The dewdrops were all set on the leaf tips, and the tiny drops were coalescing continuously to form bigger drops on the top of the colocasia leaves and they were again falling to the ground and touching the wet soil as if they were destined to be there and remain as a part of it. The grass blades were shining as if some diamond or pearl embedded all over them. Birds had already left their nests and were chattering all over and hovering from tree to tree. The rufous-necked hornbills were also giving the morning calls at regular intervals to register their presence in and around the eco-camp over the treetops.

With such a fresh start, I came out of my tent (while rest of my tent-mates were still in the land of dreams), I stretched my arms wide apart and closed my eyes and felt the dark blue sky with a tinge of orange and yellow and took a deep breath, fill my lungs 99 per cent with fresh cool air. That was an awesome start for a morning time with the hint in mind that a vast untamed jungle is waiting ahead for a junglee delight.

With a digicamera and a long stick in hand, accompanied with my classmate and one of the favourite professors, we headed towards the Jia Bhoroli river, which was around 1.5 to 2 kilometres away from the base eco-camp of the Nameri National Park. The path was muddy with smooth river gravels of variable sizes and some shells, putting strong evidence that the river once passed through that path on which we were heading. Both the sides of the kuchcha road were covered with dense jungles and we prayed continuously to have a glimpse of a species or two of the wild. Nameri National Park is among one of the richest and most threatened reservoir of flora and fauna in the world. It is a mixture of moist, tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous forests, and narrow stripes of open grassland. With over 30 species of mammals and 400 species of birds, the park is also an important conservation area for elephants and tigers.

On the way, various types of bird-calls were been heard and these calls were continuously being explained by our beloved professor along with the stories of his experience in the wild when he was like us (young and energetic). Suddenly, I pointed a violent shake on a treetop at a distance; it was none other than a capped langur, which was probably directing his fellow mates that some intruders are passing by their territory.

After taking a few shots of the capped langur, we headed towards our destination spot — the bank of Jia Bhoroli with a few more visits by the red jungle fowl, hill blue flycatcher, some ducks, and exotic birds crossing the sky regularly in prescribed patterns, to see the beautiful sunrise. The sunrise against the Jia Bhoroli was breathtaking and eye-capturing. Cold and fresh breeze was blowing continuously in the chilly month of December, and we sat there for around 40 to 60 minutes until the sun rose completely.

In the meantime, Mother Nature also granted few sights of the darter and other bird species to us along with the golden ripples of the reflected sunlight mesmerizing the whole atmosphere. On the other side of the bank, we also saw some elephants. I think they also came for the same magical moment, for which we also came.

After the show was over, we headed back to our eco-camp. Our breakfast and tea was ready, and after having my piece of bite, I was busy taking a few more wonderful shots of the beautiful camp.

On the previous night, a bonfire was arranged for us, on the backside of eco-camp. It was awesome as the interaction between the students, professors, managers, and the guests of the eco-camp was wonderful and full of enjoyment. We were directed by the camp manager not to make any noise as it may disturb the wild fauna in and around the eco-camp. Electric fencing was surrounding the whole eco-camp to prevent the introduction of wild animals inside the camp area.

A vaccination camp was arranged in the fringe areas of the national park and we were lucky enough to get the vaccination of elephants, which took place on the other side of the bank. We crossed the river in a ‘ferry’, vaccinated them, and returned back happy and gleeful.

The whole experience was blissful and the encounter with the wild in such a manner was bizarre and much unexpected as the magic felt during this camp was somewhat missing in the subsequent camps, which were held in Kaziranga, Orang National Park and Pabitora wildlife sanctuary.

Maybe the sunrise view with the pachyderms, the magical moments beside the river Jia Bhoroli of Nameri National Park, bonfire at night, the night elephant safari amidst the wild left a deep reminiscence truly wild and making my heart say, I will be back to feel the magic once again...

Dr Bitumani Borah