My Dream.
It was year 2004.I was out of college and decided to become volunteer teacher in a primary school for tribal children in the Hakki Pikki Tribal colony of Bannerghatta National Park. My Childhood dream is to live in a forest area and work for the betterment of Wild animals and Tribals like my Childhood hero “Mouglee” of ‘Jungle Book ‘. It was a dream come true to work in the Hakki Pikki Tribal Colony which resembled the picture of the “Jungle Book”, a small hamlet surrounded by forest, mountains, lakes and occasional visits to crop field by Wild Elephants. I thought I will live in this dream forever but nature had some other things stored in for me. After 3 months I realised life is not a dream but fact. With no pocket money and salary, lack of skills and experience I could not continue the volunteer work. I learned in a hard way that, to achieve my goal of Wildlife conservation and Tribal welfare, in addition to passion I also need skills, knowledge, experience and financial support. Those days were most challenging days in my life. One evening on television I saw the closing ceremony of Athens Olympic Games with the banner “welcome to Beijing Olympics 2008”. I hoped that when the Beijing Olympics starts, I will be in a strong position to reach my goal.
Now it’s 2008 and I feel my Hope has come true. With experience in NGOs like Shishu Mandir and Akshara Foundation, guidance from noted wildlife conservationists like K.M.Chinnappa, Praveen Bhargav, D.V.Girish and the Best of all, to be a fellow of Deshpande Foundation makes me feel strong. The objective of Deshpande Fellowship program is to build ‘Social Entrepreneurs’ and I want to use this opportunity to reach my goal of wildlife conservation and Tribal welfare. I would like to start an Ecotourism centre in Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary which will be a source of livelihood for local people and involve them in Conservation. The revenue generated through ecotourism will improve the quality of life of local people and motivate them to protect the forest areas. I hope when London Olympics starts in 2012, I would have reached my goal.
