I had got allocated to the Gopalswamy Betta range or GS Betta range. That range was controlled from the RFO's office itself, and not any makeshift camps.
This is just one of the many ranges within the Bandipur reserve. And definitely not a good one for sighting animals, as it is situated just outside the park boundaries and meant mainly for administrative purposes than core wildlife activities.
I got a different camp than the others I had got acquainted with by that time. There were a lot of haggling and transfers. I didn't feel like asking any, even knowing well that I was going to a weak buffer zone just outside the gate.
I was clearly dejected and devoid of any company or contact to improve my situation. I had literally given in.
The instructions were provided and the manuals shared were largely in Kannada with forms to fill. Had gone around getting the key fields translated at least.
At least I should make myself useful wherever it is.
4-5 people finally joined out jeep which is HQ for the entire park. There we heard that the beats are waste and Hangala nearby has better sightings. Two experienced guys in our batch immediately opt for it and are taken there, leaving me and Ravi Kiran here at HQ.
The rooms are bad. No water, no guards for company, and no one to cook. This isn't what was promised at the briefing which promised well stocked camps with guards and lots of responsibilities.
The room was basically a small one with a shelf to keep some stuff and a space to sleep on the floor. The toilets too were in an exterior building somewhere behind the HQ. This building was part of some kind of quarters for the staff, minus the furniture they had.
Hopefully, someone would come in soon. And the beats aren't promising either. But keeping hope that this experience would be positive.
By this point, I was regretting various decisions, starting from the very first one to enroll for the exercise to not asking for a better position. It took a bit more of mental affirmations to find the right attitude to bear it.
Ah, there is a lot of politics and inteferences. Sitting idly outside the room, I can see after all the shortlisting, people who just walked in also were being accepted. So much for the formal application processes we had gone through. I could have haggled and tried to get into the core zones, but I didn't even try.
Keeping fingers crossed and making plans in mind to utilize opportunity to maximum.
Hope my other friends are getting a better treatment and are enjoying.
Signing off for now.
-Vivek
1st day at Tiger census Bandipur
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