MY TYRST WITH NATURE Acknowledgments: I sincerely thank Prof. Narayan Rao R.

Maanay, the Secretary Sir and Prof N Shesha Prasad Sir for organizing this trip as it paved the way for me to understand myself and to get me on the way to be a better person. Thanks again for all the teachers who had been a source of inspiration and who initiated me to be aware of the Environmental scenario thus making me responsible to do my bit for nature. My biggest thanks is to my Dad who brought me closer to nature and inspired me to understand every facet of nature. To my mom who always stands by me at every stage of my life. To my sister who believes in me more than I do. Being in a Trance has a way of stretching the mind. The stretching comes not from travails but from inimitable myriad new scenarios, the vistas unfolding into a 70 mm wide canvas, the earthy fragrance and the rejuvenating sounds of the rain drops and the chirping of the Birds, experiencing first hand how others do differently what we have believed doing it the right and only way Ralph Crawshaw Nature club trip has metamorphosized my life. The influence of nature in our life is vast. This trip has opened my eyes and made me realize the true essence of nature. Apart from this I myself have witnessed a change in me unknown to myself. Unknown of what lies ahead of me, I was prepared to face everything. But every moment of this trip tested my endurance, patience, my ability to take

right decisions and the most important of all, being responsible. The first day of the trip was a trek to view Kudremukha peak. Before this, we had trekked about 5-6 km to reach base camp that drained most of my energy. Despite this I was eager to see the peak. Every time my body was signaling my lack of strength, my mind stiffened as something about this place had captivated my soul. During the trek of course most of us were busy avoiding leeches, the scenery was magnificent. The air was pure. All these were engraving in my memory permanently. But as I said earlier, I was loosing my stamina, at one point during trekking I almost fainted. I wanted to so badly continue and explore but my body was unwilling. It is then that Ram Sir came and gave me glucose and consoled me as I had broken down. It was then that I remembered a quote by Paulo Coelho from his book The Denie and Miss Prym. It goes on like this: When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait, life does not look back. CHANGE IS WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT. I gathered courage from this thought and I started once again. I felt the whole valley was welcoming me and my new found courage. As we walked Ram Sir said that nature is a great teacher and instills in us endurance and gives us the strength. As he was explaining, I heard the invigorating sound of the bubbling stream at a distance and as we drew near, we could see the water in its most pristine form, crystal clear and flowing lengths that

seemed like infinity to me. Above the stream was hills covered with emerald green grass encompassing the cluster of thickly placed trees called shola forests. As I stood there mesmerized by the entire facet of nature, it was then that I grasped the true meaning of our secretary Sri N R Maanay Sirs words. Perhaps nature is the driving force that had captivated my soul at that point of time and as I said earlier I felt out of this world and awestruck by the manifestation of nature, I continued my trek. I liked the squashy muddy earth, the small rain drops dripping from the leaf tips, the moisture in the fog as we reached higher levels. At the end of day, although I ended up with high fever and severe leech bite, I felt an unknown sense of happiness, the kind you feel after achieving a great feat. More importantly I was happy to explore and discover different facets of nature and the lesson it had taught me: courage and endurance. I had read in hundred different books and thought that I had grasped everything I needed to know about courage but I was wrong until I experienced it. Nature is vast and fathomless and I felt lucky to have at least a little of its essence and fragrance. Humility is the other lesson I learnt. The tree plantation day was my best experience. The villagers of Gubbagodu taluk had organized a small function to celebrate Vanamahotsava. An elderly person from the village spoke; he said that even though he is illiterate he wishes to protect nature as nature has been protecting him. Vruksho Rakshitho Rakshitha The very essence of this place lies within nature and trees and this every essence binds it to their soul. The impact nature had on their life was large as they grew up with nature.

Planting trees was a difficult task as we had to carry the saplings and walk about a kilometer and half to plant it. There is a technique in planting the saplings. As I planted a sapling, I realized the effort it takes to set it right. Two villagers passed by enquiring my opinion about this place. I replied genuinely and the villagers wished me luck for my life and hoped that I would return back. The humility and genuine wish for my well being caught me by surprise as it was least expected from a stranger. In a city no one has the time to care for others, but in an unknown place, getting affection from people is rare. I was happy that there exist people who are caring, genuine and humble. The next stop was Sharavathi Island where I felt the beauty of nature is best experienced rather than described. They say A picture speaks a thousand words but the abstract beauty that we witnessed was marvelous and no picture can justify its beauty more than that the feel which is all encompassing. The sky was pitch dark shining with a million stars. I had never seen so many stars in my life. Sailing in the coracle my eyes never left the sky, the cool breeze made the atmosphere perfect. Words failed to justify the beauty, the ambience and the feeling . After reaching the shore and our tents, and securing our luggage,Deepak sir took us for a walk and he taught us to OBSERVE. Eishwar sir said Silence and Observation go hand in hand. As we lit our torches we learnt to observe. We fell silent and heard a bead in the box sound and sir said the tree frogs made such a sound. He taught us how to identify the sound of different creatures. The essence of silence was enthralling as to how beautiful nature can

manifest itself in silence and in darkness. Observation is a skill and it can be perfected only when you are close to nature. It is when you observe that you discover. We switched off our torches and saw the most beautiful scene. Fireflies glowing everywhere. It was like stars had graced us. A beauty that could not be described and one that was wonderful to behold and experience. Early the next day my friend and me woke up early and headed out with our cameras. We saw bronze backed frogs and many dry barks of trees shaped in odd ways but yet beautiful and later came to know that it was drift wood and very very old. There was a huge cracks on top of the ground surface beneath which fresh spring water flowed. In front of me lay a huge lake with many river terns flying and gliding across the green backdrop. The fog was slowly clearing up and we saw cicada, kingfisher etc. I sat on a rock watching quietly and drinking and partaking the scenery unaware of the time. May be I sat there for hours revelling in the beauty of nature so difficult to express and yet is etched permanently in my memory. We then saw a hump nosed viper, whose venom is enough to disable an organ or part of the body permanently. It was amazing to see the dedication and precision with which Eishwar sir tried to get the perfect photo shot of it. Kayaking and coracle paddling was another opportunity we got to experience. The adrenalin rush and the excitement were one of its kind and exilarating. To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour. Such was the mesmerizing experience I had. I truly learnt to enjoy nature and learnt how importance it is to share. To preach is easy but to practice it is difficult, but I have made up my mind to do my bit in saving nature. I am indebted to nature for having taught me lessons of life. I realized that every hardship I faced, every pain I endured was all worth when I witnessed the perfect beauty of nature and its manifestations. When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself Paulo Coelho, Eleven minutes. I rediscovered my soul and my purpose by this very short trip. Be it the abstract beauty of Sharavathi or the mist of fog clearing and sun rays piercing and peering through the clouds or fireflies glowing in dark or moonlit starry nights or even the freshest of fresh air which I inhaled with my arms stretched wide open or a million small things that captured my attention or tons of lifes lessons I learnt is where I found myself. Hard to believe but yes, in a short span of 5 days, I have turned a new leaf, rediscovering myself. Id like to quote Rabindranath Tagores lines clouds came floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher a storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky. I have transformed into a better person and Im proud of it. Thanks to BNMIT Friends of Nature Club and every one who helped me in every small way to make me more independent and responsible and a more matured person. I would like to end with a paragraph by W.H. Daive. What is this life, full of care,

if we have no time to stand and stare? No time to stand beneath the boughs, and stare as long as sheep and cows: No time to see, when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass: No time to see in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night: No time to turn at Beautys glance, and watch her feet, how they can dance: No time to wait till her mouth can enrich that smile, her eyes of care, we have no time to stand and stare. By, Poorna .B III Sem Computer Science Engg