Devotion to Chhatrapati Shivaji took them to dizzying heights

Twenty youth battled nature for two months to capture 1.5 lakh photographs of 210 forts


Manasi Saraf-Joshi
Pune, June 01: For two months they stayed away from home, quit jobs and risked their lives and limbs climbing to dizzying heights and faced nature’s challenges. For, propelling these 20 youth, was their devotion to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Their mission: To photograph and document over 200 of his forts in the State.

Their efforts were not in vain. Last week, 40,000 photographs were displayed by www.rajashivaji.com in an exhibition that stakes claim to an entry in Guinness Book of World Records as the largest exhibition of photographs on any one subject.

Nature’s challenges were many. Once at Alang fort near Bhandardara. they came across a leopard. Another time they faced poisonous snakes. They battled roaring winds while striking a balance on the top of a mountain with a GPS mapping instrument or camera in hand. “We are trekkers, so climbing wasn’t a problem. But while trekking, we had to look for the perfect angle, good light and then capture the fort which was difficult,” recalled a member Amol Vyavhare.

“Collecting raw data on the forts was a problem, with little information available, that too collected 40 years ago,” added Harish Bhoite. “There were four sub-teams, but no leaders,” said Yogesh Kardile. “Everyone was busy, either taking photographs or doing the GPS mapping and collecting data,” chipped in Vishal Kanaskar.

Training began six months ago. They were supplied with medical kits with anti-snake venom, haversacks, cameras and equipment for GPS mapping. “We started in December 2005 and completed it in mid-February 2006,” said Yogesh Apte.

The schedule was packed. “We had only dinner and snacks during daytime, no lunch,” said Ramesh Gulve. “We used to bath once a week as we had no time for the luxury,” recalled Kalidas Bavale.

The team received full support from the villagers. “When we told villagers the purpose of our visit, they cooked food for us even at midnight or presented us basketful of fruits,” they recalled.

Thankfully, there wasn’t a single accident during the expedition. “We covered almost 210 forts and clicked over 1.5 lakh photographs.” Their reward? The expedition as a lifetime experience.