EYE CANDY

EYE CANDY

A 2-Pager by Ajit Chaudhuri

The problem with an end to a decade is that we are all bombarded by ‘ten best’ lists. My own contribution to the bombardment, which follows, is a listing of the ten best sights that I have seen in India. It is in no particular order.

One: The Indus in winter – Ladakh, J&K

Yes, the river that gives our country its name does flow in India. Most of those who have seen it during visits to Leh have done so in summer for the obvious reason that it gets a bit chilly at other times. A great pity, because the Indus in winter is an experience! It is a solid block of ice in the Changthang, where it enters India, traversing through a wide snow-filled valley that gradually narrows as it enters Kargil district. The ice recedes to the sides, with deep blue water in the middle, as the river flows along villages such as Dharsiks and Garkon – famous for their pure Aryan inhabitants (and beautiful women) – before going on into Pakistan at Batalik. The Dak Bungalow at Dharsiks is located up the mountain to provide a stunning view of the river. Winter is also a time when wolves and snow leopards come lower for their prey, and the chances of seeing them increases significantly. I was here leading a research team in December 1997 and February 1998.

Two: The Golden Temple at Night – Amritsar, Punjab

A visit to the Golden Temple at any time is an experience, even for the hardcore atheist like me, providing a sense of inner calm and peace in this tumultuous world. At night, when it is lit up, it is all that and more – a sight to behold that is difficult to describe in words. I visited with the family in 2007.

Three: Nancowry Harbour – The Central Nicobars, A&N Islands

This is a tough place to reach for remoteness and bureaucratic formalities, even by the standards of this listing, but if you do, the view of Nancowry Harbour from Komorta Island will make the hassle worthwhile. The harbour is famous as the location of the INS Vikrant during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. See it from the Komorta PWD Bungalow atop the hill, especially at night with the lights on, and you are in for a visual treat. I was on tsunami relief duty in the nearby island of Kachal in January 2005, and made the occasional journey to Komorta for a bit of R&R and, finally, to catch a ship back to Port Blair.

Four: Sunrise at Sangau – Lawngtlai, Mizoram

Sangau falls in the Lai Autonomous Council area in the south east of Mizoram, about a day’s drive from the state capital Aizawl. From here, one can see Mizoram’s highest mountain, Phawngpui. Seen early morning, with a rising sun and a dash of mist and cloud, and it is a sight to behold. I was here with my friend PL Liandinga in January 2008, enquiring into famine.

Five: The Flamingos at Chhaari Dhaand – Kutch, Gujarat

This is a huge water body north of Bhuj that I visited in December 2006 – in the aftermath of a good monsoon, with large colonies of birds to see, including the famous pink flamingos out in all their majesty. This is in the middle of nowhere, there are no roads or anything and therefore a vehicle that can perform off the road and a guide who knows the way are necessities. The family spent a day to remember, making our way slowly around the water body checking out the birds. The flamingos? To quote the kids – Awesome!

Six: The Brahmaputra in Spate – Jorhat, Assam

Getting to Majuli, a river island in the Brahmaputra, is quite a task at the best of times. Making the crossing from Jorhat when the river is in spate is an experience. The river is like an ocean, with a width that goes up to 17 km. There is little pollution upstream, no industries of any sort, and one can see river dolphin frolicking around. And the currents are something – my ferry once missed the jetty, and it took half an hour to turn it around and re-dock. My work took me to Majuli Island through 1996 and the first half of 1997.

Seven: The Sky from Sheruvala Basti – Bikaner, Rajasthan

This remote desert village, reachable only by a 15 km journey on sand dunes from the nearest road head, provides a sunrise, sunset and night sky that is worth seeing around the year. I had the pleasure of working here in 1991-92.

Eight: Tso Moriri Lake – Ladakh, J&K

This huge blue water lake nestles at about 14,000 feet in the Himalayas, surrounded on all sides by snow clad mountains and desert. I once journeyed from Leh to Spiti in 1995, which included walking about 30 km along the lake and camping overnight at Korzok and Kyangdom. What can I say? When I was tired, I just had to look at the lake and feel rejuvenated. And one of those nights had a full moon whose light reflected in twinkles off the water and off the mountain snow. A must see!

Nine: A Tiger in the Wild – Corbett, Uttarakhand

A tiger in the wild is a phenomenal sight. Corbett National Park is not one of those sanctuaries in which they pack the tigers in and where you are almost guaranteed a sighting – one has to be really lucky to see one here. My vehicle lagged behind the safari convoy one visit with the family in 2002, and the guide sort of got a whiff in the air that there was a tiger in the vicinity. We waited and waited and sure enough, there was one in the foliage – waiting for the sun to get lower before hitting on the deer in the grasslands a little below. The sight, combined with that hint of fear in the air, was something else!

Ten: Ambedkar Stadium when India is Playing – Delhi

I have had the pleasure of watching football at some well-known stadiums (including The Emirates and Stamford Bridge) but there is something about that little one in my own hometown that merits a mention in this list. It is unremarkable on normal matchdays, a little less so when a Punjabi team plays a Bengali one, but when India is playing, it transforms itself into something akin to the Brahmaputra in spate (see above). The atmosphere injects something into the national team, which has taken on and beaten much higher ranked opponents here, which in turn feeds into the atmosphere. The crowd is diverse, with the traditional football lovers from Daryaganj mixing with newer English-speaking types and the Bengalis, Punjabis and Malayalis. No wonder Bon Houghton insists on playing the Nehru Cup here.