North East Odyssey: Part Eight

Day Seven (30.11.2021): Exploring Kaziranga

I woke up early morning to wash off the olive oil from my hair. It took an hour to do so since the tap water was on and off. At least I could finish with my chores, Krupali had to use Hiteshree's washroom. We got ready and went for breakfast. Before that, we complained about the tap water and requested for a room with twin bed. The breakfast included bread butter, veg sandwich, puri sabzi, omelette on demand, juices, etc. Our jeeps were standing outside the reception to take us for the jungle safari. We got into the jeeps and drove to the Kaziranga National Park. It was an amazing drive to the park. We reached the location before 10AM.

Kaziranga National Park

It is in the Galaghat and Nagaon districts and abode to the Big Five as well as a variety of birds. The park is divided into four ranges namely Kohora (Central), Begori (Western), Agaratoli (Eastern), Burapahar. After entering the park, we halted at a point for some time. Then we passed through the river bridge into the animal abode. The Big Five are: The Great Indian One horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic Wild Buffalo, Asian Elephant, The Tiger, Swamp Deer. We watched few rhinos with the cattle egrets (bird which eats the ticks on the rhino body), an elephant, wild buffaloes relaxing in a small water puddle and faraway deers. 

We watched a few birds including the snake bird. We halted at a view tower in between the jungle. The jungle ride was quiet and peaceful. We missed on the tiger though, never mind. We came back to the hotel for lunch. Post lunch I got the room changed to 208 and had the form filled for Meghalaya entry. We drove to the Orchid Park and reached the venue at 2:30PM. The vehicle was parked, and we walked our way to the park entrance passing through different souvenirs shop.  

Kaziranga National Orchid Park, Durgapur

The welcoming entrance of the park had rows of different types of marigold pot plants. We started with the Orchidarium. 

It had a variety of orchids, including the Rhynchostylis retusa (Foxtail orchid). Here is one member of the orchid family:

One of the orchidarium member explained us the different types of Orchids. More on orchids with the photos in another post. Next on the list was the Assam National Museum. 

This museum included a lot of things depicting the culture and history of Assam. The entrance display had the material used as a natural dye on silk. Towards the right side, there were earthen kitchen utensils, cane and bamboo articles, baskets, trays, storage containers, ornaments, musical instruments, face masks hanging on the wall, etc. We further entered the photo gallery which included the war weapons, ancient war location maps, etc. There was a handloom section where three women weavers were weaving different types of chadors. 

I had a small chat with two of them. They complete one chador in a week's time. The detailing work was amazing. The lady did not have any rough design while weaving the designed embroidery. She said that the picture is clear in her memory and then the same in executed on the bunch of threads of the handloom. The next section had bamboo and wooden articles used in the household chores, used while fishing, traditional boat models. Done with the museum, we passed by the photo gallery. It had photos of different types of orchids. There was a lane going towards the Rice gallery. It had displays of different types of rice grains grown in Assam. We walked ahead to the artificial water fountain surrounded by a variety of flowerpots. There was souvenirs shop adjacent to the fountain and two swings. We walked ahead to the Dance Performance Stage. There is a tea and snack stall adjacent to the stage. Different folk dances were performed such as the bamboo dance, bihu dance, etc. and there is a sitting arrangement for the audience. I had a small chat with the dance crew. 

We further had a walk in the Medicinal Plant Garden. We were briefed on the different plants and their medicinal benefits. 

We moved ahead to the Cactus Garden to watch the variety of these thorny plants. The Barrel cactus looked like watermelons with spikes. More on cactus with photos in another post.

Done with the Orchid Park, everyone got engrossed in souvenirs shopping in the vicinity of the park. There were a variety of wooden articles including the big rhino, woollen shawls, handloom materials, etc. There were tea & fruit stalls. I tried watermelon whereas others tried pineapples and bananas. Then we halted at the tea plantations but since it was sunset, we were going to visit it tomorrow morning. We visited the shop selling a variety of tea leaves. Many did a voracious shopping. I was sitting at the couch and reading the magazine. The magazine was about 12 months and 12 photographers mentioning the details on flora and fauna of Northeast in each month, through their photographs. We got back to the hotel. While others were enjoying their tea coffee in the garden area, the girl gang drove away to Borgos for dinner. Having satisfied our tummies with lip smacking food, we got back to the hotel by quarter to eight. All ladies were having a musical evening in the garden. They were sitting around the campfire and singing songs. 

We joined them for a while. Then they went for dinner, while we went to our rooms to freshen up and come back for the Bihu Dance.

 

Bihu Dance

The program started at 9PM with a tribute to Bhupen Hazarika with the song "Dil hum hum kare". One of the crew members elaborated on the Bihu dance and Bihu festival. The Bihu dance is a folk dance of Assam related to the festival of Bihu. This joyous dance is performed by both young men and women, and is characterized by brisk dance steps, rapid hand movement, and a rhythmic swaying of the hips to represent youthful passion. There are three types of Bihu: Bohag bihu, Kati bihu, Bhogali bihu. Today the crew was performing Bohag Bihu which is celebrated in the month of April marking the beginning of New Year. The traditional attire, ornaments, instruments, and other props were explained. Women wear Mekhala Chador made of muga silk, Junberi necklace, gamkharo bangles, tie their hair with Gogona (harp made of bamboo) and tuck a Foxtail orchid. They use Japi (assamese hat) as a prop. Men wear suriya (dhoti), tongali (belt), gumsung sula (shirt) and gamosa. Dhol, Taal, Pepa (made of buffalo horn and bamboo), Gogona are the musical instruments. Click here for the dance video.

Post the photo session with dance crew, DJ was on, and girls were dancing to the playlist. The ladies dispersed after some time. Few were sitting on the chairs and watching others dance. I was enjoying the swing. Finally, someone from the hotel authority came in requesting to stop the speaker. Everyone went to the rooms except for Krupali, Hiteshree and Shreya. They were talking near the campfire. A big group had checked in to the hotel that night. They must be waiting for room allotment. I had to literally make way through them on the stairs and go to my room. I went to the room and dozed off.

Read next: North East Odyssey: Part Nine