we
are at the heart of Agra city, well dressed executives of reputed travel
agencies and receptionists of star hotels with their valuable ideas and tips
are helping peak season's clients to finalise their itinerary. But nobody knows
where this hell " Patna bird sanctuary" actually is. "Are you
sure sir it is not in Bihar ?" - asked
one travel agent even.
Having
no clue , I dialed the number of Pragati Vershney , an activist and
conservationist who alone is fighting for giving PBS a place in UP's tourism
map. I collected her number from a source and saved for emergency help, had a
couple of calls before leaving Kolkata. Fortunately she managed to make my
hotel officials understand the approximate location of PBS. They arranged a cab
accordingly at last and I went to sleep in the dead of night.
Next morning I left the hotel at 7
O'clock but end December fog made it impossible to drive without headlights on.
Our driver followed NH2 towards Tundla. On the way we found at least three
wrecked vehicle amidst sea of broken glass pieces, a result of rash driving in
densely fogy night. A break of almost 30 min for breakfast and tea didn't
improve the light condition significantly. We slowly headed to Rajawali
Choraha, and followed Jalesar Road. Our driver started to ask people frequently
about PBS. Following those instruction when the car reached Sikandra Rao -
Jalesar Road, he looked a bit scary. My repeated query made him declare -
" Shaab, hume 3 bajne se pahle yahan se nikal jana hoga". Further
investigation revealed that robbery and snatching from the outsider is a very
common phenomenon in this area. Our driver Javed vai himself once suffered from
such things. Problem increased from late afternoon. So , we have to leave this
area before that.
By this time a roadside board by
forest department indicated that we are close to our destination. I spotted a
pair of Sauras Crane in the vast agricultural field by the road and got off the
vehicle to take some photos. Light conditions was not so bad as it was in the early
morning, which allowed to take some reasonably good shots of the largest flying
bird of India , which is considered as holy and symbol of fertility in many
parts of the country. At last our car drove through the entrance of PBS. After
fulfilling necessary formalities I
started to explore the whole area.
