Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivli held a first-of-its-kind overnight camping event for nature lovers
With the treasure trove that is the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) surrounding the northern part of the city, it is no wonder that nature lovers flock to it at every chance they get. The last weekend was no exception as SGNP held a first-of-its-kind ‘nature meets culture’ overnight camping event. The event termed ‘Nature Meets Ancient Culture’ held a simple premise—introduce Mumbaikars to the joys that SGNP holds within its environs. As naturalist Shardul Bajikar says, “SGNP wants to introduce the park to the people of Mumbai. It is a wholesome exercise that offers various areas of interest—there are programmes that cater to just nature, nature and culture, adventure sports like mountaineering and so on.”
Escaping Mumbai’s malls
The weekend of September 26-27 saw individuals coming together to get further acquainted with SGNP. Meha Pandya, an architect who resides at Goregaon, wanted her three-year-old son, Yuv, to get away from the rampant mall culture that is threatening to swallow Mumbaikars whole. To prevent turning him into a mall rat, Pandya and her husband, Bhavin, have started introducing Yuv to nature. She says, “I’m a frequent visitor at SGNP as my uncle stays close to the area so I remember going there for the longest time. Since we had the weekend free and we chanced upon the advertisement at the Nature Information Centre, we thought of taking it up.”
Pandya laments the lack of green spaces in the city, which lures nature lovers like her to the park time and again. “I had zero expectations going into the programme and it wasn’t technically a camp, since we were all given a dormitory for our stay,” explains Pandya, “However, the experience was a good one in that we learnt about the zoological and botanical aspects of the area; Mr. Shardul Bajikar gave us tons of trivia and even kept Yuv engaged.”
Nature meets culture
Nature wasn’t the only attraction at SGNP. The famed Kanheri Caves were introduced to the participants by Dr. Suraj Pandit, the Head of Departments of History and Ancient Culture at Sathye College, Mumbai. Dr. Pandit has studied these ancient caves extensively for more than a decade and his studies and explorations have earned him his PhD degree from Mumbai University. While the Pandya family enjoyed the educational hikes through the forest, the highlights of the event for them were the post-dinner walk, which regular visitors never get to experience; and the knowledge shared by Dr. Pandit about Kanheri Caves.
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 "Nature enthusiasts posing in front of the Kanheri caves at SGNP")
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