Of Meowing Peacocks and Blabbering Drivers…..

BEFORE STARTING OFF, I WOULD LIKE TO TELL ONE AND ALL THAT THIS IS JUST A HUMOROUS ACCOUNT. WE THREE (SUNIL/KALPU/ME) HAD WORKED PRETTY HARD IN OUR OT I ( ALL OUR SNAPS PROVE IT )

 

I remember Sunil and Kalpu grabbing the GPS early in the morning and trotting off to mark the nature trails.

I remember the delight on Sunil’s face on reaching the Rainbow Peak .

Also remember Kalpu eating Chappati and Salt and keeping up a brave face

Sunil n me enjoying the packet of Parle G with utter delight. It was our royal dessert for days.

NOW ON TO THE MAIN ACCOUNT:

If there were no elephant in the jungle,
the buffalo would be a great animal.

Ghanan Proverb

Jungle lovers come in all shapes and sizes.

They can be categorized as:

True Blue Jungle Lovers: This breed is a unique type.The love the jungle no matter what. They brave the scorching sun/ the incessant rains/ the pesky pests/ the singing mosquitoes/ the no water no food scenario/ no shelter scenario/ no anything scenario but yet they have a huge smile playing across their faces whenever anyone mentions the word jungle.

Accidental Jungle Lovers: These types do not like the Jungle as per se but they seem to like what they see.Somebody has to lift these types bodily and dump them in a Jungle. Its only after that they will enjoy the scenic beauty.

Pseudo Jungle Lovers: This type does not love a jungle at all. But all his/her friends belong to the True Blue Type . So just to be a part of the party he/she will drag along, cursing his/her fate and friends at the same time but all this with a huge grin on their face

The Animal Seekers: These usually love animals in the Jungle more than the jungle in itself. For them the beauty of a Jungle outing is decided by the number of Animal sightings . For them all the growls, barks or even a sleeping buddies loud snoring nearby provides all the thrill of their jungle stay

The Confused Jungle Lovers: These types don’t know whats wrong with them basically They love a jungle. Oh Yes !! They sure do. But they seem to think that the jungle loves them more. They end up in jungles more often than they ever want to and are confused once they are in there as to what are they doing in there !!!

The”I Love Nature” Jungle Lovers: These types basically love to say that they love the Jungle. They love to talk about the animals. They talk about birds as well.The talk about the amphibians. The talk about the flora.Theytalk about the water holes.They even talk about the old house keepers.Not to forget the drivers as well.You guessed it They talk talk talk. For these types 2 real Jungle trips take no time in becoming 20-30 conversational jungle trips

Now on to the Jungle Lore

CHARACTERS

Sunil Rajagopal
Type: Male
A distinguished member of the IIFM IAS (Invisible After Sunset) category.
Can be seen roaming about with a pair of binoculars dangling around his neck
Rare Achievement: Perhaps the only person in the history of higher education who has forced the faculty into giving him tips on ” The art of falling asleep in the class without getting caught”

Kalpana Kashyap
Type: Female
She can put the word lean to a shame
Rare Achievement:Managed to lose weight even after two dedicated chaps kept feeding her day in and day out on a diet of Non Veg food items and Ice Cream

Monkeys/Peacocks/Babblers
Type:God Knows

The jungle is a funny place to be in. Only the monkeys show up to greet you upon your arrival. They greet you whole heartedly baring their shiny teeth in utter glee as they see you.
” Finally, Some one to entertain us” they think . In fact some of the monkeys would be as courteous so as to help you in carrying your bags. The rest of them will be staring at you with curious looks on their faces. I discovered a fact : Monkeys can make you feel really insecure about the wayyou are dressed. All they have to do is stare….and stare…and stare some more.

One thing about government vehicle drivers is that they are forever homesick. We had one of them . A short and lively man that he was, he kept on telling us stories about us about shortage of oil, predators, reptiles but some how all his stories used to end with the home being much better than the jungles.

He even showed us a croc….. and all three of us were stunned at the sharp eyes the fellow possessed.

“Saab…..A Mugger…. A Mugger” the driver yelled.

“Where…Where…Where” yelled back the three of us throwing glances everywhere…..including a couple of tree tops

Sunil being the true nature enthusiast that he is dragged us all to get a good snap of the Croc who was stalking a Heron near the lake. What a sight it was !!!! Closer… more closer….tip toeing in the jungle is never a good idea, you end up making much more noise than what u otherwise would have. However… to continue closer we went and Sunil zoomed in the camera to get the shot. And shoot did he….glares at the driver followed by a roar of laughter and his trademark “Bhakkk”
Log it was.A beautiful piece of log it was. I can go on about the beauty of a log in the jungle which seemed like a crocodile….but i will end this incident by the drivers famous words, ” Sir crocodiles are rare at this time…..the jungle is a bad place……the monkeys ran away with my bath towel as well…… I think we should go back home.”

An OT project experience with all its ups and downs is one of the most entertaining and educating experiences ever
ALL ABOUT TREE HUTS
Me: ” Here a tree hut. One there as well….and one there too”
Sunil: ” But there is no tree there!!!!”
Me: ” Ohhh!!!! Never mind we’ll have tree huts on raised planks!!!”
Sunil: ” Ahhhhhhh”

ALL ABOUT THE CAMPING GROUND
Sunil:” We also need a camping ground”
Kalpu:” Yes”
Me: “Sure”
Sunil: “But what place would be ideal? The ground besides the Croc lake is the only empty space”
Me:” Sure thing great idea as well!!! Whats life without a bit of an adventure”
Kalpu: “You Nuts?????”
Sunil(In deep Thought) :”Ummmmmmm”
Me: ” Ya. Why not!!!”
Sunil: ” Maybe!!!!Ummmmmmmm!!!!!!!!! I thinkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!”
Kalpu:” You 2 are nuts”

And so it was decided . A jungle full of tree huts and a camping ground besides the croc infested lake. We patted each other on the back. A job well done

A peacock who had a cat as mom. Unbelivable but that what i would like to believe.

Third day morning I was woken up by a perfect meow one morning early. ” What a huge cat it must have been!!!”
A loud guffaw of laughter from Sunil ” It was a peacock buddy”.
Me:”What!!!”
Sunil:”Yes…Peacocks also meow!!!”
I was half convinced,” But it was the perfect meow” I pleaded
Sunil: “It was a peacock”
Me: “Then i guess it must have been raised up by a cat after the tigers killed both his parents”
Sunil: “What!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Me: “Yup!!!!!!!! The meow was too perfect”

Sunil still tries to convince me at times. Poor fellow….
He should watcha few more Hindi movies

A great fox we spotted was dismissed off by Kalpu as a wild dog roaming around.

Sunil tries to convince her as well. Poor Chap…should give up i guess.

The driver never agreed to the fact that jungles might be beautiful..”Homes are beautiful Sir….. You even have a toilet at home !!! Can anything beat a good toilet!!!!”

Six massive rats…. 2 Wild Boars…….30 buffaloes…..2 shepherds…….many gorgeous birds……many deers and many nilgai’s later we winded up the trip

One of the most amazing trips i’ve ever had. Made special in the company of two great friends Sunil and Kalpu

Can go on and on about it. Ask anyone of us about it and we’ll have stories galore to tell.

Welcome to the Jungle folks Welcome