Mande Burung

Here is one more I had written for a "Write India" contest of TOI 2 years ago.
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Those were still early days after we got married – Prashant Kelkar and I. Prashant and I were childhood buddies practically from the time we were in our cribs. Our families were neighbours and we grew up together, went to the same school and ended up going to the same college although our subjects were entirely different. Childhood friendship tenuously changed to adolescent attraction and attraction eventually evolved into more mature, enduring feelings of love towards each other. Thoughts of going our separate ways were inconceivable. Thus it was that with the blessings of all concerned, we decided to throw in our lots with each other, for better or for worse.

Prashant and I shared a lot of interests including travelling into uncharted territories. It was no big surprise to anyone, then, that we decided to take off to Meghalaya on a honeymoon. No, this was no organized trip or honeymoon package from any reputed travel agency. We had decided to travel there on our own and rough it out. We wanted to get to know the place, spend time with the natives of the area and learn more about their ways of life.

Meghalaya – the land of the clouds - was earlier part of Assam which now surrounds the state on the North and the East. It comprises the Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills. 70% of the state is covered by forests, many rivers and is the wettest place on earth. This state has featured importantly in the Mahabharata. Arjuna’s wife, Chitrangada, was the princess of this state and she and another princess Uloopi of Nagaland played pivotal roles in freeing Arjuna from a curse. The state is endowed with a rich variety of flora and fauna. Of the nearly 17000 species of orchids in the entire world, about 3000 are to be found in the state. A large variety of migratory birds is also to be seen in these parts.

To cut a long story short, we flew from Mumbai to Calcutta and travelled overnight onward to Guwahati. Having spent a night in a hotel in Guwahati, we set off the next morning to Cherapunji in a hired cab. It was a driving distance of 180 kms from Guwahati. The drive could not have been more romantic, take us as it did through some of the most surreal landscapes, through lush green mountainsides, clouds, and the most amazing waterfalls. We arrived shortly before lunch time.

We spent 3 days in the land of the unending monsoons, the city with the highest rainfall in the world. One of the most amazing sights we visited in Cherapunji was the living root bridge. It is a tribute to the ingenuity of mankind. There we met a young couple who were here for the second time.

“Hi, I’m Manasa and this is my husband Arun” she introduced themselves.

“Hi, I’m Ashwini and this is Prashant” I replied.

“Where are you from?” she asked.

“Mumbai, and you?”

“New Delhi”.

The conversation took off from there and soon we were talking about our lives, our work and interests.

They were both anthropologists and greatly interested in the tribes of Meghalaya. We got to know each other pretty well and spent the evening together. This was followed by dinner at a local restaurant which served the typical local fare. The conversation over dinner covered a range of interesting topics including places where we had travelled and their experiences during their previous visit to the state. They shared with us the interesting folklores of the various tribes and said they were going to visit a little village called Rongri in the East Garo hills. The forests in this region have a rich biodiversity. Some of the forests are protected by local communities and called “sacred groves”. Nothing may be taken out of these forests. One of the popular stories in this area surrounds the “Mande Burung” or the Forest Man. Many sightings of this legendary creature have been reported and searches carried out. Interesting and curious as it sounded, I was sceptical.

“Oh yes, monkey man, ape man, yeti, snowman .... There is no dearth of such stories, but no one has really come up with any concrete evidence so far” I sniggered.

“Ah, but lack of evidence does not imply non-existence. The earth was round even before the fact was ‘proved’ and gravity existed even before it was discovered” quipped Arun.

However, the prospect of visiting a village where the local tribes lived and going looking out for some exotic fauna sounded very exciting. Besides, they were well equipped and planned to take pictures with high tech infra red cameras and thermal imaging. Neither Prashant nor I had ever been part of this kind of adventure and we asked if we could join them. Arun and Manasa were more than willing for us join them.

..... to be contd.

 

Thanks a lot Hazel.

 

.....contd

We set off next morning in a hired SUV to Baghmara, the headquarters of the South Garo Hills district. The journey took nearly 7 hours. From there we went on to Rongsu, about 16 kms to the east. After that we would have to trek to Rongri.

As it was nearing evening, we decided to stay put in Rongsu that day. We would trek to Rongri next morning and put up in tents for 3 days. We found a small place run by a local family – a home stay. The rooms were sparsely furnished with just the basics - a double bed with mattress, clean sheets and pillows, blankets, a small table and chair. There was no fan, but it did not matter as the weather was quite pleasant. The room was lit by a single CFL lamp. The bathroom was equally simple with just a tap, an electrically heated copper boiler, a bucket, a mug and an Indian type toilet.

In the evening we went for an amble around the village, taking in the sights that a small village can offer. It was a quaint village in the hills with a small school and a market place. Small houses with thatched roofs dotted the landscape. The people appeared simple and friendly.

Next morning we picked up our luggage (fortunately Prashant and I had brought our rucksacks with minimal clothing) and set off on our trek. We had carried some bread, eggs and fruits along. Our tents and essentials like a couple of vessels, rice and some other basic stuff would be brought in a jeep to the place where we would be pitching our tents. We were accompanied by a forest official from Baghmara, who arrived just as we were leaving for Nokrek National Park that morning. The hills were lush green and all along the way there were tiny rivulets flowing by. We walked through narrow paths in the tropical forest, swatting mosquitoes and flies all along (thank heavens we had plastered ourselves with mosquito repellents). The trek made us all quite warm. The forest was abuzz with the twittering of birds and the screeches of monkeys. Occasionally there was visible evidence of larger, predatory animals having passed by. Elephants had also left tell tale evidence of their presence in the form of broken branches and dung. Civets had left their hair as mementos for anyone who cared to follow them. Around noon, we found ourselves near a clearing, not far from a rivulet. We settled ourselves on the leaves that covered the ground and ate our lunch. The sound of the gurgling waters soothed my worn out body and mind.

After about an hour of resting, we set forth and walked on for another 3 hours. At the end of it, we came to a clearing in the trees where the jeep with our tents, food and other necessities was waiting for us.

We got about the job of pitching our tents and arranging logs for a fire. After we were settled in, the men decided to go and set up the cameras to keep a watch for animals which came to the stream nearby for water. Manasa and I decided to stay back and stretch out our aching backs and legs. The men told us that they would be back by around 7 pm at the latest. It was about 6 pm at that time.

We both retired to our own tents. I lay down and pulled out a novel from my rucksack. It was a whodunit of Agatha Christie. I was enjoying the tale when suddenly there were the sounds of footsteps coming from behind my tent. I shrugged my shoulders. It was probably my mind playing tricks with me. I looked at my watch, it was about 6.40 pm. Arun and Prashant would be returning soon, after which we could warm our food and relax under the stars. With that thought in my mind, I nodded off. The day had been particularly long and the trek gruelling.

Soon Arun and Prashant were back. They had followed trails alongside some watering holes not too far from where we were, and fixed the cameras at tactical places. We lit a fire and set some water to boil and made some omelettes. We had enough bread with us. We had also carried along some instant soup packets and that was sufficient for us to have a substantial meal. The stars shone. It was amazing how many stars one can see in the sky when there is no light pollution around. I had forgotten when I had last seen such a star spangled sky. One could hear the howling of wolves in the distance and an occasional roar from the valley across. We sang and Prashant played his guitar for a while. After that, silence settled over the group like a veil as we soaked in the atmosphere.

It was around 10 pm when we went to bed. It was decided that we would get up the next morning, grab a quick breakfast and then set off into the forests once again.

Suddenly around 1 am, there was again the sound of some heavy rustling and footsteps between our tent and our friends’. I stiffened in bed and looked at Prashant who was fast asleep. What could it be? A big cat? A bear? Could not be a smaller animal. The footsteps sounded quite heavy. I decided to just go back to sleep. I turned around in bed and tried to fall asleep, but could not.

.....To be contd

 

No Ragini, none of the ones got published. :-( Have not visited the NE either. On my bucket list. All the info in this story is researched.

 

Thanks Geeta.

 

Thanks Sri.