ramblerspost: July 2010

It is the hour of evening gloom. The sun has left the western skies, the birds have retired to the sanctuary of their cosy nests and I sit here in my glorious loneliness, pondering the meaning of life, people and relationships, yet again. It is that time in life. The children are grown and have taken wing, to soar and to seek frontiers farther than their parents ever dared to. A whole new world awaits them, much as it did for us, all those years ago.To be young is to be alive, to discover, to hope and to dream the impossible dream. There are many dreams to dream, many a mountain to climb and that magic rainbow to discover; that is the excitement young adulthood brings. The world awaits them. In whatever manner, humble or great, they shall touch some lives, bring a smile to a care worn face, and wipe the tears of a less fortunate one. But as they enter the adult world, they bid a final farewell to the happiest and most carefree times of their lives. This is not to deny that several great joys and triumphs await them on the road ahead, but many of them will come at a cost, financial, emotional, whatever. Many years on, they will cast back to these times and wistfully remember the joys of what were their childhood and youth. But for now, they must live their lives in forward motion. As was famously said, life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards!

Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you." We as parents must grow up to accept that reality. In the larger scheme of things we are merely the incubators of god's progeny, no more, no less.

The boundless beauty of this great land never ceases to amaze me . Kerala is deservedly called God's Own Country, but Karnataka is no less his!

We spent three extraordinarily beautiful days at Orange County Resort, on the banks of the Kabini river, skirting the Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks, acknowledged as some of the most pristine forest areas in India. This region is said to have one of the largest concentrations of the majestic Asiatic elephant and is perhaps one of safest havens for that most desperately endangered of species, the magnificent tiger. These forests are also home to the Indian Gaur or Bison, a few varieties of deer, wild dogs, sloth bear and the elusive leopard, not to speak of the incredible array of bird species, both native and migratory.

With the monsoon just about setting in, the vegetation is already lush and green and the 'dry deciduous forests' that you read about are nowhere in sight. The verdant landscape is a feast for the eyes but not great news if you're hoping to spot the big cats, on safari.

There are two safari options, a jeep safari that takes you along narrow trails into the dense jungle and the boat safari that takes you along the Kabini, flanked by the Nagarahole Reserve on one side and the Bandipur Reserve on the other. We saw several herds of elephants, a couple of solitary tuskers, bison, deer and a few crocodiles, sunning themselves on the riverbank. The predators, however, chose to make themselves scarce. Of course, birds of all shapes, sizes and hues were aplenty.

When you're out in the wild, you realise the enormity of the creator's master plan. Every little detail has been thought of, every thing has its place, its designated role to play. There is abundance, but never waste. Even the fearsome predators kill only when they are hungry. The delicate balance of nature is thus perfectly maintained. You cannot but be humbled by this.

In this intricate and elaborate scheme,there is only one intruder- man. His never ending greed has meant that animals are being relentlessly driven out of their homes, their natural habitats. Man's unerring ability to destroy and decimate things which he can neither create nor replicate, is on display everywhere. Whether it is the indiscriminate felling of trees or the illegal building of resorts on forest lands, they only hasten the process of ecological destruction. The horrendous and barbaric spectre of poaching is, of course, the biggest threat to India's wildlife. It is a national shame but precious little is being done to stop it. Coming generations may well read about and see pictures of lions and tigers in much the same way as we have of dinosaurs and mammoths. The cynic would say that in a land where human lives mean very little, why cry over mere animals. I would be tempted to agree, except that in the larger ecological equation, the systematic destruction of forests and extinction of animal and bird species are merely curtain raisers for the extinction of the most destructive and arrogant of all species - Homo sapiens.

These are depressing thoughts to bring back from a great holiday; but caught up as we are in our frenetic urban lives, when else will we reflect on these harsh realities that confront us?

A VIEW OF THE RESORT