Chase the joy, but don’t touch the monkey!

In October 2023, I visited India for the first time. D-Globalist and Forbes India invited me to speak at the #DGEMs summit for startups. I was so very excited about this conference! Not only would I present on one of the biggest stages of my career to date, but I also would be able to see birds I have not seen before. And I saw lots of birds. I will share more of those stories and photos when I can, but the first story I want to share is that of a monkey. 

Monkeys are abundant in New Delhi. They are on the streets, side roads, markets, parks, and many other places. These are the types known as Rhesus Macaques. 

Rhesus Macaques have a pinkish tone face with human-like features and light brown fur. They typically hang out in groups that look like family to me. I arrived in Delhi just as the G20 summit ended, and I knew there were international concerns about these monkeys. Here's a CNN piece on it.  

During this trip, I first saw monkeys at the Chandni Chowk market while riding a rickshaw with my tour guide. I was on a wobbly rickshaw riding on a bumpy unpaved road, clutching my camera with my dear life. Suddenly, I saw a monkey on a tree that had just stolen food from one of the market traders stall below the tree. I got out of the rickshaw to stop to take photos. While watching the monkeys, I noticed people around me were watching me, wondering why I was so fascinated.  

Anyway, I encountered one particular monkey at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary while visiting with my guide, CB, and his daughter, Hina the day after the Forbes India/D-Globalist conference ended. 

Undoubtedly, monkeys are cute, especially smaller ones. As I walked in Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, excited to get a closer look at Painted Storks and their babies, I saw a small, possibly juvenile monkey. As it approached me, it followed an Indian couple- the man was tall and elegant, and the wife was pretty and shorter. I instantly started cooing- "Aww, what a cute monkey!' The monkey looked at me with 'puppy dog' eyes. 

The elegant man spoke softly in a light Indian accent, 'Would you like to hold the monkey'? I knew not to touch wild animals and said no thank you. In the meantime, he swooped up the money and held him under his arm like a baby. He walked towards me, asking again if I wanted to hold the monkey. I wondered if it was safe and said I really shouldn't. But he gestured the monkey into my arms, and I reached out as if the monkey was a baby. 

It was all very fast. I was cooing at how cute the monkey was. The man was handing the monkey over to me, and I put my arms out as if asking a baby to come to me. At that moment, it felt so exciting. 

But within a flash, just as I raised my arms, the monkey quickly pushed his arms out and attacked my right hand! I was so startled! It was in a blink, so I didn't know if he bit me or scratched me but my hand was stinging. Hina examined my hand and said he must have scratched it, or we'd see several teeth marks. It had one scratch mark. The injured spot was hurting, and now I was suddenly worried about contracting rabies. 

We were still walking toward the Painted Storks, so we continued to head that way with my guide, and I both worried about my hand. The monkey was following us. 

I kept asking anyone who walked by, 'Should I take a rabies shot?'- Everyone said I should. Therefore, I realized the safer bet would be to the shot once I got back into town.

For the moment, though, I focused on the Painted Storks. They were beautiful! At the end of the walking trail is a sheltered hut over the wetlands and lake. A couple of islands were in the middle of the lake full of trees where Painted Storks were roosting with their juvenile birds. They were flying back and forth with twigs and food. It was wonderful. I was reminded of heron rookeries as the bird behavior was similar. 

The monkey did not leave us alone during this time. At one point, it tugged on my pants, looking for my phone. By now, I was getting a little scared, as was Hina. She was brave enough to chase him away with a stick. In the meantime, it was getting sweltering as we approached noon. So we started to head back. 

We spotted a pharmacy as we drove into the small rural town of the bird sanctuary. CB got out of the car and asked if they had rabies shots, which they did. CB escorted me to the pharmacy, and the pharmacist said that I needed not one but two shots. "So be it", I sighed. I had one shot in my arm, the other injected at the back of my waist.

It stung but didn't hurt. But the next day, I was feeling sniffly and cold. I was traveling to Paris to speak at the International Bar Association. Thankfully, I had planned to acclimate to the timezone the day before my speaking event. I felt positively sick and unsure how I survived the long flight from Delhi to Paris. After sleeping the fever and chills away, I was well enough to spend time with my sister, who came from London to visit me. We walked the streets of Paris, photographing birds at landmarks. By the time I had to do my presentation, I recovered. It turns out rabies shots make you very sick the next day!

Through this adventure, I learned my lesson- Chase the Joy. But don't touch the monkey! 

(Unless there are experienced monkey trainers who work with monkeys that are used to humans, like the Mona Monkeys in Grenada, West Indies! That's a story for another time)