of the blushes with the blue ‘Seeta’s Tears’ (Utricularia); red ‘Balsam’ (Impatiens) and ivory ‘Gend’ (Eriocaulons). The many puddles and ponds on the plateau have violet spikes waving themselves silly while the larger water bodies are adorned with the white ‘Kumudini’ (Nymphoides Hydrophylla). And once in nine years, is the special treat of purple-blue to pink blossoms of the ‘Karvi’.

Over 1500 types of plants have been recorded here including a significant percentage of the endangered varieties. Many are endemic to this region and with the sketchy literature and fieldwork on this place, there might be many more yet to be discovered. As with any place of rich bio-diversity, the variety extends beyond the flora to the fauna as well, with the plateau and the adjoining evergreen forests serving as corridors for that majestic striped beast – the tiger.

Recently, the entire Western Ghats have been enlisted as a biodiversity hotspot by UNESCO. While Kaas does fall in this region, it does not take a visitor too long to notice that Kaas requires special protection and care. It is not surprising that many concerned, conscious citizens are trying to put in place measures that ensure protection from wild man and tame beast alike. One of the prominent members of this movement is Dr. Sandeep Shrotri who has written the only book (readily available, at least) documenting the flowers of the plateau and the challenges the place faces today. He is also the president of the NGO Ranwatta Society of Satara and spends a lot of time sensitising people who visit Satara about the plateau and spreading awareness regarding its issues.

Perhaps some of the measures that the Valley of Flowers – in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand have been afforded can go a long way in letting both the flowers and tourism flourish. That valley is remote and tough to get to. It requires a deep interest and love for the untouched, raw beauty of nature along with immense physical strength and formidable will power to venture into that high altitude Eden. The Kaas plateau is offered no such natural seclusion and all and sundry can be seen stomping around, often disgruntled at the astonishingly small size of the blooms. Heed this advice – it is not a Tulip show. It is life on display here – replenishing itself in glorious invisible ways in that ridiculously extravagant setting of nature’s amphitheatre. Tread carefully.