Panchgani is a quiet, village-like town atop a hill range on the western ghats of Maharashtra. It has a certain homeliness and simplicity about it which relaxes you to the extent you wonder about your mad existence in Bombay 240 km away.

Panchgani is like second home to me. I have seen it in all seasons, lived there for long durations, in numerous locations over 35 years. I was first taken there by my parents with my nine other siblings when I was a toddler. I sat on my first tricycle here, I learnt to bicycle here, drove a car into a ditch here. And for the last so many years I even have Awon House, my own cozy little cottage with a red roof.

Panchgani is a boarding school paradise. There are more than three dozen boarding schools here, with lovely names like Hill Range, Pinewood Academy, Oaks, Dawn, and Billimoria, the school that Busybee went to. And St. Joseph's, St Peter's, Kimmins.

The hub of Panchgani is the bazaar, a 200-metre stretch in the center of town where there are shops you idly amble by. Eat street food, drink sugarcane juice, have strawberry ice-cream, munch freshly-roasted chana, shop for sturdy, inexpensive, hand-made chappals, buy buns and cream rolls from its many bakeries, (Roach, Church, Malbar), hire bicycles, browse at Unwala, or simply pass time at New Lucky Moon over endless cups of tea.

The pace at Panchgani is slow. Wednesday is a nice day to be there. That's when they have Budh ka bazaar where nearby villagers come and sell all kinds of things. You get organically-grown fruits and vegetables, spices, chickens, goats, utensils, rice, wheat, lentils and other paraphernalia. People pack these goodies back home, along with honey and whole strawberry jam from Mapro and Malas. The strawberries are the sweetest and the juciest.

So what can you do in Panchgani? Go for walks, go to Parsi Point for a scenic view of the valley, climb to Sydney Point, sit by the road and watch the serene Krishna river down in the valley which is dotted with innumerable villages, drive up to Tableland, Panchgani's crowning glory. It is a vast mountain plateau where schoolchildren play hockey and football matches. With millions of silver oak trees, the lungs of Panchgani, and pretty roof-tops, it offers a spectacular view. After the monsoon it is carpetted by grass with little white and yellow flowers and a natural pond. In season, they have all kinds of noisy entertainment. Games and food stalls, ferris wheel, merry-go-round, a toy train and ponies and horses for rides.

Stay at Il Palazzo, a beautiful, sprawling old English-style bungalow five minutes from the bazaar, with a pool, a beautiful garden and good Parsi food. A little away is Jerroz, very quaint. Further up is Prospect, old and charming, very private, very quiet. If you have children, Blue Country Resort would be ideal. Completely self-contained it has a huge penguin-embossed pool, large play area, good Gujarati food, health club, even a disco. On the other side of Tableland is the new Millennium Park. Swanky but more suited for conferences and the like. Finally there is the Ravine, strategically located, perched on the edge, near Sydney Point, it has an overhanging tennis court. For couples and young groups of people, this is a nice place. Nearby is Sher Baug, the �in� place where people go to dine or generally spend the evening at.

You must drive towards Mahableshwar, a wonderful 17 km away, stop just before the lake at a place called Hirkani and eat a thali. Good, tasty and rustic Maharashtrian vegetarian food.

There are two ways of reaching Panchgani. The Bombay-Pune Expressway through Wai and the Bombay-Goa route via Mahad through Mahableshwar. The latter is more charming and picturesque. Either ways it takes 4 � hours from Bombay.