Linda: Into the Jungle - Periyar Tiger Sacntuary

Into the Jungle
Periyar Tiger Sanctuary

A fond farewell to the city life. We left Tamil Nadu on a 4 hour bus ride, the last part ascending, ascending, beautiful mountains covered with plantations, little homes, and green, green, green. All was fresh and clean, and the little town of Kumily, where we are staying, is perched up in the mountains, surrounded by spice and tea plantations. This town is marvelously comfortable. The place we were planning to stay was booked, and a man recommended a place for us. He ended up being our knight in shining armor, arranging many trips and events for us, including transportation. We got all of these things at discounted rates and he still got a percentage from the businesses – so we all came out ahead. On top of that, he was one of the most kind and congenial people we’ve
met, which is saying a lot. His help, coupled with the immense beauty of this area, made this a place of joy, peace, and refuge.
And, as always, I am once again aware that I am not a city girl. As the hours and days went by, I found my vision and my heart going out in expanding circles, and hadn’t realized how closed in I was in the cities, where one can really only look across a street or over a building. I loved the temples and the sacred places, but my soul soars in the vastness of nature.
The jungle here is very maternal. The forests seem a lot like ours, bigger hills and waterways, but the right combination of tree and plant. Until you really start to look! Then, you realize not one of the trees are the same, or if they are the same, the flowers are much bigger. And the sounds! Monkeys (4 varieties each with their own sound), pigs, birds – all unique. Then, the tracks! This is a trackers paradise. We went on an all day excursion into the jungle through the forestry department here. There are 42 tigers residing in the preserve. (Last sighting was last December. Like all big cats, tigers are very hard to see – silent, elusive.) We hiked for a total of 4-5 hours and rafted on a quiet lake for another 4 hours or so. Breakfast and lunch included, as well as guides, rowers, and an armed guard with a World War II vintage rifle – not sure he really knew how to use it. It was glorious! We saw several wild pigs, including a rather large family later in the day. We saw three groupings of wild elephants, many small herds of wild bison, monkeys, a drongo (there really is one – it’s a bird), and a myriad of tracks!! Of course, I was the only one with my nose glued to the ground, but, fortunately, one of the guides was just as interested in tracks and plants as I am and answered all my questions. I got a tour of medicinal plants and saw the tracks of all the above mentioned animals as well as otter, porcupine (a 4 inch track!!! – wait for Eleanor’s story on porcupines), birds, dog, other rodents I wasn’t sure about, and a gorgeous 4 day old tiger track! At first I thought the tiger track was rather small, then I realized I was only looking at the foot pad and had missed the four toe pads! A lovely, round track with 4 beautiful round toes, claws in, as cats walk with their claws retracted, unlike dogs. It was the size of my full hand, extended, except for the last joint of my middle finger – so about 5 inches. I took a picture, which I hope Eleanor posts. We saw other tiger tracks as well, but they were a bit older. We also heard a very scary growl coming from about 15 yards away, with some rustling, followed by 2 more growls before the mother went up the hill. We think it was a pig – not an animal I want coming toward me either. There are also sloth bears and black bears here, too, as well as snakes – didn’t see any signs of any of those. So, for any trackers, the mud and sand here are perfect tracking conditions, the people are wonderful, the climate is perfect, and the cost, once you get here, is reasonable!!
Another adventure was an elephant ride through the jungle. I felt like a Maharani (great princess) sitting on top this wonderful animal. Patrick was with me and our guide was on the ground; Matthew and Eleanor were on the elephant in front. They are amazing creatures. The rocking movement is gentle and they are absolutely silent! Patrick was the first one to notice that they didn’t make a sound as they carefully placed their feet. We went through a few villages – the children all waved – and then went to a little tank of fresh water and gave the elephant a bath. I’d already experimented with favorite rubbing places. In fact, I’d found a particularly nice place to rub behind the elephant’s ears while we were riding and got the elephant in trouble. She stopped and groaned in delight, until the guide told her to move on. Another time she bent into the petting and started to wag her tail – very gratifying. She loved the bath and willingly laid there while we scrubbed her with halved coconut shells. Then, she sat up, we got on her back – one at a time, and she showered us – quite thoroughly – with large amounts of water. It’s a bit touristy, but a must do, and you’ll come away feeling very happy. Elephants make you feel happy.
We also saw a martial arts demonstration called Kalaripayattu which was impressive in many ways, and a little too contrived in others. Knowing a bit about fighting and fighting with sticks, knives, and staffs has its advantages. The demonstrations were staged, but it was still interesting to see, and they fought with great intensity. Still, they fought to miss – which, if you are really fighting, is not good practice. This particular martial arts form goes back 3000 years and, like many traditions here, is steeped in myth. Legend traces the art form back to Parasurama, the master of martial arts forms who was taught by Lord Shiva himself, and originated in southern Kerela. It is inspired by the power of the lion, tiger, elephant, boar, snake, and crocodile. The training is intense and wholistic, taking years to master. It includes not only physical training, but yoga, body, mind, and medicine. Stances are modified for jungle use, so there are many low stances. Weapons include the hands, staff (6 feet long), sword and shield, various knives, and sticks.
Kathakali is a traditional temple dance form here in Kerela. We were able to see a performance here, sitting very close to the stage. Usually, these intricate and detailed performances of the epics and mythological stories of India are done over a period of 1-3 days and nights in the temples. It takes three hours to do the elaborate make up of the characters, whose style and color tell if the character is evil or good, male or female. All roles are played by males, much like all theatre throughout the world until the 1700’s. The story is told through the subtlety of gesture and facial movements. Because this was a demonstration, we were shown all the basic hand gestures as well as an impressive array of facial gestures. Just watching the eyes was amazing. The eyes are trained to move very, very exactly – back and forth, up and down, sometimes at great speeds, and sometimes only moving rapidly, back and forth, only a fraction of an inch. It must take years to do this! And then, each muscle of the face can move independently and with great speed – or lack of speed. Yet, even though the face was very mobile, it was also very controlled – it wasn’t exaggerated, it was exact. We saw a few short demonstrations of acting, like asking someone to come in (three different ways – one nicely, one as a command, one as a reprimand – very interesting) and putting a baby to sleep. The play was only ½ hour – plenty for an introduction.
So, our time here was spent mostly in nature and in the company of the lovely family who hosted us – a Christian family of the Thomasian church. Unfortunately, I discovered this too late to ask questions of the son, whose English was the best. I’ve loved being up in the cool mountains … and the smells!! One smells cardamom just walking up and down the streets. If fact, we saw a circle of women sorting baskets of cardamom for a local spice factory, quietly talking in a shady area. I was too embarrassed to take a picture, but it was lovely. During drives, you see entire mountains covered with tea, steep mountainsides cascading with tea plants – and in some places rubber trees, with bags around them to capture the rubber. The mountains here remind me of the Smoky Mountains – round and maternal, green nearly to the top, but they are much, much steeper. And the people are quiet and easy to be with.