Day 8 – Jan 31, 2015

06:30 AM

Bags packed, gratitude and goodbyes exchanged, we left for Dibrugarh Aiport. Sceneries, markets, stations passed by. Soon, we had left Arunachal and were in Assam. We halted for chai. While sipping tea, a sudden realisation dawned that we were in the Tea State and that we should be buying tea directly from the source. So, we went to a shop that said ‘Better to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one’. Their ideology in marketing tea felt so strong that we bought four varieties of tea from them – Green Tea, White Tea, Black Tea and Assam CTC.

It was the same route back, so we passed by all the towns that we had seen on day one.

11:00 AM

We reached the airport; dropped one comrade and headed back to Chabua for lunch. After a very leisurely luncheon, we too headed for the airport.

2:00 PM

With extremely heavy hearts we left Dibrugarh.

10:00 PM

We were back to the land of dreams, while still dreaming about the land of the rising sun.

Epilogue

First and foremost, few need to be sincerely thanked who made this trek pleasurable and plausible.

The Alchemist by Sagar Gosavi – The number of times I had read and re-read his blog about Namdapha. It completely convinced me that I had to do this trip.

Lakshmi, the Saviour – We couldn’t have moved beyond 200 m without her. We would have sagged under the weight of our rucksacks and emerged out of the trek with dislodged spines and joints. She took the entire load off us and silently walked along. We would never have enjoyed the trek as we did without her steadfast support. And who can forget the heavenly trumpet which sounded that Hornbill night? Lakshmi and Deewani trekking with us will always be a merry memory.

Moshang & Bikki, the Guides – Two accommodating, easy going and knowledgeable guides, they were patient with us and answered each and every question.

Samar, the Cook – He was the man who ran the show behind the curtains. The food was perfected to suit our stomachs and sustain us for the long walks. Without his food, which was always ready before time, we wouldn’t have withstood the six days inside the forest as well, as we did.

All the Beautiful Birds – They were the very reason for our trip that far. I had not mentioned all the birds that we saw in the narration. Only the once we managed to capture on camera found place in the paragraphs. Apart from them, we saw a lot of colourful birds that raced around us. Tesias, Mesias, Nuthatches, Yuhinas, Parrotbills, Minivets, Piculets, Erpornis, Sibias, Malkohas, Minlas, Cochoas and many more tongue-twisting names included; in all 106 birds, 13 butterflies, 1 ape and 3 squirrel species were spotted. We have them listed in a separate excel.

The Mother of ALL Forests – For accepting us, as one among the extraordinary biodiversity that it nurtures. And for giving us the experience of a life time.

What is it about the forests and mountains that make you want to go back to them? A magnetic pull draws you towards them!

The sheer size and enormity of the mountains is such that one is left minuscule and humbled in their presence. One can never conquer them and the thought itself is foolish. Humans can only touch their summit and that too only if they permit.

And in the woods there is magic. A spell is cast and we enter a very different arena. In a pristine, virgin forest like Namdapha, there is an aura of eternal mystery; of bygone eras; trees have stood there like giants guarding the forests. They are so closely knit with each other that they seem to be whispering and moving all the time. They cling; they lean; they entwine; they support each other like the best of buddies. For all we know they could be conspiring to overthrow the human kingdom some day when our atrocities cross the line 🙂

(Waiting for a chance to get back to Namdapha…)