Duda Education Van

It all started when I realised that i had nothing constructive and interesting to do in my 3 months vacation after my first year at IIT Delhi. So i thought over my options. Staying at IIT itself and doing some project was out of question as it wouldn’t be either constructive or interesting. And over that Delhi’s hot temperature was a big no for me.The other option was to stay at home and spend time watching TV Shows and movies and partying with friends. It would have been interesting but not constructive. So i thought why not go for volunteering with some NGO. That way i could work on something closer to my heart and it would be constructive and interesting as well.

So i went off to Melghat Tiger Reserve to work with Satpuda Foundation . This was first time i was off to something like this as earlier whenever i volunteered, it was at some familiar place. Here i was , at unknown place, alone, and no idea about people i was going to meet and what to expect. My journey to Nagpur was no less interesting. I couldn’t get a Train Ticket so have to do with bus. I reached Bhopal after 18 hrs journey in Rajsthan Roadways Blue Line bus . I thought that Bhopal being a capital city, buses from here to Nagpur would be frequent. But it wasn't so. So i have to wait for a whole to catch a bus. And i couldnt' get a ticket in that too. I have to sit behind driver seat in cabin for full 12 hrs on way to Nagpur with “minor” hiccups like a punctured Tyre and a RTO Check.

So when i landed in Nagpur, I was exhausted to the hilt. Kishore Sir, President of SF briefed me about the work i have to do. In the initial first week i was supposed to work with Duda Education Van on Melghat education program. If you're wondering what "Duda" means, it's this charming little bird, the Forest Owlet. Duda is its name in the language of the Korkus, a tribe that live in Melghat Tiger Reserve and elsewhere in the Satpudas. As mentioned in previous post of Rajshree, Duda Van goes into tribal villages twice/thrice a year. They put up at forest rest house and cover nearby villages visiting a village a day. Children and adults are taken for nature walks around their village, and educated about the many treasures there. They are taken for forest safaris in the Duda Gadi. They play games specially designed for these workshops, including one called "Web of Life" . In the evening when the adults are free, they are shown films about wildlife and nature and its protection.

So next day i went to Harisal 300 kms away in a taxi. SF have a Community Resource Center there. Stayed overnight there. Duda "gaadi" was being prepared for its journey for next fortnight. On 3rd June, Wednesday in afternoon we started for chawrakund. 11 kms from Harisal. There were four of us. Ratan ji ( Driver ), Gajanan Shanware, Saurabh ( ICFAI Internee ) and me. We inquired for forest guard in the village as he had the keys for forest rest house who came after 1 hour. Rest House was amazingly well furnished with a solar panel. But I soon realised that i have to cook food on "Chuhla" and that too by myself. Saurabh had no clue about how to make rotis. So i went off with making Rotis. After seeing the pathetic cooking skills of mine for 2 days Ratan ji said “Sir please let me make the rotis. “

(below- forest rest house)

I then spent the evening enquiring about past Duda Van Programs in the villages with Gajanan and Ratan ji. Next day after having Lunch , we started for Tangda Village. It was a small village of around 80 families. I had heard beforehand that Duda Gadi was quite popular there so as soon as we reached there children were all around chasing our van. People came out of their home to see what’s happening. We decided that it would be better if we conduct activities with children in the evening as it was noon and schools were closed for summer holidays, So we went to house of Polis Patil to get some information regarding village. He was busy with some official work. So we inquired with villagers (gavkari) about the development work being carried out and problems of village . We also inquired about educated unemployed who wanted to learn something or do some work. Whole afternoon was spent in that. After that children gathered around our van. We played different games like “Web of Life” with them. Also sang some song like "Pahadi pe ped tha..", "Jungle to pyaar ka mangal hai" together. In the evening we set up our projector system and showed the movie "Lands Of Tiger" to the villagers. I was surprised that whole village was present. Someone from village brought as Tea and Man!!...It was tasty.

(below- interacting with Children )

Next day we went to Bhuturm . 25kms from chawrakund. This was an experience i wont forget. There is village where electrical lines were laid down 30 years back and there is no electricity in them and had never been, This is irony of development. As i enquired with villagers about development, they werent too bothered about it except a few. There was no telephone or mobile network in village. Forget about water pipeline. Suddenly my problems seemed very small. I was wondering how these people live without what we consider basic necessities of life. In the evening when we setting up our projector for movie screening someone protested saying that we want to pollute mind of their teenagers. Saying that we were part of Project Tiger. That we want to resettle their village. I was quite taken aback by this response. Those people were quite apprehensive of government activities. Somehow we managed to convince him with help from Local people. When we returned to Rest House there was no electricity and it wasn't there for next 24 hrs.

(above- villager arguing against movie screening)

(above- village girl )

Khokmar was next village in line . It was 20 kms from chawrakund , on way to Bhutrum. This village was same as Bhutrum except that there is a State Transport Bus Service till here and not to Bhutrum 5kms away and there were solar lamps provided under project tiger to each house. There was a public dispensary also. I could see the difference between two villages quite distinctly. When we were movie screening was going on in the evening, the projector screwed up due to extreme heat output. We tried to fix it but had to return Harisal very next day to get it fixed permanently and to get a TV .

(below- interacting with villagers)

(Above- Villagers with Duda Van )

Chawrakund was the last village. This was most developed village in all four. There was a primary school till 7th. There was a post office and people were quite educated and aware of their rights and duties. Next day i left for Harisal in the morning as i had to do socio economic surveys in the nearby villages .

(below- movie screening in village)

But after these four days i spent in these tribal villages , my perspective of how i see things changes. As I wrote earlie, Suddenly My Problems seemed very small . These villagers were content with what they had. Sure they had some issues, but they were trivial. I met people who doesnt even heard of nagpur forget about mumbai, delhi. I met people who dont know what the idea of India or Bharat is all about. Amravati was like final destination for them. Some of the Womenfolk over there haven’t ventured out of their village ever. As my driver Ratan ji put up the whole experience in few words "Sir, aap melghat ko kabhi nahi bhool paoge.Jo ek baar melghat mein rah liya wo kahi bhi rah sakta hai"

(Melghat )

The Lure of the Jungle:

The hot dry day gave way for a sudden thunder shower in the night. The rain lashed down the whole night and the morning turned out to be wet and chilly. I wrapped a dupatta around me as the jeep lined up in front of the forest gate. Forests and Safaris only meant this desire to spot a tiger…and I was looking forward to my ride.

Thankfully it was the beginning of the week and hence all the weekend tourists were gone. There were only a couple of jeeps, much much to my relief. Our turn came and we drove in…immediately spotting a few deers grazing nearby. A good start, I thought. As we drove on, the forest started to unfold. The silence, the occasional twitter of the Indian Bluejay, the mating bark of the male deer and the darkness with the first golden rays of the sun trying to push its way in through the trees. But what I loved the most was this fresh smell of the forest after the previous night’s shower. I was spellbound.

Everything around me looked and felt alive. I had forgotten how good it feels to breathe in the fresh morning air, to be with nature at her finest. And although I did get to spot bisons, jackals, wild boars, sambars, spotted owl, grey hornbill, a variety of ducks and geese/storks and a leopard, the best part was to just drive silently through the forest and soak in the atmosphere….to know the forest, be a part of one.


It’s a good feeling when the forest also accepts you in return.

Impressions

New volunteer Kirti Chavan recently went to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve to help at the Mobile Health Unit camps. Some of his photos from the trip...



Above: A pensive little girl at one of the villages



Above: A memorial for a village woman who was killed by a tiger at this spot. There is a lot of human-animal conflict in this region.



Above: One of the camp elephants with her baby



Above, below: Langurs



Photos: Kirti Chavan

The other king!

Above: These calm and placid waters are the lair of the Marsh Crocodile, or "Mugger."
If the tiger rules the jungle, it is this creature who rules the water...
at least in Tadoba Lake!



Above: On most of my Tadoba trips, my Mugger sightings have been restricted to heads bobbing briefly above the water, or equally brief glimpses of scaly backs.
Last monsoon I got lucky. I saw several of these magnificent creatures at the edge of the lake.



They seem to come from a much more ancient world than this; from the age of reptiles.



This one reminded me of a poem from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...

"How cheerfully he seems to grin,
And neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!"

Recent medical camps

Pictures from some Mobile Health Unit camps this year.


Above: An interested onlooker at one of our camps in Bori-Satpuda Tiger Reserve, March 2009

Above: Forest Rest House at Bori, where we stayed in March (Bori-Satpuda Tiger Reserve)


Above: Patients wait for the ambulance under a banyan tree, Kumpani village, Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh)


Above: Camp at Kumpani Resthouse


Above: Health Assistant Prashant Holey dresses a wound at Patri, Pench. This man had accidentally made a deep cut in his foot with a hoe, while working in the fields.


Above: Another eye-catching onlooker, Turia, Pench Tiger Reserve.

Tourists and Tigermania

Being a frequent tiger tourist myself, I know I don't really have the right to criticize others infected with "Tigermania." If you've ever visited a tiger reserve, you'll know what this is. It's a kind of insane desperation to see a tiger, to get at least one "sighting" of our magnificent jungle king before we leave the forest. It makes us drive madly around the paths, chasing pug marks and alarm calls of prey animals. Every time another vehicle passes by, we anxiously scan the passengers' faces: you can tell from their smug smirks or dejected looks whether they've seen one or not.



Tigermania doesn't affect only the wildlife enthusiast or the animal lover or the cat-worshipper (I am all three). Everybody gawks stupidly when the stripes finally appear, and even the noisy picnickers actually shut up. Whether it's the powerful muscles - something you'll never see in a zoo - or the expression of cold ferocity, somehow this animal holds one spellbound. Just for that brief span of time, I think we realize who is really at the top of the food chain...much as we insolent apes may have tried to usurp that position.

The unfortunate tiger has always been the victim of his own charisma, hasn't he? While our ancestors wanted to hang his pelt on their walls, today we obsessively want to witness a bit of his life at any cost, ignoring the fact that he is a cat and therefore rather fond of privacy and solitude. We want to see him crossing a road, taking a nap, having a bath, hunting, mating, yawning, anything.



There is even this obsession some people have with wanting to cuddle tigers, something I don't understand at all, but it sends hordes of tourists to the famous, or perhaps infamous tiger temple in Thailand, to pose cheek-to-cheek with an animal which in its natural state would be ripping their heads off (my personal opinion here, so please don't attribute this to Satpuda Foundation!)

Some wild tigers seem to have got used to the attention and perhaps they dismiss us as harmless pests, something in the background like crows. But I have seen many others who are clearly distrustful of us, as any sensible animal should be, and though they make brief appearances, they keep a wary green eye on us at all times.





I am torn between a strong urge to stare as long as possible, and an equally strong one to leave them in peace.

And when it's time for us tourists to leave, I feel secretly relieved. Because for some hours at least, the forest will belong to the real animals again.

Photos: taken by me in Kanha National Park, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh)

Let's not be tiger pests!

These are a few rules I follow when I visit wildlife areas.
They're simple - we can all follow them.

• First and foremost, we should KEEP QUIET. No talking, no calling out, no making funny noises to attract the animals' attention, and for god's sake, no car horns! Yes, people actually do that, and some have reverse horns too. I wish private vehicles were banned in all wildlife sanctuaries but unfortunately they are not, and all too often one hears the racket of diesel engines in the wilderness. I haven't yet heard music being played but obviously that is something to avoid too. And do turn your cellphone off! Nowadays some areas in reserves have network coverage.
• Wear forest colours: shades of green, grey, brown. Avoid yellow, white, red, pink, purple, orange, blue, and anything too light or too bright. The same rules should apply to vehicles too.
• Don't make sudden movements, or wave your arms about. Sit/stand as still as possible.
  
• Try to have nothing strong-smelling on you: avoid using cologne, perfume, and I also think there is no need to carry food...surely we can survive without stuffing ourselves for those few hours.
  
• Do not litter! Probably the most nauseating sight in the world is a plastic bag lying beside a forest path. Or perhaps a thermocol glass.
  
• Do NOT use a flash. I'll never forget the sight of a little spotted owlet on a tree in Kanha, blinking confusedly at the flashes of a dozen cameras. I wouldn't be surprised if they seriously impaired his vision - which means his hunting abilities, which means his chances of survival. At best, the flash is frightening and at worst, it could cause optical damage.
  
• Follow the Park rules. If certain areas are forbidden (such as fire lines) don't urge your driver to go there. Don't try to stay in the Park beyond the stipulated time. Don't get out of your vehicle if the rules forbid it - most tiger reserves don't allow tourists to go around on foot, for obvious reasons.
  

Snapshots:

They all jokingly called him ‘Shabari Baba’ and ran away the moment he came in sight. One night after our round of medical camps in the designated villages in Pench, he sat down with me and chatted up. Slowly the conversation turned towards religion and his favourite topic, Ramayan and how devoted Shabari was to Ram. I realized now why people called him so. He was more than 60 years now living with his wife and did not have any kids. Most of the time he spent soaking up religious books, songs and sermons for the entire village….a very mild-natured pious man indeed.

The village Mela was being held at the periphery of the forest. There was palpable excitement in the air. Villagers were slowly trickling in from all across dressed in their finest Sunday clothing. There was food, bangles, photo-frames of gods, household items and even games. The Mela was filled with mothers, kids, young guys and girls.

We talked to a guy handsomely dressed hanging around with his friends. He explained us the games especially the one where one had to climb a slippery pole to get to the prize. Next day while on our way to the SF office, we heard a commotion at the village market. Somebody had consumed poison and the SF van rushed him to the nearest hospital. As it turned out, it was the same Mela guy who had consumed poison because of a ‘love’ issue. One day happy and boisterous, and the next day its passion-play. Who could have guessed. He managed to survive.

While on the field, we had our lunch in the villages itself cooked by a family. They were given the necessary food items and some money for the service. By the time we finished our camp, food would be ready – piping hot. In every house where we had our lunch, it was served with so much warmth and love. And for all of us there, it was the best food ever eaten….so much that we all ended up over-eating.

Life and people in these villages are so simple with simple needs and demands. Small things give them happiness and each incident becomes a big event for them to talk about. In the last few months I have gone in other villages and spoken to villagers. I realized that given the right knowledge and guidance, they are all willing to go the right way. Tell them plastic bags are harmful and they will use a single one for months.

It’s us city folks who are the most obstinate about the idea of change. Tell a city person not to use plastic and you will see the next person carrying 5 bags out of a shopping mall. We, who are seemingly educated and know the status of our world, refuse to change. Because we refuse to give up even an iota of luxury for anything good.

Now I feel it’s really a very difficult task ahead of us.

Duda

If you're wondering what "Duda" means, it's this charming little bird, the Forest Owlet. Duda is its name in the language of the Korkus, a tribe that live in Melghat Tiger Reserve and elsewhere in the Satpudas.

For more than a century the Forest Owlet was thought to be extinct. But in 1997 it was rediscovered in Melghat by three Americans, including the famous ornithologist Pamela Rasmussen. Melghat is one of the most important habitats for this unique, highly endangered species.



When Nature Conservation Society of Amravati (NCSA) started the nature education programme in 2005, they cast around for a suitable name for the van that was going to be the hub of the activity. "Duda" was the name chosen. It was a friendly and familiar word among the Korkus, and the van was after all going to spread a positive message about the Forest Owlet and other endangered creatures.



It was a perfect choice of name. "Duda gadi" (Duda car) proved to be a great hit with the Korku kids, and its regular visits are an eagerly anticipated event in the villages of Melghat.

The Education team are in the field for a fortnight at a time, travelling from village to village with the programme.

Children and adults are taken for nature walks around their village, and educated about the many treasures there. They are taken for forest safaris in the Duda Gadi. They play games specially designed for these workshops, including one called "Web of Life" (picture below). In the evening when the adults are free, they are shown films about wildlife and nature and its protection.





Conservation activities are included in the education programme. Below: a tree plantation drive.



And coming back to the original Duda, the Forest Owlet itself...you can read more about this bird in an article by Kishor Rithe (President, SF) in our website. To see our site, click on the logo on the top right, or else scroll down to "Links" below. Select "Articles" in the site and you'll find the one on this owlet.

The education programme pictures were sent by Vishal Bansod for this blog. I borrowed the picture of the Forest Owlet from our website.

My life-changing tigress reappears!

This is a magical co-incidence! On 29 April I posted pictures of a gorgeous tigress I saw in Tadoba-Andhari last year. I mentioned that I hadn't ever seen her again.

Well, on that very day my friend Shonali Laha saw her in Tadoba and clicked these pictures. She didn't of course know that she'd seen my tigress, and I only realized it myself while looking through her photos this morning.

Perhaps Shonali was clicking these at the very moment that I was posting my story here - who knows?

Anyway, I am absolutely thrilled to see that she is well and looking as stunning as ever. This girl would win any tiger beauty contest paws down.

Shonali, thanks for letting me post your pictures here!

Photos: Shonali Laha

Fire

Forest fires are a huge problem in summer, and they can lay waste extensive areas if not immediately checked. They are usually started by villagers living inside the forest. The aim is to clear the ground of dead leaves, making it easy to collect fallen mahua flowers and tendu leaves. Mahua flowers are used for making the alcoholic beverage of the same name, and tendu leaves are used for making "bidis" (cigarettes).

Sometimes the locals also start fires to scare wild animals into running out - making them easier to hunt.

The slightest change in wind direction can start an enormous conflagration and cause immeasurable damage to wildlife and the forest. Given that protected areas are almost always understaffed, it's rare that a fire gets put out quickly.

I took the first three photos in Bori-Satpuda Tiger Reserve in March this year. We saw the fire on our way out of the reserve after completing our four day medical camp. Luckily there were seven of us on this trip and we managed to create fire lines and control the blaze before the forest staff arrived. I must admit I found it scary to be so close to the rapidly shifting flames and intense heat. There were moments when the fire seemed to be racing towards us.

The fourth picture I took in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve last week. These charred trees are all that remain of the once-lush meadow of Pandarpaoni, a favoured spot of herbivores in the reserve. A month ago a huge fire burned down all the lovely long grass, in which even tigers could remain hidden. Again, local villagers are believed to have started it.

Our Clothes Bank

One of the programmes of Satpuda Foundation and NCSA is distribution of clothes to tribals and other villagers living in and around tiger reserves. If you visit these communities you will see that they are cripplingly poor and some of the children are dressed practically in rags - a sad state to be in, specially in winter.

We usually follow a "clothes for work" scheme, that is, the clothes are distributed after the villagers have completed some stipulated community conservation work. We also sometimes distribute them on a need basis, after our medical camps.

A number of people have been donating clothes regularly for the bank, and from last year I started collecting from my friends in Mumbai as well. I take them to our office in Amravati whenever I go there but I am thinking of sending them by train/road transport at regular intervals if we can collect enough. At present this appeal applies only to people in Mumbai, Nagpur and Amravati, but later it would be great if we could spread this idea around to other places as well.

If you live in Mumbai and would like to donate clothes, please email me on rajashree.khalap@gmail.com

Some points to keep in mind:

1. All donated items should be in usable condition, not torn or badly stained.

2. Village women wear sarees from the age of around 16 - never kurtas, churidars, shirts, trousers, dresses etc. If you'd like to donate adult women's clothes, sarees are best. However, teenage girls wear kurtas and salwars.

3. These villagers are extremely thin. And city people often aren't.
So I am looking for medium and small sizes at present. Of course it is possible to alter larger sized clothes, and at a later stage we can possibly do that too.

4. All kinds of children's clothes will come in useful.

5. Warm clothes are needed for all age groups (shawls, woollens)

6. Please don't donate underwear.

7. These items would all be very useful: bedsheets, blankets, mosquito nets, towels, pillows.

8. Items for children like school bags, boxes for pens and geometry sets etc are welcome

Do spread the word about our Clothes Bank - it's a great way to recycle our unwanted clothes, and it really makes a difference to these communities.

Mobile Health Unit schedule for May and June 2009

This is the schedule for the free medical camps to be conducted in May and the first half of June. Those interested in volunteering, please email ncsa.india@gmail.com


09 May 2009 - 11 May 2009 Saturday - Monday Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
3 Days Camp

16 May2009 - 19 May 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Melghat Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
4 Days Camp

23 May 2009 - 26 May 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Bori-Satpura Tiger Reserve (M.P.)
4 Days Camp

30 May 2009 - 02 Jun 2009 Saturday - Monday Priyadarshini Pench Tiger Reserve (M.P.) 3 Days Camp

06 June 2009 - 09 June 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra) 4 Days Camp

13 Jun 2009 - 15 Jun 2009 Saturday - Monday Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
3 Days Camp