When I visited Silent Valley years ago, apart from the grandeur of the evergreen forest area and the crystal clear waterfalls, what impressed me was a signboard placed inside the forest which said,“Animals live in the wild; they are not wild.” Observing the unruly behaviour of the tourists who were littering inside the pristine forest, I thought it is the humans who are really wild.
I now work in Nelliyampathy, a rich forest area in Kerala. I often visit the deep forests with a tribal youth named Mani. I befriended him when he came to the panchayat office, where I was working, to enquire about tribal welfare schemes. I told him I wanted to see wild elephants. On an early Sunday morning, he came to the office quarters where I resided and asked me to get ready. “A herd of elephants are there near our colony,” he said.
By the time we reached the place, the elephants had moved to the open place beyond a small patch of trees. Mani led me into the patch of trees. Entering it, we stood behind a gigantic tree, and saw the four elephants just 200 metres away. They didn’t mind us and went into the forest calmly. Yes, they live in the wild, but they are not wild. When the elephants were gone, I told Mani that I wanted to see the deep forests. He said he would lead me back to my quarters by crossing the forest. The experience was thrilling. For the first time, I was entering the heart of a forest.
Gigantic trees stood all around us. To see the top of the evergreen trees I had to look up and put my face parallel to the sky! The thick foliage didn’t allow even a speck of sunlight to come down. The eerie music of forest crickets and wonderful sounds of the exotic birds filled the atmosphere. Suddenly a rustling sound was heard from atop and Mani asked me to look up. A large number of monkeys were passing through the foliage at high speed.
Monkeys are everywhere around my office complex and the office junction. I was having my breakfast from the only tea shop in the junction. Sitting near the door of the shop and after having finished my idlis, I asked for two bananas. The man put them in front of me after taking the plate away.
While I was eating one of them, a monkey dashed into the room like a missile, jumped to the table, snatched the banana and went out. All this happened in just a second. The tea shop owner and others started to rebuke the monkeys, but I told them that they too should live and was happy that the monkey snatched my banana. The wonderful thing is that the monkey snatched the banana without touching me. It had only one aim—food—and it skilfully got it. It lives in the wild, but it is not wild.
Sukumaran C V
Email: lscvsuku@gmail.com