Day 7: Wings of Wonder

Written By: Varenya Sirasanagandla

Day 7 was a different kind of a day. The night before, Sruti Akka told us to be ready around 5 am because we were leaving Haritachala by bus for a bird watching expedition. We all got up around 4 in the morning and the kitchen volunteers had made prana elixir malt for breakfast, as we would not be arriving back at camp until later in the morning. Some girls decided to stay back at camp as they were still recovering from sickness. Everyone was super excited to be on the bus, as we were able to connect a bluetooth device and start singing to hit Telugu songs. Singing and dancing together in unison with lively energy in the early hours of the morning, had boosted all the geckos' energy for the awaiting bird watching experience!

It was great, it was fun, and an amazing time to bond again with everyone. We drove all the way to the outskirts of Tiruvannamalai. The mornings in these surroundings looked very different from what our typical mornings look like, back in the U.S.  As we reached the scenic isolated landscape, we saw some very friendly local dogs and were playing with them for some time until the bird experts arrived. Once they had come, they introduced themselves, and how they wrote a book on the Birds of Tiruvannamalai, and were part of an organization that helped sustain the natural beauty of Tiruvannamalai. There were two experts, one Anna took extremely professional photos of birds from afar that we could barely see, but he showed them to us, with his fancy and extremely magnified camera.

We walked around the wooded area of the foothill of an unknown mountain, where we were able to hear the exquisite sounds of nature. We could see the expertise the Annas had on the birds of Tiruvannamalai. One of the Annas was giving us full descriptions of the different types of birds, their colors, features, and how they squawk; making funny bird noises and making all of us laugh. We used binoculars to see birds close up. It was very enlightening to see such pretty birds and also how much knowledge they carry with them about these birds. On top of that, we learned a lot about the origins of the different plants located at the foothills, some were native to the region while the others were migrating from different nations.

The other Anna conversed with us about the different plants, butterflies, and also about so many of the birds. He would tell us the names of some of the birds like the Kingfisher and the Laughing Dove. We would all attempt to spot it, and show everyone where it was. It almost felt like a game of eye spy, but with the birds, taking forever to spot it, but once you do, it would fly away in a split second. Any questions at all we had about plants or nature in general, we were able to ask the Annas, as they had a lot of knowledge and insight on these topics. It was ingrained in them.

It was very inspiring, especially when they would come out to places like this and spend all day learning about plants and recording every detail in their journals, doing the same with birds, and they eventually memorized everything around them. It is very admirable how they know every little detail about their own land, and how much effort they put into the work they do for the community and for the betterment of global citizens. We geckos are very grateful and appreciative for all they are doing.

 We also saw beautiful and extravagant butterflies that would have their wings opened for the longest time for us to see them up close, and it was nothing like any of us had ever seen before. We walked on a pathway that starts from one end of the mountain, and as we were reaching the end of the pathway to the other side of the mountain, we decided to start heading back as the scorching sun had decided to arise. On our way back, we spotted more birds and butterflies, attempting to guess if it was the same birds that we had spotted earlier, or if it was a different bird, leading up to more conversations about what we had seen. By the time we reached the bus, everyone was tired and thirsty.

Thankfully, the Uncles and Anna’s bought us drinks like maaza and chocolate milk to cool us down. We each drank 2-3 of these scrumptious sugary drinks. Everyone was thinking of singing again, but we were so exhausted that within the next 3 minutes of the bus ride, everyone had passed out. Once we reached home, we could smell the sweet aroma of puris and delicious, mouth watering potato curry. We had invited the bird experts to also have brunch with us. The combination of puri with potato curry, is most of the geckos’ favorite meal, and all our mouths were watering for the hot-hot puris and curry. We said our goodbyes to the bird expert Annas and everyone went back to sleep, as we were all super tired.

After a long and much needed rest, we all got up around evening. People were still recovering from sickness, so we went to check in on them, helping everyone and just being there in support of them was one of the many instances over which we were all able to bond with each other.To see the geckos care for one another, to see the volunteers care for one another, to see akka care for all of us, a beautiful feeling emerged, a sense of belonging. We enjoyed just chatting with each other, sitting in the cool AC room. Akka talking with us about her funny encounter with a stranger in the woods along Ramakrishna Uncle. Still makes me laugh, even if I think about it now. Later, we all freshened up, as it was dinner time.

For Dinner, Ammama had made us simple but a fulfilling meal. Hot and soft idlis that melt right into your mouth, with a variety of different chutneys and podis to go along with the idlis. 

After having a soothing meal, we all headed towards the temple as it was time for arati. Since we did not go to morning arati, we all ensured that we were there on time for evening arati. We ended this day, like almost everyday, with our evening gratitude circle where we all share our most joyous and grateful moments of the day. It is a beneficial practice as we wind down and reflect on the overall outcome of our day. The circle had felt incomplete, as some people were resting because they were still unwell. This is when Akka had highlighted the point of how the gratitude circle would be different today, because of the absence of some of the geckos, there would be an abnormal and incomplete feeling, but we should always strive to think of the positives, even in strenuous situations that arise. Most geckos that day were grateful that everyone was starting to recover though, and hoped for a better day tomorrow. On that note, what is a gratitude circle without Ramakrishna uncle being there! Credit to him for making the circle feel so alive always, he brings such positive energy and a vibe, that it helps everyone at camp, even when people are feeling low. We were all very shocked how a week at camp felt just like a snapshot, and how quickly camp would be coming to an end. At camp, it feels utopian, it almost feels like living in a perfect, dream society, it is very difficult to express in words, but being at camp is so beautiful and seeing how quickly time flies is very shocking.