Pieces from past

As Pankaj (Sekhsaria) and I continued out telephonic chats over the book (Protected Area (PA) Update – A Compilation) we discussed how we would break the monotony and make the book interesting. The book, in the first section, moves from one state to another; each of the states was to have information collated from the PA Update. We felt the need to bring in an introduction of sorts to the state. List of PAs was needed but stand-alone it appeared somewhat dry and the pieces (which form the second section) were out of contention since a healthy number focused on the ‘region’ as opposed to a state in particular. A sketch map for each state was agreed upon and then we also decided to cull in ‘historical pieces’ for each state. Together these three (sketch map, list of PAs and the historical piece) would ‘begin’ each state in the book.

While the word-limit that we agreed to made me feel, at times,  I was doing anything but justice to the piece I loved put in many an afternoon going through the material I could access and in particular loved the collection of 100 years of JBNHS. The DVD is a wealth of information and has contributed to most of the pieces. 

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours” 

~ Alan Bennett - The History Boys.

Two of these, focussing on states I currently get to meander in, I share below.

Nagaland

Author & Title: Stracey P D - A note on Nagaland

Publication & Year: JBNHS 64 (3) - 1967 (December)

From the vegetational aspect the Naga Hills are more interesting than the Khasi Hills, because of the change in forest types which takes place as one proceeds up the valley of the Brahmaputra. The forests on the neck of the hill range dividing the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys, consist first of a 'dry' evergreen belt containing the locally noted Bonsum (a species of Phoebe), and further eastward a 'moist' type characterised by the giant Dipterocarp Hollong. This Hollong forests extends along the foothills of the Naga country up to the tip of the valley, near the point where the Burma-China-India triangle begins. The strip of country between 2000 ft. and 5000 ft. generally is the main habitated and cultivated portion of Nagaland. In the interior of the Naga Hills at elevations above 3000 ft., the Dipterocarps give way to a peculiar type of evergreen forest which deserves the name 'temperate' evergreens, as they are found on the higher and cooler elevations. Forested caps of the mountains are clearly visible when flying over Nagaland and constitute a unique feature of an otherwise rather monotonous expanse of secondary jungle. But the scene is not as monotonous as the one presented by the Lushai, or Mizo Hills as they are now known, where the secondary vegetation consists entirely of bamboo.

Meghalaya

Author and Title: Bertram Brian - Hill myna Gracula religiosa Linnaeus breeding in artificial nests in Garo Hills, Assam

Publication and Year: JBNHS 64 (2) - 1967 (August)

In Garo Hills the Hill Mynas are persuaded to breed in artificial nests. Such a nest consists of framework of split bamboo about 5 feet long and I foot wide at the middle, tapering towards each end; this is thickly covered on the outside with thatching straw. A hole is cut about two-thirds of the way from the slightly thicker lower end of the nest, which is then attached to the branches of a tree at an angle of about 45 degrees, with the hole at the higher end and pointing downwards. The trees chosen are usually tall, and are situated in, or at the edge of, clearings in the forest, or at the edge of a small village. A Garo may have 4 or 5 of these nests, in different trees, and by observation he can tell when there are young birds in the nest. Usually he does not want to run the risk of their fledging and escaping, and so he takes the young from the nest earlier than is desirable, feeds them on a not-very-adequate diet of gram-powder made into large plugs and pushed down the gaping throat, and then sells them at the weekly market or 'hat' at prices usually between Rs. 10 and Rs. 2O.

Images by Pankaj Sekhsaria at Panda (South Garo Hills, Meghalaya) during 2007.