Feb 11, 2013 04:38 PM
20115 Views
(Updated Feb 11, 2013 08:22 PM)
Bandipur is really a nice place to travel through.
Usually people who travel to Ooty need to pass through bandipur forests & its never a disappointing experience passing through the greenery of this place.
The reason for frequently travelling through bandipur - my cousin was studying in a famous boarding school in Ooty [Good Shepard Public School] G.S.P.S
So during my childhood days we would visit Ooty frequently [3/4 times a year for sure] and there were two things that used to thrill me :
1) journey through bandipur forest roads [spotting animals , pit-stops]
2) the hairpin bends to Ooty
Till Nanjangud the journey used to be boring, it's after this the excitement would start.
Those days ( late nineties ) , things were a lot different from now :
1) Our family used to carry home food from Bangalore [15+ members] enter bandipur & have lunch inside the reserve forests. In-fact we used to park the vehicle on forest road and walk over 50-100 meters inside the jungle looking for a cool shady area , set up carpets and have royal lunch , fruits , snacks etc [ u name it ]
*AS OF TODAY IT IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL & INSANE TO DO THE ABOVE STUFFS , I BELIEVE
(it can land u in jail also) ! NOT A LOT OF RESTRICTIONS BACK IN THOSE DAYS*
2) We took our own time enjoying the nature, calm environment & then bidding goodbye to bandipur , get ready for another excitement ghat ride up to Ooty
3) Most of the times, our return journeys from Ooty was such that we used to reach bandipur during sunset time or nightfall. This is also a right time to spot animals especially elephants.
DURING THOSE TIMES [9PM -6AM closure] WAS NOT IN PRACTICE , ONE COULD ENTER BANDIPUR ANY TIME !!!
4) In fact many a times we used to get stuck in bandipur forests during night , because herds of elephants used to block the highway . Elephants have the habit of standing exactly on the roads or nearby, feeding on grass or doing nothing [some times upto 20 mins] , Until they clear-out we could not pass by.
[ Traveling through the highway in a reserve forest is thrilling & also a scary experience , mind u !!! ]
Even for today you can find moron drivers on Bandipur Mudumalai & Muthanga roads who don't know how to maintain the least discipline while traveling through a forest road [honking , honk'n'overtaking , over-speeding - all these things can be witnessed ]
Its been almost years together sine I have visited bandipur.
Also recently I saw reports in news channels about bandipur water sources dries up already ( 2 water sources out of 3 ) before summer itself and animals suffering these effect.
TOO SAD TO SEE THIS !
Hope the forest department does something needy & things get better with some pre-monsoon showers
*Cheers
BMS
