It has been a few days of exasperation following the complete shut down of a nation so much so that its effects can be felt in the remotest corners of the country. This includes the Bardia district where I am based at the moment. Law pervades every aspect of the Nepali society and so when the majority decided to call it ‘quits’ there is no way that a government could resist the will of the people. However, there is one law that cannot be interfered with, i.e. the law of nature. For the jungle and the wild have their own laws and do not abide by the ones that we mere mortals create. Upset as I was to learn that most of the Nepali people were blaming India and the Indian government for fuelling this Maoist uprising, I think I decided to take a non-political stance and used this as an excuse to indulge in another wild escapade.
Living next to pristine nature for the past several weeks has unleashed in me a lot of aversion for humanity not to exclude my endless scepticism stemming from my personal life chances. Identifying with the jungle law and perfectly synchronised to the miniscule movements of animals, birds and even the tiniest of creatures I could intuitively guess patterns of behaviour around me. For instance, I saw loads of black and red ants carrying food next to the food store house and started guessing that the rains are not very far. Indeed, we have had a couple of tropical showers the last few days which has been a respite from the hot and sultry day temperatures.
It was one such morning that I was woken up by the local boy who informed me that the mahout and the elephant were ready for their morning venture into the jungle and I could join them if I so wished. It was a little before 6 and as I left my little hut I saw dull grey clouds in the distant horizon. Thrilled to see some clouds and with the prospect of getting wet in the hot tropical summer rain I climbed onto the elephant (Shantikali) along with my escort and the mahout. Off we went into the jungle moving from cleared grassland area to the dense forests crossing small rivulets and stony river banks. The elephant seemed to plod along quite happily grazing and eating all the way until we reached an area where we saw a rhinoceros grazing quite happily. My guide informed me that she was pregnant and so they were there to count the rhino numbers as part of their daily chore. I watched the rhino graze and then realised that it was watching us. Being watched by people on elephant back must have aroused her apprehensions and so she gradually moved away to safer grounds. Our mahout steered into another direction where the jungle became dense with a thick canopy above preventing the sun from penetrating the forest floor.
Nature has never stood still here even though the world outside has. Birds of different kinds have their own choir going on as part of the jungle music. Woodpeckers, doves have their own chores to do with the occasional monkey swinging around from tree branches as they seemed more fearless than the shy cheetal or the hog deer. Shy creatures have their own charm, they peep a little, hide a little, and then run around a bush or a tree in order to hide but at the same time feed their curiosity of who is watching them. The hog deer is the funniest of the lot. It sees you from a corner and then jumps and skips into another part of the forest much to the amusement of the onlookers.
Amidst all this chaotic activity in the jungle, I could see the skies turn grey with a strong cool breeze blowing across the green meadows and grassland areas. Rain at last, was my thought! Moving on elephant back crossing the river bed I could see the reflection of the black clouds and little droplets falling on the sand bed. Our mahout anxiously looked at me and asked whether I would like to return as it seemed that it would be heavy rains for certain! My immediate response was “Let’s get drenched!”
I asked the mahout whether it would be possible for me to have a quick dip inside the river. I think that must have made them realise that I was not giving in to nature’s threat of rain or high water. At the same time, my guide anxiously said that it was not a good idea to bathe in that water as we were inside the jungle and perhaps we could try that on another day when it was not raining. Even as we were having this conversation, huge big droplets fell on us, cold droplets of sheer joy and I had to refrain from jumping with joy as I was placed very delicately on the elephant back. I must admit that twice I almost fell off and my guide became my ‘Hero for the day’ as he held on to me so that I did not slip and fall off whilst the elephant climbed up and down small hill tops.
I must admit that I was quite impressed by my guide’s sensitivity, although he came across as a very shy individual initially. I was completely unaware that I was sliding down the elephant back until quite late and it was my escort who had to grab me and held me from my back to prevent the deadly fall! As is always the case, I was too engrossed, in watching the rains so I was totally unaware. Quite undaunted by this event, as I trusted my escort to look after me, I started to enjoy my early morning shower.
Heavenly bliss in the form of rain drops refreshed the rest of the journey and wiped off any anxiety among the three of us as we returned back to our safe haven, unscratched and rejuvenated!
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