Navi Mumbai: They have solar panels but no gas connections. There are electricity lines but no water pipelines. They have satellite dishes but no utility shops. This is Phanaswadi, a hamlet of 50-odd houses perched upon a Belapur hillock.
More than a century old, this place gives you a to-die-for bird's eye view of Belapur's skyline. But the village is steeped in an interesting blend of modernity and old world charm. The road to the village is well tarred and the interior roads are lined with paver blocks courtesy the local grampanchayat. But that's more or less the end of the development story. Other than a primary Marathi medium school, the village boasts of no other amenities.
The stretch of road leading to Phanaswadi is beautiful— lush green, with sporadic waterfalls and banana trees. However, boulders from the top of the hill tend to roll down, and this stretch remains shut to visitors till September-end.
"The waterfalls tend to loosen the rocks so it is best they shut it down during these months," said Sapna Pathare.
While many in Phanaswadi travel to Belapur for work, there are others content with collecting firewood from the nearby hilly areas. Although the village is provided with electricity connections, some of the houses are still holding on to their solar panels for energy. The panels were fitted around five years ago.
Said Baliram Aliya Pardi, a resident, "We either go to Belapur or Nerul for our provisions. Many of the residents have bikes or cycles, the other option is a good 90-minute walk down the hill." Some of the families own fields a little ahead of the village where rice is grown, he added.
"Some of the families have been living here for generations. It is peaceful and we lead simple lives. The one borewell in the village is adequate to meet our daily requirement," said another resident Arun Ganpat.
This is the season when the womenfolk walk through the stretch of road picking kantarle and bana, two locally grown vegetables. A life of modernity runs cheek by jowl with a rather primitive way of life in this village and they are not complainig. "This is how we have always lived and if we need to adopt a new way of life, we adjust," came some simple-speak from Baliram.
More than a century old, this place gives you a to-die-for bird's eye view of Belapur's skyline. But the village is steeped in an interesting blend of modernity and old world charm. The road to the village is well tarred and the interior roads are lined with paver blocks courtesy the local grampanchayat. But that's more or less the end of the development story. Other than a primary Marathi medium school, the village boasts of no other amenities.
The stretch of road leading to Phanaswadi is beautiful— lush green, with sporadic waterfalls and banana trees. However, boulders from the top of the hill tend to roll down, and this stretch remains shut to visitors till September-end.
"The waterfalls tend to loosen the rocks so it is best they shut it down during these months," said Sapna Pathare.
While many in Phanaswadi travel to Belapur for work, there are others content with collecting firewood from the nearby hilly areas. Although the village is provided with electricity connections, some of the houses are still holding on to their solar panels for energy. The panels were fitted around five years ago.
Said Baliram Aliya Pardi, a resident, "We either go to Belapur or Nerul for our provisions. Many of the residents have bikes or cycles, the other option is a good 90-minute walk down the hill." Some of the families own fields a little ahead of the village where rice is grown, he added.
"Some of the families have been living here for generations. It is peaceful and we lead simple lives. The one borewell in the village is adequate to meet our daily requirement," said another resident Arun Ganpat.
This is the season when the womenfolk walk through the stretch of road picking kantarle and bana, two locally grown vegetables. A life of modernity runs cheek by jowl with a rather primitive way of life in this village and they are not complainig. "This is how we have always lived and if we need to adopt a new way of life, we adjust," came some simple-speak from Baliram.
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