We Smelt The Woods...

Year 2010 saw my first tryst with the woods...
A fruition of the innumerable dreams of adventure I grew up with…
Campfires, tents, sleeping bags, log houses deep into the heart of the forest, occasional roars of wild beasts and GOOSEBUMPS!

To touch the misty horizon...

Well, that's what I had EXPECTED it to be when the four of us finally set out for the forests of Duars^* (or Dooars) in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas on a cold January night; - all thanks to my Dad’s lifelong obsession with jungle movies, and also to Ms. Enid Blyton – who penned the daredevil ventures of Secret Seven that formed my staple diet as a kid.

But then, how RIGHT and WRONG I was! The forest bungalows of West Bengal Tourism turned out to be far too luxurious with their plush room decors, steamy chicken dishes and obscenely large number of TV channels for you to be lifted even an inch out of civilization. And our presence seemingly failed to evoke much curiosity in the wild beasts either, thanks to the cold that could send ME to quarter-year hibernation if back at Kolkata, I didn't have an office to attend.

Car Safaris through three different forests of considerable repute-

1. The Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary⁺ - that holds the maximum number of rhinos’ population in India after the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, apart from Royal Bengal Tigers, Elephants,  Sambar, Barking Deer, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Wild Pig and Bison...

Elephant Safari in the Twilight, at Hollong, Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary  

2. the Gorumara National Park^& – which is again rich in large herbivores including Indian Rhinocerous, Gaur, Asian Elephant, Sloth Bear, Chital and Sambar Dear – apart from a large resident population of Wild Boars and some Leopards, and...

3. The dense and risky Chilapata Forest^% that forms an elephant corridor between Jaldapara and the Buxa Tiger Reserve...

... - and a single one-horned rhinoceros, a couple of barking deer and a few peacocks sum up the list of ‘genuinely wild’ animals that our eyes could catch glimpses of. 

The world of sap green at the Chilapata Forest

However, it’s worth enough to mention the MAJESTIC Bengal tigers and leopards in the South Khayerbari Tiger Rescue Centre^$ that were a ROYAL treat to the eyes.

Cheetah at Khayerbari Tiger Rescue Centre

So, if not the thrill of campfires, if not memories of herds of wild bison roaming free, what is it that I carry from this trip to this day?

Answer - The definition of night. The reverence for darkness!

The forests of Duars (in fact, any forest in the world I suppose) and the areas surrounding them see a different facade of the world after sunset. Darkness descends there fast and heavy, and darkness drips with a strange grim silence and an unspoken word of forbiddance.

Hardly a 5:30 in the winter evening, and the forest department's pet elephants would be back to their sheds for their days' rest. The streets would be empty but for an occasional tea stall. The young lads who were yet to reach home after the evening chat with friends would speed up their bicycles. Our driver would invariably bring us back to the forest bungalow and advise us against loitering out, and we'd often doubt the credibility of our individual watches and get the time verified once more. 

The Evening Twilight at Gorumara National Park

After all, what is 5:30, or for that matter, even 6:30 or 7:30 at Salt Lake Sector V? Why, the nonchalant evening tea, techie talk, verbal manager-bashing or gearing up for the next critical production issue!

Also, to be remembered forever is the scent of the woods…

Or the thickness of mist in the Savannah grasslands of Jaldapara at 6 in the morning…

Daybreak at Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary

The great, wide, huge, wonderful view offered by the forest watchtowers…

Enchanting Trail - the view from a Watch Tower at Gorumara National Park 

The trick of balancing while crossing the hilly rivers of Bhutan barefoot, just for the fun of it....

Happy happy Bath Time - A River at Bhutan

Climbing up a steep rocky hill…

The white calm of Kharbandi Gompa, a splendid monastery overlooking the town of Phuentsholing^{^} and the plains of Bengal…

Buying a pair of Bhutanese 'kira^#' from the market of Phuentsholing…

The placidity of the green waters of river Murti, flowing down from the hills of Kalimpong…
The tribal dancers and a moonlit night at the resort of Murti…

The majestic Sevoke Coronation Bridge^!, spanning across the river Teesta to hold together the districts of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling… and the ethereal view from the temple alongside…

And time - immense free time right from the onset of the dusk till bedtime, when you don't want to disrespect the gravity of the chirping crickets by playing a loud music on your TV; and so, you sip tea and talk. You talk to the friends you've worked with for years and never quite had the time to talk to with such relaxation.

Ah, did I forget to mention my trip partners? Well, ours was a gang of four - Somnath, Archita, Sanjoy and I, who had been colleagues, project-mates, lunchmates, cubicle-mates and in case of Archita and I – roommates as well - right from 2006, the beginning of our professional life – until we dispersed to different cities and continents around mid-2010.

Let's Cross the River Murti

Can’t wait to have our next trip together as what was once a carefree gang-of-fresh-engineers gets all set to become 'bigger and better’, as the four of us - the original partners-in-crime , enter a whole new phase of life with our own partners-in-life :- ). [ By Antara Kundu ]

Check the below links to know more about the places referred to in the above composition:

^*Duars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dooars

⁺Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaldapara_Wildlife_Sanctuary,

http://www.east-himalaya.com/forests/jaldapara.htm

^&Gorumara National Park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorumara_National_Park,

http://www.east-himalaya.com/forests/gorumara.htm

^%Chilapata Forest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilapata_Forests

^$South Khayerbari Tiger Rescue Centre: http://dooarstours.com/tdtt/index.php/destinations/central-doors/south-khayerbari

^{^}Phuentsholing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phuntsholing

^#Kira: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kira_(Bhutan)

^!Sevoke Coronation Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_Bridge