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!