In Jan of 2006 I decide to take a break from work and head to the jungles of Masinagudi, nestled at the foothills of the mighty Nilgiris. The drive is splendid, aided by the sighting of many a colourful bird and a low amount of traffic. We decide to check out a place called Gopalswamy Betta, just before Bandipur and proceed to the hilltop with the car making the only sound in this vast expanse of forest. Soon we are up and offer our prayers at the temple.
On our way down I am hit by my sixth sense - the road is hardly 10 feet wide and in need of a coat of tar. I switch off the engine and park it at a clearing. There is pin drop silence all around, but the hair at the back of my neck is standing with anticipation.. I cannot explain it, or why I stopped, but in a few moments, I spot a faint movement in the foliage..looks like an entire rock face is moving. It is a natural camouflaged..I am mesmerized by this movement and I realise it is an elephant.. He clambers up the hillside with amazing agility for his size and crosses the road in front of us. We keep quiet, partly out of fear of a herd following, and partly out of awe - watching the huge animal moving with such dexterity and quiet.. I frantically throw glances around searching for a herd, but there appear to be none. We give the elephant a good 15 minutes to clear the road and then quietly move on..a fantastic spotting of an elephant in the wild on the first day of the trip itself!
We drive on through the forests of Bandipur and Mudumulai, I pass the spot where a couple of years ago had a close shave with a herd of elephants and am instantly reminded that I am in their territory and my car can't quite withstand even a resting foot... It is a perfect afternoon, the rays of the sun flitter through the space between the leaves, and sunshine bathes the canopy above me in a yellowish blaze. It is warm, but the feeling of nature brings utmost warmth.. We pass the Moyar river with its bottle green waters and mahouts bathing their charges..butterflies dance in the gentle waffle of the breeze and a wild boar crashes past the car and into the undergrowth..a handsome peacock in the loveliest of hues stands in mock attention as he watches us glide by...
We are met by a group of foreigners who chatter frantically about the coming of an elephant - I am galvanized into action - another wild spotting on the road - luck is amazing! Alas!..not to be - how could I forget that for them an elephant, trained or wild, is an elephant?? Disgruntled I drive on. We are now on the narrow road that connects Mudumalai to Ooty via Masinagudi - a road that is a wildlife enthusiast's dream - lone, desolate, and cut off from traffic after 6pm. Every second in that silent jungle is paradise, there are birds of every kind, their chattering brings music to my ears, I find myself floating - jolted back as we go into a ditch...
The faint change in temperature heralds the beginning of the plains at Masinagudi, it is a village I am familiar with, having spent time there in quiet solitude and wonder, we enter the main road with its cute little shops and houses and the ever present Tamil Nadu Goverment Wine Store. A few beers are transferred to the boot and we're off to a friend's place. I laze about on the luxurious grass, cropped low by famished deer and my mind is taken to another world, a world of the Blue Mountains, beautiful flowers, wild country and bonfires.. As I lie down I feel cosy and soon the ants make themselves at home all over my body (talk about being a gigolo!!) .. but that soon becomes meaningless as I look up into the Blue Mountains and all I have around is a beautiful wild country..fresh air and a thousand fireflies buzzing around...
I find my friend asleep in his hammock, under the influence of the local 'sweet leaf'! He is rudely awakened from his Utopia of nude women and the like and as I profusely shake hands with him he finds it rather hard to remember who I am... He takes us on a whirlwind tour of the countryside in his brand new Honda City V-Tec. I make a request for a take-off at 6000rpm and he promptly obliges - the car shoots forward and we reach 120 kmph in a blink of an eye... We acquire a bunch of fresh 'sweet leaf' from an old hand and he is profuse in his thanks for the reward...for any fan of the stuff - this is where it's sweetest! We settle at a stream nearby, with the hope of catching elephants on their journey, the wind has settled down, the purplish haze of a setting sun mystifies this beautiful spot. I look around for fresh droppings, find none, obviously the elephants have given the stream a miss today... We delve a little deeper into the jungle, off road, in the City, it gets a little dicey when we approach a clump of bamboo that shelters a watering hole, we don't stand much chance against a mock charge...however adrenalin runs high and the drive goes on into the late evening.. It is a mix of relief and sadness that sets in when we are on terra firma again, and it is pitch dark. The resort lies off the road to Ooty, and as soon as you turn off, you're engulfed in a thorny forest where an attack by a startled bull elephant or bison means a lot of haggling with the insurance guys. But also, you stand a chance of spotting wildlife by the dozen. As we enter the resort gate the piercing beam picks up myriad bobbing yellow orbs - deer! by the hundreds! A masterpiece of a setting, only wish I could paint that picture.. Late evening is dealt with with updates of the town and its folk, flora and fauna.
We hear the sad news that a man has been trampled to death by an elephant a week ago and a car found itself in the path of a herd. This is the beauty of living in the world of animals - tranquility and anxiety, fear and wonder, awe and despair... We hire a jeep to take us on a night tour of the area - a largely uneventful trip thanks to the resounding roar of the engine in the still night, no creature could possibly withstand that noise.. A return to the resort is complimented with an excellent dinner of country chicken and rice. I am at peace with myself, the war within has ceased... Next morning, I am off hiking into the bush, enthralled by the spiderwebs and footprints, signs that animals have been here not too long ago...I keep a watchful lookout behind me...I lose myself in the maze of trees and game-paths...I walk the path of freedom, of solitude and inner peace... I spot a kite overhead, circling over and over - there's a kill! and it's apparent it's fresh since the kite's not coming down to investigate...the kill is about a couple of kilometres ahead...I don't venture further and return for breakfast. After breakfast we make the winding trip up to Ooty for no real goal other than the 'wish' of the woman in our company...anyway the hills are beautiful as always. We return and have tea by a cute little shop midway. It makes for an amazing setting amongst the hills... We return to the resort with an appetite for destruction - it is nearing 6pm and the forest is waking up...we decide to make a trip off road to a rather well known person's - Mark's - place. He is an eccentric but his place affords a good view of the surrounding jungle.
As we turn off the road into the forest by way of a path, I realise that we are cut off from retreat, reversing would require us to almost reverse blind, not a good thought. Anyway we move ahead and there is a blind curve to the right. Beyond this curve is a huge tamarind tree that towers above, and a few furlongs from there, lies Mark's place. As we turn the corner, we are jolted out of our skins - there...below the gigantic tamarind...watching us closely and with admirable composure stands a living giant - a handsome tusker... My knees turn to water and the car stops as a result...there is fear, there is awe, there is respect...
He doesn't move an inch. He watches us closely, all the while chewing his branch. If it were me, I'd be losing that branch out of my rear...
Just looking up at him sent shivers up my spine and for a moment I thought of getting out of the car and photographing him, but then I realised that there wouldn't be anyone in the driving seat if things got ugly. So I stayed put and looked at him, and he stared right back. Undoubtedly, he was thinking the same thing as me - who would back away?
We decide that a quiet exit is possible and the same is achieved keeping a lookout for the tusker - he doesn't feel upto chasing us today - later we find that, he has been creating a ruckus in the neighbourhood... We circle around him and park the car. Climbing out we keep to closed ground, and we eventually track him from the rear. Again, there is danger that there is a herd around, and we can't see them, so I quickly find a rock of sizeable height and climb it to look around...no herd...we're safe. Pictures are clicked of the giant and we decide to move ahead to Mark's place. We undertake this journey in a jeep now, as it would cover dirt tracks faster than the car. We reach Mark's... and take up position - we are treated to an array of sightings...peacock, boar, fox, and a lone tusker! he is quite jolly - kicking up dust and stones as he ambles through the jungle... We spend the next few hours viewing the jungle from our hideout and grudgingly return.
Our return to the resort is heralded by the advent of another group of friends...the night turns into a party...with the required catalysts of course. The night turns out to be a cold one and a bonfire is lit and we revel in the merry company. Food and drink are consumed with inevitable hunger and thirst.
As the night wears on, one begins to feel the effect of a cold night in a jungle - the mist is ever present, and hangs about like a ghost curtain. Suddenly there is a wild scream of anger!! Just outside the thorn fence that encircles the compound - it is an elephant, and something's ticked her off...
Fortunately we don't hear much of her again, and neither do we attempt to solve her problems.
At about midnight, we decide to drive up a hill, which is almost nearly vertical in a climb, and therefore, impossible for any vehicle except an SUV and 4WD. But my dear friend, in his newly acquired City, attempts a world record climb in that car. So here we are, stuffed like sardines in a tin, and going up the cliff! There is no road, but rock and mud, interspersed with undergrowth. How in the world would a city bred car climb even 10 feet up this incline?
The first noise we hear is a crrrrrraaaaannnnnnkkkkkk across the underside of the chassis. And it doesn't seem to register on the driver. Again, after a futile attempt, we are met with this strange noise and the attempt is wisely abandoned.
We eventually climb that hill in a Gypsy. The rest of the night is spent in the room, relaxing tired muscles... At around 2 am - I hear a howl...
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