A brand new wild experience!

‘Silence’, is such a beautiful word. When we practice it, we experience peace of mind. But what if the same silence creeps your mind with discomforting thoughts, lets you gasp and prompt you to remain alert all the time. Maybe it’s an indication of having a thrilling time. Wherein inexpressible joy is backed by an unreasonable fear. And to experience this, I travelled three hours from Mumbai to the majestic wildlife sanctuary of Phansad, near Kashid beach.

When we reached Phansad, the gates were closed and there was no sign of a forest officer guarding the entrance. A mini bus was standing next to the gate. I understood that an adventurous group must have reached here way before us. As I alighted from my bike and stepped-in to enquire, something ran swiftly and sinuously near my feet. A glance below and I discovered that it was just an Oriental Garden Lizard, running away from the human presence and settling on a nearby tree. However, that creepy-crawly movement brought shiver down my spine. It gave me an indication, saying, ‘welcome to the world of the jungle'.

As I proceeded, I came across an under-construction rest house and some base camp tents built under huge Jamun and Mango trees. A further walk took me to the Forest Officer’s quarters, where I met Sadanand Naik, the Forest Guard. He told us that the sanctuary doesn’t organize Jungle Safari but one can revel in the assets of the jungle through jeep or bike and can go as far as 5kms into the jungle. He also told us that a group of ten people had gone inside, and you can join them on the way. When I asked him about the perils of wild life; he smilingly replied not to worry, as the animals don’t get close to human beings. Was that a relieving statement? Don’t know. However, we took it with a pinch of warning.

At that moment, apart from us, Sadanand was the only human being in sight. So keeping our hearts in hand, we slowly carried on exploring the mysterious forest. The unstoppable sound of cicadas and the weird calls of raptors simply inspired fear in us. In no time, we reached at a junction that read Chikhalgaon 4.5kms and Savrat Talav 4kms. We turned our wheels to the latter.

So far, we’ve travelled through the city traffic, highways, ghats, serpentine roadways but for the very first time, we were riding in a deciduous forest and that too on a track full of unequal patches. It was an eventful ride. As we carried on cautiously, something flew off through our eyes. To our surprise, it turned out to be a grand Black Eagle. It flew like a mini jet in that mystical forest and then perched on a nearby tree. When we got closer, no doubt it showed us the depth of contempt it had for us. Since it was in sight, I got a clear picture about his personality. It was as big as my torso with sharp eyes and beak and whose wings were powerful enough to cut through the gushing wind.

We stopped when the milestone read 1km and then proceeded by walking. The sweet fragrance of Jasmine cast a spell all around. We walked just a few steps and then suddenly we heard some movement to our left. Now what was that? A Barking Dear, a Wild Boar, a Hyena, a Leopard or a Black Panther, we don’t know. When we looked at in that direction, we clearly heard that something ran away from us through the carpet of crumbled leaves and disappeared in the foliage.

For a moment, we had an earth shattering experience. To move on or to go back was a big question for us. I started thinking about the group that went ahead. However, the very next moment our anxiousness got subdued by the mellifluous call of Gold-fronted Leafbird that nested on a nearby tree. Its elusive call acted as a sound therapy for us, which brought back the almost lost energy and confidence to explore the jungle.

With the constant company of astonishing butterflies, garden lizard and common skink, we went on to reach Savrat Talav (Talav means Pond). The pond was not as big as expected. The whole vicinity was surrounded by unique climber called ‘Garumbi vel’- so huge with tree like trunk, spread across 50-100 mts.

Being an ardent follower of Discovery and NatGeo channels, I knew that it’s an apt time to be at Talav, as most of the creatures come to the water body to quench their thirst. Unfortunately, my anticipations were turned down eventually, but my experience was worth the adventure. Birds of different feathers were hovering over the water body. But the sight of the moment was Heart-Spotted Woodpecker, who was struggling to catch its prey lying below the decayed leaves.

Back at the base camp, we met the adventurous group who were having their lunch. We too joined them. I got to know that they went to Chikalgaon. While eating food, I realised, don’t explore the jungle with an ambition. When you submit yourself to the jungle life, jungle itself reveals its priceless treasure. So I make a note, not to anticipate too much. But then I still wonder who was stalking us and ran away at the speed of light!