It
was February 28, 2012. All the banks had called for a one-day strike and I had
nothing to do on that day. So I decided to go to Tavarekoppa lion safari. But
my friend told me that Tuesday is the weekly holiday for lion safari. So I had
to alter my plans slightly. I decided to go to Sakrebyl elephant training camp and
Mandagadde bird sanctuary. I started from Kadur at 7 a.m. and reached Shimoga
by 8:30. From there I boarded a private bus and went to Mandagadde first. But I
had done an utterly foolish thing. In February no birds can be seen there. I
hadn’t referred to anybody before, so I had to come back without seeing any
bird there. In the paddy field on the roadside, I saw a red wattled lapwing,
which was the only bird I saw there. Then I decided to visit Sakrebyl.
I
got a private bus and reached Sakrebyl. I realized that I was near the elephant
camp while walking on the road itself by looking at the huge masses of elephant
dung all over the roadside. As soon as I entered into the area, a man stopped
me asked what I was going for. I was surprised to hear his question, because
anybody going to an elephant training camp goes with the intention of seeing
elephants, what else? Since I am physically handicapped, I was allowed to enter
without any fee. The mahouts there told that there are overall 18 elephants,
but on that day, there were only 5 of them. They told that the others have gone
to the forest and will come back only the next morning. But I was satisfied
with those five elephants, two of which were big tuskers.
I
wanted to take some photographs of elephants. I didn’t have a camera then but I
took some photos with my mobile. One of the mahouts asked me to stand beside a
tusker holding one of its tusks and took 2-3 photos with my mobile. I had never
touched an elephant before in my life. So there was a lot of fear in my mind
while walking towards the elephant. The mahout observed that and said smiling
‘Don’t worry, it will not do anything. It is not a wild animal. Besides that,
it is the most humble one among all our elephants’.
Then
the mahouts took two of them to the river for bathing. It was a spectacular
scene for me. I had never seen elephants bathing before. Once one of them exhaled in
the water and the water ripples produced by it spread to at least a hundred
feet or even more. I wondered at the might of these magnificent creatures. The mahouts were rubbing the body of
elephants with some rough fiber type substance. After a few minutes, the
elephants completely submerged under water, except the tip of their trunk. They
bathed in that manner for more than half an hour.
When
all the elephants departed from that area, I decided to leave the place and
started towards the gate. Then I saw a mother elephant coming with her calf. So
I decided to stay for some more time. The mahouts took both of them directly to
the river and they too bathed for more than half an hour. A couple of goats
were grazing nearby. I took the videos of these two elephants as they departed,
but the clarity of videos was not good since it was taken with mobile from a
great distance.
The
Shettihalli wildlife sanctuary lies nearby Sakrebyl and the mahouts told that
after bathing the elephants in the morning, they will be left in Shettihalli to
feed and walk. They will come back again in the evening and sometimes in the
early morning. But on that day, nearly a dozen elephants hadn’t turned up. One
of the mahouts, who seemed to have a good sense of humor, laughed loudly saying
that the elephants had gone to honeymoon trip with the wild elephants.
By
1 p.m. I left Sakrebyl physically, but not mentally. Even though there was not
much to see there, I was satisfied with what I saw there and thought in my mind
that I should visit it once again. I came back with the sweet memories of
elephants and my dreams that night were full of elephants! Now I have purchased
a camera and planning to visit the place again. I don’t know when I go there
again, but surely I will visit within the next month.
No comments:
Post a Comment