Adeu Blue Mountains

River Dolphin

It was a sunny day. I was walking past a small watershed. Few birds were chirping from trees and shrubs. Few tills and ducks were playing on the water. It was about 10 am. I looked at wrist watch. I wore a summer suit and a hat. Both brown checks over light orange. I had a walking stick in right hand and my sketch book and pencil box in left hand. A small bolder caught my attention. It was looking like a divan. When I reached, saw one horizontal stone lying and behind it a nice bolder with a place top. Few trees I saw leaping their branches over the watershed in west. A grassland, mostly with elephant grasses went till the dense wood. Hills, behind the shaded from the east. I sat on the grass keeping my back rested by the rock. The watershed rippling water, water fouls, leaning branches of the trees, dark blue sky and distinct nimbus clouds in backdrop was making a marvellous landscape composition. Chirping birds were creating a cinematic ambiance. I started sketching.
I was completely into my painting but understood someone sat over the rock and looking my sketch. Sometimes local boys and girls come this side of river Dihong for pasturing. I concentrating more on shedding tree branches and leaves. I thought my sketching was too much becoming effected by expressionism. I didn't mind. Beautiful is beautiful. This is the latest thumb rule to critic the aesthetics of today's painting and photography.
I thought todays sketching was enough for the day as sun was directly overhead and shadows also telling it is mid-day. My apetite was also calling for the day's heavy meal. I thought to ask person who was still waiting by my side on the rock.
Many people don't like scotch whiskey on the rock. Mr. Tripath Ghosh was one of them. He came from Calcutta to a small-town surrounding tea garden of east Assam. He took two pegs on the rocks. Two army dressed boys came to him and politely asked whether they can share the table. Mr. Ghosh agreed. They took four bottles of bear and a full tandoori chicken. Mr. Ghosh took only one roasted papar (papad). The army boys were wearing subcontinental freedom army badge and one of them wearing a red crossed badge of medical corps. They were discussing that they saw river dolphins today in a small tributary of Dihang river. Mr. Ghosh took interest. Though Mr. Ghosh is now working as a manager in a tea garden but in younger days he was a zoologist like is daughter Gargi. Mrs. Ghosh left the earth long ago. He asked, who saw the dolphins and how they become confirmed they are dolphins not mere floating tree branches? One young boy said, they were not floating only. They were coming over the riverbed and again diving deep. Though that tributary is not much deep. Only two or three of them made alive. Mr. Ghosh smiled. Asked their names. Red crossed medical boy told Kaushik Basu and the other told Vasuki Alappa. Mr. Ghosh asked them for dinner next Sunday. They agreed but were afraid, they may be transferred any time as now the free subcontinental Army is taking preparation for final blow to the Bengal line of Neo Nazi Indian PM Chappanna Nandi and Allied forces. No issue, Mr. Ghosh said and took a note where they saw the dolphins.
Next morning Mr. Ghosh and his daughter was taking tea with milk and sugar at the dining hall of the tea garden's Bunglow. Mr. Ghosh explained Gargi about yesterday's dolphin news and marked few portions of Dihang river, its tributary Debang river possible locations of dolphins near the conjunctions of the rivers. Gargi told, here we get only Gangetic dolphins or Delphinus Delphi. They are bigger in size. Mostly they ply in Tsong-Po or Brahmaputra. There is a very little chance to get them in the Debang or Dihong river, even in a family of three. Mr. Ghosh agreed. Gargi said, even they came by chance they may trapped into shallow water or caught in fishing nets. Therefore, today she will skip college and go to the place to talk to the fishermen. Mr. Ghosh told to take Planters Club owned SUV and Pom, her friend to accompany. Gargi affirmed. She picked up Pom from her house and drive straight towards the conjunction of Dihong and Debang river. Gargi is fair, very bright eyed and silky haired. Her vital is very strong and stout. Pom is slim, pinkish fair and tall. She always ties knot with hair called khopa. Gargi and Pom stopped the yellow SUV under a big ficus Bengalensis or Bot tree. They came down and crossed the small grass land. Dihang river bank is comprised of alluvial soil and grass. She is maximum half kilometre in width where river Debang fell into her. Otherwise mostly 200 metres to 500 metres width through her course. Debang is a small tributary of maximum of 100 - 200 metres width. Few places Debang river is only 20 ft deep. Gargi has a Minolta 200×400 mm binocular. Pom had a small one but with night vision capacity. They were observing the river crossing and as far as possible. Pom said to Gargi that she is possibly watched something floated once near the mouth of Debang river. Gargi told, ok let's have a walk. They came to the crossing and saw few places mud of river bank looked like someone shovelled just along the river water bed and still lot of mud is mixing with water. Gargi said, possibly one mother dolphin is looking for her children and those boys saw them into deeper wood of river Debang. They directly came to a small fishermen village with 10 to 12 families living. They knew them, called Prakriti Barna, the head of the village. Others also came. Pom and Gargi told them the seriousness of the condition and if the children don't get their mother's milk, they may die and there is a risk of even suicide of their mother. They are mixing them with the local villagers for long and fishermen knew that dolphin is a water borne mammal and have both sensitivity and consciousness like human being if not more. They assured Gargi and Pom that they are trying their best and immediately trying to find them with small fishing boat without motor called dinga or shalti. But in deeper woods and the hill woods have high chance of meeting with tiger. So, they will try their best. Gargi told she will come tomorrow. They nod their head. Next day both Gargi and Pom were busy in college. Therefore, they came hurriedly in afternoon at the fishermen village by cycling.
Prakriti da was waiting with one lady. Gargi asked for news update of the dolphins. Lady answered we identified one little dolphin just before the Debang river entering into dense forest and already there was a fishing net. When we allure the child with fishes and making sound by bamboo stripes on water and boat, the little dolphin returned to Dihong - Debang crossing and then a big dolphin came. She makes rounds keeping the child in centre and slowly the circle entered deeper Dihong. But we saw the lady dolphin is again coming at the conjunction for the rest of her children. They possibly entered into forest covered Debang towards finally Namdapha reserve forest, one of the really unmanned area of the world. Part of Debang went into Arunachal Pradesh of India and multi farketed into smaller tributaries and canals with jhoras or small waterfalls in Assam and Arunachal part. Gargi was smelling adventure, as she understood they must go deep into the forest throughout the river and may be a forest which is mysterious where at least 20000 species of reptiles, bats, insects and butterfly stays with mammals like tiger confirmed long ago by Principal Chief Conservator of forest, West Bengal, Mr. Atanu Raha etal.