- Joy of Giving Week: Book give away guidelines
- JoGW Day1: My first national park
- JoGW Day2: Tiger, Tiger
- JoGW Day3: Responsible Tourism
- JoGW Day4: The zoo experience
- JoGW Day 5: Explore every damn corner of the world…
- JoGW Day 6: Sensitise your subconscious
- JoGW Day 7: Booking Wildlife
- JoGW: Is now over. But you can still Rejoice!
Nearly 6 years ago I visited Jim Corbett National Park – my first national park 1. Those of you who are familiar with Corbett NP know that the splendor of it’s Dhikala Range cannot be expressed in words.
As the Gypsy bumped around on the dirt road at 50 kmph, I busied myself on the back seat, craning my neck to see the top of trees – squinting my eyes as the tree tops burnt a bright yellow where they met the sun high above. A cool January breeze blew in my face, playing havoc with my shoulder length hair. My eyes soaked in the greenery, first tried, and eventually gave up the task of differentiating one shade of green from another. The beauty of the forest took my breath away and the sweet scented breeze encouraged me to take deeper breaths. One half of me was beginning to wish the ride never ended while the other was waiting to see what more lay at the end of the road.
I go through a similar experience whenever I visit a particular forest for the first time.
- I’m not counting Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur which I visited one summer afternoon when I was 11 ↩
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
31 and never seen a forest.. how’s that for a tag line. I guess it was only after I read your post did I really sit down to wonder why I never have. Maybe because it never worked out or perhaps because I had no one to share the wonder with. But now I think this is something I would love to share with my son. Looking forward to our first trip…
bring him there soon, need not wait until his 8th/9th b’day.….
kaun saala bolta hai be, its never too late!!
Krishna, you mean — its never too early?!?
I am hoping you give extra marks for creativity. I visited a forest once, while reading A Hat Full of Sky written by Sir Terry Pratchett. It was late at night, and it was terrifying. The trees kept shifting and there were nightmares after me.
Ok, the real answer to your question: 27 and cringing in shame. Never had the time when I was working, always stuck with in the probationary limbo. And didn’t have the money (and time) when I started working for myself! Also, didn’t have anyone nice to go with.
LA, extra marks for creativity WOULD have been there if i were expecting creativity. But this is purely random. Maybe my next give away will have some more constraints. This one was great fun and i am really excited to have another one. How about having one a month. It should not be difficult?
Nov 2001, it was at the tadoba andhari np, something mysterious abt this name.
onward journey to the park, was creating my own version of this forest, for its name tht includes-‘andhari’.
Being the first visit, by default had too many firsts during tht week, my first sighting of hoopoe, first sight of gaur, first tree hug, first starry night, first porcupine’s spine found & left lamentably , first ride on an open jeep, & of course the momentous first walk-alone in the pitch forest– i thought, it wud be fine, had the torch to my rescue, everything was going alright, until I turned behind, just to see pitch darkness, ran thru’ my way, the sight got worse, as the patches of light from my animated torch everywhere (due to my graceless running), made the darkness even more conspicuous & I ran ever faster ….. guess, I was tryin to race with my imagination– Man! I was scared.
& of course: my first, first sight of Tiger! — coming out of the bamboo bush– W.O.W! (ditto refer W. blake’s description of Tiger)
&! the Lake! alongside the board tht reads “swimming is prohibited, survivors are prosecuted” & not the least my first tiger-god-worshipper-guide. sigh! totally sent there…..
Wishing upon a star for being there soon! & of course in a company of a good book (preferably of Ruskin Bond)!!
Dear Krishna,
Thanks for finding time from your busy schedule and writing in. You always have a different perspective to things; they are a welcome break for my mind which all too easily sets into a rut. Your description of seeing your first tiger is very typical, much unlike you (and your thought processes). But then, in indian jungles it happens to be thus so one cannot change it much.
For those who are not aware of William Blake and his The Tiger, i am putting down the poem below.
The Tiger
By William Blake
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Hi Meethil,
Am here –following a link from Vandana’s post. You idea of giving away a book has me drooling (shameless..that I am!) –and if I could already make a request-James Herriot sounds great (well, so do other authors, actually). As for the forest experience, does ‘Sanjay Gandhi National Park — in Borivali’ count ?
I have been there couple of times, dont remember my first experience.
But the foll. is a somewhat memorable one (even if for the wrong reasons)
Our family (several cousins, uncles, aunt’s etc..) had gone to a relative’s farmhouse, off lonavala. From there the group just went up trekking up a forested hill to visit the local deity. We went up late afternoon..following a small track made by animals and humans perhaps. We reached the top of the hill, paid our respects to the godess and sat for a while, enjoying the sunset. However we got a bit lost on the way back, and it was getting dark rapidly. And I can still remember our panic and hurry to get back home– since the local people had reported spotting a leopard recently. Amongst 7–8 people, there was only one torch. Fortunately we met 1–2 villagers in some time, who guided us to the right track! Uff!
So, will keep coming back to read your ‘Jungle book’
Happy blogging.
Dipti
Dear Dipty,
Thank you for visiting JungleBook and participating in the giveaway. (And Congratulations on winning that book! Lucky Ducky!)
Sanjay Gandhi NP does count as a forest experience. But its really sad that you do not remember your first visit to the park. I guess it did not have ‘that’ kind of influence on you. SGNP is looked upon more a a picnic spot than a national park. But if you find a good ‘guide’ you can have a very nice trail (walk) in a wooded area of the park. The monsoon is the best time to visit the park, the summer being the worse.
Do drop in whenever you have the time, i’m sure you will find something to read at JungleBook. Alternatively, you can also subscribe to my mailing list and be kept informed of the newbies here.
Enjoy your book.
Thank you all for participating on the first day!
I will announce the winner tomorrow.
Please continue to participate, you still stand a chance of winning your book!
Spreading the word will stand you a chance of winning the bonus prize at the end of the week!
Dipty has won herself a book!
Congratulations. A book will be shipped to you at the end of the week.
The give away is still going! Comment on todays post and you stand a chance to win a book.