Day One
Located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River in Assam, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 440-sq-kms with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass making it the ideal habitat for the Indian One-Horned Rhino. Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940, Kaziranga National Park is just over 200 kms away from Guwahati, the largest city in the gorgeous north-eastern part of India. Which made it the ideal getaway for my New Year holidays.
My publisher and childhood friend Raja is rapidly making his name as a conservationist in Assam. So when he suggested that we take our annual binge-drinking session to a quieter place, I jumped at the chance. Joining us on the trip were Raja’s man-Friday Islam, and the girls Carol and Neel.
We set out early morning on the 30th of December. My relatives were not too enthusiastic about our plan, since the Adivasi group had called for a boycott of the municipal elections, and some violence was expected after the ugly clashes a month previously. But the trip was uneventful, though Islam kept stopping at every police station on the way, asking if there was any trouble on the road ahead of us. With so many stoppages, it was no wonder that we took 5 ½ hours to reach.
Raja had booked two luxury cottages for us in the relatively new Jupuri Ghor resort. By the time we reached, it was nearly time for the jeep safaris to depart, so we dumped our luggage and rushed to the central cottage for our lunches. The menu consisted of traditional Assamese daal-chaawal-sabji plus an amazing plantain-leaf-steamed fish. Though I normally detest fish, the dish looked far too tempting and exotic to resist – and it was truly awesome.
The five of us set off on the jeep safari with a local guide and an armed guard. No, we were not expecting to be shot by any ULFA militants – the guard was armed with a dart gun because we would be getting really close to the wildlife. The Kohora tract was the one we had chosen for the jeep safari, and since we had started half an hour later than the rest of the visitors, we were greeted only with the deafening silence of nature.
Among the animals we saw up close were Indian bison, swamp deer, hog deer, capped langurs, wild boars, wild buffalos and monitor lizards. Carol had a pair of really powerful army binoculars she had brought from her native France, and they really came in handy. She and Neel were standing on the seats at either side of the jeep, the taller Raja and Islam were standing towards the back, while the guide and I were standing just above the driver and the guard.
All of a sudden, the jeep stopped. The driver and guide hushed us to silence. Only a couple of feet away was a rhino and it was not giving us very friendly looks. The reason was what was accompanying her – a baby rhino that looked only six months old. Now the rhino is not as pleasant tempered as the elephant, but not as unpleasant as the hippopotamus either. The rhino comes only third in size as a land animal after these two, but a mother rhino is probably something that the local tigers and leopards around fear too. Nothing can stop a rhino when it charges, not even the larger elephant or hippo – any wonder why the Rhino is supposedly the strongest of Spider-Man’s enemies?
For once, the girls resisted saying “Awww, cho chweet” at a baby. We all stood in silence and continued looking at the rhino. The dart gun suddenly looked very inadequate. Ten agonizing moments later, the rhino ambled away. It had looked dangerously close to charging once.
The rest of the safari suddenly appeared very tame in comparison. And since it was almost dark, we had to return to the resort. After a bath and a few pieces of pork ribs each, it was time for a few card games. Dinner was excellent – a chicken curry and prawns to go with the vegetarian thali. We retired for the night at around 10:30 pm, since we had an early day ahead of us.
Day Two
The best time to visit Kaziranga National Park is December and January. The park remains open from November to April. During the monsoons, the mighty Brahmaputra River bursts its banks, flooding the low-lying grasslands – causing all the animals to migrate deeper into the jungle. So we were making our visit during the best possible time.
I hate getting up in the morning till the sun has come out fully. Even though the sun comes out in Assam a full one and a half hours before it does in Delhi, 4:30 am is a positively indecent time to come out of the covers on a cold December morning. But I could not help it – the elephant safari was to depart at 5:15 am. There is a second safari an hour later, but unfortunately we had not got reservations in that one.
The enthusiastic conservationist Raja was full of beans early in the morning. Carol and Neel were looking as carefully conserved (read: made up) in the early morning as they had during the previous evening’s dinner. Which was as wonderful a sight to see as any rare bird! As for me, I was grumpy as hell, since I had to take a bath so early in the morning – entirely my fault since I can’t ever venture out without that ominous duty –but thank god for water heaters!
Just a cup of tea later, we set off for the Bagori stretch, which was about 8 kilometres away. There were a whole lot of people there, all looking as bleary eyed as us. The four of us seated our sleepy selves on one of the youngest elephants there: Neel in front, followed by me, followed by Carol and Raja at the rear. Islam had wisely decided that he had seen enough rhinos to last him a lifetime, and continued his beauty sleep in the dormitory where we had put him up.
Our elephant was called Laxmi, and she was the second elephant in the procession led by a huge male elephant which was carrying the armed guards and a couple of lucky teenagers. The moment we reached the wild grasslands, all the elephants started chomping merrily on the grass. We, who had not yet had any breakfast, were scowling in jealousy at their dietary fortune!
A few more deer spotted, lots of wild boar again, and then a huge herd of wild buffalos. A couple of wild elephants too, who wisely decided not to come too close to the huge procession of their tamed counterparts. Some four to five groups of two-three rhinos spotted some yards away. And then suddenly our elephant started bucking and moving away from the others!
The reason – a rhino too close for comfort, again a mother with a baby, though the baby was decidedly older than a year in age. This mother was looking more placid than the one we had encountered the previous day, largely because its baby was older and less vulnerable. But our elephant was too young – only four years old and in its first season on duty – so it was getting too nervous for the comfort of its passengers.
The mahout was trying his best to make the elephant come back to its senses, but all his pokes on Laxmi’s head were proving ineffective. And her restlessness was making the previously placid rhino look nervous too, and it was starting to stomp its feet. Carol and Neel were holding their breaths. We had felt a lot safer from the rhino on an elephant than in a small jeep, but had we fallen off the elephant, we would have had to face danger not only from the rhino but also from the feet of the elephants.
The leader of the elephants approached nearer, and the two guards started looking at their dart guns. But somehow the presence of the mighty male elephant calmed down the nervous Laxmi a bit, and the mahout was able to restore his control on her. The guards did not have to use their guns on either the elephant or the rhino – who soon lost interest and wandered off with her baby.
The rest of the safari passed too soon, and our only regret was that we did not get to see any tigers or leopards. Then back to the resort, for some well earned breakfast of puri-sabji, and bread and eggs. We decided to turn in a bit after the breakfast, since we needed to catch up on lost sleep and also because we would stay up late on the day, which just happened to be New Year’s Eve.
Kaziranga National Park happens to be a World Heritage Site, and two-thirds of the world’s Great One-horned Rhinoceroses live in the park. What is less known is that Kaziranga also has the highest density of tigers among all protected areas of the world. The park is recognized as having far greater success in wildlife conservation compared to other protected areas in India. The park covers four ranges – Kohora, Bagori, Agoratoli and the new Burapahar range.
After the siesta following the elephant safari, we were woken up by the resort people who wanted to know if we were interested in having the guarantee of seeing a tiger. Apparently a tiger had wandered into a swamp and was not able to get out. The forestry authorities were going to tranquilize the tiger and return it to its habitat, and we were asked if we wanted to go along. Without any hesitation whatsoever, we turned down the invitation. None of us wanted to see a proud animal in a hopelessly cornered and helpless state.
Instead we elected to visit the nearby tea gardens and waterfalls after lunch. The lunch special was a wonderful stewed mutton and a pigeon curry, and once again, the cooks had excelled themselves. After a leisurely round of cards, which Carol won, we felt energetic enough to venture out to the nearby tea gardens.
In no particular hurry to see any particular site, we wandered around on foot for nearly two and a half hours, each of us in our own worlds, busy communicating with Nature in the peaceful surrounds. A visit to the two waterfalls nearby brought an end to our walking tour.
It was dusk by the time we were back, and after some tea, we needed to figure out what to do for the New Year’s Eve celebrations. Drinking ourselves silly was of course on the cards, but where, when and how? Fortunately, the resourceful Islam had already made adequate plans in consultation with the resort manager. A wonderful bonfire was lit, and we settled ourselves around it.
The manager came up with a bottle of lau-paani, a potent local brew. It smelled too funny for the girls and me, so we elected to stick to the beer and port wine we had got along from Guwahati. The more adventurous Raja however decided to switch over from his favourite whisky to the lau-paani.
The resort manager had tasked one of his guys to tend the fire and do the honours for the drinks. The guy brought in some marinated potatoes and started roasting them in the fire. Then came the highlight of the evening – a whole duck which they had marinated the previous day at Islam’s prodding as soon as we had arrived at the resort. It was absolutely delicious, and I devoted myself whole heartedly to the cause of devouring it. So much so that I remained stone-cold sober when the New Year arrived. Reason being that I had neglected the beer and finished only two bottles of it in four hours while remaining steadfast at the task of finishing the duck.
After the mandatory New Year wishes to each other and to all and sundry, it was time for dinner. This time, the special was duck curry and some dry pork. After eating so much duck, we did a rather poor job of finishing our dinner, which was once against exemplary. But Islam more than made up for our neglect, as he had worked up a furious appetite by joining the bihu dancers who had come to entertain the guests at the resort when the bonfires had been lit at 8 pm.
It was now one hour in to 2008, and it was time to go to bed. With the thought that it was by far and far the best New Year’s Eve I had ever had in my life.
Day Three
It was almost 10 am on the first day of the New Year when we finally were ready for a delicious breakfast of aloo-paratha and French Toast – the latter no doubt a concession to Carol’s French origin. After breakfast, we set out for the Agoratoli range for yet another safari – this time a boat safari.
Kaziranga National Park is recognised as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high-species diversity and visibility.
We passed through a local Mising village on the way, where the tribal populace still leads a very traditionally agrarian existence. Many bumps on the rude roads later, we reached the place where two extremely flimsy boats were tugging at their stays.
Now the Brahmaputra is by far the longest river of India, and it also happens to be the most dangerous, since it is the swiftest too. In fact, the only reason you can’t call this river white waters was because the waters are a muddy brown all 12 months of the year – since the current drags so much silt on its way. And it happened to be our desire to go through such a mighty river on such a flimsy boat!
Carol and I were the only ones who were expert swimmers; Neel was a complete neophyte while Raja and Islam were only beginners. But if it was adventure we wanted, we had to brave the rapids. And this time we were accompanied not by armed guards but by two wiry locals who assured us that they were expert swimmers.
We perched on top of the roof that covered the proper seats and set off looking for dolphins and birds. Kaziranga National Park is a birding paradise: a huge number of migratory birds descend on the parks lakes and marshy areas during winters – including greylag geese, bar-headed geese, ruddy shelduck, gadwall, falcated duck, red-crested pochard and northern shoveller.
As we chugged along, we saw many a bird – including the oriental honey buzzard, black-shouldered kite, black kite, brahminy kite, pallas fishing eagle, white tailed eagle, and grey-headed fishing eagle. Each time however we thought we saw a dolphin, it turned out to be yet another log carried along by the swirling waters.
Suddenly we heard a crashing sound. Before we could react, the four of us had fallen off the roof and smashed into the planks that were at the bottom. Islam had been saying something to Raja a moment before, he had turned for a second to see what he thought was a dolphin. And when he looked back, he saw that there was no one else on the roof with him. For a second, he thought something supernatural had happened, and the very next moment, he heard the girls screaming.
I had been sitting on the left-most part of the roof, with Raja next to me, followed by Carol, and Neel at the extreme right. When we fell down, Raja smashed into the planks, and Carol and I fell on top of him. Neel had fallen on top of Carol. The generous bulk of Raja had cushioned the whole of Carol, but Neel’s weight on top of her body caused her to hurt her back rather badly. Neel had hurt her own legs and sprained her wrists too.
And as for me, the right side of my body was perfectly safe but my left side, which did not have the benefit of the cushioning provided by Raja’s generous proportions, was aching all over. I had bruised my left hand, my left shin, and my left shoulder. And miracle of miracles, nothing had happened to Raja, even after having two people fall on top of him!
The boat had hit a sandbank, and had therefore stopped so abruptly. The conservationist in Raja had stopped me from lighting up so far in the forest area, but now I had had enough, and had to light up to calm my nerves. The fun had suddenly gone flying out of the window. But after a while, when we realized there was to be no lasting ill-effects, we all relaxed – but did not go back on top of the roof!
On the way back by boat, the girls did manage to see a dolphin, but by the time they had pointed it to us, it had already disappeared. The drive back to the lodge, and from there to Guwahati after paying all our dues there, was entirely uneventful. A day later, I said goodbye to my three friends (and my hundred and three relatives) in Guwahati, and took the evening flight back to Delhi.
And so I had to leave Kaziranga without having seen a dolphin. Or a tiger or a leopard too, for that matter. But no regrets – I had had enough adventures and thrills to last me a lifetime. Or at least to last me till the time I visited Manas National Park the next time I planned to go to Assam.
