March 26, 1999, Friday, sunny, 19-38C
[05:24 (1999-03-27-6) @ Rm.12,
Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge]
It’s
becoming routine – the “another day, another tiger-sighting”, but truth is
truth. This time, it was a somewhat
distant view of a tiger in the meadow strolling through the long grass in
stately serenity, at one point at the foot of an elephant loaded with tourists
that had been dispatched to intercept it.
Unfortunately, this would be my last tiger sighting in this millennium.
This
evening, I presented myself at the Bandhavgarh Jungle Camp (“Latika’s Palace”)
precisely at 19:30 as prearranged. She
was still out in the field. Nanda gave
me a warm welcome and introduced me to the tourists in his Jungle Camp. While we were waited for the dinner, I
chatted with a tourist family from Scotland, and another from Delhi whose
11-year-old boy was a student at Sri Ram School and told his parents about my
presentation and the Big Tiger. The
Deputy Director Mr. Singh, whom most people, including Faiyaz and Vivek, opined
to be a straight man, was there as well, and we exchanged greetings and some
ideas.
Soon,
Nanda gave us all a slideshow of Bandhavgarh wildlife in the palatial and
high-ceilinged sitting room of the main building. After that, it was dinner.
Latika made her grand entrance in a flowing peach-coloured sari, with
her hair loose and looking stunning in a new feminine way (previously, it was
no-nonsense safari clothes and Aussie hat).
I sat between the Scottish lady and her 30ish daughter, and had a pleasant
though low intensity conversation, while Superwoman sat at the far end of the
table.
After
the dinner, I approached her directly and she quite happily sat down with me
one-on-one in the lobby with the stuffed-tiger-in-a-glass-case-plus-two-tiger-heads-and-two-leopard-heads-on-the-wall. She lamented to me that her new set of
camera traps were all malfunctioning, giving nothing but blank photos, which
caused great frustration in her work of late.
She told me that she does not go tiger-viewing any more, that over the
last month, she had seen tigers only three times, saying, “The day I stopped
seeing tigers was the day I began working.”
But through the cause of her work she did see numerous tiger pug marks
which she could identify as “Long Toes”, “Splay Foot”, etc.. “But thanks to the cameras malfunctioning, I
cannot correlate them with their strip patterns and facial markings. I don’t even know what they look like!” she
cried. There is no doubt about her
passion for her subjects and the sincerity of her heart.
Later, we talked trilaterally with the
Deputy Director. I asked them what is
the best thing a foreign NGO can do to help protect the park. They both opined that the most important
task at hand to protect the park and its inhabitants is to relocate the six
villages out of the park. One of the villages has already agreed to move given
mutually agreeable terms. They have
already decided on a location on the north side of the main river on the way to
Khajuraho. “The beauty of this is that
we can design from scratch a model village outfitted with all kinds of
alternative technologies, cattle husbandry systems, even a new way of life,”
enthused her ladyship. She is truly a
remarkable woman. I could easily fall
in love with her.
The DD surprised me by saying that he
himself is using the solar cooker. When
presented with the difficulty about cooking time, they both shrugged it away by
confirming my unsubstantiated theory.
Early in the morning, set up the cooker with rice and lentil and sauces,
etc. and orient the unit to the oncoming noon day sun and just leave it. Come dinner time, everything will have been
cooked, be still hot or at least warm, ready to eat. Chapati or roti are no problem, since they are not even on their
native menu. “Once accepted, they won’t
let go of it. It is better than biogas
to them,” said the DD.
I called BJL to ask Vivek to get a driver
to fetch me around 22:00 and bring Faiyaz and Anne as prearranged with them to
introduce to Latika. They arrived on
time, but was in a desperate rush to leave to meet the train which would take
Faiyaz to Delhi, which apparently again moved its arrival time forward to
22:30. We did the introduction, and
they dashed off. So, later still, I
called Vivek again, and he came on foot to fetch me. The DD generously offered his Gypsy for Vivek to drive to fetch
his driver who will drive the Gypsy back from BJL.
While
saying goodbye to Faiyaz, he seized my hand and said, “Anthony, what you showed
us yesterday kept me awake most of the night, but it is worth it. Your OMNI-SCIENCE shows the way for us to
achieve world peace and beyond, that’s obvious. It shows us the optimal Way of Man, that was obvious. It even shows us the Way of the Cosmos, the
Tao. It is breath-taking yet still
obvious. But it was not until yesterday
when it suddenly revealed how ultimately profound it really is -
philosophically, spiritually, religiously.
I will never look at life the same way as I have done before. I don’t think that my gratitude is what you
want, and no gratitude can possible equal the benefit I have reaped over the
last two months, in additional to the tiger conservation work that we have done
together. I just want you to know that
what you have to teach will make a huge and fundamental change to the world,
and to the human destiny.”
While
I was momentarily speechless, Anne said, “Instead of the traditional teaching
of God creating us, it shows us that we are part and parcel in the
self-creation of a new deity, and at that in transcendental integration with
all other sentient beings throughout the Cosmos. What you showed us should make us feel incredibly small and
insignificant, but I don’t feel this way.
On the contrary, I feel incredibly elated and empowered. I owe you something I doubt that I can ever
repay.”
“We
are humble, yet we are divine,” said Raminothna through me.
“I
will go even one step further and say that Omni-Science will become the next
great religion,” said Faiyaz.
“Raminothna
forbids,” I said.
Back at BJL, Vivek told me that he had done
his own thinking on village relocation and showed me the plan on paper in his
note book. I didn’t need any
convincing, but my inclination was further confirmed. The question is: Would
Pradeep take it on? In fact, Vivek
himself doubted it, and asked me what I would do if Pradeep would not touch
it. I said plainly, “I’d just have to
get WCWC to find another partner who would.”
Faiyaz still has several important meetings
here to build a solid case for my proposed “What happened to Sita?”
international article. He will be in
Delhi till April 3rd, then come back to Bandhavgarh to do the
interviews, including one with the self-professed killer/poacher of Sita. Yesterday, Faiyaz confided to Anne and me
that Pushpinder said to him that Manoj mentioned something regarding Faiyaz’s
returning to Bandhavgarh - a flat “No” and something about a “new itinerary”,
which Faiyaz interpreted as a sign of his oncoming dismissal from Tiger
Trust. But earlier today, Pushpinder
told him that when he asked Pradeep about Faiyaz’s desire to come back to
Bandhavgarh to do some more work, Pradeep said no problem. Earlier today, Faiyaz called his friends in
Delhi about this “prominent Canadian conservationist” giving a talk on tiger
conservation at the Habitat House March 29th, 19:30, and not only
did his friend say he would bring other friends, but that he had seen this
long-haired Canadian conservationist on TV before.
During the meeting, the DD invited me with
genuine sincerely and some eagerness to join in a day-long conference with
about three dozen village’s elders tomorrow (27th, my last day at
Bandhavgarh) starting at 12:30. I asked
for his permission, and received it, to bring Anne and Vivek with me, Vivek as
my translator, and of course as TT operative.
What we worked so hard for and got aborted in sedate Kanha, we are
invited to as honoured guests here in troubled Bandhavgarh without even
trying.
The Lord works in mysterious ways indeed.