Mudumalai - A mesmerizing experience
……. S. Balakrishnan
M: 98409 17608
If a casual visit of passing through the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary could be such a rewarding experience, what a fascinating experience would it be to stay there and enjoy Nature!
Hundreds and hundreds of tiny yellow angels fluttering ahead of you on the path – Welcome to Mudumalai!
That was the first and best impression of Mudumalai Reserve Forest (in The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu) as we rode on National Highway Mysore
The forest is abundantly ‘rich’ with the ‘costly’ teak trees. With the teak trees in full bloom with their bunch of tiny whitish yellow (or yellowish white) flowers, bees and butterflies were quite active. That is when we saw the hundreds of yellow butterflies gently flying ahead of our car on the road. There was a tree with more than 50 bee hives – small & big!
As we stopped the vehicle to shoot (shoot with the camera, of course) the spotted deer (chital) that were grazing, initially they gave a casual look at us and continued to graze with caution. But as we stepped out of the car, they gently leaped out of sight into the thicket.
While peacocks strutted, showing off their multihued feathers, peahens seemed not to be fascinated by it.
Singe elephant is quite dangerous, warned a companion; but the middle-aged elephant gave us a majestic darshan amidst bamboo groves. Against the wild backdrop, even the trained elephants (kumkis) of the Forest Department looked grand with their really long tusks. Initially, though, for quite some time, we could not see even a single elephant – trained or wild. Disappointed, we felt we ought to be satisfied with just seeing the huge droppings of the elephants. A friend even suggested taking a snap sitting besides the fresh dropping (covering the nostrils, if necessary) to prove back home that we just missed sighting the pachyderms.
As could be expected in any forest, lot of naughty monkeys (including Lion-tailed macaque ) could be seen busy feeding the baby, preening the hair of lice, eating, playing & quarrelling.
A herd of bison (gaur) was also noticed, which we initially mistook for baby elephants. So massive were they. A wild boar was busy foraging along the roadside.
The plight of Betta Kurumbar tribal people living quite close to NH was pathetic. Though they have electricity, TV, cell phone, etc., basic facilities like toilet, safe drinking water, good road / footpath, better houses are denied in the name of protecting the forest. This is despite the fact that the tribal have been living there for generations together and that their lifestyle is more in consonance with Nature. That was very much in contrast to the scores of official quarters for the forest personnel and facilities for tourists!
If a casual visit of passing through the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary could be such a rewarding experience, what a fascinating experience would it be to stay there and enjoy Nature! But some people are so insensitive that we could see lots of plastic bottles lying along the route.
-.-
S. Balakrishnan
M: 98409 17608
MUDUMALAI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
This is the first Sanctuary to be set up in India and forms part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Park Mysore
It is rich in wildlife, like Elephants, Gaur, Tiger, Panther, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Porcupine, etc., birds like- Minivets, Hornbill, Fairy Blue Birds, Jungle Fowls, etc., and reptiles like Python, Monitor Lizards, Flying Lizards, etc. One can take a ride into the jungle on elephant back or take a vehicle ride along designated visitor’s route inside the jungle. The elephant rides have to be booked at Ooty. The Moyor River
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