A Story Inside the Story !!!

Behind every activity is a story....

But very rarely the activity itself becomes a story !!!

During the last four months I have attended numerous webinars and had been benefited by the knowledge sharing immensely.  I was lucky enough to organize a few webinars helping my wife for conducting online webinars for her students during April.

I have always been a nature enthusiast and promoting the boat rides in the Pench reservoir, treks for youngsters around the forest in Ramtek ,  meeting farmers for developing the possible Agritourism center  or planning for a possible wild outing for friends at Kolitmara have been on my top agenda recently.

When I had this chance call with my friend Dr. Abheek Ghosh of GroWill foundation to be a lead speaker for an online talk show about the Alternative tourism post Covid19, I immediately agreed.

The Alternative Tourism is a collective term used for variety of tourism activities which will gain prominence during or post pandemic. These comprise majorly of Agritourism, Wildlife tourism, Heritage tourism, Voluntary tourism, Cultural tourism, Village Community based activities supplementing rural tourism to name a few. ‘Responsible Tourism ‘ is another term being used.

The basic difference between the mass tourism and the alternative tourism stems from the fact of negative impact of over tourism on the resources, the environment and  affecting the community behavior of the destination.

The Alternative tourism if planned meticulously and implemented can give long term benefits to the host and the guests equally.  Its more concerned about the Positive Experience.

This ‘Experiential’ aspect has been my driving force for promoting these activities .

Dr Abheek Ghosh has been an avid wildlifer, nature activist, photographer, traveler and conducting such online talk shows has been the latest feather in his cap.

We discussed on the common points to be highlighted during the talk and on the possibilities to make them interesting for the participants. In the mean time we also had a mock run of the talk show on the Google Meet. All done !!!

The online poster was ready and the link of the Whatsapp group were shared with the participants. Many of our friends were enthusiastic about the topic and joined the group.

To be frank with all of you, this was going to be my first talk show and I was concerned to make it more lasting and satisfying. Both of us brushed up the topics which needed immediate attention. We were  fully aware about the fact that the  tourism activities shall be facing an uphill task during the Covid19 period.

But, at the back of my mind I was thinking about the possible way so that the talk show could be  unique  in all respects – for me , for participants, for Dr. Abheek and the GroWill foundation !!!

This ‘Experience of Enjoying’  had  to be shared in a  ‘Feel Good’ manner…..

A night before the scheduled date, we both had a fruitful discussion on the topic and the conclusion of Dr. Abheek was that the talk show shall be appreciated by all.

Still, I did not discuss the way it was to be conducted !!!  ….. the Suspense unfolds !!!

Normally, as per the trend, the online talk show was conducted sitting in my home, Dr.Abheek moderating from his home and the participants attending at their respective places.

The talk show was scheduled on the friendship day at 1500hrs. I called Dr.Abheek at 0115 hrs and just told him that I have a plan. Instead of being at home, will it not be possible for me to be at some other place from where I can give my talk. He said that the wifi connection at my house shall be more appropriate for conducting the show. But, if I had sufficient internet data on my cell and the battery backup it was no problem.

That was good !!! I just informed him, that I am reaching a place and shall give him a call for checking the internet connectivity. He became concerned but still he agreed. I assured him that if there was any issue with the connectivity, I shall be back home for the show in time.

I packed my small backpack, took a water bottle, my scratch book where I had jotted down the points for the show, my cell and other things which could be of help. I took my bicycle and reached the place at 0150hrs and called him.

‘Hello, Im at  Sonegao …..the place  where the Bhonsla king’s family  came for relaxation, picnicking, hunting and enjoying the dances……now you may please send me the Google meet link’.

Dr. Abheek was surprised and laughed !!

It suddenly dawned on him that our topic of Alternative tourism had a pleasant twist. Within some minutes the issue of connectivity and the sound was solved , the camera placement challenges were overcome, the now empty swimming pool of the Bhonsla’s became my outdoor studio. It was 1415hrs already.

Within no time I called up one of our participants Dr. Arvind Upasani who stayed very near to the heritage site. He was also surprised but heeded to my request of joining the session in the open swimming pool studio.

He was there by 1435hrs. In the mean time Dr. Abheek had already started informing on the group about the talk show being commencing.  Dr. Arvind had brought a selfie stick which was a boon for me as the camera placement automatically got the much needed balance and stability.

The photos were shared on the whatsapp group about the strange twist in the story. I am sure that the photo of our studio with lots of trees around  must have surprised many participants.

Once the necessary introduction formalities were done, I was quick to point out the ‘Experience’ which I was sharing with all of them. It was a heritage site and I had reached there on my bicycle. The need of cycle tourism in our city while visiting the numerous heritage sites could not be ruled out. It’s a kind of slow tourism where you could appreciate the temples, the ancient structures, the trees, the streets, the chirping birds….the message was passed effectively !!!

It had the least impact on the environment. It was done in a Responsible Way !!!

So the ball was rolling now. I explained them the need of the people appreciating the nature, visiting the forests, farms, villages in a responsible manner. As I have been saying for so many days and weeks, the need for travel shall be addressed in a pragmatic manner. You enjoy the boat ride, a safari in the jungle, having a scrumptious rural lunch on a farm, staying at a resort or hotel…each shall be done in a responsible manner……with latest norms of social distancing, use of sanitizers, keeping yourself safe and the others too.

The talk show continued with active participation and during the same time Dr. Arvind Upasani was also taking my photographs and guiding me about the camera placements. I was happy that the Wildlife tourism, Agri-tourism, Heritage, Voluntary tourism, Cultural tourism and the Community based tourism were systematically highlighted during the talk show.

The participants shared their views, their experiences, and last but not the least- the urgent need of advertising Nagpur for tourists ,as a place worth a visit. Let this effort be a stepping stone for the future projects.

All in all it was a good learning experience for me and I am sure that the next talk show shall be more refined content wise. The net connectivity was good and each one could watch and hear perfectly.

Last but not the least, views of my experienced friends from the travel industry matter immensely.  Mrs.Divya Kaur Sandhu, Mr. Aditya Shekhar Gupta from Horizon Holidays, Nagpur and Mr.Santosh Telang, Swami Holidays, Chandrapur - thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences !!!They were  supporting and encouraging. 

Later on I received call from Dr. Abheek to stay at the outdoor studio as he  had informed the photographer friend of the Times of India to reach the place to take a photo of me tying a friendship band to a tree, giving a message of Save the Nature.

 

Amit Naseri

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