Mahabaleshwar, in a new avatar

You love Mahabaleshwar but are fed up of revisiting the same spots. A newly launched audio-visual documentary comes as a refreshing departure from what Staid guidebooks and pesky tour guides offer. It goes beyond the obvious and showcases lesser known sights and sounds about this popular hill station

Visitors to Arthur's Point (12 km from the main market at Mahabaleshwar) gaze in awe at its scenic beauty and marvel at its gravity-defying characteristics, which make lightweight objects seemingly float in the air. But few are familiar with the history behind the Point. For one, it is named after Arthur Malet, a British civil servant who sought solace in these parts to mourn the untimely death of his wife and child. He was besotted by Mahabaleshwar and went on to even build a house at the spot.

Toyrist appeal
Such interesting trivia pepper the 45-minute long documentary on Mahabaleshwar that was released on March 18. Available in Marathi, Hindi and English, the audio-visual tour includes information on the history and geography of Mahabaleshwar, places to stay and eat at, local markets to visit, details on the festivals celebrated at the hill station as well as interesting anecdotes by old-time residents. Male and female voiceovers take the viewer through the entire length of the documentary.

"The aim is to boost the tourism sector, make visitors aware of the background of the places and provide details about lesser-known spots. The documentaries combine authentic knowledge contained in guidebooks with a personal touch that a local guide provides," informs Rajeev Kadam from the SDCV Production House, which produced the documentary.

A pre-historic temple dedicated to Lord Krishna at Mahabaleshwar.
Pic /Rane Ashish

The travelling reel
Next up for release will be documentaries on other destinations in Assam, Chhatisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. "Our aim is to document the travel hotspots in every state and to tie-up with the tourism department so these guides are available across India," adds Kadam. With a team of 14, it took Kadam a month to wrap up shooting each documentary. The information that is featured has been culled from the Internet and by poring through books on the region.