World Environment Day special- The Shining Plumage

Mother nature gave me a treat today (5th July), as a return gift on World Environment Day 2014.
A dream came true, a dream of witness a peacock in fully opened plumage;  in the wild. And not far did I have to travel, in Pune itself their lies a heaven known in common tongue as 'ARAI hill' or 'Vetal Tekdi'

It was  one of those rare days when there wasn't an option but to go to the Arai hill alone. Damp morning atmosphere and prospective mud might be a game killer for many, it invigorated me instead.
After the daily ritual of walking to and from the stone quarry I turned towards the watering holes made by Dct members just to take a quick glance at them. The mud made going slow but also muffled my approach.
 
Just where the road forks there appeared a few peahens on the right hand side, absolutely plain to see.. Crouching a little low I soon spotted a full grown peacock with atleast six feet plumage dangling gracefully at his tail. He called out to the peahens once, but not heeding his call the peahens lumbered their way across the road on the left and presently disappeared in the undergrowth. The peacock though, made a wide approach stalking them with agility. He crossed over to the left from behind my vantage point and was soon in pursuit of the teasingly retreating peahens. 

Keeping track of the peacock and the peahens at the same time wasn't an easy task.
I  hoped they would end up at the watering holes and drink a few draught from it.. That was all I hoped to see, for a lot of hard work had gone into preparing those watering holes, and to see them deemed fit by the  birds, is nothing short of bliss.! 

When they finally reached the watering holes, the peahens pecked at the water surface. The peacock though a little lagging, when caught up seemed to have disturbed the ladies. They went on to the next watering hole loudly calling out to their companions in the forest beyond. A few more peahens joined in. This was becoming quite a spectacle.

The peacock now probably encouraged walked right up to them in the clearing and without a warning swished open his plumage.  

Stumped by the magnificence of it I fervently wished I had a binoculars or a camera. He wagged and danced with his plumage fully opened trying to catch an eye of the ladies. Seemingly unimpressed the peahens ignored him and continued pecking at the water surface. 
'Attitude' I guessed, females in every species display this deterrent :P

A little peahen went close to the peacock but he stepped back, which meant he probably had his eyes set on a bigger prize.
Meanwhile, I wanted the show to go on and hoped and wondered if I could also witness the mating !!
A shaft of reluctant sunlight smothered it's way through the clouds, and bathed the peacock in brilliant gold, and it was  possibly the most mesmerising sight I've seen in a long time. The Sun-kissed peacock swayed and waltzed with hope, acceptation of the proposal seemed near; very near.

Just then a few men came in to disturb the scene and the entire group of peahens fled down the slopes beyond. Plumage  now closed the peacock reluctantly followed them. A spectacle that  began without a warning ended with a reminder to enjoy responsibly.

How I wish there were a few more people to witness this beauty.

Now I fully grasp why the peacock is the National Bird of our country.
 




P.S : The image used here is for representational purpose only

Stroll on the 'Stairway to Heaven'

'Traveling broadens mind' - they say. Rightly so. Of the many wise guides and teachers I have met along my journey hither to, 'mother nature' has been the hardest taskmaster; yet the most enchanting.

In the month of June 2011, a week's stay at a riverside camp -nestled in the Siwalik hills in the lower Himalayas- changed my outlook toward most aspects of life. It wasn't just another river, it was the 'Ganga' - 'माँ गंगा', or 'गंगा मैया', the river of life, the stairway to haven- on whose banks our camp was set.

This stay in the divine presence Ganges was memorable in ways more than one. It is perfectly impossible to be able to record those moments in absolute detail. But here I have made a humble effort to record the five absolutely enchanting and unforgettable days.

Day 1 : @camp, Hrishikesh (some time around midnight)

The river about which I have been reading since I was a toddler. The gentle murmur caressing the ears when we began our descent from high up the valley, magnified into rapturous growls sent forth by the frothing waters as we approached the camp site. The pleasant wind ran through ears, and fingers almost permanently dug into the soft cool sand sent shivers of excitement through every limb.   

Call it the holiness of the river, the gush of the wind, or the incredible comfort felt in the sand - after the tiresome journey - I felt as if being transported to a Fourth Dimension..

Day 2 : White water rafting 

This was the day when we kick-started the camp. Early morning exercises made sure to ward off any cramps. Even then my were eyes fixed on the frothing waters and the gigantic cliff-head that lay on the other side of the river. The sight of the so called "Wall" rapid right in front of the campsite was awe-inspiring to say the very least. 

Now, a bit about rafting. It is one thing to watch people raft literally or even virtually; but quite another to hold the row across your own chest and push the waters behind. The guides couldn't have been better. 
A bit of practice and body balancing on the rapids and we knew this wasn't gonna be so easy- being a non-swimmer then, I was a bit apprehensive.

Probably I must explain what a rapid is. It is nothing but the rise in turbulence levels of the river at certain places where the river bed has uneven surfaces, sending the water into furious currents. Rapids made life difficult and introduced us to something they call 'adrenaline rush'. One rapid after the another, a churning stomach and rushing adrenaline gave us the taste of unadulterated adventure. 

'Raft flipping' is an inevitable part of rafting in which you tug at the safety rope from one side until the raft turns turtle. A bit easier said than done, once the raft is flipped you reach a point when the raft is on top of you with very little space to breathe.! You must slide through the gap and emerge on top of the upturned raft to repeat the process and bring it to it's original position. One thing I found out once I managed this circus - 
if you feel apprehensive about something, do it subconsciously. 

  
Body surfing: The most enjoyable part of the day. Just lay back on the waters and current carries you. 
I wont call it 'awesome' because it was way better than that, and so difficult to summarise in words. 
In all, the first day of rafting saw us raft 12kms in the Ganga. 




Day 3 : Rafting + Cliff jump 

This day's experience was such that no ink in the universe can ever impress upon a paper. 
Serious instructions from the guides made it clear that it was going to be a day of major rapids of grade 3/4.
A furious rapid called "Roller coaster" almost upturned our raft. It wasn't much about how we paddled, it was more about how the rapids carried us. 
Then came the longest and highest degree rapid on Ganga- The Golf Course. It was furious and pretty lengthy containing almost 15-20 holes and tides. Taking over this major was awesome experience.
 
Body surfing is an invariable when it comes to rafting.. following this rule we hit the perfect hole on the 'Initiation' rapid and dived in for body surfing.

 Now this crazy thing called 'cliff jump' is a weird and multi-emotional experience.  

(nerves and courage) to come till the edge of the cliff..
(faith) in Ganga maiya..
(Determination and Daring) to jump.. 
(Regret) when you've jumped..
(Panic) when you splash..
(Awesome) when you  resurface..
(Stupid) you wanna do it again..!

 In all, this day saw no less than 16km of rafting. 



Day 4 : Major rafting + Ganga aarti 

This was the day when the Ganga came at us in all her furry. Rough winds, rains and extreme rapids strengthened not just the difficulty level; but also our desire to conquer them. Covering 28km in such weather including several major and minor rapids is surely harder to do than to write about.

The very first "Good Morning" rapid gave goosebumps about the next Majors. The wind gusted at dangerous speeds and every ounce of muscles' effort was called for. This wasn't easy. Most memorable rapid was the "Golf Course" it was furious and lengthy. 2km of pure extreme adventure. We felt tensed; but at the back of our minds was this immense bliss whose magnitude is better felt than expressed. This marked the end of rafting expedition and there could never have been a better end. 

Ganga is our country's most revered river, and it was only fitting the magnitude of sheer dedication and respect the priests at the Ganga Aarti- were blooming with. A deeply spiritual experience that helped me enrich my soul and utter respect for the Indian way of life. 

Day 5 : @ Jumpin Heights  

If there's something that I would want to single out about this camp- the one thing that made me mentally stronger- then it is the bungy jump. A cantilever beam consisting truss supports is built at a height of 250ft above the rocky riverbed overlooking a picturesque but punishing cliff. Watching the videos at the cafeteria too didn't quite prepare me for what I was about to step into.

Stepping onto the foot-board for the jump I carried a lot of thing with me on my mind- instructions of Ryan and Martina the Kiwi instructors, and my close friends wanting me to jump well..
When I looked down- it wasn't really frightening, but my adrenaline pump was working over-time to meet these humongous demands! The moment I was waiting for, finally came.  
And there went the count..
   Martina: 3..2..1.. Bungyyy...! 
   ..and I leant myself into the cozy lap of the thin Himalayan air.. And there it came- the thing I wasn't prepared for- the -9.8m/s^2 acceleration due to gravity. That one nanosecond apprehension got the better of me. But when I realised that 'Grandpa Gravity' was caressing me- it was purest form of bliss. I had never felt this good before, because I knew not the levels of madness one could ever reach!  
 

Looking back at the jump there wasn't really anything unusual. I just jumped off the foot-board..! 
But then the next checkpoint was 250ft down under. The logistics made all the difference. 
I underwent a few moments of utter satisfaction- resulting which what I did; I would rather keep it between me any my faithful diary.

Reaching the foot-board is easy.. taking that one step ahead requires Guts.