Staying At The Animal Farm

It has been almost 2 months since I returned from my trip to the Nilgiris, but not even a day goes without having thought of the stay in an animal farm. For someone who has always been more careful about animals than humans in her life, this place was as close as I got to heaven.

The Hill View Farm is perfect for its name, unlike the other hotels that have a name but no scenery. This is situated far inside the deep jungles of Masinagudi (you need a special jeep to get here since there is no proper road), surrounded by only mountains, there is no network on your phone. As you knock on the gates, you’ve enthusiastic bunch of dogs running towards you. No better welcome, I swear! All of them surrounding you, sniffing your luggage, wagging tails and then follow you into the farm. A careful notice and you realise one of them doesn’t have a leg, another has a smaller ear, one is limping but there’s abundant enthusiasm to them.

We complain so much of our everyday problems. Sigh!

The farm is built or rather a part of India Project for Animal and Nature (IPAN). There is vast and vast expanse of greens and its hues. What make it beautiful are the residents- the animals. Cows, buffaloes, sheep, horses, donkeys and of course dogs. All of them are rescued ones and living lives to their fullest. They are not bound, except for the night, when they are kept in huge cages. Throughout the day you see them grazing around, the dogs having their jolly, the foals resting, ponies lazing around, the sheep staring at new humans and running away. One would imagine chaos with so many of them together, but it is such peace to say the least.  Also since you’re in a jungle, it is obvious to spot birds around. The place connects back to the deep jungles and at night you can hear the wild elephants trumpeting.

Nigel Otter, the founder of this place, began out of his love for wildlife and nature. About 20 years back he acquired this land and started the service, from rescuing animals and treating them to rehabilitating, he has done everything and thus founded the base of IPAN. (You can check more about this-http://www.indiapan.org/ )

There are up to 50 dogs, 20-25 horses and ponies, another 50 donkeys and rest of the cattle. His daughters spend their holidays here; they take care of the animals, help their parents in maintaining the place, ride horses and help around the guests. I couldn’t help but feel extremely jealous of them. A 7-year old having her own pony, riding gear and showing off her riding skills, while we amusingly to click their pictures.

We spent two days in this company and it gave such happiness. All the horses have been named and have a story. One has been rescued from a brick factory, one from a circus, one abandoned and so on and so forth. You get introduced to each one of them and that’s the first thing we did after dumping our luggage in the rooms. There is a stream of river which flows at the backside of the farm, a place where the wild ones come to drink water. In these many years of residing, there have never been a case of any harm in this wilderness. Besides all the dogs are friendly and won’t attack you, instead they follow you around, never leaving your back. Dogs- 1 Humans- 0

The evenings are an artist’s canvas! Within an hour of the sunset, the skies changed from blue to orange to violet to eventually dark. It was not easy to fathom how nature displayed its own rainbow; all you needed to do was stare.

The best part about this place was it was devoid of any network. No calls, messages, giggling at the phone screens but walking around the farm, making friends with horses, playing with the dogs and knowing what happiness feels like.

Another thing is since you are away and inside from what could be called modern civilization, one needs to prepare their meals here. Carry all the ingredients and cook yourself anything that is edible, sit out in the farm, listen to the winds and eat. There is a kitchen with the basic supplies and Nigel’s family is more than helpful.

I may not know if I can ever do something like this on my own, I want to, I want to make it a better world for my genuine love of animals, but at least in those two days I knew where I could possibly return when I retire. I really do not need people to make me happy, if I can spend time tending to not the branded breeds but take care of the strays, I will be satisfied. If I could do even 10% of what Nigel Otter has done, I will call myself successful. He has been such an inspiration; this place has been elevating form of happiness. I may not have volunteered in actually doing something for them, but it voluntarily gave me worth load of true satisfaction to look back into my life.