Pennsylvania Game News - November 2024 - 21

small cabin and built a fire. I cooked a
famous Indian dish called Biryani, a
flavourful combination of chicken, rice,
and over 20 unique spices. The delicious
and warming meal fueled us for the rest
of the afternoon's hunt.
As an immigrant, my first hunting
season went beyond the pursuit of game.
It was an immersion into the heart of
Pennsylvania, where the warmth and camaraderie
of the locals, the breathtaking
landscapes and the shared passion for
the outdoors made me feel like I truly
belonged.
This experience will undoubtedly become
a captivating story for my grandchildren,
a testament to the transformative
power of nature and the kindness
of strangers. It's a story of crossing
continents, not just physically, but also
venturing into a new world of respect,
responsibility and the thrill of the hunt.
The Gift of Being a Mentor
Talk to pretty much anyone who's mentored
a new hunter and they'll tell you the many ways
they feel rewarded for helping that newcomer
along their path.
But with curry chicken?
Walter Sarafin, of McDonald in Washington
County, is no stranger to getting people started in
hunting, and in years past he's taken underwing
new hunters from Great Britain, Lebanon, China
and Bulgaria. So taking along Kushal Shinde, a
native of India, wasn't much different.
But sharing lunch with him in the woods certainly
was.
" I really enjoy our cultural differences, " Sarafin
said. " For instance, when we go deer hunting in
Pennsylvania, what do we do? For lunch you take
a sandwich, an apple and a thermos of coffee,
right? That's what you do. That's what it always is.
" When he goes, guess what he brings? He brings
curry chicken, long grain rice and to drink, coconut
water. And, boy, he's a good cook, too. "
Teaching hunting to someone from a foreign
land is interesting in other ways, as well, Sarafin
said. Some have
never handled a
firearm before,
hailing
from
places where gun
ownership is rare
if not outright
prohibited.
He lent Shinde
- who had never
handled a firearm
before his
hunter safety
training - a
NOVEMBER 2024
double-barrel 20-gauge shotgun to use, for
example, and told him to take it home so he could
hunt by himself if the chance arose.
" Being able to have a firearm was a big deal, "
Sarafin said. " He was surprised that it was that
easy. "
The concept of public versus private land and
how to access each can be strange, too. And
interactions with a game warden can be far different
than encounters with law enforcement
back home.
But Sarafin, who's taught hunter education for
more than 25 years, approaches all his students the
same way to start. He makes clear that course instructors
are not there to " make you an expert hunter. "
" We're here to make you a safe hunter, " Sarafin
said. " The class, as far as I'm concerned, is focused
primarily on safety, then law, and ethics. Safety, law
and ethics, that's what I teach. "
Only then does learning to hunt in terms of
where to go, how to find game and how to handle
it come into play. Shinde had a leg up on some,
he noted, having processed chickens and goats
in India when friends came for dinner. That was
good practice for pheasants and will be for deer,
Sarafin said
In the meantime, the two men have become
close friends who hang out together outside of
hunting season. And always, they eat well.
" He was always buying me these little gifts every
time we got together because his culture insisted
that's what you do, " Sarafin said. " I finally said, OK,
enough with the gifts, here's how this is going to
go. When we hunt, you make lunch, and that will
be your gift to me. So I enjoy curry chicken and
that's how it is. "
- By Bob Frye
21
Pennsylvania Game News - November 2024

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