Chronicles of Natures wonders
I have been trekking in the Sahyadries for a very long time. As a youngster
mountains meant only adventures, so the beauty of flowers and birds never
grabbed our attention much. But years passed by and the awe for natures
biodiversity started seeping in. So here are a few of my unique acquaintances with
nature during my treks in the Sahyadri.
A team of 5 planned a leisure trek to Ramshej fort near Nasik last year
during the Ganapati festival.
We reached the base village in the night and slept outside under the shade
of a nearby temple. Just at sunrise I heard a peculiar bird call with heavy
flapping of wings and started searching high perches of big trees. I was unsure
of what exactly to look for, but didn’t have to search much. There was a Black
naped Ibis busy collecting twigs and building its nest on one of the trees
around us. Never had I witnessed such a sight before.
Soon we were ready for a climb after a hot tea served by a local resident. Ramshej was a small fort with the climb being simple and gradual. On
our way up we met a group of people who looked more like college professors
than trekkers. They were holding a jar filled with water and something floating
in it. Our leisure mood and inquisitive minds started a conversation and we
found out that the little floaters were some rare shrimps found in clean water
cisterns. Ramshej is one of such rare places that rear these retail fairy
shrimps, which we even found in one of the water tanks on top of the fort
later. So the people we met were actually lecturers at a college and a lady
amongst them was researching the rare shrimp. They were here to collect sample
for the same purpose.
We reached a temple at the gate of the fort and arranged all our stuff
neatly inside. After an elaborate lunch followed by a chat n short nap, we headed
towards the top plateau to begin our exploration. Initially, we gradually climbed
the top most point exploring the remains of the fort and cistern; the shrimps,
though, were on the other side, the flat side. And there we found that tank
with fairy shrimps while it was getting dark.
The shrimps were tiny and
beautiful with a red tail and a green line on a white body. The sight of shiny waves
swimming in the crystal clear water cistern was astonishing. I had never seen
such beautiful creatures swimming in one cluster forming different shapes
almost like clouds. The light was fading and their movement was getting increasingly
haunting. We tried to take videos as well as pictures. A video gave a better
perception of the cluster. We thought we would get better pictures in day light
but the sight in the evening hours was supreme.
Floral Diwali on historical ground
A trend was setting in my family, to spend Diwali outdoors, mostly in the mountains.
So we packed our rucksacks with ration, gas stove, vessels, and clothes and set
out to the ghat towards Shivaji’s capital fort of Rajgad. The plan was to do the traverse route of
Rajgad torna so we parked our car at the base of Torna that is Velhe and
took a rickshaw to drop us at the base village of Rajgad. We were on top by late afternoon. And were surprised to see the number of
visitors on the fort on both the days till we stayed. They kept coming all through
the night shouting slogans. It was very disturbing and polluting the quiet
environment especially during the night. But anyways, we were very happy to
observe many birds including barn swallows, kestrel and larks. It was a floral
feast once we started our walk on the ridge towards Torna .
Variety of
butterflies like Danaid eggfly great eggfly, peacock pansy, painted lady, wild
flowers like Wild gram, आभाळी, पर्णगुंफी phyllocephalum
scabridum purple heads and herds of goats kept me and my camera busy. The most
memorable and heart touching moment with the goats was witnessing a new born
babygoat. The mother was right on our path, which was on the ridge with steep
slopes on both sides . She was with her just born kid helping it get under her
towards bottles of milk..!!
During our long 9 hour walk we passed through different
landscapes, a path woven in the thick jungle of Karvi. Wet
tall grass , a ridge with steep exposure
on either side and dry rough grass as we
reached on the Torna plato. A stinging nettle grass gave a nasty sting on
Abhijeet’s hand making him terribly hyper but aleo vera gel was the savior.
We reached the temple on top of Torna after a half an hour traverse through
the dry grass . I didn’t realize the trouble I had caused because of that.
While we finished dinner cooked on the gas stove, we spread our mattresses and
I wore my night time socks. Slowly my
ankles started itching and also aggravated extremely.. Again aleo vera gel came
to the rescue, at least for the time being.. But the bites caused me trouble
for the next 4 months as these are mite bites and they impact the skin so much
that there is an itch and the marks which every jungle dweller carries on his
body almost for 4 months … every season. But
no complaints. Haah.
Next day while climbing down the slope we saw wonderful wild flowers again.
To name a few were मोठी रिंगणी fruited pea Eggplant, काटे चेंडू Echinops echinatus
Our car was waiting for us, to take us back to the city life after successful
, beautiful Rajgad Torna trek.
Ghost in the darkness of SGNP
Now starts the bone chilling experience, which I can share about the King
of SGNP. In those days back in the 1980s, Girivihar , Mumbai’s oldest
mountaineering club used to hold basic rock climbing camp and adventure camp at
Kanheri Caves. We used to live in the Forest rest house at the base of Kanheri,
practically sleeping out in the front yard as trainees specially children of the adventure camp were
accommodated inside the Bungalow. After the hard work of the day, once all the
children and older trainees were done with their dinner we trainers would
gather for the days review outside, on the steps, leading to the caves. All the
rush of visitors and the sellers would subside and it would be just sounds of
the jungle in a dark, cool weather.
That day somehow a mongrel (stray dog) was left alone and he was very
nervous not to find his masters, probably the sellers, from small villages. He
probably had wandered somewhere when all the villagers went back. We were busy
discussing things while he kept circling us. A weird thought occurred in
someone’s brain … ‘now since this dog is left alone here it’s possible that he
won’t see tomorrow’s sun. Then another guy had a vicious idea of tying him to
the bus stop pole which was right in front of us as a bait to see live hunting.
I was sitting at the last step enjoying this hyped discussion.
And “ Waackkkk….!” There was a sharp
screeching sound just 5 feet behind me in the endless darkness …. Oh my goodness… a cold shiver ran
through my body … where was that dog? He had strolled around me in the darkness
to circle the group probably but the Ghost of the jungle had sensed him and waiting
for his chance to attack, escaping our gaze.
It was a split second and the Leopard had pounced, grabbed the dog, and
jumped in the thicket behind the canteen besides steps. Torches in those days
were not as powerful as they are now. We could only hear rustling and heavy
breathing but not a glimpse of that majestic beauty.
A thought that the beast was right behind us in a crouched position, who
knows for how long, kept all of us thrilled, and awake most of the night.
Next morning after a small search in
the thicket and upwards on the slopes, we observed some fur, a few bones, and
blood…that’s it.
Juee Khopkar
