1.
In
the year 1962, when the border war with China broke out, I was still
studying in the college. It was then that most of people from India
became acutely aware, perhaps for the first time, about the
North-east region of India and particularly the region of NEFA or North-east frontier agency, which till then was just an area in the
north-east corner of the map of India. Ladakh sector, which was
another theatre, where war had also broken out, was relatively known
to people, because of Pakistan aggression in 1948.
In
the later decades, the region came to limelight, unfortunately only
for the wrong reasons like armed struggles and insurgencies of the
Mizo and Naga tribes, huge illegal migrations of Bangladeshi Muslims,
large scale smuggling across Myanmar border and finally all pervading
repeated floods of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which caused
unimaginable devastation every year.
Over
the years I have been rather keen to
visit both these theaters of
1962 war
and pay my homage to the soldiers, who had fought great and
heroic battles against better equipped and numerically strong Chinese
army. However it was
practically impossible
over all these years, for
anyone to
get Government permissions for visiting
these sensitive
border areas. Both these
regions, namely
Ladakh
and NEFA, now rightly
renamed as Arunachal
Pradesh or land of rising
sun, as it is the first
region of the country that sees sunrise
every day, require a special
permit known as inner line permit
to be obtained if one wishes
to visit these regions. It
is only now that the
Government policies have been
somewhat relaxed and tourism is easily possible.
I
did my Ladakh
trip, couple of years back
and could visit Nubra
valley and
Pangong
lake areas fulfilling
my long overdue wishes.
During that visit, I had paid my homage
to brave and heroic soldiers
at the war museum in
Leh
and also on the pristine bank
of the mighty Pangong
lake. A battle, which can
rightly be called as mother of all battles, was fought only a few
miles away from here at Rezang La by Maj. Shaitan Singh and his
company. On the banks of this lake I had decided
also to visit
Arunachal Pradesh at an
earliest opportunity and complete
my so called pilgrimage.
The
opportunity came up this year, when an old group of
friends were planning a visit
to North-east and asked me, whether
I would be interested in
joining them. All formalities such as Inner line permits, selection
of tour operator and the reservations were to be arranged by them.
Absolutely thrilled and overjoyed at this God sent opportunity, I
accepted the offer almost immediately and finally
here was I, on my
Spicejet flight
to Guwahati, capital of the Assam state of India, famous for its tea
and one horned Rhinos.
Flying
to Guwahati from my home town Pune is not a simple one hop affair.
Even by road, the distance works out to more than 2500 Km. By air,
one has to fly either to Kolkata or Delhi and then on to Guwahati. We
had selected the later route because it involved shorter waiting at
Delhi. Thus, earlier in the day, I had reported at Pune airport
around 5.45 AM for boarding the Spicejet
flight to Delhi taking off at
7.25 AM.
The
flight to Delhi was smooth and uneventful with our arrival at
terminal one, around 9.45 AM, even though the seating and
particularly the leg space were far from what could be considered as
comfortable. The arrangements for transit passengers, who have booked
for onwards flights are bit weird at this terminal. You need to exit
the airport, take a long circuitous route, go up in an elevator to
reach the departure lounge. Since the scheduled arrival time at
Guwahati was after 3 PM and we had a layover period of more than 2
hours at Delhi, we utilized the same to enjoy some nice stuffed "Alu
Parathas" followed by
spicy tea.
Our
next flight from Delhi was announced in time. We trooped out to the
aircraft, but saw the port side wheels of the aircraft removed and
the aircraft partially sitting on a jack. We were still asked to
board the aircraft. I was given a seat next to a window on the port
side, from where I could clearly see what was going on. Some
technicians in fluorescent yellow jackets had arrived with a lift
platform and had brought along a huge white drum like thing, which
had looked like a wheel brake drum to me. Another half an hour had
passed and nothing had happened. We kept sitting in the congested
seating space inside the aircraft. Finally an announcement came over
PA system that we were leaving and I had heaved a sigh of relief.
As
expected, the two and half hour flight to Guwahati is turning out to
be rather boring and dull, as there is not much to do. Many of the
co-travellers have dozed off. Unable to sleep, I switch on my trusted
iPod and get lost in the melodious world of Indian classical music.
After flying for about two hours, we are being told that we shall be
soon landing at "Bagdogra"
airport, a transit stop really. The Bagdogra airport is situated
amonst lush greeen foliage and surroundings appear refreshingly
green. This airport is a military airbase and I can see many
helicopters standing on the tarmac. After a delay of about 40 minutes
or so, we are airborne again.
A passing show: Himalayan peaks as seen from the aircraft window
From
my port side window, I look out. At an altitude of about 36000 feet,
there is nothing much to see except for the white floating clouds
that appear at a much lower height. I glance at the horizon, which is
actually towards north as we are flying eastwards. Accustomed to see,
when flying at these kind of heights, only bright blue sky above the
white floating clouds, I have a
surprize
of my life when I see snow
clad mountain massifs, ridges, spurs and peaks bursting out of the sporadic cloud cover below, almost in a continuous line.
There
is no doubt in my mind that, what I am watching through the window is
a grand passing parade of the massifs and spurs of the mighty
Himalayas. A breath-taking show by any standards. The Himalayas are
so huge and so much above my wildest imagination that there is no
other feeling in my mind except feeling of extreme humbleness as I
see this greatest spectacle on earth.
As
the Himalayan splendour ends, another one begins, though on ground
below this time. I can see the mighty Brahmaputra river with width
stretched for miles. As this is the low water season, I can see many
sandy islands formed within the river bed. This river forms one of
the major river systems on the earth and flows for a distance of 3900
Km before emptying into Bay of Bengal.
Mighty Brahmaputra near Guwahati
Soon
announcement comes that we would be landing at Guwahati's "Lokpriya
Gopinath Bordoloi"
airport. The landing is quite smooth, though the aircraft gets parked
at some far away remote portion of the apron and some rickety buses
appear on the scene to take us to the terminal building situated far
away. Since our baggage would be taking the same route, I know that
there is long wait. We all decide to have some excellent Assam tea,
refreshing brew at its best.
The
bags finally arrive and we walk out of the arrivals area, where we
are welcomed by our tour guide, who would accompany us for next 10 or
11 days. We troop out again with our unwieldy baggage trolleys to a
parking lot. I find eight gleaming white Toyota Innova
SUV's waiting for us. We walk
to the car allotted to us. I am welcomed by the driver with a bouquet
of Xenia flowers, a gesture that is a good marketing move by any
standards. Our driver, Mr. Mridul,
a youthful guy, has a pleasant face and I feel confident as he would
be driving us over next 10 days over some of the most treacherous
roads on the surface of our planet. We are also given packed snacks.
But,
before we start, we find that one of the rear wheels of our car has
gone flat. The wheel is changed in 10 minutes or so and we are off on
the road, which leads directly to Guwahati city. The time is around
4 PM and its already dusk. Soon it would be dark. We branch off on
highway NH 27 and after about an hour's drive reach
Jorbet,
a small town. We break here for a cup of tea. As we are enjoying our
cuppa, torrential rain lashes
the town. The place, where we are having tea has tin roof that
amplifies the hammering of the rain to such an extent that I find it
difficult even to hear what person sitting next to me is trying to
say.
From
Jorbet,
we take highway NH 6, which follows the Assam-Meghalaya border. The
shops on right side of road are in Meghalaya, whereas the ones on
left are in Assam. There are low taxes on liquor in Meghalaya state,
so the right side of the road has lines of liquor shops. Even petrol
and diesel are chepaer in
Meghalaya so all the Petrol pumps also are on the right side of the
road. We fill up and proceed.
Soon
its dark and there is nothing to see on roads except wait for our
journey to end, a distance of about 130 KM. The road is quite bad
with construction work going on over the entire stretch of the road
as it is being converted into a 4 lane highway, when it should take
probably just a couple of hours to reach Shillon. But as of now, the
road is terrible and dust pervades everywhere. Finally after a long
boring journey stretching to about 4 hours, we reach Shillong.
As
I step out, I find the night at Shillong to be quite chilly. So its
time for a quick dinner and I am off to warmth of a room with a
heater. It has been a long day and sleep takes over in just a few
seconds.
2.
After
a rather
tiring day of air travel, I manage to get a good night’s
sleep and
find myself refreshingly
fresh and fully woken up
around
5 AM
itself in the morning.
I slide the
curtains provided on
the solitary window in my
hotel room slightly
and
have a look
outside. It is surprising to
see that at
such an early hour, the
dawn has already broken through the darkness
of the night.
I realise
though, that
my watch,
showing Indian standard time,
is
actually slow
by at least
an hour, when compared with
the local time at
Shillong.
The sun rises in Shillong
about
an hour earlier,
compared to
my home town Pune, because it
is
situated
so much
in
the
east. With local time and
Indian standard time
differing so much, there are
anomalies such as sunrise at 5.30 AM and sun setting at 4.30 PM. What
is really
needed is
to have an eastern Indian standard time, something similar to what they have in the
US, where east and west
coasts have different standard times. But with the
bureaucratic set up of mind
of the federal Government in Delhi, who cares if
people living in some far
away parts of country, face practical difficulties such as schools
and offices closing well past sunset.
I get
ready and after a sumptuous breakfast,
get out in the warm late
morning sun. The weather is
crisp cool, extremely
pleasant and
reminds me of the winter weather in my home town Pune. The hotel
courtyard is nicely designed with number of flowering shrubs and
orchids having been planted all around. Some of the shrubs are
blooming and the camera enthusiasts from our group get clicking. Soon
it is the time
to move on our first day's
sight seeing.
Shillong,
the capital of Meghalaya
state of India, is
a charming city
with a population that touches just about one hundred and fifty
thousand. This city,
located amongst the "Khasi" hills of Meghalaya, with an
average altitude of about 5000 feet, is more like a hill station,
with almost all the major roads laid along steep climbs and slopes. I
am much reminded of the downtown area of San Francisco city.
The city appears quite clean
and well maintained. I can see wicker baskets placed on steel frames
mounted on the footpaths for garbage collection. The city appears to
have a large vehicle population though, as we encounter traffic jams
almost on every street corner. A military cantonment is located right
in the middle of the city and one needs to crisscross it all the time
while travelling within the city. I am reminded of having read
somewhere that Shillong
is called Scotland of the
east, because of its rolling hills. Since, I have never been to
Scotland I can not vouch for it, but I like
it
nevertheless.
Our
first destination is what is known as "Shillong
peak," a misnomer
really. It is just the top of a
small hillock having an
altitude of 6500 feet. The road,
leaving the main city, starts
climbing up almost
immediately after,and the
scenario undergoes a
sudden change. I can see lush
green foliage at many places with pine and other connifers
in abundance
with their needle like
leaves.I do not see any cones on the trees as yet. In fact this
entire hillock appears covered with lush green foliage. More than
half of the Shillong
peak hillock is occupied by
the Indian air force with their Eastern Air Command headquarters
built on one side. A huge radar antenna looms on the top of the hill.
The tourists still can go to the top of the hillock and see the
views but only towards northern direction. It is nevertheless a
wonderful drive up and I enjoy every mile of it. On one of the sharp
bends, a tree is in full bloom with pinkish white flowers. From the
distance, it appears as striking as a blossoming
Cherry tree. We are stopped
at an entry gate and the drivers are needed to get their names
registered with air force authorities. We move on, with even thicker
and bigger pine groves, appearing on road sides. We take a sharp bend
and finally arrive at the parking ground on the top.
The
authorities have built two observation towers that look towards north
with winding staircases. I climb to the top of one of them and have a
panoramic view of the
Shillong
city. Far beyond the city and
towards northwest, I see a huge reservoir of water, gleaming and
shining in late morning sun. The waters are of a huge lake, that
supplies water to Shillong
and is called "Bada
Pani"
or huge water. I am not much impressed with the view from the
observation tower though, which I feel is quite ordinary. What is far
more interesting is a cluster of 9 or 10 shops on hilltop selling
curios, souvenirs and
odd ethanic things
like hats, caps, scarves and shawls.
Everyone
in the group, crowds around the shops. One of the shops lets on hire,
tribal traditional Khasi clothing, worn by Khasi men and womenfolk.
Soon we have
15 or so, ladies from our group, dressed in long black skirts, red
blouses and a bright yellow cloth draped around with beaded strings
worn around their necks. One of our energetic young male member also
dresses himself in a
male tribal dress consisting of a red dhoti, black short coat and a
brightly coloured red turban complete with a sword and a shield. It
is an interesting sight, photo opportunity and great fun for
everyone. Rest of us get busy in clicking the
snaps. I buy for myself a hat
and then spend rest of the time looking for odd stuff displayed in
the shops. We are served freshly cut pineapple pieces, which taste
quite nice and go well with the upbeat mood of the group.
We
move on to our next destination for the day; the elephant falls,
which are located roughly about 8 or 10 Km from the "Shillong
peak."
There is nothing even
remotely elephantine about the fall, which is just a large impresive
waterfall with water falling in three short steps. The name was given
to it by the Britishers,
because they imagined that a rock near the falls resembled an
elephant. However this elephant shaped rock was destroyed in an
earthquake in 1897 and now only the name remains. The original
"Khasi" tribal name for the falls perhaps describes it
correctly as a three step fall. Our flotilla of cars stops at a
parking lot near top of the falls. From here it is a climb down to
the bottom and then climbing all the way up.
At the
first glance, elephant falls look like a manicured city garden; well
cut steps in the rock on a side of the falls,
tubular steel railings for
support, while climbing and going down. They even have a small bridge
across the falls, to approach the side steps that have been cut on
the other side of the fall. The water falls in three steps in a
disciplined fashion on a well defined course controlled by concrete
walls on sides. Just about a month back, I had visited some natural
waterfalls at “Thoseghar”
near my home town. Compared
to those falls, elephant falls look like a domesticated animal; no
hint of raging, wild behaviour, There is no wilderness at all here.
Nevertheless,
I walk down all the way to the bottom. From here the falls look
fairly impressive.
There
are a few souvenir
shops here too, on the side of
the
parking lot near the top of
the falls. Ladies from our group, again get themselves engrossed in
shopping. After climbing back, I sip some nicely brewed
hot "masala" tea
served by a local woman and relax for a while.
Finally, it’s the time to
move on again.
Our
next stop, 70
Km away, is at "Sohra"
town; commonly known as "Cherrapunji."
It is one of the wettest places on the surface of earth. In
preparation, I have been carrying a raincoat with me
just in case the downpour
starts during the visit. We take state highway 5 leading to the
south. The road appears to be in moderately good conditions, however
I keep seeing scores of
landsides on both sides of the road with huge, yellowish brown
tinged, large sized boulders strewn around with heaps of clay of
similar hue.
I feel
confused about the landslide theory as how can there be so many of
them on a short patch of road. Then I see some of the trucks ferrying
on the road. They all carry either sand, gravel or cut and
chiselled stone bricks. It is
obvious that quarrying is being done here on a huge scale probably
to feed the construction
activity in the area. Seeing the colour of the boulders and the
gravel, I get a feeling that they are probably
limestones
or sandstones. However a lady
in our group, who is a geologist, confirms that the stones are
actually of a special variety of granite known to geologists as
Gneiss.
According
to wikipedia,
Gneiss is a
common and widely distributed type of rock
formed by high-grade regional
metamorphic processes
from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or
sedimentary rocks. It
is often foliated (composed
of layers of sheet-like
planar structures).
So much so for the Geology, what is important to me is that these are
granites. Soon the landscape changes with the lush foliage of pine
and conifers all disappearing as we reach the
plateau, on which "Sohra"
town is located. The land is all barren now with just a few shrubs
growing that too at some spots only. The plateau however is not flat
or a tableland. There are series of small hillocks, almost of
half-round shape, around. I was expecting plenty of vegetation,
considering the fact that this place gets an average rainfall that is
in the vicinity of 10000 mm every year. However surprisingly the
landscape is devoid of any big trees. All that I can see around are
some shrubs and grass that is yellowing. This perhaps is due to fact
that rainfall in the months of November to January is minimal here.
There is no chance of rain today also. This means that we would miss
to experience the famed “Cherrapunji” showers.
The
cars stop near an impressive building that houses the "Ramkrishna
Mission School."
This school was founded in
1924 by Swami Prabhanandji
of
Ramkrishna
order, who was inspired by
the prophetic message of SwamiVivekananda.
We are here however not to visit the school, but to visit a small
anthropological museum that consists of just two large rooms on the
first floor. I climb the stairs overlooking the courtyard of the
school and a giant statue of Swami Vivekananda. The museum hosts a
fairly large number of exhibits that concern the tribal people of
Meghalaya; the Khasi, the
Garo
and the
Jaintia
tribes. Their traditional
clothes, the gadgets and appliances manufactured by them mainly from
bamboo and used by them for catching fish,
smoking tobacco leaves,
playing music are all nicely displayed along with lots of
anthropological information. Models of typical tribal houses and
villages of these three tribes also find a place. I however find that
it is virtually impossible to remember much of what I am seeinghere,
because photography is prohibited for unknown reasons and can only
mention my general observations. I see number of old ladies selling
Cinnamon pieces and bay leafs found in the forests in
the valleys outside of the
school buildings for tourists like us.
We
continue with our southward journey till we reach almost the end of
the plateau ending into
a deep valley with almost vertically cut rock faces. In fact, this
kind of geographical situation is the basic reason for "Cherrapunji"
to get all that world beating rainfall. The monsoon clouds from the
Bay of Bengal, fly unhindered over the plains of Bangladesh, before
they hit the Khasi hills. The rains push the clouds up to the height
of more than 4000 feet through the deep valleys on the "cherrapunji
plateau" and cause
extreme rainfall here. I
find that the phenomenon exactly similar to what happens on Western
Ghat
mountains in Western India.
There
is a small restaurant near the cliff face and we have hot lunch here,
which turns out to be quite enjoyable in the given setting. Just
ahead of us is one of the major attractions of "Cherrapunji;"
The Nohkalikal
falls. After lunch, I walk to
the edge of the cliff, where nice observation galleries have been
built. I see in front of me a deep valley, almost semi-circular in
shape, the
bare cliff faces cut off in
straight vertical lines and are devoid of any vegetation. Near the
top of the cliffs, on the lower side and everywhere else,
there is plenty of thick
green foliage. Around the middle point of the semi-circular cliff
top, a huge stream of water suddenly bursts out of the foliage and
falls hopelessly down to a height of 1115 feet and crashes in a pond
at the bottom, creating a cloud of mist. This water plunge is tallest
in India and fourth tallest in the world. I stand near the cliff
face, totally mesmerized by the fury and anguish of the falling
water. It is wilderness at it's best. Local tribes associate with the
fall, a gory tale of a young woman, who had jumped off the falls and
has given her name to the fall.
There
is another observation point at a lower level with paved steps. The
view from here is even better. I take few snaps and reluctantly
realise that its now the time to move on. I am back to the parking
ground and we motor further in southern direction still keeping to
the plateau. We are actually going along a circuitous route along the
edge of the plateau. Our driver tells me about another water fall on
way called "Seven sisters fall," but adds that there is no
water there in the fall. From there we
start moving northwards and
enter a densly wooded area known as Ecological park, signalling that
the "Sohra
plateau" has perhaps
ended. The road is also known as "Sohra-Shella
road."
The cars stop
near a vista point with a slightly rusted board on display, which
describes the place as "Kho
Ramhah
or Mow Trop." As I stand
on the age of the cliff, directly in front of me is a natural wonder;
a monolith rock formation approximately 200 feet high that resembles
a huge upturned conical wicker basket used by Khasi people. It is a
sight worth seeing no doubt, but what interests me more is what I see
lying beyond the rock and ahead almost stretched to the horizon.
Roughly
a thousand feet below, the hills end abruptly and a vast stretch of
flatland with scores of lakes, small and big, and all interspaces
filled with wetland marshes and lush green paddy
fields stretches to the
horizon. This is the Sylhet province of Bangladesh and seems to
contain every possible shade of green. I can see the Indian border
fence about 30 or 40 Km away
as a sharp black line through
my binoculars from this height. It was in this area, where Indian
Army's first heliborne
troops had attacked between
7th and 15th December 1971, against the Pakistani defences during
Bangladesh liberation war. The scenario before me is
so spell binding that I have
to be reminded that we need to move on.
We
continue our southwards journey and soon reach the last bit of
today's sightseeing plan; The
Mawsmai
cave.
To venture into unknown dark
world of a cave is not exactly my piece of cake, but I have seen at
least one of them earlier. I can recollect a visit to Luray Caverns
in the state of Virginia in US, where weird shapes formed by dripping
water containing Stalagmites and Stalactites surround you. The
Mawsmai
cave is a typical example of
this type but
is of very short length;just 150 meters. Our cars stop at a huge
parking ground and we climb a short flight of steps lost in dark
dense foliage, to face the mouth of the cave.
The cave has a spacious
opening and is well lit with electric lights and I can see the weird
rock shapes hanging from the ceiling and formed on the wall. I am in
two minds, whether to proceed, because of the severe foot pain and a
general constrain on my left
leg movement, because of
a flat foot problem that has developed since last several weeks. I
enter the cave and proceed for about 20 or 25 feet inside the cave.
But the cave is now squeezed
into a small neck. The cave also haapens to be a one way road and in
the middle region, there are
places, where you've to bend and squeeze yourself out. Considering
the state of my left leg, I become
accutely
aware that probably I may not
be able to make it as at number of places the cave bottom is quite
slippery. I finally give
up and return back the same way I had entered. It is no doubt a
disappointment but there really was no chance of my completing the
journey through just of 150 meters.
Its
dusk already and a hot cup of tea welcomes me at the point from where
I had started for the cave. We start back for
Shillong
and reach there
right at
dinner time. Somewhere on the way, the rain catches with us with a
blinding fury. There was no rain at Cherrapunji, where I was
expecting it. I keep wondering about the vagaries of nature. However,
back at the hotel, It is the time for a warm dinner and bedtime as the
night had
already turned chilly.
3.
To understand the Thag La ridge offensive, it is necessary to go in for some historical details. I have mentioned earlier that the McMahon line follows the Himalayan peaks all along the border. However, near the Tri-junction point of the borders of Bhutan, India and Tibet, there was a minor border dispute between India and China. A small river, which swells only during monsoons, flows from this Tri-junction point to east, between two mountain ridges known as Tsangdhar Ridge in the south of river and Thagla Ridge in the north of the river, till it confluences with Nyamjang Chu river. (Another small river). According to India's position, McMahon line passes along Thagla ridge from the Tri-junction point, to Nyamjang Chu river and then continues along Wadung ridge to Bum La, whereas Chinese maintained that the border passed along Tsangdhar Ridge to Nyamjang Chu river. The Namka Chu river valley is extremely narrow and large scale troupe movements are almost impossible here.
Out of the new posts set up in NEFA in 1959, one army post known as Dhola post, was set up on the southern bank of this Namka Chu river. Another post on the bank of Nyamjang Chu river further to north was also then set up at Khinzemane. Chinese soldiers had attacked this post in 1959 and had pushed Indians back from this post. Indians had reoccupied this post after Chinese had gone back and were holding it till 1962 Autumn.
The Chinese saw arrival of such large numbers of Indian soldiers in Namka Chu valley as a big danger sign and Chinese soldiers also started arriving in very large numbers. By 20th October 1962, as many as 30000 Chinese soldiers arrived on Thagla ridge area. Only after their arrival, Maj. Gen. B.M.Kaul came to realization that he had brought such large numbers of his own soldiers in a death trap. However it was too late now. On 21st October 1962 Chinese crossed Namka Chu river and captured all Indian positions on the south bank of the river. On 23rd October 1962, Government in Beijing allowed PLA to cross McMahon line as and when required. Indian army soon realized that it was impossible to launch any counter offensives because enemy had all the advantages and they started retreating. Within next 5 days of massacre and debacle, India army was pushed back 10 miles to south of McMahon line to Lumpo.
After an hour or so my condition has become quite pathetic and it is clear that I need to see a doctor. I decide to consult the hotel manager, who turns out to be a real help. He says that being a Sunday, consulting a Doctor is out of question and I would have to visit the emergency ward of the hospital nearby. He arranges for the hotel van and a driver for me to go to the hospital. Feeling extremely weak, I manage to get into the van and we rush to the hospital.
There
is nothing to do now but wait fro the return of our group, who report
that they had a great visit to the border. I no longer feel
disappointed as I also have gained something in the morning; a unique
bond of love and affection for this town and its sweet helpful
people.
Another
beautiful morning in Shillong. We have some more sight seeing to do
before Lunch, after which we start our return journey back to Assam.
Historically speaking, Christian missionaries have been active in the
entire Northeast area of India from early days of British Raj or even
earlier. Meghalaya was no exception. Christian organizations,besides
their religious activities, have been also carrying out philanthropic
and cultural activities in this state. “Don Bosco Centre for
Indigenous cultures” is one such organization set up in Meghalaya.
This centre has established a state of the art museum in Shillong,
which can aptly be called as pride of Shillong. This museum, totally
dedicated to tribal cultures of Northeast India, occupies 5 floors of
a building specially built for it and leaving aside some superfluous
galleries such as “food gallery” it still has as many as 15
individual display galleries that interest me and in addition there
is a skywalk on the terrace.
Before
we start, I have a look again at some of the beautiful flowers
blooming in the hotel porch area. I can not avoid the temptation of
clicking photographs of some of them today, which I had avoided so
far. We start after some delay and finally are on our way to see the
Don Bosco museum. The museum entrance is from a large court yard
bound by several large buildings except for on one side, where the
approach road has been constructed. The entrance gate to the museum,
located in one corner, looks quite deceptive as it appears to be that
of a chapel. The entrance gate leads to a long curving passage with
several garishly painted fiberglass statues, placed in recesses
created on both sides of the passage. The museum brochure says that
these 22 statues, descriptive of tribal and other people of
northeastern states, welcome the visitor and calls the area as
Alcoves gallery. At the end of this passage, there is a restaurant
specializing north-eastern food, a reception cum sales counter.
We are
welcomed here by an asst. curator of the museum, who explains the
theme of the museum; to highlight all facets of the culture of
north-eastern states such as geography, people, weather, crops,
dances, history, arts and crafts and finally traditional technology.
As I
mentioned earlier, the museum occupies five floors, two in basement
and three above ground. Fortunately there is an elevator to give some
relief to our tired feat. Here is a listing of some of the
galleries, which I like .
Pre-history gallery describing the pre-history of tribal world and its
significance to south-east Asia.
Land
and people's gallery that introduces topographical richnes of region
Fishing
and hunting gallery displaying number of creative tools used for
fishing,hunting and gathering used by tribal people.
Traditional
Technology gallery that looks at the economic life of the people of
this region
Crops
and agriculture gallery.
Basketry
weaving gallery
Musical
Instruments gallery
Costume
and ornaments gallery- One of the most popular and favoured
galleries.
Weapons
gallery
After
spending couple of hours at the museum, we all collect at the
auditorium on the top floor, where we see a film about people from
north east. A door on the side of this auditorium leads me to an open
terrace on top of the building. A well designed stainless steel caged
walkway, called as skywalk by the museum, takes me round the terrace,
offering fabulous views of the beautiful city of Shillong.
After
the visit is over, we all return to the hotel for a quick lunch and
checkout. As our car flotilla moves out, my mind is filled with
sadness for having to leave this beautiful city, but the car driver
tells me that we have yet to visit Shillong's most popular tourist
spot, “Bara Pani.”
“Bara
Pani”or Umiam Lake is a huge water reservoir, located in the
rolling Khasi hills, about 15 km to the North of Shillong. It got
created when the Umiam river was dammed in the early 1960s. The lake
is so huge that the principal catchment area of the lake and dam is
spread over 220 square km. Our cars stop near a visitor's spot. I get
out of the car. Spread ahead of me, is a vast blue sheet of water
with little islands with a few trees, in between. Because of the
natural greenery that has grown around, it has developed into a
stunningly picturesque and pristine sight that comforts the eye and
is simply unforgettable. The lake provides many recreational
facilities such as boating. Reluctantly, I move back to the car as we
have a long way to go today.
In no
time, we are back on that terrible Meghalaya-Assam road or Highway
number 6 to Jorbet. On the entire stretch of about 70 Km, I see
excavators moving around with their big shovels, people breaking
stones and operating road making machines. Maybe 3 years down the
line this road would become a beauty of a road, but today it is a
world of sand, gravel, boulders and too much of all pervading dust.
Only
by around 3 PM we finally end the ordeal and torture of this road, as
we cross into Jorbet and join the beautiful 4 lane highway NH 27 that
joins Guwahati with Nagaon in the east. We decide to have a cup of
tea at a roadside dhaba and somewhat freshened, are back on the road.
It's already dark when we cross Nagaon and shortly enter one of
India's most famous forests “Kaziranga.”
The
resort, located towards the west part of this jungle, is quite
spacious and rooms are comfortable. After the chilly weather of
Shillong, warm jungle weather provides a sudden change, but there are
ceiling fans, which appear to be adequate for now. It has been a long
day and tomorrow is a day of rest for us with no serious sight seeing
planned. We all relax, have dinner and get into our beds. The eerie
jungle silence engulfs me like dense fog, before sleep finally comes
over.
4.
After
spending a day of rest, at the Kaziranga resort, we all are ready
today, for another long spell of travelling. For a change, we shall
now be travelling to the North and enter the border state of
Arunachal Pradesh, before ending the day at “Bomdila,” a
beautiful township on mountain slopes of Himalayan ranges with an
altitude of about 8000 feet. Yesterday, we made some short outings
and visited one or two points on the highway NH 37, from where, wild
animals of Kaziranga are usually seen. At one of the points, where
wild elephants are sometimes seen, we drew blank as the spot was
totally deserted. Luckily, at the other vista point, we were more
fortunate to see some rhinos and deer. Our Kaziranga sanctuary safari
is actually planned during the return leg of our journey after about
a week and I thought that what we saw yesterday, was a kind of a
teaser.
We are
back on highway NH 37 going westwards till the town of Nagaon and
then take a right turn on highway NH 37A. Our first destination today
is the mighty Brahmaputra river, located at about a distance of 22
Km, which we would be crossing over to go to our first stop of the
day; Tezpur. For first few Km, the landscape is typically rural
Assamese, with lush green paddy fields, groves of trees of various
hues and shades of green with sprinklings of villages scattered
amongst them with red coloured galvanized iron sheet roofing. But as
we proceed further towards the river, the human habitats slowly
start to disappear, their place being taken by marshy wastelands and
grasslands. Every summer the mighty Brahmaputra, pours millions of
cusecs of water in this area and this stretch of marshy wastelands
get completely flooded. Much area under Kaziranga forest also meets
the similar fate each and every year. This is the reason for the
sanctuary to close during monsoon months and it reopens only on 1st
of November.
I can
see now the vast bed of this mighty river stretched almost to the
horizon. As we approach the river, the car stops before a police
check post. The guards wave to us and we are on the “Kalia Bhomora
Bridge” crossing the Brahmaputra. After crossing the bridge, the
cars stop near a small hillock. I come out to have a view of the
bridge and the surroundings. This 1.3 Km long bridge was constructed
during a period of 1981 to 1987. I climb a small hillock to see if I
get some better view of the bridge but feel disappointed as nothing
can be seen from there. There is also a small red coloured “Shiva”
temple on one side of the road. On the left sidewall, from where the
actual bridge and its railing starts, bass reliefs of seven female
figures representing the seven northeast states are carved in
concrete. Though the craftsmanship is just about pass'e, I like the
symbolism. The bridge, connecting the city of Tezpur to Kaliabhor
town has been named after “Ahom general Kalia Bhomora Phukan, who
had defeated in 1671, much larger Mughal forces in a battle known as
Battle of Saraighat. The bridge has been named after this general
because it is believed that he had made an unsuccessful attempt to
build a bridge at the same site in the seventeenth century.
Tezpur
city is situated along the north bank of the river. As we enter the
city, my thoughts immediately run down the memory lane, because in
the 1962 border war, Chinese forces had reached within 70 Km from
Tezpur and the inept city administration had almost given up the
city. There was complete loss of control on 20th
November 1962 with thousands of people fleeing the city by crossing
Brahmaputra to the safety of the south. That is history; now Tezpur is
a normal thriving city.
Our
first stop in Tezpur is at a small hillock named as “Agnighar.”
An impressive entry gate leads to a circular stairway for going up
the hillock. The entry gate gives a feeling, that the way up would be
an easy one. However, as I climb up, I find that it is not so and
climbing up in one breath looks quite tough. I reach the crest of the
hill. A nice manicured garden and some plat things for children can
be seen here. An observation platform made from steel stands here.
From the top of this platform, a breathtaking view of the mighty
Brahmaputra is so bewitching that I spend quite a few minutes
watching and enjoying the grand spectacle. The Bhomora bridge, which
we had just crossed, shines in the morning sun towards the left.
There are number of statues of some mythological figures and some
imaginary encounters between them. A demon king “ Banasura” his
daughter “Usha,” her companion “Chitralekha” and finally Lord
Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The sculptures of these mythological figures
have been erected at several spots around the circular stairway. I do
not know from what material these statues have been made from but
they all have been painted with Gray colour. These statues remind me
of similar statues of mythological figures set up all over the
Indonesian island of Bali.The hillock of “Agnigarh” is believed
to be the fortress of a mythologiocal king “Banasura” in which
he had kept his daughter “Usha” in isolation, fearing that she
may elope with someone. Tezpur perhaps prefers to link itself more
with the Mythological demon king “ Banasur” than any one from
recent history.
We
move on. Just next to this hill, we come across a place called
“Ganesh Ghat.” This place is directly on the river bank and if
desired, one can go and touch the waters of one of the greatest
rivers of India. None of us however seems willing as the entire area
is littered with garbage, flowers thrown away and plastic bags. I
remember that near Leh city in Ladakh, excellent “Ghats” or
stepped terraces named as “Sindhu Darshan” have been built on
bank of river Indus, which allow people to touch the water or wash
their hands and feet in the river, I remember having done that
during my visit there. But that place was spotlessly clean compared
to what I see here on the bank of Brahmaputra. I had wished that I
would be able to wash my hands and feet in the Brahmaputra waters
during this visit, just the way I had done in waters of Indus, but
can not dare do it because of the filth.
Readers
would agree that the entire history and culture of India is closely
related to triplet of rivers- Indus, Ganga and the Brahmaputra. I had
wished that someday I would be able to see all of them and would be
able to touch the waters of all of them. For me it was like a secret
pilgrimage of the sorts. I had touched the waters of Ganga at
Rishikesh near Haridwar city besides waters of Indus at Leh.
Unfortunately, here on the bank of Brahmaputra, I can not dare do
that as the place is filled with Garbage.
Feeling
disappointed, I move on. There is a temple nearby of Lord “Ganesha.”
I watch it only from a distance and then continue towards our next
halt, an excellet and neatly laid out city garden known as Cole park
during British days. It was named after Mr. Cole, a British
commissioner of Assam. Now it is known as “Chitralekha Garden;”
the mythological connection coming up once again. It is a well laid
out nice garden with lawns and flower beds on sloping grounds. In the
middle there are two water ponds or mini lakes side by side.
Activities like boating are available. I am more interested however,
in a number of bass reliefs done in stone from 9th and 10th century,
couple of massive ornamented stone pillars, gate ways and sculptural
remains from the famous Bamuni hills that are being displayed at
strategic places in the garden by Archaeological department of
Assam.The massive pillars, gates and bass reliefs are very
intricately carved. The carved human figures on these bass reliefs
have a distinctly different look, when compared to contemporary bass
reliefs from Pattadakal in Karnataka or from Ellora caves in
Maharashtra. I also notice surprisingly, that there are some
similarities in the figures displayed here with bass relief figures
found in Siam Reap temples of Cambodia. But this needs more study.
The pride of place of the park is at the center of the park, flanked
by the two water ponds on the sides. This spot is occupied by a
massive stone slab, which bears the famed inscriptions of
Bhomoraguri, ordered by Ahom general Kalia Bhomora Phukan and
recording the ancient plans of a bridge across the Brahmaputra, at
the very spot, where the current Kolia Bhomora Bridge has been built.
This is an exhibit worth a visit. Though, there appears to be some
controversy, regarding the inscription. According to some references,
the rock inscription actually mentions the construction of a rampart
by Ahom King Pratap Sinha (1603-41 A.D.) after defeating the Mughals
and not the bridge.
Bhomora Inscription slab
Image of the demon "Banasur" in Chitralekha park
Bass relief of Shiva from Bayon temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Leaving
the controversy to archaeologists, our flotilla of cars now leaves
Tezpur and we take highway NH 15 to north. Tezpur's strategically
important airport is located here. This airport was in the imminent
danger of being captured by Chinese forces in 1962. Seeing the
alarming situation and developing threats to Tezpur, army
headquarters had decided to airlift 5 infantry battalions from Punjab
to Tezpur airport on 19th
November 1962; an advanced party of divisional headquarters and one
battalion had flown in with troops quickly digging in for the defense
of this airfield. The Chinse had however declared unilateral cease
fire within next two days and no action ever took place here.
Leaving
Balipore town, we leave the city areas behind and now forests flank
us on both sides of the road. This area has been converted to a tiger
reserve now and is beingcalled as Pakke Tiger Reserve. It connects
with Kaziranga sanctuary in the east. A river makes a sudden
appearance to the right. This is the Kameng river also known as Jia
Bhoreli in Assam. Kameng originates near India-China border in Tawang
district and flows for 264 Km to its confluence with Brahmaputra near
Tezpur. I can also see a railway line being constructed on the left.
The entire area is very picturesque and beautiful. To motor down this
road to the Arunachal border town of Bhalukpong, is a wonderful
experience, that is difficult to describe in words.
It is
almost lunch time, when we stop near Bhalukpong town. From here the
Arunachal Pradesh starts and we need to submit our Inner line permits
at the checkpost to proceed further. We break our journey in the town
for the long awaited lunch. After a delightful lunch topped by
wonderful “Gajjar Halwa,” I decide to take a stroll in the hotel
courtyard. At one end of it, I find one small out-house like
structure, with a viewing veranda. I step in and take a few steps. My
feet just freeze on the spot, as an unbelievably stunning landscape,
unfurls before my own eyes. It is a perfect picture post card view.
On the left is the gorgeous looking, foaming white, Kameng river
rushing out of Himalaya ranges bending sharply towards Assam. The
left bank of the river is rising and merging into the green foliage
lined mountainside, almost touching the sky. To the right, near the
bend, the white river transforming into a slow current of azure blue
contrasting with the golden white sands of the flat river bank. The
Bhalukpong town itself extends further to the right. I
loose all sense of time, as I watch the scene, spell bound.
A friend
calls me and says that its time to move on. Within minutes, we all
are out of the town, entering the enthralling valleys of the the
Himalayas; kings of the mountains of the world.
5.
After
entering Arunachal Pradesh, I was expecting the road would start
climbing up immediately with a simultaneous drop in temperature. To
my surprise, we are actually descending downhill, towards a valley
bottom, surrounded by tall mountain ranges covered with semi-ever
green tropical rain forest vegetation. Weather also is turning
warmer. Car driver says that this is how the weather is in the Tipi
valley, during this season of the year. We stop near the gate of a
neatly laid out large property with number of single storied
buildings spread well apart.
Picturesque campus of Orchid research station
Bamboo Orchid
This
is the Orchid Research centre at Tipi, a Government of Arunachal
Pradesh endeavour. The research centre, located about 6 Km from
Bhalukpong is spread over a large tract of about 11 hectares of flat
land, something rare in these narrow wooded valleys here. It is
supposed to have a large collection of orchids as Arunachal Pradesh
is known to have more than six hundred species of Orchids. I start
walking towards, what looks like a glass house. On my way I see some
bamboo clusters with beautiful blue and purple flowers. These are
actually not bamboo clusters but something rare, Orchids that look
like bamboo .
The glass house
A beautiful orchid blossom
The
visit to the glass house proves to be generally disappointing. Very
few of the orchids are blooming in this season. Probably we are
there at the wrong time of the year. I was actually expecting
something that compares with Singapore's Orchidarium, located in the
famous Botanical gardens. It may be that my expectations perhaps are
set too high. I do see some unusual flowers but nothing much to
describe. Being a Government institution, the staff is also not
particularly helpful. As a little consolation to my general
disappointment, the scientist in charge suggests that we have a look
at a plant kept in a wire meshed shed towards the entrance. The
plants in that tin shed, turn out to be “Pitcher plants.” An
insectivorous variety. These plants are endemic to Khasi and Jaintia
hills of Meghalaya. The leaf tips of this plant are shaped into a jug
like structure called pitcher. The lid of the pitcher attracts
insects like ants and bees. When an insect moves on the mouth of the
jug it slips inside. The toxic liquid at the bottom kills the insects
and digests the proteins. Having recently seen couple of such plants
during my visit to Kaas Plateau, near my home town Pune, watching
this plant is really interesting. Sadly, I find it difficult to get
any snaps through the wire mesh, though I make some efforts. As walk
along, the campus of the centre looks well developed in a way
conductive for research work. The facilities include a glass house,
museum, herbarium and so on.
Kameng river in Tipi valley
A waterfall on way to Bomdila
Soon
we are back on the road and in no time start climbing towards the top
of the first mountain ridge or rather foot hills. It is just 2 PM,
but the sun has already disappeared beyond the Himalayan foot hills.
We cross few waterfalls on the hillside, water drained out from
pipes buried under the road to the valleys on the other side of the
road. We decide to break for tea at a roadside dhaba. There is a
little and neat temple by the side. A very comforting place for many
people.
Tea Break
Dusk
has started falling and there is not much to see. The enthralling
green forest of the morning is gone now; its place now taken by woods
that look dark, grim and reserved. We keep driving through the
spreading darkness. I see a village name signpost flash by, which
says the name as “Dedza.” After this, the road again starts
descending into a valley and I doze off. I wake up again as the car
stops at a checkpoint, somewhere in one of the valleys at a place
called “New Kaspi.” After this, we are passing through series of
military camps one after another. After “Tenga” camp and a
direction signboard that says “Rupa” camp, the road starts
climbing again. There seems to be some major road widening work going
on because the road is in very bad condition. It has been a very long
drive and I am feeling quite tired. At long last we reach the top
and I see a board welcoming us to Bomdila. I know we have arrived.
Situated
on a Himalayan ridge known as “Piri,” Bomdila is a typical dusty
hillside town of about 8000 people, with houses built on sloping
grounds, narrow and bad roads with sharp bends. The car stops near a
hotel and I get out. After the warmth of the valleys, I am hit with
the chill outside with temperature already in single digit Celsius.
Perhaps I am feeling it more so, because I have been travelling
throughout the day, through the warmth of the valleys and the change
is too sudden. I rush to the hotel, find my room and switch on the
heater. I am too tired now to think about anything else. It is time
for a warm dinner and sleep.
I wake
up and peep through the curtains. Outside, the hillside town is
bathing in brilliant sunshine. The terraced houses, continuously
curving roads and all pervading green simply enchants me. Regardless
of what I thought yesterday night, Bomdila is a beautiful place. The
green foliage around however, looks quite different. Yesterdays's
semi-tropical rain forests have all disappeared and have been
substituted with groves of conifers with their sharp pointed leaves.
I get ready, have a quick breakfast and step outside in the warmth of
the sunshine. The cool brisk air has a magical effect. Gone is the
tiredness of evening and I am ready for another day's sight seeing.
Bomdila Monastery
Our
first stop is the Bomdila monastery. One needs to climb up more than
200 meters to reach the place. As we climb up, I see a little road
sign on left that says “Circuit House.” This was the very place,
where two tanks were stationed by Indian army during 1962 war for
defence against Chinese infiltrators attacking Bomdila from a pass
near the monastery high ground. The road to monastery is of good
quality and leads to the forecourt, where enough parking places are
available. I alight from the car and walk towards the main prayer
hall. The monastery is actually a modern institution founded in in
1965-66. It is believed to be a replica of Tsona Gontse Monastery in
Tsona, south Tibet. On closer look, I find that instead of usual
wooden construction, it has been built from RCC concrete pillars and
beams, though shaped to look like wooden beams. For Bomdila's monks,
modern construction probably means much better comfort and ease but
for visitors there is lack of interest as there is no antiquity or
old world comfort around. Since the main prayer hall is closed for
construction work, I just go around, turn the main prayer wheel few
times and enjoy the fabulous views of Bomdila.
The south valley; Bomdila
As I
look at the south valley, it becomes crystal clear to me, why fall of
Bomdila on 18th
November 1962 to Chinese, was a huge disaster for Indian army. The
“Piri” ridge is the nearest major Himalayan ridge, that separates
the Tezpur plains from hilly areas in the north. Bomdila pass,
(roughly at an altitude of 2600 meters) is one of the lowest passes
in this “Piri” ridge, where rest of the passes are at much higher
level. Bomdila is therefore the easiest gateway to Tezpur plains.
Whosoever controls Bomdila, would control the entire area up to
Brahmaputra river. (There is actually another road, which starts from
“Rupa” village situated near about Tenga camp on the road to
Bomdila and goes through “Manda La” pass to connect to the
Bomdila-Se La road at Dirang. But this route is longer and not so
well developed as reported by a source.)
Hills behind Monastery; Rib La pass is located in these hills
After
enjoying the views, we decide to leave. The actual Bomdila pass is
about 2 Km north of the town. It is actually at an lower altitude
than the town. While passing through, we see a glimpse of a snow
clad peak, which our drivers says is the mountain ridge near Se La.
The other route in to the Bomdila town is from the west and enters
the town from another pass known as Rib La, which has a higher
altitude of about 2900 meters. Though no one uses this route now,
Chinese had attacked Bomdila from both the routes. Th e westerly
route enters the town from near abouts of Bomdila monastery, we had
just visited.
After
passing through Bomdila pass proper, the road descends all the way to
a deep river valley and runs along the river lowing at the bottom.
The road is undergoing major reconstruction and is in a fairly bad
condition. The valley of Dirang is perhaps one of the best tourist
spots in this sector. I am not sure about the name of the river
flowing next to us. It is being commonly referred as Dirang Chu or
Dirang river in commercial literature, but the maps describe it with
various names such as “Khouma River” or “ Tommapka Chu.” What
is certain is that this river originates somewhere near Bhutan border
and is called as “Pubrang Chu.” there. It flows eastwards through
Dirang town and ultimately merges with “Kameng river.” taking
several names on way. In Dirang valley itself, several rivulets such
as Sangti, Dampu and Chouhhow join this river from both north and
south. Another rivulet flowing from south has been indicated in one
of the maps as “Dirang Chu” making the confusion supreme. I would
therefore just call this river as Dirang river (whatever may be the
correct name!) and leave aside the controversies.
Dirang River
The
driver points out to a road branching off towards left. He says that
this road goes through a pass known as Manda La and directly
connects with the Tezpur road near “Rupa” village, signboard for
which I had seen yesterday. I immediately recollect something about
this road I had read earlier. This road was also infiltrated by the
Chinese soldiers in 1962 war and they had taken positions at a
monastery known as Lagyala Gompa near the village of Morshing about
20 Km from here. They had turned the direction showing road sign in
opposite direction at a road branching to mislead and confuse
retreating Indian soldiers so as to ambush them. An army column lead
by Lt. Col. Bramhanand Avasthi had reached this spot and sensing
something wrong, had split themselves in two groups. Group led by Lt.
Col. Avasthi had taken the wrong route towards Gompa and they were
ambushed by Chinese. What followed was an epic, hand to hand battle
in which all of the 126 Indian soldiers including Col. Avasthi ,were
killed along with 200 Chinese. Perhaps Chinese might wanted to use
this road to Tezpur plains subsequently. We shall never know the
truth.
Dirang town
As we
approach the river bed, I can see crystal clear Himalayan spring
water rushing through the river bed making a roaring sound. The river
bed is filled well rounded stones and the rushing water creates
heaps of white foam at every obstacle in its way. Though the river
appears to be rather shallow and perhaps may not be suitable for
water sports.
Dirang Basti
The
first signpost on the left says that we have passed “Munna camp”
obviously an army camp. Dirang valley is stretched over a distance of
about 15 Km to from here to another army camp known from another
signpost as Sapper. The valley is at a much lower altitude of 1497
meters/4911 feet as compared to Bomdila. This ensures that the
weather of this hill station is placid, breezy along the river valley
besides being very comforting and pleasing. I see number of small
picturesque villages situated by river side till we arrive at a
bridge. The cars stop and I get out. As I look towards the other
bank, I see some old dwellings. This habitat is known as Dirang
Basti. This was a township established by tribal Monpa people, who
had migrated here from Tibet some 400 years back. There is an old
fortalso, known as Dirang Dzong on the hill but we just do not have
time for it. Behind
me is the Dirang town.
Confluence of Chouhhow and Dirang rivers
A Kiwi Orchard
We
move ahead. The car stops near the confluence of Chouhhow and Dirang
rivers. The view from here is just superb. As the blue waters of both
the rivers meet and mix, the bright yellow and yellowish brown, paddy
and corn fields in the vicinity, dazzle in the blinding sunlight. The
crops are ready for harvesting and look at their best from this
distance. Upstream is an old steel bridge and beyond stands the
huge elephantine mountain branch projecting out from the “Se La”
ridge. Behind me are some orchards that look very similar to grape
orchards with their tubular steel support frames. They however turn
out to be Kiwi fruit orchards. I buy a bagful for Rs. 70/-, an
unimaginably low price. We proceed further. Since the old still
bridge is under repairs, we take a detour and go through the Dirang
town, a buzzing marketplace. We also face even a major traffic jam.
On way, I see many signposts such as National Research Centre on
Yak, The Regional Apple Nursery, Orchid centre and some monasteries.
Dirang with a population of 4000 people, appears to a busy little
place complete with traffic jams even.
An old steel bridge
A wooded valley near Dirang
Soon,
we are out of Dirang town and are on highway NH229. We cross over the
river to the other side after travelling about a distance of 8 to 10
Km. Road now passes through a beautifully wooded valley with Dirang
river on the left and the mountain side on the other. Our car comes
to an halt. On the steep slope to the right, I see a board saying we
have reached the “Nyukmadung” war memorial. A stop we must have,
to honour the brave Indian soldiers, who died in 1962 war.
6.
7.
Standing
near the entrance to war memorial at “Nyukmadung,” I look around.
Nothing could be more pristine and peaceful than this spot. The
valley of Dirang river on one side with river bed almost invisible
because of the green foliage and trees. Further on the other bank of
the river, stands another tall mountain ridge, covered entirely again
with foliage. The memorial, built like a chorten or a small Buddhist
stupa with a golden pinnacle stands next to a steep mountain slope
that comes down and touches other side of the road. Yet on this same
pristine spot, a major bloody battle had developed, fifty two years
ago, resulting in loss of hundreds of Indian lives.
The
Nyukmadong War Memorial is located on a specious 1.5 acre plot of
land, overlooking the famous battle ground of 18 Nov 1962. It nestles
in a three tired terraced landscape with beautiful coniferous trees
planted around. The main memorial is in the form of a 25 feet high
‘Chorten’ conforming to the local ethos and traditions. Entrance
looks like a main access way, to a monastery, in typical Buddhist
style. On both sides of the memorial, plaques listing the names of
officers and Jawans, who died here on that fateful day, have been
erected. The memorial is staffed by JCO's, who are more than willing
to narrate detailed account of the battle. A visit to this memorial
invariably turns in such a solemn occasion that every visitor leaves
the place with a sad and heavy heart.
But
what had actually happened here on 18th
November? Official plaque at the site describes it as a battle,
between 62 Infantry brigade, withdrawing from Sela pass and
proceeding to Dirang and Chinese infiltrators, who had occupied
heights astride Nyukmadong and in which several officers and men of
Indian army had laid down their lives. But what happened here was
not a battle but a massacre. The commanding officer of the 62 brigade
had divided his troops in three columns; one vehicle column and two
marching columns. The vehicle column and one of the marching columns
were asked to withdraw by the main road that passes through
Nyukmadong. When the marching column behind the vehicle column had
rounded a bend in the road beyond the village of Nyukmadong around 2
PM on that day, a harrowing sight suddenly came into view. Vehicles,
guns and bulldozers lay scattered. The road and the shallow drain
running along it were littered with the bodies of the dead and the
dying. This was the end of the vehicle column. The marching column
itself came under heavy fire from the heights overlooking the road.
Soon, the Chinese appeared at the rear also. Efforts to dislodge the
enemy failed and by 1600 hours the column was completely
disorganized. As darkness enveloped the scene, control was lost and
the column disintegrated into small parties. The official Government
report lists that 2290 men of all ranks from 62 brigade were missing
as on 1 December 1962. Majority of them loosing their lives here in
Nyukmadong.
With a
heavy heart, I turn back to the car and we leave. Our next stop would
be at Se La pass. The Sela ridge is a formidable Himalayan ridge that
starts from “Kangto” massif (7000 meters)on India-China border
and runs in southwest direction. It forms the watershed between
Dirang river and the northerly Tawang chu river. There are several
passes in Sela ridge like Tse La, Kye La, Chebra La, Orka La and
Yangyap La, besides the most well known Se La. On the Dirang river
valley side, Sela ridge takes a shape that looks from air, similar to
toes of a foot, with deep river valleys in between toe shaped
extensions. The longest toe like extension ends at Nyukmadong, which
I have just visited. The Chinese infiltrators had used the mountain
track on this extension to come down after crossing the main body of
Sela ridge at Yangyap La.
Deep valley in between Nyukmadong and Senge extensions of Se La ridge
The
main road communication link between Tawang and Dirang is highway NH
229. This road ascends towards Sela ridge on another toe like
extension of the main Sela ridge, west of Nyukmadong extension. We can
call it Senge extension for the name of a village located on it. The
whole region is so flush with green vegetation that it is difficult
to make out the valley between Senge and Nyukmadong extensions. The
only
identification perhaps is that on the opposite of the river at this
place, there is a small village known as “Dundri.” The road
continues along the river bed till 2 Km further ahead from this spot
and then turns by 180 degrees to start climbing uphill, towards
“Senge” village.
The
road initially passes through thickly wooded areas but as our car
nears the top, we pass through an area, which appears highly prone to
landslides. There are heaps of rock and mud lying on roadside with
road repairing work going on continuously all along this stretch.
From here onwards to the near-abouts of Se La pass, the entire
stretch of the road has military camps belonging to several army
units. I see almost continuously, road signs to that effect.
Approaching Se La
From
Dirang to SeLa, the road ascends by an height of about 7000 ft and
symptoms of high altitude sickness could be felt on this road. As we
climb up the lush green semi tropical vegetation first changes to
conifers and in the last lap totally disappears, its place being
taken by red or brown coloured high altitude shrubs like “Burtse,”
As we near the pass, I see patches and slabs of snow lying on road
side and on rocks. The driver mentions that yesterday it had snowed
at Se La. Suddenly a dense cloud moves in, spreading a thick fog
blanket over the road. Visibility drops to about 25 feet. For next 15
minutes, I witness this fantastic hide and seek between the clouds
and the sun.
I can
see a welcome arch or a gateway erected in the Tibetan monastery
style that says “Welcome to Tawang.” Which means that we have
arrived at Se La. Travelling through a high mountain pass is not
exactly a novelty for me, having done similar journeys through
Khardung La (18380 ft.) and Chang La (17580 ft.) in Ladakh. Compared
to these places, SeLa is at much lower height of 13700 feet. Yet the
thrill of standing at the highest point in a journey is no less
satisfying. The cars stop and we all get out. It is quite chilly
here. I put on my winter jacket. Even then, the biting cold breeze
makes me shiver.
Se La
looks quite different from passes in Ladakh, though there are
similarities too. All these passes are totally barren and devoid of
any vegetation. Se La is however unique in the sense that there is a
large natural lake at the top known as lake Paradise. This lake
totally freezes in winter. From the welcome gate, two roads branch
off on two sides of this lake. Road on the left bank goes to “Chabre
La Pass” towards Bhutan and the one on right bank towards
Nuranang-Tawang.
I
start walking towards the gateway arch. On either side of the pass,
stand two tall massifs with snow covered peaks. The massif towards
left is just next to the pass, whereas, the one on the right is at
some difference away. A jagged rocky peak, much shorter in height,
stands between the massif on right and the pass. Its black colour
reminds me of a heap of cooled down slag, removed from molten steel
and dumped on a side of the steel melting furnace. White slabs of ice
lay scattered everywhere, on the hills and on the roadsides.
There
is a small shed by the side of the road, that serves light snacks and
tea. We decide to break here for lunch. To enjoy a piping hot meal,
in the biting cold of Se La, is an unique experience that just can
not be described in words. After lunch, we reluctantly leave the
picturesque pass and start descending. The paradise lake length along
north south is much more than its width. There is supposed to be
another lake east of Paradise lake, but it is difficult to see from
road, because of high ground, standing in the way. Surprisingly, I
see another large body of water, west of the lake paradise, almost in
continuation, that is not mentioned anywhere in the travel
literature. This body of water is not connected to lake paradise and
is distinctly at some distance away from it. This body of water
appears to have been newly created by authorities, because on the
western end, a constructed bund can be seen. This possiblly could be
a water reservoir for use of residents, living in this area.
As we
come down the slope, I see again the reddish “Burtse” shrubs
everywhere, on mountain sides and in the shallow valley. In fact they
are the only vegetation that is around. The road is fairly dusty and
if you are following a car, expect lots of dust in the air. The road
continues for few Kms on the right bank of a small river, which I
believe is Nuranang Chu. I continue to see many huts but it is
difficult to differentiate whether they are villages or army camps.
After about 3-4 Km the river valley starts deepening and green
foliage appears again on hillsides. There is a steel bridge, which we
cross and continue on the other side of the river valley, which is
deepening and constricting more and more for every Kilometer. After
travelling about 10 or 12 Km, the cars stop at a parking place. I see
number of army sheds with roofs painted in camouflage colours. We
have arrived at another war memorial. The name of the place is
Nuranang, now changed to Jaswantgarh.
7.
“Jaswantgarh”
was an army defensive position set up during 1962 war, overlooking
the main Se La -Tawang axis road, as it descends into the valley of
Tawang Chu river. To understand it's strategic importance, we need to
look into a few geographical and historical facts. The Tawang ridge
originates from a point, west of “Kangto” massif, on India-China
border from where the Se La ridge originates and runs in southwest
direction almost parallel to it. The ridge is bounded by deep valleys
of two rivers; Tawang Chu flowing in southwest direction and
Nayamjang Chu flowing south. The rivers meet at a point roughly 40 Km
south west of Tawang and the merged river flows onwards to Bhutan.
The Tawang Chu valley separates the Tawang Ridge and the Se La ridge.
The main road connecting Se La with Tawang (NH 229) descends into the
Tawang Chu valley near Jaswantgarh.
Historically
speaking, after the initial Chinese thrusts in Tawang area in October
1962, they had occupied all areas north of Tawang Chu river. Highway
229 crosses the Tawang Chu river at Jang and this bridge was
destroyed by Indian Army. Between 24th
October and 17th
November there was no major confrontation and both sides were
reorganizing their strengths. At that point of time Indian army
wanted to convert the Se La pass as a defensive fortress and had
stationed the troops accordingly. The entire area on the banks of
Tawang Chu river, south of Jang was entrusted to 4 Garhwal Rifles.
Jaswantgarh was to be a forward screen for defenses of Se La.
As I
stand at Jaswantgarh, facing the Tawang Chu valley, I remember these
geographic and historic facts to appreciate how strategically
important Jaswantgarh really was. On my right is the deep and
constricting ravine of Nuranang Chu river before is falls down to
meet Tawang Chu. Straight ahead are the mountain ranges of Tawang
ridge and far behind it, towering is the sky are high Himalayan
snow clad peaks, through which India-China border( McMahon line)
passes. These peaks are of about 20000 feet height and the tallest
one on right is most probably the “Kangto” peak towering at 23260
feet. On my left is a high ground with a flag fluttering in the
breeze with a shallow trough in between, through which a “Nullah”
or a rivulet flows. Far beyond that and on the other side of Tawang
Chu valley, I can see the road climbing up towards Tawang, which by
itself is not seen from Jaswantgarh.
Army
has established a befitting memorial here to honour a brave soldier
and his colleagues, who fought a great battle on these slopes against
advancing Chinese army. In fact, this perhaps is the only place in
Arunachal, where original army bunkers of 1962 war have been retained
and maintained by the army to give an idea to the visitors. Many
stories circulate in the social media about heroic deeds of this
brave soldier, who is now treated by our soldiers as a saint, who
provids protection to all members of armed forces stationed in this
sector.
Though,
many stories circulate in the media about the battle of Jaswantgarh,
including one in which a Rambo style one man army fought against
Chinese. Here is the version from, what is mentioned on Legend plates
at the memorial and official records.
“ Following
the withdrawal of Indian troops from Tawnag, 4th
battalion of Garhwal Rifles was positioned in this area with its 'A'
company taking positions on the hill slope overlooking the road. The
first Chinese attack came at about 5AM on 17 November 1962, when
Chinese soldiers dressed in guise of local Monpa tribal were detected
and beaten back. Two more attacks came at 7.45 AM and at 9.10 AM.
These attacks too were beaten back. Then, Chinese moved up an MMG
(Medium Machine Gun) to the high ground about 40 meters away from the
platoon on the left and brought down very heavy volume of fire on
Indian troops virtually disabling their own LMG (Light Machine Gun)
fire.
Lance
Naik Trilok Singh, Rifleman Jaswant singh and Rifleman Gopal Singh
volunteered to silence the menacing MMG by physically neutralising
it. Jaswant and Gopal, armed only with hand grenades, in total
disregard of personal safety, crawled under heavy enemy fire to close
in with the MMG. Trilok provided covering fire with his sten gun from
about 15 meters.They hurled the hand grenades to silence the MMG and
then physically assaulted the position to find two Chinese killed and
a third wounded, but still holding on to the weapon. Jaswant using
both his hands snatched the MMG and crawled back. Just as he was
about to reach his trench, he was hit by a fatal bullet on his head.
Trilok in the meanhile was spotted by the Chinese and killed by a
long burst from an automatic weapon. Gopal, badly wounded, managed to
drag the captured MMG back to his trench.
This
entire action took only 15 minutes. But the courage of these men
changed the course of the battle. Indian weapons came alive once
again to conclusively beat back the fourth Chines attack at 11.40 AM.
Chinese launched fifth attack at 2.45 PM. This too was effectively
beaten back and the enemy withdrew leaving over 300 dead and wounded
against losses of 2 dead and 8 wounded for 4 Garhwal.
For
this most conspicuous and brave action, 4 Garhwal was awarded battle
honour “Nuranang.” the only battle honour awarded to any unit in
India-China war 1962. Rifleman Jaswant Singh was awarded with army's
highest award for bravery, “Maha Veer Chakra” (posthumous), Lance
Naik Trilok Singh with “Veer Chakra” (posthumous) and Rifleman
Gopal Singh Veer Chakra. ”
The
incredible story of bravery of these three Jawans of Indian army
assumes great significance, because it was only here that the Chinese
attacks were successfully beaten back by Army. That is why
Jaswantgarh war memorial has become a source of inspiration and
courage for all the troops passing through area.
I
climb few steps that lead to the compound around the memorial hall.
Outside in the courtyard, there are plaques describing the heroic
deeds of the men, who fought in this area. In the center stands the
statue of an unknown soldier and inside the hall, a glass cubicle in
the centre houses a golden coloured bust of Jaswant Singh. A show
case exhibits the meager personal belongings of this extraordinarily
brave person. A curtained glass cubicle stands on right of the bust.
Armymen believe that the spirit of saint Jaswant Singh guards them
here. Like a temple he is offered “Prashad” but with a change. It
consists of only standard army rations. A sten gun of 1962 vintage is
displayed. Citations for Jaswant Singh and other heroes of the battle
adorn the walls.
I
stand silently in front of the bust, paying my homage. Afterwords we
are taken around the battleground by a JCO of one of Maratha
regiments stationed here. He is extremely pleased to know that we are
from Maharashtra state, to which he also belongs. The defensive
positions built by 4 Garhwal at Jaswantgarh were on a steep slope on
both sides of the road leading to Tawang. The army has still
maintained well, several bunkers and the company HQ bunker. We peep
into several of them. The company HQ still has a large sick bay, a
radio room, dining table with mugs and plates arranged and a kitchen.
The
JCO points out to a flag fluttering on the left high ground, that I
had seen earlier. He says that the flag is kept to mark the position
of MMG, which Jaswant singh had captured singlehandedly. A plot of
land behind the bunkers is marked with barbed wire compound to
indicate the Chinese cemetery, where bodies of 300 dead Chine
soldiers were buried.
Battle
of Jaswantgarh is probably as important and historic as the one at
Rezang La in Ladakh, but with one difference. Rezang La was a group
effort in which a company of about 100 men had fought the Chinese to
very end, killing in process more than 1000 soldiers of enemy.
Jaswantgarh battle was won because of an impossible deed of a few
men, who had shown utmost bravery.
Army
runs a small store here in Jaswantgarh, selling mementos, tee shirts
etc. They also offer free tea to anyone and tasty Samosas at a very
cheap cost. I enjoy the tea and Samosas and we leave for Tawang.
After
leaving Jaswantgarh, the road immediately starts descending into the
deep valley of Tawang Chu. I did not really notice the time at
Jaswantgarh, but shadows of darkness are already spreading across the
forests and the valley. On opposite side of the valley, tiny villages
are lighting up for the night. Soon night takes over and I keep
sitting in the car as it rumbles on bad roads,imagining how
Jaswantgarh must have looked on that fateful day in November 1962,
We
cross a bridge on Tawang Chu river at the bottom of the valley. I
look outside the car, the village name is mentioned as “Jang.”
This is another historic landmark of 1962 war. After withdrawing from
Tawang ridge, Indian army units had taken positions on south bank of
Tawang Chu river from where we had just crossed the river. This
bridge was blown to stop Chinese advance. It did stop them, but only
for a month.
We
reach Tawang after climbing up almost 9000 to 10000 feet. It is
really cold out here with temperatures touching single digits. A hot
dinner and warm bed awaits me at the hotel. Tomorrow, we shall go
round Tawang and also see the war memorial erected to remember the
horrific battles that were fought and lost on the Tawang ridge and
also in the deep valleys of Namkha Chu and Nayamjang Chu rivers.
8.
9.
Tawang
is a hill station (2800 meters) with a population of about 50000
people; located at a scenic spot bounded by Tawang Chu river in the
south and high hills on other three sides. It is the last major town
in west Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh before India-Tibet border.
Like Bomdila, the entire town has been built on flat terraces cut
along hill slopes. The town is located amongst number of hills and
for moving around one has to go up and down continuously before he
can reach his destination. Tawang like many other Buddhist cities in
Tibet, is dominated by the 400 year old grandiose Tawang monastery.
One can go anywhere in Tawang, he can never miss the monastery
situated on the top of tallest hill around.
View of the monastery from a town lane
Official web site
describes the history of Tawang in these words;
“Tawang
is believed to have derived its name from the Grandiose Tawang
Monastery perched on the edge of the ridge running along the western
part of Tawang township. ‘Ta’ means Horse and ‘Wang’ means
Chosen. As the legend goes the site of the present Monastery is
believed to have been chosen by a horse owned by Merag Lama Lodre
Gyatso who was on a search for an appropriate place to establish a
Monastery but was unable to locate any appropriate site. So he
finally decided to sit on prayer for guidance of divine power. As he
opened his eyes after prayer, he found his horse missing. So, wearily
he went out searching for his horse and found it on the top of hill
known as Tana Mandekhang where once stood the palace of King Kala
Wangpo. Believing it to be a good omen, Mera lama Lodre Gyatso
decided to initiate work for building of the monastery with the help
of the people. The Monastery thus was founded by Mera Lama Lodre
Gyatso in late 1681. However, there is also another belief of
derivation on the name ‘Tawang’. The great treasure revealer,
Terton Pemalingpa gave initiations such as Tamdin and Ka-gyad and
hence the place came to be known as Tawang. ‘Ta’ an abbreviation
of Tamdin; ‘Wang’ means Initiation.”
After
the long and grueling drive of yesterday, it feels nice that today we
would be doing only local sightseeing without much travel. As we
assemble outside near the cars, weather is surprisingly warm because
of the bright sunshine. Ore first destination is the Tawang
Monastery. Tawang, is spite of its remote location, is a bristling
town with number of four wheelers zooming about. School children
dressed in smart uniforms are walking to school. Most of shops in the
town are situated along a single road and traffic is well controlled
because of the “One Way” traffic on most of the roads. This means
that going even to a place just on an adjoining street, one may need
to go around half the town, because the adjoining street may have
access only from other direction.
Historically
speaking, a report describes Tawang of 1962 in these words;
“Tawang
hamlet in 1962 was a well spread-out collection of settlements; the
monastery village, the ani gompa (nunnery) ridge, the Political
offficer's colony, the Assam rifles and army barracks, the helipad
lower down and other scattered buildings. These settlements were
dispersed over an area of 5 to 6 Sq. Km.”
Western Gate
Compared
to this description of 1962, Tawang appears to have changed to a
modern, more integrated township with RCC construction buildings
having all modern amenities. Continuous supply of electric power
appears to be a problem though, because during last night, our room
heater had gone off on number of occasions. After circling the town,
because of one way streets, we start climbing up towards the top of
the hill, where the monastery is located. On the top, the parking
space is limited and is provided at the northern end. We drive
alongside the eastern wall of the monastery, which is about 925 feet
long and 10 to 20 feet high. The cars drop us near the visitors gate
on western side and drive back to the parking space at north end. We
will have to walk down to the parking area after our visit. The gate
is painted in true Tibetan style with stone walls on sides, over
which a two storied ceiling rests. On either side of the gate,
Buddhist religious painting like “ Four harmonious friends” and
that of a lama are seen.
Museum building on left and Library to right
Dukhang or prayer hall building
Building for ceremonial cooking
The
gate opens into a “L” shaped courtyard. On the right is the
monastery museum building. Next to it, but at right angles, is a two
storied building that partly is a store for monks' provisions.
Straight ahead of the museum building, across the stone slabbed
courtyard, that hosts religious dances and other ceremonies held
according to the lunar calendar of Monpa, is a three-storied building
of the the Dukhang or assembly hall and the 'Labrang', which is the
establishment of the Abbot. On the left or on western side of the
courtyard, stands an old building that houses the three-storied
Parkhang library. Opposite to it, is a two storied structure known as
Rhum-Khang. It is used for cooking sacred food on the rituals and
refreshment for the monks on festive days. Tawang Monastery, founded
by Merag Lodroe Gyamtso in the year 1680 – 81 is the second
biggest and oldest monastery in Asia known as Tawang Ganden Namgyal
Lhatse. It normally accomodates about 500 student monks of “yellow
hat sect.” The residential quarters for the student monks are
known as the 'Sha' or hut. These huts, 60 in numbers, are located on
a lower terrace on the eastern side.
The
museum, inaugurated by the 14th
Dalai Lama on 8th
November 2009, occupies two floors in the building. The ground floor
exhibits consists of personal belongings, robes and other ceremonial
objects used by various abbots and Lamas in the past. It also has a
great collection of brocaded robes and Thangkas. I can see a gilded
Chorten fixed with metal panels embossed with Buddist religious
figures. The second floor hall exhibits many items used in past in
the monastery such as, stamps used for producing embossed panels for
fixing on wall of Chorten, steel utensils, churners for the
buttermilk produced from Yak's milk etc. The wall are adorned with
old photographs. The one that interests me most is the one taken of
14th
Dalai Lama crossing into India in 1959, walking down the road in
Dirang like a layman.
Next I
move to the library building. Unfortunately, it is closed, as it is
under renovation. The library is believed to have a collection of
numerous sacred scriptures and Buddhist texts including a collection
of 400-year-old Kangyur scriptures in addition to many other
invaluable manuscripts. Other large collections include the sutras,
Tangym, Sungbhum, old books and other manuscripts, both handwritten
and printed, many of them in gold. Feeling slightly disappointed, I
concentrate of the veranda where plenty of construction material is
stored, covered with wooden chips and dust. The inner wall of the
veranda has two doors on sides with several windows towards the
ceiling. I detect some very old painted Buddhist murals, much
scratched and covered with dust. Yet the original art still can be
seen. The murals remind me of the Ajanta murals.
Next
to library building is the two storied Dukhang or prayer hall. On the
veranda walls are the customary painted figures of guardians of four
directions. During last three or four years, I have visited many
monasteries such as Hemis, Thiksey, Alchi, Likir, Lamayaru and Hunder
in Ladakh and one at Bylakuppe in Karnataka state. As a result, I am
quite familiar with the interior of a Dukhang. This monastery is no
exception, with its rows of low desks and cushioned seats for monks
to sit, ceilings and pillars decorated with banners and Thangkas. The
interiors are painted with magnificent works of art. The inner walls
have sketches of several saints and Bodhisattvas, whereas the
northern wall of the hall is covered with an altar, used for
religious ceremonies. On the left of the altar, a silver casket is
seen holding the Thangkas. The Thangkas have been dedicated to the
chief deity of monastery, Goddess Shri Devi, also known as Palden
Lhamo. This Thangka, which was painted with blood drawn from the
fifth Dalai Lama's nose, was given to Merak Lama by His Holy Highness
the fifth Dalai Lama himself. The Dalai Lama also gave him a painting
of goddess Palden Lhamo to be kept in the monastery. A huge 26 feet
high statue of Buddha in all its magnificance is seen towards the
northern end of the hall. The statue has a begging bowl in the right
hand. One can go around the balcony on the second floor and check his
skill of throwing a coin in the bowl. Buddhists believe that if you
drop a coin in the bowl with a wish, it would be fulfilled. Some of
the designs on Thangkas are so exquisite and eye catching that I feel
amazed at the worksmanship and artistic flair of the votaries.
After
a rather satisfying visit to the prayer hall, I walk out slowly
towards north from the side of the prayer hall building through a
small alley with residences on eastern side and a gate, which
actually is the main gate to the monastery. On my left is a small
shed, where I peep in. There are three small Chorten and one can
light a lamp in front of them. I see series of oil lamps lit by
votaries, burning in front of the Chorten. Right in front, there is a
hut-like structure with walls made of stone. This is called as
'Kakaling'. The internal ceiling of this structure is painted with
Mandalas, while the inside walls have been painted with pictures of
the saints and divinities. A modern building has come up above this
ancient “Kakaling,” perhaps because of the shortage of
residential space. Outside there is also a small shop that sells
mementos, key chains and other small things. There is also a large
prayer wheel again brightly painted
View of Tawang town from monastery
I sit
in the waiting car and soon we are off to our second destination of
the day; one of the oldest Buddhist nunneries known here as “Ani
gompa.” There are number of them around Tawang, but we are headed
for one that is known as “ Thukje Choeling nunnery.”
Comparatively a new one, inaugurated in 2002 by Lama Tengay Rinpoche.
This Ani Gompa is under the control of Tawang Monastery. The Tawang
monastery provides for the every day needs of the nuns and their
monastery.
“ Thukje
Choeling nunnery.” popularly known as Ani Gompa is located on a
hill top, quite isolated from the Tawang town. The road passes
through number of military establishments before it starts climbing
up to the top. There is not much parking space available at the top
and our flotilla of 8 cars is barely accommodated there. There is a
customary welcome arch made from two wooden pillars and a horizontal
beam, painted in a typical Tibetan way. There are number of small
sheds with tin roofs painted with yellow colour. There is only one
two story building, which must be the Dukhang or prayer hall.
I walk
through the narrow path between the sheds. Ahead is the small wooden
water wheel, which might be being used for grinding grains or some
such task. The frames of window panes are painted bright orange with
delicate flower design on the sills indicating a feminine hand. The
Dukhang again is quite small but has delicately painted door frames
and beams. A few nuns wearing maroon robes are seen doing some work.
Prayer hall has a pillared veranda and the inner veranda walls are
painted with bright coloured murals of Buddha and the the four
guardians of directions. The reigning deity inside is “Tara,(also
known as Jetsun Dolma)” who is a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana
Buddhism. Tara is actually the generic name for a set of Buddhas or
Bodhisattvas of similar aspect. The deity here is specifically known
as “Green Tara,” known as the Buddha of enlightened activity.
A
large sized statue of the deity is seen behind a glass panel along
with framed photographs of monks. Both electric and oil burning
lights are lit before the deity. There are several Thangkas hanging
on pillars and walls, some with figures of all avataras of Tara with
the green Tara occupying the central position. Another one is painted
with a figure of Buddha. I come out in the court yard. With the
bright sun light outside, it is quite cosy and warm outside. Bright
red chillies and some kind of cheese are being dried up in the
sunlight perhaps for the incoming harsh winter. I request the nun
standing there to let me taste the cheese. It tastes kind of
tasteless. It is actually Cheese made from Yak milk.
Quite
impressed with the dedication of the nuns, I walk out to the car. Our
next halt is in the town market. Surprisingly contrary to my
expectations, I find no smuggled Chinese goods here. Tawang market is
just like any other Indian town market on the tourism citcuit.
Curios, mementos and items of general use. There is a separate
vegetable market. We return to the hotel for lunch and some rest.
By
late afternoon, we are back on road, this time to visit one of the
most important and not to be missed spots in Tawang; the Tawang war
memorial. After the 1962 war, a memorial was first erected near the
village of Lumpo situated on bank of Nyamyang Chu river in Zemithang
circle of Tawang district, to honour the dead, who had sacrificed
their lives in the battle of Namka Chu river. However, because of the
extreme weather conditions, this memorial soon turned into a
dilapidated state. In 1990's army took up the construction of a
befitting grand memorial in Tawang town itself within the premises of
garrison stationed in Tawang. The 40 feet high terminal has been
built at the cost of 15 hundred thousand Rupees on a slope just
before one enters the town within premises of garrison known as
“Korea Brigade.” It was blessed by Dalai Lama himself in 1997.
The memorial, locally
called ‘Namgyal Chortan’
was dedicated to the nation in 1999. Though the memorial has been
designed by army, help of hundreds of monks along with locals and
government officials was taken to keep with the local religious
sentiments. The vault of the memorial has idols of Lord Buddha,
scriptures, ornaments, jewels, valuables and other items deposited by
the people including holy scriptures and idols of Arya
Avlokiteshwara and Lord Buddha sent by Dalai lama, which have been
personally blessed by him.
The
car stops on a large parking ground and we walk to the site of the
memorial. The imposing structure has been built like a large Stupa or
a Chorten. There is a 3 step outside wall, semicircular in shape. On
the flat surfaces of the steps, flowering shrubs have been planted in
the flower beds specially created there. I can see some lovely roses
there. The vertical walls are painted white along with symbols of
various army units that took part in the battle, painted at regular
intervals . To go inside, one needs to climb about 20 to 25 steps,
where an elevated circular path exists that goes around the Stupa. On
both sides of steps, 4 numbers of marble lions, sculptured in Tibetan
style have been placed on top two steps. On top of the topmost step,
9 flagpoles stand on which Indian tricolour and flags of army and air
force units flutter in the wind.
The
Stupa proper has a stepped peripheral wall covered with marble stone
slabs. Fixed on this wall and facing the steps is a granite legend
plate with two oil lamps burning on the sides. The legend plate reads
as under:
THE
ULTIMATE
IN
MEMORY OF THE OVER 2420 OFFICERS
JCO'S
AND SOLDIERS WHO LAID DOWN
THEIR
LIVES IN KAMENG SECTOR
DURING
1962 WAR
THERE
NAMES LIVETH EVERMORE
On
both sides of the legend plate, a sculptured frieze with Buddhist
motifs extends all the way around the Stupa. Above the stupa dome,
there is a recess, in which a Buddha's image has been kept. A red and
gold coloured pinnacle stands high up above. At the rear of the Stupa
structre, two wings consisting of memorial halls have been
constructed. These halls also have red and gold coloured pinnacles on
top. The walls facing the front have recesses in which gold and red
coloured Buddhist prayer wheels have been built. The walls of the
halls on both sides are lined with black granite plates on which
names of all 2420 martyred officers and men have been etched in gold.
I am
quite sure that most of the readers would be taken aback and
mortified to find that army had lost more than two thousand men in
course of this one month long war that saw real action only for 7 or
8 days. To analyse the reasons of such horrific losses, we must
briefly touch upon some historic and geographical details, which I
propose to do later.
I
start walking from left leading to the rear memorial hall. At the
center of this hall, A pillar covered with granite and marble stone
plates has been built. A bust of an extraordinarily brave soldier;
Subedar Joginder Singh has been placed here. At the base of the
pillar, I can see flowers and other Buddhist religious items placed
neatly. A circular flower wreath stands in front. On both sides of
the pillar there are four earthen pots with their mouths covered with
pure white cloth pieces tied around the neck by a string. On the
covering cloth pieces, names of four places have been written in
large black letters. These places are Jaswantgarh, Tonpeng La, Bum La
and Zimithang. The pots actually contain loose earth or soil from the
battle fields from these four places, where battles of 1962 were
fought and many Indians had sacrificed their lives. The walls of the
hall are adorned with citations, replica of the “Maha Veer Chakra”
awarded to Subedar Joginder Singh and banners of all army units that
saw action in 1962 war here.
On the
opposite side is a larger memorial hall that displays a 3 dimensional
map of Kameng sector, labeled with names for ridges, rivers and
places where the battles were fought. On display are several
photographs, weapons and personal effects of soldiers like helmets,
mugs and rifle bullets used in 1962 war. A JCO, again from Maratha
Light infantry addresses us, giving us details about the battles,
reasons for India's defeats and the situation on border now. He
suggests that we must visit the border and see how normal and calm
the things are. He emphatically suggests that we should not really
believe in what they show on TV, which mostly are some old video
clips from record and form an impression that India-China border in
Arunachal is not quiet. He also explains the difference between LOC;
Line of Control and LOAC; Line of actual control. According to him
out of 1126 Km length of India-China border in Arunachal Padesh, 1106
Km of border is well defined LOC, that follows the geographical
features ( McMahon line) . Only 20Km of border on the western end,
where this border line meets the tri-junction point between
India-china and Bhutan is still ambiguous and is called as LOAC.
Particularly heart touching is the fact narrated by him that in the
1962 war here, there was only one rifle and 12 bullets available for
three soldiers, whereas Chinese soldiers had semi automatic and
automatic weapons.
I walk
out of the hall and we assemble in the front. Everyone in the group
is in solemn and sad mood. Someone suggests that we should sing
national anthem here. Before we could begin. Before we begin it is pointed out that
protocol says that we should not sing it after sunset. In two minds,
we stand steady for two minutes with eyes closed paying our homage to
brave soldiers, who had sacrificed their lives in this far off remote
corner of India. We all slowly walk back to the foreground.
Behind
the war memorial, army has built a large open air amphitheater, where
they hold a light-n- sound show every evening. We assemble in the
viewers gallery waiting for the show that is likely to begin in
another 30 minutes or so.
My
thoughts naturally return to the 1962 war and the horrific loss of
more than two thousand brave soldiers of India. As I mentioned above,
to analyse the reasons for this terrible loss, we must go back to
1962 and find out what actually happened here.
10.
We saw
earlier that the town of Tawang is located at the southwest corner of
a Himalayan ridge that runs in southwest direction starting from the
line of snow peaks over which the international border or McMahon
line passes. This ridge is bound between two rivers, Tawang Chu-
flowing towards southwest and Nyamyang Chu to south. Both these
river valleys are quite deep and have roads built along their beds.
In Arunachal, the
India-China war of 1962 can be divided into three parts; firstly the
October 1962 offensive of Indian army in Thagla ridge area ending in
a terrible disaster. Secondly the invasion by Chinese troops in
October 1962 itself, in which they ran over all Indian positions
along Nyamyang Chu river to confluence with Tawang Chu river and
covered all of Tawang ridge up to the valley of Tawang Chu river in
south. The third part covers the Chinese advances in Se La and Dirang
made by troops advancing along Nyamyang Chu river to Lubrang Chu
along Bhutan border and forces crossing in India via Tuling La pass-
Luguthong route. Troops coming from these two routes actually
succeeded in the ambush at Nyukmadung and also laid the trap at
Lagyala Gompa near the village of Morshing, where Lt.Col. Avasthi
fought a heroic battle. We have already seen some details of this
third part earlier.
To understand the Thag La ridge offensive, it is necessary to go in for some historical details. I have mentioned earlier that the McMahon line follows the Himalayan peaks all along the border. However, near the Tri-junction point of the borders of Bhutan, India and Tibet, there was a minor border dispute between India and China. A small river, which swells only during monsoons, flows from this Tri-junction point to east, between two mountain ridges known as Tsangdhar Ridge in the south of river and Thagla Ridge in the north of the river, till it confluences with Nyamjang Chu river. (Another small river). According to India's position, McMahon line passes along Thagla ridge from the Tri-junction point, to Nyamjang Chu river and then continues along Wadung ridge to Bum La, whereas Chinese maintained that the border passed along Tsangdhar Ridge to Nyamjang Chu river. The Namka Chu river valley is extremely narrow and large scale troupe movements are almost impossible here.
Out of the new posts set up in NEFA in 1959, one army post known as Dhola post, was set up on the southern bank of this Namka Chu river. Another post on the bank of Nyamjang Chu river further to north was also then set up at Khinzemane. Chinese soldiers had attacked this post in 1959 and had pushed Indians back from this post. Indians had reoccupied this post after Chinese had gone back and were holding it till 1962 Autumn.
In
Agust-September 1962, Chinese army brought in their men in large
numbers to the Thagla ridge area. Army sources reported to Delhi that
about 400 Chinese were now positioned on Thagla ridge. Presence of
Chinese in such large numbers was a direct threat to posts at Dhola
and Khinzemane. After this news reached Delhi, Defense minister
Krishna Menon suggested to Chief of Army staff, General Thapar that
the Chinese on Thagla ridge should be immediately evicted from there.
Knowing the ground realities well, General Thapar tried to argue with
the defense minister about futility of any such major action in that
narrow area. He was however told that considering the political
pressure on Prime minister Nehru, this order has to be obeyed by the
army.
Till
September end, there were only incidences of minor skirmishes in
Namka Chu valley with overall military situation fairly stable.
However large number of Indian troupes descended in this area on
orders from Delhi in next few days. This large scale arrival of
Indian troupes in this narrow valley was hallmarked with total
disarray, disorder, confusion and mismanagement not usually
associated with a military movement on this scale. The soldiers did
not have enough warm clothing, ordnance was in short supply. Troupes
provided with mortar launchers had no mortars to launch. There was
paucity of guns and being such a narrow valley and that to on the
international border, para dropping was not feasible. After realizing
the desperate situation of these new arrivals, the officer in charge
of the operation, Maj.Gen Umrao Singh, bitterly complained to his
seniors in Delhi. This resulted into a decision, which had direct
bearings on the final outcome of the conflict. Maj.Gen Umarao Singh
was abruptly transferred and in his place a comparatively
inexperienced officer, Maj. Gen. B.M. Kaul was brought in as officer
in command. In an most surprising decision Ma.Gen. Kaul was ordered
to liaison directly with Prime minister Nehru and not through normal
official channel of Army HQ or chief of army staff. It can be said
that Chief of Army staff, General Thapar disassociated himself with
the Namka Chu operation completely. In next fortnight, approximately
2500 Indian soldiers arrived in Namka Chu valley. The strategic
battle plan prepared by Maj. Gen. B.M. Kaul has been discussed in
many forums over the years, including some on the internet and there
is unanimity of opinion that in the history, very rarely one may
find, anything as disastrous as this.An excellent account of the
battle can be read on this link.
The Chinese saw arrival of such large numbers of Indian soldiers in Namka Chu valley as a big danger sign and Chinese soldiers also started arriving in very large numbers. By 20th October 1962, as many as 30000 Chinese soldiers arrived on Thagla ridge area. Only after their arrival, Maj. Gen. B.M.Kaul came to realization that he had brought such large numbers of his own soldiers in a death trap. However it was too late now. On 21st October 1962 Chinese crossed Namka Chu river and captured all Indian positions on the south bank of the river. On 23rd October 1962, Government in Beijing allowed PLA to cross McMahon line as and when required. Indian army soon realized that it was impossible to launch any counter offensives because enemy had all the advantages and they started retreating. Within next 5 days of massacre and debacle, India army was pushed back 10 miles to south of McMahon line to Lumpo.
Within
days of this incident, Chinese launched their major offensive on
Tawang. The attack was planned along three routes. Direct Bum La-
Tawang axis route via Tonpeng La; from Zemithang in Nyamyang Chu
valley -Y junction and lastly from Shakti village in Nyamjang valley
via Lum La pass. The epic battle fought by Subedar Joginder Singh,
which I have mentioned earlier was fought near Tonpeng La. This was
followed by one of the most controversial decisions taken by Generals
stationed at Tawang, who decided to surrender the town and retreated
all Indian forces south of Tawang Chu river.
The
men lost in Namka Chu battle mainly constitute the martyrs listed at
Tawang memorial and this means that the loss of these brave men was
not because they were lacking in bravery but because they were put in
an impossible situation by country's top politicians and inept
generals.
I am
awakened from my thoughts as the light-n-sound show begins sharp on
time. The show is well narrated with details about Arunachal, Tawang,
tourism places around and some parts of history. A satisfying
presentation. After the show we get back to hotel, where great news
awaits us that all permissions have been secured for us to visit the
India-China border at Bum La. So it is early dinner and bed time as
we need to start rather early.
I wake
up quite early but within seconds a realisation comes over that
something is seriously wrong with me and I am in much of pain. I find
myself under attack of a severe bout of diarrhea, perhaps as a result
of high altitude sickness. As I lie on my bed, it becomes
increasingly clear that I can not make the trip to the border. Only
thing that I can do is to see everyone else in the group leaving for
the day's journey. I feel terribly disappointed at having reached to
about 50 Km from the border, yet can not make the final mile. There
is a total feeling of helplessness as I lie down in this strange
place.
Photo curtsey Ashish bakhale
On Way to the border
After an hour or so my condition has become quite pathetic and it is clear that I need to see a doctor. I decide to consult the hotel manager, who turns out to be a real help. He says that being a Sunday, consulting a Doctor is out of question and I would have to visit the emergency ward of the hospital nearby. He arranges for the hotel van and a driver for me to go to the hospital. Feeling extremely weak, I manage to get into the van and we rush to the hospital.
The
district hospital is actually only a few minutes drive away. The van
stops near the gate of the emergency ward and driver helps me to get
in. Being a Sunday, the place is quite empty. Two nursing staff
member ladies appear and ask me about what is wrong, After hearing
me, one of them, who is presumably a trainee doctor, phones the
resident doctor and within minutes tells me that I would have to be
put on a medicinal drip. She asks me to get some medicines from
nearby shop; the van driver volunteers to get the medicines and
within next fifteen minutes I am lying on a hospital bed with an
intravenous drip. The nursing staff is really wonderful and chats
with me to remove my blues. Feeling bit cold, I ask for a blanket.
The nurse apologises giving me an impression that they have no
blankets. However, she clarifies that they have only red coloured
blankets and can I accommodate with that. I need a blanket right now,
the colour is hardly important.
After
an hour and two bottles of drip gone in my veins, I feel much better.
The resident doctor turns up, prescribes some more medicines and says
I would be fine. Now comes the most surprising part when I ask the
nursing staff about the charges for my treatment, already scared that
my pockets would be lightened substantially. But I am told that this
is the Government hospital and the treatment is free. Would I give a
donation of 10 Rupees to the welfare society? I am just overwhelmed
and do not know what to say. I quietly slip a 500 Rupee note, for
which I am given a proper receipt. Staff accepts no tips also.
The
driver brings me back to hotel. I want to pay him for the ride. The
hotel manager turns up and says the ride is on the house. I just do
not know how to thank all these kind hearted people, who are giving me
such a wonderful service as a part of their job. Leaving aside all
the disappointment of the morning, I am feeling so much better with
the compassion and warmth shown by these people. I feel sure that I
just had one of the most wonderful experiences of my life time, in
this little remote town on India's border. A unique Tawang memory,
which no one else can ever have or share.
Photos curtsey Ashish Bakhale
At The Bum La Border
Tomorrow
morning, we return back to BomdiLa.
11.
This temple built and maintained by the local army units, was set up because when this road was being constructed in early 1960's, the area was frequented by reptiles and specifically by Cobras. The construction workers had to kill a few and there were more than usual cases of snake bites. The construction workers fearing the anger of snake Gods, started to worship them here. Eventually a temple was built at this picturesque spot overlooking Tenga river bend.
11.
As our
cars leave the beautiful town of Tawang, my feelings are rather
mixed. I am feeling like having read a novel, where final few pages
have gone missing, having missed the much anticipated visit to the
India-China border. The weather is excellent with bright sunshine
filtering through everywhere. I am told that just last week, weather
was somewhat nasty with temperatures dropping by a few degrees
because of cloudy weather. We start our descent in the Tawang Chu
river valley. Four days ago,when we had come up by this road, it was
dark and the same road looked deserted and as if it is passing
through some uninhabited region. Now things look just the other way.
Along the entire stretch of this road, right up to Tawang Chu river
itself, there are military camps as well as villages. People are
going about doing their normal activities. It is kind of amusing to
see, how deceptive is the darkness in reality.
Tawang -Jang Road
Jang Bridge
Soon
we reach the Tawang Chu river bed and the steel bridge at Jang. As I
had mentioned earlier, the bridge at this very spot was destroyed by
Indian troops to stop Chinese advances in October 1962. We cross the
bridge, start climbing up and soon take a 2 Km diversion to stop in a
parking area at a place called Nyamseir. We get down and walk a few
steps. Just after the next bend, one of the most beautiful waterfall
in Arunachal makes its appearance. The famous Phong- Phongma or Jang
waterfalls. This is also sometimes known as Nuranang waterfall,
because it is here that the Nuranang river joins the Tawang Chu,
after a mighty fall.
Tawang Chu river
Jang Waterfall
Himalayan Massif
The
view is absolutely enthralling as milky white water of Nuranang river
takes a straight jump of about 100 meters into the Tawang Chu in two
steps with a thunderous ovation. I have read that there is a small
power station at base but I do not see anything like that. Perhaps it
could have been hidden behind the cliff. I see a hotel from where a
grand stand view of the falls can be had all the time. The green
valley, studded with dense foliage, greenish water of Tawang Chu
rushing towards west and the milky water of Nuranag crashing into it,
cast a spell over me. I could perhaps stand here for hours and hours
just watching the water. I look above towards the northeast sky;
between two green ridges, a tall but tiny, ice capped mountain spur
is protruding out. As we start climbing up towards Jaswant Garh, the
tiny spur soon takes the form of a mighty Himalayan ridge, spread in
east-west direction. Obviously these are the Himalayan peaks nearby
Tulung pass from where the India-China Border line passes. We halt at
Jaswant Garh for a refreshing cup of hot tea and Samosas from Army
canteen and push on towards Se La-Dirang, stopping on way for Lunch.
By dusk we are once again in Bomdila.
Amphitheater view of Tawang ridge
The Lunch break
A monastery in Dirang
A view of Dirang town
In a
funny little coincidence, I am again allotted the same room in
Bomdila hotel where I had stayed 4 nights before. After a
comfortable night, we leave for the plains of Assam. Somewhere on
way, between army camps at Chandi Top and Tenga, the cars stop on
roadside. Just opposite to us is a beautiful river valley. The Tenga
river bends at this spot forming a loop. A temple is seen built on a
cliff projecting out in the deep valley below. I climb up hundred or
so steps up to the temple not dedicated to any God as such, but to
Cobras and is known as “Nag Mandir.”
Nag Mandir; Temple devoted to Cobras
Panoramic view of Tenga river
This temple built and maintained by the local army units, was set up because when this road was being constructed in early 1960's, the area was frequented by reptiles and specifically by Cobras. The construction workers had to kill a few and there were more than usual cases of snake bites. The construction workers fearing the anger of snake Gods, started to worship them here. Eventually a temple was built at this picturesque spot overlooking Tenga river bend.
The
temple has a specious viewing gallery and a hall. As I was coming
down the steps, I see number of troops marching in. According to the
legend board, the temple has gained importance for all local
population and road users, who visit the temple to obtain blessings
of “Nag Baba.” Leaving aside the reverence and devotion aspect,
the temple certainly is a serene place, worth taking a break.
A wild elephant in Kaziranga
We
continue our journey downhill, break for lunch at Bhalukpong and by
late afternoon reach Kaziranga reserved forest once again. The cars
stop at the vista point by road side, where we had seen number of
rhinos last week to see if any wild animals are there. We are lucky
as a wild elephant is seen playing in the marshes, splashing water
around. After a prolonged photo session, I return to the car and
after another half an hour's drive, reach the resort for overnight
stay.
Tomorrow
, we go for a jungle Safari early in the morning and later in the day
return to Guwahati. The trip is almost coming to an end.
12.
We
leave the resort very early, even before dawn, so as to reach
Kaziranga park entrance in time for our Elephant safari. Kaziranga
park has been divided in four different ranges; Western or Baguri
range, central or Kohora range, eastern or Agoratoli range and
finally the distant Burapahar range. The park has several entry
points. However, we enter through a gate in Kohora range, which is
almost across the road from the resort, where we stayed last night.
There is a barricade and the cars stop before that. We move on
through a small gate on a side and walk for about 50 meters or so. On
our left, seen faintly in darkness, is an elevated structure with a
staircase, from where we would be mounting the elephants.
Kaziranga
park is huge; approximately 40 km in length from east to west, and
up to 13 km in breadth from north to south. It covers an area of 378
sq Km. Approximately 51.14 sq. Km was lost to erosion in recent
years. To make up, a total addition of 429 sq. Km area was made
along the present boundary of the park and designated with separate
national park status to provide extended habitat for increasing the
population of wildlife or, as a corridor for safe movement of animals
to Karbi Anglong Hills, during flood season. Kaziranga has flat
expanses of fertile, alluvial soil formed by erosion and silt
deposition by the Brahmaputra. The landscape consists of exposed
sandbars, riverine flood-formed lakes, known as beels, (which make up
5% of the surface area), and elevated regions known as, chapories,
which provide retreats and shelter for animals during floods. During
months of June to September kaziranga gets rainfall of 2,220 mm.
During the peak months of July and August, three-fourths of the
western region of the park is submerged, due to the rising water
level of the Brahmaputra. The flooding causes most animals to migrate
to elevated and forested regions outside the southern border of the
park, such as the Karbi Hills.
As
dawn arrives, Kaziranga gets transferred from a dark dangerous world
to a 'pleasure for eye' land with plethora of mini water ponds and
fields with tall elephant grasses, swaying in the wind. I climb the
stair case to mount an elephant. There are two types of elephant
rides available, one where you can sit with legs spread across like a
motor cycle ride or the other where you can sit sideways. First one
is better for viewing the animals and I select that.
As our
cow elephant starts her walk, I notice a small baby elephant moving
around between her legs. The mother keeps a careful watch on the baby
as we trudge on. The ride is far more comfortable than I had ever
imagined, except for a rhythmical sway backwards, when a steel
handlebar keeps hitting my back. But I can easily bear that out
without any problem. We start moving. What we have around us, to
start with, is an expanse of marshy wetlands with hundreds of muddy
ponds spread around with grass patches in between them. I see a few
female Barasingha or Swamp deers grazing in the low grass, suddenly
becoming cautious and attentive as our elephant approaches them.
Next,as we push ahead, I see two fine male Barasingha specimens,
standing in the middle of a muddy pond looking in opposite
directions. They are large deers with wooly hair and a mane.
Barasinghas are mostly found near wetlands or swamps and graze on
grasses and aquatic plants.
Slightly
ahead is a water pond, surrounded by grasses from all sides. Right in
the middle of a pond, a bull Rhino is enjoying his mud bath. The
elephant stops nearby. The Rhino lifts his head and looks at us. The
sun has just broken in, at the horizon and Rhino's dirty gray body
shines for a moment before turning muddy gray again. Having had his
look at the visitors, he again puts his head back in water, totally
disinterested! We move on, the grass on both sides is now getting
taller and taller. It is so tall that it is now brushing my hands and
shoulders, even when I am riding a fully grown elephant. This tall
grass is aptly called as Elephant grass, because other animals find
going through it quite tough.
Meanwhile,
the baby elephant has suddenly disappeared in the tall grasses. His
watchful mother suddenly is alarmed and gives a serious sounding call
to him and wants to dash towards him. This is a
really scary moment for me, riding the elephant. But the mahout
quietens her and the baby also walks out of grass towards her. I
heave a sigh of relief.
We
again reach a patch where grass is not so tall. Here, there are
Rhinos and Rhinos, some in groups of twos or threes and some
wandering alone. In Kaziranga, there are more than 2000 Rhinos.The
Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is also called great
One-horned Rhinoceros or Asian One-horned Rhinoceros belonging to the
Rhinocerotidae family. They are listed as a vulnerable species. This
large mammal weighs between 2260 kg and 3000 kg. It it is the fourth
largest land animal and has a single horn, which measures 20 cm to 57
cm in length. The Rhinoceros can run at speeds of up to 55 km/h (34
mph) for short periods of time and is also an excellent swimmer. It
has excellent senses of hearing and smell but relatively poor
eyesight. If angry it can attack anything. In fact its eyes appear so
small compared to body bulk that one gets a feeling that the animal
is blind. Fortunately none of the gang views us suspiciously and
neglect us going about their grazing routine. As they need around 50
or 60 Kg of food every day.I ask our Mahout about the poachers, who want
to kill rhinos and cut of the horns, as it fetches huge price in black
markets. He gives a chilling but quite satisfactory answer. He says that
everyone here is very proud of our Rhinos. If we find some poachers
trying to hunt them, we simply kill them.
We
move on. On the left there is a herd that looks familiar, but the
animals are much bigger in size. They are the Wild Asian Water
Buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) enjoying early morning sun. These animals
are much bulkier than the domesticated water buffaloes we see around
but have a narrow head, small ears and large hooves. There are more
than 2000 wild buffaloes in Kaziranga though they are considered as
endangered species. Wild buffaloes are also important to the
grassland ecosystem as they help in plant rejuvenation.
We
spend next 15 minutes searching for the animal, considered as largest
one of the big five of Kaziranga; the wild elephants. It is estimated
that there are more than 1500 wild animals in the park. It however
appears that the elephants have decided to shun us today as not a
single soul is seen anywhere to the limits of our vision. It is clear
that I would have to satisfy myself with the solitary elephant that I
saw yesterday, playing in the mud.
As we
move on, the mahout points out to a cluster of beautiful purple-blue
flowers. Rhinos have one very peculiar habit. They may wander around
the ground, grazing, but would drop their faeces only at some fixed
points creating huge dung piles also known as middens. The
purple-pink flowering shrub, known as the spider flower ( Cleome
hasslerana, Cleome specie), grows on these dung piles. The plant is
native of the South American tropics and also found in Europe and
North America landscapes.. It has invaded somehow in Kaziranga. One
horned rhinos love to eat it and seeds are passed on through their
faeces. Our mahout calls the flowers as Rhino-Potty flowers.
The
elephant we are riding, crosses a small ridge. Ahead, in an cleared
area, is another elephant mounting-dismounting platform. This means
that our elephant ride is coming to an end. I dismount and walk away.
On one of the pillars supporting this platform, there are flood
markings showing up to what level, flood waters of Brahmaputra had
reached on earlier years. From the markings, it is obvious that this
area gets flooded almost every year.
We
head back to the resort. After a quick breakfast, we shall start for
Guwahati, about 228 Km away.
13.
I have
a quick breakfast and our car leaves on highway 37 to west, to stop
almost immediately near a cluster of shops selling Kaziranga
souvenirs; tee shirts, little wooden rhinos and key chains. I buy a
couple of tee shirts for the kids at home and a small wooden rhino
that can be painted. Our Kaziranga stay may be over, but we have yet
to visit an important landmark of Assam, its famed Tea gardens. Assam
is the single largest tea-growing region in the world. With 300000
hectors area under tea cultivation, it produces more then 500
million Kgs of tea annually. The low altitude, rich loamy soil
conditions, ample rainfall and a unique climate help it to produce
some of the finest orthodox leaf teas. In the areas near Kaziranga,
tea bushes grow so easily that one can see tea bushes even in yards
around homes.
We
stop near a tea garden, Amalgated plantations, who have their own
retail shop near the entrance. I take a stroll in the garden, which
has a jeepable dirt track in the middle, that seems to be going
forever. On both sides of the track are neatly planted rows of tea
bushes, along with rows of tall trees planted at regular intervals.
Black pepper climbers are also cultivated and all the tree trunks are
seen studded with the leaves of this climbers. Tea gardens, in a way
are monotonous, as they look exactly the same everywhere. I remember
someone saying something similar about US villages, looking exactly
similar, wherever they may be.
I
return to the entrance and buy some teas and tea bags from the retail
outlet for gifting and my own use. Asaam tea is known for its rich,
deep-amber colour and is famous for its rich, full-bodied cup with a
brisk, strong and malty character. Now its time to say good bye
finally to Kaziranga and our cars speed along. I see a huge tea
factory on my left, where tea leaves are fermented, dried and later
packed for the world to consume. On way, we stop for a cup of tea. On
each of the tables in this restaurant, I see a bowl full of green
chillies and salt. Its a local specialty and diners prefer to eat
green chillies along with their food. By early afternoon we reach
Guwahati.
I
spend rest of the day wandering around in the city markets, where
produce from all the seven northeastern states is marketed. Sleep
comes easily as I am quite tired by end of the day.
Next
morning, after breakfast, we check out and leave for Guwahati's star
attraction; the Kamakhya Temple. The temple is located on a hillock
known as Nilachal hill in western part of the city. There are
supposed to be 10 temples on this hill, but Kamakhya temple is the
main one. There is a weird legend about different body parts of a
Goddess thrown on earth. The 51 spots, where these body parts fell
are known as “Shakti Peeth” or power centers. Kamakhya temple is
supposed to be the spot, where genital organs of the Goddess
fell.
In the
Indian subcontinent, there is a long tradition of people worshiping
the male phallus and a woman's body as symbols of divine power of
fertility. The people of Indus-Sarswati civilization worshiped female
figures as Goddess of fertility. The tradition continued even later during
Jorwe-Inamgaon habitats and recently similar idols from around first
century CE, were found at Kondapur near Hyderabad. This ancient
tradition, later took more sophisticated forms of Shiva-Linga and Goddesses
identified with mother Goddesses such as Durga, Kali. Though, a woman's body
without head, known as “Lajjagauri” is still worshiped by a few
people. In the modern context, male phallus worshiping has taken the
common form as God Shiva's worship. However, Kamakhya temple must be
the only place left in modern India for female genital organ
worshiping now. Everywhere else, the original Goddess of fertility
has been substituted by more sophisticated idols of Mother Goddesses like Ambadevi or Mataji.
Our
cars climb up the hill and drop us near the entrance to the temple.
Winding steps paved with stones take me to the entry gate of the
temple complex. The gate structure is constructed as a stone wall
with a door in the middle. On both sides are two lionesses bas-relief
panels in wall recesses. Above the door, in an arch shaped recess, I
can see two lionesses facing each other. After entering through the
gate, I see a circular pathway around the temple and the back side of
the Sanctum Sanctorum. This means that to enter the temple, one has
to go round and enter from opposite side. The Sanctum has a
cruciform base with adjoining stone pillars touching each other
instead of walls. The pillars have recesses in which several bass
relief panels are sculptured. Above the sanctum is a hemispherical
dome and on top of it, a three stepped pinnacle. A golden “Kalasha”
or peak, shines brightly in the morning sun above the pinnacle. The
temple has three chambers lined after each other from the sanctum
itself in east west direction.
In the
easternmost chamber, an idol of the Goddess in a more conventional
human form, has been installed for the votaries to worship as the
sanctum is cave like and small, dark and reached by narrow steep
stone steps. I have a feeling that the original female regenerative
organ shaped place of worship may not be very palatable for the
modern crowd of votaries, consisting of ladies, families and children
and that may be the reason for more conventional Kali Mata alike idol
being placed in the outer chamber.
Since
I am rather constrained about time, I decide to give up visiting the
inner sanctum, as there are long queues of votaries, who want to
worship the idol in the inner sanctum. I can see many newly married
young couples with ladies wearing gold ornaments and bright yellow
sarees.
Wikipedia
describes the inner sanctum in these words;
“Inside
the garbhagriha cave there is a sheet of stone that slopes downwards
from both sides meeting in a yoni-like depression some 10 inches
deep. This hallow is constantly filled with water from an underground
perennial spring. It is the vulva-shaped depression that is worshiped
as the goddess Kamakhya herself and considered as most important
pitha (abode) of the Devi.”
To the
west of the outer chamber, is a place where animal and bird
sacrifices are still carried out. I see a water buffalo, goats, some
chicken and doves. I do not know whether these have been brought for
sale or brought in by some votary. On one side wall is a shed where
devotees light oil lamps, which I feel is clearly a Buddhist
influence, because such oil lamp lighting sheds are not seen in
temples in other places in India.
I take
a round to see the bas-relief panels on the walls of Sanctum. Most
of them are of Shiva with a few depicting his wife Uma or Gauri.
Shiva is shown with four hands, holding various objects such as a
trident that are attributed to him. On the friezes there are several
female figures shown worshiping, inter-spaced with lotus symbols.
There is also a museum but it mostly consists of butchering knives,
besides some old broken stone fragments.
I walk
back to the car, the authorities have provided an over bridge which
directly
connects to the parking area. As we speed towards the airport, I
realise that our northeast tour is coming to an end. For last 12 days, I
was so busy travelling but now there is an emptiness in my mind. True!
that the experience has been so richly fulfilling, so wonderful, that
memories are going to stay with me forever. Northeast is just
wonderful, a traveller's heaven.
(Concluded)
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