The greatest experience I've ever had was the field expedition into the Western Ghats of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with Deepak, a Ph.D student from Wildlife Institute of India. It all started from Top-Slip in Annamallai Tiger reserve, Pollachi. Deepak and Myself in a Maruthi Gypsy travelling to different sampling spots in the Western Ghats.
It was in the month of November. We had finished off all our sampling spots in Karnataka and had decided to start off to Tamil Nadu. We sorted out the Sampling spot and it was at Rajpalyam (Rajapalayam) near Srivilliputhur.
Rajpalayam is a god blessed town, around 30Km away from Srivilliputhur. The place is known for its endemic, and supposedly India's only Hound (Dog), the Rajapalayam hound. We were happy to see a few of them while we went to shop (some vegetables and other stationaries) for our 3-4 days on the field.
The next day, we packed our bags and started our journey to the sampling spot. We had to drive a few kilometers, to meet the Ranger and a few assistants to help us with our survey.
The weather was dry and the marsh terrain was even. We could see a few Fan throated lizards (Sitana ponticeriana) running around. We had nearly 10-12 Kg stuff on our back (each) and our sampling spot seemed to be nearly 15Km uphill at around 850m above sea level. The environment started to cool down as we gained altitude, the marsh even terrain was left behind and we were welcomed by the uneven evergreen rainforest. It took us around 4 hours to reach the destination.
The place was beautiful. A farm house in the middle of an estate which is surrounded by thick evergreen rainforest. The farm house was small and furnished. They had a wooden bench outside on the veranda and a pole to which a cow was tied, a radio that operates 24*7 and no electricity. The only thing that produced electricity was the generator that ran on kerosene, but worked only an hour a day.
We started our field work the next day and we began by exploring the estate and its adjoining forest areas. The estate manager had warned us about a plant called 'Aanai viratti' (That scares the crap out of elephants) and asked us to avoid them completely. Deepak explained to me what it was and why it should be avoided.
Aanai Viratti or Devil's Nettle is a variety of nettle plant, but doesn't have any specific attributes like their other relatives. They look like any other innocent plant. The minute hairs (Which when brushed irritates) appear only when we are really close to it. These plants grow to the size of a small tree and are found in plenty on forest openings where they get plenty of sunlight.
We started our walk through the estate and we avoided almost all the visible DNs* (*Devil's Nettle) until we reached this specific area. The forest floor was covered with vegetation and the estate plants were as tall as myself. We made our route through them and started walking towards the sampling spot, shown in our GPS.
After a while, I started to feel a bit of burning sensation on my left leg (around the shin area). I stopped for a while to check what it was. Scratching the part, I continued my walk trying to catchup with Deepak, who was already way ahead of me. The burning sensation started to increase as we walked forward and so did my tendency to scratch the area. I began to stop frequently to scratch , which made me feel uncomfortable.
The night was horrendous. The burning sensation was at its peak and I was trying my level best not to scratch the itch. Fever caught hold of me above everything and my appetite to eat gradually came down. Just to satisfy my hunger, I had a few Chapaties and went to sleep. Sleep evaded me. Nightmares started to invade , every time I closed my eyes. All of a sudden, I feel nauseous. It was cold outside and I ran outside to puke. Feeling better, I returned back to the bed.
The day seemed much promising as my fever subsided. I felt so weak as I nauseated a few times the previous night. Deepak asked me to take rest as he got ready for the field work.I shifted myself from the room to the veranda and found myself comfortable in the bench outside. Making my sweatshirt as my pillow, I decided to take a nap. The Ranger was at home and he took the radio outside so that I don't feel bored. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I say that the radio actually saved my life.
A.R. Rahman is one of those few whom I admire, and listening to his song gives me that blast of energy from the inside. Lucky me, it was the time when the film Enthiran/Robo was released and all that was aired on the FM was about Enthiran.
I love Rajnikanth and that too might have added to, how good I was feeling listening to the radio. The day was awesome as the radio repeatedly played all the songs from the movie Enthiran, plus certain old songs of A.R. Rahman.
I regained my appetite to eat and did have a good lunch that day. By evening, I was feeling so recovered until I felt this tremor inside my tummy. God damn, above all the high fever and the nausea, I'm having diarrhea and that too in type 7* (*According to the Bristol Stool Scale). It is complete exhaustion by the end of the day.
We packed our bags and got ready to get back to civilization the next morning. Deepak did give me a few pills that would control the state of my stool, so that I can easily trek back down with the rest of the guys. 15Km seemed too far and it took us around 5 hours to get back down. All the weight on our back, plus my bad health condition just made it worse and by the time we reached the foothills (Where we had kept our vehicle) I was completely exhausted. My whole body was numb and I asked Deepak to take me to a hospital Asap (Wish I never said it). 45 mins ride to the nearest hospital, 4 bottles of Intravenous drips and a few days of rest was the result.
Its been nearly 4 months now and I still get goosebumps thinking of the situation I had been into. Reading the recent article by Janaki Lenin is the inspiration to write this blog entry. And to conclude, this is my message to the people who do regular treks - "Devil's Nettle is one of those plants you don't wanna mess with. ".
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
 |
| Rajapalayam Hound |
Rajpalayam is a god blessed town, around 30Km away from Srivilliputhur. The place is known for its endemic, and supposedly India's only Hound (Dog), the Rajapalayam hound. We were happy to see a few of them while we went to shop (some vegetables and other stationaries) for our 3-4 days on the field.
 |
| Scenery from 650-700m above sealevel |
The weather was dry and the marsh terrain was even. We could see a few Fan throated lizards (Sitana ponticeriana) running around. We had nearly 10-12 Kg stuff on our back (each) and our sampling spot seemed to be nearly 15Km uphill at around 850m above sea level. The environment started to cool down as we gained altitude, the marsh even terrain was left behind and we were welcomed by the uneven evergreen rainforest. It took us around 4 hours to reach the destination.
The place was beautiful. A farm house in the middle of an estate which is surrounded by thick evergreen rainforest. The farm house was small and furnished. They had a wooden bench outside on the veranda and a pole to which a cow was tied, a radio that operates 24*7 and no electricity. The only thing that produced electricity was the generator that ran on kerosene, but worked only an hour a day.
 |
| The Farmhouse with the cow tied on the Veranda |
Aanai Viratti or Devil's Nettle is a variety of nettle plant, but doesn't have any specific attributes like their other relatives. They look like any other innocent plant. The minute hairs (Which when brushed irritates) appear only when we are really close to it. These plants grow to the size of a small tree and are found in plenty on forest openings where they get plenty of sunlight.
 |
| Inside the estate - Devil's Nettle site |
After a while, I started to feel a bit of burning sensation on my left leg (around the shin area). I stopped for a while to check what it was. Scratching the part, I continued my walk trying to catchup with Deepak, who was already way ahead of me. The burning sensation started to increase as we walked forward and so did my tendency to scratch the area. I began to stop frequently to scratch , which made me feel uncomfortable.
The night was horrendous. The burning sensation was at its peak and I was trying my level best not to scratch the itch. Fever caught hold of me above everything and my appetite to eat gradually came down. Just to satisfy my hunger, I had a few Chapaties and went to sleep. Sleep evaded me. Nightmares started to invade , every time I closed my eyes. All of a sudden, I feel nauseous. It was cold outside and I ran outside to puke. Feeling better, I returned back to the bed.
The day seemed much promising as my fever subsided. I felt so weak as I nauseated a few times the previous night. Deepak asked me to take rest as he got ready for the field work.I shifted myself from the room to the veranda and found myself comfortable in the bench outside. Making my sweatshirt as my pillow, I decided to take a nap. The Ranger was at home and he took the radio outside so that I don't feel bored. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I say that the radio actually saved my life.
 |
| The radio that saved my life |
A.R. Rahman is one of those few whom I admire, and listening to his song gives me that blast of energy from the inside. Lucky me, it was the time when the film Enthiran/Robo was released and all that was aired on the FM was about Enthiran.
I love Rajnikanth and that too might have added to, how good I was feeling listening to the radio. The day was awesome as the radio repeatedly played all the songs from the movie Enthiran, plus certain old songs of A.R. Rahman.
I regained my appetite to eat and did have a good lunch that day. By evening, I was feeling so recovered until I felt this tremor inside my tummy. God damn, above all the high fever and the nausea, I'm having diarrhea and that too in type 7* (*According to the Bristol Stool Scale). It is complete exhaustion by the end of the day.
We packed our bags and got ready to get back to civilization the next morning. Deepak did give me a few pills that would control the state of my stool, so that I can easily trek back down with the rest of the guys. 15Km seemed too far and it took us around 5 hours to get back down. All the weight on our back, plus my bad health condition just made it worse and by the time we reached the foothills (Where we had kept our vehicle) I was completely exhausted. My whole body was numb and I asked Deepak to take me to a hospital Asap (Wish I never said it). 45 mins ride to the nearest hospital, 4 bottles of Intravenous drips and a few days of rest was the result.
Its been nearly 4 months now and I still get goosebumps thinking of the situation I had been into. Reading the recent article by Janaki Lenin is the inspiration to write this blog entry. And to conclude, this is my message to the people who do regular treks - "Devil's Nettle is one of those plants you don't wanna mess with. ".
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
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