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Weekend Getaway - Bandipur, Mudumalai - 12, 13 Apr 2003

Come Friday, and I get restless. My mind starts thinking about various places, to getaway for the weekend. And for this purpose, Mudumalai and Bandipur have been my favorite place for a long time. They never lose their beauty and natural splendour, even at the harshest summers. The summer was at its peak, and I just wanted to see how the reserves are coping up with the harsh conditions.

So, I found myself riding towards Mysore, in the wee hours of Saturday. I wanted to be inside the park around daybreak, so there would be plenty of animal movements. As I'd planned, by around 6.30pm, I was inside Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve. The deer have become quite used to human presence, and were seen in hundreds all along the road that runs through the park. Peacocks could also be spotted often. Though the hillsides of the park are dry and dangerously prone to a fire, the inside of the park were more green and lush. I spent a good three hours roaming up and down the park, and taking in the beauty of the forest. I'd just purchased a good pair of Samsung binoculars the previous day, and so enjoyed myself watching the deer, peacock and birds to my heart's content. The binoculars provided very good zooming views, and I was excited to observe the animals at close quarters, through the binoculars. Though deep inside my heart I was craving for a tiger sighting, I was very much aware that it was a very remote possibility, and had to keep my anxiety down.

Through my many visits, and readings about Bandipur, I've come to crave for a tiger sighting at Bandipur. The other parks under Project Tiger have better chances of sighting the tiger in the wild, especially Bandhavgarh Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, and the Ranthambore reserve at Rajasthan. However it is touted very difficult in Bandipur. There are an estimated 80 tigers here, in an area of roughly 800 square kilometers. The buffer zone is about 300square kilometers. Once during a previous trek to Gopalswamy betta, the highest point inside the park, we came upon a tiger kill. And that was the closest I ever got to a tiger. Apparently, a tiger lives in the Gopalswamy hills, and we had stumbled upon its gaur kill. Given a chance, I'd only be glad to do another trek to the betta and scout around for the tiger.

Coming back to the present trip; eventually I crossed Bandipur, to enter Tamilnadu, and Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary. Mudumalai was much drier than Bandipur, and was witnessing one of its tough summers. There was no greenery anywhere, and the hills wore a dry look. The trees had shed their leaves, and were barren. A few langurs were the only creatures to be seen here and there, and they too were expecting some food from the passing vehicles. It was very pathetic to note all this, but I'd comfort myself that it was only a passing chapter, and part of life. Come monsoon, and life blooms to its fullest here. The first rains would rouse the soil, and the sweet smell of wet sand will fill the air. The grass will start sprouting, and the numerous herbivores will come to feed on it. The insects will come swarming, and will attract the thousands of various bird species. And, with all this around, the carnivore will not be far away. The tiger will be stalking its prey in the bush, and the leopard will hunt by night, coming down from the trees. But, for all this to arrive, the summer will have to be withstood.

I wanted to spend sometime at the 'Mudumalai valley view point', which is few kilometers away from Gudalur, on the Ooty road. This viewpoint presents one of the most picturesque and breathtaking views of the whole terrain and forestland. After breakfasting at Gudalur, I reached the viewpoint, and spent a good time there, enjoying myself with my binoculars and the camera I'd borrowed from a friend. After this, I returned to Mudumalai, and by noon checked into a familiar hotel at Masinagudi. After a nap in the afternoon, I again scrambled out, and went rolling down slowly towards Bandipur. Mudumalai had been closed, and the receptionist informed me that there were no safaris. I went on to Bandipur, and found it to be very touristy. Since it was on the heavy-traffic Mysore-Ooty road, and since it was a weekend, there was a crowd. Bandipur was open, and safaris were being conducted. I managed to procure a ticket, and boarded the van. The van safari lasted around 45 minutes. The safaris are conducted only upto a certain distance from the main tourism zone, and this is enough, since Gaur, Chital, Langur, Wild Boar, Wild Elephants could be sighted within this range. However, since tigers are nocturnal, it is not very easy to spot them here, but the possibility remains. The 'Last Tiger Sighting' board at the reception read '7 April 2003'.

It was getting dark, and I did a slow ride towards Masinagudi. The forest at night is a totally different place. During the daytime, it is just like any other woods, just the trees swaying, and nothing else to be seen. As night falls, the animals start moving, and everything resembles a leopard or a tiger to me. However, it is not easy for humans to withstand the nightlife of a forest, and so I had to hurry up towards my abode at Masinagudi. In this regard, I admire the notorious smuggler Mr. Veerappan a lot, for he has lived close to two decades inside these forests, along with tigers, leopards, wild elephants, snakes, boars, bears and all other animal species found here. Living off the land requires high levels of courage, understanding of the jungle, and very high fitness levels, which, many of us city dwellers lack. I'm not ashamed to state that city life has only made us cowards. Though civilization has brought about a huge change to how humans live, by bringing ease and comfort, it has also robbed us of many of our natural instincts, and fine tuned skills. I'm not stating that ease and comfort should be banned, but I insist that, the level of such comforts needs to be thoughtfully considered. Living a city life generation after generation, we've been inhaling polluted air all our lives, eating toxic painted food and drinking contaminated water. The results are here to see - high levels of depression, stress, strain, all sorts of diseases, reduced levels of immunity, death at early ages, mental disorders, illness, reduced sperm count, et cetera. However, it again depends on the individual to cope with all his, and still to lead a great and happy life. I've seen examples of such humans, too. Here, the mind and its state come into play.

Again, coming back to my trip; I was tired enough, so had a long night's sleep at Masinagudi. The next day morning was again spent at Bandipur, watching the crowd, and the deer. Afternoon, I checked out of the hotel, and rode back to Bangalore, It was a hot ride, and after frequent stops of tender coconuts, I reached Bangalore by 5pm on Sunday; only to return to the forest again at another point in time.