Truth stranger than fiction Forrest stood in sheer agony in a glade within the forest. Several hours of journey within the dense forest strand of Katarniyaghat WildLife Sanctuary had gone in vain. Trees and shrubs without any trace of any carnivore had landed his heart in utter boredom. Shorea gazed at him meditatingly as Mallotus swayed and. Tectona stared. “Strange! there is nothing strange about these patches” he said to his dear friend standing nearby. After a short pause they regained their spirits and once again resumed their journey. The conveyance raced upon the road. As the vehicle reached a certain point falling in Murtiha Range their eyes fell upon a large collection of people gathered in the middle of the road. As the vehicle stopped they alighted and concentrated upon the mass gathering. Most of them appeared to be proceeding toward some specific destination. They tried to know about the same through conversation with some of them. Not one of them seemed to have the time to convey anything. Soon they were tempted to follow suit by moving to the place in question. An eager walk of fifteen minutes brought the two of them to a site thronged by many onlookers. They stood in several circular rows encircling a specific point. They tried to pierce it. They could succeed in doing only with much effort. The moment they reached infront of the innermost row they sighted an active duel. It was a python at loggerheads head with a wild pig. Their hearts were flabbergasted as they became as speechless as the rest of the onlookers. The game of nature lay explicit before their eyes. They drank the ecstasy with elated minds. They watched the python entangling the boar. After a certain time the pig acquired a state of lifeless surrender as the python started swallowing it. As the pig’s body went in the serpents mouth the reptile’s physique began to expand. Soon the python’s body assumed a shape akin to an inflated sack. The collection of over two hundred villagers watched the transition with deep fascination. A few of them took photographs of the rare sight. Forrest gesticulated to stranger for taking few snaps. Looking back at their wrist watches they could not believe the unnoticed passage of time. About two hours had already elapsed since their arrivals at the spot. The python took some more time to become normal. Perhaps feeling the presence of so many people it released the wild boar’s lifeless body out of its mouth. After a little pause they could observe it moving gradually back into the adjoining forest patch. All the onlookers were mum with surprise. As it disappeared into the woods the crowd dispersed. It had turned out to be an unusual evening. As night approached people began their return to their respective homes. They had within their hearts an inherent desire to narrate the entire natural action to their friends and relatives. “Well, could we believe the reality?” Forrest asked his friend. “ We have it in our minds and snaps” uttered Stranger in a strange voice. They alighted their vehicles and instructed the chauffeur to drive fast. It took them about half an hour to come out of the forest and another three hours to reach the airport. As they checked in their flights, several phases of the thrilling duel bubbled within their hearts. ‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ they murmured to themselves while adjusting their bodies over their seats with seatbelts at the take-off. Their eyes closed gradually as their minds meditated with fascinations of reality. T.P.DUBEY I.F.S. Deputy Conservator of Forests UPPFMPAP, Lucknow.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:21:19 +0000