The Eternal Stalker Named Death: More Tragic Scripts!

The way death claims its victims is as normal as it is unique. One wonders who writes the scripts for some of the victims who perish without knowing why. These scripts are always most inhumanly creative, cruel beyond imagination and most horrendously instantaneous. True, one would never know the when-how-where of one’s last earthly activity, but one has the right to know at least why there is discrimination in the scripts, and this question we had raised earlier also. Of course, the answers would never come.

The youngest member of the family had all the right to be excited at the coming event. It was too early for him to get unduly concerned about the ways of the eternal stalker named death. His earthly existence began just about six years ago, and every small or big pleasure entertained him thoroughly. And this time it was big. His father was planning to buy a car. He was doing the countdown one month in advance making or revising future plans every single day. Why him, no one in the 7-member family had any clue to the designs of the stalker.

Finally the car arrived. His father knew driving and so things were moving easily. It was decided that the maiden trip in the brand new car would be to their ancestral home in the nearby town, and all of them would travel the next day morning. His father really wanted to show his prize possession to his relatives there.

Early morning they started the journey; his parents, his grandparents and his two siblings. The air inside the car was joyful, alive, eager and talkative. For the first two hours the journey was smooth with his father driving expertly and at a moderate speed. The highway was wide, good and well-maintained that would tempt anyone to drive at breakneck speed.

A lorry was moving ahead in their lane and his father felt no hurry to overtake that. In fact the lorry was occupying almost two lanes and there was not much space on the right side for overtaking.

Suddenly a tanker with a huge capsule laden with hot molten tar honked continuously trying to overtake both the car and the lorry. Although the space on the right side was not enough the speeding tanker went on with it. In the process it hit the road divider. The severe jolt made the capsule detach from the engine and lurch forward dangerously.

Their car had no room for manoeuvring an escape, because the lorry was close in front and on the left side it was rough terrain off the highway. Within a few fearful moments the lurching capsule overturned and fell on top of their car crushing it beyond recognition. The hot bitumen started flowing out immediately and engulfed the vehicle.

Miraculously he did not get any serious injury, and managed somehow to extricate himself out of the mangled mess. He hit the windscreen feebly and cried out to the passers-by for help. However, the script was so tightly written that no rescue was possible. The spreading hot lava of bitumen muffled out his cries and engulfed his tiny body in a few seconds. Assembled pedestrians helplessly witnessed the little boy with all his dreams and innocence die an agonizingly cruel death in front of their eyes.

Another boy, hardly into his teens, too had no concerns about the stalker, and only wanted to enjoy a few more moments of life. His caring parents dropped him and picked him up from school every day without a break. That day he had his last exam paper and wanted to celebrate the end with his friends. He asked for his father’s permission to come home on his own only for that day which was granted. And he was dropped at his school as usual by his father.

The most sought-after celebration took just an hour. The happy boy then went to the local railway station to take a train home. He had his best pal with him. As they entered the station a crowded local was about to leave. His friend immediately boarded the train as it started to move. To be with his friend the boy walked briskly along to get a proper hold to board. In his effort he slipped and fell into the gap between the train and the platform. His slim little body was sucked in, cut and mangled in a few moments as if to follow the script in toto.

The eternal stalker never relents. How many more scripts are in readiness for special humans—who can tell? 

(The two articles written earlier on this theme will be published here in coming days. Both these two and the above one are based on real incidents.)

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.