He showed us many slides on the Western Ghats i.e.
insectivorous plants, mountain goats, rivers that are formed by
condensation of water vapour, plants that flower every ten years, etc.
All that I had studied in geography and science in school now came
alive for me.
That evening we watched two movies, one called `The Whistling Hunters'
(about wild dogs) and another called `The Lord of the Jungle' (about
elephants). Both were very good. The next morning we went walking again
and saw only birds. We walked about 12 kms that day. Later that morning
the concluding session of the programme was held.
In the evening the forest department organised a tour for us through
the jungle. We walked quite a distance, saw the watchtower, then deer
and a wild boar, but we had to turn back soon because we saw tiger
footprints. At night we saw another two movies, one on the Narmada
called `A Valley Rises' and the second called `The Silent Valley'.
After the meeting ended my dad was scheduled to go to Chennai for some
work but I was to return to Goa on my own. My dad came along with me by
bus to Calicut. At the railway station, my father bought me a ticket to
Mangalore and left me at the station at about 2 p.m. to await the train
which was due at around 4 p.m.
It was the first time I was travelling alone and I was quite nervous.
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