A state of paradox

While there is violence and unrest in Chhattisgarh, there is also beauty and culture. But its green, plentiful jungles are devoid of wildlife

Chhattisgarh is a state ofparadoxes. It is one of theyoungest states in India,but its heritage can betraced as far back as the Stone Age.It's a state where an exquisite tapestryof age-old customs and ritualshas retained its colours and vibrancy,despite the increasing influencesthat permeate across a bordershared with six other states.

It's a place where two distinctlydifferent cultures that of thekings and the tribes manage toco-exist peacefully. On one hand arethe Nagwanshis, whose progressivemindset is reflected in the eroticsculptures that adorn the walls ofthe Bhoramdeo temple. And on theother hand is the Bastar tribe thatstill preserves a custom like ghotul,in which a young man of marriageableage lives with his prospectivebride for months before the twodecide that they are compatible andwould like to be married by the tribalelders.

But besides these paradoxes thatmake for a rich and varied culture,there is another. In a state thatboasts of a 60 per cent green cover,Chhattisgarh has very few animalsto show for it. In fact, its state bird the Bastar Hill Myna is on itsway to extinction. A fact I realisedas I travelled across the state.

Making a discovery
The best way to see this state ofparadoxes is to make Raipur yourbase camp. Located bang in the middleof the state, all the routes literallybecome the spokes of a wheelfrom here.

After a stop at the Palace ofKawardha and Bhoramdeo temple, Imade a trip to the Achanakmarwildlife sanctuary. The roads werelined with trees, but not a singlewild animal was in sight. That waswhen I began to realise the perils ofafforestation; the unending plantationsof commercially-viable sal,teak, bamboo and tendu trees maygive the state a lush green canopy,but they can't sustain wildlife. Whennatural forests give way to plantedones, the forest floor a fragile bionetworkof organisms, insects, birds,reptiles and mammals disappearsalong the way. The absence ofwildlife was all the more poignant inthis forest, which is located so closeto two sanctuaries in neighbouringMadhya Pradesh, Kanha andBandhavgarh, that are both teemingwith life.

Blame the Naxals. Or traffic
In other forests in the state, differentproblems seem to be at blame.At Tamor Pingla, an exquisite naturalforest in the northern-most tip ofChhattisgarh, intense Naxalite activitieshave pushed wild animals deeperand deeper into the forest.

At the Badalkhol sanctuary, therelentless traffic to the famous hillstationof Jashpur has made thewild animals anxious and elusive.

It was on this trip that I chancedupon a waterfall that wasn't mentionedin any tourist guide. Spottinga road sign that said 'Amritdhara, 15km', we decided to take the detourand were rewarded with the sight ofa waterfall cascading down glisteningrocks lined with moss. Though Isaw larger and more impressivewaterfalls later, this accidental discoveryheld a sweet charm.

Continuing the journey to thestate's jungles, I travelled the lengthof Chhattisgarh to reach KangerValley National Park that is home totwo of India's most breathtakingwaterfalls: Chitrakoot andTirathgarh. On the way, I stopped atBastar, the famed tribal land that isequally well-known for its Naxaliterebellion. In fact, as I was noting theHarappan influences on the tribe'sterracotta work and admiring theminimalistic quality of theirwrought iron sculptures, a series ofseven landmine blasts were set off amere 20 km away. Probably pushingthe hapless wild animals deeper intothe heart of the national park.

Into the caves
The next stop en route were theKutumsar Caves, which are a galleryof god's own sculptures, created byhim many millennia ago usingmolten lava as colour and the wallsof the caves as his canvas. As youenter the caves through a narrowgap in the mountain, and flash yoursearchlight on the wet and humidwalls, a hundred abstract images ofstalactites and stalagmites comealive. And you start giving meaningto those timeless forms, dependingupon the state of your mind at thatpoint in time. I was still ponderingon them as we travelled throughdense tropical forest to reach theTirathgarh waterfall on the Kangerriver. It's a waterfall that doesn'tcascade, but gently rolls down ahundred steps, carved by nature, acentury at a time.

The nearby Chitrakoot waterfallis a study in contrast. Here the riverIndravati takes a massive 100-footfree fall at three spots along a horseshoe-shaped gorge.

No sign of wildlife
On the last leg of the trip, drivingback from Kanger to Raipur, I keptmy eyes and ears open for any signof Chhattisgarh's elusive wildlife. Wehoped against all odds for a repeatof our visit to the neighbouringPench sanctuary, where we spotteda leopard towards the end of thetrip. But I soon realised that innature, there is no action replay. Wereturned after a 10-day trip from thegreenland of India, a state that'sblessed with three national parksand 11 sanctuaries, without anyentry in our personal log-books.

It is a telling comment on thestate of affairs, one that is heightenedby the fact that the last femalewild buffalo, unique to this state, iskept in an enclosure in UdantiWildlife Sanctuary with the fondhope of finding a male for it to breedwith. The last five surviving specimensof the state bird, the BastarHill Myna, are only to be found in anenclosure in Kanger, with the hopethat they will breed in captivity andnot be wiped off the face of thisearth.

Gangadharan is a wildlife writerand photographer and president ofthe NGO JungleLens.

HT Image