What have we done !

The jipsy moved briskly through the uneven terrain , a road that was carved out amidst the forest that was now a national park. We were entering the Agratoli range of the park . I sat there, looking at the dense forest around,  occasionally jolted by the impact of the vehicle on the bumpy , irregular track . I was constantly looking through the glass , hoping to see the majestic creature this place was famous for  - One horned rhinoceros .
Lakhi da ( elder brother in assamese )  slowed down the jipsy to halt .
" Gaur asse... " ( There is a wild Buffalo )  , Lakhi da exclaimed .

And in a minute a wild Buffalo emerged out of bushes and passed our vehicle with only few feet to spare . It crossed the road and moved to the other side of it , towards the beel .

" Its time for them to get back after the day out along the beel "  , said lakhi da.  Lakhi da has been driving in the park for years now . He would often sing assamese songs to entertain us on way .  " Chol Gori lei jabo tuke mur gaon ... "  being his favorite . But today he looked serious , probably because he had to be careful inside the park .

Soon more wild buffaloes followed . A few stopped to give a confused glance to us with tilted heads . They were used to seeing the vehicles on road.The tourists often passed their way . We stopped and they moved on . Once the way was cleared , we moved ahead .

We were close to the watch tower now .

Once there, we climbed up the steps to have a wide view of the park and spot some animals . Facing the watch tower was a large beel  , beyond which we could see grasslands and plains . Dense forests followed the same .  Its was time for the rhinos and elephants to have a final dip in the waters before the sundown .

Watching them through the lens of my binoculars , I saw the spectacular animal trudging along the waters. Probably he was done with the days job of wallowing in mud and water and was ready to recede back to the forests . The 'tick bird' rode on top of the rhino , being accepted by the giant as a symbiotic partner . 

On the far end view , a herd of elephants made their way to the tall grass called the elephant grass , and into the dense forest .

A pod of pelicans flew past the beel .  The view was serene . The creatures looked in harmony with nature . I could sit back there for hours , looking at the seemingly untouched wilderness.

'This was how it was suppose to be ! ' , I thought .

...Didi, darwaza kholo...

It was 4 in the evening . Shobha didi had come to clean up my room . She had left assam years back and had come to Delhi to earn livelihood .She would work in more that 10 houses a day to make her ends meet . Obviously, she was always in hurry .

I realised I was late for the class. The dream had taken me back to the days when life was different . The place that had no traffic , no heavy vehicle noise  , no pollution  , no rush , no crowd . There was  peace and harmony . That was the creation in its pristine form .

Soon I got ready , moved down the  stairs and to lane leading to the main road. As I moved , the water from the ACs dropped on my head.  One of those on the ground floor blew hot air  on the lock of hair on my forehead , spoiling the way I pinned them .

On reaching the main road , I sensed a foul smell . Oh yes !! Delhi municipal corporation was on strike . It had dumped the garbage on roads. The view was appalling .

I had forgotten to tie scarf today in hurry . PM 2.5 would soon invade my lungs . We didnt even have to smoke a cigar here. It all came so naturally.I could see some using the masks to reduce exposure to deadly pollution .I was too lazy to get one .I had tried to buy it from one of the stores the other day , but the guy increased the price with increase in the reported PM 2.5 level . " Chuck it " I thought . Let the pollution reduce a bit , it will  become cheaper .

I hurried towards the class bumping on some fellow pedestrians . I moved past the local park .That was the only green patch in the area nearby. I stopped and looked at those sitting in the park . They seemed to enjoy the open space and little greenery that was left in the city.

 I was reminded of the dream.

 'What have we done ... !'  , I thought .

(Images are for illustration purpose only )