A ‘tal’, in the local Rajasthani dialect, is a flat, open plain. These grasslands are often dry and sparsely vegetated, so one would imagine that they don’t support much life. But nothing could be further from the truth. Tal Chhapar, the tal belonging to a village named Chhapar, is an oasis in the middle of a district that’s otherwise known for being hot and arid.
Back in 2006, the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary was in deep decline. The park was devoid of grass. While the low-lying plain is known to have many naturally occurring ponds because of the gradient of the land, there wasn’t any water in any of them. The blackbucks had to be fed and taken care of, much like domestic livestock. Largely thanks to the sustained conservation efforts of Surat Singh Poonia, the Additional Forest Conservator of Tal Chhapar, the park underwent a revival. Today, it flourishes.
For the six years that I stayed in Gurgaon, Chhapar was my home away from home. I visited it as often as I could.
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