Two rivers, and their contrasting personalities, shape the landscapes of Assam and the lives of the people and creatures that inhabit this land.
Published in Yahoo India’s travel section, on 17th
Dec, 2014.
This is about a river, as tempestuous as an artist. But, who can deny
his artistry? The swamps that cool the rhinos, the tall grass that screens the
elephants, the waters that shield the dolphins, the soil that sustains the
trees - they’re all his design.
He gives life; he takes lives too. Winding his way through India’s eastern
arm, the mighty Brahmaputra heaves each monsoon. And, they all move in ritualistic
unison: the rhinos, the elephants, the deer and the humans. They know the
drill. When most of your land is going to be submerged, you move to higher
ground; it is a question of survival. After the survival, will be the time of
plenty. Yet, minds fill with dread - will I survive until the next season or
will I perish before the rains stop? Before the Brahmaputra stops? These
worries are not unfounded.
This story is also about another river. Not far from Kaziranga flows the
Jia Bharali (pronounced Jia Bhorali), her name evoking a musical tinkle. Unlike
the Brahmaputra, she exudes stability and calmness. Genteel
in her ways, her banks are bordered by white sand and pebbles, gradually leading
to a lush green forest, where birds thrive. So do elephants, gaur and tigers. Jia
Bharali is the thread that ties the Nameri National Park together.
As she makes her way south to meet the sea, she is intercepted by the Brahmaputra.
They seamlessly meld. Now shorn of her identity, she flows along, a willing
ally to Brahmaputra’s ways - an ally to the necessary destruction.
This elephant is one of the earliest visitors to the river’s
pebble-laden banks.
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Hidden by dunes of white sand, Small Pratincoles gather in large
numbers. These pint-sized birds spend the rest of the day foraging for food and
cleansing themselves by rolling in the sand.
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Come February, Silk-cotton trees bloom and shower the forest with bright
red flowers, adding to its beauty.
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Mostly solitary creatures, male rhinos do attract the company of various
birds.
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A distinct feature of the forest at Kaziranga is the ‘elephant grass’,
so known because it is tall enough to conceal elephants, as seen here.
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Due to this controlled burning, some patches of forest look thread-bare
and brown.
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A female Hog Deer with her fawn. Juvenile Hog Deer have white spots and
resemble Spotted Deer. As they mature, the spots disappear.
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Kaziranga is home to some of the largest land-mammals in the world.
Other than the elephant and the rhinoceros, another large inhabitant is the
Wild Water-buffalo or Asiatic Buffalo.
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When not on land, they
spend a lot of time wallowing in the plentiful water.
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Both sexes of the Asiatic Buffalo have long horns, spreading to almost two
metres wide, lending them an intimidating appearance.
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When these heavy-weights run, they kick up enormous clouds of dust.
Here, the settling dust in the evening light creates a dramatic background for these
buffaloes which have just stopped running.
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As dusk arrives in Kaziranga, the stage is set for some stunning aerial
acrobatics. Against a darkening sky, thousands of Rosy Starlings perform a ‘murmuration’,
a phenomenon that stops you in your tracks. These birds
perform startlingly-coordinated manoeuvres over the grasslands, before settling
down to roost for the night. Here, a rhino wallows in the mud, undisturbed by
the beginnings of a murmuration. View a video of the murmuration I shot, here (change the youtube video setting to 'HD' in the bottom right corner of the video before watching)
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After the murmuration, Rosy Starlings roost on a tree, decorating it like festival lights.
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