I Love The Jungle!

One question: Which one would you prefer? The city or the country?

That’s a tough question, though it sounds simple, eh? I mean, I don’t think you can answer it that easy. No matter how bad the traffic, and how hectic the life, and how expensive the place, you still love the city. The country? Well, maybe for a break. A vacation. Right?

So how about the jungle?

Imagine… trees, shrubs, vines and grasses covering the land for miles around, the sunlight struggling to break open the foliage and grace the ground. No roads or even proper paths to take, but just follow your instincts. And you never know what’s hiding behind that bush over to your right. Scary? Or exciting?

I don’t know about you, but I love the jungles. I love Mougli. I love Tarzan. I envy them, even if fiction. O’course I love the city. I love the movies, the pub, the malls, my music, my books, and my computer, my TV, the Internet. Yes, I do love those. But I still wish I could go spend some quality time in the wilderness once in a while. Once, I did go spend a few days too. That was over 3 to 4 years back, and that was wonderful. Thinking about it brings a smile to me, and makes me want to go back there again. That wasn’t the first time I’d been to a place like that, but that was the first time I spent more than a day in there and that too not in a group or with any elders to control me.

It’s a place called BR Hills, and I went with my cousin who worked with an NGO that had a field station out there. It was one of the most wonderful times I had. Let me share my experience here.

Show/Hide Full Post...

I went on a Monday. It was a 5hr journey by bus. Most of the road was in a very bad condition but once the bus entered the forest area, the feel was so extraordinary. It was so fresh and intoxicating. My cousin was already there and waiting for me there. She had to go out after lunch for her research, and I freshened up and waited for her to get back. She had rescued a baby squirrel from some predators and she left it with me for company. I spent almost the whole afternoon watching it play and trying to feed it. It got so close to us that the next day, even after letting it off, it just wouldn't go away. It came back to me when I called and it even brought another one like him along :)

In the evening the two of us went to a near by temple which was on top of a cliff. In fact, the road that ran through the forest area ended below the cliff. The bus service was to that temple. My cousin took me there not to pray, but for the great view from there... It was breathtaking. We watched a beautiful sunset from a cliff top, with nothing but endless green forest below us. And every evening we went up there and sat on the rocks...talking and taking snaps. There was a big lake near the field station, on the way to the cliff, and we sat on a rock on the lakeside till late evening and went back to the room.

It was what I would call “heaven”. I was so refreshed inside and I couldn’t imagine anything else that could make me feel so lively. However, I couldn't go on a trek as I had thought... because it was dangerous to go into the forest without a person who knows when a wild animal was close by... preferably a local guy. And that was something I really wanted to do. Well, some other time, I thought. So all I could do mainly was accompanying my cousin in the jeep as she went out to conduct surveys among the tribes there...traveling 30 to 40 kms into the deep jungle, having breakfast (packed and taken with us) somewhere, stopping by some stream etc.

The most common animals usually seen there are elephants and bison, I was told, but I never saw any of them. I was actually getting a li’l disappointed at that, but then for my luck, I saw some rare animals... which were usually not seen around. Lots of wild dogs, sambar (a deer of southern Asia with antlers that have three tines), spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope (an endangered species...very rare), peacocks (the majestic looking males and many females), many varieties of birds...so beautiful I swear, wild boars and 3 huge 300 pound bears, which were the highlights! If really lucky we could have even come across a tiger they said, but it didn't happen. I wasn’t that lucky. I loved it though and when leaving the place on the fourth day, I was already planning for yet another trip... into the woods on foot rather than a jeep.

Well, that was quite a long time ago, and unfortunately I haven’t been able to do it so far. But I've decided. In my life I'll spend a few days every year in the wilderness like that... right in the woods. That's my idea of the perfect holiday, when I need a break from the hectic city life. Going to some foreign countries and staying in all comfortable hotels/resorts... that's ok once in a while, but I think this is what you should be doing if you need to recharge yourselves. Just the feel of fresh air in your nostrils is enough to charge you up. Believe me. Am so grateful to my cousin for giving me the opportunity, to experience the glory of Nature.

I missed a good camera when I was there. I could have taken some great snaps if I had one. And interestingly, though I was always hooked to my computer and music collection at home those days (I still am so), a good camera is all that I missed out there in the jungle. Not the TV, not computer, not the music. I guess the fresh air, the greenery all around, the placid waters of the lake, the chirping of the birds, watching the sun set from the cliff, the excitement of exploring and the suspense of not knowing what lies around the corner, the beauty of the whole place… it kept my mind so happy and excited, it didn’t give me a chance to miss anything else.

The jungles. You should try it sometime. It’s one hell of a place to be, I say.