Jungle Lore

Bijoy Gupta (c) holds us spellbound by recounting his jungle tales 

It is just about ten days since members of the Club went to Alibaug (ref post of January 21) and already there is talk of another trip – this time to some jungle. “This is the right time to set out,” urged Naseem Khan. “We must plan the picnic before summer.”
Shekhawat said that he would be going to his village (in Rajasthan) for about a month. “My tickets are booked for March 15, soon after Holi,” he informed. “I’d be back in Mumbai after 25 days.”
This leaves us with the whole of February if we are to really go on a jungle trip. Bijoy Gupta is particularly thrilled as it revived memories of his younger days -- about 30-35 years

Shekhawat

back when he was seized by the spirit of adventure and used to take off frequently to explore the wilds in and around Maharashtra.
“Even a visit to a wild life sanctuary can be exciting,” he said. “I know of certain spots in the Borivili National Park or the Aarey Colony jungle where nobody goes, except for wild animals and adivasis. Your blood will freeze the moment you set foot there.”
Gupta recounted several terrifying experiences – of seeing first-hand a baby almost devoured by a leopard, meeting all kinds of shady characters/ godmen/ drug addicts in the jungle, being surrounded by a pack of blood-thirsty wolves on a rainy night, of having to negotiate perilous ravines and waterfalls in pitch darkness, escaping death several times by a whisker, of losing his way in dense undergrowth post-midnight…
“I used to typically leave home on a whim around 8:00 pm and arrive at say, Kalyan Station by midnight,” he narrated. “From there I would trek into the wilds… I must have been mad those days as I was leaving behind a family, including two little children at home.”
The hour-long session in the China Hut established one thing: Bijoy Gupta can be a terrific raconteur when in the mood.