My first walk..into the wild -> Corbett Calling..!!!

An undercover operation, an amateur sleuth, an intelligent mentor, a fantastic cameraperson, two willing and passionate conservationists, evil godmen and the setting of tiger poaching deep within the jungles; the stage was set for one of the most meaningful and exciting adventures of my life.
The venue - Jim Corbett National Park! The jungles throbbing with life, calling you..revealing their secrets; slowly and steadily.

Our wildlife beat reporter was appointed my mentor and the news story was his brainchild. It was a small crew, not scary but stealthily it was a formidable team. The day we departed to Corbett, it rained heavily in Delhi, the city we were departing from. Strangely it was the first rain of the season. An omen!

The eight hour journey on the battered Innova turned splendid the minute we left the city, it had been months since I had seen such greenry.

My mentor had informers in the jungle, the day proceeded and so did the planning, I realized I was headlong into the first investigative report of my life. ‘Sting’ as it is referred to in the media circle. The plan was hence, the godman in the jungle was believed to grant boon to childless couples. He was said to do poojas (relegious ritual) by making couples sit on tiger and deer skins. They charged 1-10 lacs of Indian currency for the skin and the pooja. Passionate and crazy that I was about wildlife and nature, my blood relentlessly boiled at the thought of this. We had a very simple plan, act as a childless couple, carry spy cameras, get the pooja recorded and bring in intelligence. It sounded all easy and well. Prim and proper to be executed, little did we know as to what lay ahead.

Pulled on by a heavy tractor, 5-6 kms deep inside the jungle was our site of action, strangley well covered by mobile network range. With spy cameras resting peacefully in our handbag and cap we were ready to shoot every act involved. The huts had an eerie feel and the men around sure looked every part the godmen they were not! The eyes of the headman glowed under the effect of cannabis and deep inside my heart I knew these men could turn evil and bring out deadly weapons if they wished to. Yet, the will and adrenaline inside us kept us going, scripting the story as we took every breathe. The headman did a little pooja for us; we entered his hut and found a deer skin resting near the fire. Our eyes prying deep into the darkness to find more of the same type yet wishing deep inside that there wouldn’t be any. We couldn’t find another! The stench of rotting flesh covered the region and it sent a shiver through my spine; there was evil lurking and I couldn't point it out! Our rendezvous for the day concluded on no evidence.

Close to the jungle was our home stay. The clear night sky left me gaping like a goldfish. I laid myself on the courtyard staring up at the sky, joining stars with my fingers and figuring out constellations, even the fresh raindrop couldn't pull me out from my lovely reverie.

Our Sherlock Holmes - Watson story was cut short by the godmen, the next day. They had either seen through us or were testing us; we tried our best but couldn’t get a ‘special pooja’ done this time. Our conscience kept questioning us; would mounting pressure from us, lead them to kill another innocent tiger? We could accept the failure of the sting but not the killing of another being! We decided to wrap up the sting.

As we drove back to the city, the experience awoke in me a strange urge to do something; capturing not just the woes but also the beauty of nature into the little PD 170 camera. I had realized somewhere deep inside where I belonged..the adventure had left me asking for more, not just for surge for serotonin but also for the wildlife out there who would dwell on my respect and not on human pity.

It made me take a dozen more walks…into the wild…