March
2020 – The year which changed the world for many. The world itself changed a
lot due to the pandemic. The year which saw new possibilities which one had
never thought of. Just before this change, was the trip to Anakulam – The pond
of Elephants.
We
went on a bike trip to Anakulam starting from Ernakulam. I was also excited
because, it was my first trip on a bike. We started around 10.30 AM and reached
around 5.00 PM at Anakulam. On the way, we had couple of stops including for
lunch. The initial excitement wore off as soon as I started to experience the
harsh reality of weather because Sun was directly hitting on my back and
occasionally it rained as well. There was a relief from the sun once we crossed
Neriamangalam, because that is when the ghat road starts and you can stop when
you are tired of riding. My shoulders carried the backpack which had things
required for a one-night stay. Even though the weights of the backpack were on
the seat behind me, I felt my shoulders heavy. Slowly we climbed the ghat road.
The ride was good since the roads were pretty good than the normal. But to
reach Anakulam, you must deviate from the main road which is when actual roller
coaster ride starts. A narrow snake like road with full of gutter or rather an
unpaved road with little remains of tar here & there. Even though it was
just close to 25 kms, it took more than an hour to reach the destination. We
waited for almost an hour, but there were no signs of wild elephants. I was
surprised and doubtful when we reached our destination when I gazed around. The
local people were playing volleyball and they were howling & cheering. A
shallow stream was flowing on the border of that playground. There was a forest
on the other side of the river. The elephants are supposed to come from those
forests in small groups, to drink that water. According to the locals, there is
some minerals in the water. That is the reason why elephants come & drink
regularly from there irrespective of the crowd gathered around.
It
was getting dark and rain was getting heavier. So, with a heavy heart we
decided to go to the resort promising to comeback once again to see the wild
elephants. On our way back, we took a wrong turn. It took us a while to realise
that. We were riding through tea estates. It was very pleasant until it got
dark. It felt like we were never going to reach our resort. We could see lights
from lanes of houses which belonged to tea factory workers which were very
either far or in the valley. I was getting scared. There was no one around to
stop & ask our way out. We neither could reach out to anyone if in case we
were attacked by any wild elephants or animals or if our vehicle broke down. On
top of that, there was no network in either of our phones. The only light that
led us was our bike’s. We could also see at times, the moon which was trying to
reach us occasionally through the tall & thick trees. I could feel my heart
thumps and felt like my heart would jump out anytime. I was shivering out of
cold as well as fear. We had drenched a little bit due to rain. Dillu had asked
me several times whether to stop so that I can take out my jacket & wear
it. I declined as I did not want to stop the vehicle even for a second in such
a murky situation. Finally, after riding through the shrubs for about 2 hours
(PS: It took only an hour for onward journey) we reached on a highway and its
then we realised that we have reached very much ahead from the point where we
took the deviation to Anakulam. It took another hour to reach our resort.
Exactly
after a year, we again reached Anakulam. We arrived at the destination around
4.00 PM and we decided to wait inside our vehicle itself since it was hot
outside and secondly due to covid. After sitting for half an hour, we stepped
out and clicked some photos and strolled around. After some time, I heard an
elephant trumpet and so we started to look intensely into the forest. That is
when I felt a movement from behind the woods. I informed Dillu and directed him
& he too confirmed that there is something. He informed few people around
us and so people who were playing volleyball stopped their games and climbed to
a safer place. Initially there were 2 elephants along with a baby elephant
because of which they were hesitant to descend to the river from behind the
woods. It took another 15-20 minutes to hear a trumpet from another direction.
We saw another small herd moving. On seeing the new herd, the first two
elephants started coming down who were followed by rest of the elephants which
included a week-old calf too. The youngest one was very much scared to move far
from its mother. We felt it would trip down as its steps as well as legs seemed
to be feeble. The calf looked pinkish and was very hairy. All of them started
to drink first and then started to play. Few of them simply dipped into the
water and they were having really good time. After enjoying the sight and
clicking a handful of photographs, we decided to leave as it was getting dark
and we did not want repeat whatever had happened with us last time. It is a place
where we love to go back. Every elephant lover must visit this place at least
once. We still cherish those moments and everything is clearly visible when we
close our eyes as though it happened few seconds back.