Now I reach day 3 of my journey and suddenly I realize that
this is a completely new territory for me. Prior to this I always had a local
contact to help me out and provide me roof as a fall back to anything. But now
I was marking the unknown, unhindered, unsupervised, and uninsured. Therefore
very astutely I decided upon reaching Digbrugah, to pay a visit to Jokai
Botanical garden, a region so remote that I had to change autos to get there,
and the place is completely devoid of humans. This was my 127 minutes.
A little background, Jokai is actually a forest set up to
contain many of the rare species of flora of Assam to preserve their germplasm
and help botanists do research. But given its far off nature, and lack of
botanists in India, this place is perpetually empty except of adolescents
coming here to hang out and escape their parents. All this while being right in
the middle of Jokai district, which is quite famous for insurgency related talk
in Indian armed forces. And I headed there, all the while having no idea about
this stuff and learning after I return. I should have seen the look on my face.
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| entrance to jurassic park |
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| Germplasm storage |
You walk in the trance like forest, only sounds of insects –
poisonous or not – and the whispering of the wind among the quixotic flora. Paths
diverge, trails lead into more wilderness. The entire gamut of green is painted
all around you with accents of red four winger loitering in the open space
trying to catch the attention of the next vermillion or mauve flower they
intend to suck dry. A shelter, made for a certain Gogoi stand in contrast among
the cluttered droppings of the native goats, its porcelain white like edifice
basking the noon day sky. Yet we find the insufferable detritus of human
neglect, growing on the manmade structures from months of disuse.
The place is scary no doubt. All that I have held in my mind’s
eye was the caricature of nature portrayed by the liberal and adventure media,
this regional ecosystem is an epiphany to my eyes. Especially when travelling
alone. When in company, you always have a safety net, a sort of protective
shell, the edge of comfort zone if you must.. but in this case, myself being in
a singular company of Mrs. Forest, was struck by paranoia… for small periods of
time for I could not see any man made feature at all. Brief bursts of courage
and realization that my cell was catching the GPS, put me at a more eased
position to continue exploring and letting my senses direct my mind. Somehow after
a couple of hours, I stumble back out of the main gates, still deserted, thinking
about how to get back.
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| Waiting on road |
No auto rickshaw for an hour, I try hitchhiking, doesn’t
work either. So I take out a book I was carrying, sit on the tarmac and start
to read. Low rumble, approaching diesel engine. My thumb rushes skyward. Screech.
A Mahindra Bolero comes to a halt. I walk up, calmly yank the rear door handle, push my
bag in and then climb aboard. “hello”. Turn out this good gentleman is an engineer
in ONGC and was returning from the field. He is kind enough to drop me near Assam
state university.
Picture this: A ghetto styled bazaar, with corrugated iron roofs
covering the massive movement and merchants below. Boards hawking their
merchandise. However the only difference being, these boards proclaim: “X Ray,
world renowned!”, “dentist check-up only Rs.###!”, “Ear check-up at competitive
prices!”. You get the gist.
Tinsukhia is another matter altogether, I reached by the
time sun had started to shine over Brazil, this part was completely unplanned
and was a spontaneous decision I took after leaving the Assam medical college. Not
much to do here, this is also a place raked by the dacoits of ULFA. By the time
I made it to the temple of bells some 30 kms away, it was fast approaching
sunset. Click, click, click, smile selfie click and then rush back to Tinsukhia.
So what did I learn
on this trip? Well I am not really as confident I as I want to be, especially
when I am on my own with no backup on call. Yet the very façade of confidence
will pull you through you almost any given dilemma. My own muscles were not
nearly as exercised as I wanted it to be, which I learnt when these cramps rake
me the day after I came back. However, my adrenaline and other hormones did
allow me to pull through and achieve the trip with no downfalls whatsoever.
Something else I saw was that no matter where you go in
Assam, if you are alone, people will try a little (Mumbai lingo) to help you and make you feel
comfortable. At random shops, auto drivers, ferry owners, random people in the
streets, host families, this very basic human trait to help and be kind
overpowers their desire to ignore. No monosyllabic answers, big rounded descriptions
were the toast of the day. It feels good. Puts a smile on your face and gives
you the confidence you need to go on.
Travelling alone is difficult. Touring alone even more so. Doing
it in a land where very few people get you is properly risky. In an insurgency
racked area, I must be mental. But I learnt more about me in this trip than I have
for the past couple of years. Kudos to you too for reading to this long rant of
mine.
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| Here, have a Puppy. |
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