Lingesh Kalingarayar
Thadam Experiences
Love for the jungle made him throw away his retail market job. He was sick of the corporate life and realised that he was more at peace in his farm. Lingesh now is a happy man roaming in the wild, birding, and photographing wild animals.
The initial years after he quit his job, he managed heritage homes and resorts. He recalls his small stint at Kabini in Karnataka as the most memorable one. “I was interning there in a friend's resort. I was in the wilderness of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and spending four to five days a week in the forest. That was part of my job and I enjoyed every second of it!”
Lingesh and his friends have now started a travel group called Thadam Experiences. It holds nature trips and safaris that also educate people on conservation. But Lingesh has a bigger plan to explore the forests across the world. “And finally settle down near a forest, in a small hut, spending my time reading, birding and doing travel photography and wake up every morning to the calls of birds.”
His ideal jungle will be the one with more elephants. "Nature refreshes you. Every day it teaches you a new lesson.”
Dhaval Momaya
Iternis
Nature always fascinated him since he was a kid. He grew up in Kovaipudur, with the forest in his backyard.
For the last ten years, he has been exploring the forests in The Nilgiris with his friends. And, last year, he along with two other friends, formed Iternis along with his friends.
“We wanted to launch a I though it was worth formally launching Nature-driven travel company because so many youngsters in the city prefer to spend their weekends in the wild. Even older people with regular jobs want to come out of their shells and explore Nature,”says Dhaval, who works in the stock market.
The Iternis group organises takes off for birding, trekking and safaris.
They believe the thrill of wildlife is not just about spotting the big cats but also appreciating the beauty of a butterfly or a rattle snake. “Initially we were also obsessed about the tigers. Then we realised that there is more to a forest.”
During the trips, they educate the hey edue the make the trip educational and also by talking to their participants on Nature. about nature related issues. “One of the recurring themes is man-animal conflict. We feel animals are unfairly blamed. The tribals tell us that the animals do not bother them. But, the villagers who live in the forest periphery see animals as trouble makers. They panic at the sight of elephants. them when they see elephants around . But the elephants are there looking for water and food and not to trouble them.”
They also educate their guests on plastic disposal and animal behaviour. The group encourages a maximum of 15 members in a team during the outing. and never take more than 15 people in their team.
“We do not want to make this commercial and end up trampling on the environment. That defeats the purpose."
For more information on Iternis, visit >www.facebook/iternis .
Sudarsan Murthy Dhandapanai
Wild Wing Trust
“Just the sight of Western Ghats relaxes me,” says 26-year-old Sudarsan.
Forest is the hang out adda for IT professional Sudarsan and his friends. A trip to the Western Ghats melts all his worries, he says. “IT professionals are bogged down by work. In the weekends, I do not go to the malls or pubs. I find peace when I spot a bird outside my window or take a walk through the forest.” He along with his couple of his friends and a colleague founded Wild Wing Trust last year.
The trust works with tribal schools. It has adopted several kids from tribal schools and supports their higher education. “We are training them through online education programmes using Skype. We are seeing tremendous improvement in their fluency in English language and academics,” says Sudarsan. They also call experts in the field of environment and hold lectures and seminar. The group now consist of people from all walks of life including agriculture, business, medicine and engineering.
They also provide nature education, awareness campaigns, and tips to keep in mind while entering the forest. Wild Wing Trust consists of many young professionals like Sudarshan who lead parallel careers in other fields.
It all began with his office group trips to the hills, recalls Sudarshan. “In the beginning, we just thought of these as personal trips. But then slowly we became serious about it and thought we will do our bit and give back to Nature.”
(For details, visit >www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Wing-Trust )
Ganesh Raghunathan
NCF Valparai
A photographer who clicked pictures of music shows, Ganesh never dreamt that he would be living amidst a herd of elephants in Valparai! His fascination for wildlife photography brought him to the Nilgiris four years ago. The 29-year-old now works with a research team of Nature Conservation Foundation, a non-profit research organisation. He is the project co-ordinator of the Anaimalai Elephant Programme at the Valparai Plateaux. Besides the Elephant programme, he also documents natural history through photography and short video stories.
His main job is to find ways to minimise human-elephant conflict. “The primary problem is lack of information. We have a conflict response unit to track these elephants. We work with Tamil Nadu Forest Department and try to alert the locals.” And for this they take the help of local channels, the tea estate owners and the forest guards.
For the city-bred Ganesh, living in the wild was a new ball game. It has opened up new perspectives. “Instead of clicking pictures, now I am learning to just sit back and observe. It is fascinating to watch even the minutest of movements such as elephants flapping their ears.”
The years in the jungle have gifted him some amazing vignettes and jaw dropping experiences. He has watched leopards stroll past him while he froze in his room holding just a torch in hand. Once, he rested against a tree unaware that an elephant was right behind him taking an afternoon nap…
