31 TO 32, NOV-2013

Ageing is romantic, nostalgic and elevates life to the next level which is an inevitable part of any life form that’s thrown onto the earth to survive, grow and die. It brings in maturity, charm, experience and courage to face the brute world we are living in today as it makes us go through all that is on offer, good and bad. Ageing brings along with it independence, intelligence, desire, responsibility, fun, pleasure and eventually takes us to the beginning – fear and dependency like when we were born. Ageing completes the circle of life and in doing so; it makes us go through enriching moments each day that help complete this circle. As I step into the 33^rd year of my life it was a revelation to realize I was undergoing this transition at one of my favorite locations over Western Ghats, a place that I knew as the back of my palm. I had constantly watched the natural elements undergo the inevitable ageing process here for the past 5 years and it was sensational to understand how slow and steady the natural world undergoes ageing. When I compare the photo taken here of mine 5 years back with the one taken during this jaunt, I could see the change in age (Photos 10 and 11, old and new). But when I compare the photo taken here of the same tree 5 years back with the one taken during this jaunt there isn’t much difference I could delineate (Photos 6 and 7, old and new), such is the power of natural world. Nevertheless, when I think the other way around I begin to strongly feel ageing in humans have more powerful emotions built within. That photo of mine shot 5 years back captured me in absolute happiness that was sans stress or any pretentions hiding behind, while; the one captured more recently has a lot more to hide behind. Ageing has the power to tell, the power to expose if our life is on the right path and as years progress, our expressions eventually better the will to pretend. As I roamed through the familiar natural vistas during this 3 days jaunt, I was enthralled to learn there wasn’t a hint of ageing in this natural world familiar to me. People say age is just a number but it isn’t, for it widens the meaning of our existence. At 3 were kids and taken care-off, at 30 we had kids to take care-off and at 70 we were again the same as at 3; dependent and dreamless. Life is fast and its emotions are powerful, an act which seemed nothing at 30 will make us recognize what a sin it was at 70. We are obliged to be cautious at each corner of our life and when we don’t, we will eventually come across a corner that will throw up a painful surprise for us to suffer in eternity. When we are able to learn the meaning of our existence, when we are able understand the purpose of this life to us; then comes in the real meaning for this gift. Dreams and goals are to be set in proportion to our capability, interest and expertise and not in proportion to what others have achieved. When we begin to focus on “our” life, when we begin to love “our” life and when we begin to nurture “our” life; it’s when we begin to respect every “other” life on this planet for we begin to understand the rule is predefined and same for every life form, how every individual respects and carries them forward decides the overall quality of life. There is a stunning lack of this respect and discipline which has led to pain, suffering, fear, hatred and chaos through the modern world. When I look, listen, admire and understand the perfection of natural world it stuns me with a million volt pain as the human race struggles for “quality” life and “painless” existence. After 3 days of philosophical thoughts up there in the Ghats I was determined to correct the last few remaining flaws of my life and make it a perfect one. Leaves do fall, waters do dry up and life does ends; it’s all about how we steered our conscience through this vast sea of challenges and temptations. I have never recognized this more powerfully at any time before than at this juncture, when I transitioned from 31 to 32.

VICTIM, YET ANOTHER..., NOV-2013

LTM – Lion Tailed Macaque, a primate indigenous of Western Ghats.

Not a single expression seen, of the flagship species of Western Ghats, in the above photographs are inherent to their character. Lion Tailed Macaques are among the rarest and most endangered of Primates and they are confined to Western Ghats of Southern India. On a recent trip to Valparai I was treated to the visual delight of watching these interesting primates in their natural habitat. It was a privilege to watch these Primates in the wild for they are listed as “EN” (Endangered) in the IUCN Red List (International Union for the conservation of Nature) and with only three more categories ahead CR (Critically endangered), EW (Extinct in the wild), EX (Extinct); it was indeed a matter of pride to watch these shy creatures just beside the state highway connecting Valparai with the plains below. Just as I pulled myself out of the surprise these primates stuffed me into with their presence so near to Human Interference, I realized I was looking into the eyes of yet another victim to Human intervention. LTM’s are unlike other Macaques, they dodge human presence and don’t inhabit or pass through human habitations. They avoid even living in man made plantations and are wary to such an extent that they ensure their routes of passage don’t intersect with those of humans. But the sight I was standing witness to was re-writing science, re-writing facts and re-writing nature itself as the LTM’s peeped into every other car, which stopped by to witness their presence, and instinctively grabbed the food the owners threw in their direction. I have never seen anything like this before and the flagship species of Western Ghats being reduced to “Circumstantial” beggars just couldn’t be accepted by my “nature” obsessed mind. LTM’s are such powerful characters that they formed part of the “Influential rationales” that led to Save silent valley campaign and they indeed, succeeded in saving Silent valley (Kerala). Just a thought of the LTM brings to me the charm of Western Ghats, of the beautiful valleys, of the gorgeous canopies and the majestic Rainforests these primates inhabit. The biggest threat to these primates is loss of habitat and their inherent shyness that prevents them from occupying potential habitats in proximity to a Human settlement. But an even bigger threat is this act of “Beggary” hitherto unseen in LTM’s behavior and caused by Human intervention. LTM’s are a majestic representation of the “Uniqueness” of Fauna and Flora spread across the Western Ghats and it’s a shame; we have reduced them to beggars. It’s time we stopped our interventions into nature’s plans, stood far away and watched the drama. We don’t have the right to direct natural processes, good or bad; and they are intended to be executed for a reason. Let’s stop feeding the LTM’s and help them emerge out of this act of beggary and instill the “lost charm” of their lives. The joy of seeing an endangered species lies in the search that leads us to them, not in the search of food that brings them to us. It’s high time we send the LTM’s back deep into the forests and protect them from the vulnerabilities of human proximity. The sight of a dozen LTM’s begging around the cars rapidly melts the “endangered” tag associated with them and they are viewed as any other normal monkey. The only solution to this loss of identity lies, again; in human intervention and this time by the authorities to step up the now fragile surveillance and protect the LTM’s with the strong arm of enforcement. Looking away from enforcement, think for a moment – Do you accept your child being fed by a stranger on the road with his dirty hands? That is common sense, leave the LTM’s alone and they know to survive better than us.

It’s neither fun nor sympathy to feed a wild animal; it’s the crime of disturbing nature’s order.

SILENT SHADOW, OCT-2013

Silence is as beautiful as a 2 month old baby and as powerful as a woman’s melting smile, nevertheless; we tend to ignore this remarkable “character” and on most occasions silence is killed brutally. Silence flows through our environment, every day and everywhere; only to be amplified and killed on every occasion. The moments before our sleep are amplified by songs from smart phones, the lonely moments at home are amplified by televisions, the romantic moments between pairs of loving eyes are amplified by worldly and materialistic discussions, the calm early mornings at office are amplified by loud “emergency” conference calls, the quiet moment at hospital where mind prepares for the worst and heart thinks for the best is amplified by our own crying conscience. Silence; like malaria in developed countries, has been eradicated forever with man-made vaccine called “reason”, while my conscience claims there’s no reason to kill silence. Up or down, right or left; wherever I searched for it I couldn’t compose a moment of silence as the orderly chaos kept me chasing to the brink of breakdown. I was now desperately searching for it, that moment of stillness where my immediate world was on a mute enabling me to walk slowly; talk real words, breathe patiently, understand what I hear, mean what I say, smile from my heart and eventually sleep in absolute calm. These simple, inherent characters have vanished long back and I was stunned to sit and think for a moment I was searching for them, the basics of life. Like a blown out valve, I surged with accumulated pressure towards a remarkably quiet region with three of my colleagues on a noisy evening when entire office was stubbornly tearing down the silence. No worries; as I knew where to look for and where to run towards to and cherish moments of stillness looking into distant “nothing” and listening to vast emptiness in a region that’s shadowed by the mighty Western Ghats. Geographers call it a rain shadow region, a region that lies on the landward slope of a sea facing mountain chain, while I call it a silent shadow for its contents are a mystery and not much raved about like those on the other side of the mountain chain. After a night of brisk, breathe stopping drive on a mix of notorious Indian Highways we managed to hit the vicinity of Ghats, much ahead of dawn, forcing us to have a power nap for an hour until it was considered safe to enter the Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary. Chinnar WLS derives its name from Chinnar River that originates in the distant Anaimalai hills and later flowing into Tamilnadu as Amaravati before joining Cauvery near Karur. Our destination for the day was a sleepy, sedate town lying on the way to world famous Munnar and it was inherently famous not because of its proximity to Munnar but because of its massive natural sandal wood forests. It’s called by the name Marayur (Marayoor) where I discovered a quaint, big Bungalow a year back and it was where we were heading towards to spend a day of silence isolated from all unwanted amplifications. We were driving through the State Highway 17 and it was still dark with the big moon peeping from behind the Western Ghats rendering the situation painstakingly romantic, and completely making us ignorant of the fear usually associated with night driving inside a wild life sanctuary. Dawn gorgeously emerged as we entered Marayoor with distant, random homes echoing the voice of silence from around the mind boggling spread of the Ghats. We checked into “Chandana”; the beautiful Bungalow built with taste and substance to have a short nap before entering the core of the sanctuary for a moment of “out of this world silence” and to relish the relaxing sight of spectacular Thoovanam falls formed by river Pambar. Post breakfast we ventured into market for provisions and thereafter it was a quick entry into the reserve accompanied by forest guard for that relaxing hike towards Thoovanam with none but only “silence” accompanying us. Silence is so powerful here that we rapidly succumb to its influential presence and walk in absolute stillness unbothered by whatever and whoever is bothering us hundreds of kilometers away. Silence gradually lowers the volume around the amplified mind as it begins to settle into rhythm of nature; one that is of undeterred and unchallenged serenity. Thoovanam falls had a much bigger output this year due to the successful SW monsoon and it reinforced its position as the “Heart” of Chinnar. Upon completion of this trek and exiting the confines of Chinnar, my world had settled down well into its inherent rhythm and the impending evening culminated in “once in a while” kind of relaxation as we had a sumptuous dinner in a setting that churned loads of silence and nothing else. When Marayoor went quiet after the night had set in well, I took a stroll through the town engulfed by cold, mist and the exotic silence I came in search off. Walking in absolute stillness through an unknown village over a not much known road with surrounding Ghats forming a scary shadow and the distant stars blinking with curiousness is a moment to cherish. When I came back to Chandana the Bungalow was spooky and I quickly retreated to my room for going dead over the next few hours until dawn. Unfortunately; the dawn on the day of departure was much romantic than the one on our arrival and this made me depart with reluctance. Like many of my “Hurried” jaunts in the past, this quick dash to the Rain Shadow region over a weekend proved to be a curing one on my injured peace. The choice was mine, I knew well; I could remain in silence or, return to the world of chaos tormented by unwanted amplifications. But the bigger problem now was; I actually didn’t have the choice which I believed I had and thus forced to return to where I came running from. All I keep thinking about is how to retain the silence that subtly flowed past for couple of days and I believe the answer lies deep within me. It now only needs a powerful realization…