My rendezvous with forests was
totally unplanned. It all happened when my friends suggested a new place to
‘chill’, instead of the regular “OOTY”. We were a little disappointed when we reached
our destination Masinagudi. Short thorny trees and bushes and not so cooler
climate made us think that we should have stuck with our usual stuff, but we
realized how it changed our lives (at least my life) for the better.
Our stay was in a government
trekking shed tucked inside the forest. I never had a feel that I was inside a
forest, as my perception of a jungle was towering trees, lush green plants with
a lot of animals inside the forest. I was in for a biggest surprise, when a
bull elephant chased our vehicle. I was always fascinated by the inmates of the
jungle and this incident ignited the passion which was lying dormant inside me
for a long time.
Since then, my trips to the
forests in and around Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) increased multifold. The
pleasure of sharing the experience with my pals prompted me to take photos of
the unseen landscapes and the forest dwellers. The sheer diversity in flora and
fauna in this biosphere is mind boggling, be it the fauna, flora and avifauna.
In spite of improved awareness
among people, increased patrolling by forest guards and anti poaching staffs
and improved conservation techniques, safeguarding our forests from the
poachers still goes for a toss. Forest cover in India is declining at an
alarming rate. Conflicts between humans and animals still remain with the
latter losing in the long run. On the bright side, as a result of removing
settlements from the core areas and also due to increased patrolling, NBR is
seeing an increase in the population of the endangered species which brings
hope that our forests will survive the human onslaught.
