Washing the spirit clean
K S S Pillai
“Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” I try to follow this advice of John Muir, the Scottish-American naturalist, in a diluted form, whenever I feel suffocated in the city environment.
As I cannot afford to spend a whole week in the woods and am not sprightly enough to climb a mountain, I do the next possible thing: go on a long drive to the neighbouring tribal district of Dang in Gujarat.
One meaning of Dang is a hilly village, and another a bamboo forest. Both are apt to this district as it has a large number of hills and bamboo forests. It has a forest cover of about 78 per cent of its area, consisting of different varieties of trees, dominated by teak and sadad.
It has mythological importance too. It is mentioned in the epic Ramayana as Dandakaranya, through which Lord Ram was supposed to have passed during his banishment from his kingdom.
Dang is not far from where I live. Cross National Highway No.8 a couple of kilometres to the east, and the scenery changes dramatically, with vast tracks of agricultural fields interspersed with trees of different types as if to give a taste of what is in store a little later when one enters the district.
Its well-maintained roads have lush green trees on both sides. Every few kilometres one comes across small tribal villages tucked among the rolling hills. The clutters of nature-friendly houses look clean as if they have been freshly washed. Most of them are built with clay and have tiled roofs. Some have vegetable creepers on the fence and roof-tops, with pumpkins, bottle guards and the like on them, ready to harvest.
There are plenty of scattered small-sized fields with crops like paddy and ragi (finger millet), the staple food of the locals. To exploit the culinary curiosity of the visitors, the entrance to the district has a few restaurants run by women, dishing out a variety of tribal food.
Men are attired in white dresses with a Gandhian cap on their head, but there is no dearth of youths in trousers and T-shirts, zooming along the road on their bikes. Women, wearing colourful dresses and traditional jewellery are seen carrying pots of water effortlessly balanced on their heads. Herds of cows and buffaloes of indigenous variety amble along the road with no restraining ropes on them, driven by children.
The rainy season brings out the best in the region. Trees with lush green foliage seem to be alive and kicking. Rivers, hurtling along the rocky region, are muddy with belligerent flow of water. Flash floods are common. There are several waterfalls caused by the undulating terrain through with the rivers flow, which attract tourists from faraway places. Since these rivers become narrow canals with stagnant water after the monsoon season, water is stored in several check dams. Women wash clothes and utensils there, and bathe. Animals drink the same water.
The government seems to be hesitant in encashing the beauty of the region through tourism. Except for a couple of places, facilities for a prolonged stay of tourists is non-existent. Same is the case with industrialization. There are no factories emitting smoke, and the air is so pure that I wonder if a Delhiite, habituated to the polluted air, would feel comfortable here!
The district has some national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that are homes to animals like leopards, hyenas, jungle cats, Indian porcupine, and common mongoose. Leopards transgress frequently to the neighbouring districts, and the forest officials are busy caging them. However, the only wild animals seen during the day time are monkeys that have become friendly with visitors who sometimes offer them food. There are birds like woodpeckers, parrots, hornbills, Indian sparrows, kites and owls.
As John Muir says, I feel my spirit washed clean after every visit to the region.
(The author is a retired professor of English. A regular contributor to The Kashmir Vision, his articles and short stories have appeared in various national and international publications)
