Assam is very well known for its forest covers and hosts two of the finest National parks in India, Manas and Kaziranga National Park respectively. The biodiversity in both the parks can be compared among the best in the world. Though unfortunately troubled due to some political instability, my memories in Manas National Park always allure me to return to the most beautiful parks one can ever come across. Joining INW ( Indianaturewatch) allowed me to interact with a few more like minded wildlife enthusiasts who would not mind the occasional and unpredictable rain in Assam and we planned a long due trip to the wonderful Kaziranga National Park in February 2008.
The trip was all the more exciting for me as my photography guru and friend Ganesh Shankar was also very keen on joining in this trip. Ultimately we were also joined up by ever smiling Mr Nurdeen, enthusiastic Siva and charismatic Dr Ajit, with Dhritiman, who’s always on the move, joining a couple of days later. Need less to mention that my constant companion, the ex zamindar of Midnapore , Mr Chowdhury also made himself available. It was Mr Chowdhury’s snoring which nearly made Nurdeen jump in the middle of the night thinking that he might have actually heard the royal Bengal tiger. On correcting him the following morning, Nurdeen who by default is a very soft hearted person was quite sympathetic to me. The evenings would be spent with Ganesh taking classes on various aspects of photography, and we would feel so enlightened by dinner time. I remember an incident where the class on exposure continued from Nurdeen’s room to the dining hall and the steward was serving soup for dinner. Ganesh, who by default is a strict vegetarian, asked the steward if the soup was over exposed instead of asking if he was served vegetable soup. Though, he provided us moments of laughter, but one can very easily assess how involved and engrossed he was on the subject.