My attachment with the WILD comes from days spent in Junagadh (a place where I did my Graduation).
I have to admit that there we learnt more than we had all bargained for. We used to call it a 4 year long vacation, not because we did not have enough work but because it was just so beautiful…. non commercialized…. authentic …. natural… and in its own way…. WILD!
After passing out from the university (CAET) in 1998, I kind of lost touch with the life that I had lived for 4 years--- a life of a farmer.
8 years have passed since and still every time I visit a forest or something even remotely resembling it, I cant help missing those years of absolute bliss. May be I am exaggerating a bit, but that is how I feel when I think of JUNAGADH. ( Juna – In gujarati means Old and Gadh – Means fort. Junagadh --“Old Fort”)
Our visit to Bannerghata National Park yesterday took me back in those days. For a moment I felt like the 18 year old who traveled to Junagadh alone in the blazing heat of May in 1994 ----- looking forward to a life filled with ambition… expectation… and dreams !
Some which came true,
some which were lost on the way
and some that I still carry dearly in my heart.
….. But it sure has been a pleasant journey.
Four of us drove on the broken and diverted road to BNP chatting and eating Lay’s to make up for the lunch we skipped (not that any of us was complaining) as we were running late for the Grand Safari.
After a short break of waiting in the Q to board the Safari bus, we were on our way to see the WILD animals. We drove from one cage to another watching bisons… deers….bears….and than the most awaited Tigers. Between the screams and cries of children in the bus I looked into the eyes of the tiger standing next to the window. Somehow I was disappointed in what I saw; there was no emotion in them... no anger …no curiosity …THERE WAS NOTHING WILD ABOUT THEM !
....in the ZOO we saw baby elephant… monkeys ( the only FREE animal) .. Hippos…deer…all kind of snakes and Zebra. Except the deer who looked at us expecting to be fed, rest of the animals couldn’t care less.
This brought us to the end of our visit, which we sealed with Choco bars..nutty bar.. and a mango dolly ( actually it was called something else here but Mango Dolly is what we called it in Junagadh).
....in the ZOO we saw baby elephant… monkeys ( the only FREE animal) .. Hippos…deer…all kind of snakes and Zebra. Except the deer who looked at us expecting to be fed, rest of the animals couldn’t care less.
This brought us to the end of our visit, which we sealed with Choco bars..nutty bar.. and a mango dolly ( actually it was called something else here but Mango Dolly is what we called it in Junagadh).
We drove back to later hangout at my place and have a pleasant evening chatting, watching TV and snacking. It was a day well spent with friends...
....BUT when I hit the bed there was one thought that bothered me…
" THERE WAS NOTHING WILD ABOUT THEM !"
....BUT when I hit the bed there was one thought that bothered me…
" THERE WAS NOTHING WILD ABOUT THEM !"
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