Vedang Mahajan

As I sat at night time on top of a rock in a remote clearing in the Kanchula Korak Musk Deer Sanctuary, in the Northwestern Himalayas, my gaze adjusted onto the picturesque night sky. There was no noise (light disturbance), not even the moon was to be seen. All I saw was a pitch black blanket on four sides and a starry dome, lit with a myriad of frequencies and energies, enclosing above. Only the silvery outline of the alpine forest was to be seen apart from the weak glow of my fluorescent camping tent. “Why did I come here?”, I asked myself.  It is so easy to sit inside a cement box with glass panes and say that the Earth is a small planet in our galaxy but what about that do we truly experience? It is so easy for me to say that there exist 8.7 million species of distinct flora and fauna and yet we hardly notice the millipede in our backyard or the coucal in our man-made gardens. To know about it is one thing, and to experience it, with all its intensity, is another. And so I went...

Of course, no exploration of Cave Rock hill is complete without a trip to the “great egg” itself! How about inside the great egg?! We set off to do both– explore the inside of the cave and rest at the top of the cave, enjoying a bird’s-eye-view of the entire school. Sitting on top, one feels the sweet monsoon breeze brushing through every strand of hair and its moisture, getting absorbed through the skin. We got there at say 7:20 AM and we realised we had competition…monkeys. Now the monkeys of this valley are special. They are all tricksters and daredevils. If you are found walking under a canopy with a fruit in your hands (especially guavas), you can bid your fruit farewell. It is going to get snatched by the smallest one of the troop. If you do put up a fight, you might manage to keep your food, but you will enrol yourself for a couple of rabies vaccinations throughout the following week or two. Similarly, when the monkeys get to your spot first, you be...

Another peculiar site is what we name “Boar Cave”, which is an almost inaccessible cave whose entrance is totally surrounded by bushes. So much so, that you will never realize there is a cave until you go very close. To reach the entrance of the cave, one needs to climb a tall, smooth and slippery “ledge”. What makes it even harder is the fact that the ledge has several tall bushes at its base, leaving little to no room to make the climb. I really wanted to check that place out. This was the north facing side of the hill– which is seldom explored. I placed my hands on the ledge and pushed downwards, after which I placed my foot on a bush. I slipped! I came down, the ledge banging against my patella. I then found myself staring at this white glove someone had left there. The glove was lodged into the stem of the bush and while climbing I slipped on it. Seeing it just bothered me and so I gave it a kick. It was hard. How can a glove be hard? “Some sort ...

This is a story for the ages. It was September 2021 and the valley had come to a standstill. Yes, the birds still sang, the tamarind trees continued to sway and the bonnet macaques ( Macaca radiata ) (common monkeys) still stole, but the human beings ( Homo sapiens ) were nowhere to be seen… except a few sitting on some rocks on Cave Rock hill. Another wave of COVID cases had arrived and all students and most staff were forced to quarantine at their respective cottages/houses. Our meals were delivered in ginormous carriers and we ate in the dorm instead of visiting our beloved dining hall. These were strange times but more so difficult for the ones who had to work extra hours and the ones down with illness. Krishna house sits on the southern end of the hockey hills with Cave Rock hill– immediately East and Duranta hill– immediately south. We were, fortunately, given permission to go for frequent hikes during these few weeks along with our house parent  and our ho...