My train from Ahmedabad got stuck at Kelva station on 10th July, 2018 due to incessant Mumbai rains. I spent some of the time watching a waterlogged bridge outside my train window. And the rest of the time I was wondering if one shouldn’t take the opportunity to explore Kelva beach side?
Eventually, after 12 hours the train was cancelled and the railway folks hadn’t made any proper arrangements to transport us back to Mumbai or anywhere to stay. So, Mom and I decided to exit the situation by going to the Kelva Beach. We searched on Google and found a few resorts which were open and had empty rooms. And so, much to the surprise of the other hundreds of stranded passengers waiting outside Kelva station, we took an auto away from the station and the main road! To the sea we go!
The ride to Kelva was beautiful. The station mayhem was left behind and we were amidst farms and groves of trees. Peaceful, serene and susegad. It felt so ‘Goan’. The feeling of a slow, quiet life came over me. 😀 It sounds exaggerated, but it was true. Probably in contrast to the 12 hours spent cooped up in the train, I was a lot more sensitive to the susegad in the air.
We stayed at a resort called D-Samudraa (no idea what the D stands for). They have cottages facing the ocean. The cottages are OKish. One bedroom and attached bathroom. It cost 1500/night. The cool thing is that there is a private little mud path just outside these cottages that went right onto the beach. And so tired and shocked (with being stranded this way) that we were, we went for a quick rendezvous with the Kelva beach!
Here are some pics,
Strong, salty gusts of wind and the iconic Suru trees – charming ambience.
Suru trees help reduce soil erosion and high tide flooding along these beach sides.
The beach is a little filthy, but it wasn’t too bad. Groups of locals ladies in nighties and men sometimes in a small lungi were strolling on the beach side.
To our far left, at a distance, we could see the Kelva fort. Would have made for a nice stroll in other circumstances (if we weren’t so tired).
Vegetarian Food in Kelva
As with most coastal regions, this place is difficult for vegetarians. Almost all kitchens are serving veg and non-veg food both which makes us (Indian) vegetarians antsy about any mixing inside. We asked the staff to bring some butter from the market. We already had a pack of bread which a kind NGO had given us at the station. We also ordered a salad and tea from the kitchen. So it was not a bad dinner of bread-butter-salad sandwich with tea. Super sugary sweet tea. 😉
I suspect a couple of veg places might be there in the Kelva town, but one can’t be sure. Surprising it may seem, but I have been to another coastal town in Konkan where there was literally not a single only-veg eating place. It was my first experience of not finding any pure veg restaurant in India. Such places do exist! 😀
On our way back from the beach we saw these. Someone had dug a couple of these out. While there were more such plants still buried in ground. Not sure if these are some kind of onion variety…
The cottages you can see are the Samudraa resort where we stayed. It’s just a small walk from the beach. And there is a small backwater kind of rivulet there, might be nice to see when filled with water
All in all it was a very quick trip but good to again experience this Konkan feeling. I had visited Konkan Maharashtra many years back with a couple of friends. That had been a really good trip and I have been thinking of going back. But as usual, so many places to explore, I never went back, until now that is, to a different Konkan town and just for a night.
Next morning Mom was very keen to head back, so we left for the train station. Where we spent another 3 hours in a slowly moving passenger train bound for Mumbai!
Traveling to Kelva
Kelva is very near Mumbai. When the trains are moving at normal speeds it is hardly 15 minutes from Virar. So we can take a local train to Virar. From Virar another local train would be possible for Kelve, Palghar and other towns on the line.
By road also the map shows a 1 hour and 30 mins ride from Virar to Kelva. From what I saw, I suspect the roads would be scenic and green.
Moreover, with a car or bike it would be lovely to explore the many different sleepy towns in the region.
Konkan Maharashtra FTW!
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