widldlife sanctuary

i'm on a rooftop, squating under an umbrella, half sheltered from the downpour. sharing the umbrella with me is baby (pronouced bebi), a rather petite man who appointed himself as my guide through the wilderness of indira ghandi wildlife sanctuary, in topslip, on the anaimalai hills. when i arrived, i agreed to go trecking with him the next morning. of course by then, i didn't know there was an acute shortage of food in the park which meant that, after having foolishly skipped my lunch, i had a chapatti with gravy and went to bed starving. i began to think that going out on a four hour walk on no breakfast wasn't the best idea, but baby was coming to meet me at six in the morning and i had no way of cancelling. i managed to bribe one of the staff into getting me some food for the morning and i got off with a small pack of out of date biscuits. not bad when you're starving. half a pack of biscuits later, i was fast asleep to the deafening sound of crickets in the night.
i wake up at 5.30. the day is slowly rising but it's raining. i sit out on the porch of the humble cottage where i spent the night, having a couple more biscuits and thinking it might be sensible to postpone my venture into the wild. when baby arrives carrying a machete, i sensibly explain my reservations to go on with the plan but to no effect. from my eloquent efforts, the only thing that comes across to him is that i have no raincoat - yes, i shipped it when i realised it was of no use under the monsoon and thought that if i ever needed one, i'd be able to buy it. diligently, he fetches me an umbrella. warned about leeches, i tuck my trousers into my socks and off we go.
i seem to find traces of the absurd everywhere i look and now is no exception. as we climb up the hill i picture the comical duet we make: baby carrying a machete , i, a brollie.
it turns ot that baby's little understanding of english is a blessing in disguise. not only i don't have to make or engage in trivial conversation but also, we can walk around all morning wholy enjoying the sounds of the forest. the scenary doesn't disappoint: it's luscious and green and intensified by the ascending mist. however, as the morning progressed, i came to realise that maybe i wasn't so keen on wildlife spotting after all. we walked swiftly and sometimes baby would come to a halt and point into the distance which usually made me regret i hadn't brought my glasses. 'bison!', he said, or 'deer!'. after a few moments i would be able to discern the animal shapes among the green and then, we proceeded. so far, everything was fine with me as i was really enjoying being in the forest. i mean, of course i'd love to spot an elephant, or a herd of them, but i wasn't really counting on that. and as for bisons, what are they really, if not darker cows that live in the wild? i'd say they have it easy compared to some of the cows i've spotted in rush hour mumbai. now that's wild!
anyway, baby took it upon himself to give me a closer view of the wildlife experience. i belive that fuelling this was the customary increase in tip if you actually see any animals. and that is how we came to be on a rooftop under the pouring rain.
baby decided to check an old abandoned forest shelter. he thought that, because of the rain, some animals might be going there for shelter, and he was right. there were two bears inside. my instinct told me 'oh great! bears. let them sleep!' but baby demanded pictures. so we climbed to a good spot on the roof and waited. one of the bears sensed us and came to the door, looked around and went back in. and then, to my horror, baby started making some noises which really upset the bears and scared them off, running. in a childish need for comfirmation baby asked, 'very good?'. out of compassion more than honesty i said, 'yes', and we left. i realise now that there is little need for a machete in the forest except for opening up the path. animals are chased away by the simple presence of people. i can understand why. we carried on into the woods up to where there was an opening into the surrounding mountains. the mist had cleared up a little and the landscape was more defined. all around me, the deafening sounds of water, wind, birds and other animals speak up, drowning my narrating voice