Mesmerising Gorkhey

A hidden paradise....

In a few words our trip to Gorkhey can be explained as a "journey of uncertainties" and some times seeking pleasure in an uncertain lifestyle is just the order of the day. Later I will explain why the word "uncertainty" has played such a vital role in our journey to Gorkhey.
Like every other year we planned for a trip during the Puja vacations. This time our destination was Gorkhey. Planning is one thing and executing the same is much difficult. We had already delayed in planning our trip, moreover we had chosen a destination where getting train tickets during Puja vacation was very slim. We made a plan to start our journey started on 18th October,2018, but we were unable to get confirmed tickets. Determined to execute our plan we went to a local agent who promised us confirmed tickets at a much higher price and we agreed to pay the same. However we managed to get confirmed tickets for our return journey.

At New Jalpaiguri Station....

We were  pretty high on confidence to get confirmed tickets but the night before our journey the agent informed us that he was unable to confirm our tickets and would return the money instead. We were all quite puzzled to say the least but were the last group of people to cancel a trip for tickets. We immediately decided to book general class tickets and carry on with our journey. As a result we  boarded the Darjeeling Mail and the journey was more or less comfortable. We reached New Jalpaiguri at around 10 AM the next day(19th October,2018). We finished our breakfast and got ready for the onward journey towards Gorkhey via Jorthang in Sikkim.

Our so called pleasant train journey....

Our next halt was at Jorthang. It is the one of the popular market places and communication hubs of Sikkim. It took us almost three hours to reach there.

Taxi Stand (Sikkim)

Jorthang....

In Jorthang we had our lunch and started for Bhareng. It was a four hour journey from Jorthang. After reaching Bhareng at around 4.30 PM we were so tired that we could barely walk. At Bhareng we made a critical error which led us to uncertainty number 2. From Bhareng we had a trek of around 2.5 kms through dense jungle in order to reach Gorkhey, so our driver suggested us to take a guide which was quite logical but having numerous trekking experience we took it to our pride and declined the idea. What followed next was inevitable, 15 minutes into our trek we were lost in the dense jungle. With night approaching fast and totally exhausted from the day long journey some of our group members panicked. We were looking for a shelter here and there when a lone woodcutter came to our rescue and took us along with him. Unable to think any further we followed him like an obedient child.

View of the dense jungle where we got lost the night before...

He took us to his little hut deep inside the jungle where his wife gave us a warm welcome. The place was so remote that we were unable to locate whether we were in Sikkim or in West Bengal. As the old proverb says: "Beggars don't have much choice". We thanked Almighty for providing us with at least one shelter & bare minimum food for the night.
Thankfully, the woodcutter's wife knew Hindi and after knowing that we were hungry started preparing our dinner. That was one dinner I would remember for the rest of my life! Simple yet so satisfying! We were so tired that after having our dinner we retired for the day.

The woodcutter's house deep inside the jungle.....

The kitchen where our simple yet satisfying dinner was prepared...

A dinner to be remembered....

The next day i.e on 20th October, 2018 we woke up early to explore the local surroundings and after having our breakfast started our onward journey to Gorkhey. This time we were experienced enough to understand the value of a guide and took the woodcutter with us. The weather was beautiful that day & we took numerous pictures on our way to Gorkhey.

Once a year, go someplace you've never been before....

Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in this world...

Jobs fill your pocket. Adventures fill your soul....

On reaching Gorkhey we were speechless looking at the serenity and tranquillity of the place. We had already booked our home stay from Kolkata so without much hassle we checked into our rooms, quickly unpacked our rucksacks and went to a nearby stream with an intent to bathe in its water.

Our home stay at Gorkhey...

After spending quality time on the banks of the unknown river, we came back to our hut for lunch. After having our lunch we went to bed without much fuss in order to recharge our batteries. When we woke up it was already dark, so we decided to arrange for a bonfire and chicken roast. Knowing our plan the owner of the hut Mr. Bal Chetri made all the necessary arrangements.

View from our hut....

Bonfire arranged by Mr. Bal Chettri...

We chatted for long hours that night retrospecting on all the trips that we had completed together and time flew by as blowing wind. It was a surreal feeling.
At night the temperature dropped sharply and after finishing our dinner we retired to our respective huts. Rest of the night went smoothly.
Next day (21st October, 2018) our plan was to trek towards Phalut in order to experience the 360 degree view of  Mt. Kanchenzonga.
I and one of our team member Subrata sharply declined the plan and decided to stay in Gorkhey instead. But other enthusiastic trekkers including my younger brother decided to give it a try. As per plan they set out at 8 AM from Gorkhey guided by a veteran guide. 

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all....

They trekked jauntily expecting to see the mesmerising view of the majestic Mt Kanchenzonga. Back in the camp I and Subrata decided to go for a small trek to a nearby hamlet at Samardin from where one can view the hamlet of Phalut if weather permits.

Way to Phalut....

Your body can do anything...it's your brain you have to convince

Trekking to Phalut proved to be huge gamble (uncertainty number 3) as they climbed for nearly thirty kilometres but could not witness the majestic view of Kanchenzonga. After enquiring from the locals they found out that the view can only be seen till 8 AM. Dejected and physically exhausted they returned to Gorkhey at around 4 PM where I and Subrata had the last laugh. Back in Gorkhey, I and Subrata went to a nearby village named Samardin, where we enjoyed a cosy evening.

On the way to Samardin

Our brave team members who conquered Phalut...

That night near the bonfire I heard their experience which I had already narrated above. The team that went to Phalut was so tired both physically and mentally that they could barely talk. Amidst all these we suddenly realised that our trek to Gorkhey was coming to an end. I must admit that each trip has got it's own up's and down and this is also true for life, honestly speaking which makes both trips and life so appealing indeed.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.... 

Phalut...

Next morning we started descending from Gorkhey to Bhareng at around 7 AM where our car to NJP was waiting. On reaching Bhareng we found out that we would not be able to reach Alipurduar from where our return train was to be board (Uncertainty number 4). We were worried as there was one intermediate station of New Coochbeehar and not finding us in our seats, the railway officials could easily cancel our confirm tickets stating no show. The inevitable happened to few of our seats but thankfully five seats were there and we happily adjusted in those remaining seats. A trip of uncertainty ended with ever lasting memories.

Hamlet of Gorkhey...

 

Travelling is the healthiest addiction...

Our team to Gorkhey...

Lastly, I would like to share the picture of the woodcutter and his family who rescued us from the jungle.

In rescuing I lost my mind but found my soul...

 Until next time......

(Picture Courtesy: Sandipan Mandol, Piangshuk Mukherjee and Animesh Pramanik)

Record breaking trek ended in tragedy : Beginning of a new hope

The big cat's epic trek gives hope that one day another tiger will complete a journey to the Gir Forest, home to lions and leopards...

A young male tiger set off on an exploratory walkabout in northwestern India about two years ago. Approaching adulthood, he needed to find his own turf- increasingly difficult in his natal Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, where some 34 other Bengal tigers live. The wildlife officers in charge of the 318-square mile reserve knew the big cat was on the move and tracked his prints and the claw marks he left on trees until he left Ratapani, in December 2017.
They don't know what clues to new lands he followed as he traversed the landscape beyond the sanctuary's forests, but ultimately his epic 186-mile journey (one of the longest recorded tiger treks) brought him to the neighbouring Gujarat state, where tigers went extinct nearly 30 years ago.

Along the way, he likely stuck to forest patches, where he could hunt wild pigs and Nilgai, the largest Asian antelope, says Prakriti Srivastava, an Indian Forest Service officer and country director with the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society-India, in Karnataka. In Gujarat, the striped predator entered a more human dominated landscape, but still he managed to avoid detection, probably by resting in dense cover during the day and moving only at night. Then early in February, a school teacher spotted the tiger crossing a road, snapped a photo with his mobile phone, and shared the image. Instantly, the news went viral in this part of India, and the state's forest department launched an intensive cat hunt.

Camera Trap...

Staff placed video camera traps in the area and engaged trackers to look for the tiger. They noted his pug marks in the mud and claw marks on trees near where the teacher took the photo. Six days later, one of the camera traps recorded the car. Based on that footage, forest conservators estimated the tiger to be a male about five to seven years old. The last time anyone saw a tiger in Gujarat was in 1992- tigers there having been heavily hunted and poached for their skins and body parts, which may have been sold in China. So state wildlife officials were in a celebratory mood, pleased that Gujarat-famed for its Gir National Park, the last enclave of Asiatic lions and leopards-had become the only state in Indian with "the lion, tiger and leopard," as Akshay Saxena, the principal chief conservator of forest wildlife for Gujarat, told a reporter with The Times of India.

News of the tiger's arrival stirred hopes that he would continue his westward trek and eventually reach Gir's safe heaven about 300 miles away. How he would react once he encountered some of the nearly 600 Gir forest lions and leopards was uncertain.

"It all depends on the prey," says Tara Pirie, a zpplogist and big cat expert at the University of Reading, in the U.K, who has studied tigers in Sumatra. "If there are sufficient prey, then they should manage to coexist," even if sharing a relatively small area. Gir Forest National Park encompasses 550 square miles of deciduous forest of teak, acacia, and banyan trees, some scrub jungle and large patches of grassland. "It is suitable habitat for tigers and has Sambar deer , nilgai, wild boar," Pirie says, as well as other animals that tigers and Asiatic lions hunt. Leopards, she notes, generally take small-to-medium size prey, such as Axis deer.

Lions and tigers used to coexist across many parts of India, as well as in Western and Central Asia- usually in different habitats until the end of the 1800's. By then, hunting and poaching has driven most populations to extinction. The animals also suffered from the loss of prey and habitats farming, timber harvests, new roads and settlements and a growing human population shrank their forest homes. After further studying the video of the tiger, B.S Annigiri, the chief conservator of forests in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, told the Times of India that the tiger was actually well known to the staff at Ratapani. U.Prakasam, Madhya Pradesh's principal chief conservator of forests, urged his counterparts in Gujarat to protect the cat and keep tabs on his movements. Discussions even began about how to protect the tiger's trail between the two states in hopes that a female might follow and a new population emerge.

But all the rejoicing and speculation came to an abrupt end when, only two weeks after the teacher took the picture, the tiger's carcass was found in Mahisagar forest, about six miles from where the forest department captured his image on a camera trap. His body lay on a slight incline, and some thought he'd fallen victim to a poacher. The initial exam indicated that this was unlikely, since "no physical injury was noticed on the tiger," S.K Srivastava, the chief conservator of forests in the Vadodara area of Gujarat, told The India Tribune. "Also, all 18 claws, four canine teeth, genital organ and skin were found to be intact." It seemed more likely that the tiger had been poisoned. After all, the cat had attempted to attack a herd of cows a day after the camera trap recorded him, but people chased him away with shouts and cries, according to The Times of India.

To determine if the tiger had indeed been poisoned, veterinarians collected samples from his carcass for analysis. But the lab results and a necropsy revealed a different cause, the tiger had simply died from starvation his effort to catch a cow may have been his last attempt at a meal. Following the protocol of India's National Tiger Conservation Authority, the carcass was burned, ensuring that the remains would not be sold. While news of the tiger's sad and unexpected end disappointed tiger watchers in India and elsewhere, wildlife officials still take heart and hope from his heroic journey.

Other tigers may also disperse from Ratapani if they find the territory too crowded, and ther's good forest cover for them to do so to the South and Northeast, where they're more likely to find suitable prey, as well as a home in Panna Tiger Reserve, Prakriti Srivastava says. 
This tiger may have found enough to eat early in his travels, but his trek took him from the safety of the forest into largely human dominated areas. For the few weeks he lived in Gujarat, he worried people who tended cows and inspired those who hoped once again to see tigers, lions and leopards sharing a forest.

"It was not to be- at least, not this time...." 

Source: National Geographic
Picture: Google