The lockdown life

 Where nature was the limit…………

Everyone was in panic not just us but across the whole globe people were worried to come out of their houses, those who were stuck far from their home are finding ways to go back and stay with their families so that they can be assured of their safety. Everything means of transport got cancelled, people started travelling by walk just so that they can reach home, suffering because of less or no food, and the only safe place for them is their HOME.

This is not a movie line, we all know that this really happened, that we lost lakhs of precious life because of the pandemic COVID-19. Many people lost their jobs because of loss in business…..this pandemic showed us what we really never thought of. We learned how human activities are affecting nature adversely. It is also the time when we really started taking action against wildlife trading and animal trafficking. 

But as we say “Bad things can also be good, if you look at the bright side”,  as people were forced to stay inside their homes, roads and parks were taken up by nature...animals started showing up. Now they were free to roam around, during our lockdown period we saw many videos of animals chilling in the neighborhood, freely without any fear. We enjoyed that too and that was the time we realised how much we forced them to live under the threat of so called.. HUMANS. We also discovered ourselves...stuck inside our homes with nothing to do, we discovered the dancer, cook, actor, singer, artist in ourselves.

I spent my lockdown in Jungle, the best place for me where I can ever be. This was the time for me to discover myself and things which I missed during my work times and let me tell you that was the best 3 months I ever had.

Fresher for Fish:

I always loved to enjoy seeing fishes in ponds and aquariums, but I never thought that one day someone can call me their mother:). It was mid of May when my Koi turned 3 and they were ready to breed. Well at first I had no idea why they kept chasing each other and I thought that they were sick because water started smelling and became quite turbid. As I had little knowledge about fish I was worried for them so I kept searching about Koi disease, their behavior, what makes water turbid until I was satisfied. I learned that this could be a mating behavior so I thought why not to wait for 1 or 2 days more and here is what I saw next... water cabbage plants in the pond, roots were full of eggs, the side walls have eggs and the smell is gone completely. I rushed to see how to care for eggs and the first thing I learned is to separate the eggs as soon as you see them because koi tends to eat their own eggs as well as fries.  I arranged 3 tubs with proper aerators and kept the plants in the tub….I could see near about thousands of eggs but I couldn't save them all. I searched about how to rear them, how to take care of them, types of food, how to feed them, everything, making a note of it. Recording their day to day changes, and it was the 3rd day when I saw small fries everywhere in that tub. Eggs were hatched successfully. I was on the cloud, my happiness was on the next level. I could see small fries swimming here and there. I used to keep checking on them thrice a day. Then comes the time when fries need their meal. After 3 days of hatching, fries start depending on the caretaker for their survival. So now it depends on your quality of care which decides whether your babies will survive or not. It was a beautiful journey for me where by the end of 3 months I could see 150 fries swimming in my pond. It was the time when I got the name “Mother of millions:) :) You can visit my blog for more detailed knowledge.(https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7547735692171777509/279412135512044691)  

Encounter the school boy:

It was early monsoon time when I used to take a round of forest twice a day, so that I could see the changes in birds and animal behavior as there was no human activity at all. This was the time when I explored most of the unsaid things in the forest. But the moment I encountered this school boy was unforgettable. 

I was walking on these narrow, curvy paths, dense forest and sun was still not up, I could hear birds chirping and calls of grey jungle fowl, but one thing was dragging my attention towards it, it was the WHISTLE. I could hear this slow silent whistle, I could feel that something was behind me or near, I was scared to look back, it was like a psycho movie where killers used to whistle before killing someone, I can feel the whistle close to me, it was coming from the woods I was sure. 

Sounds like a movie script right, but it's true….The first time I encountered a whistling schoolboy was like that only, oh and yes it's a Bird:), Malabar Whistling Thrush or the Whistling Schoolboy. The whistle is like a normal boy so as the name says. As it was early monsoon they started making their appearance as it was time for them to look out for the perfect mate, and whistle is short, but as soon as monsoon approaches, whistle length and pitch both increase. It's the male calling out for a female. It was hard at first to spot them. You just know that they are there, but soon they started coming out from canopies. After the chase of 1 week I finally got a glimpse of it. And then I saw a pair hopping from one tree to another, chasing each other and calling out for each other, so I guessed that it's the mating rituals they are performing:):). Well after that I was relaxed that at least no one is following me so I can roam freely in the jungle. But yes it really was an unforgettable moment for me.

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Where I met eye:

When I joined everyone told me that we have deer in our property, they can even hear the call but it's hard to spot them as they are very shy. So I thought why not give it a try. I too heard the calls but never saw them in the property as their population is not that much here, and due to too much activity they stopped coming in the property, as these deer is none other than Barking deer... I have seen deer's in Tadoba, but it's always a different experience everyday when it comes to nature. As I said I used to take a round twice a day, sometimes I hide behind trees for a few minutes to see if fowls are coming in open or not, because every time they see me they run away. But this time something else came……yes a Barking deer, he had no idea that he was not alone, I kept my video on and I could hear the footsteps on dry leaves so I kept my camera in that direction. He was grazing, a normal walk and suddenly he raised his neck and observed something unusual. I guess he saw my face and my camera lens, but it was the time I saw him from a close distance, he was just 3 to 4 meter away from me. It was the time when I looked at him and he looked at me………but yes after that he ran away with full speed, I guess he didn’t like me for violating his privacy like that.  But after that I saw him twice and thrice in the property which made me happy as they were getting comfortable. Now we even spotted them many times as they got comfortable in the property after lockdown.

Last but not the least the immense love which I received from nature. As I was far from home, it happened many times that I felt lonely, and the only place where I can go and relax myself is none other than these forests. In a sum up I discovered myself, I discovered my connection with nature, the artist inside me, and the most important, the greatest prayer….PATIENCE....

You can tell me your experience of lockdown commenting below. I would love to hear all your stories.