Tokalo : Day Four

Fourth day had us off to the final village before we entered the ‘forest’, putting up of the first post and of course meeting the Burmese Underground ~

We left early after tea. Last night I was told that we will be taking a vehicle. Today we walked from Bymari to Lomasu. Some of our luggage came on horses.

After troubling me a lot by incessantly making noises and then successfully evading my binocular gaze I finally got a close look at the grey hooded warbler. While the black drongo and red vented bulbuls were in good numbers the sightings of the barred cuckoo dove and the white rumped shama were intriguing.

Lomasu ~ 

Reaching Lomasu - that has a very different look from other villages - we do what we are very good at; have tea. NT’s face was at its expressive best! This he said was a forest village that had ample water and therefore fishes, forest around and a pleasant feel. While Bymari was a ‘basti’ he had visited for the first and last time in life! I then went for a short walk and at a small shop saw an interesting assemblage on the racks; more than few from Burma! Abundance or lack of resources like water and fish shape and dictate life in these villages in more ways than one and I hope the Wildlife Sanctuary only helps these flourish and not the other way!

Before the walk I had rushed to the river side to an unsuccessful attempt at spotting hoolock gibbons. We had heard them from across the Kaladan river, from Lawngtlai, very clear call carried far by the waters. Lawngtlai is home to the Lai Autonomous District Council, Chakma Autonomous District Council, Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary and the Blue Mountain National Park. As I scanned the jhum fields with the binoculars I tried to recall the timing of their songs that a friend had mentioned over the phone. It is the hoolock gibbon SONG and not SOUND she had stressed!

Understanding traps ~ 

Lunch was a nice and big fish! Enthused I moved on to a house which Ra pointed out belonged to the only potential ‘khilari’ (read hunter) in the village. A squirrel tail and civet skull were pinned on the wall showcasing his skills! Trapping was a subject at his finger tips. Not only did he draw one to explain it to us but also made a dummy trap in minutes. The traps for jungle fowl and other big ground dwelling birds also carried bait. Barking deer was caught with rope traps while ‘kapu’ was used to get rid of porcupine. The porcupine was a very bad crop raider (or effective depending how one looks at it!) with its skills peaking during November and December. On my asking that if so many traps were in vogue for what wildlife were guns used! Monkeys, large birds and barking deer was the response. I wondered how many of these mammals and birds moved in these forests! This however made him explain that he used to make guns and when I further pestered asking ‘using electricity poles? ’ – this was what the Moghiyas used in and around Kuno. No, vehicle steering, was the reply. He then showed me the ammunition powder and I recalled the visits to Vijaypur (Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh) to get it.

We then moved on to put up the first post of the Tokalo Wildlife Sanctuary! Walking about 2 to 3 kms besides the amazingly beautiful Kaladan I head the lapwing. On the way we came across Burmese Underground passing us, staying put in a hut (where we quenched our thirst) as also guarding their ‘posts’ with guns and dogs. Here I understood what Strange or Unreal Experience means. In my country I explain my movements to gun trotting fellows who are opposed to the military junta of the neighbouring country. The Forest Range Officer in charge of Tokalo informed me of their collecting charge for river transport! He added that while they were nice the Burmese Army comprised of fools. He had written letters to few village heads on the other side of the border informing them about our survey and asking them in turn to inform the Burmese Army. One of the Underground asked me if I was scared. Of course I was, 15 – 20 year old fellows, carrying live guns, guns about two thirds of their height, I could be killed if the gun went off when either of them sneezed! And if all this was not enough mid-way he began talking in Hindi. That he was good in it added shame to whatever other inexplicable feeling I had at the moment. Fact, as I am reminded from time to time, is indeed stranger than fiction!

Getting the next post ready ~

We put up the first of the 110 posts we have got with us; taking care to have it higher than current water height and allow space for nature to do what she does best – be unpredictable. The photograph and location were duly taken. These posts will define the boundary of the Wildlife Sanctuary.