Nature’s Paradise: Manas National Park!

The night vigil prolonged almost into the wee hours. We were perched on the wooden balcony of the forest bungalow hoping against hope to have a darshan of the uncrowned king of the jungle. The darkness was impenetrable and the air was still. Except for the night forest sounds and the thin cackle of the river flowing behind the bungalow there was absolute silence. We were asked to look for a pair of luminous glows coming out of the thick forest beyond into the open courtyard in front of the bungalow. We were told that the animal’s eyes burn at night and that they normally prowl around the bungalow—not for hunting, only for maybe an evening stroll. We were a little scared too if the animal tried to jump into the balcony. However, we were given assurance that the height was good enough, and the animal never becomes aggressive unless provoked dearly. Finally, we had to give up and agree with the general opinion that the animal is rarely sighted there since years.

That was a long time ago at the Mathanguri Forest Bungalow, most sought-after even now, of the Manas National Park of Assam—better known that time as Manas Tiger Reserve. It is a sad commentary that the numbers of the majestic Royal Bengal Tigers are dwindling fast in India. That time the tiger population at Manas was about 125 which decreased to around 60 at present. No doubt, the National Tiger Conservation Authority recently disapproved plans of tiger preservation in 16 states of India including Assam some time back. This puts the onus on the Assam government to thrash out more practical ways to preserve the beautiful species.

The Manas National Park consists of the core area of the sprawling Manas Project Tiger Reserve, which encompasses an area of 2,837 sq. km running into five districts of Assam. The Park has several dense reserve tropical forests and vast stretches of grasslands. The significance of Manas lies on many counts. Considered among the best national parks in the world, Manas is also a Biosphere Reserve, an Elephant Reserve, an Important Bird Area (IBA), and a World Heritage Site. It is a prime tiger habitat that had the country’s second highest concentration of the great cat till the late 1980s and is one of the earliest Tiger Reserves of the country, formed in 1973. In view of its pristine natural eco-system representing the overall biota of the region, it was elevated to a Biosphere Reserve in 1989 under the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme. It was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1985 as a site of outstanding universal value.

The Mathanguri forest bungalow is situated just by the side of the Manas River, named after the serpent Goddess Manasa of Assam. Water of the river is crystal clear and you can see the river bed littered with stones of various sizes, shapes and colors. Sitting down on the rocky shore you can look beyond to the blue hills of Bhutan on the other side. A view of such natural purity and beauty that it leaves you glued to the spot never wanting to go back to the mundane concrete jungles ever. This nature’s paradise does not offer you much in terms of amenities in the guest houses, but it is more than compensated by the ecstasy you feel looking around and imbibing the spirit of pristine nature.

Manas National Park lies on the gentle slopes of the Himalayan foothills and is located on the north bank of River Brahmaputra. It is bounded on the north by the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan, on the south by the populous North Kamrup district of Assam and on both east and west by buffer forest reserves which are part of the Manas Tiger Reserve. 

Among the 22 endangered mammal species found in Manas are the pigmy hog, the hispid hare and the golden langur. In fact, Manas boasts of the only viable population of the pigmy hog, the smallest and rarest wild boar, anywhere in the world. It is also the only place where you can see the big five of the Indian jungles – the tiger, the elephant, the rhino, the buffalo, and the gaur. The avian population is impressive too with nearly 500 species of birds of which ten are listed in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. For the tourists the Park provides excitements like white water rafting on the Manas river, trekking, elephant rides and arranged trips into Bhutan on the other side.

This nature’s paradise was in dire straits due to social unrest and insurgency for a decade from the late eighties. However, the vibrant and immensely diverse biosphere emerged successfully again attracting lots of tourists in the last few years. The World Heritage Site was also restored.

Manas National Park is connected by air, rail and road. The nearest airport is Guwahati and it is about 4 hour’s journey by road. By rail, Barpeta Road is the nearest railway station from where you can travel 40 km to the Park by car or bus. The best season is from October to March. If you love nature and want to be in her lap then Manas National Park is the ideal destination for you. 

(Photos by Sivasish  Thakur) 

Cricket ODI: Kohli-Dhoni Push Gives India 2-1 Lead in Mohali Against New Zealand!

A brilliant century, his 26^th ODI ton, and an unbeaten knock of 154 by Virat Kohli steered Team India to a 7 wicket victory over New Zealand in Mohali on Sunday and a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI series. As a much-awaited silver lining Captain Cool under pressure, MS Dhoni joined the vice-captain in the chase of 286 runs promoting himself to no.4 position in the batting order and contributing a solid 80  runs consisting of 3 sixes and 6 fours. The duo came together when India were is some spot of trouble losing both the openers at 41/2 in the 9^th over and added 151 runs taking the team score to 192 in 36^th over when Dhoni fell to Henry. Mohali has been a high scoring ground with the chasing team winning in the last three consecutive matches. Dhoni kept on winning the toss in this Series, and here he naturally chose the fielding option once again.

Put into bat the Kiwis started well and were in a position of strength at 153/2 in only the 29^th over looking good for a total of over 300 runs which was really required to create some pressure for the might of India batting. But it was not to be. As is seen regularly in this tour of India, New Zealand again had a middle order collapse losing 6 wickets for just the addition of 46 runs at 199/8 thanks again to some inspired bowling by Amit Mishra and Jaspreet Bumarah. But for some rear-guard action by Neesham and Henry that finally took the score to 285 all out the match would’ve been a rank walkover for India. However, the Kiwis must have been aware of the fact that in the last match they made India cower with a total of only 242 runs.

If at all the visitors enjoyed any hope of creating some pressure it all went up in the air as Taylor dropped a regulation catch offered by Kohli early on when he made just 6 runs. That was unpardonable and the costliest lapse, and from that point onwards Kohli was unstoppable. With a steady Manish Pandey at the end overs, Virat Kohli saw India home in the 49^th over. With two matches coming up—on 26^th and 29^th—the Series is still open. One question that comes to mind is that India perhaps would not be looking for a win riding on a Virat Kohli great knock every time. The other batsmen need to fire, particularly Rohit Sharma. The Indian bowlers have been doing a good job so far, but they too should learn to apply pressure when odds are hugely in their favour. 

Cricket ODI: New Zealand Win Thriller, India Captain Cool Fails To Finish, And BCCI Jolted!

When your home team loses you always try to find out reasons or issues responsible for that loss and try to justify that had that being different things would have been positive. Although this is a natural reaction of the home team fans, one must take in the overall picture too. There is no denying the fact that New Zealand dished out a professional and gritty performance in the second one day international (ODI) match played in Delhi yesterday against India and won deservedly. The match was an entertainer down the wire as the narrow margin of 6 runs for the win made it abundantly clear.

On a traditionally slow Kotla pitch New Zealand, put into bat by India, did not get bogged down by the early loss of Guptil for a duck, but carried on the momentum with Skipper Kane Williamson hitting a superlative century and contributing for two major partnerships. The Kiwis looked set for a big score, but some tight bowling by Mishra and Bumrah accounted for 6 wickets for just 21 runs at the later stage. Therefore, the final target of 243 set by them seemed not too tall and was considered gettable by the batting might of India. However, spirited bowling and magnificent fielding by the visitors made it difficult for India, and losing wickets at regular intervals India folded up just 6 runs short. It showed the rather over-dependence of the home team on Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma fell cheaply again like in Dharamsala. Matured Pandiya ignited last hopes of an exciting victory, but as he got out in the penultimate over the match was sealed.

The home team fans were rather disappointed ruing the issues they thought responsible for the dramatic loss. Some thought on a traditionally slow turner India should have opted for batting after winning the toss. Then, the looming question of Captain Cool, MS Dhoni still donning the shorter format team cap. He is known to be finisher in such encounters. However, he could not do so yesterday and rather struggled to make 39 runs in as many as 65 balls. When Dhoni came into bat the situation was not that difficult with runs coming quite easily. After the match Dhoni lamented that if any batsman could have batted for few minutes more India could have won. Of course, he is also included in that. Now, rather than blaming Dhoni one must credit the Kiwis for their never-say-die attitude and professionalism. The match was a thriller and had the ups and downs all throughout providing absolute entertainment to all concerned.

New Zealand made the ODI Series level at 1-1 with three matches to go. They lost the Dharamsala match earlier, maybe not quite recovering from the Test whitewash of 3-0 dished out by the Viral Kohli led Test side. More than that, the rollicking Rahane and Kohli partnership made it very easy for India in that first ODI. New Zealand has been a very competitive side in the shorter format and despite the absence of retired Brendon McCullum the side is not weakened. We can look forward to some exciting one day encounters in the coming days. For India Suresh Raina is expected to come back in the next match. However, who will make way for him is not clear, because though Rohit is out of form he is not likely to be dropped, and Kedar Jadhav is playing quite well. Axar Patel could be the option as Raina can also bowl.

Meanwhile, the richest cricket board of the world, BCCI is made to bite the dust by the Supreme Court in regard to Lodha Panel recommendations. The characteristically arrogant Board has been trying to stall the reforms and asked for more time in the last hearing. The Supreme Court has come down heavily on their defiance and today froze all transactions between BCCI and the state cricket associations even stopping release of funds for match purposes till the Board implements the reforms recommended by Lodha Panel. The apex Court also asked Lodha Panel to appoint an independent Auditor to scrutinize BCCI accounts.