On a Sunday morning, the car park for Matheran is crammed with haphazardly parked vehicles abandoned on Friday by the weekenders from Mumbai and Pune, 90 km and 120 km away respectively. As you arrive, a crowd of ragged men surrounds your vehicle, each one entreating the driver for the privilege of carrying your luggage up into town. The befuddled tourist watches aghast as the skinny victors in this bidding war heave large, heavy suitcases onto their heads and lead the way up the rocky path towards what one person described as 'the city centre'.

Walking along behind the bearers, mixed feelings...