Tokalo: Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen is about being amidst villages again.

I am hassled out of sleep early and we leave, tea in my hand and the freshly purchased jaggery in my bag. It is not yet 6.30 am. I record the location at border pillar 15. This is on the Burmese side and I realize there is another pillar with same number on the Indian side as well. 

Here we made food after crossing both the border pillars

After we cross the pillars we give our bags rest and decide to cook our meal. I am told that the rush was as the Burmese Army was expected at Ralie. The Village Council of Ralie had failed to inform them of our visit. But, here, back in India, they did not matter. I smile, look around, and see chicks in lieu of the planned baby goat! As the bamboo contraption holding chicks is put down they escape. Our group gets more excited in getting them under control than I have seen them during the past days. At some level I am envious of their simple joys.

As the food gets ready we sit around our bags – cleaning the equipment and working on half-done notes. I see the Forest Department staff and the colleagues get interested in birds, talk of local names, of their recent sightings and ask what all we are jotting down. We then discuss field-guides and binoculars briefly before handing the same over to them. It is invigorating to see them animatedly scan the trees for birds with the binoculars and discuss with big eyes and excited hands the field-guides. This is the group I had shouted to, a few days ago, to NOT hunt the phayres leaf monkey. These young men who were, during the first couple of days, intrigued at my using these equipments were keen to learn more about using them today. We see drongos as also oriental pied hornbills. Olive-backed sunbird, white rumped munia and the Himalayan swiftlet follow, as does the Indian roller. I was missing the later’s stunning colours. The crows and wagtails I am simply lost count of. All this makes me wonder on how best to take the conservation education program at the office ahead.

There is one up there

After food we move. While last few days had us make our paths in the wilderness today’s path appears well trodden in comparison. As we walk the survey colleagues discuss that either there are more birds in places affected by human beings or species in the forests are really shy and difficult to spot. We come across scarlet minivets, lesser racquet tailed drongos, common mynas, red breasted parakeets and the streaked spider hunters. We also hear the great Indian hornbill. The drongos are in a flock and the spider hunter is large and pecking at red flowers. The pigeon is stationary as the tree it is perched on while the stunning minivets appear to be enjoying themselves.

Laurens Van Der Post writes eloquently about birds in The Heart of The Hunter, ‘Other animals were condemned to make only such noises as they must, but birds seemed free to utter the sounds they wanted to, to shape them at will and invent new ones to express all the emotions of living matter released on wings from its own dead weight. He knew of nothing so beautiful as the sight of a bird utterly abandoned to its song, every bit of its being surrendered to the music, the tip of the tiniest feather trembling like a tuning fork with sound. Sometimes too, birds dances to their own music. And they not only sang. They also conversed. There appeared to be little they could not convey to another by sound’.

The Meitu speaking uncle-aunty carried this 

We walk along the Sala river. The landscape has changed. It is open and subject to human tempering and yes – the presence of plastic. We see logs, orchards and crop fields as we walk. Some people we meet speak Meitu. Few of us have been drunk since we had food; one is lost while the 2 are fetched in the evening in ok state. The lost fellow turns up late in the evening without his trousers!

We reach Khaiky before I had expected and visit one Village Council member’s house. Few of us, after tea, move to another house – a vacant one. We will move to a third house to sleep.

What a sound it made

I am tired but I move around to see the shop (sugar, torch, batteries and jaggery) is what I see in that part of the house. Then we move to the survey work. The person we talk to is interested. We talk on a range of issues and also take picture of the big drum at his place. The village has shifted after a referendum long ago. There is just one school where his daughter goes for her class 6. This year had thought of sending her to Donbosco Saiha but got late. Next year they will try again; they appear to have little option. As we chat over tea I am intrigued at present of a large body spray and old camera in the room which otherwise talks of all but influence. During this Ja is neither connected not interested. I ask him to check out trophies with hunters. A little later I take images of a monkey and a porcupine skull with him. And of course the hornbills.

We discuss and share the hoolock gibbon education material which we have brought along. Today while a girl looked at it with great interest her mother accepted having never seen it despite hearing its calls frequently from the hill beyond. I again wonder the publishers have put names on the material – researcher’s names are prominent on the not large sized material. What will the children do with these highlighted names? Did they have any particular audience in mind for the booklets?

The landscape changed, and how

After food I am tired, I write the birds and locations but no more. I am then to move to another house to sleep, which I do.

Here they are discussing work undertaken by Save the Children. Free distribution of food. The document I am given conveys that each family has been given 75Kg of rice.

The log lay as graceful as an elephant

I get on to bed, proper place and space today, in a few minutes I am oblivious to their talks and off.

Day Fifteen here.