<p>Viji Balasubramanian is a counsellor and professional coach who lives in the U.S.A. &nbsp;With a background in biomedical clinical research and academia, she later became a psychologist and professional coach, empowering people from all walks of life to maximise their potential and shape their well-being and success. She coordinates the Heartfulness CARE for Cancer Program, and is a Heartfulness trainer and practitioner.</p>

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Viji Balasubramanian

<h4 style="text-align: justify;">VIJI BALASUBRAMANIAN takes us, along with her family, on a journey of discovery and
  bonding in a tiger reserve in Kerala India.</h4>
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<p style="text-align: justify;"><img class="img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
    src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/magnificent_mother_nature_img_1_dbe918cb43.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T11:06:17.407Z"
    alt="mother-nature-tiger" width="400" style="width: 400px !important;" />The plan was to take a trip with our
  extended family during the school holidays. We remembered a talk given by Ms Srilekha Venkateswar from The Wild Walk
  (www.thewildwalk.com) at our school’s annual day function. She said that today’s parents think they are bonding with
  their children in front of the TV or in the shopping mall, but that’s not bonding. Real bonding is when we are
  together in Nature, one with our natures, one with each other – our humble selves with magnificent Mother Nature. So,
  off we went, young, old, all in tow, to the Parambikulam Forest Tiger Preserve in Kerala, southern India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Those four days were filled with so much serenity. I found myself going down on my knees
  to my children’s height while we chatted and it seemed so much more connected. We drank tea from the hut of an 80-year
  old man who was not a tribal native, but had come there as a young man to help build the dams. He had so many stories.
  His self-sufficiency and ability to walk effortlessly through the slopes of the forest were amazing. We slept in tents
  that were so simple yet very modern and convenient. Peacocks climbed on the roofs of the tents and all night long they
  kept ‘talking’ to each other.</p>
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<h5 style="text-align: center;">All zipped up in a tent …<br>
  Excited to be in the jungle …<br>
  Alligators basking in the sun …<br>
  Peacocks by the dozen, dancing<br>
  in their colours …<br>
  Elephants in plenty caring for<br>
  one baby calf …<br>
  Spotted and Samba deers with<br>
  their beautiful eyes …<br>
  The majestic Indian Gaur …<br>
  I think I almost saw the flower<br>
  fairies … maybe in my heart.<br>
  Magical,<br>
  magical,<br>
  magical.</h5>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The morning walk by the river was gorgeous. “Look mom, elephant poop. Wow it is huge!”
  My daughter had her binoculars and was able to see the Malabar kingfisher and the hornbills. So many peacocks graced
  our morning walks with their pretty dances.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The astonishing thing was that these safari rides, boat rides and walks filled us inside
  out in a strange way. We would come back for food and respite and everybody would be silent. Just as I thought, “Maybe
  they are getting bored,” somebody would pipe up, “Did you see that Malabar squirrel and the way it was moving from
  branch to branch?” or “Did you see the Langoor black monkey that was hanging upside down?” And there would be a glow
  on everyone’s faces again.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Treasures ...
  Memories …</p>
<img class="my-4 w-100"
  src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/magnificent_mother_nature_img_2_a4d6a0ff84.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-29T11:13:43.932Z"
  alt="mother-nature" />I did not know how my five-year-old would fare. Taking him along was a good lesson for me as a
parent. Never  underestimate them – their love for nature, their curiosity, and their enthusiasm for the wild.

On the second day he commented, “If we are going to journey through the forest to see the ‘same’ animals again I am not
coming. I’m going to stay in the tent with thatta and patti and speak with the peacocks.” Come time to explore again,
however, he was the first one to roll out, and after a five-hour safari he put his head to rest sleepily on me. But
every time the bus slowed down to let a deer or bison pass, he would wake up to look and tell me if it was a Samba deer
or a spotted deer. The child behind so excitedly remarked, “Bison! Look! Bison!” My son sleepily said, “No amma, that’s
a Gaur. Bisons don’t live in India.’ Wow! I wish all learning was this practical, straight into the head and heart. Some
day.
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by VIJI BALASUBRAMANIAN</h4>
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