Sahyadrica

This article contains material written on trips made in the months of February to May. However, the events are not represented in a chronological order, but as per the flow of the article. May 26. No one – man or woman – feels an angel when the hot weather is approaching . This year when we were enjoying the coldest February (8 degrees C), the temperatures abruptly rose to 39C on the 27 th of the same month. Such heat-waves are rather infamous in this coastal city, though, and are never welcomed. Yet if you wander away from the urban desert – concreted and paved, harsh on the eyes, burning your soles, and ideal for heat-strokes, you will find the summer angel that Rudyard Kipling only briefly mentioned in the classic Plain Tales from the Hills. I went in search of the angel this summer, and found that she really dwells everywhere in the subtleties of life. If you‘ve ever felt the calm and coolness provided by a tree in the corner of the street, or felt an ethereal breath...

The avatar worn by Sahyadri right now is that of the most intimidating kind. She stands tall for all to see, but she’s quite unseen in the glare of the summer sun. Her summer cloak is but one of her finest looks, powerful and hard to comprehend. Only her true residents, the tribal communities, with their rich indigenous knowledge, can live the summer wrath. Her monsoon avatar is completely the opposite. The Sahyadri lets her traces be followed by trekkers, naturalists and photographers. It has been eight months since the last monsoon. Her magic still enchants us, and we yearn to return until the big spell of monsoon relives the parched landscape. Yet Sahyadri is not completely out of bounds during the scorching summer. In fact, my search for the summer angel that Rudyard Kipling said “no one can feel” turned partly successful. I will write about it next month in the first monsoon showers. Today, I am glad to say that I have compiled the last monsoon’s sightings into one...