A plan to visit the southern States of the country had been on the anvil for a while but with a toddler who is fascinated with animals, a recommendation to visit the jungle lodge beside the Kabini river in Karnataka got preference over others. We were expecting to spend our time taking in the flora and fauna of the region, but staying at this State-owned jungle resort made us environmentally conscious as travellers — an added takeaway.
With Shimla drying up and Goa becoming dirtier and crowded by the minute, Indian tourists have become a threat to the ecosystem. While we were aware of the waste we create when we travel, this trip helped us gain perspective on how we can preserve too.
The Kabini River Lodge is the oldest property of Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR). As soon as we arrived, we were told of some non-negotiable rules — no partying or loud music, no littering, and adhering to safari timings. That meant early nights and super-early mornings. Also, we were told silence was golden in the heart of the jungle.
It was a long weekend, so we managed to get beds only in their dormitory. A huge space dimly lit by LED, it had beds with linen. There were jugs on the bedside tables that were filled only on request. The austere ways of the place became clearer as we had our meals at Gol Ghar, the resort’s restaurant. No plastic used anywhere — only steel utensils were available and the water was from a purifier, cutting the need for PET bottles altogether.
Our naturalist, Afsar, patiently outlined the dos and don’ts for the safaris, both at Kabini and inNagarhole National Park; we were also asked to wear clothes in whites, greys or browns. Phones and camera gear that use flash were discouraged. Importantly, we were encouraged to enjoy the forest as a whole and not be obsessed with the tiger.
We spotted close to 70 elephants and several bird species such as the cormorant, osprey and brahminy kite during a boat safari. The jeep safari the next morning gifted us sightings of the raucous Malabar flying squirrel, the playful dhole (wild dog), bonnet macaque, grey langur along with sambar and spotted deer.
History over wine
We had expected a plethora of wildlife sightings to be the high point of our travel, but the lodge ensured a packed and enlightening itinerary — late evenings found us discussing wildlife conservation after the screening of a documentary on Project Tiger at the pretty Col Wakefield Bar (named after one of the founders of JLR). Over some wine, the history of this quaint, well-preserved place came to the fore. Gundu Rao, the then tourism minister of Karnataka had visited Nepal for a conference in 1978, and was put up at Tiger Tops wildlife resort in Chitwan National Park. It was there that an idea emerged; the forests of Nagarhole were as rich. Rao wrote to Tiger Tops on his return and, in 1980, the Karnataka government and Tiger Tops founded JLR.
They chose a patch of reserve forest that had once been the Mysore Maharaja’s base for hunting. Two old buildings were already in place — the century-old Maharajah Bungalow and the Viceroy Lodge. Two more buildings were constructed and, in 1984, Kabini River Lodge was put on the map. However, following large-scale cancellations in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the ensuing turmoil, Tiger Tops pulled out from the undertaking. JLR became a fully government-owned unit, with senior officers of the Indian Forest Service in charge.
Responsible tourism
As our three-year-old scampered around the resort, chasing bulbous red ants or waving at monkeys, we too got the chance to be kids again. A coracle ride across the Kabini with grey-haired Shivanna, who regaled us with tales of panthers coming out in the rains, was all the thrill-seeker in us could ask for. Later in the day, we got to learn of the huge efforts made by the resort to preserve the ecosystem. On one end of the property was a vermicomposting pit, where vegetable waste got reused, while in another part, dry leaves from the forest was collected to be converted into humus. All plastic, paper, metal, glass, tetrapaks, egg-shells, e-waste and napkins go to a segregation unit for recycling. A waste-water treatment system took care of the wet waste generated in the toilets, kitchen and dining areas. We were encouraged to understand the utility of insects and other organisms in converting organic matter into soil.
We hadn’t expected to find beautiful brown ornate dustbins every few metres but turns out they too were a deliberate attempt by JLR to advocate no littering. By the end of our stay, it was an education we needed to appreciate nature’s bounty. We headed back to Bengaluru with a head full of ideas on how to travel green and clean next time, every time.
Runa Mukherjee Parikh is an independent journalist and author