22nd February
by Nidhi Rajput
Now, we are moving towards the end of field training. The last two days are fixed for the assessments. However before all that, in the morning at around 6.15, we all were ready to visit Kankwari fort situated in the core of Sariska Tiger Reserve and we were told that the sculpture and its beauty cannot be compared. We started to move in the open gipsies at 6.30 with our packed breakfast. Morning is always beautiful in the Jungle, and when we reached the fort, we all were awestruck with the mesmerising beauty of the place. ‘Fairytale,’ the word was striking the mind. There were migratory birds around and the remnants of history made the place a mysterious one. Then, we were told about its tragic history and how the fort remained abandoned for years. Interestingly, it was the favourable place of tiger ST1, who had owned the fort for quite long. According to the information, ST1 was frequent in giving perfect poses many times in the fort and for us, it was a thrill to imagine. After exploring the fort, it was time to have breakfast and then we all departed to Sariska Palace leaving the mystery behind. Back to Palace, we had a lecture on “Physical restraint tools and techniques” by Dr Parag Nigam. Afterwards, at Queen’s corner, we were given the hands-on training by Navaneethan Balasubramanium and Dev Sengupta for handling various equipment of physical capture; tongs, hook, trap, cages and mist netting. This was the last lecture and then we were all ready for the assessments. After lunch, we had an exam, where it was startling to complete the 40 multiple choice questions in just one hour. Questions were too tricky but interestingly each question made us remember the concerned tutor. After the exam, Dr Nic Masters summarised the data sheets of immobilisation practices of past days and then we all moved back to the den for the preparations of tomorrow’s presentations.
At the end, the day went fine and our mind was filled with so many experiences of a different kind to feel confident and smile once again.
