Seetharampuram

Nostalgia trip continuing...

Seetharampuram was literally in the jungles.......living in tents, amongst the wilderness, the clouds and the local adivasis.

It's located in the Ananthagiri hills of Araku valley, about 50 kms from Vizag. Another 4 year posting for dad. While we didn't live there with him, we spent all our school vacations there.

While there are several instances recounted of seeing cheetahs, pythons, cobras, and even tigers, one which I myself distinctly remember is this; dad had come for lunch...our dining area was a small folding aluminium table and four folding chairs, placed under a tree, a little distance outside the tent. We were sitting at the table, and suddenly there was this snake that came dangling out of the tree .....almost onto the table.

I'm recalling this incident, and mom's like "yeah, a green snake, long.... and it's tail was still wound to the branch ...rest was hanging in front of us..... you remember, it was beautiful". 

And I could only go 'omg', I was like "emi ma...I'm amazed that dad and you did this, that too with us so little......tell me more about it...how did we even live there, what was it like, didn't snakes come into the tent?".

Dad: We had what's called a snake trench dug all around the tent. It has specifications, per which a snake cannot cross in. But there were many outside.

Mom: There was once this massive python that came into the area, and someone came running to us saying you both were sitting very close to it, looking into its face. We go with them to find it true, you were still sitting with it .... just that the python couldn't move as it had swallowed a hen whole which was stuck in it's throat.

Dad: We used to have mosquito nets for each cot, we had only camp cots, and they were different kind of mosquito nets.  There was no electricity there. ( I was like, what !!??!! we lived without electricity...how?!? ) .

Mom: It was only lanterns and petromax, we used to finish everything before dark, and at times even going out to the bathroom in the night was a big issue as we had to use the lantern and go. (so we had bathrooms?). Not really, that was just another tent, one for a bath, and one with deep holes in it, which would keep shifting. Hard to imagine, but that's how it was.

Dad: I used to read a lot, even in lantern light, and once when I finished reading, and as habit I overturned my pillow, there was this huge black spider with hairy legs under my pillow. I jumped out of my skin, as the only thing I can't stand is spiders.

Mom: We had to have gemaxin powder put all through the snake trench regularly. In the market what we get is 10% potency, but for the scorpions and spiders we needed much higher potency, so we needed special permission, which had to each time be signed by the collector of the area. Many mornings we would find scorpions in the trench, not the usual ones we see ( really ma, usual scorpions?), but big...huge black ones.

Dad: There were times we had to go find new mining sites, and there would be no paths, we'd have to walk through jungle for four to five days at a stretch. They would give us 20 labour to carry the head load, and we'd carry about 50 phulkas, raw rice, onion and green chillies and that would be our entire ration for days, we would have to manage on that.

When I took Geology, they had told us that we should opt for it only if we liked outdoor life, but at that time I never thought that this was what they meant. There were times it was very tough ...I've gone days without food, and just rain water for drinking.

Mom: While snakes and scorpions were kept out, there would be big rats on the roof of the tent between the flaps, we could hear them running around in the night.

Then there were days that were so beautiful that clouds would pass through us, just sitting outside the tent. It's after all in araku valley.

Dad: Once it rained really heavy, this was when you weren't with me, and my surveyors tent collapsed. He had brought his wife to camp, newly married, they'd arrived just that week. When their tent collapsed, they both came and sat in my tent. Water was flowing through my tent as well. We were sitting on opposite cots and in between there was my trunk, which also served as table. I sensed something and turned on the torch for a moment, and saw a huge snake sitting curled up on the trunk. It must have got carried through with the flowing water and when it found a foothold it settled. I didn't tell them, as I also didn't know what to do, but those were definitely very tense hours. His wife packed up and left the next day.

Most of our officers wives and family wouldn't want to stay in camp, but mummy is that way very different, very courageous, more than me in fact, she was always game, and that's how we could take you two also.

Mom: If I think back now, even I wonder how I did it, but back then it was a wonderful life. After Seetharampuram, Srisailam was like a luxury. It was after all a town, so what if it had only one street for market and only one theatre.

And it had electricity. Seetharampuram, after dark was just lanterns.

Dad: Vizag was the nearest town and once in a while we would go there as outing... watch a movie, eat and come back. On the way back , we had to cross Gosthani river and once we got caught in floods. One of my most harrowing experiences, a time I thought we were all finished.

It was dark, and though the headlights picked up the water, we didn't think it was deep, and we didn't realize the river was in floods.  As we drove onto the causeway, we felt the water flow through the jeep...... within a minute the headlights failed... and then the engine went off. It was pitch dark, and the sound of the gushing water was terrifying. The jeep started to swing.....you started crying then. (what a detail to remember).

What saved us was a pen torch that Haq's wife was carrying in her bag. When Hussain, our driver got off, the water lifted his legs, and I had to pull him back in. Then I got off the other side, against the flow, and holding the jeep and then the trailer, walked back and managed to get to the village. I had to also unhook the trailer and let it go with all our stores, as it would have tilted the jeep which was already swinging. I knew the post master in that village, so I went and woke him up, and he brought help. That night we all slept in the post office.'

By this time I was pretty much listening dazed and open mouthed.

Next morning, I scouted all their old albums, and found a few pictures from then. In fact like Diksha asked, what kind of camera did they even have back then?

Hard to imagine....big cameras, black and white pictures, loading film, getting it developed, printing the pictures....a different world....with a different and wonderful charm to it. 

I simply love this picture: (what they're sitting on is the back seat of the jeep serving as chair :)

Praveen and me, in one of the camps...

Dad with his surveyor outside our tent

 Both of us with dad

Back home in Mehdipatnam, the only picture from there I could find

Daddy and Ma, I'm so so amazed at both of you....and so glad and grateful that you did what you did, and enabled all these experiences for us. Also a little overwhelmed.

Guess, it's only now I'm beginning to understand the level of exposure and independence you've allowed us.....for instance allowing, or rather encouraging me to not just go to the station and book my own train tickets, but even travel alone right from when I was twelve, letting me participate in the Asiad opening ceremony though it meant missing school and staying in tents outside Delhi for two months and many many such. 

This is an exceptional level of trust and faith in life. I now know where I get it from :)