Anil Kulkarni (Mumbai)
Visited: February, 15th, 04
Assam
is perhaps the most favored child of nature so far as green vegetation is
concerned. Amidst stunning splendor, it was the celestial home of one-horned
rhino - the Kaziranga National Park that beguiled me. We sighted all viable
hue of green during our stay, dominated by the mighty Brahmaputra River,
which made our obvious choice for the Kaziranga National Park.
Our stay was at Golaghat - a small town cuddled between the numerous
tatters of tall green resplendent trees. From there, Kaziranga was about one
and a half-hour drive, we preferred our trip at weekend, because an
overnight halt in any of the resorts was key to cherish the majestic charm
of this natural treasure.
The cruiser to Kaziranga was awe-inspiringly lovely. The terrain was
adorned with huge, glazed and kaleidoscopic trees and patches of tea garden,
and the continuous green fields with tribal huts were unblemished scenic
beauties.
The beginning point for the park was Mihimukh with quite a few good
resorts, which also arranges normally jeep safaris and early morning
elephant rides from here. I along with other fellows in the resort booked
elephant safari for the next day, and had an over night stay at one of the
resort there - quite a comfortable one.
Early next morning, we were all set for our elephant safari, to explore the
park and sight the great, not the Royal Bengal Tiger, but the less sought
although equally prestigious Indian one-horned Rhinoceros. The decreasing
number of this scarce mammal initiated the government to proclaim the
Kaziranga National Park as a World Heritage Site. The park is lying on the
floodplains of the mighty Brahmaputra on the north, covers an area of about
450 sq. km.
Our mahout, who had a perfection in sighting a rhino
was also a reasonably knowledgeable person, and told us that rhino's can
only be viewed during early morning and evening hours, as their skin is
inclined to sun burns and they choose groveling in the sand to preserve them
from the sun rays. The sunlight distilled through the forest, as our cruiser
continued through the marshland with thickets of elephant grass, and
shimmering river tributaries.
On our way we enjoyed the sights of wild buffaloes - the slothful, however
the most fiercely enormous mammal, appearing poignantly. We also saw the
wild elephants, mouse, deer, gazelles, and wild boars roaming nonchalantly
in the wild. Still our weary eyes were waiting for the glimpse of the most
docile, but if provoked the most furious creature - the Rhino.
Our patience was loosing fast and we started becoming restless. The mahout
kept on assuring us and as he turned the face of the elephant, to our
surprise, right in front of us stood in pride, the majestic Indian one- horn
Rhino. The gorgeous or pretty are definitely not the correct adjectives but
certainly gigantic and colossal were suiting this innocent creature. I could
notice its skin was glittering with rays of the sun with double-fold at the
joints of shoulders and sides, giving the rhino an armored look with a horn
festooned on its head looked quite deadly. I was aghast to cognize the fact
that, the rhino's horn has a power to turn upside down the vehicles if it
gets furious.
The blend of tall grasses with the rhino was giving a perfect view of the
intrinsic glory of the wilderness. For, in spite of its mysterious
emergence, the rhino looked gracious, that we even risk forth to capture the
varied moods and best angles on our cameras for posterity.
