Tree house

 When they said that I would put in a tree house, I was scared. I imagined a small outfit built on the branch of a tree, which I was supposed to climb up into, like an agile monkey. I was in for a surprise. It looked like a three-star resort room with a balcony and ensuite.

  
The shower hose in the bathroom looked like a snake that had just sneaked in. But for a man accustomed to living in cramped city apartments, this was heaven. The birds sang somewhere in the distance, and the forest was abuzz with the endless chatter of the insects.

The next morning we discovered that our jeep was the first vehicle to enter the forest. The sights that we encountered can be put in words—the Indian gaur, sambar deer, Malabar Grey Hornbill and Nilgiri Langoors.

There were here in front of us this minute, and before we could bat our lids, they were gone. We set the cameras to work in that low sunlight. But the photos would not reflect the excitement that we shared in our group.

 

We went deep. By the time we were deep inside, we were hungry. We took a quick but hungry bite at what was available to eat. The trek inside took almost an hour. We were now tired and thirsty. Imagine our delight when  we chanced upon a waterfall. Pure herbal water, said my colleague. Hm. But it was refreshing. Both the slaking of the thirst, and the lovely bathing we had. We forgot that the water was infested with leeches. When someone warned us of them, we were scared and gave a quick scan our own torsos and limbs. Luckily, none stuck to us.

The return journey took us another one and a half hours. 

The first thing we did as we landed in our tree house was to hit the sack.