It was winter when we embarked on a journey to Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The vast region is an amalgam of marshlands, grasslands, and tropical forest with rivers winding through its canopies.
The park has the highest tiger density, but I wasn’t a ‘ticking off from a checklist’ person and was happy to see all the park had to offer.
En route, close to the park, I heard the unmistakable trumpeting and heavy footsteps of Herculean mammalians. I turned around inside the vehicle and saw a herd of elephants crossing the concrete corridor with an unhurried serenity in their passage. The herd consisted of many young calves and a wise matriarch. We stopped to witness the spectacle.
Visitors could opt to either go by jeep or ride with a mahout on an elephant. As we entered the park, I was very surprised to notice that it consisted of wide land covered with tall elephant grass in some areas and lush, tropical broad-leaved forests in others. The National Park floods annually due to the torrent of the Brahmaputra river and rehabilitation centres have been established to ensure the safety of impacted animals.
We paused at a watchtower, to soak in the picturesque scenery. Again, another show was in the form of a cross- over, from one patch of grass to another and the star, the one-horned rhinoceros, presented to us a summary of its talents. The cow with her calf hiding behind her looked at us nonchalantly and innocently and dropped off their presents on the mud path.
As daylight began its exeunt, the Pied Kingfisher decided it was time for supper. It soared over the lake, eyes locked onto the target, beak pointed downwards, hovering with its wings flapping and with its body tilted. We all went silent, aware of the moments to come. Within a fraction of seconds, it tilted its head and flipped downwards, ceased flapping its wings and gave away to the force of gravity, and most elegantly dove beautifully head-first into the water, splashing it into concentric ripples. We stayed there, staring at the beautiful hunt thoughtlessly.
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