It so happened that my father was attending a seminar on organic farming in Kottayam and as he would also be visiting some organic farms he thought it a good idea if I came along. The trip would take us to Kerala.

Dad and I left Goa on 30th August, 1995. The bus departed from Panaji bus stand at six a.m. and reached Mangalore the same day at four in the evening. En route we pa.s.sed through Karwar, Ankola, k.u.mta, Honavar, Kundapur and Udupi. Mangalore happens to be my ancestral home. (My dad, though born and brought up in Mumbai and now living since marriage in Goa, is originally from Mangalore.) Although we do not have an ancestral home any more we have lots of relatives in Mangalore city.

We stayed at my grand uncle's house which is very close to the bus-stand. It is a two storey building in the heart of Mangalore and my grand aunt Monica Mauxi lives there with her three sons, Reggie, Patrick and Lambert and their families in a sort of joint family set-up. My grand uncle J.S. Alvares who was a very well known Konkani writer pa.s.sed away a few years ago. I was meeting my aunt and cousins almost for the first time.

After the introductions were over and we had had tea and snacks Dad showed me around the city. Since I knew that I would be returning to Goa alone at the end of the seminar in Kottayam I took care to be very observant about landmarks and other details so that I would not get lost on my return trip. I carefully noted the locations of the railway station, Hampankatta, which is the centre of Mangalore and the old bus stand and the route to Aunt Monica's home. We returned at dark to a splendid meal and went to bed early for we had to wake up at 3 a.m. for our onward journey.

Our train left Mangalore on the dot at 4.15 a.m. We travelled all day through green countryside, pa.s.sing through Kannur, Calicut, Thrissur and Ernakulam to reach our destination Kottayam at 3.45 p.m. We were booked at Hotel Aishwarya. I had a refreshing bath and then as usual we went off to explore the city but had to return soon because it started to rain.

The seminar was at Hotel Green Park and we set out for the venue early in the morning. We had already been registered as partic.i.p.ants and each of us was given a cloth bag, notebook and pen to use during the seminar. There were many stalls selling a large number of items from organic tea and pickles, to books and manuals.

We looked around very briefly for the organisers were already calling out to everyone to settle down for the inaugural. All day there were talks, most of them by scientists. The sessions continued till evening with a break for a vegetarian lunch in between. Of all the talks, the one that caught my attention was the talk given by Dr Sultan Ismail on earthworms. I have refrained from giving details of Dr Ismail's talk here because I have a full chapter on my a.s.sociation with his work later in this book.

The next morning the same sort of programme continued. However there was a farmer's session which was chaired by my father. Many farmers spoke about their experience in organic farming. I found it quite interesting. Sometime after lunch my father and I, along with Guru Rishi Prabhakar (the founder of the Siddha Samadhi Yoga programme) and Kartikeyan (who was researching some chapters for a source book on organic farming) left to visit the farm of an organic farmer, a Mr.

K.T. Thomas. He showed us his shrimp pond, rubber plantations, cows, fishing ponds, orchids, giant bamboo filter ponds, etc. His farm was really huge, dark and damp-like a forest in the night!

Next morning we took a train to Calicut. We pa.s.sed through Ernakulam and Trishur. At Shoranur we changed trains and from the railway station we took a bus to Sultan's Battery where we spent the night at a hotel called the Resort. As usual, we spent enjoyable hours walking around the town.

The next programme was at Wynad. Here, another meeting of persons interested in organic farming was taking place. We stayed at the Wynad Wildlife Division Guest House.

The group here was not very large and they generally had small intense discussions. I was not much interested in the sessions and wandered about as I pleased. But I liked the company of the people there very much for all of them were very knowledgeable and they were the active type too. Some of them-like Bernard from Auroville, Korah Mathen and his daughter Nidhi from Ahmedabad and Omkar-I would meet again during my sabbatical year.

We used to go for long walks in the forest, morning and evening. On the first day itself we saw Nilgiri Langurs and a variety of small birds, frogs and trees.

In the evening the organisers showed us two movies on the pollution of the river Bhavani. After that we watched a very popular and lovely movie called 'Animals are Beautiful People'.

On our early morning walk the following day (the second at Wynad) we saw a herd of spotted deer and a barking deer. We also saw many footprints of animals, especially of deer; and traces of elephant footprints too. The experience excited me very much and after that I would eagerly set out with whoever was interested in taking a walk. On the third day, a Mr Shivanand gave a very interesting talk on the Western Ghats. He showed us many slides on the Western Ghats i.e.

insectivorous plants, mountain goats, rivers that are formed by condensation of water vapour, plants that flower every ten years, etc.

All that I had studied in geography and science in school now came alive for me.

That evening we watched two movies, one called 'The Whistling Hunters'

(about wild dogs) and another called 'The Lord of the Jungle' (about elephants). Both were very good. The next morning we went walking again and saw only birds. We walked about 12 kms that day. Later that morning the concluding session of the programme was held.

In the evening the forest department organised a tour for us through the jungle. We walked quite a distance, saw the watchtower, then deer and a wild boar, but we had to turn back soon because we saw tiger footprints. At night we saw another two movies, one on the Narmada called 'A Valley Rises' and the second called 'The Silent Valley'.

After the meeting ended my dad was scheduled to go to Chennai for some work but I was to return to Goa on my own. My dad came along with me by bus to Calicut. At the railway station, my father bought me a ticket to Mangalore and left me at the station at about 2 p.m. to await the train which was due at around 4 p.m.

It was the first time I was travelling alone and I was quite nervous.

Although it would be two hours before the train arrived I dared not fall asleep. I had with me a small battery operated video game and I occupied myself with this while waiting for the train to arrive. When it did there was a general commotion as people started rushing into the compartments. I enquired with one or two persons whether there were any special seats but n.o.body was really willing to pay attention so I just found myself a nice spot and settled down. The train started soon thereafter.

I stayed fully alert during the entire journey, keeping a watch on my things (I carried a haversack and a sleeping bag, both new) and having heard about pickpockets and other thieves I wanted to be doubly careful. I did not get down at any of the railway stations as I was not sure how long the train would stop. So I contented myself with eating the fruit that Dad had bought for me at the Calicut station.

The train arrived in Mangalore at 9 p.m. From the station I took a rickshaw to my grand aunt's house for which I paid thirty rupees. This was quite a lot of money, but since it was night-time and since I was not perfectly confident of the route I did not bother to argue with the rickshaw-wallah.

My aunt and family were pleased to see me and urged me to stay on for a few days. But I knew that my mother would be anxiously awaiting my return, and not wanting to be irresponsible, I decided to return as planned the next day itself.

In the morning my cousin Reggie took me on his scooter to the bus station where we saw a bus about to depart for Goa. I jumped in and managed to get the last empty seat. The bus reached Panaji at 5 p.m.

From there I took the local bus to Mapusa. Only when the bus reached the Mapusa bus terminus was I finally on familiar territory. I looked around at the familiar street dogs and hawker stands and then hailed a motorcycle taxi to take me home, which was a short distance of 3 kms.

Back home I proudly walked up to my mum who was smiling a welcome, my brothers punching me, my dog licking me-all so far away from the world of elephants and tiger footprints.

Chapter 6: Snakes Alive!

It took several letters and phone calls from my dad to establish contact with Mr Neelimk.u.mar Khaire, Director of the Snake Park in Pune till finally the green signal was given and I was all set to visit the place. As the arrangements were not absolutely "pucca" my dad decided to come along with me to Pune, which is what we did on the 3rd of October, soon after he returned from Chennai.

We left Goa by bus and arrived at Pune early the next morning. Two of my parents' very good friends, Sujit and Vidya Patwardhan, live in Pune. Our entire family, dad, mum, my two brothers and I, had holidayed at their place a year earlier. That was when I had my first glimpse of the Pune Snake Park and the idea of my one year sabbatical took root.

(Later, I was surprised to learn from Bany, their daughter, who I became good friends with, that her elder sister Lara and her friend had taken a sabbatical several years ago on completing school and they had toured the countryside looking at alternative methods of education.) So it was to the Patwardhan residence at Ganeshkhind Road that we first went and after a wash and a brief rest we set off for the Park.

The Director Mr Khaire was not in, but the a.s.sistant Director Mr Rajan Shirke was aware of my visit and a.s.sured my father that once Mr Khaire arrived he would make arrangements for my food and stay. Until then I could spend all day at the Park but would have to go back to Sujit's house for the night. My father had no option but to leave it that way for Mr Khaire was expected to return only after three days. Dad then left me at the Park and proceeded to Mumbai. For the first few days therefore I journeyed back and forth from Sujit's house.

Sujit's home is at Ganeshkhind while the snake park is at Katraj, a good 20 kms away. I remember how I got lost on the first day. My Dad had shown me the bus stand in the morning and given me the bus number.

In the evening, one of the staff dropped me off at the bus stand where I waited and waited for the bus, which never arrived. I asked the people around but their answers were either "it will come" or "the frequency of that bus may be low".

Soon it started raining and since that bus-stand had no shelter in sight I had to stand in the rain and get wet. While I tried as much as possible to take shelter under the note book I carried, I was surprised to see a number of children, who didn't seem to mind the rain, walking coolly past me as if there were no rain at all! By seven in the evening, I was soaked to the skin. My feet were numb and it was getting dark. My first day at the snake park and what an experience!

Anyway, I crossed the road and walked to a telephone booth. While I was phoning Sujit the electricity went off. Sujit kept trying to explain to me how to come home by another route. I took out my half wet note book and scribbled "Deccan Gymkhana" and "Simbla Office". I managed to get a bus to Deccan Gymkhana (there are several buses which take you there) and from Simbla office I took a rickshaw and after going round in circles for sometime, I managed to find Sujit's house. How I wished I had my trusty bicycle instead of having to depend on buses and rickshaws!

During the first two days at the park I only scribbled notes and watched the workers. I tried to make friends with the workers and as a result I was allowed to handle one trinket snake. On the third day Mr Khaire arrived and immediately made arrangements for me to stay at the Park in spite of the Park not having accommodation facilities. Several students came there now and then to work for short stretches of time but they all had their residences in Pune and went home in the evenings.

Mr. Khaire is very popular among the workers and is affectionately called "Anna" ("big brother" in Marathi) by one and all. He always wears a glove and long sleeved shirt as he lost his left hand to a Russell's viper bite several years ago. Still, his love for the reptile world and his enthusiasm for snakes has not diminished one bit.

The Snake Park is quite large and has several snake pits housing various types of reptiles. In the centre is the administrative building which is a one storey cottage having on the ground floor a small office which doubles up as reception area, a room which holds the display exhibits like the king cobra, python etc., a store room and a toilet.

On the first floor is a large room with two beds. It is here that I began to stay, with the watchman as company for the night. Anna installed a small T.V. in the room and also had a phone extension made to my room. He told me that I was welcome to come over to his place anytime, to eat or even to stay. However, I preferred being at the park.

In addition to Anna and Shirke there were about 8 to 10 staff at the park. Some of those I got to know very well included Mahesh, Milind, Bhushan and Baba, the watchman. Many of the boys were studying at night school and working here during the day. On Sundays and holidays there would sometimes be extra students to lend a hand. All of them lived in Pune and would go home for the night. However now and again some of them would stay the night with me and we would watch T.V. or they would tell me tales. I also wrote my daily diary every evening after dinner, and sometimes read a bit.

My work at the park was to help the workers with their jobs for that was the only way for me to learn about snakes. So everyday I would clean the starback tortoise pit, the turkey pit, the chicken pits and later on the ratsnake pit, the chequered keel back pit and the monitor lizard pit. I also a.s.sisted with feeding the snakes, which is usually done once a week. Most of the snakes are fed small rats-the white mice come from the laboratory-and frogs while the python gets a chicken every week.

I was also taught the proper way of holding and handling snakes. On the third day, I was bitten by a wolf snake. Now you must understand that this is a non-poisonous snake and it was deliberately allowed to bite me for my experience and to enable me to get over the irrational fear of snake bites that all of us have acquired as a result of grandmother's tales being dinned into us from childhood. In my case even though I liked snakes, still, Anna explained, there will be a subconscious residual fear! This bite was not particularly painful and treatment was like any other wound one might receive.

During my stay at the snake park I was bitten on several occasions by a variety of non-poisonous (but hot-tempered) snakes and when I left after 3 weeks I had at least about 15-20 bites on my arms. Some of the bites were quite painful and one was so bad that my wrist had swelled up and I couldn't wear my watch for quite sometime. However when you remember that the snake gets damaged much more than you-it loses quite a few of its teeth in the bite-then you don't feel too bad. At any rate there was no question of using anti-venom as the snakes were all non-poisonous. And I learnt to think of the bites as injuries and wounds rather than the much feared 'snake-bite'.

Besides snakes, the Park also has a number of other animals. Some had been rescued, others found injured and brought to the Park for rest and recuperation. At the time of my stay at the Park it housed a wild boar, a civet-cat, a leopard, a Shikra bird, a jackal, three mongooses and several owls and eagles with broken wings. The eagles and owls were in cages with the top end kept open.

Once they were able to fly again they could fly out if they wished.

There were also many types of exotic fowls, guinea pigs, white mice, rabbits, monkeys and a pair of turkeys. And of course there were Ganges soft sh.e.l.l turtles, starback tortoises and melanac turtles. All these animals had to be fed daily and their cages cleaned regularly.

The snake park has a system through which people in Pune city can call up the park if they sight a snake. Someone from the park will then go to the site with the caller, after taking directions from him/her, and try to get the snake. This ensures that people do not unnecessarily kill snakes. It was on two such occasions that I went with the boys on "calls" and returned without a snake. You see when the distance that the rescue team has to travel is long, the snake may not necessarily remain in the same spot till it gets there.

The snake park has a lot of visitors daily and people are always looking for someone knowledgeable to answer questions. I used to feel quite proud to do this and would gladly answer all the queries like, "What is the name of the snake?" "What does it eat?" "Which is the male and the female?" and so on. At other times I would be pestering the staff to answer more complicated and detailed questions about the habits of snakes. Workers are a mine of information and all of it is knowledge gained from practical experience.

Some nights we went frog catching. We used to go after dinner on scooters to a river about 10 kms away. The method was simple. One person shone a torch on the wet banks of the riverbed, blinding the vision of the frog, which would stop dead in its tracks, while another nabbed it with his bare hands from behind. (Frogs must be taken alive or else the snakes won't eat them.) It was easy to catch the frogs as they remain quite still for the few seconds it takes to catch them, the difficult part being only to ensure that once caught they do not slip out of your grasp, for frogs are quite wet and slippery. After two to three hours we would return with 25 to 30 frogs in our sack.

I used to have my food at a small shack where some poor people cooked meals mainly for the Snake Park staff. One of the popular items was something called 'shample' which was made of vegetables and had lots of oil floating over it. This was served with bread and it was deep red in colour and very spicy. After a couple of days of eating this delicious food, I had a very bad stomach and I had to go to the toilet seven times that day. That was the end of shample. I decided to stick to dal and chappaties, and cheap creamrolls.

The bathroom of the snake park looked very dirty and I usually avoided having a bath. I would wet my long hair and pretend that I had had a bath. When the Snake Park staff found out about this they decided to give me a bath. One day they caught me and stripped me of all my clothes, then they dragged me to the bathroom and, using detergent and a little bit of Harpic, they scrubbed me with the toilet brush.