The Project Gutenberg eBook ofFree from SchoolThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.*** This is a COPYRIGHTED Project Gutenberg eBook. Details Below. ****** Please follow the copyright guidelines in this file. ***Title: Free from SchoolAuthor: Rahul AlvaresRelease date: January 1, 2004 [eBook #10347]Most recently updated: December 19, 2020Language: English*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FREE FROM SCHOOL ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
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*** Please follow the copyright guidelines in this file. ***
Title: Free from SchoolAuthor: Rahul AlvaresRelease date: January 1, 2004 [eBook #10347]Most recently updated: December 19, 2020Language: English
Title: Free from School
Author: Rahul Alvares
Author: Rahul Alvares
Release date: January 1, 2004 [eBook #10347]Most recently updated: December 19, 2020
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FREE FROM SCHOOL ***
Free From School
Rahul Alvares 22nd August 2003
It's not every day that a 16 year old writes a book. In fact, girls and boys of that age are supposed to spend their time studying what other people write. It is presumed that at that age they do not themselves have anything significant or interesting to say. And the education system guarantees just that. The best rewards go to those who can parrot set answers to set questions in examination halls. Those who try to use their imagination or reply differently are often punished with low grades.
Rahul Alvares did not set out to write a book. Under the encouragement of his parents, he consciously set out to try his hand at learning things outside the school framework and you might say as a result, Free From School actually came looking for him! After his SSC, unlike his other classmates, he opted out of schooling to follow his instincts: fond of reptiles, he chased them up at the Pune Snake Park and at the Crocodile Bank at Mamallapuram. In the process, he also picked up trails of spiders, earthworms and turtles. He caught snakes in the company of Irula tribals. He got bitten by hot-tempered reptiles. He came out of it all grinning and wiser. 'Free From School' is his story of a year out of school, when the learning graph of his young life went up leaps and bounds. He wrote it to encourage other boys and girls his age to move out of the sterile school and college environment offered by India's antiquarian educational system, if they wish to experience another side to life and learning. He lost nothing but gained a lot. So did his parents. When you read his story, so will you.
This book has been originally published by the Other India Press, Mapusa, Goa. Copies of the print version are available from oib@sancharnet.in or The Other India Press, Above Mapusa Clinic, Mapusa 403507 Gao. Tel. 0091.832.2263306
Copyright (c) 2003 Rahul Alvares
Permission is granted to copy of distribute this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. The author however requests anyone downloading this book to make a donation (recommendation $2 or Rs 50) to a group working for the cause of wildlife, particularly in Goa. If you would like to know of Rahul Alvares' preferences on which group could be supported, contact him at can@sancharnet.in.
You must try to understand that when I finished school I was as raw as raw could be. I had never travelled anywhere on my own, never purchased a train ticket, since like most kids my age I had only travelled with my parents or relatives and they made all the decisions. I had no experience of how to handle money (my knowledge being limited to spending the 50 paise or one rupee I would receive as pocket money now and then).
So while I had set my sights on travelling far and wide my parents wisely thought that I should begin by learning to manage on my own within Goa itself. It was also the rainy season and travelling around the country would be much more difficult they explained.
So I started out by helping at an aquarium shop in Mapusa, the town nearest my village. The proprietor of the shop is Ashok D'Cruz, a college friend of my father's. I must tell you about Ashok. He is no ordinary businessman: keeping fish is a passion with him. He is far more interested in chatting with his customers about fish than making money selling them. I have never seen him forcing any of his customers to buy from his stock of aquarium fish.
In fact, it was Ashok who introduced me to the amazing world of aquarium fish way back when I was just nine and studying in Class V. Under his guidance then, I experimented with breeding guppies, platties and mollies, fairly simple types of fish to breed. However, it was a matter of great excitement for me at that time to be successful in my experiments and Ashok was generous enough to even buy back from me the baby fish I reared just to encourage me. Later I developed sufficient confidence to experiment with and breed more difficult types of fish, like Siamese Fighting Fish and Blue Guramies-all under the expert tutelage of Ashok.
So it was to Ashok's shop that I went every morning at 9.00 a.m., speeding on my bicycle to be on time. I would stay there until lunch time, a regular hands on, doing whatever I was asked to do.
Ashok's shop is not very large. It is a two-roomed shop on the ground floor of the Gomes Catao complex. It has a display section in front and a store room at the back. The showroom has about twenty fish tanks on display with a variety of fish that Ashok purchases mainly from Mumbai. Each tank stores a particular species of fish. Ashok's shop is located away from the main market area so he does not have the advantage of casual customers dropping by. However Ashok has his regular customers and there are always at least twenty to thirty customers daily.
During my first few days at his shop, my work was only to watch the tanks, clean those which were dirty, remove the dead fish and do some other small jobs. I also fed the fish and treated the wounded and diseased fish. Sometimes, I also attended to customers. Gradually, I began to accompany Ashok on his rounds to various places.
A gentleman in Moira wanted to set up an aquarium at his home. He had a tank. He also had definite ideas about how he wanted it to finally look and Ashok was called to see how it could all be done. The man sent his car for us. At his house we discussed the location of the tank, lighting arrangements, the water filters, the kind and quantity of fish he would like to have, and maintenance. After we were fully satisfied that we had everything right and had noted down his requirements, we returned to Mapusa. Later he came for the material which we kept ready for him.
Another time I accompanied Ashok to a client's office to put a pair of Dwarf Guramies in the fish tank and to fix a picture as a backdrop for the tank. On such visits I watched care fully what Ashok did and soon enough Ashok started sending me on my own to visit some of his clients who had small or simple problems.
I went to clients to fix aquarium equipment such as air pumps and filters, to fix toys in the tanks, to check fish for diseases or if there was a sudden crisis such as fish dying in numbers, or if a client wished to add more fish to his collection. I was sent to collect overdue payments or simply to enquire the aquariums were doing. Sometimes I went on my own to visit some of the places where we had set up tanks and enjoyed watching the fish swimming happily in their new homes.
One day my employer decided to send me as a spy to find out the prices of fish and fish food at a competitive fish shop. I tried to behave like a casual customer and walked coolly into the competitor's shop and gradually began to ask the prices of fish and fish food. After I had found out what was needed I bought a pair of cheap Black Mollies from his shop just to show him that I was a genuine customer. From the information I got, we found Ashok's to be comparatively cheaper than the competitor.
During this period I improved my knowledge about aquarium fish tremendously. This was mainly due to two things. Firstly, I had spent a lot of time observing the fish at Ashok's shop and getting practical experience from the places we visited. Secondly, I had been reading the fish books that my father bought for me as a gift for getting a distinction in my SSC exam. The books were quite expensive but well worth the cost. Being able to get theoretical knowledge and practical experience at the same time gave me a lot of confidence with regard to aquarium fish.
One of the important highlights of my experience at Ashok's was learning to make fish tanks. Ashok told me that since we were going through a slack period, he would teach me how to make fish tanks. I had to start from basics which meant purchasing glass for six tanks, having the glass pieces cut to specifications and then having the pieces delivered at the shop without a scratch.
I had accompanied Ashok on several occasions earlier to the glass shop and watched as he ordered glass explaining his requirements, or having a piece re-cut because it was done wrongly. In fact, I had been sent often to the glass shop for small purchases so I was fairly familiar with the owner and the procedures. Ashok had even taught me how to calculate the price of glass. Still it was a new experience for me when Ashok handed me some money and gave me general directions on what to do and I was on my own.
I managed to purchase the glass and also to get it cut to size. So far, so good. Now came the difficult part of transporting the glass pieces to the shop. I wondered whether I should get a rickshaw for the purpose but was a little hesitant since I hadn't checked what it would cost for the trip, short though it would be. While I was trying to make up my mind by testing the package for its weight, the shopkeeper assured me that I would be able to handcarry the glass to Ashok's shop, which is what I finally did.
I started out. In the beginning, it was no problem. However, the package grew heavier and heavier as I trudged up the road to Ashok's shop with rickshaws, taxis and motorcycles honking away on all sides. Even before I reached my destination I doubted the wisdom of my actions for I was tired and my arms ached but I dared not put down the glass simply because it was glass. When I finally reached the shop I heaved a sigh of relief that the glass was intact. Ashok was horrified at my decision and understandably very angry too for as he explained to me should I have had an accident on the way the consequences would have been disastrous and he was after all responsible for me! I truly learnt an important lesson that day.
Learning to make an aquarium tank is great fun. One has to first plan the size of the tank. For this one must first decide on the length of the tank. After that, the height and the breadth are to be proportionately calculated. The sides of the glass are held together with silicone, which is a glue, and which feels like rubber when it hardens. Silicone does not dissolve in water. The tricky part is being able to apply the silicone only to the edges of the glass and not letting your sticky fingers touch any other portions of the glass. Otherwise, the glass will look dirty, for the silicone marks will stay like a fingerprint on the glass forever. After the tank is resealed on the inside with silicone (to give double protection), it is left for a day to dry. The next day it is tested by filling with water and if all is well the tank is ready for sale and can be delivered to the customer.
After I was taught how to do the first tank, I started helping with the rest. I recall how once by mistake I stuck the glass upside down. "There's something fishy about the looks of this tank," said Ashok. When he realized what my mistake was, he very nearly put me into the tank!
My first opportunity at testing my skills at finding out the reasons for "fish dying in an aquarium" (the most common complaint from customers) came when the manager of Hotel Osborne in Calangute asked Ashok to come and examine their aquarium on the hotel premises. The fish were dying, he said. The owner of the hotel was a very good customer of Ashok's and so Ashok was keen to solve the problem. However as he could not go himself that day and did not wish to delay matters, he decided to send me instead. He gave me the manager's visiting card, directions to the hotel, some fish medicines and a pump to install in place of the old one which was defective and I was on my own. I was proud and happy that Ashok felt confident to entrust me with such an important job.
I left in the evening for the hotel. I found it with no problem at all. It was a large hotel with lovely lawns and a swimming pool. I walked into the hotel proudly, with my head held high, and tried to act as if I were a very experienced fish doctor. I went and met the manager. He told me which fish had died. I searched for symptoms of disease but found none. I then realised that the problem was very simple and one that is very common: a case of overfeeding. Fish require food in proportion to their size but often people put more food than necessary into the tank. The extra food makes the water cloudy and polluted and this causes the fish to die.
I cleaned the tanks, replaced the pump, checked the filters and showed the hotel staff how to feed the fish. I even managed to do some sales work by selling them some fish medicines which they could keep as standby and made a bill for them on the bill book that Ashok had given me. They seemed satisfied with my work and made me a cup of tea, which I didn't drink because I don't drink tea. After I had finished I couldn't wait to tell Ashok about my experience.
During this period, I took the opportunity once to visit fish shops in Panjim which I had heard about but had not yet seen. The occasion came when my 3-gear cycle broke down and I needed to go to Panjim to get spares. I tried to persuade my mother to get them for me from Panjim since she went there often. She refused, saying that I should learn to do things on my own. That's when I thought of making a whole-day trip to Panjim to buy the spares, visit fish shops and also make a few purchases for Ashok.
The next day, I accompanied my mum to Panjim where she showed me a few essential places and then left me on my own. I was a bit nervous but was determined to manage somehow. I first went to the Kamat restaurant to eat as I was hungry. I was amazed at how much it cost me to fill my stomach outside home! After that, I searched for a shop from where I could purchase silicone (Ashok's errand). After a lot of asking around I found the place. Then I looked for the cycle shop, found it quickly enough but discovered that the item I wanted was out of stock and would be available only the next week.
I was then free to visit the two fish shops I had in mind: "Bislin" and "Something Fishy". Bislin was well stocked and had many types of exotic fish but I found it very expensive. I chatted with the people who ran the shop (it is a family business). They also kept birds for sale. After watching the fish for sometime I decided to go to Something Fishy which was just around the corner. At Something Fishy, I was disappointed at first sight to see very few fish. The shop assistant told me that as they were expecting fish the following weekend almost all their tanks were empty. But what I saw remaining in the display tank amazed me. I saw man-eating piranhas with my own eyes for the first time in my life! However, the piranhas were quite timid and shy. Apparently, it is only when they are kept hungry that they become ferocious meat-eaters. Something Fishy also had exotic fish called Black Ghost which sold at Rs.3000 a pair!
Apart from learning about fish at Ashok's shop I gained a lot of other valuable experience.
I had never done banking before. But one day Ashok casually asked me if I would go to his bank to withdraw some money. I didn't feel like telling him that I had no idea of how to go about doing this. Instead I asked for directions to the bank and set out. Somehow I figured my way around and got the job done. I was sent many times after that to the bank to deposit and withdraw money.
Although I had all the time in the world at my disposal I found it was not the easiest thing for me to effectively manage my time. Several times I would be speeding away on my bicycle to Ashok's shop because I had woken up late that morning. Or I had to push my lunch hour till later because I had not completed all my tasks for the day. It was an experience learning to plan my day properly and I would feel quite pleased with myself when I got things right on my own.
I also gained a lot of valuable insights into my own hobbies and interests since for the first time in my life I was on my own and free to make decisions or experiment with ideas I thought worthwhile.
I discovered that I have a great passion for reading books. I used to go every morning to the library, on my way to Ashok's shop, and pick up something to read during my free time. My favourite books were the Hardy Boys and I finished practically the entire series while I was at Ashok's. I also enjoyed comics like Tintin and Phantom.
Evenings, after I had finished with Ashok's shop, I would listen to the FM radio music programmes. Like any other teenager, I like fast and loud music. Fortunately, my aunt Allison visiting us from Canada gave me a walkman which enabled me to play my music without disturbing the others. I thought about starting to learn the guitar but my parents advised against starting guitar lessons immediately as I had plans to travel out of Goa in the coming months. Letter writing is not one of my favourite things. However, I was forced to reply to the people who sent me letters and cash prizes, congratulating me on my examination results. I was overjoyed to receive prompt replies from several of my relatives and friends commending me on my choice of a year's sabbatical. I also realised that you only get letters when you write to people. However, I still don't enjoy letter-writing.
On Sundays, I used to do a few odd jobs to earn some pocket money. Like washing the car for which I used to get five rupees from my dad. I was also the main errand boy at home and I did all kinds of jobs like paying the electricity bills, buying the rations and so on.
All in all, working at Ashok's was a good beginning.
Field Work Notes:Now Julie Has a Fish Tank
Juliet and Peter D'Souza are college friends of my parents. They live at Calangute. Peter is a criminal lawyer and Juliet is a school teacher. Our families occasionally go on outings together. On one of these picnics during my SSC year Juliet discovering my interest in aquarium fish promptly tried to get me to assist her in setting up an aquarium in their home.
Actually they did have a fish tank earlier but the bottom glass had cracked and Juliet had given it to Ashok for repairs. And there it remained, in Ashok's shop, with nobody attending to it. Juliet had reminded me on several occasions about the tank but there was little I could do other than pass on her reminders to Ashok. When I started working with Ashok I quickly took the opportunity of keeping my promise to her.
The first problem was to find the tank. I began searching for it in the storeroom of Ashok's shop. I found it right at the bottom of all the other big tanks. I was relieved to see it still in one piece. Ashok and I then removed the broken bottom glass. We took the measurements and bought new glass from the glass shop. After fixing the tank, I went to Peter's office and told him to pick it up and take it home whenever he could.
Peter came by and took it home the next evening. A few days later I cycled down to their house to set it up. Once there I realized that Juliet did not have any material for placing in the tank except a little gravel which was not enough to cover even the base of the tank. I explained to her all the essential items needed and she gave me a freehand to purchase material and decorations for the tank. On my next visit, I took a few kilos of gravel, a pump, plastic plants, fish medicine, the undergravel filter, some pipeline, a few regulators, T-joints and a fishnet. I also took four types of aquarium toys and two shells for her to choose from.
I started off with washing the gravel, then fixed the under-gravel filter. I next poured gravel over the filter, and placed the decorations of shells and toys on top. Then the tap and filters were joined to the air pump. All this while I was watched intently by Angelann and Miriam, Juliet's two young daughters, who kept offering opinions or help here and there. After about two hours, everything was ready. Only the fish and aquatic plants remained to be put in the aquarium. The task of selecting the fish for the tank was not part of my assignment as Julie said that she would buy the fish from a fish shop in Candolim. However, as she doubted whether live plants were sold in Candolim, she asked me to send her the plants through Peter. She also told me to prepare a bill for her which I was to hand over to Peter. All this I did within the next two days.
A week later, I had to visit Peter and Julie's place to deliver a note to Peter from my dad. I was keen to see the fish she had bought and how they were doing in the new home I had made for them. As a present I decided to take five pairs of guppies from my garden tank. Imagine my shock when I found that the tank was just as I had left it, with no fish at all to inhabit the lovely quarters. I was glad I had brought along the guppies and these became the first lot of fish to inhabit the tank. I also fixed the light and the regulators and set the plants properly.
Juliet's little daughters crowded round me as I stood back to admire the now complete aquarium: fish swimming happily with newly installed plants and air filters bubbling away in a corner. Juliet soon joined us and thanked me warmly and to my utter surprise slipped a 50 rupee note into my pocket. I protested that she should not pay me for this as I was having great fun but she insisted that I take the money and this became my first earning.
In similar fashion I set up fish tanks for a few other family friends. Besides having a lot of fun and gaining valuable experience, I also earned pocket money! Avdoot and Rekha Munj in Mapusa have a lovely big tank which I helped set up for their daughter; Alvito and Celine Santiago from Parra also had an empty fish tank which they wanted to put back in use and I organised the fish for them too.
There was also the large fish tank in the office of the Principal of my school (St. Anthony's at Monte Guirim), which I had maintained during my school days. I continued to keep watch over it through my younger brother Milind, who, like me, is also a fish fan.
One of my plans for the rainy season was to go to RUSTIC Farm which is in Thanem, a small village near Valpoi in the remote north-eastern district of Sattari, so that I could gain some experience in farming. RUSTIC Farm holds a special attraction for me because I was born when my parents lived on this farm and we stayed there till I was three years old. Although I have no real recollection of that period, we have many photographs of my baby days on the farm and many stories that my parents tell us of those times. We still visit the place at least once a year and also maintain contact with several of the villagers who worked then on the farm. Yesu, our domestic help for the past 16 years comes from that area. In 1985 RUSTIC Farm was sold to the present owners Shyam and Ujwala Achrekar. I had intended to stay with them for a month and learn about farming first-hand. Unfortunately due to some personal difficulties they could not have me visit them. It is one of the few regrets I had during my one-year sabbatical. As things worked out, however, I was able to learn a few basics about farming in my own village at Parra.
My neighbours, the Kandolkars, are a peasant family and during the rains they take to farming their own fields. They also do ploughing work for others. Guru, the eldest son, has a fine pair of bullocks for the purpose. It so happened that Guru was doing some masonry work at our house and I was chatting with him about my sabbatical when he casually asked me whether I would like to come ploughing with him. I jumped at the offer even as he seemed a bit surprised that I had so readily agreed. Next morning I was woken up early and we set out for the fields which are quite close to our homes.
Holding the plough may appear a simple task but believe me it is not so and calls for quite a lot of skill and stamina. The trick is to keep the plough in the centre and avoid cutting the hoofs of the animals at the same time. One needs to put the right amount of pressure on the handle as the plough should neither be too deep nor too shallow in the soil. Also one has to constantly keep one's eye on the bullocks to direct them to turn around at the end of the field and to lift the plough when it reaches a bund. Lastly (and this is most important) the bullocks must recognise you or else they won't take orders from you.
The bullocks knew Guru very well but I was a stranger so Guru made me keep shouting cries of "heeree heeree" which is how they get the animals to move-so that they would at least begin to recognise my voice. Although I went ploughing with Guru for several days in a row, he never let me plough on my own because getting the right balance was still very difficult for me and if any of the bullocks got hurt due to my inexperience he would have to give the animal at least 15 days' rest which would cost him heavily in earnings.
After the ploughing is done the ground has to be levelled for seeding. This is also done by the bullocks who drag a wooden piece shaped like a broad fork across the field. This I was allowed to do on my own and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was like having a nice ride, standing on the wooden leveller while the bullocks went up and down the field.
I also tried my hand at spraying seeds and later fertilizer, on the fields. Sometimes I did a bit of weeding, to while away the time in-between ploughing. On some days when we were ploughing it used to rain heavily and I enjoyed working in the rain with all the other farmers. After ploughing we would be treated to hot tea and bread or pao baji by the owner of the field.
I recall how surprised the owners of the fields we had ploughed would be on seeing me sitting with the other workers-dirty with mud like them-because naturally, they recognised me, since I am from the same village. One lady, in fact, thought I was playing truant. She told me she was going to inform my mother where I was that Sunday morning. She thought that I ought to have been in church attending Mass instead.
The field work was a good experience and one which I cherish. I helped Guru plough about half a dozen fields and even now when the rainy season approaches I remember that experience with warmth and pleasure.
The rainy season brings out the average Goan's passion ate love for plants and some of this fervour and enthusiasm finds its way into plant exhibitions and plant festivals. I would like to recount my experiences with two of them-at Saligao and at Siolim-two villages close to where I live. At the first I was a mere spectator but played a more active role in the second.
Saligao Sunday, the 1st of July, was an unusually bright day for the normally dull, wet, cloudy rainy season. I was looking forward to going to Saligao to see an exhibition of plants and was glad for the dry weather as I pedalled the 20 minutes it took to reach Lourdes Convent, the well known school in the village where the exhibition was being held. I reached around 10.30 in the morning. The exhibition had already been inaugurated and the place was crowded with people all trying to enter the main hall where the exhibits were kept. I too did likewise.
The main exhibition hall was quite big and the plants were exhibited in pots in the centre of the hall. Many of the plants were for sale. They had been brought there by different people and most of the pots had the names of their owners on them. The cacti were grouped together on a table on one side of the hall and the prize winning exhibits of the flower arrangement competition on another. I noticed that the first prize had been given to a flower arrangement done inside a painted scooter tyre. I thought this a really unusual idea. The two most attractive and unusual cacti were ones on exhibit: while one had a thin green base and a bright red lumpy top the other was like a cotton puff.
Besides the plants in the hall some classrooms alongside were also occupied with plants and other items for sale. There were food plants like coriander and coconut seedlings, ornamental plants such as money plants, creepers, and indoor decorative plants. There were also garden implements including spraying tools, cutters, flowerpots, seed packets and organic manures.
At eleven o'clock there was an announcement that there would be a talk given by Mr Francis Borges, the topic being `Organic Farming'. Francis Borges is a college lecturer but is better known for his experience and knowledge of plants. He practises organic farming and has a nursery called Apurbai. He used to write a weekly column in a Goan paper the "Weekender". My dad had already told me about him so I was eager to hear what he had to say.
His talk dealt with the consequences of using chemicals (pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers) which he said was a recent happening in the world. He stressed the need to return to organic farming which he said was the only sensible way of farming. He also spoke about the role of earthworms as friends of the farmer.
Many questions followed. Most of these dealt with problems people faced while gardening at home. Mr Borges in his reply offered practical solutions which he himself had tried out successfully. For example, to the query, "Why does a papaya plant die after flowering?" he suggested building a bund round the base of the plant because water collecting there rots the papaya base stem. In this connection he also spoke of a medicine which he and his colleagues had invented to drastically reduce the diseases which attack papaya. He markets this as "Papaya Cure". By around noon the talk ended and I left for home.
Siolim The plant exhibition at Saligao had given me an idea of what to expect at the next plant festival I attended, which was at Siolim. Here I took an active part thanks to the invitation I received from Alexyz, the well known Goan cartoonist, who was in charge of the Siolim Plant Festival called "Green Heritage". Green Heritage was started by Alexyz and his friends a few years ago and it has proved to be an enormous success with people eagerly awaiting the event each year.
I woke up early on the morning of August 11th, 1995 and pedalled away to Siolim, which is a picturesque village across the hill from Parra. I found myself sitting at Alexyz's doorstep much earlier than expected. Alexyz and his wife Tecla arrived home in time for lunch. After lunch, I hopped on the back of Alexyz's Kinetic Honda and we set off to visit the homes of all those participating in the exhibition, informing them to keep their exhibits ready for us to collect the next day.
I woke up on the 12th morning to the sound of Alexyz's gibberish much like scatman's scat. "Come on man, let's get going", he yelled. He was a college friend of my parents and he is one of the funniest people I know. Just being in his company is one big laugh!
Our task that morning was to collect the plant exhibits from the homes of all those on our list. The tempo arrived at 9.30 a.m. We covered the base of the tempo with shrubs to act as cushions for the potted plants. We had a long list of homes to visit. Each time we picked up an item for the exhibition we tagged and numbered it so we would know the correct house to return the pot to later. We had to be careful at some houses otherwise we might have ended with torn pants ripped up by the huge Dobermans people owned.
When the tempo could carry no more we would return to SFX school where the exhibition was to be held in order to unload the pots and start out again. Each round was an experience of new people, new homes, new gardens. On one round we visited the famous pop singer Remo's house. His mother was taking part in the exhibition.
It took us all day to complete the list and we eventually made three trips round the village. We then arranged the pots on the benches in the school hall. Miguel Braganza (an agricultural officer of the Government who at that time was posted to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Old Goa) and Francis Borges (the same person who gave the talk on organic farming at the Saligao Plant Exhibition) were also there along with several other village boys and girls all helping in various ways to set up the show which was to begin the next morning. In fact by the time we finished it was already one a.m. of the 13th. We would have only a few hours of sleep before we would all be on duty again at 9 a.m. to complete the last minute jobs before the festival got started.
The Green Heritage Plant Festival lasted three days. The Director of the Agricultural Department, Mr P.K. Desai, inaugurated it at 11 a.m (instead of a ribbon to be cut between the doors of the exhibition, there was a creeper). He also released a book titled, Green Aid III-Total Gardening that the Green Heritage had published. The book was wrapped up in a large money plant leaf instead of wrapping paper. I thought this an unusual and apt idea. After the inauguration and the release of the book, the official made his speech which was followed by a funny speech made by Alexyz.
The Green Heritage programme had several aspects: (i) the exhibition, (ii) lectures and talks on different subjects and (iii) competitions of different kinds-all related to the green world.
The main exhibition hall was very big and it was filled with all kinds of plants, arranged in such a manner that people could move around easily and view the plants without too much difficulty. Altogether there must have been about two hundred pots. There were vegetable plants such as chillies and brinjals. There were flowering plants, cacti, creepers, ferns, bonsai of Banyan trees, peepal trees, etc. There were also lime trees, orange trees and chickoo trees all growing in pots.
On the stage in the hall, competition exhibits-vegetable-carving crafts and flower-making crafts of students from different schools-were kept.
Outside the hall there were two corridors. In one corridor the government nursery was stationed, where neem, mango, coconut, chickoo, tamarind, cashew and some other kinds of trees were being sold. Along the other corridor a variety of other items were kept on sale: a small table held copies of the book, Total Gardening as well as the previous two volumes released at the earlier exhibitions by the Green Heritage; another table held beautiful coconut handicrafts for sale. There was an elephant head, a table lamp, a skull, all made out of different parts of a coconut. Next to this, The Other India Bookstore had set up a stall with a large variety of environment titles. Further down was the Garden Glory stall selling various types of garden implements such as lawn movers, cutters, sprayers and other accessories. Apurbhai had a variety of organic manures like leaf mould, Karanji and bone meal besides ornamental plants, palms and creepers. There were pickles, squashes and medicine for papaya plants also on sale.
At the far end of the corridor was the canteen. Here, whenever we were thirsty or hungry, we went and had a cold drink or some snacks. I didn't have to worry about my bill, because it was taken care of by the Green Heritage group.
Next to the canteen, there was a small table, a blackboard, some chalk and some benches. This was where the programme of lectures and talks was held. Altogether there were four talks given during the Green Heritage Programme: on vegetable carving, jams and squashes, wine-making, and cacti.
I decided to attend the talk given on cacti by a person who grew cacti in his flat. His talk was extremely interesting and full of practical information and handy hints on how to grow cacti. Although I have not tried my hand at growing cacti, yet I took down detailed notes which I shared with my mother, who as I correctly thought was very happy to get the information as it helped her in her little cacti rock garden. And it certainly was a very educative talk for me.
All through the three days I was assigned simple jobs like watching over the plants in the main hall, watering the plants, carrying pots and furniture around, handling the sales of the Green Heritage booklets, and so on. And with Alexyz around each task was great fun.
On the last day, there was the prize distribution ceremony. I was proud and happy to receive a special certificate for having assisted in the Green Heritage Festival. As the fair came to an end the organisers all felt that it was yet another successful event. I was happy to have been a part of it. But the fun was not yet over for we all had a barbecue dinner that evening that lasted well into the early hours of the morning. We slept only briefly for there remained the final task of returning the pot exhibits to their respective owners. This we commenced early next morning.
I had enjoyed my work at the Green Heritage and my stay at Alexyz's house. I was indeed sad when it all ended. I rested the next day at Alexyz's house and on the 18th morning, left for home.
Field Work Notes:Growing Cacti At Home
Cacti are plants suited to the desert and we must keep this factor in mind always when growing ornamental cacti in our gardens, for it helps in the survival of the plant. For example, a cactus should never be watered over its body as it will start to rot. This is because it is covered with a waxy coating which prevents water loss through evaporation. When one waters the cactus over its body, the waxy coating is washed away and the plant begins to rot. The amount of water that you must supply to the cactus is very much dependent upon the season and upon the climate of the place. During the summer season one should water cacti every four days whereas in the rainy season once every fifteen days is quite enough.
Cacti need a minimum of two and a half hours of sunlight per day. However they should not be kept all day in the sun because they may wrinkle in too much of bright sunlight. Unlike other plants cacti produce carbon dioxide during the day and oxygen during the night. Hence, they are ideal plants to be kept in bedrooms to freshen up the air at night.
If the cactus plant is to thrive and prosper, the size of the pot in which it is grown has to be carefully monitored. The pot should always be a little smaller than the plant itself because it is only when the plant has to struggle to survive that it will thrive. If the pot is too spacious the struggle element is removed and the chances are that the cactus will die. Cacti are like human beings. When they suffer they will grow. Similarly if a cactus shows no signs of growth, stop the watering. It should be resumed only when the plant resumes growth.
The substrata of a cactus pot is ideally composed of pieces of broken bricks at the bottom, charcoal above it, then coarse sand and pebbles above it. Leaf mould is the best manure.
Grafting of cacti is very simple. A very small piece of the cactus plant should be stuck with cellotape to the plant that needs grafting. The smaller the piece the easier it is to graft. To reproduce cacti, one has to simply cut off a piece of the cactus, allow it to dry for a few days and then just place it over the cacti substrate. It will automatically develop roots.
To differentiate between cacti and other plants that look like cacti is very easy. All cacti have fine hair at the base of each thorn. The so-called thorns are in fact highly modified leaves which prevent loss of water through transpiration. If one ever gets pricked by cacti thorns, one should take cellotape, place it over the area where the thorns have penetrated the skin and then peel it off. All the thorns will get stuck to the cellotape and will be removed.
Attending the Green Heritage plant festival in Siolim had one more advantage for me. It brought me into contact with Mr Miguel Braganza, an agricultural officer of the Goa Government. It was through him that I learnt of a two-day course on mushrooms to be conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at Ela Farm, Old Goa in the last week of August.
This programme also marked the beginning of my experience in getting around on my own. For, although the course was conducted in Goa itself I had never been to Ela Farm nor did I know anyone at the programme.
Mr Braganza had informed me that participants would be offered free accommodation on the campus. However, it was not compulsory to stay there. I assumed that most people would avail of the accommodation facilities offered since late evening transport is not very good in Goa. At any rate I enjoy camping out and so I asked my parents if I could spend the night on the campus. They agreed. My assumption however proved wrong as I turned out to be the only residential participant!
Anyway, on the morning of 24th August, after taking directions from my dad, I left for the ICAR at Old Goa which is about 22 kms from my home. I arrived there without any difficulty. The ICAR is located within Ela farm. At the gate I had to fill in a gate pass. Down the right lane was the ICAR office. On either side of the road were coconut, guava and chickoo plantations. Further down was a small office which looked more like a lab with various specimens of preserved mushroom. I enquired about the course with the man in charge and was directed to the Farmers Training Centre.
Mr Miguel Braganza and Mr Oscar-the two persons conducting the course-were already there and so were some of the participants. We were first made to register our names for the course and immediately after and to my total surprise we were informed that each of us would receive a stipend of Rs.500 for attending the course. This appears to be a sort of bonus or incentive which is provided to the participants and is meant to cover expenses for transport, food, etc.
I noticed that all the other participants (there were thirty-three other students) were older than me. Most of them were farmers, so all the people who gave talks either spoke part English and part Konkani, or if the lecturers spoke only English then Oscar would translate into Konkani.
The course which basically comprised lectures and demonstrations started with a talk by the tall, thin, long-haired Nandakumar Kamat. His first question was: "What do you want to cultivate mushrooms for? Kitchen gardening, small scale production or large scale export?" Depending on your objectives you can decide on the variety and the quantity, he told us. His talk included slides of different varieties of mushrooms, poisonous and non poisonous.
The talk was lengthy but very interesting. It ended well past lunch time and most of the participants including myself were happy to go straight to a meal at the FTC canteen where a delicious fish curry thali could be purchased for just Rs.6.
The second session began at three in the afternoon. There were two talks in this session, the first by a scientist from the ICAR who spoke on pests and diseases that attack mushrooms. Among the problem areas he mentioned insects, fungi, bacteria and improper management.
Unfortunately most of the remedies he suggested were limited to spraying of insecticides and pesticides such as lindane, malathion dichlorose, copper sulphate or citronella oil. To be fair, he also laid stress on proper management and hygiene as an effective way to reduce diseases. Since none of us had ever grown mushrooms before there were not many questions or doubts raised at the end of his lecture.
Then there was a talk by a woman who explained to us the nutritional value of mushrooms. For half an hour she spoke on the low fat and sugar content of mushrooms and how mushrooms prevent pain in joints of bones, tooth decay and bleeding gums. It made me feel that I should make mushrooms my staple diet!
The programme for the day ended at 6 p.m. That's when I was surprised to discover that everyone was going home and I was the only residential participant. I decided to stay the night anyway since the organisers told me that adequate arrangements had been made for anyone wishing to do so.
I spent the evening and early in the morning the next day looking around the campus. I noticed that the ICAR had a small nursery, a flower garden, a small fish pond, pens for small animals such as rabbits and chickens, cattle sheds and vast paddy fields. There was also an orchard with a variety of fruit trees such as mango, chickoo, coconut palms etc.
In the midst of all this greenery were the residential buildings with the canteen in between. I occupied one of the rooms on the first floor of the four-storey building. It was a small room, with two beds, a few lockers, a table and a mirror. Since there was no one else staying the night, the watchman was asked to stay with me for company. The canteen served good and cheap meals. I had already eaten there in the afternoon with the others. For the night the cook prepared some fish curry rice for me. The next morning I had a breakfast of bread and vegetables for three rupees only. That night, not having much to do, the watchman and I decided to walk up the hill at the back of the campus, at the top of which was a temple.
Most of the second day was conducted by Oscar. Oscar's presentation was more of a practical exercise. He gave very practical information on how to grow mushrooms and interspersed his talk with slides and live demonstrations. He showed us the inoculation and culture room for tissue culture as well as the ultraviolet tube where the mother spawn is prepared. Rushing up and down the lab and the lecture hall we were shown how straw is boiled, how the mushroom bags are filled, and so on. We were allowed to actively participate and fill in the bags ourselves. All the participants enjoyed Oscar's session and wished it could have been longer.
None of the participants had any experience with growing mushrooms for commercial purposes so Oscar had invited two people who grew mushrooms for the local market as well as for export purposes to address us. They had been growing mushrooms for the past one year, selling them fresh or dried according to the demand and they gave us very practical information based on their personal experience. They said that they filled two hundred bags of straw everyday. They told us of the problems they faced with pests (mainly rats) and diseases and also the difficulties they initially faced when selling mushrooms. The programme finally concluded with a speech by the Director of the Farmers' Training Centre who told us about the general activities of the FTC and the ICAR.
Some of the students took spawn-filled bottles home. I didn't, because I knew I wouldn't be in a position to get into action immediately as my travel plans for getting out of Goa for the next few months were already underway.
So although I didn't really get into the act of mushrooms-growing, I learnt much and also made many friends.
Field Work Notes:How to Grow Mushrooms
There are many varieties of edible mushrooms, of which the oyster and button mushrooms are the most popular with both the mushroom cultivators and the general public.
Mushrooms can be eaten by anyone including children since they are easily digested and absorbed by the body into the bloodstream within two to three hours. They contain iron, vitamins, calcium and protein. They are especially good for pregnant mothers, and diabetic and blood pressure patients. Mushrooms have medicinal properties and are known to reduce heart, liver and blood diseases including cholesterol and stomach cancer.
Mushrooms can be profitably grown using little investment. However one has to master the techniques and follow all the procedures and requirements very carefully. One does not need land to become a mushroom cultivator for one can grow mushrooms even in one's own house.
Climate: Mushrooms require a temperature of 20-32o Celsius and about 35-90% humidity. They also require adequate ventilation, diffused light and semi-darkness. Too much light makes mushrooms dark in colour.
If the room temperature increases above 32oC, it should be decreased by hanging wet sacks around the place. However the sacks should be first sterilized using savlon, formalin or dettol to avoid fungi or bacteria entering the room. If the temperature decreases below 20oC, then a 200W bulb (for a small room) should be lit to generate heat.
Spawn: Mushrooms are grown from spawn. The colour of good spawn is milky white with a sweet smell or no smell. The spawn should be compact, white on all sides and cottony. If it is yellow, it means that the spawn is old. Any other coloured patches seen on the spawn signify contaminant fungi in the spawn. Spawn should be maximum 18 to 20 days old.
To prepare mother spawn, one needs good quality jowar, wheat or gram. The seed should be of uniform size, good quality, free from pests and diseases and dry. The grain should be washed, all hollow grains should be removed and the remaining boiled for one hour so that it is half cooked. While boiling some formalin or savlon should be added to disinfect the grain. The grain is then spread on a disinfected muslin cloth and mixed with calcium carbonate. It is then filled into bottles which are tightly corked using nonabsorbent cotton. The bottles are then put into a pressure cooker.
The inoculation or the culture room for tissue culture was also shown to us. This room should be about 2.25 m in height and 1.25 m in length. Two tubes i.e. an ultra-violet tube and a normal tube light are used. A spirit lamp is also used. One can produce up to six generations from one bottle of mother spawn with the help of tissue culture. After six generations the strength of the spawn decreases and the yield of the mushrooms will be less.
Substratum: Paddy straw is the main substratum used for growing mushrooms-it contains cellulose and lignin, both of which are necessary for the growth of mushrooms. However many other kinds of substrata are also used, for example, saw dust, sacks, banana leaves, dry mango leaves, coconut leaves, sugarcane, wild grass, rice husk, etc.
The paddy straw must be carefully selected. It should be brittle, yellow or golden brown in colour and not older than 6 months. The straw should be dried in the sun for several days, stored if necessary in an air-tight container and used within two months. The ratio of paddy straw to mushroom spawn should be 1 kg "prepared" straw to 4% spawn.
Procedure: First the straw must be prepared. The straw should be cut to 3-5 cm pieces. It should then be filled in cloth bags and soaked in water (1 kg straw to 10 litres water) for 10 hours. The straw should be weighted down in the water so that no part of it remains above the level of water.
The next stage is pasteurization. Water must be boiled to a temperature of 80 to 85oC. When bubbles appear, the soaked straw, surrounded by the cloth bags, should be weighted down and fully immersed in water. The bubbles will disappear when the straw is immersed and then reappear. Thirty minutes after the reappearance of bubbles the straw should be removed. It should be drained of water and cooled at room temperature, then spread out on a clean surface and dried for two hours.
The moisture content of the straw should not exceed 60%. To judge the moisture content one should hold some straw between one's fingers and squeeze tightly. If only one drop of water comes out, then the moisture content is correct.
Polythene or polypropylene bags are now required to fill the straw into. The bags should be approximately 35 x 50 cm and should weigh 150 gms each. Before using them, they should be washed with savlon or dettol or formalin. Four strings should be tied together at one end which should be placed at the bottom of the bag. The four free ends must be held outside the bag. The bag can now be filled. First a 5 cm layer of straw should be put in and the straw pressed lightly against the bottom. Mushroom spawn should then be spread over it. Then another 10 cm layer of straw, over which the spawn should be spread and so on till one reaches the top of the bag. Finally it must be covered with a final 5 cm layer of straw, and the four pieces of string and the bag must be tied together. The bags can either be kept on the ground or hung in the room. Hanging them enables one to get at the mushrooms from the bottom of the bag easily.
The following day, 30 to 35 holes should be made in each bag with a sterile needle. The bags should be kept in darkness, with very little ventilation allowed to them, for 15 days. The bags should then be moved to another room. Here they should get four hours of diffused light and cross ventilation. After one and a half days the substrate should be sprayed with water three times a day with a shower pointing upwards so that the water falls on the bags like rain. On the following day small mushrooms, the size of pinheads will appear. Two days later fully grown mushrooms will appear. The mushrooms should not be pulled out because the substrata will also be pulled out with it. Instead they should be cut or twisted and broken off from the base. If the substrata is dry the bag should be given a quick dip in water. Otherwise continue spraying with water. The second crop of mushrooms will reappear one week later. The process can be continued upto 4 times. Then one has to start afresh. This is because after 4 crops the substrata begin to attract disease and get contaminated.
Pests and Diseases: Mushrooms are easily attacked by pests and diseases and therefore require utmost care and good management. Of the two well known types of mushrooms, the button mushroom is more prone to disease whereas the oyster mushroom is hardier.
Insects which attack mushrooms are the Scearid fly, the Phosid fly, Spring Tails (small insects like grasshoppers) and mites. To prevent insects from attacking mushrooms it is best to keep the mushroom bags at least one foot above the ground. One can burn sulphur in the room before seeding the mushrooms. Citronella oil mixed with water can also be used for spraying on the bags. It is absolutely essential to maintain the highest standards of hygiene to prevent attack by insects.
Bacteria and nematodes are other causes for worry. Bacteria occur when there is too much humidity and this shows in a wet rot or a brown blotch. To avoid this problem it is essential to constantly monitor the humidity level and maintain it as required. To prevent the occurrence of nematodes, the substrata should be constantly changed-it should never be older than six months to one year. The straw must be carefully selected and should be disinfected thoroughly before use. 100 gms of potassium permanganate, or 20 ml of formalin should be sprayed on the bags if the disease should appear.
It was now the end of August and also the end of the heavy rains. I was eager to begin travelling out of Goa to visit the many places on my agenda. I had got fairly comfortable now with being on my own within Goa (where I could at least communicate in the same language with anyone I met) asking for directions, buying myself a meal and learning to handle small quantities of money. I therefore impatiently awaited my trip out of Goa.
Another reason for my wanting to travel was because I was fed up of my neighbours and friends constantly asking me what I was doing after my SSC and why I was not in college. Somehow they couldn't get used to the idea that I was enjoying myself learning the things I wanted to on my own, so I would be constantly badgered by queries. I thought that if I went away I would certainly escape all these queries.
It so happened that my father was attending a seminar on organic farming in Kottayam and as he would also be visiting some organic farms he thought it a good idea if I came along. The trip would take us to Kerala.
Dad and I left Goa on 30th August, 1995. The bus departed from Panaji bus stand at six a.m. and reached Mangalore the same day at four in the evening. En route we passed through Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar, Kundapur and Udupi. Mangalore happens to be my ancestral home. (My dad, though born and brought up in Mumbai and now living since marriage in Goa, is originally from Mangalore.) Although we do not have an ancestral home any more we have lots of relatives in Mangalore city.
We stayed at my grand uncle's house which is very close to the bus-stand. It is a two storey building in the heart of Mangalore and my grand aunt Monica Mauxi lives there with her three sons, Reggie, Patrick and Lambert and their families in a sort of joint family set-up. My grand uncle J.S. Alvares who was a very well known Konkani writer passed away a few years ago. I was meeting my aunt and cousins almost for the first time.
After the introductions were over and we had had tea and snacks Dad showed me around the city. Since I knew that I would be returning to Goa alone at the end of the seminar in Kottayam I took care to be very observant about landmarks and other details so that I would not get lost on my return trip. I carefully noted the locations of the railway station, Hampankatta, which is the centre of Mangalore and the old bus stand and the route to Aunt Monica's home. We returned at dark to a splendid meal and went to bed early for we had to wake up at 3 a.m. for our onward journey.
Our train left Mangalore on the dot at 4.15 a.m. We travelled all day through green countryside, passing through Kannur, Calicut, Thrissur and Ernakulam to reach our destination Kottayam at 3.45 p.m. We were booked at Hotel Aishwarya. I had a refreshing bath and then as usual we went off to explore the city but had to return soon because it started to rain.
The seminar was at Hotel Green Park and we set out for the venue early in the morning. We had already been registered as participants and each of us was given a cloth bag, notebook and pen to use during the seminar. There were many stalls selling a large number of items from organic tea and pickles, to books and manuals.
We looked around very briefly for the organisers were already calling out to everyone to settle down for the inaugural. All day there were talks, most of them by scientists. The sessions continued till evening with a break for a vegetarian lunch in between. Of all the talks, the one that caught my attention was the talk given by Dr Sultan Ismail on earthworms. I have refrained from giving details of Dr Ismail's talk here because I have a full chapter on my association with his work later in this book.
The next morning the same sort of programme continued. However there was a farmer's session which was chaired by my father. Many farmers spoke about their experience in organic farming. I found it quite interesting. Sometime after lunch my father and I, along with Guru Rishi Prabhakar (the founder of the Siddha Samadhi Yoga programme) and Kartikeyan (who was researching some chapters for a source book on organic farming) left to visit the farm of an organic farmer, a Mr. K.T. Thomas. He showed us his shrimp pond, rubber plantations, cows, fishing ponds, orchids, giant bamboo filter ponds, etc. His farm was really huge, dark and damp-like a forest in the night!
Next morning we took a train to Calicut. We passed through Ernakulam and Trishur. At Shoranur we changed trains and from the railway station we took a bus to Sultan's Battery where we spent the night at a hotel called the Resort. As usual, we spent enjoyable hours walking around the town.
The next programme was at Wynad. Here, another meeting of persons interested in organic farming was taking place. We stayed at the Wynad Wildlife Division Guest House.
The group here was not very large and they generally had small intense discussions. I was not much interested in the sessions and wandered about as I pleased. But I liked the company of the people there very much for all of them were very knowledgeable and they were the active type too. Some of them-like Bernard from Auroville, Korah Mathen and his daughter Nidhi from Ahmedabad and Omkar-I would meet again during my sabbatical year.
We used to go for long walks in the forest, morning and evening. On the first day itself we saw Nilgiri Langurs and a variety of small birds, frogs and trees.
In the evening the organisers showed us two movies on the pollution of the river Bhavani. After that we watched a very popular and lovely movie called `Animals are Beautiful People'.
On our early morning walk the following day (the second at Wynad) we saw a herd of spotted deer and a barking deer. We also saw many footprints of animals, especially of deer; and traces of elephant footprints too. The experience excited me very much and after that I would eagerly set out with whoever was interested in taking a walk. On the third day, a Mr Shivanand gave a very interesting talk on the Western Ghats. He showed us many slides on the Western Ghats i.e. insectivorous plants, mountain goats, rivers that are formed by condensation of water vapour, plants that flower every ten years, etc. All that I had studied in geography and science in school now came alive for me.
That evening we watched two movies, one called `The Whistling Hunters' (about wild dogs) and another called `The Lord of the Jungle' (about elephants). Both were very good. The next morning we went walking again and saw only birds. We walked about 12 kms that day. Later that morning the concluding session of the programme was held.
In the evening the forest department organised a tour for us through the jungle. We walked quite a distance, saw the watchtower, then deer and a wild boar, but we had to turn back soon because we saw tiger footprints. At night we saw another two movies, one on the Narmada called `A Valley Rises' and the second called `The Silent Valley'.
After the meeting ended my dad was scheduled to go to Chennai for some work but I was to return to Goa on my own. My dad came along with me by bus to Calicut. At the railway station, my father bought me a ticket to Mangalore and left me at the station at about 2 p.m. to await the train which was due at around 4 p.m.
It was the first time I was travelling alone and I was quite nervous. Although it would be two hours before the train arrived I dared not fall asleep. I had with me a small battery operated video game and I occupied myself with this while waiting for the train to arrive. When it did there was a general commotion as people started rushing into the compartments. I enquired with one or two persons whether there were any special seats but nobody was really willing to pay attention so I just found myself a nice spot and settled down. The train started soon thereafter.
I stayed fully alert during the entire journey, keeping a watch on my things (I carried a haversack and a sleeping bag, both new) and having heard about pickpockets and other thieves I wanted to be doubly careful. I did not get down at any of the railway stations as I was not sure how long the train would stop. So I contented myself with eating the fruit that Dad had bought for me at the Calicut station.
The train arrived in Mangalore at 9 p.m. From the station I took a rickshaw to my grand aunt's house for which I paid thirty rupees. This was quite a lot of money, but since it was night-time and since I was not perfectly confident of the route I did not bother to argue with the rickshaw-wallah.
My aunt and family were pleased to see me and urged me to stay on for a few days. But I knew that my mother would be anxiously awaiting my return, and not wanting to be irresponsible, I decided to return as planned the next day itself.
In the morning my cousin Reggie took me on his scooter to the bus station where we saw a bus about to depart for Goa. I jumped in and managed to get the last empty seat. The bus reached Panaji at 5 p.m. From there I took the local bus to Mapusa. Only when the bus reached the Mapusa bus terminus was I finally on familiar territory. I looked around at the familiar street dogs and hawker stands and then hailed a motorcycle taxi to take me home, which was a short distance of 3 kms.
Back home I proudly walked up to my mum who was smiling a welcome, my brothers punching me, my dog licking me-all so far away from the world of elephants and tiger footprints.
It took several letters and phone calls from my dad to establish contact with Mr Neelimkumar Khaire, Director of the Snake Park in Pune till finally the green signal was given and I was all set to visit the place. As the arrangements were not absolutely "pucca" my dad decided to come along with me to Pune, which is what we did on the 3rd of October, soon after he returned from Chennai.
We left Goa by bus and arrived at Pune early the next morning. Two of my parents' very good friends, Sujit and Vidya Patwardhan, live in Pune. Our entire family, dad, mum, my two brothers and I, had holidayed at their place a year earlier. That was when I had my first glimpse of the Pune Snake Park and the idea of my one year sabbatical took root. (Later, I was surprised to learn from Bany, their daughter, who I became good friends with, that her elder sister Lara and her friend had taken a sabbatical several years ago on completing school and they had toured the countryside looking at alternative methods of education.) So it was to the Patwardhan residence at Ganeshkhind Road that we first went and after a wash and a brief rest we set off for the Park.
The Director Mr Khaire was not in, but the Assistant Director Mr Rajan Shirke was aware of my visit and assured my father that once Mr Khaire arrived he would make arrangements for my food and stay. Until then I could spend all day at the Park but would have to go back to Sujit's house for the night. My father had no option but to leave it that way for Mr Khaire was expected to return only after three days. Dad then left me at the Park and proceeded to Mumbai. For the first few days therefore I journeyed back and forth from Sujit's house.
Sujit's home is at Ganeshkhind while the snake park is at Katraj, a good 20 kms away. I remember how I got lost on the first day. My Dad had shown me the bus stand in the morning and given me the bus number. In the evening, one of the staff dropped me off at the bus stand where I waited and waited for the bus, which never arrived. I asked the people around but their answers were either "it will come" or "the frequency of that bus may be low".
Soon it started raining and since that bus-stand had no shelter in sight I had to stand in the rain and get wet. While I tried as much as possible to take shelter under the note book I carried, I was surprised to see a number of children, who didn't seem to mind the rain, walking coolly past me as if there were no rain at all! By seven in the evening, I was soaked to the skin. My feet were numb and it was getting dark. My first day at the snake park and what an experience!
Anyway, I crossed the road and walked to a telephone booth. While I was phoning Sujit the electricity went off. Sujit kept trying to explain to me how to come home by another route. I took out my half wet note book and scribbled "Deccan Gymkhana" and "Simbla Office". I managed to get a bus to Deccan Gymkhana (there are several buses which take you there) and from Simbla office I took a rickshaw and after going round in circles for sometime, I managed to find Sujit's house. How I wished I had my trusty bicycle instead of having to depend on buses and rickshaws!
During the first two days at the park I only scribbled notes and watched the workers. I tried to make friends with the workers and as a result I was allowed to handle one trinket snake. On the third day Mr Khaire arrived and immediately made arrangements for me to stay at the Park in spite of the Park not having accommodation facilities. Several students came there now and then to work for short stretches of time but they all had their residences in Pune and went home in the evenings.
Mr. Khaire is very popular among the workers and is affectionately called "Anna" ("big brother" in Marathi) by one and all. He always wears a glove and long sleeved shirt as he lost his left hand to a Russell's viper bite several years ago. Still, his love for the reptile world and his enthusiasm for snakes has not diminished one bit.
The Snake Park is quite large and has several snake pits housing various types of reptiles. In the centre is the administrative building which is a one storey cottage having on the ground floor a small office which doubles up as reception area, a room which holds the display exhibits like the king cobra, python etc., a store room and a toilet. On the first floor is a large room with two beds. It is here that I began to stay, with the watchman as company for the night. Anna installed a small T.V. in the room and also had a phone extension made to my room. He told me that I was welcome to come over to his place anytime, to eat or even to stay. However, I preferred being at the park.
In addition to Anna and Shirke there were about 8 to 10 staff at the park. Some of those I got to know very well included Mahesh, Milind, Bhushan and Baba, the watchman. Many of the boys were studying at night school and working here during the day. On Sundays and holidays there would sometimes be extra students to lend a hand. All of them lived in Pune and would go home for the night. However now and again some of them would stay the night with me and we would watch T.V. or they would tell me tales. I also wrote my daily diary every evening after dinner, and sometimes read a bit.
My work at the park was to help the workers with their jobs for that was the only way for me to learn about snakes. So everyday I would clean the starback tortoise pit, the turkey pit, the chicken pits and later on the ratsnake pit, the chequered keel back pit and the monitor lizard pit. I also assisted with feeding the snakes, which is usually done once a week. Most of the snakes are fed small rats-the white mice come from the laboratory-and frogs while the python gets a chicken every week.