I Opened My RuckSack
Yesterday I took out my rucksack. It came from India to Japan by ship and had been lying neglected in a corner. I opened the outer compartment and out came a squished tube of Lotus sunscreen. It had leaked and the inside of this compartment was soaked in SPF 30. And a weird smell. I pulled out a greasy soaked paper. It was a trekking checklist. Another piece of paper was an article on Valley of Flowers. Another paper had the contact numbers of all in the trekking team. A few medicines came out...Avil, Ibuprofane, Crocin. A muscle relaxant spray. A half pack of Poppins. A soiled pencil. A twenty rupee note. An Aussie two dollar. A feather of a blue jay. A few dried leaves. And so many memories. Realised its been a year. Its been a year since I went to the forest camp. It would be a year since I went to Valley of Flowers soon. I recalled Australia. I recalled Kerala. I recalled Himachal. 2004 had been quite a year. :)
I probably would not have written about it. If a gentle and persistent soul had not asked me time and again to write. Writers block, I said. I am unable to write. Writers block must be justified, she said. You have to be a writer first. Alright, I will think about it, I said. And yesterday while I opened compartment after compartment of my rucksack, I was filled with a desire to write.
Tadoba happened in March 2004.
[Well, what's written above was written last year...in 2005. So after a gap of a year, I continue from where I left off. :-D]
So, Tadoba happened in March 2004. Yes....I remember getting off at the deserted Chandrapur station. Early March, and a dry, hot wind was blowing. It was the time of the afternoon, when autowallas in small north Indian towns sleep curled up in the backseat of their autos, under some big shady tree, and prefer a siesta to a 'sawari'. As I waited outside on a bench in the Forest Conservators office, I had little or no idea how the next one week is going to be. I was apprehensive. Maybe I am a fool to come here alone, without knowing much about this camp, in this dry desolate place. I hoped to see Poonam soon...Poonam Dhanvatey was one of the co-ordinators of this camp. I had spoken with her over phone in Bangalore. While I was waiting, I met these two guys, Doctor and Imran. They had come for this camp from Hyderabad and were, like me, waiting for a Mr. Patil or Ashish to come pick us up. They were members of a bird watching club in Hyderabad and a group actively involved in saving the dry forests of Adeelabad district. The doctor was done with his MBBS degree and, like a true blue Hyderabadi, wanted to go to the US for post graduation. My apprehension eased off a little as we talked and we waited. Around five in the evening, a young-ish looking boy Ashish came in an old Mahindra 'khatara jeep' and we were off to our destination, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. As we left the town of Chandrapur behind, Ashish quickly stopped and bought a weeks supply of vegetables(a heap of cabbages and cauliflowers!), dal-atta-namak-mirchi-cheeni and kerosine and dumped it all in a big sack behind. I was informed that Poonam would reach Tadoba next morning. The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon as we made our way through patches of bumpy dirt road and patches of tarmac towards the reserve. The forest floor was covered with dry grass and teak leaves which appeared golden brown in the light of the setting sun. I was engulfed in a familiar sense of anticipation and excitement as I looked this way and that to catch a glimpse of, well, something. Ashish stopped the jeep once near a herd of cheetal and once more near a smaller herd of sambhar, and then we moved ahead. After a while, it was dark and we reached some old, poorly lit, run down quarters where we got off. Mr. Patil was waiting. The boys were escorted to thier smelly, dorm style, run down accomodation, I was escorted to another smelly, musty room. They fixed the light as it wasn't working. The window glass of the toilet and bathroom was broken and there were a people cooking dinner on a 'chulha', just outside. I closed the windows and hung newspapers on the bars to cover the holes and get some privacy. The room, the toilet and the bathroom were in a bad state, I could see that even in the dim light, but I wasn't expecting any better, so it was alright. After a quick shower we met in the verandah. In the distance, there was a lake. The forest was very dark now. It was a clear night and we could see many stars. We sat on the stone floor of the veranda, talking about animals found in Tadoba, thier basic traits and how to recognise them. Most people around had good field experience. Everybody was speaking in hushed tones. Nobody wanted to disturb the silence. We could hear the sound of insects, toads and the occassional distant rutting call of cheetal stag or a sambhar. Again a sense of anticipation and excitement engulfed me. Night is when the forest is most active. We had an early dinner and were asked to familiarise ourselves with animal traits and how to recognise them in field, and retire early. Next day would begin with a game round at five in the morning.
As I lied down to sleep that night, I was thinking of Preetam. There was no signal in my cell phone and not likely to be there for the next one week. I wanted to tell him about today, and more than anything, convey that things are alright. So far, at least. I knew it would be a big relief to him. He had been very excited about this camp thing, but there was a deep concern too. So I was all the more anxious to let him know that there was nothing to worry. With these thoughts and the intermittent sounds and silence of the forest, AND the heaviness in my heart at the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn, I went to sleep.
The whole of next week would be an experience that would change my perspective and give me a goal in life, I did not know then. I remember it all vividly still and I shall write about it soon. The last day of the camp, I actually wanted to extend my stay by one more week. As the bus took me slowly and painfully back from Tadoba to the town of Chandrapur, I realised I have spent some of the best days of my life here. I was filled with an urge to do something, to protect, to conserve. I was filled with pity for myself, as the bus entered town and I came back to a civilisation I had lost all regards for.
I probably would not have written about it. If a gentle and persistent soul had not asked me time and again to write. Writers block, I said. I am unable to write. Writers block must be justified, she said. You have to be a writer first. Alright, I will think about it, I said. And yesterday while I opened compartment after compartment of my rucksack, I was filled with a desire to write.
Tadoba happened in March 2004.
[Well, what's written above was written last year...in 2005. So after a gap of a year, I continue from where I left off. :-D]
So, Tadoba happened in March 2004. Yes....I remember getting off at the deserted Chandrapur station. Early March, and a dry, hot wind was blowing. It was the time of the afternoon, when autowallas in small north Indian towns sleep curled up in the backseat of their autos, under some big shady tree, and prefer a siesta to a 'sawari'. As I waited outside on a bench in the Forest Conservators office, I had little or no idea how the next one week is going to be. I was apprehensive. Maybe I am a fool to come here alone, without knowing much about this camp, in this dry desolate place. I hoped to see Poonam soon...Poonam Dhanvatey was one of the co-ordinators of this camp. I had spoken with her over phone in Bangalore. While I was waiting, I met these two guys, Doctor and Imran. They had come for this camp from Hyderabad and were, like me, waiting for a Mr. Patil or Ashish to come pick us up. They were members of a bird watching club in Hyderabad and a group actively involved in saving the dry forests of Adeelabad district. The doctor was done with his MBBS degree and, like a true blue Hyderabadi, wanted to go to the US for post graduation. My apprehension eased off a little as we talked and we waited. Around five in the evening, a young-ish looking boy Ashish came in an old Mahindra 'khatara jeep' and we were off to our destination, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. As we left the town of Chandrapur behind, Ashish quickly stopped and bought a weeks supply of vegetables(a heap of cabbages and cauliflowers!), dal-atta-namak-mirchi-cheeni and kerosine and dumped it all in a big sack behind. I was informed that Poonam would reach Tadoba next morning. The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon as we made our way through patches of bumpy dirt road and patches of tarmac towards the reserve. The forest floor was covered with dry grass and teak leaves which appeared golden brown in the light of the setting sun. I was engulfed in a familiar sense of anticipation and excitement as I looked this way and that to catch a glimpse of, well, something. Ashish stopped the jeep once near a herd of cheetal and once more near a smaller herd of sambhar, and then we moved ahead. After a while, it was dark and we reached some old, poorly lit, run down quarters where we got off. Mr. Patil was waiting. The boys were escorted to thier smelly, dorm style, run down accomodation, I was escorted to another smelly, musty room. They fixed the light as it wasn't working. The window glass of the toilet and bathroom was broken and there were a people cooking dinner on a 'chulha', just outside. I closed the windows and hung newspapers on the bars to cover the holes and get some privacy. The room, the toilet and the bathroom were in a bad state, I could see that even in the dim light, but I wasn't expecting any better, so it was alright. After a quick shower we met in the verandah. In the distance, there was a lake. The forest was very dark now. It was a clear night and we could see many stars. We sat on the stone floor of the veranda, talking about animals found in Tadoba, thier basic traits and how to recognise them. Most people around had good field experience. Everybody was speaking in hushed tones. Nobody wanted to disturb the silence. We could hear the sound of insects, toads and the occassional distant rutting call of cheetal stag or a sambhar. Again a sense of anticipation and excitement engulfed me. Night is when the forest is most active. We had an early dinner and were asked to familiarise ourselves with animal traits and how to recognise them in field, and retire early. Next day would begin with a game round at five in the morning.
As I lied down to sleep that night, I was thinking of Preetam. There was no signal in my cell phone and not likely to be there for the next one week. I wanted to tell him about today, and more than anything, convey that things are alright. So far, at least. I knew it would be a big relief to him. He had been very excited about this camp thing, but there was a deep concern too. So I was all the more anxious to let him know that there was nothing to worry. With these thoughts and the intermittent sounds and silence of the forest, AND the heaviness in my heart at the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn, I went to sleep.
The whole of next week would be an experience that would change my perspective and give me a goal in life, I did not know then. I remember it all vividly still and I shall write about it soon. The last day of the camp, I actually wanted to extend my stay by one more week. As the bus took me slowly and painfully back from Tadoba to the town of Chandrapur, I realised I have spent some of the best days of my life here. I was filled with an urge to do something, to protect, to conserve. I was filled with pity for myself, as the bus entered town and I came back to a civilisation I had lost all regards for.
posted by Pallavi at 1:21 PM
1 Comments:
This too reminds me of my visit to Hyd. I had travelled to hyd with you and preetam and how preetam went off to sleep and we kept talking till late standing in the compartment... This also reminds me of the concerns ur and preetam's parents had until they recd a call from you... That time i really appreciate preetam's support and your guts to take this up... Keep the spirits up...
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