My experience at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility

by Shaman Marya 

As we drove on the Agra Highway we took a sudden turn into what seemed like a little niche in the scrub forest on our left. As we drove in our jeep through the scrubland that seemed undiscovered and untouched we all felt a similar curiosity. What will this 'facility' be like? A lake unfolded in front of us as the convoluting roads led us closer to the facility gates. The lake was sparkling, perhaps because not many people knew about it and civilization hadn't the opportunity to unleash their evil upon it. Finally a turn made the lake invisible and before a large green gate that read Agra Bear Rescue Facility. There were a few logos of Wildlife SOS, International Animal Rescue and Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. We were all of a sudden in a new world. A world dedicated to a love for all forms of life, and unlike cities took into account life of species other than humans. Our city centric lives dissolved, and for a moment our awestruck eyes scanned the new land. A new feeling was born within me, a feeling that seemed to have always been there but dormant due to inbuilt ignorance. It still couldn't completely be understood, and soon enough the silence was broken and I forgot.

  In excitement we uttered descriptive phrases about the bears, deer and birds we saw around us. Time progressed and we began our  work. Sure enough this 'work' didn't seem like work at all. It seemed effortless; it seemed something I had always wanted to do. Whether it was the laborious lifting and placing of stone blocks or the designing of a play pen, work seemed altruistic. The meaning underlining the work we were doing was a subtle driving force. Though we may not have worked at all in comparison to the dedicated staff at the facility we were definitely feeling a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. A day wasn't over and we were already planning how we could work for the animals at the Agra facility when we come back to Delhi. The very sight of a bear with a pierced nose, with those thankful yet sad eyes ate away at my conscience. Where was my sensitivity all this time? As time progressed we enjoyed every moment of our new found love for nature. With a common love for wildlife binding all of us teenagers we found something that we could share. A similar feeling coursed through our veins. As we exited the gates of ABRF on the second day I finally understood the feeling. I was feeling remade and reborn.