Phen Wildlife Sanctuary - A wildlife paradise

111 Sq Kms of pristine forest, North East of Kanha Tiger Reserve, a mini satellite core of Kanha – Phen Wildlife Sanctuary, is in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. A nature lovers’ paradise, it is best for bird watchers and ones who love forest.  With Sal, Teak, Saja, Aonla, Tendu, Jamun, Bel, Bamboo and Bargad it has more than 800 known species of flora. Mammals and bird life abound, we can spot more than 200 bird species along with Hyena, Fox, Sloth bear, Gaur, Leopard, Wild Dog, Jungle Cat and Blue Bull and other wildlife. A few very lucky ones even spot a Tiger – the King of Indian forests.

“Bamhani Dadar used to be like this when we used to visit in October” exclaimed Kalim bhai. At places our 4x4 Gypsy could not be seen under tall grass in the beautiful meadows.  “Yes, it reminds us of 20 years back, when Kanha had less tourist influx and most of it was open for tourism.” Kamal added. Ravi our guide provided by forest department had excellent knowledge of local fauna which was a treat and increased our knowledge.

“We should come back between mid-November till mid-February for bird watching, to spot migratory birds” I add. Due to very few tourists visiting the sanctuary animals here are very cautious of any sound or sight of humans. Sir, ‘Tendua’ (Leopard) exclaimed Ravi, the rosettes could be seen clearly. Walking through dense foliage it climbed up a tree, away from our prying eyes. Sloth bear pugmarks could be seen at many places. We were lucky enough to spot Jungle Cat, Blue Bull, Gaur, Wild Boar and Spotted deer amongst others.  

Kanha national park management has worked hard on restoration of forest. Villages from inside were relocated making the forest inviolate - void of human interference. Old school building of one time human settlement is being used by forest department for management purpose which has saved a lot of money on developing fresh setup, a move worth commendation.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism is starting a wildlife lodge near the entry gate, till than the only option is to live nearby at any resort in Kanha. We were carrying our own jungle hamper and thank our stars for it. Since still very few tourists visit Phen the infrastructure is not well developed and it does not have a cafeteria. Hopefully soon Phen Sanctuary will set a leading example on Responsible wildlife  Eco-Tourism in India.

If you love nature just do not contemplate, plan your tour and enjoy wilderness – undisturbed and pristine.

Step by step guide to book your safari excursion

Want to spot a tiger in the wild?
Planning a wildlife holiday to Madhya Pradesh?

Tiger at Kanha National Park

Book your safari well in advance to have a great safari experience......

Here is a how to book your own safari, a step to step guide to make your wildlife experience a perfect one and end dependency on others:

1 - Go to website https://forest.mponline.gov.in/Search.aspx

2 - Choose your Destination - Following options are available at present - Kanha national park, Bandhavgarh national park, Pench national park, Panna national park and Satpura national park. Here we have chosen Kanha.

3 - Choose your date of travel
4 - Choose your ticket type - You have 2 options to choose between full vehicle permit and single person permit. If only 2 - 3 people are going for holiday and you are comfortable with sharing with others single vehicle permit is a good option. If you are going for photography or with a larger group of 4 - 6 guests it is better to book full vehicle permit.
5 - Click on - 'Excursion Availability' tab

6 - Click on date for which you want to book safari excursion. Here in example we have clicked 01-12-2016 for full vehicle permit.

7 - Fill Zone (Kanha / Kisli / Sarhi / Mukki) and round details (morning / evening).
8 - Leave vehicle type and other details as it is and click on 'Proceed for tourist details' tab.

9 - Fill full details as required, do not forget ID proof number of all guests. Click at 'I agree' tab at last and Continue tab.

10 - Check all details, note down the booking id generated. Click payment tab.

11 - Make payment online. You will get a confirmation that your ticket is booked.

Carry your ticket printout along with original ID proof as filled while booking permit, get it checked at entry gate and enjoy your safari.

Present safari permit rate (2016 - 17 Season) is 1500/- for a full vehicle permit. You also have to pay Rs. 50/- extra as portal charges. Vehicle charges and guide charges are extra which you have to pay at the hotel or entry gate. Safari vehicle charges are between 1800/- to 2500/- at different national parks.

Enjoy your forest excursions at Tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, Cheers!!!

Safari details for season 2016 - 17

The Tourism Rules for season 2016 - 17 has been notified by Madhya Pradesh forest department through MP Online.
2)      Here onwards, there will be no more differential rates for Indian & Foreign Tourists in all Parks of MP
3)      The Park Entry Fees will be Rs. 1500/- Per Permit (the increase is approx 10%)
4)      Premium Zone Concept abolished, No more Premium Zones in Kanha & Bandhavgarh.
5)      Single Seat introduced with 10% Quota from On-line Tickets & in Current Bookings.
6)      Premium Ticket Concept is scarped.
7)      Add-On Facility will be continued with following changes ...
·         In the Original Ticket, Minimum 2 tourist names are must with the photo ID number.
·         Now, We will pay Only Rs. 1500/- as One time Charge for this Add-On facility (not per add-on of guest)
·         We can add maximum 4 Guest through this add-on facility.
·         Only One Time Edit, will be possible.

8)      Wait Listed Ticket Concept: 25% of the Day’s Ticket Quota, will be issued as Wait-Listed Tickets, such tickets will be automatically stands cancelled, if not confirmed before 6 days of date of travel.

9)      Any photo ID of the tourist will be acceptable at the gate for verification.

10)   Guide Charges will be Rs. 360/- Per Round from the coming season

11)   No entry fee for children up to 5 years of age, Half Entry Fee for Children between 5-12 yrs in single permit

12)   In all tiger reserves of MP, the date of tiger census will be declared well in advance to avoid any inconvenience to the tourist.

Enjoy your holiday with Tigers in national parks of Madhya Pradesh

Depection of Mother Goddess as Mother Earth in Hindu religion

सनातन हिन्दू धर्मानुसार माँ के ३ मुख्य स्वरूप दिखाए जाते है, अगर हम ये माने की माँ यहाँ पर पृथ्वी माँ है तथा बताये गए स्वरूपों को समझने की कोशिश करें तो हमारे समझ में आयेगा की हमारे पूर्वज कितना सही सोचते थे.

In Hinduism we are given 3 major portrayal of mother goddess. If we take mother goddess as Mother earth and correlate all three with what is happening around, we see a lot of similarity in the way our ancestors have described mother. If we try to interpret what they actually wanted to say it looks like -

देवी अन्नपूर्णा – हमारी हरेक मनोकामना पुरी करती थी, हरे रंग की साड़ी पहने हुए दिखाई जाती है, शांत स्वरूप – कितना सही है, जब पृथ्वी देवी पूर्ण रूप से वनों से आच्छादित थी हरेक जीव को सब कुछ मिल जाता था, न खाने की फिकर न काम की.

Devi Annapurna – Pleasing green attire, always ready to provide what any living being requested for. No one had to work as all your demands are fulfilled. How true it is, when mother earth was covered with greenery / forests we had everything we wanted.

देवी दुर्गा – लाल वस्त्र धारण करती है, भक्तो को केवल माँगने से नहीं वरन तप (कर्म) करने से फल प्राप्त होता है. जब पृथ्वी माता के हरे वस्त्रो ने लाल मिट्टी का रूप ले लिया हमें खेती व अन्य कार्य करने पड़ते है कुछ भी प्राप्त करने हेतु.

Devi Durga – Red attire, riding on tiger, living being had to do ‘Tapa’ i.e. work for getting anything, to fulfil its demand. When we started destroying forests, started cultivation on earth everything changed. Now we had to work hard to get what we wanted, to fulfil our desire. When seen from the top it looks like mother earth is wearing a red attire (agricultural fields).

देवी काली – कोई वस्त्र धारण नहीं करती, नर मुंड की माला ही उनका वस्त्राभूषण है, रक्त पान करते हुए चित्रित किया जाता है. जब हम जंगलो को पूरा ख़त्म कर देंगे तब हमें यह स्वरूप देखने को मिलेगा. काला स्वरूप – प्रदूषण के कारण हवा, जल, नभ सब काले,  संपूर्ण संसार में सब तरफ नर मुंड पड़े होंगे पृथ्वी माँ के श्रृंगार के रूप में.

Devi Kaali – Is depicted as black coloured, without any cloths on except bones and skulls as her adornments, drinking blood from a skull. When we finish all forests, pollution level goes up, everything including air and water will turn black due to pollutants. We will find skulls and bones of dead lying around everywhere on earth.

The three depictions above are very clear and tell us importance of saving our forests and conservation.

Saundraya Lahiri

http://www.speakingtree.in/article/saundarya-lahari