Exploring new lands is a basic instinct of human nature. Such endeavours drove humans to settle around the world in times of necessities. Presently, we as a species have conquered the forefront of basic human needs, and our endeavouring spirit modified its purpose into an adventure. Such adventures provide mental satisfaction, along with a gain in the experience and understanding of the world around.
An Encounter with a Jungle: Trip of Khongsara
Time and again, we feel our inner voice drives us to seek exploration. At the peak of human energy, during the youths, such desires occur most frequently. Our naive minds of 2014 conceived the idea of adventure to go to the greenest places seen on the google maps. Our little experience of adventure back then told us to make spontaneous plans of travels to maximise the trill and limits. In the autumn of 2014, I and harsh decided to make a travel plan into the jungles of central India. The choice of place was pretty ignorant and impulsive, i.e. greenest spot around Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh border. The national park called "Achanakmaar" was a clear standout. A little zoom-in showed a road passing through the middle of the park joining Amarkatak (origin of river Narmada) in the north. My eyes were lit up, and my mind already started travelling through the road and encountering wild animals in my imagination. Upon further exploration, we discovered a train route passing from the periphery of the park. There was a railway station, looking isolated in the greens of the park called "Khongsara".
Arrival at Khongsara/ The Beginning
We decided to take a train to Khongsara. Going through the list of rail connections, rarely train stops here. Nearing the sunset, we boarded a train stopping at the next station after Khongsara, thinking that if there is a signal we can get down. This gamble played quite well, as the train did stop at few 100 meters from the station. After some hesitation, we got down quickly and started walking on the trek towards the station. Not to our surprise, we found the station empty as the night folds-in. We had no idea about the place to search for shelter for the night. Our naive brains initially planned to spend the night at the station, totally disregarding the night time temperatures in a jungle. For an experienced mind, this should have been the first clue to the surprises waiting ahead. We were ill-equipped for a cold night stay on a bench. Also driven by hunger, we ventured out into the habitat outside the station. That was the time of the festival of Navratri; there was a pandal and people were doing the evening aarti.
Night Stay in Pandal
Hoping to find a place to stay for the night, we stayed outside the pandal and talked to people about it. People were curious about us and were amused to see us asking for a lodge to stay. We had prasad from the aarti and chatted with the workers doing services at the Navratri pandals. When we told them about our motive to go the trespassing highway road following the river, they were in laughs at our ignorance. I was a little taken back by their reaction. However, I forgot it quickly as I was motivated by the trek the next day in my mind. In the end, leaving no options, we were mentally preparing ourselves to stay at the station's bench. But the workers were kind enough to offer us the shelter inside the pandal. Although not a hotel room, we were quite content with the offer as at least pandal would protect us from the cold winds. We took it and slept on the newspaper floor, making the backpack as a pillow. We got up before the sunrise as the night was cold, barely got a few hours of sleep. The morning was cold but pleasant.
The Next Morning
We marched towards the river in the early morning sunshine where our first surprise was waiting. As we walk lush green vegetation surrounding us and red soil treks was the picture I imagined about this place. As we approached the river, the glaring reality was awaiting. The river was wide and full of water with thick forest on either side. Our naive minds have not anticipated the high water levels, as we were in post-monsoon times. It now seems obvious to have guessed it, but after all, it was a spontaneous trip. There was no way to walk along the river. It was a daunting revelation as this task formed the basis for the journey. At this point, we decided to go back and ask locals for any other route to the highway. As we go back, we found local villagers riding on bicycles going for their daily jobs. We asked them about any route which could take us to the highway. They directed us towards the nearest village called "Gaur Khuri". According to them, this village was in the west direction nearly at a halfway towards the highway, and it would have taken 4 hours on foot.
Had local 'Khoya'
Without wasting any time, we marched towards "Gaur Khuri". As we started, we saw herds of the cows grazing in the forest. Here people generally had a large number of cows in a typical herd, suggesting there was plenty of vegetation to feed everybody. Those appear local Indian breeds, which are robust and well-adapted to the environment. There was no doubt that these were happy cows, and their milk would be pure. Therefore, there was a temptation to try local milk. We inquired about anyone selling milk nearby from the villagers on the road. People here were kind and helpful. We were directed to a house. It was a typical village home with a little barn in front and living space at the back. But I little reluctant to go into someone's house and ask for milk. I left it to Harsh. The farmer was welcoming and offered us milk and khoya. It was delicious, partly also as were hungry in the morning. We continued our journey to Gaur Khuri. As we left the village behind, we were into dense vegetation and numerous small streams of water. Occasionally we see villagers on cycle and shepherds with their livestock on the route.Bathing in the Jungle
As the day progressed, it became hotter and humid in the forest. After walking for some time, we reached a beautiful stream of water. It was shallow in-depth with crystal clear water. We can easily see the sandy river bed and swimming fish. We could not resist and decided to have a go into the water. It was immensely refreshing after travelling for a few hours in hot weather. There was a sense of purity associated with the act of going into the water in the jungle. We soon march on further, as we must reach Gaur Khuri as quickly as possible.Stuck in the Rain
The trek route was easy. That means we got a little tired as compared with treks in the Himalayas. We covered the distance quickly and within a few hours were in the vicinity of the village. However, the weather was turning stormy. With just trees around, there was no full-proof shelter to hide from the rain. Our only chance to avoid rain was to reach the village as soon as possible. We continued the trek in the rain; the clothes were wet. We quickly spotted a hut and took a shelter under its extended roof. The rain got heavy, and drenching was inevitable. While waiting for the rain to stop, we peeked into the hut, and to our surprise, it was empty. It must have belonged to a shepherd, who was particularly not worried about guarding his household belongings. Probably, there were too few people in the village, who must have lived with honesty. At least this was what I wanted to believe. The rain stopped but soaked us.
Getting into the Village
As we entered the village, the eyes of residents were locked on to us. They were really curious about us. I can only imagine what were they thinking. We had a little chat with some people. One of was them was the reporter to a local newspaper who felt that we came from the forest department. He was quite persistent in knowing about the purpose of the visit. It was difficult for them to believe that we were just travelling. As the evening approached and the sky cleared, we were concerned about the night stay. Reaching the highway was impossible as of that day. The villagers were celebrating Navratri, and it was the final day of immersion. We decided to attend the evening aarti and follow the crowd to the immersion of the diety. After the aarti, villagers asked us to go into the pandal and have prasad. We had prasad and started chatting to the people. Interestingly, one person asked me about my caste and said: "Are you a Brahman?". I was surprised by the question. I said, "Yes. How do you know?". He said, "I guessed by your looks, and your friend isn't". The reality again struck, as I now knew that we were in a socially backward village. After the puja, the villagers gathered and took the diety to the local pond for immersion. There was a large crowd, suggesting maybe the entire village participated in this ritual.
Local Village Hospitality
By the end of the day, we were quite popular among the people. The local reporter took us to one house, which was relatively big compared to other huts in the village. It probably belonged to some important person in the village, maybe pradhan. They welcomed with some drinks followed by dinner. The people were still under the impression that we were forest officials. We were enjoying the local hospitality. We asked them about reaching the highway from the village. They told that the road is about 14 km from the village, but the route goes inside the national park. The villagers regularly take it, and sometimes forest guard patrols it. Their directions were pretty simple. First, take the route out of the village, follow it. Then, you will reach a Peepal tree, where the path diverges, pick the left way and follow it to the highway. They suggested we start in the morning and will reach it in 3 hours. It sounded pretty good to us. They also suggested that we must have one more person with us. However, nobody from the village was going in that way the next morning. After chatting for some time and knowing our purpose of the visit, this time reality struck to them. Their hospitality froze but allowed us to spend the night outside the house in the courtyard.Spending Night Out in the Village
Having been living on the edge of a national park, human and wild animal contact was not uncommon. Some villagers saw bears, leopards and tigers regularly. The villagers narrated an instance where a bear with a baby attacked the shepherd and took his arm, just last week. We also got to know that the government gives some compensation to the villagers if wild animals kill their cattle. These stories were nerve-wracking, but we did not have any other choice but to sleep outside. Like last night, we were not prepared. However, we had good cover from wind and a plain sheet to cover ourselves. The floor was hard, and obviously, we didn't sleep well. In the night, once I gazed into the sky to see the stars. It was extremely clear without any light pollution. Even though the night was uncomfortable, the morning was refreshing. The Sun was bright, and birds were chirping; the air was fresh, slight bit smell of burning cow dung. Our task was to reach the highway.
Next Morning: In the pursuit of reaching highway
We started towards the path heading out of the village. After walking for some minutes, we were on somebody's farm in the backdrop of a hill. The way was confusing. Luckily, we found a man on the field and asked him for the directions. He said we were on the correct path and continue through the field and onto the hill ahead. It should have been a clue to the kind of track lying ahead. The forest was thick on the hill. The cowherds in the dense vegetation were bearly visible but clearly audible. Following a little trail, the forest opens on the other side of the hill into a wider trek. Perhaps, there was another more standard way. For future reference let us call this spot, where the hill ends into a wide track as "Point A". From this point, we marched forward following the track.Lost in Wilderness
As we progressed, the track became narrow, and the vegetation not only became denser, but diverse. We started seeing termite mounts frequently. It was certainly not desired as we heard terrifying stories involving bears just the other day. The concentration of bushes increased too. We saw a variety of flowers. As we went deep, there was a characteristic silence. The path became even narrower. After some time, the single track divided into multiple trails. These trails were covered with grass and were confusing. Suddenly, the advice of the villagers of taking a local person made a lot of sense. We followed the biggest trail. It led to thick bushy vegetation. At this point, we were not sure whether we were on the correct path. We have been waling for a while, but there was no evidence of Peepal tree anywhere. So, we decided to take a few steps back and look for any missed trails. Time for reality to strike, as we looked behind, the view seemed absolutely distinct and new. We had no idea from where we came. It was a haunting situation as we could have been inside the park, but we did not know.
Heading Back and Second Attempt
We took a trail for going back. It was a different experience, as we were under the grip of anxiety and fear. Now we were not paying attention to the beauty of the forest, rather its danger. Our senses were automatically looking for the signatures of risk at this moment. My brain was flashing the crude knowledge of all the Nat-Geo documentaries. I started to observe the bark of the tree to find scratches of animals, specifically leopards and bear. Fortunately, we found a familiar trail back. We took it and reached point A. We were tired and hungry too. After relaxing for a bit, we decided to give another attempt. We started with familiar ongoing trail and was explicitly looking for Peepal tree. Ventured into the forest, and suddenly the familiarity fades away. We reached a different spot this time. There was a small river with some buffalos inside them. By looking at their horns, it was clear that they were wild, chilling in the water. Indeed, there was no way to cross the water from here. We took another trail which took us to flat ground. Here, the sparsely spaced trees helped in gaining little visibility. However, there was no sign of the Peepal tree. Tired and disappointed, we started to go back again.
Meeting a Shepherd
The weather was hot and humid. We sat near a water stream, refreshed us. I guess at this moment we were drinking the same water as the wild animals. There was silence. The fear subsided a little bit, as we were acclimatising to the environment and had some energy after drinking the water. We reached the point A again. To our surprise, here we met a shepherd. He had several cows and an axe. He was well-built; all his tree-cutting work was showing in his physique. We had little chat with him. He told he frequently saw tigers and many times female tiger with cubs. His experience with the jungle was visible on his face. These people have characteristic humbleness, calmness, friendliness and helpfulness, which is the evolutionary nature of humans. It feels good that such kindness is preserved in these wild pockets, far from the "developed" world, where human nature has lost such traits. We asked him for the direction to the highway. He also reiterated the same route mentioned by villagers yesterday. Get to the Peepal tree and take a left, simple and clear message. We were perplexed and drained. Where were we going wrong? The way seemed obvious to the villagers.
Last Attempt: In the Search of Peepal
After resting for a while, we gained some more energy to give one more attempt. We again followed the same route. The route became more familiar, but the Peepal tree was nowhere to be seen. We reached the flat land again, but there was no trail ahead. However, there was many opening into the thick bush. We gathered some courage and took one of the openings in anticipation of finding a path. We took a course in the west with the guidance of the Sun. Here, we started hearing the sound of the vehicles. The highway was not far. However, in the silence of the jungle, sound and travel far. Besides, the direction of the sound can also change due to the echo in the hills. So, we were not sure about it. But we were persistent and started to move ahead. The vegetation got thicker and thicker, and the Sun was going down. It became clear that these are not trails, but walking paths of wild animals like boars. Then we saw a dug termite mount maybe by a bear. The fear was at its peak at this moment. We rushed back and decided to retreat. Fortunately, we managed to find the way back. We reached point A, and it was beginning to go dark.