A Kerala Story of Hope: Ecotourism and Community Involvement

Sanjeev Kumar Nath

Before talking about Kerala, let’s start with Assam. Just drive on the highway passing through Kaziranga National Park, and you will see how close human habitation and human activity are to the park.

Hotels, resorts, dhabas, homes, shops seem to have grown inside the national park, ever increasing the chance of man-animal conflicts, animal deaths, and decreasing the living space for the animals.

Drive through the highway by the side of Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary, and you will see people carrying bundles of firewood on bicycles, every day of the week, every hour of the day. Go in, and you will see empty space where there used to be trees.

A Kerala Story of Hope: Ecotourism and Community Involvement — Periyar Lake

Go to Dehing Patakai National Park, and you will see the devastation caused by coal mining.

“Incidentally, whenever I have experienced the excellent hospitality and facilities of KTDC hotels, my Assamese mind has wondered why we have nothing comparable to KTDC in Assam. The sheer number of KTDC hotels in economy and luxury ranges, and the excellent management of the properties really make me ashamed as an Assamese that out tourism sector has not developed in the manner it could have and should have.”

Visit Deepar Beel, a Ramsar site, and you will see encroachment strangulating the waterbody. If you had seen Deepor Beel say, 40 years ago, and then go and see it now, you will understand how human greed has eaten up most of this wonderful waterbody. All our forests, sanctuaries, national parks, waterbodies suffer because of encroachment, poaching, and blatant human disregard for the environment.

Thus, being only too well acquainted with terribly callous treatment of our rich environmental heritage, I thought of visiting Periayar National Park in Thekkady, Kerala. I was particularly interested in taking part in one or two of the ecotourism activities arranged by the Forest Department of Kerala. I booked a room in Aranya Nivas, a Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) facility near the Periyar Lake.

Incidentally, it was the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru who, after having stayed in this hotel, called it Aranya Nivas—a house inside the forest—and the name stuck. It is one of the premium properties owned by KTDC. Incidentally, whenever I have experienced the excellent hospitality and facilities of KTDC hotels, my Assamese mind has wondered why we have nothing comparable to KTDC in Assam.

The sheer number of KTDC hotels in economy and luxury ranges, and the excellent management of the properties really make me ashamed as an Assamese that out tourism sector has not developed in the manner it could have and should have.

Although it is usual to drive in style to Aranya Nivas, we chose to ride a Tamil Nadu State Trasport Corporation (TNSTC) bus to Kumily, Kerala, and again my Assamese mind wondered why our ASTC has not prospered the way state transport corporations in other states of India have prospered.

It is true, ASTC has acquired new buses using alternative fuel, and has shown signs of being alive, but if you are a middle-aged Assamese today, you will remember the old red ASTC buses of decades ago. Whatever happened to them? The TNSTC bus we travelled in was not a luxury bus, but quite like those old red ASTC buses, only green in colour, and perhaps labelled as “ordinary” transport.

But the point is that “ordinary” state transport buses are doing very well in Tamil Nadu as in many other parts of India. Then what is wrong with the same government service in Assam? Of course, I not only noticed how packed the TNSTC buses were with passengers, but also how the conductors gave tickets to every single passenger, and how accurately punctual the buses were.

After a journey of a little less than four hours, we got down at Kumily and then took an auto to Aranya Nivas. We saw that Aranya Nivas is indeed right inside the national park and is surrounded by magnificent trees of the forest. Steps from Aranya Nivas lead to the boat landing of Pariyar Lake where tourists gather for very pleasurable boat rides on the Periyar Lake.

“The TNSTC bus we travelled in was not a luxury bus, but quite like those old red ASTC buses, only green in colour, and perhaps labelled as “ordinary” transport. But the point is that “ordinary” state transport buses are doing very well in Tamil Nadu as in many other parts of India. Then what is wrong with the same government service in Assam? Of course, I not only noticed how packed the TNSTC buses were with passengers, but also how the conductors gave tickets to every single passenger, and how accurately punctual the buses were.”

It is an artificial lake created for feeding a hydroelectric project and providing water to both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Boating on the lake lets one see how the forests around the lake have retained their pristine beauty and wealth because human intervention is minimal. The ride also enables one to see wild animals near the shores of the lake.

We saw some sambar deer which straightened their ears and gazed silently at us as our boat neared their shore. We also saw a few gaurs, which are like bison, and a few water birds. Although we did not see too many animals on the ride, it was a wonderfully enjoyable ride because of the breathtaking beauty of the lake and the forests.

We were told that venturing out of Aranya Nivas premises was not allowed after 5.30 pm because of possible encounters with bears and elephants. We saw sambar grazing very near Aranya Nivas that evening, and then at night we were strolling around before dinner within the premises of Aranya Nivas when two porcupines came into the compound.

The guards told us that these two large porcupines had somehow become friendly with them, and visited them almost every evening. I noticed that the guards offered biscuits and bananas to the porcupines (although offering food to wild animals is not permissible), and some of us took photos of the porcupines from very close range.

The guards told us that sometimes elephants also came to Aranya Nivas premises. A forest official told us that the animals felt safe near human habitation because the houses inside the forest belonged either to the KTDC or the forest department which was committed to the protection of the animals.

There are no private resorts, business houses or other properties, except, perhaps two eateries near the Periyar Lake (in stark contrast to Kaziranga where private property seems to enjoy priority over the rights of the animals living there!)

One of the most interesting facts about Periyar National Park is that here the forest department organizes interesting ecotourism activities with the help of local tribal youth. This gives opportunities for employment to the local people without destroying the environment, and also makes use of the knowledge of the forest that tribal communities have. Even former poachers from the tribes have now become guides for the tourists, showing the forest around!

On the second day of our arrival we went on a “Nature Walk”– one of these ecotourism activities. This involves crossing the Periyar Lake on a raft, and walking through the forest to see the flora and fauna under the supervision of a guide. Our guide, Vishwanathan, is a local tribal youth. He has been working as a guide for tourists walking inside the forest for some ten years, and is full of knowledge about the pants and animals of the forest.

The tribes that live around the Periyar National Park are the Mannans, Paliyas, Uralis, Mala-arayas and Malampandarams. These tribes, with their superb knowledge of the forest, are encouraged by the government to utilize their skills in the tourism sector. Thus, the tribes find it financially viable to take part in conservation and other activities of the forest department.

While rafting to the other side of the lake, I noticed another bamboo raft some distance away from our raft. It had some bundles stacked on it, but there was no human being around, so I asked Vishwanathan, our guide about it. He said it was a fishermen’s raft, and the bundles were fishing nets and other things required by the fishermen. They would come at night to fish.

He told me that fishermen from the tribal villages were allowed to fish in the lake. So that was another example of how the fringe communities of Periyar National Park benefitted from the Park.

Our guide Vishwanathan is a young man who did not finish his schooling, but his tribal heritage, his being in the forest all his life, and his curiosity to learn has taught him many, many things so that he is full of information on the forest. Being curious about everything in the forest, I asked him many questions, and was pleasantly surprised to find him extremely knowledgeable.

He could tell the botanical and the local names of all trees, bushes, and creepers, showed us birds and insects and told us their names. He showed us a pit viper asleep on the branches of a tree, and explained how it slept for a very long time after hunting and eating some prey. He told us about other reptiles to be found in the forest, about anti-venom injections, and a lot of other things.

He told us a lot of interesting things about elephant behaviour. When I showed him elephant dung on our track, he told us how old the dung was. We saw Nilgiri langoors, and he told us that the noise a langoor was making on seeing us was to warn the others about our presence. We had to wear special socks provided by the forest department because of the fear of leeches, but because it was a sunny day, we didn’t encounter too many leeches.

Vishwanathan showed us holes dug up by sloth bear and told us how they ate termites and also honey and other things. He said there were three animals on seeing which on one’s track, one should take protective/defensive action: tigers, elephants and sloth bear. While sighting a tiger on a track was extremely rare, elephants and sloth bears could be seen much more easily.

That evening we took a forest department bus to another location where a tribal dance was arranged for tourists. On our arrival at a community hall where the dances were to take place, it rained very heavily, and we wondered if any dance would take place at all. But slowly the audience and the performers trickled in, and some tribal youngsters got busy behind the curtains, tinkering with their musical instruments, and checking things.

Finally, a group of young men from the Mannan tribe performed five scintillating dances with extraordinary energy and agility. The agility of the movements and the loud singing and noise that accompany those movements are truly astounding. A recorded commentary explained how the dances had to do with rituals involving religious rites, farming, hunting, and other community activities.

Silk Cotton Tree near Periyar Lake — Silk Cotton tree near Periyar Lake

At last, the leader of the group invited the audience present to join him, and four of the tourists danced with him. Of course, this time the tempo of the song was somewhat slow, and the tourists could easily follow him in his movements. It was wonderful. They invited us to be photographed with them, and most of us did that with great pleasure. Once again, we saw how tribal communities and the forest department were working together for mutual benefit.

That evening it rained heavily and after watching the tribal dance we had to wait for a vehicle to return to Aranya Nivas. Forest officials made us feel at home, and arranged for a jeep to take us to Aranya Nivas at around 8 pm. This jeep ride turned out to be a bonus night safari for us because the forest official who was driving the vehicle stopped at two places to show us herds of sambar grazing even in the darkness and the rain.

I asked him how he could spot the animals in such darkness and rain, and he said it was simply the result of experience. At the entry point of Aranya Nivas, the security personal checked that everything was alright and then only let us drive into the campus.

The next day we went on a Green Walk in another part of the forest with a guide, Arun, a tribal youth. This time we were lucky to see gaurs right in front of us. Arun whispered to us to stop and watch as one of the massive animals sat gazing at us while the others remained busy, grazing.

With the tribal dance group Kumily — With the tribal dance group

After watching them for some time, we changed track so as not to disturb the gaurs, and went into yet another area of the forest where we saw Nilgiri langoors and also one Malabar squirrel, very colourful and very large. Arun was also very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna, but he was a rather quiet person for a guide. On our return track, we saw a sleeping pit viper which looked different from the one we saw yesterday.

We returned through some tribal villages, and Arun showed us what the tribal villagers were farming : pepper and coffee. Elsewhere, we saw lots and lots of plantation of cardamom. It was a damp day and there were lots of leeches, but the special socks protected us and Arun also sprayed tobacco powder on our shoes and socks to keep the leeches away. Despite these precautions, however, some of the cunning leeches found the easiest target of us three : my wife.

After finishing the track, we decided to have lunch in Kumily town instead of going back to the KTDC hotel, and we found a nice place where the young man serving us told us about all the things he was serving in the meal. He invited us for dinner, too, but we had to decline because we were not allowed to be out of our hotel in the forest after 5.30 pm.

Sambar deer seen from boat on Periyar Lake

After lunch we took a jeep to see a few places in Kumily including the beautiful Tamil Nadu-Kerala border and a spice garden where a guide showed us various plants, especially spices, and told us about their medicinal properties. In the end, however, we were shown into a shop of herbal medicines, and we knew that the whole thing about the guided tour of the spice garden was a sort of advertisement for their products!

Tribal dance group Kumily — Tribal dance group

Incidentally, the star anises to be found in the shop were from Meghalaya, not Kerala.

Next morning we walked on the forest roads near our hotel, and checked out sometime after breakfast. We took a very pleasant taxi ride to Madurai, leaving Periyar National Park behind….but perhaps not quite, because a large part of the water that Madurai drinks ultimately comes from the Periyar Lake.

(Sanjeev Kumar Nath, English Department, Gauhati University, sanjeevnath21@gmail.com)

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