PUNE: ‘You would not believe your eyes if 10 million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep.’ Probably, these lines by an unknown poet aptly explain the fireflies festival which is taking place currently in and around Pune. The perfect pre-monsoon climate and night camping trend slowly picking up, wildlife lovers, poets, enthusiasts and many others are flocking to the woods at night.
According to the experts, the period from pre-monsoon to just after the starting of the monsoon is the best time to experience the magic in the dark dense forest. “May end and starting of June is the best time to experience the winkling of hundreds of fireflies in an area. It is their mating season and both male and female fireflies turn on their green lights when choosing a mate and use their blinking lights to attract mates during the courtship. The flies tend to stay on the trees and grasses itself and that way people can view them,” said Shekhar Nanajkar, President of Wild Organisation which has planned one-day camp to Mulshi on May 26 to experience the fireflies.
Mayur Khivasara from Backpack Outdoors is conducting a fireflies camping at Camp Hide Out, Vegre village, Temghar Dam backwaters on Lavasa Road from May 26 to May 27. He said, “Camping with fireflies is the concept now which has become so popular among people that any age group can attend it. This is kind of therapy which calms your mind and children are more attracted towards it. It is interesting to them as they can hardly figure out the difference between stars and fireflies. Children who grow up without fireflies, will never know what they’re missing. So we have taken an initiative to make people aware of fireflies.”
Vibha Bisht, who has organised a special fireflies trek to Rajmachi Fort on June 3 said, “This phenomenon of natural lighting is so mesmerising that at times, one can experience thousands of fireflies flashing the light which is one of the best natural sights to behold. Now, it is possible that anyone can experience the most beautiful phenomena in nature through such camps during the nights.”
