The lesson of the wild

Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

Reading a recent incident about a herd of wild elephants, visiting author and legendary conservationist Lawrence Anthony ( popularly known as “Elephant Whisperer” ) on his death reminded of my own experiences with the wild.

Growing up in the lap of the wild teaches you more about human behavior than that of an animal & the contrast is very plain to see and invariably it also teaches you the necessity of going back to the wild, adapting their ways of adjusting with each other and living in tandem with other creatures. The North East of India is home to plenty of jungles and many areas declared as Natural wild life reserves.

The Britishers were meticulous about planting a lot of fruit trees, throughout Assam, in fact they planted many even among st the wild forests. As a result, plenty of birds, squirrels and other such small animals were regular visitors in homes there in and around the forest. Growing up in the lap of nature, the first principle that we were taught was, the animals always have the first right, since it is their territory. This includes the right to the land, and food too. We learnt soon enough that animals leave you to yourself if you can respect their territory too!

It was 1.30 at night (And that is very late in small towns) when the phone suddenly rang in our house. The small oil town of Digboi sleeps pretty early. Each house rests on a small hillock and is thus separated by a valley of bushes and trees, which is usually the grazing ground of many animals. Our neighbor from the next hill warned us that an elephant herd was marching its way up our house, having trampled much fauna on their way.

In the dead of the night, we sat trembling inside the huge Bungalow, watching as nearly 20 adult and few baby elephants ravaged our backyard, which comprised the vegetable patch. The surrounding Banana plans were uprooted and devoured. But all this in so much silence that had we not been warned of their coming none of us would have ever known that there was a herd of 20 elephants making merry in the backyard! Their eating and fun over, they left in an hour’s time, having devoured most fruits and vegetables and leafy plants, but without the slightest destruction to anything else man made.

Had they wanted they could have played football with the car or tossed around the hen coop. But they left as silently, as if nothing had happened. I remember sitting in awe all night, looking at those huge creatures in the dark, silently ravaging what they thought was part of the wild. Anger was not a natural outcome, in such a scene because we were guests in what was their area. The minute each animal understands the respect of another’s territory, everything is somehow quite easy.

I remembered the case of a farmhouse( Acres Wild) built on a mountain in Coonoor by ace film maker Mansoor Khan. There are no fences in the farm that is situated practically in the middle of two mountains. The man lives with his man Friday and his wife and had told me that when he first built home on the mountain to start with the farm, the wild elephants had ravaged it. His friend in the next mountain, a planter had told him that he must have an electric fence and a gun if he were to live in the territory. The erstwhile film maker refused, saying, “ It is their territory, I leave it to them to decide whether we are welcome or not” It has been almost  years since then, the elephants still come and yet they have learnt that this man is part of the locale and means no harm. They leave him to himself too. The farm still does not have any fences and there have been no incidents that strike fear in the hearts of those who stay there.

Such incidents confirm my belief every time, that it has been the animal who teaches man that with power comes grace too. Nomads with whom I made friends during many of my jaunts in the coming years in the forest taught me one lesson I never forget- 'It is their space, respect it, let them decide whether they want you to be there or not. They understand peace more than us, and if you can convey that to them, you never need to fear an animal.'

The cat who ate my Masala fish fry..while I FB'd

There's really no need to think of this as airing a personal vendetta against cats..but if you do I don't really care a fig.. Since time immemorial (Ok so I'm not that old) but then again since time immemorial, I have hated cats. I happen to think they are furry balls of deception, ready to claw you at the slightest pretext. Its a different matter that I happened to have a friend some time back who loved cats and I had to construe emotions that I never felt, at her love for them.

But this is not all about cats, my hate for them or crass a piece of literature ( ok whatever) that you might think of. There's more to it, and a story rather peaceful & hilarious somewhere down if you care to listen.

I got some very good fish today ( which is a rarity in Bangalore) and decided to make Masala fish fry, which I did & placed it, just ready to eat in some time. So I'm at my Fb page..doing important stuff ( And I belong to the group named- Just because I'm on FB doesn't meant I don't work)..so you get the hint..Im replying to mails..when this sneaky little brown cat, leaps up the kitchen counter and in a matter of minutes ( even before I can react to what was the noise all about) vanishes with all the fish..some in the mouth & some in the belly.

I'm of course sweetness personified as I see my lunch going through a cats tum ( I could still bear it if a dog had had it..but never a cat! Those treacherous creatures. Its all about principles you see!) But in the pandemonium I'm reminded of a similar incident that happened way back in childhood in Digboi( Assam).

So this tale from Digboi goes..We had a dog called Brownie ( That we had Blackies and Bhuto's & Baghas too is besides the point..blame it on Bong idiosyncrasies!)..On one fine day, we were alerted by some one we called Nani ( A Coolie tribe woman) to the exciting fact that a deer had been caught in the fence bordering our Bungalow. Everyone was excited, some at the prospect of whether the deer could be sampled for deer meat, some at the prospect of seeing a deer so close & Brownie for reasons very different. Of course in the end, we decided and struggled to release the deer, back into the jungle where it belonged to. But amid st the heart warming sight of the deer jump back in a flash into the forest, we were treated with the sight of Brownie ( who I believe had waited all his life for an opportunity like this) carrying three chapatis in his mouth and wagging his tail at his master's & Nani's voice that screamed at him.. aghast at seeing her breakfast ( which she had forgotten all about & kept on a plate in the ground) gone down his tum..It is a different fact that I managed to find some nobility in the event & as befitted a true dog lover termed it as 'Taking advantage of a situation..& the works'..but that day..like today..it was the animal in question who had the last laugh.

( Image courtesy Google)

Dig-Boy-Dig

Have often asked myself about why I've never written anything about Digboi, the one little word that has had such a sustained effect on me. Perhaps because it's just too much to encapsulate, or perhaps because it's difficult to pen down thoughts that are an essence away... whatever.... some intentions however lazy, justified or just well... ought not to be met and I have been trying to do just that!

When I think of Digboi, there's one recurring scene that always flashes by.. childhood memories that refuse to burn out.. they'll stay till my grave.. LOL cause they r connected so with the graves. Twas this place up a small hill, for the lesser informed :) Dubbs para, small homes( note they are not houses) almost on the edge, just about a push away you'd say! Some times meandering sometimes zig zagging it leads to a small but serene grave yard. We were about 9 of us and we would regularly haunt those guys and at times play games with their souls too.. how? Hide & seek of course. Weird but nice we called it, grotesque and stupid they found it.. who? the elders of course.. we were admonished threatened and everything else in tow.. but somehow we found it peaceful there. I talked to a 6 yr old once, lying there for ages.. wondered if he was ever bored and wanted to kind of pop out and join us.. now that would be something.

My fondest memories are of a spring day, about 4 in the evening. It was still light, there was a strange calm along with the wind that bl owed on. Am talking of days pre'Titanic'.. :) ( lest u think i copied!) I stretched my arms & took in that absolutely fresh air.. oh! it was almost orgasmic in perfection. No wonder I never get over it, not till today probably never..
Most Digboities will tell you stories of snakes in the toilets, leopards in the backyard & Elephants in the foreground.. but hey nothing prepares u for the one big mother of all picnics that Digboi turns out to be. With Swimming galas & flower shows, silks & chiffon's & parties & then some parties & more! In Digboi there are no end to the parties & they don't make them as boring as anywhere.. swear!
The animals of course are a different category altogether & u have such variety of flora & fauna. While there were the loveliest of birds from the smallest & teenie winnie blotch in red to a sparkling sunshine yellow..never got their names & don't see the necessity now either.. twas & always will be a pleasant whiff & a blurr come to sniff my Bougainvilleas in full crimson bloom. And then there were dragon flies, oh! how those little creatures drove us crazy..
My den in times like these and whenever wherever, were the beautiful lustrous branches of two Thusa pines that graced out in the front garden and made for a welcoming twosome. They 've shared with many so many an orange, flights of fancy of EnidBlyton & Tin Tin and then M& B's galore. Their gentle swaying while lulling me to sleep gave me dreams worth a life time, oh what a swish set they were...:)
With the slight snip in the air and chilly October winters, the smell of the shewli on my mind and pujo came rushing in. Pujo was to me as much about the Mother with the ten hands coming home, as Baba was with the Dhak, I with the Kartal Ma at her Mandap, me staring at the carpet of white shewli and the khichuri of the pandal. In the dance and the drama that was Digboi, of the silent hush of the elephant steps in the dead of the night.. of a fairytale childhood, of a paradise.. lost but probably gained in more ways than one, Digboi was never the oil field to us it was the only HOME we knew :)

© 2009 Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury