The birth of three lion cubs at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park has enthused its officials who are hopeful that more children will be drawn to this unique forest reserve that has long figured as the venue of school picnics. Given the rediscovered respect for nature in the concrete jungle that is Mumbai, their hopes are not really unfounded.
As lush trees and playgrounds grow rarer in the city, progressively more schools and parents are taking children to verdant pockets of Mumbai to allow them to commune with nature and learn at the same time. Kids today are getting to spend time in Aarey Milk Colony or the Mahim Nature Park. Schoolchildren as little as 10 are being signed up for WWF-India’s nature trails to the Maharashtra Nature Park in Dharavi, the BPT Garden in Colaba or the botanical garden inside Byculla zoo.
“Not everybody can travel outside the city. Moreover, children should respect the natural treasures that exist within Mumbai,” says WWF education officer Gauri Gurav.
The global wildlife organization’s trips cost a nominal Rs 50 while an allexpense-paid tour of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary costs around Rs 1,000. Its trips are not leisurely school picnics, though. Kids, while enjoying the visits, learn about rules governing wildlife and interact with local residents. The laundry list of supplies says it all. No red, white and fluorescent clothes are allowed. Neither a music system nor Walkman is permitted, nor inflammables, and no perfumes or deodorants must to be worn to the forest area. Recommended paraphernalia includes mosquito repellent, cap and torch. Participants are warned that they will have to “rough it out and adjust” and carry their own baggage. And this, in fact, is what they enjoy most.
Arguably the biggest lure of all is the national park in Borivli. “This is the only national park in the world which is located right in the middle of the city,” says Avinash Dhakne, former joint managing director, MTDC. “A certain magic sets over the jungle during the monsoon, giving rise to little streams, rare flowers and insects that make it difficult to believe this is Mumbai.” Indeed, it is here that the purple ‘karvi’ flower blooms once in seven years, and the Atlas moth, the world’s largest, has been sighted. It abounds with 280 kinds of birds, 5,000 types of insects, 36 species of mammals and around 800 flowering plants, 50 reptiles and 150 species of butterflies.
Nature’s surprises are aplenty in the 37-acre Mahim Nature Park as well. A garbage dump in the past, it today is a haven for 200 species of trees, 38 kinds of butterflies and 80 types of birds. Educational tours are conducted on a routine basis here.
In Goregaon, the green lung that is the 12-km Aarey Milk Colony claims biodiversity that is singularly inspiring. Mongoose, jackals, palm civet and wild boar occupy this natural habitat as do snakes, butterflies and wildflowers.
One strong regret most Mumbaikars share is that the city’s long coastline is not maintained better. Still, children living in the western suburbs prefer the lively Juhu beach now that it has been cleared of hawkers to the quiet but dirty Versova stretch. Chowpatty, as always, is an ideal daytime destination thanks to the availability of basic amenities and food stalls. Families travelling on overnight holidays prefer to drive the distance to Virar and head onward to Arnala.
Organized tours for kids to places neighbouring Mumbai are becoming popular. Tour operator Sheetal Pasad conducts short-duration educational camps for children as young as five and six to places such as Yeoor and Khandala. “They enjoy exploring new sites even as they learn to become independent. This is the first time some of them are leaving home without their parents, eating and changing by themselves. At the same time, they learn about their environment,” Pasad says. “They enjoy exploring sites in small groups and participating in treasure hunts. Most of all, they show off photographs to family and friends when we return.”