Travels and thoughts

  A couple of hours past midday, two open top Maruti Gypsy jeeps landed at the entrance to Borgos resort where we were staying. We got in while the forest officer explained the rigmarole. A short drive of 5 mins and we were entering the central part of Kaziranga sanctuary spread over 430 sq km in Assam. The Forest officers examined our bags to ensure we carried no food. We drove into the forest at a slow speed keeping in the mind the speed limits so as not to disturb the animals. We stood on the open jeep which was a thrilling experience for us. There was dirt track to both our sides, the grounds were plain and we could see for stretches of miles. The shrubbery started growing taller and taller as we went deeper into the forest. The tree barks were brown in color with many branches that were bare of the leaves. The dense growth, dry now for several months without rain seemed to be waiting for the arrival of monsoon. Beyond the gnarled branches of the trees we could spot herds of...

Hunt for the one horned rhino The morning of Feb 12 2018, we were asked by Minto - our handy man for the 2 days at Kaziranga, to meet him at the entrance to the park at 5 am. The open Jungle land of Kaziranga lies in the flood plains of Brahmaputra river.  Lying between the latitudes of 26°30' N and 26°45' N, and longitudes 93°08' E to 93°36' E within two districts of Assam, Golaghat and Nagaon,  is sprawled over an area of 378 square km. It was a cold, misty winter morning when we looked out of our hotel window.  We woke up and reached at the appointed time for our morning safari at Kaziranga jungle.  We were in the Eastern part of India. As we reached the outskirts to the elephant safari.it seemed that  sun would be up soon. The morning fog was heavier in the open jungle. A vast blanket of gray, covered the forest. It swallowed the river flowing through the jungle. The tree leaves were smeared gray by the silvery fog. We could hear few birds chirpin...

I had landed in Dubai four days before, after a fun filled and warm stay with my daughter in Philly. Not in a mood to have another holiday I had half a mind to cancel the Rann of Kutc tour with my school friends. My friends had finalized this plan three months ago. With half a heart and cajoling myself not to be a spoilsport I boarded the flight to Mumbai. With a brief halt at Mumbai I took the connecting flight to Bhuj airport where I met my dear friends. As the flight took off from Mumbai I could see the bright orange pink rays of sun rise over the horizon. Tired from the overnight journey I decided to shut eye for a while. A bus was ready to take take us to the railway station from Bhuj airport. This railway station had a modern facade as compared to the other rail stations of India. There were autos and cars parked outside the rail station. My friends had taken the train from Mumbai to Bhuj. With the usual screams and hugs we greeted each other. Refreshing ourself in the make...

A trip down Naliya lane The thought of travelling to Naliya never crossed my mind until a good friend was posted to the IAF station there. Naliya is an ancient town in close proximity to the port of Jakhau and off the National Highway 8A. Vinod Kumar , is a Group Captain with IAF. We share a good affection and bond with each other. It might be because my father served in IAF. A couple of years ago when Vinod got transferred to Naliya, a casual mention to my father kindled his memory. My father had visited the station in the 70s for an inspection of sorts and had stayed for three months or so. This recollection in turn aroused my curiosity prompting a visit to Naliya. Some other common friends suggested a trip to the Rann of Kutch. Naliya was 3-hour drive from the Rann of Kutch. To maximize our time with our hosts, we decided to travel late night to Naliya. Our taxi driver Ali took us through the small villages of the state bypassing the standard Google map suggestions. The roads...

After watching the unforgettable sun set at the Rann of Kutch we decided to stay awake through the night to celebrate our friend Jiji's birthday. It was a milestone 50th year for her. The bright moon cast a spell on the vast expanse of the open courtyard. We exhibited infectious childish enthusiasm about 10 times about the birthday celebrations. We managed to get a cake and at the stroke of midnight binged on cake and coffee. It was dark when we left our tent to watch Rann of Kutch sunrise. The air was cold and we needed our scarves and woollens for the trip. Wrapping ourselves snuggly, we set out to view the sunrise at the Rann. Stepping out into the salt desert,  we were astounded to see miles and miles of salt land around us. Crystals of salt crunched under our feet as we walked across the plains. Nature never ceases to amaze me. Who would have thought few months before, during the monsoon weather this place would have been flooded with water. There were a fair scat...