"Exploring liberates your soul", this seemed much more than a mere statement when I recall my ever dynamic stay in the jungles of debrigarh. so, I intend to take you to Odisha's Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary, not as famous as corbett but a place where I left a part of my soul. Going ahead with the time, we humans who lived in jungles closest to nature, today are equivalently distant from nature. and once in a while experiences like these take us to literally another world. This trip begins when I leave from Jharsuguda for sambalpur where the sanctuary is located. By the way jharsuguda is where my maternal family lives in Odisha. We had our bookings done for the suites available in the cottages right in the middle of this jungle, this being my first ever stay in jungle, I had my excitement level reaching its peak.
The sanctuary is situated near hirakud dam, India's longest dam which is breathtaking in itself. Heading towards the sanctuary, the views of hirakud's backwater were a beauty to behold at. The moment we enter into the sanctuary, it had forest cover both the sides of the way and there we start to see so many monkeys all around and frankly speaking they literally imitated humans. Ahh wait, not to miss the forest ranger's elephant who was there just outside the sanctuary's entrance. The humongous elephant was the cutest creature i could ever see and her name 'Aarti'. We reach the cottages where we had our bookings and my heart was pounding hard, it was an experience i can never forget. The little patch of area had suites, cottages, a dining place and surrounded by deep forest cover all around. It was a sunny afternoon and the fresh catla fishes from the hirakud dam was waiting to be our most sumptuous first meal in the jungle. The dining area had it's view open to the vast hirakud dam's water and hence making the best lunch scenes.
We were supposedly there in the sanctuary to spot it's dievrse flora and fauna, there we started with the first epic spot of the day 'The Asian Paradise Flycatcher', such a magnificent bird having deep blue head, white body and a long shiny tail. Right after the lunch, we come out and could see the 'African Paradise Flycatcher'. All my family members went to their rooms for the afternoon nap and I was out exploring and basically feeling the essence of jungle. The balcony of my room had the vast hirakud's backwater on one side and the deep lush jungle on the other side. Gazing towards the horizon and some amazing creatures seen wandering around, I was also discovering my love for the jungles as it only grew even more profound with the time I spent there.
Around 4:00 PM, all of us left for the jungle safari in our respective cars, lot of excitement with a mix of restlessness that I don't miss any potential animal i could spot. We could see the wild boars, twelve horned deers, Sambars, peacocks and the safari grew much more exciting. There were motion cameras tied to the trees so as to capture any animal movement which apparently captured us too as the car's motion could be detected. so, the day ends we come back and are served with the hot piping pakoras and tea. After the dinner, everyone retires to bed as we had to leave early morning the next day for another safari.
We woke up at 4 in the morning with the hope of exploring even more. There was a moment when the whole tribe of the magnificent Indian bisons was lined up in our way. We stopped to look at them and trust me I find them really beautiful. Another enthralling experience when a peacock flies across our way with its spectacular wings wide open. Now comes the very awaited where we saw a little pond and took the very risk of getting out of our cars amidst the deep jungle to go towards the pond. And surprisingly found a deer's carcass right there which was partially decomposed. We spotted a claw footprint near the water source and could anticipate it to be a tiger's or leopard's footprint. Honestly speaking it was thrilling to see the footprint if not the fiery tiger or leopard. The footprint seemed fresh enough and hence we could easily conclude that the animal is pretty near to us and could surely smell us. Returning back and the last thing on our itinerary was boating in the hirakud.
We came back to our place but my mind was still lingering there. For the first time, Jungle fascinated me to this level where I couldn't resist myself from researching more about it. I actually explored the works of Jim Corbett, who is now my favourite author. The Jungle Lore, The Man-Eaters of Kumaon are my favourite works of him. This trip led me discover this part of me, which holds enormous love for the jungles and its biodiversity. It still gives me the goosebumps when I recall this heavenly experience, the closest experience with the ever dynamic nature.