Guwahati to Garo Hills....

I was visiting Baghmara, where I learnt of wildlife and conservation, after 2 years and we had begun the road journey cutting across the friendly and beckoning Assam landscape. While the road to our destination did not make it mandatory to cross the bridge over Brahmaputra I had the urge to pay respects to one of the more magnificent avataars of nature I have been fortunate to feel. Yes, one just does not see it, one feels it, more so during these monsoon months when clouds take its colour as they melt into it.

As we moved we passed the Deepor Beel. We parked our vehicle to marvel at its splendour; sheer green brought about by recent rains, reflection of the afternoon sky and the gentle hills at a distance. We spotted a ‘big dark water bird’ on a lonely tree not very far from the road. It was the Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) blissfully basking in the monsoon sunshine; opening its wings every few minutes. It was there for atleast 20 minutes that we saw it, at times noticing us and moving its slim neck that otherwise was positioned almost in shape of “C”. Few minutes down it was joined by a cormorant. A brief session of hurried exchanges within colleagues of binoculars and field guides led us to believe it to be the Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger). This led to another round of exchanges and left me wondering whether these unplanned encounters with wildlife were a better stimulant for enthusing colleagues on nature conservation vis- a- vis a planned classroom session.

As the vehicle restarted I realized all of us were more alive to the landscape. I recalled Anirban pointing out the Darter at WII campus during December 2007 and sharing of it being rare at Palak Lake and the confusion we (Arpan and I) had over the bird at a small pool in the drizzling Orang National Park earlier during the very year. Driving on I imagined seeing elephants waddling in Deepor Beel and also remembered seeing an amazing picture by Christy.

Memories and car moved and by the time we crossed into Meghalaya it was dark. Vikash then noticed a road-kill; a Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica). It appeared to have been run over not more than few hours before and as I made adjustments to the camera I wished it was as lucky as the one that escaped our Sumo at Lawngtlai (Mizoram) during the previous year. Road kills are a bane; more so in these wildlife rich landscapes and as I write I realize I possess no knowledge of the damage caused to smaller taxa.

The drive continued and we finally reached Baghmara.