Most regular travellers who’ve covered Maharashtra will tell you that the best time to visit is post the monsoon. Its hill slopes and parched lands are painted in velvet green, while its rivers are in full flow. It was also the best time for us to explore Walvanda, a Warli village made up of seven hamlets or paadas in Thane district. This trip was organised by Grassroutes, a travel group that adopts villages in the area and offers a city slicker, a slice of experiencing rural life — it’s been an integral part of their two-year-old village tourism project. We drove past the green carpets in Tungareshwar, Vasai and Manor, until we reached our destination that was nestled among yellow rice-fields.

A city dweller trying her hand at grinding rice in Walvanda. Pics/ C Gangadharan Menon