Pics by Dhritiman Mukherjee/Adwait Keole
Nature takes you places and the naturalist explore it on top of mountains, on treks and even underground to study ancient caves. Adwait Keole has done it all and took a deep dive into dark caves, untouched by human for thousands of years, to discover that this was what really interested him.
Adwait’s introduction to nature and wildlife was at the impressionable age of 13. His father, a farmer in Amravati district of Maharashtra would participate in the Tiger census at Melghat Tiger Reserve. He would ask his young son to accompany him. “I loved those trips as we would be doing Machan surveys and spent the night in the jungles,” Adwait tells me.
Besides the visits to the jungles, Adwait began to attend nature camps to discover and learn more about his immediate environment. He also got acquainted with other nature lovers including Vishal Bansod who nurtured his interest. Working towards a more studied approach to nature, Adwait did his graduation in Environmental Science from Shivaji Science College Amravati. After graduation he joined the Snow Leopard Conservatory in Ladakh for two years. “Here I did a radio telemetry programme on Cobra and also met another naturalist Shardul Bajikar, the deputy director of Sanctuary Asian Magazine, who introduced me to caving and sent me to Mehgalaya,” he says. But before that Adwait also worked as a photo librarian at the magazine’s office in Mumbai. “Mountains are exhilarating for that feeling of freedom, while caves are mysterious and unknown and can also be claustrophobic,” he says.
The caving project in Meghalaya began way back in 1992 when four cavers from European countries visited the north eastern Indian state and discovered its caving potential. Meghalaya which means abode of clouds, draws its name from the fact that it is cloaked in clouds for a good part of the year and receives record rainfall. The humid climate along with the presence of limestone in large area, create the right environment for formation of caves especially in the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills region of the state. Deep under its surface exist subterranean passages, waterbodies and vast chambers. Meghalaya has India’s largest cave Krem Liat Prah which is 31kms long and also the deepest cave Krem Um Ladaw which has a 105 metre deep shaft entrance passage.
Since 1992, every year in February a team of Europeans arrive in Meghalaya to explore and make new discoveries. The yearly caving expeditions are a collaboration of Meghalaya Adventurers Association along with European, Middle East and American cave explorers. Since 2016 Adwait is one of the three Indians invited to participate in this activity. The other two being a naval officer Vijay Chikara and Sai Uplekar of Pune. The group of cavers have explored more than 400kms of caves so far.
Pic courtsey social media
In 2018 the team got extremely lucky when they discovered the blind fish in a cave named Krem Chympe, the fifth longest cave in India located in Jaintia hills. These 40cm long fish do not have eyes. “The presence fish showed that the cave had been untouched by human for thousands of years. They follow vibrations on water for finding food,” says Adwait.
Speleology or study and exploration of caves, is about cave mapping, studying its physical properties, history, life forms and the process leading to its formation. “It tells us about the geological and ecological history of a region and the chronology of time. Meghalayan Age which is part of a longer period known as the Holocene Epoch, is the last 42,000 years of earth’s history and began at a time when agricultural societies across the world experienced drought and cooling,” says Adwait. The study was based on the sediments collected from across the world including a stalagmite from a cave in Meghalaya.
Adwait says, “Caves which we explore are naturally formed underground voids created by water cutting through the earth. What we find inside are numerous fossils of micro and macro organisms, large amount of batshit, speleothems, which are a collection of structures inside the cave like stalagmites, suspended stalactites formed by thousands of years of dripping water, nests of cave pearls which are made of limestone and banded rock walls.” Caves mostly have a very narrow opening. “The flying in and out of bats usually is a sign of existence of a cave. Sometimes villagers discover them and inform authorities,” says Adwait.
Describing what he sees underground Adwait says, “Inside a cave it is dark, claustrophobic and stinking. One has to crawl in water and slush to move around. Though it can be thrilling to enter an unknown space but it requires stamina, expertise and interest. At times we have to rappel down a vertical shaft and at other times a fair amount of swimming is required if the cave is filled with water. It is actually a convergence of many activities as there is a fair amount of adventure and science involved.” It is for this reason that cavers are very hesitant to have this as an adventure tourism activity. “Informed cavers are aware of the ecological significance of these formations which date back millions of years and so take care that they should not be harmed or get destroyed.”
Though still not a very popular activity, caving has been happening in India for past thirty years. “Brian Daly who lives in Shillong is among the first Indians who took it up,” says Adwait. Besides caving is an expensive activity as the kit itself would cost upwards of Rs. 1lakh. “It is a onetime investment and includes a suit, helmet and a mapping and tool kit comprising of rope, compass, clinometer and GPS among other things,” he explains.
“I love to explore. I do climbing to get closer to mountains but caving holds fear, curiosity and fascination in equal measure and is a experience which few other activities can offer,” says Adwait who has recently finished a basic and advance course in rock climbing at the prestigious Swami Vivekanand Institute of Mountaineering at Mt. Abu.
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