Though born and brought up in eastern India, the girl never explored North East. She was all excited since the trip was getting incubated as it will be the first time for so many aspects.. Rest will be describe in a separate blog but today lets explore her journey on her love for gold which she least expected. But the trip was so perfect that she got everything expected and things those were beyond her expectations.
Since last couple of days she has been intensely exploring manas national park with full day capacity and her camera has not been stopped clicking the enormous collections of birds. On first day itself, on entering the national park, she just saw a rhino which was her so called main purpose to visit Manas and Kaziranga. She could just saw the back of Rhino hiding and busy gazing within those famed tall grasses for which the habitat is known for. That instinct she knew the trip is going to be memorable.
She was totally overwhelmed by the number of birds she could watch and photograph including the group of long-tailed broadbills waving Brazilian flags all around in the forest, also the silver breasted broad-bills and enormous amount of lifers. So the desire for seeing the Gee’s Golden Langur was not that acute. Again being bit more ambitious, slowly the aspirations creep through her mind and her desire for the gold get intense. After all she is a girl.
The aspiration got more and more exceptional as the whole group had the mutual urge. Then the search became really grave towards the 3rd day when excitement for photographing birds got bit mellowed down.
The enquiry in every possible forest camp and every possible passing by vehicle’s was made without skipping a bit. “Shonar Bandor”, the word echoing everywhere what they call golden langur in Assamese. But from everywhere the response came as no clue. Obvious reason they are elusive and very shy. For her, she always get fascinated towards the things that challenges her. So the more it gets elusive , her quest for it was getting fierce, with the same level of her eagerness to see them.
Finally the much needed response came that a troop was just seen in one of the forest camp and next moment she could feel her safari vehicle was cruising as fast as possible in the forest trail (as it can’t be refer as roads) to reach the camp before they move away. When the vehicle reached the camp, they got a bit of disappointment news as the langurs have just moved inside. Nevertheless the kind hearted guards offer an option to them. “In one condition we can show you golden langur, just that you all need to keep up with us, and no one move around in the forest alone. we need to go as a group”. And that go was literally running, crawling, kneeling and creeping all together to keep up with the guards’ casual patrolling around the camp. Somehow reached the point but the group was not there. then suddenly a voice called out that the group has gone other side of the camp and they had to again run, crawl, kneel and creep the same way back. Moreover after all that, they need to climb a little hillock to go other side where the troop of langur still there.
The euphoria had already seized her to the level that now she is running with her heart not on legs, coz she hasn’t realised an old flaw in her body had started kicking her hard and her left side of the leg was giving up. Who cares, she needed to see these enigmatic primate which is challenging her. Nothing else matter. somehow she reached the top but lost her way. she can hear the voices but can’t figure out which way to go. Then after a bit she could reach the point where everyone else was busy clicking. She couldn’t see it even after focussing a lot. May be her focusing power was restricted with the acute pain in her body. It seems only one golden langur was left behind and the troop has gone ahead. With the elusive nature, the golden langurs were curious as well. They inherit it from their primate gens. May be the reason why the single one left out to check on these homo sapiens, running behind them to capture in cameras. But it didn’t stay for long enough for her to make an image of it. She was completely dejected as she couldn’t even see it properly, set aside making images.
That point her pain took over her and she doest want to put a step ahead. her whole left side of the body has became numb in pain. she just want to seat there and cry out loud with agony. And failure to see the golden langur added to it, when rest of the group got the image. Whatever you say it hurts, it hurts a lot. Somehow she could put her together and slide down with one right leg and left-side of the brain. On reaching the camp she made herself bit isolated as rest of the group was celebrating the sighting of golden langur and she is very weak in pretending and can’t join the celebration with her physical and mental torments.
After a few moments they all started to move and she was bit settled by then. They all got into the safari vehicles and started. Few moments later while crossing a dry river bed, one pied hornbill was sighed against the light and she thought it would be a great silhouette image. when she try to look through view finder her visions were blurred and she was not able to see the frame clearly. After few clicks she could realise the reason for her partial blindness. Her eyeglasses were missing. She couldn’t recollect at all any incident of losing it. That memory was totally blank for her. She thought it might be in the place where she was seating after getting down from the hillock. Hence it was decided that one vehicle which she was in, go back to the camp and rest will process to get out of the forest. They came back to the camp but couldn’t trace those pair of extended eyes of hers. Anyways she had to convince herself to survive the rest of the trip as half blind. On coming back she observed that the other vehicle was still waiting for her and haven’t proceed further.
Well, considering its end of the safari as darkness slowly covering the forest, they all made up their mind to leave the forest. After a while the guide make that metal tapping noise from his finger ring which was always a signal for the driver to stop the vehicle. what now… before the thought wiggle her and while the vehicle was still moving back, she looked up and remember that crapy dialog from a crapy movie “ tni Shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ke har zarre ne mujhe tumse Milane ki saazish ki hai. (I have wanted you so much, so truly … that the entire universe has conspired for me to get you) “ I know, so cheesy.. But life is always fun with little touch of melodrama.
Finally she saw a group of 8 to 10 golden langur just hopping and sailing through the canopy and could spend good 3 to 5 minute before they shy away and galloped. Which was obvious in case of them. But they did stay for 3 to 5 min to check on those ineffectual homo sapiens. Who destroys the whole planet and same time does thousands of research to protect it again.
Listed in Appendix I of CITES, as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and protected under Bhutan’s Forest and Nature Conservation Act, 1995 *
Endemic to northeast India and Bhutan, they are the most endangered primates. Only around 6000 to 6500 of them remaining in the wild today, in Manas national park along the border of Bhutan, and in Royal Manas National park in Bhutan by the foothills of Black mountains. As the both Manas and Royal Manas National park is continuation of the same forest patch, the remaining Golden Langurs got a much needed refuge under this. The biggest threats to this gold is the increasing habitat fragmentation due to modernisation. This species is more sensitive to change in landscape and forest patches rather than climate changes. As they are quite strict canopy dweller unless it’s critical to come to the ground. Even they manage drinking water from rain and the dew drops collected in the leafs.
There was this young adult who was really scrutinising the group of homo sapiens for long time. He was the last one to leave. A typical teenager who has that extreme urge of exploration and adventure.
Times it feels wish they could know what’s the boundary of National park and reserve. As they can only be secure there. As a canopy dweller they don’t have any demarkation of boundary and often crosses it. And just outside of the boundary disasters like road kill ( as the canopy breaks they need to come down), electrocution by low hanging live wires. Poaching and attack my feral dogs awaits for them.
Once the troop left them, all in the group thank the girl for losing her eyeglasses and due to that they all got late and could see the golden langur so closely. This relieved her a bit being guilt of making everyone late. But whatever is said and done that troop had come to visit her, as she is the only one who didn’t see that single langur back side of the camp. Thats what the guide said to her repeatedly.. little ticky tacky but felt good somewhere.
The memories will stay with her forever as very special and very close to heart as the Golden Langurs had challenged her. Not that she just went into forest and they appear. It had happened just like that with another primate in the same trip. That will be for another time and another post.
*source – wikipedia
