The Prudent Monsoon

All this while I always believed that beginner’s luck was just a statement intended to encourage the first timers to actually take the plunge instead of hesitating or backing off. Little did I imagine what would be in store for me when I took along a bunch of first timers into the Tropical Rainforest and that too in the peak of monsoons.

Typical scenes in a Rain Forest in Monsoon

The City Bunch getting ready for the Wild

Landslides, slush, slippery slopes, mossy and deadly rocks and not to mention the omnipresent Leeches. The continuous presence of one or more of the above meant that the average traveler is defeated by the elements even before he/she starts. Not this bunch though!!

Their faces speak a thousand words

Although ill equipped to handle the elements, this was a sporting bunch who came with one expectation and left with a completely changed mindset and attitudes towards all that is Mother Nature. For this bunch, weekends meant hitting the nearest bar/ pub; get pickled to the gills, stagger towards the nearest bed and hit the sack. This was a bunch of colleagues from Office who have in the past been to several locations where they have been "exposed" to Wilderness. So this group was once again in the expectation to get to a place with a proper room and bed and roof over their heads with the freedom to do what they usually did. 



So it began on a Friday night, we set off to the Cherrapunji of South India - Agumbe.... well not exactly Agumbe village but an even smaller hamlet called Guddekere. This journey by itself should be fairly straightforward - Board a bus at Bangalore the previous night at 2230hrs and get off at Guddekere next morning at 0600 hrs. No...we just could not have things that simple. We love complications, so we book a bus to Tirthahalli and plan to take a local bus to Guddekere.

For the Geographically challenged folks like yours truly...it can be a nightmare. Thanks in no small measure to a colleague who could speak the local lingo fluently, the experience was a breeze, unlike the journey itself. We were booked by a Sleeper coach to Tirthahalli which theoretically meant that you could have a good night's sleep before alighting.

Laddies, ladies and others!!! It is easier to get some shut eye in a semi reclining position than in a completely flat position in a bus that is speeding through winding roads....so with every turn, you get shoved to the opposite direction in your sleep. Depending on where you are sleeping, you could be banging on the side walls of the bus, the support steel rigging or your neighbor....Best of luck if your neighbor happens to be a stranger!!!

So all said and done, we reached Tirthahalli at 06:15 and after a washroom break, took the local mini bus to Guddekere. Being an early morning, the bus was not crowded and we all managed to get seats. Soon thereafter we reached Guddekere and were greeted by Prashant. Prashant happens to be the Camp manager and Gowrishankar's man friday at this location. Gowri being away on travel, it was Prashant who would be our host and guide over the next couple of days. 

Also at long last I was able to catch up with one of Gowri's old time mates... Sujan Bernard. Sujan is a Wild lifer turned Techie turned wild life enthusiast who now firmly believes that he is much better of in the "benign wild" surrounded by reptiles and amphibians of both the venomous and non venomous variety than be in the Wild sorrounded by the City dwelling man. Sujan had with him a couple of his guests who also joined in the group.

After settling in and a quick round of introductions, it was time for chai and breakfast and soon we were off on our first trek. Although it was monsoon, a small break in the clouds ensured that there was Sunlight for a shortwhile and this was enough to bring the birds out. Velvet Fronted Nuthatch and the Scarlet Minivets were there to greet us as we move out on our first trek.

The intern in-house Udit was guiding us with Sujan and myself bringing up the rear to ensure that there were no stragglers.

Pretty soon on cue, Udit yelled snake and there it was.... a beautiful Green Vine Snake, just yards away from the dining area of the camp. For all group members it was practically the first time they had ever seen a snake outside a Zoo. 




This experience galvanized the group and soon they had spotted a Bi-Coloured frog, a painted grasshopper and soon the list was growing along with the interest of the group. The group headed out to the stream behind the camp, while I caught up with Prashant and we reminisced the old times. 

 The journey to the stream was punctuated by rain to a point where they had to turn back. Not the easiest of treks for the normal city dweller. But the team was game to the challenge and all of them returned unscathed except for Sujan who made the debut - donating blood to the Leeches.

Soon after lunch, we had an interactive session with the group essentially educating them about the Rain-forest ecology and its importance to our own survival.

The group was totally absorbed in the discussion and were able to appreciate the importance of the small things in life. Things that always got the last priority in the rat race they always knew as Life.
Post lunch we set out for another trek and soon the team was spotting more than the Guides. To imagine that this was a group that came in with an expectation that they would be spending time in a Resort whiling away time in drinking and making merry.


Although tired, not one member wanted to be left behind on any of the treks, leeches or no leeches. All in all it was a wonderful experience that had many participants put on their thinking hats to see how they can be a part of the Conservation effort.


In a small but significant way we hope to be able to spread the word and make people appreciate what real life is all about and how they can help themselves live better and healthier by ensuring that they use nature wisely so nature helps them back.

A small but important mantra being REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE.

Trust you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.