Ye Diwali, Sharingwali!

 

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Sharingwali Diwali !

“You cannot celebrate the festival of light before combating the darkness within” ― Kapil Raj

“I am an Indian and we celebrate all festivals in every region of every religion. That is why it is called Incredible India!” ― Vinayak Muralitharan

“Sharing is wonderful thing; if you share your sorrow, it reduces but if you share your happiness, it increases”- Me

Festivals, some words are magical just the way Disney is, and Tadoba is for me, lol; sorry, don’t worry, the sharing isn’t about Tdaoba or forests but about festivals & with 150 plus crore people & 33 crore gods (no offense), with 10 plus religions, 40 plus major languages & 36 States plus Union Territories, (Castes, I don’t dare to count neither I believe in it), no wonder every day there is some festival being celebrated in some place of our dear country! And more than that, there are seasonal festivals also as for ages this country has had most of its population living in villages & farming was & is source of live, so, no wonder many festivals are celebrated as per seasons here! And then it’s the festivals when people of all segments of society come together, spend time together, share whatever they have with friends & family, that’s the real spirit or the cause of festivals. Rather its traditions like festivals which separates humans from all other species as other than us no other species celebrates any particular occasion as a festival, rather for all other species every new day is festival, but that’s another aspect of sharing, lol! And then in the world where on one side physical boundaries are reducing (read ass collapsing) because of the Internet, Broadband, 5G, Satellite service & yes AI, then on other side physical distance between people is increasing rapidly. Today, people are busy in chatting/ speaking with somebody who is miles away but forget to wish somebody who is right in the home on his or her birthday! Every-day, we send messages of good morning to the entire world via broadcast list but don’t even greet or smile at the person living across our door! In such a situation, festivals are the only hope for maintaining togetherness with human touch to relations, in reality, not virtual!

And Diwali is our biggest festival which is celebrated in the entire country across all segments of the society, making it a very unique festival on the background of, “Their festival & Our festival” culture of today’s society, as this is truly everybody’s festival! On Diwali, we shop & give gifts (receive also), light-up our homes & eat lots of sweets & that’s normal for many of us but have you thought about millions who are not as fortunate as us, as for them to leave apart shopping or sweets, every day is a survival battle! These are the times when most of the world has been pulled into a war because of a few people’s ego & greed, causing millions to suffer. And if that’s not enough, there is drought looming on our region, pushing thousands of families worried for day-to-day survival ahead. On all such backgrounds Diwali time is the bright spot of home, only if people like us who are fortunate than many people share a little bit of our fortune with all such unfortunate ones! And you can do it in many ways, by donating your good stuff while you buy new one, by buying from hand-made or local things from rural parts & even by distributing gifts to unknown faces through any NGO also, as after all sharing doesn’t need to have any boundaries such as caste, religion or State, right? So, go ahead & brighten as many faces & homes as you can, by simple act of sharing & make this Diwali, Sharingwali!

We at team Sanjeevani along with Jungle Belles run an all year long campaign of collecting used clothes, shoes, comforters in good usable condition & arrange to send them to needy people who live in remote parts of the country, especially around forests. This is just one of the activities, we will be happy to assist you, for any such willingness to share with the less fortunate’ in the society. Please write/ Dm/ call us on any of the contact details. Wish you a very Happy Sharingwali Diwali!

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Below is something I wrote to my team, you can also go through as, right & wrong is not for some group, but for everybody & share if you find worth…

 दिवाळी, बोनस आणि जबाबदारी!!

 

डिअर टीम संजीवनी,

 

सर्वप्रथम दिवाळीच्या शुभेच्छा  आणि माझं हे पत्र तुमच्या साठी आहे,  दुसरं पत्र पण तुमच्या साठीच आहे पण ते तुम्ही फॅमिली आणि मित्रांसोबत जरूर शेअर करा,  म्हणजे त्यांना पण तुमची कंपनी काय फिलॉसॉफीने काम करते ते कळेल!!

तर थोडं आपल्या बाबत,  बोनस ही ट्रिकी गोष्ट आहे,  किती रक्कम किंवा कोणती वस्तु आपल्याला हॅप्पी करू शकते,  तर ते पूर्णपणे आपल्या परिस्थिती वर अवलंबुन आहे! जसे की एखाद्या दुष्काळग्रस्त शेतकर्‍याला चाऱ्याची गोणी किंवा 100 रुपये खुश करु शकतात आणि एखाद्या श्रीमंताला काही लाख रुपये किंवा मारुतीची कार पण आनंदी करु शकत नाही कारण ते त्याच्याकडे ऑलरेडी आहे!

मी फिलॉसॉफी झाडत  नाहिये किंवा दिलेल्या बोनसच समर्थन करत नाहिये,  फक्त  हे सांगतोय की कोणतीही गोष्ट आयुष्यात फ्री येत किंवा मिळत नाही,  त्याची एक योग्य किम्मत असते आणि ती चुकवली  तरच त्या गोष्टीचा खरा आनंद मिळतो आणि ती गोष्ट आपल्यापाशी  टिकते,  हा माझा अनुभव आहे आणि हे पैश्याच्या  बाबतीतही लागु आहे! आणि बरेचदा ही किम्मत दिसणारा प्राईस टॅग किंवा क्युआर कोड लावुन येत नाही तर समजावून घ्यावी लागते, ज्याला जबाबदारी म्हणतात! तुम्हाला कल्पना आहे का,  गेल्या वर्षात आपण किती फ्लॅट विकले,  आपली रिकव्हरी किती आहे, आणि किती फ्लॅट्स बाकी  आहेत, कल्पना नसल्यास अकौंटसच्या टीम सोबत बसा आणि जाणुन घ्या! दिवस कठीण आहेत आणि होत जाणार आहेत, आपला  पेशन्स आणि स्वतःवरचा विश्वास ही आपली खरी ताकद आह़े! तरीही मी कधीच फ्लॅट विक्री सोबत टीमचा बोनस किंवा पगार टॅग करत नाही पण याचा अर्थ आपली काहीच जबाबदारी नाही असही नक्कीच नाही! आपण सगळे आपआपले काम किती  जबाबदारीने (इमानदारीने म्हणत नाही, कारण तुमच्यावर माझा पूर्ण विश्वास आहे) करतो, ते सगळ्यात महत्वाचं आहे कारण त्या नंतर विक्री हा नशीबाचा सुध्धा पार्ट आहे पण त्याआधी आपला जबाबदारीवाला पार्ट परफेक्ट करतोय का हे आपण कधी बघतो का, एवढंच मला सांगायचे आहे! या दिवाळी निमित्ताने मजा करा,  सुट्टी घ्या पण एक जबाबदार टीम मेंबर म्हणुन मी स्वतःमध्ये काय बदल घडवून आणू शकतो यावर पण विचार करा,  आणि अंमलात आणा; वाचा, छंद  जोपासा, फिटनेस रुटीन सुरु करा, काहीही करा पण स्वतःसाठी  करा, कारण ती तुम्ही स्वतःला दिलेली अशी दिवाळी गिफ्ट असेल जी कोणीच दुसरा तुम्हाला गिफ्ट किंवा बोनस म्हणुन देऊ शकणार नाही आणि ती जन्मभर टिकणारी गिफ्ट असेल!! परत एकदा दिवाळीच्या शुभेच्छा!!

.. संजय देशपांडे

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Sanjay Deshpande with team Sanjeevani & Jungle Belles

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked..

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

https://jeevnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2026/08/
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Recycled Water, Whose Baby is it!!

 

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“Very soon nations will understand that in reality Water is the most expensive natural resource for their survival. Not Middle East oil nor African gold.” ― M.F. Moonzajer

“Call me crazy, but there is something terribly wrong with this society, especially on the front of, use of water.” ― Nathan Reese Maher

“If you want to use water in the right way then first, you will have to learn to respect the water in the right way”... Me

In the span of one week, I am writing again about this subject which the readers must have guessed is water! Only difference is, the first one was about wrong policies from the govt especially about real estate & the way we must together fight with drought then the later one i.e. this one is about govt’s right efforts (intent as their invite says) about water at large! Ok, we all know by now about the scarcity of water at present in the State & if any of you (read as we) don’t know about it then we are fool & unlucky too as that shows how ignorant we are about our responsibilities! Well, I got an invite from CSE India, a research institute from Delhi which is working on water, especially recycled water, for an invite onlyround table conference about recycled water & its use. In exact words, “Decentralised Treatment of Wastewater and its Bulk Reuse” & it’s a big honour for me, well considering the fraternity I come from i.e. real estate (a builder)! Though I am a civil engg too with little bit of environmental background (this I shared just to make readers know about my ability to write on the subject, no offense), yet mostly even today the builders are looked with suspicious eyes especially when there is anything related to environment as are they not the one who damages it most? Right, yet for whom the builders build these homes along with making money & who buys these homes & live in them is something I always want to ask those suspicious eye holders but about that sometimes later! Coming back to this round table thingy, I am unable to attend it as its right before Diwali & I have to take care of my own work front here, so I said the organizers I will attend it online about which they said not possible (sorry, but weird) so I said I will write my views & here we are!

First of all, water is mythical but not all about water is rocket science of hardcore technical or scientific as our forefathers’ (ancestors) knew a lot more about water & respected it far more than we do & that’s why what they did with water we have to research! Of course, today’s technology can open many more doors for the problems related to water (which we only have created, lol, sarcasm) & that’s why institutes like CSE are important. Incidentally there has been an initial such meeting here in Pune three months back in June 26, which also, I attended in person & has shared few of my views across. For those who don't know the background, the subject may look a bit technical which is the core of the subject, involving each of us i.e. water. We get water mainly from one single source i.e. rains, which later gets collected in dams via rivers & then from dams it comes to our home via water lines & there is a filtration plant in between dams to our home, that’s it! Apart from this where there is no dam or river there are bore wells, dug wells, man made lakes, canals etc by which respective localities get water & for thousands of years this was ok. Interesting part is that barring a few years most of the time the average rainfall means the principal source of supply is the same if we check the data but on the other side human population is increasing in multiples while all other animals’ population is decreasing, courtesy humas only! Needless to say, the sources of water have started reducing slowly & as we indeed are fools, we neglected this slow reduction like a slow poison & today, we call it as a draught when we don’t get water stored in our dams or even slightest of reduction rainfall, which is the main reason of the importance of the round table!

Coming back to the concept of round table, interestingly the invite says Right Intent of policies by the govt (or something on those lines) about which I have to say; its never about the Intent, the problem is always about the Implementation of the policies when its govt & when subject is as vital as water! Govt wants to make every segment of society (read as voters) happy & when it fails to do so it expects some other segment (usually the private sector or industries which in this case is builders) to do govt’s job! Same thing is happening with water reuse also & I am not saying this as anti- anti-establishment attitude or it’s easy to shrug the responsibility (I am not govt) but look at the way implementation differs from the goal of the Intentions & then we can find the right way! First, in a city like Pune which is blessed with water supply on the source front, there is no metered water supply which means there is no control on use, nor do we have the right data with us for consumption! Second, there is no provision of potable water supply to the construction sites, which means you can’t blame them for misuse of water, yet the propaganda is made so! Third, there is no control on ground water use, anybody can dig an open well or a bore well as govt (read as PMC/PCMC etc) has no data of ground water use in the city. This means if we want to increase use of recycled water then first, we must know what is the contribution of other sources of water by the citizens as then only we can make policies, because if all are happy with other sources of water then who will take efforts for recycled water & its use, right? So, let's first make sure about creating exact data regarding the need & consumption of every single drop in the city & its present sources!

Now, coming to the recycled water aspect which is a niche in itself, as three entities are involved in generation of the recycled water, means we will have to define the responsibilities accordingly while making policies about the same, right? First is local planning body which is Pune, & there the problem starts as the UDCPR (building control rules) says even over 100 units we will have to provide ETP / STP (drainage water treatment plant) which is itself a joke (sorry guys) as with 4 times fsi in some parts of city, even a 20,000 sft plot will have over 100 units on it where to fix a STP is very difficult job & to maintain it is more difficult. Means, first the builder will try to avoid or manage the STP thing to a minimum & later, the society won’t run it because operating costs are too high for such a small society, so they will try to shut it, which means the problem starts at generation level itself, for recycled water! And on top of it, even where the drainage line net-work of the local body is existing & which is connected to the central STP, there also smaller STPs’ are made mandatory if the development is above 100 units, why? Rather try to make bigger & larger STPs’ which will be easier for utilization of its water as smaller & decentralized STP’s are ok only when there is no drainage line itself because collection recycled water from numbers of destinations & smaller quantities, is the main problem in reuse of drainage water! At the same time there is no system which will ensure that these all STP’s are running at the treated water is collected at some source, again no data available is the problem as if you don’t know exactly how much treated / recycled water you have got & at which place, how are you going to distribute it or use it in proper way, is my question & who is going to take responsibility of this aspect of recycled water, is my second question!

Now let’s have a look at last & most critical aspect in the use of recycle water, that too specifically in real estate, as whenever there is reduction in rains or water supply the builders starts getting notices of water cuts & media hails construction sites using water (read as wasting water) & suddenly local bodies publish circulars about making builders use recycled water! Here again data is the problem as any source becomes reliable only when it is consistent & for that you need to have how much & how, these two figures in place. We already saw how, is missing as we don’t have data about generation of recycled water & we don’t have data of how much water we need for construction & where. Though approximately for 1 lakh sq ft of built-up area, by thumb rule you need approx. 10 lakh litters (again its thumb rule & this depends on technology you are using, type of building & workmanship & can vary as per these aspects) of water from start to finish. Here again, there are two or say three types of need for water, one is in the construction activities such as concreting, plaster where water will be part of construction. On this front the requirement is fluctuating as per the work stage & this water needs to be chemically perfect as its being used in chemical reaction of cement setting process which is directly related to the strength of concrete or mortar of base of flooring; so, who is going to ensure quality of the water, is the question (read as problem)!  At the same time curing & compaction of earthworks, are other two processes where chemical quality of water isn’t much of a problem but availability on time & storage of this water are the issue. As well to store this recycled water & keep it away from human domestic use is another challenge at site which we need to take into consideration. And on the use front also on rainy days, even curing isn’t necessary for slabs & plaster, so in monsoons what we will be doing with excess recycled water is one more aspect we must take into account!

Let’s understand, whatever storage, pumping, transportation, we will be using for recycled water, it can’t be used for other purposes keeping in mind the health hazard aspect, means this all system must be constantly engaged & that much supply of recycled water we must assure if we want it sustainable. And if govt expects people (read as builders) to sacrifice themselves & use recycled water even if it's unsustainable, then it's not going to work, is a bitter fact! And for that the only solution (short term) is, PMC or the local body, first, must form a separate cell to take responsibility for recycled water as a whole. This cell will keep data, monitor it & handle the logistics of it along with quality assurance! At the same time, this cell will need funding as right from recycled water carrying tankers to drivers everything will have to be made available to this cell & then you can ask the developers to use the recycled water as unless we have a proper system of supply in place no developer go for it at the expense of his time lines & costing! And the long-term solution is, collect all the recycled water at a central place, treat it, store it & then distribute it as per demand from this central reservoir, which can be a manmade open lake also!  To my knowledge Dubai & middle east countries where water is costlier than oil, they have separate collecting recycled water line net work just the way we have drainage lines & they refine it at central plant & again from separate water lines its supplied to the end users as per demand, this also can be a long-term solution but effective one & will need determination for implementation!

To conclude, all I will say, use of recycled water is not some rocket science; it needs 20% technology, 30% common sense & 50% a sincere will to use this water & I think we will have to work on later two aspects only, as there only lies the fate of the intent, adios with this note, & yes thanks a lot for the honour for giving me opportunity to be part of this noble cause!

-

Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

https://jeevnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2026/08/
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Water War, Real Estate & Govt!

                                                

                                                 Where is Sustainable Water Supply?

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“Human nature is like water. It takes the shape of its container.” ― Wallace Stevens

“No one can know the infinite importance of a tiny drop of water better than a thirsty bird or a little ant or a man of the desert!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Man is most selfish as he doesn't care about things which are easily available to him. Water is the best example of it… Me.

Just last year it rained 125% i.e. lot more than the average rainfall so we all were happy & thought this year also will be same & our State’s assembly elections were in the last year, needless to say the govt was busy in distributing water (and subsidies) like there is no tomorrow but nature doesn’t work like govt & it has shown us the tomorrow in the form of today’s draught! Yes, there is draught already on the front of water as the monsoon deficit is nearly 15 % ( in many regions its more than 30%) & dams are already touching bottom & we don’t have rains in entire September & October, means to fill up the deficit of water we only have one way, Save Water & which means less water for everybody! Imagine, just a choke up in the supply cycle of oil (war effect) can make such havoc, what havoc there will be if the water supply chain gets choke up, this is something which the real estate industry must look at very seriously & act! Here, many will say what can we do on the water's front, it's the government's responsibility, well govt has already shrugged it off by making developers’ give undertaking for everything available under the sun! Govt (read as sanctioning/ local authorities) makes builder responsible for supplying water for the projects, drainage line, storm water lines, electric supply (at our cost for infrastructure), road & what not & on the top of this we are supposed to do a perfect quality product construction also which is our duty & yet keep the city green also! From where we are going to make money if we have to spend on all fronts & we don’t have enough buyers who can buy homes at our quoted rates, is something not the govt’s responsibility because govt doesn’t consider us as an industry or thinks we can take care of ourselves! 

And the first thing govt (local bodies) does when there is draught or no water in dams, well, just redraft an Affidavit / Undertaking (one more) from the builder about he will take responsibility of water supply to the residents & sanctioning the new projects, so the govt can tell people, it was builder’s responsibility to provide them water, see we have taken undertaking from him, saying so! How convenient, please get an undertaking from the builder that he will pay instalments of loan also for the flat holders if they are unable to repay the loan, as well as ask the builder to get groceries for the residents also at his cost if inflation is too much & pay school fees of flat holder’s kids if fees are too high. And oh yes, ask the builder to pay for Ola/Uber charges also if the flat holder is needed to travel for longer distance to get essential services such as medical assistance! Come on, guys, what are we doing, as first, let's decide who is responsible for providing infrastructure to any building, not just some parts or a region or city, which is a basic of urban planning, right? And if today PMC / PCMC/ PMRDA are asking for water affidavit in some areas what guaranty is there, that they won't ask tomorrow such affidavits for city’s central areas also & more, what if all these authorities start asking for such undertakings for access road's maintenance, or drainage line or electric supply or telephone services, what will builders do, is my question! And the very same government lays Red Carpet for so called Data Centres, Auto Industries & many other businesses urging them to start their units for employment generation, rather gives them assured water supply & other infra on priority that too on discounted rates, so why only the real estate industry which provides homes to the citizens & generates employment along (real, not virtual) gets Step-Child treatment, is my question!

And then there is one more angle to all this water undertaking joke, as govt itself acknowledges lakhs of sq. ft of illegal construction & does every effort to legalize them, add in it slums which are illegal straight way, so who provides water to these all-illegal homes & has undertaking been taken from the builders of these illegal homes about water supply? As on one side a person who is trying to build a legal home for the people who are buying it at high cost as its legal home, govt is fast & keen to slap an undertaking on them for water supply responsibility & threatens to charge criminal offense in case of failure doing so & on other side the same govt turns blind eye & deaf year towards illegal constructions who also use the same water which is right of the legal buildings, baat kuch hajam nahi huai! As well the very same govt doesn’t bother to go behind the societies who has water recycling plants, rain water harvesting systems which has been done by the builders (read as legal builders) & there is no system to check about effectiveness of these water conservation techniques at completed projects, as that is damaging the vote bank, right? And on top of all this mess (sorry that's the only word come to my mind) same time UD allows zone change of agricultural land to residential land on some certificate of Dug Well water supply & such unreliable sources of water, why that's allowed if you don’t have water for even the already planned development! Guys, open up eyes & senses (if any) & start working in the right direction on the water conservation front & do it fast or else there will be only undertakings & affidavits & filed complaints, but no water is writing on the wall!  Good Lokmanya Tilak isn’t between us today or he would have definitely written an editorial with the caption,"Sarkache Doke Bhijle aahe ka”!

--

Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

https://jeevnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2026/08/
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Bor WLS, Hidden Jewel !!

 

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“The time I spent in the jungles held unalloyed happiness for me, and that happiness I would now gladly share. My happiness, I believe, resulted from the fact that all wildlife is happy in its natural surroundings. In nature there is no sorrow, and no repining. A bird from a flock, or an animal from a herd, is taken by a hawk or carnivorous beast and those that are left rejoice that their time has not come today, and have no thought of tomorrow.”— Jim Corbett.

“Every time I have visited forests, it has taught me something new about life” … Me.

When the subject is forest & wildlife then I don’t need anybody else’s words to start but that of the man who himself has become immortal with a forest by his name & his words only have made or say still making me wiser every moment I spend in the forests! If you don’t know about Jim Corbett then don’t google or check Wikipedia but read his books & they are available in most of the languages. As well once you are through reading even one of his books then do visit forest, any forest & try living that forest from the perspective of Jim & then you will start knowing him better! Ok, the sharing is about forest (but not tadoba) which I accidently bumped on, as I was on hectic work plus forest exploring trip, for two Super Moms, one from tadoba & one from UKWS (this you can google), about which I will share later & just like the Marvel movies, more than the first, the later part of trip was so exciting that I started this sharing first which actually was my last stop! The occasion was wildlife week (which our State celebrates in the first week of October) and on the way back to Nagpur I was supposed to visit this place which is hardly 50 km away from the Tiger capitol. Interestingly this is the nearest sanctuary gate from Nagpur & I had been here some 15 years back. This trip, my purpose was to meet young RFOs’ Ms Archana & Mr Nitin Borkar (And I met Mr Deshmukh IFS, ACF also) for discussing skill development of local youngsters via Credai tie up (plz google) as well donation drive or say Sharing Drive (this sound more respectable from the purview of the receivers) & handing over of recycled good clothes from city people of Pune (courtesy Jungle Belles) to these two RFOs’ which later they will be distributing among local needy people. Such small acts help forest dept to maintain good bonds with the locals which comes handy when something unpleasant happens such as death of cattle or human life because of some wild animal etc! And as I was here, I thought of taking one safari just to explore the place or habitat & so I entered in the noon safari, very tired as travelling three places in four days & waking up every day at 4.30 am, is not something I can do now easily, when I am other side of 55, but I thought to complete the ritual! What happened in the next four hours can be compared with something in a cricket match when the last pair of batsmen (who are usually bowlers) comes to crease & when everybody is expecting the innings to be wrapped in next few minutes, they start hitting fours & sixes, something similar happened!

Won’t stretch your curiosity more, I am referring to Bor wildlife sanctuary & if I was aww-stucked with its landscape, biodiversity then icing on the cake was sightings of tiger, leopard & sloth bear in one go! Agreed in any forest to sight these animals needs lots of luck too but it’s the ease or say comfort of those animals with which they wander in their habitat tell you the richness of biodiversity of the place, which only can be felt & not told, which I experienced in the very first safari at Bor, which is the reason of my sharing! Though it’s a small forest with just two gates & buffers, it's the strategic location makes Bor a very unique & important patch of forest. It’s on North East direction of Tadoba & UKWS, making it a perfect corridor as well stop over place for migrating tigers from above two forests towards Central Indian landscape i.e. Melghat & Satpura! Its spread around Bor dam’s backwater which ensures availability of water throughout the year, which is one of the biggest boons for the forest. The safari track moves mostly around one side of the lake yet there is a lot of wildlife to explore on the hills which surround the entire backwater. One wonderful thing is it has a prominent plantation of teak wood yet the forest is rich with many species of plants, trees, & wild flowers. This year the rain gods are angry with our region yet whatever little rain was there, the forest was blooming with wildflowers & butterflies dancing over them! And the prey base is also very good with many spotted deer & sambhar we can see around, looking curiously at us.

As I mentioned I had been here nearly 15 years back when there was not at all any basic infrastructure (today also, the place is cut off from our so-called development) but thankfully the rawness of the nature is still intact somehow & thanks to forest dept’s some senior officers such as Mr.Sreeniwasa Reddy & others, today Bor WLS has started its journey on wildlife tourism track. I was assisted by a young local boy named Shubham & our driver was Sarang, both were super excited to show us around & they were happy as well thrilled when they knew I had been here when they must be in their junior school! The interesting part was because the forest is pretty dense here, you can’t always rely on deer or sambhar call for sighting but jungle fowl & peacock calls also help a lot, something the bigger forests guides are not used to track. Here we were waiting at a smabhar call on a hilltop, but were unable to see what made the sambhar give an alarm call & decided to leave the spot after waiting & circling the place for a number of times. Yet there were calls of peacock & they were continuous on. There was one more gypsy with us & we decided to scan the place more thoroughly together, with eight pairs of eyes scanning the place keenly. And suddenly there was whistling from the other gypsy they were pointing towards a neem tree which stood alone in a thick grass patch & there was a handsome male leopard sitting quietly on the first V of the branches of the neem tree & scanning us with green eyes! This is why the peacock was giving alarm calls while the sambhar had stopped as the peacock could see it from another tree & we were looking at the ground for the object! It's because only the leopard wagged his tail, which the sharp eyes of other gypsy’s guide saw & called us, this is Bor!

And then happened sighting of a young male tiger Om, which walked in front of us like a true king in making for nearly a kilometres’ distance. Here also, he was lazing in grass & stood up & started swimming in the water adjoining, I immodestly asked my driver to reverse the vehicle & take us up ahead on the road in the direction where the tiger had started swimming, leaving other vehicles clicking photos of the tiger in water. And to my happiness (I patted my own back) the tiger emerged right before our gypsy from the grass along the road which made us reverse for nearly a kilometer, happily! There are very few sights which can beat a young male tiger walking in his own mood towards you, occasionally locking his orange eyes with yours & you can feel the hair on your neck standing under the stare, through the camera lens! He was barely two years plus & if he has such confidence to walk careless among few gypsys’ around, what more wildlife tourism needs to flourish, right? 

Outcome was, keeping away my all tiredness & fatigue, I decided to do morning safari again, just to explore Bor forest in depth. And do mind there is not a decent stay place at Bor (Sorry, there is a MTDC resort here at fantastic location but poorly maintained) so we were staying in Vardha which is nearly 40 minutes’ drive & when we reached hotel by 8 pm past, the manager gave us suspicious look as our clothes & baggage was covered in red clay dust & he asked whether we met any accident or what! Joke was, he didn't have any clue about Bor or such wildlife place exists so near to Vardha & thought we were from some other planet when I told him from where we have come! This is something Bor must work on i.e. making the place known to the outer world, though there are insta pages & things yet a bit more aggressive as environmentalists may think that the tourists are nuisance (sometimes) but they are needed to make the place sustainable & for that we need to have good (read as right) stay places at Bor also!  Next day morning we left for the gate at 4 am, again the hotel staff thought we were really crazy (which we are) & once inside the gate it was a different world. Morning breeze, fragrance of wild flowers, mist floating over the water body of Bor dam & an Osprey sitting on a dried branch of the tree in the water with prized kill of a fish in its claws, again a sight which I will cherish for long! As the drive continued, we came across one gypsy who told us a leopard had just crossed the road & went upstream of a water way & we thought of checking the spot as leopards are tricky characters & follow no fixed route. We went ahead & waited at the stream for the leopard's whereabouts & alarm calls of a peacock rang upstream & as the calls were moving up, we guessed the leopard must be walking up stream only. We turned back & went on the hill from where the stream originated & whoallaa (expression of amazement, lol), there was the ghost sitting right on the road & looking at us. I asked driver to stop right where we are & clicked few shots, for ten long minutes the leopard kept looking at us & when he realized we are not advancing nor are we a threat, he got up & started walking away from us on road & the moment we started the gypsy to follow him, he looked back & vanished in to the thickset of the forest! The driver has learned the lesson, which he will use in future of such sighting as leopards & sloth bears are very cautious animals & whenever you spot any of them best way is shut the engine off & stop & give them their time to be comfortable with your presence as then you can watch them at your leisure, that too is a chance!

With all such learnings & experiences, I headed out of the forest & met Ms.Archana, who is RFO at Bor & working for upbringings of local youngsters also. She later shared the clothes handing over pics to the locals & those happy faces brightened the darkness around, for sure! Guys, what makes some forest great or special is not sighting of tigers or a leopards, as you can get them in any forest; it’s the canvas of the landscape, habitat & stories unfolding on that canvas, is what makes a forest great & sure what I experienced in just two safaris at Bor, it is on way to become great, & with a promise to come back soon, I said adios to Bor WLS...!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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