Trip to Thekkary! September 25th

It has been so nice getting to explore different parts of India! We went to Thekkary, India's largest wildlife sanctuary and oldest in the region. It is also the only Tiger Reserve, with a population of about 40 tigers (which we unfortunately couldn't see). It was 100km away in the next state over from Tamil Nadu, in Kerala.
Our day started at 5 am, when we woke up to leave here around 6. As were getting ready, we could here the loud voices and laughter of the school kids being dropped off. The school was taking 70 first to fifth graders on this annual field trip because they had finished their quarterly exams yesterday. There were also 30 teachers and helpers along too, and we easily filled up two large buses.
We got on one of the buses for our three hour car ride with all the children. There was a TV on the bus playing Tamil music videos, most notably everyone's favorite actor- Vijay :) the children shouted and sang along to the very loud music, as the cool morning wind whipped through our hair and we drove through the small villages along the road. We passed men selling bananas and vegetables from their stands, children playing on the sides of the street, flags- of political parties and of Pakistan, cows wandering the street, tall white oxen with long curved horns pulling carts of goods.. As we kept driving, we started to reach the Western Course mountain range that we would climb. In the fields up the slopes were a variety of the most intense colors of green I'd ever seen. We passed rice paddies which at first just looked like fields until you tilt your head at just the right angle so that you can see the thin, perfectly straight rows of water crossing through them. The women dressed in colorful saris bent in the paddys. We passed countless acres of coconut trees and untouched, wild jungle. We passed men working in the fields, women walking into their grass huts with buckets on their heads, herds of goats making their way along the side of the road. These sights, with the background sounds of blasting Tamil music, smells of fires and the nature, children yelling and laughing, the wind blowing in our faces, we felt just like we were in some kind of movie and embarking on an adventure.

On the TV, we could read the English translations of many of the Tamil lyrics. They were quite amusing :) For the most part, the women in the videos wore saris and had their knees covered, and they didn't show so much as a kiss. However, the intense dancing and lyrics proved to be just as, if not more, suggestive than many Western music videos. Some of the lines included:

"If you turn to rain. I will be your paddy field, and I will yield"
"You're half and I'm half. When we unite we'll be like Lord Shiva."


The primary school kids were all very sweet. We were asked countless times, "What is your name?" "What is your native place?" "How old are you?" Their English, for being so young, was quite impressive. Definitely more advanced than most kids at Bethania. The kids loved getting pictures taken of them and were eager to share any snacks they had with us. We had biscuits poking us in the eye from behind and candy being flung at us from up front. 'Please! Please take, eat!'

After the three hour bus ride and breakfast stop, we arrived in Thekkary. Driving up the steep mountain cliffs, over the pipes carrying down water, was exhilarating and the kids shrieked with every turn. We got out at the entrance and walked over to the massive man-made dam. We bought a snack of salted banana chips that we then had to hide from the monkeys surrounding the snack bar.

We then got on one of the boats. The boat ride was two hours, winding through the giant, man made lake. The children screamed and pointed as we passed all the submerged trees with huge beautiful birds perched in their nests atop these partially branches. The hills all around the lake were fantastic colors of greens and yellows. We saw huge animals emerging from the jungle to drink water, like bison and sambar deer. We saw beautiful birds of every color.
The most up close animals we saw were the monkeys. These little monkeys were literally everywhere, completely unafraid of humans and ready to take any food that they could find. We thought they were pretty cute at first, but our impressions changes to more fearful soon. They were crazy and bad, hanging around the snack area, leaping and growling at customers and snatching bags of potato or banana chips out of their hands or off the table. One monkey tried to climb in the ice cream freezer as a woman opened it to grab something out. All around people wielded sticks, shouting and threatening the crazy monkeys. Around the boat landing, monkey families played. The baby monkeys were so cute, hanging onto their mothers and playing in the bamboo. The male monkeys were very intimidating. The size of a Pattiveeranpatti elementary school student, they strode around authoritatively growling at students and eating trash. One monkey climbed into the branches of a tree right above the gathering of kids, all in their red and khaki uniforms, and made the branch bend all the way down till the top of his head nearly grazed the tops of the children's heads. When he let go, children screamed. Lots of close encounters with nature here at this nature preserve. It was an incredible boat ride and spending time with all the kids who we'll be teaching next month was quite enjoyable.
It was funny to have more pictures taken of us by other Indian tourists while there with the kids. We went to an education center afterwards, where we had lunch. We had brought food with us, a whole meal complete with idlly, curd rice and masala- not a typical easy picnic!
We stopped to do some shopping for souvenirs and gifts in a spice and tea shop on our way back. This area is known for its teas- we bought some cardamom flavored, our favorite. We also stopped at a large grape vineyard, but no wine being made there! They only sold grape juice, grape pulp, and plain grapes. Very flavorful and delicious! It had a gorgeous backdrop of the sun starting to set behind the mountains.
Though we were exhausted and wanting to sleep on the way home, the kids seemed to have just as much energy as when we started in the morning! They jumped and danced on the seats and in the isles along with the helpers there. We stopped for dinner on the way- our forth meal on the trip! It was a very fun and tiring trip!