“Woof”! He called out in a short sharp bark, as if to attract my attention. Startled out of my semi-trance like state, I looked away from the trees on which I had my focus all this time. I was searching for the birds all the way in my trek, and had somewhat lost track of my surroundings, except the trail on the hill along which I was going down.
I, or rather we!
I had befriended this four-legged fellow at Santhalabari camp in Buxa Tiger Reserve (in New Alipurduar in the north of Bengal), and we had known each other for a total of 24 hours, but still he had no qulams about joining me on my trek to Chunabhati village, nestled somewhere up in the Buxa hills. It was his call now that prompted me to look in his direction.
In my quest to look for hill avifauna, I had failed to notice that we had turned a bend in the trail & now stood in a clearing. It was a view straight out of a postcard. Three hill slopes converged at that precise location to give birth to a green valley. Scarlet minivets flew in small circles a short distance down. There was a man-made shed-like structure a few hundred feet below on the edge of the hill, its precarious location granting it a feel of eeriness. Some of the lush green pine, juniper trees were swathed in sunlight at places, while the others were shrouded in shadows of their neighbours. The imposing Buxa hills stood proudly. My canine friend looked to be somewhat engrossed in the view too. It was then that i got my phone out and clicked this selfie! The melodious calls of the birds from amidst the trees acted as the perfect background score in such an idyllic setting.
I know not how many minutes had passed, with me admiring the panorama, when a soft nudge on my knees enquired of me whether I had my fill, and urged me to make a move once more. My doggie pal had experienced enough scenery to last him quite some time ; so he was impatient. It was well into afternoon, and I had to make a move, so with one last glance at our picturesque valley, I got going again. On the way down, he enthusiastically chased a few monkeys that were upto some mischief, swinging down onto our path from the trees!! I couldn’t have asked for a better companion for the entirety of the 9 kilometres trek to & from Chunabhati hamlet!! While I was trudging up the hilly trail, I had found him panting too, slowly lumbering up, with his tongue out. As I sat down for some rest, he came and sat down with me........and chewed on candies that I offered him!! In total, I had sixteen candies with me which we shared equally during the course of our trek! It was tiring, but at the same time, it was also a very fulfilling experience.
I often look back fondly at this selfie. It happens to be one photo which can be termed as close to a 'Perfect Selfie' as possible as it depicts an unusual bonding of two living beings of different species enjoying the beauty of mother nature. But hindsight does enable you to look at things from a different perspective. When I see the photo, what I do miss are the details that were so vivid to the naked eye, but could not be picked up well on my phone's front camera. Also i could not incorporate the whole of the Buxa hills that were magnanimous in their presence in the backdrop. Perhaps, a holistic view with a 120 ͦ wide angle dual selfie camera was what I required and I wouldn’t have had to worry about how to include all of what I could see into one large scale selfie! Still, the photo enables me to reminisce about that magical place in my trek, where i had found so much joy, with an unexpected friend!
I, or rather we!
I had befriended this four-legged fellow at Santhalabari camp in Buxa Tiger Reserve (in New Alipurduar in the north of Bengal), and we had known each other for a total of 24 hours, but still he had no qulams about joining me on my trek to Chunabhati village, nestled somewhere up in the Buxa hills. It was his call now that prompted me to look in his direction.
In my quest to look for hill avifauna, I had failed to notice that we had turned a bend in the trail & now stood in a clearing. It was a view straight out of a postcard. Three hill slopes converged at that precise location to give birth to a green valley. Scarlet minivets flew in small circles a short distance down. There was a man-made shed-like structure a few hundred feet below on the edge of the hill, its precarious location granting it a feel of eeriness. Some of the lush green pine, juniper trees were swathed in sunlight at places, while the others were shrouded in shadows of their neighbours. The imposing Buxa hills stood proudly. My canine friend looked to be somewhat engrossed in the view too. It was then that i got my phone out and clicked this selfie! The melodious calls of the birds from amidst the trees acted as the perfect background score in such an idyllic setting.
 |
| The perfect selfie maybe? Man and dog , savouring nature! |
I know not how many minutes had passed, with me admiring the panorama, when a soft nudge on my knees enquired of me whether I had my fill, and urged me to make a move once more. My doggie pal had experienced enough scenery to last him quite some time ; so he was impatient. It was well into afternoon, and I had to make a move, so with one last glance at our picturesque valley, I got going again. On the way down, he enthusiastically chased a few monkeys that were upto some mischief, swinging down onto our path from the trees!! I couldn’t have asked for a better companion for the entirety of the 9 kilometres trek to & from Chunabhati hamlet!! While I was trudging up the hilly trail, I had found him panting too, slowly lumbering up, with his tongue out. As I sat down for some rest, he came and sat down with me........and chewed on candies that I offered him!! In total, I had sixteen candies with me which we shared equally during the course of our trek! It was tiring, but at the same time, it was also a very fulfilling experience.
I often look back fondly at this selfie. It happens to be one photo which can be termed as close to a 'Perfect Selfie' as possible as it depicts an unusual bonding of two living beings of different species enjoying the beauty of mother nature. But hindsight does enable you to look at things from a different perspective. When I see the photo, what I do miss are the details that were so vivid to the naked eye, but could not be picked up well on my phone's front camera. Also i could not incorporate the whole of the Buxa hills that were magnanimous in their presence in the backdrop. Perhaps, a holistic view with a 120 ͦ wide angle dual selfie camera was what I required and I wouldn’t have had to worry about how to include all of what I could see into one large scale selfie! Still, the photo enables me to reminisce about that magical place in my trek, where i had found so much joy, with an unexpected friend!
 |
| This pic was at our last resting point towards the fag end of our journey |
Written as part of the 'A Selfie a day keeps forgetfulness away' contest by Mobiistar in association with Indiblogger. You can find out about how to procure the Mobiistar at http://mobiistar.in/ and Mobiistar on Flipkart.
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