During my college days and
while preparing for the IFS exams, I had read about stem analysis, stump
analysis and increment boring. We never did it practically. Now, when we are
sawing this huge deodar tree, felled after several hours of backbreaking labour,
I realize how difficult it is to cut trees in the forest using only saw and
axe. We have taken nearly one and a half days to fell and saw this 125-year-old
tree.
After completing the sawing operation, we
feel that the hard times are over. But no, Biswal sir proves us wrong the next
day. We sit on a carpet spread on the grass outside the barracks near the
Kanasar forest guest house and sweat it out, plotting graphs and doing
calculations. Supong is sitting in a corner. He seems to be deeply lost in thought.
I wonder whether he is meditating. I ask him, ''what's up?" He slowly
opens his eyes, "I don't understand any of these graphs. I'm very clear
that I don't know anything". Then he bursts into his patented deep-throat laughter.
Thankfully, the rigors of drawing weird
looking graphs and facing tricky questions in the viva are over. Pramod Pant
sir has come from the Academy to accompany us for the trek. A local boy, Bhim,
is coming with us as our guide. Our first destination is Deoban, about 14 km
from kanasar. We begin at 9 am. Weather is pleasant and all are raring to go.
Initially, it is a slightly steep uphill
climb. After that we come to a forest
path, sufficiently wide for a four wheeler. It is really pointless to walk fast
in the forest. Not that you cannot but you don't feel like. There is so much to
see and so much to feel. Unfortunately, Gamble of our batch, Ravikiran is not
with us for the trek as he is down with a broken leg. Not much of bird life
here. Occasional gliding of red-billed
blue magpies, cackle of laughing thrushes from a distance and great &
spot-winged tits flitting from branch to branch on a nearby tree.
All of us reach the destination by evening,
comfortably. We are served with hot tea and garam pakodas. Late in the evening
Pant sir takes us to 'Deoban peak’. He says that the view of sunset from the
peak is enchanting, provided we are lucky. All along our way to the peak, the
green path seems to smile at us through the lovely, white aster flowers. We get
a panoramic view of the neighboring areas from the peak. The ground here is
carpeted everywhere with creamy cotoneaster blooms. It will still take half an
hour for the sun to go down the horizon. We sit on the huge rocks near the precipice. Quietly. It is a
serene feeling with silence all around. Words are not necessary at such
moments. A huge lammergeyer glides majestically right below us.
Sunset is not spectacular. We take a few
snaps and head back to the camp. After dinner, we retire to the comforts of our
tents. No campfire tonight as it is very windy. Inside the tent we listen
to the whooshing of the roaring wind gushing through the tall deodar, spruce
and fir trees and it reminds me of the monsoons back home. Though it is quite
chilly, our cozy sleeping bags help us to sleep comfortably.
The next day we start at 9.30 in the morning
with an old forest guard as our guide. After walking for about two hours, we
come across a small tea shop owned by a Gujjar. Having rejuvenated myself with a
hot cut of tea, I decide to walk alone. When you walk alone in a forest, you
don't feel lonely. You feel content, walking in the cool, green shades with
gentle breeze caressing your body, filling every pore with new energy. And you
don't feel exhausted (provided the rucksack is not very heavy and terrain not too
steep!).
I reach the forest rest house (FRH) early, at
about 4 pm. Constructed in 1882, on a sloping glade, the building is at an
altitude of around 8,000 ft. The entire place looks calm and picturesque, as if
directly dropped down from the heavens above. After the tents are pitched, I
join my friends for volleyball amidst a lot of hullabaloo. It is good fun. In
the night, sitting by the campfire, we persuade Arjun, son of the chaukidar to
sing songs. After much prodding, he begins and his sonorous voice compels all
of us to lend our ears. He acquiesces to sing another song, much to our
delight.
In the morning, before starting towards Kathiyan,
I take a few pictures of a mare and her foal, owned by the chaukidar. The young
one is only five days old and when I inch closer, it starts capering. The local
guide says that Kathiyan is 40 km away. I don't believe him. We have learnt not
to trust the estimates of distance given by the pahadi (hill) people. They can
be extremely arbitrary.
Five of us (Garwad, Jakher, Manoj, Rajamohan
and I) decide to walk fast today. To our discomfort, only half of the route is
through the woods. The rest of the walk is under the scorching sun on a
motorable mud road. We stop in between to have a cup of tea at a roadside shack.
While I dip a bun into the hot tea and devour it, Manoj comments that the bun belongs
to the pre-historic period. Unperturbed, I continue munching it. After asking
the local people for direction, we resume our walk. We reach the Kathiyan FRH
at 1.30 pm. This is the oldest of all the rest houses I have visited so far
(built in 1872). One room in this FRH is supposed to be haunted and we enquire
the chaukidar about it. He is evasive and says that he has not seen any ghosts
but some people might have experienced strange things. After a cold-water bath,
we take a walk to see the village and to buy some snacks.
Disappointingly, the ghost haunting the
forest rest house decides not to trouble the lady trainees sleeping inside! All
the men sleep in the tents hoping that the ghost would not find the tents too
tempting to take a closer look!
The next morning at 11 am, the last leg of
our trek begins. The "Thadiyar March' is coming to an end. It is a 14 km
mostly downhill walk to Thadiyar. As we descend, the change in the vegetation
is clearly apparent. There are large tracts of chir pine forests with rills on
the stems, indicating regular resin extraction by the forest department. The
walk amidst the chir forests and along the stream banks is pleasant. When we
reach Thadiyar at 3 pm, the Academy bus is already waiting for us.
Our driver Bisht says that it is a ten-hour
journey to Dehradun. We have no complaints. All of us shout merrily on the
successful completion of the trek. It has been a wonderful experience. The
towering deodars, the feel of the carpet of slippery pine needles beneath our
feet, enchanting old rest houses, Arjun's soulful songs, gliding of the lammergeyer
near Deoban Peak- all will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. The
quiet woods of the hills beckon us. We will be back. Hopefully, soon.
April
2002
India is blessed with so much of scenic splendor and natural beauty. There is so much to explore, so much to realize, so much to cherish.
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