Panthers of Pali Exploration Series – 5 Explorer : Dwaipayan Ghosh Photographs : Dwaipayan Ghosh Edited by : Anwesha Ghatak 8th July to 10th July 2016
Š All the Information and Photographs published in this report are the properties of Exploring Nature and cannot be used for commercial or research purposes without prior permission of the explorers. Page | 1
"....far more pleasure is got from pressing the button of a camera than is ever got from pressing the trigger of a rifle....in one case the leopard can be watched for hours, and there is no more graceful and interesting animal in the jungle to watch....... in the other case a fleeting glimpse.... the acquisition of the trophy which soon loses both its beauty and its interest" - Jim Corbett, in the Maneating Leopard of Rudraprayag
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Content Page No. Chapter : 1 Filling it up with बाजरी
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Chapter : 2 His Majesty’s Guest
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Chapter : 3 That Spotted Cat
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Chapter : 4 Pug-mark of the Big Male
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Chapter : 5 The Beast in the Dark
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Chapter : 6 Lazy Sunday
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Chapter : 7 On the Way Back
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Annexure – I List of Identified Species
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Annexure – II Explorer’s Profile
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Chapter – 1 : Filling it up with बाजरी “िबष का याला राणाजी भे या….” A traditional Rajasthani music resonated. The girl was singing outside and I woke up. “…पीवत मीरा हाँसी रे । पग घुंघ ं बांध मीरा नाची रे ….” The train was at Marwar Station around 8’o clock in the morning and I realized that I was about to arrive at the land of Meera Bai, the 16th century mystic poet. I availed the train from Jaipur Junction to Jawai Bandh at the wake of dawn. As last night was quite watchful, a lower berth, continuous jerking and the monotonous sound of the archaic Indian rail led me to a profound shut-eye. Then the divine Bhajan awakened me. It takes slightly more than six hours to reach Jawai Bandh from Jaipur by an express train. Govind was waiting there with his car to take me to Thakur Sahib’s Resort. The train reached Jawai Bandh at around 11 am. It was an archetypal modest Indian railway station on single railway track connecting Jaipur and Ahmedabad, the state capitals of two Indian states, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The station is named after Jawai dam in Sumerpur Tehsil of Pali district in Western Rajasthan, the biggest dam of western Rajasthan built by Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur. Till date it is the main source of water for the historical city. I planned to buy some mustard seeds to fill up my shooting bean bag. When I asked Govind to stop the car at a local grocery shop on the way for that purpose, he suggested me to use बाजरी (pearl millet) instead. I was conversing with Govind regarding the present drought situation in the area. Crossing the Jawai dam on the completely dry Bera river during mid of monsoon made me concerned. The car was running on a narrow asphalt road between rocky hills coated with thorny shrubs and grasses. We were chatting about every engaging thing, like the lifestyle of the villagers, agriculture, festivals and last but not the least about The Thakur Sahib, Thakur Devi Singh Ranawat. The car stopped in front of a local grocery shop cum tea stall. Local folks seating on khatiyas asked Govind to have some tea. Govind told me delightfully that the tea there was the best in the village. I handed over my bean bag to the shop keeper to fill it up with pearl mallet and unwound on a khatiya with a glass of smoky tea prepared with cow milk. Though Sweeter than my usual, a cup of tea is always an elixir. It took more than 6kgs of बाजरी to fill the bag completely and a five minutes to finish my glass of tea. We were on our way to Thakur Sahib’s Resort which was fast approaching, just Page | 4
outside of the Bera village. Govind took the bypass to avoid the village crowd and within another five minutes we reached our destination.
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Chapter – 2 : His Majesty’s Guest Peacocks welcomed me with shrilling screams at the entrance. The Leopard Lair Resort is a property of Thakur Devi Singh Ji Ranawat, Thakur Sahib of Bera. Bera was a Jagir of Sisodia Dynasty’s Ranawat Clan of Mewar. After fall of Chittorgarh Fort, Rana Uday Sing II moved to the foothills of Aravalli range, where he had already founded the city of Udaypur. Rana Uday Singh’s son, the Great Maharana Pratap II Singhji granted this Jagir of Bera to his 4th son Kunwar Shekha Ji for his bravery. Rao Shekha Ji never stayed in Bera. His son Thakur Chaturbhuj Singh Ji built the Bera Garh and started inhabiting there. Rao Bahadur Thakur Devi Singh Ji, the present Thakur Sahib of Bera, is to reach Jawai Bandh the great-great-grandson of Thakur Chaturbhuj Singh Ji. I was thrilled to be a guest of the successor of the great Maharana Pratap. Makrand, His Majesty’s personnel, dressed in ethnic Rajasthani outfit, led me to the cottage, “Madira”, one of the three designated cottages. My stay was arranged there as his “ कुम” ordered. Built with rough rubbles and inclined concrete roof, the cottage room was equipped with two cosy beds, basic modern facilities and an attached bathroom with hot and cold shower. The feeble lights in the room, uncannily dark coated roof, and creamy white painted walls, all were in sync to perpetuate an eerie ambiance, which was perfect to create the mood of a “wild” explorer. Due to the thick stone wall, it wasn’t as hot as outside but still needed to switch on the AC machine in early July in western Rajasthan. “Would you like to have some tea?” Makrand asked and I nodded in agreement. The tea came in a royal manner inside a finely finished teapot covered in thick cotton jacket to keep it warm. It was refreshing and I went for a blissful bath after having that regal drink. When Markand told me that “ कुम” will be there at 5pm, I had well enough time to have a nap. After having a simple but delicious Rajasthani vegetarian lunch consisting of Roti, Daal and Sabji, followed by Dahi, I tried to doze off keeping my camera gears ready. I was exhausted, but imagine the excitement of a wildlife enthusiast, who has been travelling in myriad jungles in India, in search for big cats in the last six years and so, now nearing an acquaintance of his most favourite cat, the most favourite animal rather, roaming around human habitats! The anticipation is epic! Encounter with leopards of Aravalli, along with a successor of the once Rulers of Aravalli, was about to occur in just a few hours. I was recollecting the recent news of human-leopard conflicts in western Rajasthan, especially in Jodhpur and Udaipur Districts, flashed in National News Page | 6
Papers and wondering why there was no news of conflict from this particular region. Thakur Sahib might be able to answer these question or might not be. A Jeep Wrangler, famous for off-roading, stood with its bonnet open near the cottage when I came out. Chauffeur cum mechanic dressed in grey safari suite, Natwar Laal, was at work leaning onto its engine. “There is a small problem with the engine oil pipe line”, he uttered. It took five minutes to arrest the leakage with polymer tape. “Is it alright?”, a deep baritone voice surfaced making everyone around all ears. A middle aged man with thick moustache, wearing grey jeans, black hunter shoes, khaki safari jacket and brown hat, appeared. It didn’t need any further introduction. A successor of India’s one of the most famous dynasties was in front of me. I approached “ कुम” to greet him. A man full of vivacity, watching leopards for the last two decades, would be my co passenger in this voyage. Thakur Devi Singh Ji is the man who devoted his life teaching local villagers how to cohabit with the most elusive cat in the world, a hunter turned conservator. “Let’s have a wonderful evening” he ordered and the Jeep started.
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Chapter – 3 : That Spotted Cat The Thakur Sahib had many tales to tell, how leopards were killed by his forefathers and even by him, in his teenage in this region, till WPA was enforced in 1972. Even after that, the practice to tie goats to attract leopards for foreign tourists, continued. There were many a thing to disagree with, but the impact of the sheer presence of His Majesty, was intriguing. Natwar parked the Jeep at Badalda, near the railway track originating from Ajmer stretched till Ahmedabad. “पहािड़य म से कोई भी खाली नह है”, Thakur Sahib declared. There are around 70 wild leopards in this area surrounding Jawai Bandh. The most amazing fact is that; no news of severe human leopard conflict was sited here for decades. There isn’t plenty of kills for leopards there. Leopards mainly live on livestock of nearby villages, but villagers never complain. It seemed to me an exaggeration by the “ruler” of the land, but there must be palpable reasons, that I never heard of any news dreading intense HumanLeopard conflicts from this particular region in recent past. Natwar pointed out a cave and asserted to “ कुम” that the female with her two cubs were sighted near that cave last evening. It was around evening, when the movement was first witnessed behind the bush. In July at 6’o clock, it wasn’t dark yet in western India. We looked through binoculars. Movement of a tawny coat with black rosettes was there within the bush. A Leopard, a wild one, came out and sat on the rocky plain near that cave. The female, at my astonishment, was shortly followed by her two cubs. They were about a kilometre away from us but still I could feel every movement of their muscles. The cubs were playing with their mother. I was numbly jubilant and so was The Thakur Sahib, until they disappeared in the bushes. The sun receded and soon darkness prevailed around half past 7 in the evening and we began our retreat towards our shelter. It was quite a successful evening, as I was a spectator of nature’s one of ferocious and magnificent creatures, leopards out of a protected forest area and in a close proximity to human habitation, for the first time in my life and so was content. Natwar was, still relentlessly trying to spot a male with his searchlight, while driving single handed. It was a gesture to impress his कुम and his guest for some extra tips. Nights in the jungles are metaphorically different from cities and towns. Though Bera wasn’t a jungle, but a prosperous village instead, still the resort was nothing less than a stay in a forest. Dimmed lights in the campus and the gloomy thick vegetation here and there, created a shadowy atmosphere with continuous monotone of beetles. The only thing, lacking, were those of mysterious sounds of the jungle, some of which might be heard only once in a night. After an early dinner, I went to bed. And after a tiring but triumphant day, it took only a few minutes to fall asleep.
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Chapter – 4 : Pug-mark of the Big Male Though the night wasn’t entirely sleepless, but I woke up to the break of false dawn. If an early riser and living in eastern region, one must be familiar with the false dawn. It’s a transient light which precedes the rising of the sun by about an hour. When Makrand offered me the morning tea, I was all set with my cameras. Natwar was also ready with the Jeep Wrangler and as soon as I came to him, he started heading towards the village Pola. When we reached Pola, it was the true dawn and some people were already there in front of a cave with binoculars. They weren’t tourists or tourist guides as I presumed and Natwar validated that. They were village folks looking for a male leopard that crossed the village a few hours ago. “Do they work for local Forest Authority?” I asked Natwar and at my agony, the answer was negative. Then why they were there, I wondered. Some unpleasant thoughts struck. Are they associated with poachers?? I was inquisitive but didn’t find it wise to ask Natwar to ascertain that time as the local people were talking to Natwar in a very friendly manner. Every year, hundreds of leopards are poached in India for its skin, claws and other body parts and trafficked to other parts of the World for muti trade, to make luxurious fashion accessories and for many other uses. I fail to understand why we want to see these wonderful animal dead. To me it’s much more fashionable and refreshing to watch a wild leopard roaming around in its natural habitat. It gives me such an elation that I forget all my anxieties. To see a leopard living in wild is more useful a therapy, for me, than a traditional Chinese medicine made up of its bone, teeth or claws. This is not a scene very familiar in India and not even expected in many other parts of the world. Then why it’s not true for all! I was thinking about all these with a heavy heart, when one of the natives came to me and asked me to come down in Rajasthani accent. I went along with him and after walking some yards, he pointed with the stick in his hand, I found Pug-marks of a leopard. The size of the pugmark was clearly indicating that it was of a huge male. The male visited nearby Pola village last night and attempted a cattle killing which went in vain. Then it killed a stray dog on a street of the village and came towards this direction carrying the carcass. “You must feel petrified living with wild leopards around and suffer unrecoverable loss of your livestock”, I tried to console the villagers as I presumed their anger. But there were more elements of surprise waiting for me. “They live on our livestock and stray dogs and they have every right to live. “We all are children of the nature”, one of them replied. “Yes, sometimes we suffer losses of livestock, but if we report the loss to the local Forest Authority, we get enough compensation on proof”, he explained and others were nodding in agreement. They weren’t complaining about the animal that is responsible for the most human killing across the country for centuries. I went to Sundarbans, where I saw people worshiping tigers as “Dakshinray”. But that was absolutely due to the fear of its man eating nature. But here the story was totally different
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and I found a respect for the most elusive cat of the world. There was no fear factor but an eagerness for co-habitation.
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Chapter – 5 : The Beast in the Dark The morning wasn’t at all fruitful as far as leopard sighting was concerned. Still I returned to the resort with a great feeling. I managed to talk to herd keepers and other inhabitants on my return, about attacks on livestock but never came across a negative attitude towards leopards. And if it was a question of attack on human, they couldn’t even believe that a leopard could kill a human and even live on human flesh. It wasn’t quite familiar with the other part of the country and unthinkable even in many other parts of the world. Every time I talked to them, I found a deep sense of responsibility among villagers. They accepted leopards as a cordial neighbour and not as a demon. Their faith on leopards remained unshaken as there wasn’t a single incidence of man eating for centuries. In the evening, around 5’ O clock, I started for Lilora, a small hamlet, together with Natwar. As we spotted the pug-mark of the big male in Pola in the morning and the animal was assumed to cross the hill and move towards Lilora with its dog kill, we decided to sit there and wait. A stray dog is not a big kill for a full grown male leopard. The pug-mark suggested that it would be about 10 years old. So there was a great deal of expectations that it would again come out for another kill with the setting of sun. Lilora was in between Pola and Badalda and there was a good chance to catch a glimpse of last evening’s mother and her cubs somewhere near, if they would come down from Badalda for a medium kill. In first two hours we didn’t notice any single movement except for a few peafowls, flying. Around 07:00pm, a brief but steady leap near the top of the hill made us attentive. It was about a kilometre away aerially and the big male jumped up on a rock from the bush behind. Staring around, it jumped down from the rock and started walking up to the top of the hill slowly but steadily. It was quiet everywhere and the only audible thing was the sound of opening and closing of my camera shutters. We couldn’t imagine that there would be more surprise for us two. When the male reached at the top, suddenly we saw another one coming from the other side of the hill and it was none other than the mother, followed by its two cubs. The attitude of the big male towards the cubs was certainly evidential that those were his offspring. We underwent a stupendous wild affair, a family get-together of leopards at the top of the hill. By then it was nightfall and Natwar’s searchlight couldn’t help much for my camera to shoot. When in wild, couldn’t expect every special moment to be framed. One can never shoot everything that meets the eyes, but the memories you have, experiences you gather last for long. I was exuberant and satisfied with the memories and experiences that I gained throughout the day. I met with people honouring the Mother Nature and her beautiful creatures, I encountered the most unlikely and rare moment of wild, a leopard family union. I was happily going back towards the resort, with my transporter cum guide, Natwar. After a minute’s drive, Natwar stopped abruptly and focussed his searchlight on a bush. I thought it was like the last evening when he was showing off his eagerness to spot a leopard. But this time Page | 11
he did something odd. The wrangler got offroad, for what it’s famous. Natwar drove it through the most difficult rocky terrain towards a bush, with the glowing searchlight in his one hand. I couldn’t make out his intension. After 15 seconds or so, a pair of blueish glowing eyes were revealed in the bush. A leopard, the female one, came down from the hill with her cubs with a few jumps and tried to cross the road before us. But as Natwar stalked them with his searchlight, they stopped and waited for our Jeep to go. Now I was absolutely convinced with the leopard tracking and driving abilities of Natwar Lal. I was experiencing the vivid descriptions I read in the writings of the Famous Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson. The most elusive cat in the world, the animal considered as demon himself in many parts of the world, the cat, responsible for most of the man eating incidences in India for centuries and the most importantly my most favourite animal was within 5 metres of distance from me in the dark, with all its glory. A Supreme killing machine, a master of ambush as well as a mother, the protector. I had nothing to do but to watch the beast in the dark in admiration. Surprised by the strong searchlight, she took another 5 to 7 seconds to adapt and then slipped in to the nearby thick bushy blackness with her cubs, with a leopard’s pace. I still couldn’t grasp my senses and took some more seconds to fathom. “वह चली गई sir, चिलए चलते ह ” Natwar muttered and started driving the Wrangler back on the dusty village road.
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Chapter – 6 : Lazy Sunday The rest of Saturday night was uneventful, what I experienced earlier were already milestones of my life. Having a good dinner from His Highness’s kitchen I went to bed with a sense of extreme gratification. It was a sound sleep till Makrand knocked the door at quarter to five next morning. I came out with a cup of tea in one hand, cameras in the other and found Natwar there, with his ever smiling face. After finishing up the cup, we commenced our journey into the wild, again. As the female moved to Lilora with her cubs in the last evening, there was ample chance that she returned back to her cave in Badalda before dawn. If cubs were not with her, she might have stayed somewhere near Lilora, but with the cubs, she would never take the risk. So we directly went to Badalda. “There is something,” aiming at, Natwar was already looking through his binoculars. The mother with one of her cubs was sitting lazily under a large rock near the hilltop. It was still cold and they were enjoying the first sunshine of the day. After a while, the other cub joined them and the mother stood up. She started moving up the hill followed by her cubs. They went down to the other side of the hill within 5 minutes. We didn’t want to disturb them anymore. We spent another two and half hours in villages on the laps of the hills, went to greet the old priest on motor driven tricycle, who has been taking care of the temple at Lilora for years. He shared his experiences of sleeping with leopards at nights. But I never found any complaint even. Leopards are neither the God nor the Demon there. Leopards, there are friends, neighbours. Every time I asked about the conflict, they were taken aback. Whenever I talked about a leopard, dragging a fifteen years old girl in the neighbouring district of Udaypur a week ago, they refused to believe me. Yes, leopards sometimes kill their cattle and dogs to live on. It was a relief to know that, some humans in this world still believe that Leopards, like us, have their rights to live, too. “उ ह भी खाने क ज रत है…”
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Chapter – 7 : On the way back My return train to Jaipur was at 4’o Clock in the evening. I started from Bera at quarter past two. While driving me to the Jawai Bandh Railway Station, Laxman Singh, a trusted companion and driver of younger brother of Thakur Sahib, Thakur Baljeet Singh, was talking about Leopards near Jawai Dam. How he accompanied his master in childhood, when they used to hunt leopards and how efficiently he now tracks leopards again for his master to protect them. I was going through a time warp, visualising a Royal family, once famous for hunting and killing tigers and leopards, now turned into conservators, building awareness among local people about nature, wildlife and leopard conservation. The area ruled by tigers fifty years ago, is now a kingdom of Indian leopards. But this big cat might also have vanished from this region like their larger cousin, if people here haven’t been friendly to them. While crossing the Jawai Bandh on my way back, I realized that the conflict can be avoided if we willing. “ फर से आना सािहब!” Laxman bade me goodbye at Jawai Bandh Station. Waiting for the train, I looked towards the dam. I must come back to learn to cohabit.
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Annexure – I : List of Identified Species Sl. Name of Species No. Mammals
Scientific Name
1
Indian Leopard
2 3
Indian Jackal Canis aureus indicus Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii Five Striped Palm Funambulus pennantii Squirrel
4
Panthera pardus fusca
IUCN Status
Photograph
Vulnerable
Least Concern Least Concern
Not Available Not Available
Least Concern
Not Available
Copsychus saularis
Least Concern
Not Available
Birds
Vanellus indicus
Least Concern
Not Available
3 4
Oriental Magpie Robin Red Wattled Lapwing Little Egret Cattle Egret
Egretta garzetta Bubulcus ibis
Least Concern Least Concern
Not Available Not Available
5
Red Vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus cafer
Least Concern
6
Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatus
Least Concern
7 8
Pond Heron Jacobin Cuckoo
Least Concern Least Concern
Not Available Not Available
9
Grey Francolin
Ardeola grayii Clamator jacobinus Francolinus pondicerianus Corvus macrorhynchos Gracupica contra Microcarbo niger Streptopelia decaocto Cinnyris asiaticus Lanius schach Mirafra erythroptera Acridotheres tristis Merops orientalis
Least Concern
Not Available
Least Least Least Least Least Least Least Least Least
Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Not
1 2
10 12 13 14 17 18 21 22 23
Jungle Crow Pied Starling Little Cormorant Collared dove Purple Sunbird Long tailed shrike Indian Bush lark Common Myna Green Beaeater
Concern Concern Concern Concern Concern Concern Concern Concern Concern
Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Page | 15
Sl. No.
Name of Species
11
Brahminy Starling
Sturnia pagodarum
Least Concern
15
Indian Robin
Copsychus fulicatus
Least Concern
16
White vulture
Gyps bengalensis
Critically Endangered
19
Jungle Babblar
Turdoides striata
Least Concern
rumped
Scientific Name
IUCN Status
Photograph
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Sl. No.
Name of Species
Scientific Name
20
Black Drongo
24
Yellow Crowned Leiopicus mahrattensis Woodpecker
Reptiles Oriental 1 Lizard
garden
Dicrurus macrocercus
Calotes versicolor
IUCN Status
Photograph
Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern
Not Available
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Annexure – II : Explorers Profile Dwaipayan Ghosh, Founder Member of Exploring Nature. •
Born in Kolkata on 27th September, 1978 and currently based out of Jharkhand.
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An Electrical Engineer by profession and holds B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from 2004 batch of University of Kalyani.
•
Has been working for Construction, Renovation & Modernisation of EHV Electrical Sub-Stations for last twelve years across India.
•
Worked for ALSTOM T&D India Limited (Systems Business); Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (Electrical Contract Division); and Utility Powertech Ltd. (A Joint Venture Of Reliance Energy Ltd. & NTPC) etc. Currently working as Manager – Execution in Genus Power Infrastructure Limited (ECC Division).
• Holds Certificates in Nature and Wildlife from Wildlife Campus, South Africa (Affiliated to Field Guides Association of South Africa) on Wildlife Management; Anti-Poaching; Animals Tracks & Signs; Trails Guiding; Birding by Habitat; Snakes & Reptiles of Lowveld and Digital Wildlife Photography. • Participated in about 21 biodiversity expeditions, which include Jawai Dam and its surroundings; Tiger Reserves of Satpura, Pench and Kanha (Madhya Pradesh); Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary (Karnataka); Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka); Bandipur National Park (Karnataka); Eravikulam National Park (Kerala) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala); Kaziranga National Park (Assam); Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (Assam); Clouded Leopard National Park/Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura); Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura); Bandhabgarh National Park (Madhya Pradesh); Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra); Sundarban Tiger Reserve (West Bengal); Gorumara National Park (West Bengal); Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal); Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal); Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh); Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park (Telangana) – for Butterfly Photography; Gir National Park (Gujrat); Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujrat); and Urban and Sub- Urban Bird Photography in West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh etc.
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