काझीरंगा (स्थूलवाचन) Kaziranga (Extensive Reading - a jungle safari)

लेखक सांगतात की काझीरंगा हे सुमारे दोनशे पासष्ट चौरस किलोमीटर विस्ताराचे अभयारण्य संपूर्ण भारताचे भूषण आहे. आफ्रिकेखेरीज इतके विविध पशुपक्षी जगात इतरत्र कुठेच आढळत नाहीत. हुलॉक नावाचे शेपटी नसलेले वानर फक्त आसाममध्येच सापडते.

The author opens by explaining that Kaziranga, spread over about two hundred and sixty-five square kilometres, is considered a jewel of all India. Apart from Africa, nowhere else in the world does such a rich variety of birds and animals occur, and some Assamese species are found nowhere else on earth. The tailless Hoolock gibbon is one such example, its very name derived from the distinctive sound it makes.

आसामचे दुसरे वैशिष्ट्य म्हणजे एकशिंगी गेंडा, जो राज्याचे प्रतीक मानला जातो. लेखकांना पुतळा नव्हे तर प्रत्यक्ष गेंडा पाहायचा होता, म्हणून ते काझीरंगाला आले. जंगलातील प्राणी सहसा सकाळी लवकर किंवा सूर्यास्ताच्या वेळी दिसतात.

The second animal that marks Assam's identity is the one-horned rhinoceros, honoured as the state's symbol and depicted in statues across the region. The author notes that this animal, which might seem unremarkable at first glance, is far from ordinary. Knowing that seeing a statue is very different from seeing the real creature, the author came to Kaziranga hoping to observe the rhino and other wildlife up close. He was aware that wild animals in such places are usually seen early in the morning or at sunset.

आदल्या रात्री पाऊस पडूनही सकाळी आकाश निरभ्र होते. वैजयंती नावाच्या हत्तीणीवरून लेखक जंगलात फिरत होते. एका मोकळ्या जागी हत्तीण थांबली आणि समोर एक गेंडा निश्चल उभा दिसला. माहुताच्या मदतीने लेखकांनी त्याचे फोटो काढले.

Although it had rained heavily the previous night, the sky was completely clear the next morning and the wind was so still that the animals would find it hard to catch the visitors' scent. Kaziranga's terrain is marshy, and the grass grows so tall there that even a man on elephant-back can vanish from view. The Assam government keeps specially trained elephants for tourists, which can move easily even through dense grass. The author was given an elephant named Vaijayanti. Not long after setting out, she stopped in a small clearing where a rhinoceros stood motionless like an armoured warrior on guard. The mahout coaxed the elephant to stand still, and the author took many photographs of the rhino.

माहुताकडून लेखकांना कळले की गेंड्याच्या शिंगाची किंमत बाजारात सुमारे दोन हजार रुपये असते. तसेच गेंडा शरीर थंड ठेवण्यासाठी चिखलात लोळतो आणि तो नेहमी एकाच जागी विष्ठा टाकतो, जेणेकरून इतरांना त्रास होऊ नये. यावरून लेखकांना गेंडा शहाणा वाटला.

From the mahout the author learned two things. First, that a rhino's horn fetches nearly two thousand rupees in the market. Second, that the rhino, which coats itself in mud to keep cool, is remarkably considerate of its surroundings, because in the whole vast forest it always relieves itself at one fixed spot, returning there no matter how far it has wandered. Recognising an animal that avoids inconveniencing its neighbours, the author found the rhino to be genuinely wise.

पुढे जाताना एक पांढराशुभ्र गायबगळा उडाला, ज्यावरून लेखकांनी ओळखले की जवळपास रानम्हशींचा कळप असणार. तसेच झाले. एका डबक्यापाशी एक हरीण मरून पडलेले सापडले, ज्याला कोणीतरी शिंगाने मारले होते. पुढे हरणांचा एक कळप उड्या मारत पळत गेला, ज्याला लेखक 'सारंग' म्हणतात.

As the mahout turned Vaijayanti another way, a pure-white egret took flight, and the author guessed there must be a herd of wild buffaloes nearby. His guess proved right, and a herd of ten or fifteen buffaloes grazed peacefully, with egrets hovering around them to catch insects they stirred up. Further on, near a small pool, they found a deer lying dead, killed by the horn-thrust of some predator; the sight left the author's mind numb for a moment. Later, returning towards the rest house, a herd of deer bounded past, animals called 'sarang' in Sanskrit, and watching them filled the author with a strange sense of contentment.