A Memorable River Picnic with Deadly Honey Bees
It was a pleasant Sunday morning and I was sitting in the veranda of my Swiss Cottage, enjoying a cup of tea with my wife. A cold wind was blowing, spreading fragrance of September bloom. There was romance in the air, which lured other inmates of the camp to shed their slumber and come out of their tents. As soon as one of them spotted me sipping morning tea,
they invaded my tent one by one all of them entered my tent and comfortably parked themselves on the chairs/ stools available. One of them asked,” Where is Bhabhi ji?” Before he could complete the sentence, she entered with hot tea for everyone. “Very smart of you." To this she replied, “I know you jungle folks, tea is welcome any time of the day.
In such a pleasant environment when everyone was busy in enjoying tea and its elaichi aroma, Arvind, a camp inmate could not resist the temptation of suggesting that we go out for a river picnic in such a fine weather. Knowing there is a mountain river flowing ideally to a picturesque jungle clad mountain valley, each one of jumped on the idea and appreciated Mr. Arvind for his valuable suggestion. Soon everybody was busy in preparing for the river trip. Our jungle guide was informed to collect all the necessary items required for the river picnic besides food items and utensils for cooking and serving. My wife, who was very fond of playing bridge, quickly collected her cards along with essential clothing and neatly packed them in her knapsack. By now ,each one of us was ready with his knapsack packed with essential clothing etc. Even the cooks and coolies were ready with the necessary items required for the picnic.
Our party, consisting of seven people, including the field guide and four cooks/coolies started their march on the rugged jungle trail. Our guide, Shri Panaroo was an experienced mountaineer, well acquainted with the geography of the area. It was a monotonous walk through the thick sal forest till we reached a little clearing where we came across a flock of red beaked jungle parakeets muttering, cluttering and jumping from one branch of the tree to the other. Suddenly there was spurt in their activity, fearing invasion of their territory flew away en block, shouting on the top of their voices, leaving a green streak in the sky.
As the party proceeded forward, our guide sensed something but the only sound we heard was a faint breeze ruffling through the tall branches of bushes. Then there was a rustle in a bush about ten yards away. We were all alert. Mr. Panaroo sniffing the air close to where we heard the rustle declared, “All clear!” It was a fox. The march continued on the undulating trail till we landed on the bank of a beautiful river majestically through a beautiful valley carved out in sedimentary rocks with gentle slopes supporting a rich flora of jungle berries and wild flowers of different hues. We soon located an area where the rives has a bend with wide sloping bank of white sand.
It was already one p.m., soon we settled there spreading out our feet and changed into bathing gears. Cooks were asked to open their kitchen and start cooking. They knew our habits and were ready with hot tea which we finished in no time and jumped into the river. The water of this mountain stream was mildly cold and very refreshing. We were enjoying every bit of our bath, jumping, swimming and diving. It went on for sometime before we decided to come out for taking some rest and preparing for the second. Coming out we quickly wrapped our bodies in bathing towels and started waiting for the second cup of tea. Again my wife came to our rescue and provided the much needed hot cup of tea. Soon we jumped into the water and started our swim. One of us brought a ball into the water, which provided the thrill of water polo without knowing a bigger thrill was awaiting us on the bank. We soon came out of the water. After changing into our jeans and trousers we settled on our mats where my wife, who did not enter water for a second bath, waiting for us to join her in the game of cards. We were soon served with tea and snacks which we enjoyed to our hearts contents. In such an environment everyone welcomed the game of the cards. Everyone got busy in bidding and playing their best moves. Suddenly I reminded all the folks that now it is 3 p.m. and evening is fast approaching. It was a clear hint for stopping the game and get ready to march back after finishing the lunch. All the cooks were pressed into service and soon our lunch was served under the supervision of my wife. Everybody has a praise for my wife for getting made so many items of food, especially biryani and malai kofta in the jungle.
The moment we started eating our lunch, a hell broke out over our heads and this was the second thrill that was predicted. First a few dark red colored honey bees ½ inch long started buzzing over heads. As we tried to shove them off, they started taking dives on to our scalp, giving a nasty sting. We tried our best to cope with this menace by covering our heads with jungle caps and wife covered her head with her saree palloo. There was a little lull. In no time they returned in a big horde, buzzing with deadly sound. Everywhere the whole space over heads was crowded with these deadly monsters. We could not save our half covered bodies from their piercing stings. Soon our whole body started burning with their poison. We could not spot our collies. The situation started worsening every moment. We could not make out how to protect ourselves from these bees whose number was swelling every minute. It was similar to an air attack by our squadron of MIG jet fighter planes – diving and bombing on the enemy installations. In the midst of bruises all over with burning pain I prayed to God Almighty. Suddenly an idea flashed into my mind and I asked everybody to enter the water and hide himself/herself. But the bees followed remained hovering over our heads. As soon as one peeped out of the water to breathe, they attacked with vengeance. That hide and seek game continued for sometime till the crowed of bees started melting away. After assuring that all is clear one by one we came out of water. We were like wounded soldiers with swollen faces and backs, necks and chests of the body. We were half covered at the time of attack. It was a miracle my wife was spared. I asked her the reason, she promptly replied,” They were all females.” With swollen bodies we were empathizing with each other. Mr. Negi’s body was mauled very badly. While sympathizing with him I learned he has donned a newly stitched pant, which he could not quickly remove on entering the water as its belt got stuck up.
It was such a shocking experience of our lives that we will remember it throughout. We returned quickly to our camp as it was becoming dark and hearing roar of a tiger at a distance.
Here is a word of caution to picnickers. Never cook in the open under a tree.
In such a pleasant environment when everyone was busy in enjoying tea and its elaichi aroma, Arvind, a camp inmate could not resist the temptation of suggesting that we go out for a river picnic in such a fine weather. Knowing there is a mountain river flowing ideally to a picturesque jungle clad mountain valley, each one of jumped on the idea and appreciated Mr. Arvind for his valuable suggestion. Soon everybody was busy in preparing for the river trip. Our jungle guide was informed to collect all the necessary items required for the river picnic besides food items and utensils for cooking and serving. My wife, who was very fond of playing bridge, quickly collected her cards along with essential clothing and neatly packed them in her knapsack. By now ,each one of us was ready with his knapsack packed with essential clothing etc. Even the cooks and coolies were ready with the necessary items required for the picnic.
Our party, consisting of seven people, including the field guide and four cooks/coolies started their march on the rugged jungle trail. Our guide, Shri Panaroo was an experienced mountaineer, well acquainted with the geography of the area. It was a monotonous walk through the thick sal forest till we reached a little clearing where we came across a flock of red beaked jungle parakeets muttering, cluttering and jumping from one branch of the tree to the other. Suddenly there was spurt in their activity, fearing invasion of their territory flew away en block, shouting on the top of their voices, leaving a green streak in the sky.
As the party proceeded forward, our guide sensed something but the only sound we heard was a faint breeze ruffling through the tall branches of bushes. Then there was a rustle in a bush about ten yards away. We were all alert. Mr. Panaroo sniffing the air close to where we heard the rustle declared, “All clear!” It was a fox. The march continued on the undulating trail till we landed on the bank of a beautiful river majestically through a beautiful valley carved out in sedimentary rocks with gentle slopes supporting a rich flora of jungle berries and wild flowers of different hues. We soon located an area where the rives has a bend with wide sloping bank of white sand.
It was already one p.m., soon we settled there spreading out our feet and changed into bathing gears. Cooks were asked to open their kitchen and start cooking. They knew our habits and were ready with hot tea which we finished in no time and jumped into the river. The water of this mountain stream was mildly cold and very refreshing. We were enjoying every bit of our bath, jumping, swimming and diving. It went on for sometime before we decided to come out for taking some rest and preparing for the second. Coming out we quickly wrapped our bodies in bathing towels and started waiting for the second cup of tea. Again my wife came to our rescue and provided the much needed hot cup of tea. Soon we jumped into the water and started our swim. One of us brought a ball into the water, which provided the thrill of water polo without knowing a bigger thrill was awaiting us on the bank. We soon came out of the water. After changing into our jeans and trousers we settled on our mats where my wife, who did not enter water for a second bath, waiting for us to join her in the game of cards. We were soon served with tea and snacks which we enjoyed to our hearts contents. In such an environment everyone welcomed the game of the cards. Everyone got busy in bidding and playing their best moves. Suddenly I reminded all the folks that now it is 3 p.m. and evening is fast approaching. It was a clear hint for stopping the game and get ready to march back after finishing the lunch. All the cooks were pressed into service and soon our lunch was served under the supervision of my wife. Everybody has a praise for my wife for getting made so many items of food, especially biryani and malai kofta in the jungle.
The moment we started eating our lunch, a hell broke out over our heads and this was the second thrill that was predicted. First a few dark red colored honey bees ½ inch long started buzzing over heads. As we tried to shove them off, they started taking dives on to our scalp, giving a nasty sting. We tried our best to cope with this menace by covering our heads with jungle caps and wife covered her head with her saree palloo. There was a little lull. In no time they returned in a big horde, buzzing with deadly sound. Everywhere the whole space over heads was crowded with these deadly monsters. We could not save our half covered bodies from their piercing stings. Soon our whole body started burning with their poison. We could not spot our collies. The situation started worsening every moment. We could not make out how to protect ourselves from these bees whose number was swelling every minute. It was similar to an air attack by our squadron of MIG jet fighter planes – diving and bombing on the enemy installations. In the midst of bruises all over with burning pain I prayed to God Almighty. Suddenly an idea flashed into my mind and I asked everybody to enter the water and hide himself/herself. But the bees followed remained hovering over our heads. As soon as one peeped out of the water to breathe, they attacked with vengeance. That hide and seek game continued for sometime till the crowed of bees started melting away. After assuring that all is clear one by one we came out of water. We were like wounded soldiers with swollen faces and backs, necks and chests of the body. We were half covered at the time of attack. It was a miracle my wife was spared. I asked her the reason, she promptly replied,” They were all females.” With swollen bodies we were empathizing with each other. Mr. Negi’s body was mauled very badly. While sympathizing with him I learned he has donned a newly stitched pant, which he could not quickly remove on entering the water as its belt got stuck up.
It was such a shocking experience of our lives that we will remember it throughout. We returned quickly to our camp as it was becoming dark and hearing roar of a tiger at a distance.
Here is a word of caution to picnickers. Never cook in the open under a tree.
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