Girls Trip gone wild ....

It had all the ingredients of an adventurous trip. One Car, four girls (Komal, Medha, Niyati & I), all by themselves, doing the Chandigarh-Dharamshala-McLeodganj-Chamba-Dalhousie - Chandigarh route.

View from Dalhousie (Photo Credit: Komal L.)

We had a very able driver in Medha. She was from the hills, she knew her way around, had driven extensively in the hilly terrain, nothing could go wrong.

All was well till Chamba. It was a fantastic journey. Our first halt was at Dharamshala - Quaint, quiet and cold. It was late Jan, spring was around. Girls were ecstatic. We were putting up at a rather well looked after location. Four to six guards and two cooks were manning the place. The Bombay girls (Komal & I) discovered a weird looking device known as 'heater'. The whole night was spent marveling at technology.

We spent more time shopping on the streets of McLeodganj, evenings were spent at the bustling Irish Cafe. It was almost utopia there. Quiet, serene, great weather, Buddhist sites, cute dogs and tibetan market! :P  But we had less time on our hand. Having spent one night there, we moved up to Chamba.

The city girls would've sworn they had never seen a river earlier. Ravi River was almost magical.

Our day was spent appreciating the beauty of Ravi and indulging in a rather heavy Madra. Kidney beans made with curd and some generous portions of ghee along with rice - don't miss this Kangra delicacy, the next time you are there. We were too full to drive further hence we took a driver on board.

Having spent a full day in Chamba we started for Dalhousie. It was already dark. There was fresh snowfall. We were driving downhill into a black forest and it didn't seem to end. The shadows of the big Pine trees on the pavement had spooked me. I was the first one to stop talking amongst the four of us. In the next five minutes one by one we were all soaked into the environment. Silence.

Terrified. All of us. Something was really wrong, but we couldn't single it out. We were about to take a sharp turn on the valley, when suddenly, Komal asked the driver to stop the car and take a u-turn back into the main city. We trusted her instincts. There was no room for debate. Medha got out to guide our driver for the turn. She stepped out of the car for a second and shut the door asap. "Let's just drive back, i'm sure he doesn't need my help," she said.

We drove back in pin drop silence and discovered -  Peace Channels Resorts, our night halt. I hit the bed as soon as I saw it, while the rest of them continued to finish college assignments due for the next day. I woke up with a strange dream of a big black bear pounding on our door and a big black cat tip toeing on the resort stairs. Apparently as it turned out, it wasn't a dream. The bear was indeed there and so was the cat. Our room was heated and the only one with lights turned on. The animals were looking for warmth or saw a good meal in us. We were only thankful of the glass door being strong enough to take the pounding.

The next day whizzed by and we started for Chandigarh. I was just glad to be out of Dalhousie and that godforsaken road. While a trip is planned to explore what we could've encountered that night at the turn, I definitely don't want to go there, ever!

How safe are our animals in National Parks? India edition

 

We had a great time at Ranthambore National Park. We were immersed in the yellow and green expanse of the wilderness.We were also lucky to sight the tiger in our second safari. And it was not a regular sighting. We were tailing her for five minutes. From the second she was in the bushes to the minute she paraded on the main jungle pathway. We were ecstatic. We had been to two national parks for tiger spotting – Corbett & Bandhavgarh, but nothing was close to what we were about to witness. 

There were three gypsy’s including ours and one canter. Each was trying to get a better view. There were hushed whispers of T-39 also known as Mala walking in the bushes. Our driver said she would eventually walk on the main path where gypsy’s drove, so we rushed a few steps ahead of other vehicles. As expected she came on the very path and strolled ahead of us, unperturbed by our presence. She kept walking for a minute and suddenly she stopped, turned to take a look at us and walked away in the woods.(The video can be found here)

 

It was a successful journey and I am glad it happened, but it also brought into light how vulnerable these animals are. Many overzealous drivers are known to take the jeeps/canters excessively close to the tigers, enraging them. A quick search on Youtube and one would see agitated tigers chasing the vehicles eventually leading them out of their territory. It can be traumatizing for not just the animal but also for those sitting in the vehicles. 

Another incident at Gir, Gujrat, in the summer of 2009 is testimony to the horrors of allowing visitors in wildlife sanctuaries. This sanctuary is known to be the sole home of the Asiatic lion. It was probably May and the jungle was facing one of its most harsh months. We had two guides with us. On reaching the heart of the jungle they stopped our jeep and stepped outside with two thick bamboo poles. They went inside the jungle beating the poles to the ground and within a few minutes we saw them behind two lionesses – driving them near our jeep. We don’t know how they did it. They apparently did so to make a quick buck.  

We were told it is not allowed to step out of the vehicle, but apparently everything is possible in Indian national parks/sanctuaries. I know of friends who have taken many a night safaris in sanctuaries equipped with booze. We were offered deer and monkey meat during our Bandhavgarh sojourn multiple times. (Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh is supposed to have the highest density of Bengal tigers in India.)

If you have money or access to certain privileges you can get away with anything. Hunting is not unheard of either; the black buck shooting case is testimony to this fact.  What is the solution? Do we stop visitors in sanctuaries/national parks, considering the dangerous animal our own species is turning out to be? 

T-39/Mala at Ranthambore

 

Lionesses seen at Gir