A Walk In The Woods

Staying in the city makes you crave for the great outdoors and nature. But what probably people don't realize is, that its not difficult to go out into nature, right inside the city.
I have passed the Tuglakabad area many times without realizing that there is the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary there. So I went for a 5 km long nature walk through the forest. It was organized by a friend of a friend and I tagged along. There were close to 15 people and kids in the group. The walk started at 5:30 PM, an odd time I thought at that time. But later I realized that was the best time.
Walking in the still of the night with the moonlight and the stillness of the scrub forest was something I hadn't experienced earlier. Closing my eyes and standing still with the silence broken by insects and the odd calls of animals gave me a strange peaceful feeling.
As we walked the perimeter of the forest, the only thing that gave away that we were near a city was the sound of bhajan and azzan floating in the wind from the settlements that ringed the sanctuary.
We spotted a whole lot of animals - antelopes, black bucks, weaver birds, peacocks, porcupines, jackals and nil gais. All this took almost 2 hours, which ensured everyone had built a gargantuan appetite.