<p>Radiating a smile on his tired and careworn face, the Social Forestry joint director from Pune division, recalled his days in captivity after a bunch of youths, belonging to a Bodo militant group, abducted him on May 13 when Bardekar was on a personal visit to West Kemang district in Arunachal to do research on rare specifies of butterflies.<br /><br />"I came across a large variety of butterflies of different species as I was shifted from place to place by my captors and I intend to go back there to click their pictures," said the soft-spoken Bardekar as he interacted with mediapersons here at his residence after arriving in the city. But his wife, Madhavi, flanked by his two teenage children, was quick to interject saying he would not be "allowed" to undertake any expedition alone!<br />Recounting some of the memorable incidents during his captivity, the Forest officer who was freed by the militants after a coordinated effort by various state and central agencies on August 2 on the Arunachal-Assam border, said he made a "conscious effort to cultivate positive thoughts" when the prospects of rejoining his family in Pune appeared bleak to him with every passing day.<br /><br />"I drew sketches of different types of butterflies in the jungles. I kept a diary. When I attempted a sketch of one of my captors--- all young boys--- they liked it and asked me draw more...", Bardekar who described the extremists as "misguided youths" recalled. <br />Bardekar had embarked on his Arunachal expedition just after securing a Ph.D for his research thesis on butterflies in May this year.<br /><br />"For completing my research I had traveled in the forest of Chandrapur infested by Naxalites with a camera to photograph rare species of butterflies without encountering any problem. When I went to Arunachal on a similar expedition, I had never thought of the nightmare that was in store for me," he said.<br /><br />"I was looking at the photographs of butterflies I had clicked, in my room in 'Devmara' area when I heard a knock on the door and before I could realise what was happening, I was dragged out by a group of youngsters who apparently thought that I was a press reporter.."<br /><br />While putting stress on the "human face" of his abductors who he said treated him well, Bardekar said, "they were not well informed and were acting on instructions from a superior cadre of Bodo militants. They knew just one slogan 'Hamra Bodoland'. The communication with them was in Hindi as the youths were under the spell of Bollywood."<br />In an interesting coincidence, Bardekar came across one of the abductors who had spent some time in Pune, hunting for a job in the city.<br /><br />"This youth, after realising that I had come from Pune, started showing a soft corner for me which I noticed. When I started speaking with him in detail, he told me about his stay in Pune saying that he had a good experience of the people there.."<br />And the reason for his liking the "Puneites" was that whenever he thumbed for a lift, the two-wheeler riders always obliged!</p>
<p>Radiating a smile on his tired and careworn face, the Social Forestry joint director from Pune division, recalled his days in captivity after a bunch of youths, belonging to a Bodo militant group, abducted him on May 13 when Bardekar was on a personal visit to West Kemang district in Arunachal to do research on rare specifies of butterflies.<br /><br />"I came across a large variety of butterflies of different species as I was shifted from place to place by my captors and I intend to go back there to click their pictures," said the soft-spoken Bardekar as he interacted with mediapersons here at his residence after arriving in the city. But his wife, Madhavi, flanked by his two teenage children, was quick to interject saying he would not be "allowed" to undertake any expedition alone!<br />Recounting some of the memorable incidents during his captivity, the Forest officer who was freed by the militants after a coordinated effort by various state and central agencies on August 2 on the Arunachal-Assam border, said he made a "conscious effort to cultivate positive thoughts" when the prospects of rejoining his family in Pune appeared bleak to him with every passing day.<br /><br />"I drew sketches of different types of butterflies in the jungles. I kept a diary. When I attempted a sketch of one of my captors--- all young boys--- they liked it and asked me draw more...", Bardekar who described the extremists as "misguided youths" recalled. <br />Bardekar had embarked on his Arunachal expedition just after securing a Ph.D for his research thesis on butterflies in May this year.<br /><br />"For completing my research I had traveled in the forest of Chandrapur infested by Naxalites with a camera to photograph rare species of butterflies without encountering any problem. When I went to Arunachal on a similar expedition, I had never thought of the nightmare that was in store for me," he said.<br /><br />"I was looking at the photographs of butterflies I had clicked, in my room in 'Devmara' area when I heard a knock on the door and before I could realise what was happening, I was dragged out by a group of youngsters who apparently thought that I was a press reporter.."<br /><br />While putting stress on the "human face" of his abductors who he said treated him well, Bardekar said, "they were not well informed and were acting on instructions from a superior cadre of Bodo militants. They knew just one slogan 'Hamra Bodoland'. The communication with them was in Hindi as the youths were under the spell of Bollywood."<br />In an interesting coincidence, Bardekar came across one of the abductors who had spent some time in Pune, hunting for a job in the city.<br /><br />"This youth, after realising that I had come from Pune, started showing a soft corner for me which I noticed. When I started speaking with him in detail, he told me about his stay in Pune saying that he had a good experience of the people there.."<br />And the reason for his liking the "Puneites" was that whenever he thumbed for a lift, the two-wheeler riders always obliged!</p>