Hemalkasa: The python's dinner
Maharashtra, Tue 26 AprThe python is fed around once per month and eats only live animals. Today is the day.
Photos (1) Python eyes rabbit and positions close to its neck (3) Suddenly and powerfully it strikes, propelling itself and the rabbit several metres away and winding itself into a ball. Gripping the neck in its jaw it coils around its prey and squeezes (3) When the rabbit is dead, the python does a recce of the body, takes a good hold, and swallows it whole. The python has a hard upper jaw and a flexible lower jaw like a rubber bag.
Hemalkasa: Snake hunting in the jungle
Maharashtra, Sat 23 AprOur party of six sets off into the dark night to hunt for frogs & snakes (as food for the animals). We carry a few torches, a couple of sticks and a snake-hook. At first, we find only frogs, which are picked up by hand. Then, we get MUCH more than we bargained for. A banded krait glistens black and yellow in the torchlight. One of the most poisonous snakes in India. As a general rule we capture any poisonous snakes found near the campus. I keep my distance. True to the ethos of Hemalkasa, the local boys capture it alive without hurting or strangling it. By hand, by hook. Their courage is admirable if not foolhardy. A bite means likely death.
Photos (1) We set off with torches and snake-hook (2) A banded krait glistens on the jungle floor (3) Afer a frightening chase in the dark, it is held still and picked up the by the neck and tail. The finger grip must hold the head steady without strangling it.
Hemalkasa: Amte's animal orphanage
Maharashtra, Wed 20 AprOne day, Prakash and Mandakini Amté saw a tribal hunting party returning from a kill. The party hung their heads in shame as the Amtés passed. They had killed two adult monkeys, and a live monkey baby was still clinging to its dead mother. The Amtés negotiated for the baby in return for grain and raised it in their house as 'Babli'. Thus, the Amté animal orphanage was born. Since then, they have raised over seventy varieties of animals, cuddling deer, hyena, bear cubs, crocodiles and leopards close to their chest and bottle feeding them. The animals treat them as mother.
Photos: (1) Today the fourth generation of the Amté family are raising wild animal babies at home. Here, Prakash and his grandsons play with Jasper the Hyena (2) Grandchild Ahan regards a banded krait. It is several times more poisonous than a cobra. (3) Prakash plays with a leopard whom he raised as a cub.
Hemalkasa: Healthcare for tribal communities
Maharashtra, Mon 18 AprSince 1973, Dr. Prakash Amté and his family have been providing healthcare to remote tribal people in the southeastern jungles of Maharashtra. In those days travel to the nearest town was cut off by monsoon rivers for six months of the year. Even today communications links are frequently cut by naxalite rebels, and government doctors fear to come here. Patients sometimes walk for four days to reach the hospital.
Photos: (1) Tribals were initially sceptical of doctors. The first patient arrived on a wooden cot slung from a bamboo pole. Two days later he walked back to his village, and word of his recovery spread (2) A dug-out canoe is launched so we can reach a tribal village at the confluence of three rivers. (3) Prakash's wife Mandakini runs a health clinic in the remote settlement of Mirgundwancha.
Kanha: In search of the tiger
Madhya Pradesh, Wed 13 AprThe ranger halts the open-topped jeep and switches off the engine, listening for the smallest sound. A monkey has made an alarm call from the forest to our left, signalling a dangerous predator. Silence for a few moments. Then the bark of a startled deer. We speed down to the stream in excitement and anticipation. Another jeep has beaten us to the spot - they signal for us to stay back. Regal in orange gold, a tiger breaks out of the undergrowth, strolls across the road, and continues into the deep forest.
Kanha National Park
Madhya Pradesh, Mon 11 AprI go on holiday with my parents to Kanha National Park. We settle into mud hut accomodation at an ecoresort where the walls are lined with cooling and anti-bacterial cow-dung.
Photos: (1) Breakfast in the jungle. (2) A muscular bison takes a drink (3) Spotted deer.
Tiloniya: Creating a barefoot services revolution
Rajasthan, Thu 31 MarAruna Roy is a pioneer of women's rights and a key campaigner for the Right to Information Act. Bunker Roy left his hig flying city job to understand rural India. Together they are rebels from the system. Their revolutionary idea - Barefoot College - is building an army of barefoot services outside of the mainstream "school --> exam --> job" cycle.
Photos: (1) Kamla is a barefoot engineer. She can repair diesel engines and build stands for solar lamps. She has never been to school. (2) From waste cotton this lady makes sanitary towels that are sold to rural women at 12 rupees for a pack of 24 (3) In the 'Kabad ka jugaad' department, waste is recycled into bags, toys and other useful items.
Tiloniya: Street theatre in the village
Rajasthan, Wed 30 MarAt the barefoot village centre, puppetry and street theatre is followed by information about the upcoming women's day event. After the show, a meeting is held to discuss how the village will host 2000 women.
Photos: (1) Handmade puppets ready for the evening's performance (2) Following the puppet show, a spot of street theatre (3) Villagers meet to discuss hosting 2000 rural women for the women's day event.
Tiloniya: Barefoot College
Rajasthan, Tue 29 MarBarefoot College is a gentle place. Situated in a remote region of Rajasthan under starry skies, it seems isolated and quiet, but the more you look the more you see . Barefoot College is training people to provide solar cookers, solar lamps, buildings, irrigation pumps, healthcare and social welfare. Many have never been to school and cannot read or write.
Photos: (1) An array of mirrors focusses rays onto a solar cooker. Our meals are renewable! (2) The campus was constructed by barefoot architects and engineers using traditional methods. Here, a leafy central courtyard is shaded from above by solar panels (3) The handicraft shop sells fabrics woven on a hand-made loom.
Jaipur: i-India, Helping street children
Rajasthan, Mon 28 MarI spend some time with i-India, which runs street schools, orphanages, a child helpline and a life skills daycare centre for street children.
Photos (1) Vicki-Sue is volunteering for six months training street children in fabrics and fashion. She plans to return to Cornwall and open a boutique outlet for their goods. (2) Block printing (3) Purses made by children in class.
Jaipur: Palaces of the maharajas
Rajasthan, Sun 27 MarThe royal palaces of Jaipur are a visual and photographic feast rich in colour and detail.
Once you start snapping, you just can't stop . .
Arawali Hills: Community engagement
Rajasthan, Fri 25 MarKrapavis begins its work by getting engaged in the village community - helping with vaccinations and healthcare for livestock, assisting with self help groups for microfinance, and raising awareness of forests and biodiversity.
Photos: (1) The senior Pappu Gujjar offers me a sip on the hookah (2) Mrs. Singh signs a micro-loan document (3) At the forest rest-house I have learned to wash my own clothes.
Bera: High in the Arawali Hills
Rajasthan, Thu 24 MarMy time with Krapavis on sacred forests takes me to remote Rajasthani villages high in the Arawali HIlls. With its red mud houses and mountain setting, Bera is one of the most beautiful. Here the mobile signal goes dead, landline and electricity are non-existent, and life slows to a rythm governed by the summer sun.
Arawali Hills: Women of Rajasthan
Rajasthan, Wed 23 MarSimple with bold contrasting colours, Rajasthani dress is perhaps the most beautiful in India.
Arawali Hills: Protecting sacred forests
Rajasthan, Wed 23 MarMany Rajasthan villages have an ancient community forest with a temple, water source, and a variety of trees. In 300 such villages the charity Krapavis works with the community to revive and protect sacred forests - influencing government policy, rebuilding water routes, and re-planting a diverse range of trees in this desert state.
Photos: (1) Nanak Ram in the sacred forest at Bhagatpura (2) A 'johad' - traditional Rajasthani structure for collecting surface water (3) New saplings are planted to ensure a diverse range of trees.
Bharatpur: Bird Sanctuary
Rajasthan, Tue 22 MarWe make an unscheduled night halt at the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.
Cycle safari by dusk. Cycle safari by dawn.
Fatehpur Sikri: Tomb of Salim Chisti
Rajasthan, Tue 22 MarWe stop at Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Rajasthan.
Agra: The Taj Mahal
Uttar Pradesh, Mon 21 MarWell, it had to be done !
A state of development
Uttar Pradesh, Sat 19 MarUttar Pradesh is the Wild West of Indian states. It hits us when we return from its beautiful and natural country villages to crowded and filthy cities. Here, we encounter un-made roads whipping up clouds of dust, open drains with the stench of sewage, overloaded vehicles with passengers on the bonnet and crazed loons riding triple-seat (well, actually, that's us).
Vrindakund: Home of the forest goddess
Uttar Pradesh, Thu 17 MarBelieve it or not, we have been living in this beautiful lakeside temple of Vrindadevi, surrounded by fields of wheat and mustard. Yesterday, we dined in the temple courtyard by the light of the moon (and with no other light!). Bathing is still under a handpump in the open air. In the absence of electricity our phones and laptop went to sleep for a few days, leaving peace in their wake . . .
Photos: (1) The forest goddess, Vrindadevi (2) View of the temple from our hut (3) The waning light of sunset signals that it is time to lay out our beds and share tales of forest mythology.
Nandgaon: Lathmar Holi - The festival of colour
Uttar Pradesh, Tue 15 MarHere in the land of Krishna, the festival of colour is celebrated in a unique and original form. Today, the men of Barsana (the village of Radha) carry padded shields and march to Nandgaon (the village of Krishna) in order to sprinkle colour on their womenfolk. Following a spree of singing at the temple, they are beaten off with wooden sticks by veiled women in red sarees.
Photos: (1) Crowds gather on every ledge and rooftop (2) In the temple courtyard, the festival of colour begins (3) The women of Nandgaon fend off the men of Barsana with sticks.
Bhandirwan: Saying goodbye to the family
Uttar Pradesh, Mon 14 MarWe say our sad goodbyes to the family that has hosted us here. To hasten our marriages, grandmother ties an auspicious thread to our wrists under the very tree where Radha and Krishna got married 5000 years ago. We depart with many promises to visit again with our future wives . . .
Photos: (1) Each night we sleep under the watchful eye of Balram, elder brother of Krishna (2) It is time to say goodbye to the family (3) Grandmother wraps an auspicious thread around my wrist.
Bansiwat: Radhé Baba the hermit
Uttar Pradesh, Sun 13 MarWe walk a few kilometres to a small temple in a dappled glade where the god Krishna still dances his celestial dance of romance, and where a hermit has invited us to lunch. For seventeen years, Radhé baba has lived in the small 4ft x 6ft room that is the temple chamber. While we rest under a tree he prepares our lunch of rice, vegetables and sweet milk kheer with raisins and cardamom on a mud stove outside. Then he settles down beside us, sings a bhajan to Radha-Krishna and begins his tales of Krisha's childhood.
Photos: (1) Paying homage at the nearby temple of Bansiwat.(2) Radhé Baba is rich with tales of Krishna (3) We do the washing up at a hand-pump under the dappled canopy light of the low trees.
Bhandirwan: Working on the farm
Uttar Pradesh, Sat 12 MarWe spend a wonderful and tiring day with the family helping on the farm.
Photos: (1) Children have fun jumping into the irrigation tank (2) After chopping fodder its time to cut it into fine pieces for the cattle (3) A peacock surveys the scene from a tree.
Bhandirwan: Village life
Uttar Pradesh, Thu 10 MarWith my cousin Manoj and friend Shashank, I settle for a few days in a village of ten family houses and three temples surrounded by a compound wall amid fields. The host family, warm hearted and generous, live in a house of dried compacted cow dung with an open-air courtyard. Our toilet is the endless fields. Our bathroom is the village hand-pump. We sleep by night in the temple of Balram, awaking to the resounding bell of the 6am aarti and to the morning dew.
Photos: (1) Morning toilet: in the farm or in the forest, your choice. (2) Morning bath: Wrapped in a towel under the village water pump (3) Morning breakfast: Hot potato parathas prepared by our host family.
Nagpur: Equipping for the next adventure
Maharashtra, Tue 8 MarI enter the old city in search of a mosquito net. The next adventure begins tomorrow - a rustic tour of villages and temples around the holy forests of Vrindavan.
Photos (1) The temple of the planet Saturn (shani) in Buti Bori on the far outskirts of Nagpur. (2) Much of my writing is done at the Beans & Buddies coffee shop (3) I take a cycle rickshaw to navigate the narrow lanes of the old city.
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