My Darling father took me for long walks during the vacations to SGNP every vacation mornings. He actually did go there everyday. Yes! Lucky me, we lived across this park. But as a child I clearly remember wondering "how come he doesn't get bored of walking the same mundane path, every morning". When I took those summer walk, I would have countless questions and he Din't Answer them EVER! "grr >:-( !"....but he did tell me something that I din't understand until a decade ago.....he said, "WALK QUIETLY, THE BIRDS WILL TELL YOU ALL THE ANSWER, HEAR THEM KEENLY"....boo hooo :-| ! So the little restless me did give up those summer walk feeling dejected :-(
Life moved On....and 2 decades later I feel this strong urge to conserve nature, I found my guild and initiated load of project on environment education :o). Few yrs later I found myself travelling all around INDIA with a a new-found hobby of "Bird-watching". Maybe I am seeking those answers even today. But I have surely found my religion and its Nature. This discovery itself is immensely satisfying and empowering. Is there more to find.... i still wonder and i continue my walks now with my father and son.
The above shot was taken on my Son's 7th birthday. I take him to SGNP at every opportunity possible. He's super curious boy of mine, and do I answer his questions....NOPE!
A nature loving and green teacher that I am. I love to take my the nephew's and nieces coming over for summer vacation to a beautiful trek to SGNP. Its also one of the trips that kids of my family "Lovingly Demand" from me, and I undoubtedly oblige.
So excitedly, I packed badminton rackets/ football/ Frisbee. Home made food in recyclable container/ fruits and green habits reinforced on the way to SGNP for a morning full of fun...just the right kind for raising environmental sensitive children, one would think.
Twenty footsteps up the Tekri, the kids who were racing ahead came running back, overjoyed at the "cinematic arrangement and presence of a shooting crew"....yes, just like many of us who love the idea of getting to experience a Bollywood shoot in action...the kids and I were ecstatic. We hurried our footsteps to be able to catch the glimpse of the "stars, if any around".
So I decide to measure this...
so to hold on the cinematic effect the crew wld have added more 2.5 kg more every hour.......the thought itself is so very suffocating,
With all this thoughts surging in my head, I continued to smile and enjoy with the kids at the Mango my son found on the forest floor, at the delight the water lilies, fishes and frog tadpoles found in the water body at Gandhi Tekri. I wanted to tell them I was upset, but I chose to hide my tears. If this was not all, even more painful was that the kids spend much less time at the Tekri as the wanted to go back to shooting site and enjoy the artificial world that the relate to more than the natural world......a very wrong connection got established, just what I din't want for the young minds.
My nieces recognized the star lady, Ms Shweta Tiwari, she was surely beautiful and the girls did get enchanted. They have went home with a memory of meeting her along with a photograph of them with the beauty. I chose to do it their way, they were my guest. The hopped back home elated of having met her, they drooled about her over the phone to their parents, forgotten to mention the lilles, mango, machan and all the other fun we had. I got credits from their parents for how happy the girls have come home meeting the Tinseltown star, the photo which is now a prized possession, ............AWW that was truly & deeply painful!
with the presence of SGNP...the breathing lungs of our Mumbai City. Its 
