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SOAKED IN ADVENTURE
Om Trayambakam Yajamahe Sugandham Pushtivardhan… desperately chanting the Maha Mritunjay Mantra to ward off death, I gingerly moved towards the door with my husband. This was not the door of a temple but of an enclosure housing free-roaming lions.
In Mauritius’s famous Casela Safari Park, one could actually touch a lion who was not even remotely tranquillized. My husband’s persistent reprimand made me feel worse, “You have become extra adventurous in Mauritius. Do not know whether we will go back alive? What will happen to our children?” These thoughts flitted through my mind too but now one had reached the point of no return.
The instructor, a tall, stout lad clad in a t-shirt and shorts, carrying a mere wooden stick accompanied us. He handed a stick to both of us as well. One huge lion was sitting in the grass and another one was near a tree trunk. My husband ventured forward reluctantly and keeping a tentative hand on the lion, smiled for the camera. When my turn came I cautiously sat behind the lion. A loud roar and part of the lion’s back settled in my lap. I forgot to breathe with my mind becoming blank with visuals of my half eaten body flashing before my eyes. The instructor gestured to me to remain still and then get up slowly.
A memorable click later we moved towards another lion who was busy playing with a ball. The instructor shared that since childhood the cubs are conditioned to consider humans as friends. I wished if humans could also condition their children then issues of caste, religion, terrorism would not plague us and God’s best creation, mankind could feel love towards all.
Mauritius, a small island nation of only 1875 square km and 12 lakh population, glitters like a jewel 200 km south of equator in the Indian Ocean. Named after Prince Maurice of Dutch Republic in 1598, it conjures up visions of moonbeam silver sands, shimmering turquoise blue sea, tall sentinels of coconut trees and the azure blue sky dotted with flimsy tufts of myriad shaped clouds. The opportunity to visit Mauritius had arisen when I could accompany my husband as part of his National Defence Academy training.
The breathtaking meringue of Seven Coloured Earths was the next stop. It is a geological formation of sand dunes of seven distinct colours-red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow which spontaneously settle in different layers creating a surreal striped effect. Interestingly these dunes never erode in spite of torrential rains. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures. One is allowed to take pictures only from the periphery of the wooden fence. The 272 feet Chamarel waterfalls, on the way back, are the highest in Mauritius but did not tempt us to linger.
The Ganga Talao gave us a sense of déjà vu of being in India. Situated in a secluded hilly area it is a volcanic crater lake dotted with various Hindu temples and statues of deities on one periphery. A country where 62% of the population is Hindu, this is considered its most sacred place. It boasts of the 13th Jyotirlinga temple of Lord Shiva. Yes, I was surprised too as I was aware of only 12.
The next day we first visited the Aapravasi Ghat (Immigration Department) a reminder that Mauritius was the first British colony to receive contracted labour workforce, to work on plantations, from India between 1849 to 1923. The partial remains of only three stone buildings from the entire complex, now a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. Interestingly Mauritius has had visitors from Arabia, Portugal, Holland and France before the British arrived. It is no surprise that it is a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual country.
We decided to skip Fort Adelaide, a 19th-century military fortress perched atop a hill, though it promised panoramic views of Port St Louis, as we were short of time.
The scenic and tranquil Sir Sewoosagur Ramgoolam (first Prime Minister and considered Father of the nation) Botanical Garden is the oldest in the southern hemisphere. Built in 1770 and famous for its long pond of giant water lilies with huge ‘thaali’ like circular leaves, it is a treat for the eyes. It also boasts 85 varieties of palms and a who’s who list of those who planted trees there including Robert Mugabe and Indira Gandhi. The garden also has enormous tortoises who are said to be over 200 years old.
Being an island, Mauritius had only endemic species for a long time. As there were no terrestrial mammals, a number of flightless birds and large reptile species evolved. We were informed that Dodo, a huge bird weighing about 50 pounds and whose ancestry can be traced back to 4 million years, had lost the ability to fly as there were no predators. Thus, it seems complacency is harmful for everyone. To be continued…