Meal with Monkeys

அலுவலகத்தின் இணைய மாதாந்திரி, "Potpourri " யின் ஆகஸ்ட் எடிஷனில் வெளியானது.

Have you ever shared a meal with a monkey? Well, I have and not just once!


About seven years ago, five of us, happily planned a day out to Nandi hills.

This story is not about where Nandi Hills is and how we went there etc. You always have internet to help with those details. There is one piece of information that you can’t fine on the internet: Carry a long stick when you go there. Let me tell you why…

We, 5 girls, were staying together back then and we cooked/packed chapattis and chole for a grand lunch up hill. As we got down at the top of the hill, we were all really hungry. The first thing we did was to open our lunch pack. We were thick friends, so thick that we planned to eat together from the same plate. So there it was, one plate of food and five hands attacking it. Suddenly we realized there was a sixth hand, much faster than the rest, which looked quite different than the manicured, nail polished hands, so to say! Only God Nandeeshwar knows when Mr. Monkey silently joined us. And he enjoyed our cuisine, as we all ran meters away from our food and him.

I said not just once! This time, about 2 months back, Nandi Hills with my family… Curd rice and potato fry. On our way, I was describing my earlier experience, and hence we decided to finish lunch down hill and then drive up. To our misconception, about twenty monkeys surrounded us as we just opened the box. This time no sharing meal!! They just took away the all the food including the box.

Later I gathered that the monkeys are scared of sticks and it seems the longer the stick, the farther they stay. So, unless you want to share your meal with the monkeys, carry a long stick along.

Earlier Nandi Hills was called Ananda Giri meaning The Hill of Happiness and it indeed is.