Travel/Memoir/Woods
The Silence, The Melody And One-Horned Rhinos — A Walk in the Woods
Reciprocal Nature Prompt
There’s a lodge deep inside the forest, The timbre sings the songs of yore, The broken panes tell the tales, Floor gathered moss galore.
The morning sun fights to reach The lodge covered with tall greens, The chirpy soloist sits on the roof When the moon begins to peep in…… — Soul Forest @M
W e felt the air changing. It smelt damp and different. Our vehicle zipped through, a strong breeze brushing at our fluttering hair from the de-glassed windows, under a long stretch of green canopy, the sky visible only in small, irregular abstracts. The road growingly becoming dark and dense, as we passed the board, ‘WELCOME TO KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK’.
The forest of Kaziranga is situated in the state of Assam, North-east part of India, An UNESCO World Heritage Site which houses some rare One-horned Rhinos and other species available only in this corner of the world — our abode for the next three days.
For a city-dweller like me, apart from reading travel memoirs of some impact, the early visual memory of woods came in the form of Aranyer Din Ratri (Nights and days in forest),a classic movie by Satyajit Ray, based on a story by noted Bengali poet and novelist,Sunil_Gangopadhyay.
As they say, seeing is believing.
The story dwells around four college friends getting together, long after they went their way in life, to spend a week in the quiet jungles of Palamau, exploring their being and manhood in a disconnected, remote area, in a way they least expected. In an iconic scene, one of the protagonists burns the morning newspaper, they carried with them, mouthing : “ From today we severe all the chords with civilization….”
But that was then. And this now. We got connectivity, though feeble, to inform back home that we reached.
The door opens to a garden Too slippery and unkempt, Still the Wilds rare their head Fence fragile, so mist drenched.
When the night sets in And cricket orchestra plays The lore of solitude, the forest Deep, darkness engraved. — Soul Forest @M
The next day was reserved for a jungle safari and we were excited about watching the different flora and fauna and the One horn Rhinos ,this National Park is famous for.
But what we were not ready for, was some piece of heaven that descended on earth on our way:
We halted our Safari Jeep and enjoyed the depth of silence the scene presented with, churning a forest deep inside us.
From then on, the chatter in the vehicle almost ceased.
The zone that houses the species are highly restricted green zones, and you can see the animals and birds from a long distance. Though it was disappointing, the news that human restrictions have helped with the increase in a number of the one-horn rhinos, was music to our ears. We did locate a few of them along with avians as you will find in the images below:
When it was time to fill our gut, we were in for another surprise!
If you think, one is a glutton to shove down all of this through your svelte throat, you are actually right! But, when every morsel of food on the plate is Organic, including the oil used to cook them, you can polish off this full Thali , without feeling bloated. After all, you need calories to brave a whole jungle!
The evening was well spent with jungle heritage. The local tribal troupe arranged for a beautiful Bihu Dance, around a pyre that was lit to ward off the outdoor chill.
What you cannot miss is the beautiful Mekhela Chador, the traditional attire of the locals with rich handwork, making it an exquisite experience for us handloom lovers.
On the last day, we decided to walk into the forest. It was difficult to get permission but was agreed on conditions that a Gorkha Rifle Guard will accompany us.
A Walk in the Woods:
If you ever cross the forest Lost in it’s dark and deep, Look for that lodge covered With moss, where the soloist sings.
Hear the tune the loner plays Touch the light however dim — You will find life to be Again, full to the brim. — Soul Forest @M
We chattered our way into the depth of the forest, and with every step, it got darker. Some flash of the sun-holding sky sworded through the dense foliage to tell us it was still day. But our riffle man was silent as snow. When we enquired him if there is a back story to his stoic demeanor, pat came a reply:
Jungle teaches you so. And only then you experience its melody.
We read between the lines and decided to stay low on our cacophony and allow the jungle with its Concert.
The sound grew intense with every step. The rustling of leaves we walked on, the intermittent chirping of birds, the crickets, the frogs, the wild bore played a symphony that treats your ear and soul.
The kind of sound which ploughs a deep well of calm inside.
The guard tells us, that the tribals spending their whole day in the forest in search of log, carry this sound back to create their own music — and you are instantly reminded of the African beats, that directly capture your senses.
The musical thoughts are halted by another forest splendour:
Stirring of vision Foggy spectacle behold A day in the woods — Haiku @M
It seemed like this piece of fog found its seat in the ‘Wood Opera’, taking in the fresh air, enjoying the symphony playing around. Nature’s script followed to a T.
It was our turn to fall silent, again.
We took some time to recover from our rounded eyes and O-ed mouths as we turned to return. It will be dark soon, we were informed. This time the path seemed familiar, the sound more intense. And you realize why most good musical instruments are made of wood.
If you think that was all — you are a little on the wrong here. The last act was still waiting in the wings. As we stepped into the familiar ground, and the sun bidden goodbye for the day,
we were presented with unfamiliarity of a pure, sublime power of silence, only a jungle could provide —
Walking ahead, this time we could hear our shoes chattering with the leaf chips, broken and dispersed, immersed in the bass of silence, remembering an old poem from school, read without grasping much of its meaning, which became clear now:
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. — Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, ROBERT FROST
As we crossed the woods and moved towards our place of stay, we saw the jungle slowly falling asleep to the rhythm of its the haunting melody of a humming dark, as the sun fell below the horizon for one last night in the woods.
There were backpack-load of melody-n-memory to carry back from days in jungle. What do you look for when you travel to the woods?!
Thank you Dr. Preeti Singh for such wonderful Nature prompts, which force you to wrap your head around memories long forgotten. Sometimes its cathartic, to slip into them. A cherry on the top — is the prompt collaboration with William J Spirdione.
Thank you Yana Bostongirl and Sahil Patel for helming this space for reciprocity so beautifully.
A wonderful walk-in-the-woods-and-notice-the-effect-on-your-body by Joyce Nielsen
Caroline de Braganza shares her mountain experience with breathtaking photos and stories in I-cannot-move-mountains-only-admire-their-magnificence.
It is always important to listen to the other perspective. Read Barbara Carter as to how she was-brought-up-to-fear-the-woods.
Thak you for visiting and engaging. Conversations are always stimulating. A walk in the woods is incomplete without its accompanying music:
Kimberly Hampton Nilsson: Remembered you :)
