Bright red Gulmohars in full bloom on either side of the road on the way from Bangalore to BR Hills (Biligiri Rangana Hills, nestled between Eastern and Western Ghats) in Karnataka — this riot of colour, shedding crimson petals on the road makes a welcoming red carpet.
I feel elated at Nature’s bounty. Then the cool and pleasant forest cover relaxes my nerves. Deeper into the forest and higher in altitude, further cools my mind. When I wish no end to this pleasant journey, the car stops at the Jungle Lodges and Resort in K Gudi. Set in a canopy of tall trees that never allows harsh sun to peep in, with an incessant song of the crickets and the rustling of leaves, it is indeed these whistling woods that one wishes to get lost in.
It is lovely and feels wonderful to wake up to the whistles of the Malabar Thrush, called “Whistling Schoolboy”. Pure notes of joy permeate the dawn and promise a glorious day ahead.
The previous day, the batch that went on evening safari sighted a leopard. I was wishing the same luck for myself. On the way, we see a young tusker showing off his recently acquired tusks and the prized adulthood, trumpeting loudly, with shades of adolescent defiance. I take a short video and soon he vanishes into thick bushes. At the waterhole, we see a cow elephant having a leisurely dip, spouting water, while a big brown fish owl, perched on a bare tree trunk, watches the entire proceedings by turning its head 270 degrees. Sighting a Malabar giant squirrel, I am reminded of a film on NGC about red pandas found in the North East. With a bushy tail, reddish brown at the end, it is found abundantly in these regions.
We see a group of elephants and gaurs, all females, in close bonding, and shy sambars disappear into Lantana bushes. Swift footed jungle fowls run too fast and quickly fly away, almost impossible to get a steady shot. I see petite barking deer, easy to spot but tough to capture in a frame. Groups of spotted deer bossed over by majestic stags are always huddled together, but the moment we get close, they run away. Nothing can be as graceful as deer in its flight. I simply love to watch them, shutting my camera.
Hopping close to the ground are hoopoe and bar headed quail, easy to catch them in action. Green imperial pigeon in flight looks regal, dressed in gorgeous green. Streak throated and flameback woodpeckers are seen from the dining area, while we stop eating and rush to grab our cameras. Don’t we stress ourselves by clicking everything we see, neglecting to enjoy and appreciate the ‘moment’? But this is to show others back home and for Facebook.
The Asian fairy blue bird dyed in handsome blue, greater rocket-tailed drongo, orange-headed brown thrush, crested serpent eagles, hill mynas, kingfishers. Oh! K Gudi has an unimaginable variety of birds to feast our eyes on!
The jungle mynas with a much sweeter call win over noisy and harsh-throated urban mynas. Milder cawing, uniformly dyed jungle crows seem low profiled. Locals call the Indian cuckoo “One more bottle” because they say its call sounds as if it is saying “one more bottle” and Indian hock cuckoo’s resembles “brain fever”. I find this explanation very amusing.
The whole night I hear animal sounds, barking deer’s alarm calls and tiger’s roaring in the distance, waiting eagerly to see some action. Next morning, a staff member tells me that tigers and leopards do come quite close to the resort.
During the nature walk, as the naturalist explains about the flora and fauna of the jungle, I keep looking at every tall tree hopefully to find the evasive leopard resting on a branch with its tail dangling. But walking, and not in the confines of the secure safari jeep, am I ready to welcome the darling? No, certainly not! I am damn scared. In fact, when a tamed tusker came too close to me in the afternoon, with its trunk touching me (lovingly), though I was in the safari jeep, I almost froze and my camera nearly fell down from my hands out of fear.
Still, I want to sight the leopard, however dangerous it is. Well, that is the magic of wildlife. You are scared, yet you want to venture deep into the jungle.
Vijaya Pratap is a freelance journalist and a documentary filmmaker, based in Hyderabad. She specialises in the study of art, culture, history and wildlife.
Meet the Author – Vijayapratap
