The Chakrata tour was not only meant to be an introduction to the forests, and a foresters life, it was also referred to as a toughening tour. Our instructors, Messrs. Saharia and Mahrishi drove us hard, and themselves harder still ... as if they had a point to prove ... that they were still fit .... fitter than us newbies.
They would frequently stop along the trail and indulge in some 'botanisation', as they called it. At one point, I remember, in the middle of the pine (chil) forest Mr. Mahrishi stopped below a broad leafed tree and asked us to identify it. We dug into our shallow knowledge of Forest Botany but, try as we might, we could not come up with the right answer. Some called it a walnut, while others came up with Neem and Jacaranda. We finally gave up. It turned out to be a Mango tree, of all things .... Now who expected a solitary mango tree to be growing in a pine forest at 6000 feet? It was later revealed that our instructors had also failed to identify the strange tree when they were freshers in the forest service.
We later learnt that every batch was shown the same trees and stopped at the same spots that the instructors had been made to see and do when they were trainees. This happened so frequently, that some probationers used to borrow the tour journals of seniors to copy from into their own journals after return to HQ. I understand one officer even wrote a series of books detailing things to see and do on various tours. The books sold for Rs. 20 each and later probationers used to carry the books with them as guides while embarking on tours from the Forest College.
They would frequently stop along the trail and indulge in some 'botanisation', as they called it. At one point, I remember, in the middle of the pine (chil) forest Mr. Mahrishi stopped below a broad leafed tree and asked us to identify it. We dug into our shallow knowledge of Forest Botany but, try as we might, we could not come up with the right answer. Some called it a walnut, while others came up with Neem and Jacaranda. We finally gave up. It turned out to be a Mango tree, of all things .... Now who expected a solitary mango tree to be growing in a pine forest at 6000 feet? It was later revealed that our instructors had also failed to identify the strange tree when they were freshers in the forest service.
We later learnt that every batch was shown the same trees and stopped at the same spots that the instructors had been made to see and do when they were trainees. This happened so frequently, that some probationers used to borrow the tour journals of seniors to copy from into their own journals after return to HQ. I understand one officer even wrote a series of books detailing things to see and do on various tours. The books sold for Rs. 20 each and later probationers used to carry the books with them as guides while embarking on tours from the Forest College.
Did you as an officer follow the same route and stop under the same trees???
ReplyDeleteBy the time I joined at Dehradun as an instructor, Chakrata had been given up in favour of Himachal Pradesh. So we had to look for new spots and new trees ....
DeleteInteresting
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it ...
Deletememories of Chakrata camp would never be complete without mention of Thadiar march which was the ultimate test of your stamina. Did you complete it.
ReplyDelete