GROUP III

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL

Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less travelled by and

that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

• Trekking, the most exciting and awaited part of Foundation course

• An experience to be remembered forever, where Officer Trainees get

the chance to forge bonds for a lifetime.

• Inculcate perseverance, empathy and esprit de corps.

• Team: 26 members (19 males, 7 females), 10 different services, 16

different states

Introduction

GROUP MEMBERS 1. Aman Saxena- GL 14. Shrutimala

2. Kuldeep Singh- AGL 15. Ajey Singh 3. K. Apoorva Rao- Treasurer 16. Aman Singh Rathore 4. Rajnikant Mittal 17. Amit Goel 5. Mridul Kachawa 18. Vijaya Krishna Yadav 6. Kannan MVG 19. Md Moin Afaque 7. Varun Yadav 20. Chelsasini V 8. Kriti Pandey 21. Abhishek Kumar Agrawal 9. Pratyush Diwaker 22. Swati Singh 10. Rangaswamy E 23. Gokul Mahajan 11. Vaibhao Dahiwale 24. Neeraj Kumar Agarwal 12. Lavina Sinha 25. Amogh Gopinath 13. Vrinda Shukla 26. Naveen Garg * STF & Forest Guards: Mani, Hari, Vimal & Murugapandi

• The name describes the journey of 26 total strangers coming

together to form a single inseparable family, in a new and

challenging environment.

• The family stood for each other through thick and thin.

“All for One, One for All”

Trek Route

Dumbcharades

Cricket

Bonfire

Football

Playing cards

Mafia

Antakshari

Mimicry

Group Activities

The flora comprises about 3,500 species of flowering plants.

About 80 per cent of the flowering plants reported from the

Western Ghats occur in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

The Nilgiris, which support a variety of tree species, are

threatened by monoculture of eucalyptus, wattle and blue

gum and cultivation of food and cash crops. The sholas are

being destroyed for plantations

Besides sholas and grasslands, mosses were heavily seen especially when we trekked to Parson Valely from Sholur

Kuranji flowers (from where the Nilgiris came to being called

the blue mountain) were blooming and seen on road side

while travelling from Naduvattam to Kargudi.

Flora of the Nilgiris

Nilgiri Forests Wild Bamboo

groves Nilgiri Tea

Plantations

Kurunji Flowers Grasslands

Mainly grown in the hills of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, besides Munnar and Central Travancore etc.

GI Tagged under WIPO for its unique geographical origin.

Expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe are highly sought after at international auctions

Dark and aromatic. Also known as blue mountain tea. More than 50% of the harvest is exported.

Tea Board of India have instigated programs to improve cultivation and harvest practices among small growers

Nilgiri Tea

Fauna of the Nilgiris

Mudumalai National Park

Wild Tuskers Nilgiri Bisons

Deer Sheep flocks of Toda Herders

Wild Boar

Nilgiris has indigenous tribes and migrant workers.

Tamil is the lingua franca of the region. Other local languages like Toda, Kota, Badaga and tribal languages are spoken. Malayalam and Kannada are also widely understood;

Tribes include

1. Todas

2. Kattu Nayakans

3. Kotas

4. Kurumbas

5. Paniyans

6. Irulas, who are the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and

7. Badagas

People and Culture

A Toda temple en route

Sholur to Parson’s Valley.

Toda’s have a unique

custom, language and

religion which are very

different from the other tribes.

They walk barefoot at all

times and have temples and

dwellings with buffalo motifs

The migrant tea workers are all women,

who work in the fields for long hours with

meagre pay. They served us delicious

tea on our way from Naduvattam to

Kargudi

Badagas migrated to the Nilgiris from the Mysore region in

Karnataka, with their language being derived from Tamil-

Kannada. They are the traditional landowners and cultivators in

Nilgiris.

Near Sholur, there are hamlets (called Hatti) of Kannada

speaking Gowdas who migrated to this region during Tipu

Sultan’s reign.

Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears and

never regrets – LEONARDO DA VINCI

It helped in promoting esprit de corps, and camaraderie among all of us

It helped us in appreciating the beauty of nature, and

thus getting more sensitized about environmental

problems

It helped us in realizing our physical and mental

capabilities

The journey of approx. 120 kms in 6 days helped each of

us to become more self confident, and it helped us

stretch our limits

Learnings

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in

movement of comfort and convenience but where he stands

at time of challenge and controversy.

Cold weather with dense fog

Animal encounters: Leech bites in dense forest of

Nilgiri was effectively countered by application of salt and savlon soap.

Chased by a lone tusker: along our way, we were chased by a wild elephant on the way from

Naduvattam to Kargudi.

Trekking in the slope and slippery areas led to blisters,

muscle cramps and ankle twists.

Scorching heat of the sun especially from Kargudi to Vazhaithottam

Challenges

THANK YOU!