Touching Woods

 

If You came across this detour by the Highway, would You stop and
 walk down and through, knowing You`ll be fading into a thick forest some distance away. Knowing Your phone will be displaying "No Network Coverage" and the nearest man made structure will be long out of Your visual range.. Would You?
Yes? Seriously?
For Your kind information this is the land of the Tiger.
Still interested? ... Come!!

There`s something about the crackle of dry leaves under my boots
over unpaved ground, through an unmade piece of land,
and the sound of crickets ratcheting up a cacophony in the daytime, that makes the forest feel so much more than just a romantic experience, and so much more than an adventure trip.
 Something that tells me that the Jungle is not a place I`m in or at,
 but it is a place in my Heart. A place in my heart, not for the Deja vu moment, but for the Finding Home moment.
And this time in the jungle I brought the Family along to share this place in my heart. Cause run away as I may from the city life, I would not leave the family to the city.
The Family.. this another place deep inside of me, came to Kanha National reserve, and in the reserve snagged a nicely done place to stay.
It was a place called Chitvan in the Kanha wildlife sanctuary, where the Jungle and the resort seem to merge into each other across undefined boundaries. But we are here for the forest, those cottages are there to spend the night over.. or we`d be at a place in the Tiger`s insides.
I so wished I had house like that, and a  forest for a backyard, and all I could see from the balcony were tree tops. Some Luxury.. huh..
At times I wonder how come the richest man in India would chose to build a profane tower to live in, in the middle of a densely populated city and overlooking slums and shanties..

This forest seems like a city centre of sorts for the various forms of life, that just continue to go about their business of the day, in a place that has all the possible shades of Green.
 Dark Green, light Green, sap green, olive green, brownish green, yellowish green, prickly green, smooth green, matt green to shiny and Glossy Green. And then come all the conceivable shades of Brown.

The air here; has a distinct smell to it.. It is probably the leaves, the trees, the dirt or the animals, or all of them or some of them..


 I call this particular smell, "Earth".









Smile buddy, You`re on camera!!

Yeah! That`s all I have of him. I could feel His presence around us on so many occasions, but.. I guess, I did`nt have a prior appointment.

And then there came the rains.. Jungle Rain..  the spell with a spell.. You`d have to be there to feel what it is like, I wish I could explain, it was Magical. Neti above just let all go.

Out of the Jungle, we pampered ourselves with a dip and a nap at the resort.. BLISS!!

Thanks Chitvan Jungle Lodge
 for the lovely experience!!