Thekkady

Back from a short holiday in the mountains of Thekkady, I have realized that life in small towns is entirely different from the hectic routine of city dwellers. Life over there moves at a slow pace: people have more time to pursue their hobbies and interests after office hours; most of them have work places near their residence and are able to walk home for lunch. The residents appear to lead a healthier life and have a laid-back attitude to all things in general.

It would be natural for many city folk to assume that the residents lead an isolated existence—out of touch with the rest of the world. Forget the thought. There is no dearth of television channels or radio services because of satellite communication and the internet. Also, the mobile networks have made it easy for everyone to keep in touch with the outside world, even during the monsoons, when land-based communication could break down. The internet also provides a means of contact with friends and family around the world.

Even the forest guard, Shaji (a local tribesman), who accompanied us on 'Nature Walk', kept contact with the forest office through a mobile phone.

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Nature Walk through Periyar National Park

The Periyar Tiger Reserve extends over 925 sq. km and is home to 34 tigers, 1200 elephants, scores of leopards (no census) and bison, and large variety of birds. It is managed by the Kerala Forest Department (KFD). KFD is well organized and staffed. They have several programs for tourists in co-ordination with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), whose offices are open till 8.00 p.m. on week days.

Nature Walk is one of the programs in which a group of maximum four is led on a six kilometer trek through the forest in Periyar Tiger Reserve for just INR 800, which is to be paid in advance at the KDTC counter in Kumily. This and another similar trek (Green Walk) should only be undertaken if one is physically fit.

A short ride in an autorickshaw or taxi will bring one to the starting point in the reserve.

Before the trek, cotton leggings are provided. You wear these over socks and trousers. Then you put on your boots and tie the leggings with thongs just below the knees. The trick is to tie them while standing, or else they keep sliding down to your boots. Binoculars from the KFD can be availed of during the trek for a nominal charge of INR 100. The trek starts from the other side of the boating pier, after crossing over to its far bank on a bamboo raft.

As you walk along the pathway on the bank of the river valley through the grass and reeds, you can hear the buzzing sounds of hundreds of bees. Trees rise tall and dense on either side of the river. The hill tops however, are sparsely wooded.

We spotted several birds and monkeys at the start of the trek, and also a large mongoose.

Deeper into the forest, we saw a herd of bison (Indian Gaur) moving parallel to us with only some thickets in between.

We then went past a small wooded area and cut across a clearing only to face a snorting herd of bisons. After a while, the guard suggested that we retreat slowly to avoid antagonizing the bulls.

All along our trek on the wooded banks, we could see elephants and deer, and wild boar dung. On one tree bark, the guard showed us claw marks of a tiger. We could also hear the Malabar Pied Hornbill, but were unable to spot it.

After a while, we crossed over into the forest and were led back to the starting point. This time, we walked through the forest pathways—not along the river bank. There is a profusion of bee-hives in the forest; the honey is collected by the local tribals.

We spotted several birds on our way back.
Malabar Grey Hornbill

Racket-tailed Drongo

Golden-backed Woodpecker

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Scarlet Minivet

Malabar Trogon

A note regarding the forest guards: 
The KFD employs local tribesmen on a daily wage basis as guides for the treks. Under a program in association with the German government, they are trained to speak English, French, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil, and have a good knowledge of the local flora and fauna. They are also responsible for maintaining cleanliness of the area. I suggest a small tip (INR 100 or 50) after the trek.

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Yellow-wattled Lapwing

The yellow-wattled lapwing is almost of the same size as the more common and noisy red-wattled lapwing, but can identified from its black-capped head, brownish-gray throat and chest. 

Its abdomen parts are white below the throat and chest. Sexes are alike.

As the name suggests, it also has a yellow wattle (portions of flesh) surrounding the base of its beak.

It inhabits dry grassland and open country and has food habits similar to that of the red-wattled lapwing, picking up insects and grass-hoppers with its long beak. However, in comparison, it has no preference to be in the vicinity of water bodies and is much quieter. 

Drought in Maharashtra

The deficient rainfall last year has lead to a severe drought in the state of Maharashtra. The rivers and dams all over central and southern Maharashtra are in dire straits, with several of them running dry and many more with almost no usable levels of water. We are once again witness to the harm that is the result of deforestation and indiscriminate use of water for cash crops like sugarcane.

Water deficiency can be overcome by adopting rain water harvesting and recycling on a large scale. Techniques for recycling domestic waste water, especially water from the kitchen, are available and can be implemented at very low costs for reducing fresh water consumption. 

However, this can only be achieved by making water conservation requirements mandatory and binding for all domestic, commercial and industrial organizations, and with the active intervention of the authorities.

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