Fatal photography : Man mauled to death by tigers in zoo

This is a true story about which many of which might have read in leading India dailies. One Jaiprakash Bezbaruah, aged 50, was killed by two tigers at the Guwahati zoo on 18th Dec, 2007. But I have collected some photos published in local dailies from Guwahati which will make you feel how horrific was the incident.

This is how it took place : Jaipraksh, who hails from another town, came for a visit of the zoo at Guwahati with his family on the fateful day. Not heeding to warnings, he tried to photograph two tigers in a cage by putting his hand inside the cage, may be in an attempt to get a good shot. That urge for good shot proved fatal for him. One of the tiger attacked so swiftly that he could not even pull his hand out. The tiger cuaght his arm and pulled him towards the cage. The other tiger in the cage also joined soon. They even punched on the face of the hepless victim, resting on the grills of the cage. Imagine all this took place in front of his wife and two young sons. The guards and other visitors tried to make the tigers leave his hand by using sticks. You can see the sticks on the photo at top.f you look closely, you can see both the tigers. But the tigers did not relent till they chopped his hand off at its root. Then they feasted on the hand. Jaipraksh fell down unconscious by the time the tigers left him. He probably have died by then because of excessive bleeding, and may be because the tigers pounced on his face as well. He was declared brought dead in hospital. Ironically, these tigers were ot man eaters. They were breeded in some place at Karnataka. This has perplexed the zoo authorities as well. One should know that most tigers in zoos are man eaters. If a tiger turns man eaters, attempt is made to catch it. They are killed only if repeated attempt to catch them fails. If cought successfully, they are sent to the zoos.

This is a big lesson for all of us. We often tend to get too close for a better view of animals in zoo thinking that caged animal can not do anything. But if your death is imminent, anything can happen.

Living through an earthquake prediction

3000 kms of flying, 500 kms of driving and facing an earthquake prediction – that summed up my last week. I was off to a distant place from Delhi, but very close to my hometown. Sometimes you get opportunities to mix with official work with personal chores.

After flying 1500 km east to Guwahati, I was received by my mother at the airport. On our way home, she told me that a big earthquake has been predicted to occur the day after in Assam. An exact prediction of an earthquake seems esoteric. The prediction went a bit far giving time of the quake as 8:21 am on 8^th Sept, 2006 with epicentre being some 16km of Dibrugarh city. The fact that there have been four tremors in last one month or so has made people take this warning seriously. It was taken so seriously that mock safety drills have conducted by local agencies and NGOs across the state. My mother has also kept a packet ready of handy things like torchlight, water bottle, a shawl, etc. that may be required in case of quake. Even most schools decided to remain closed on the day, the 8^th of September. The prediction has been made on the basis of cosmic positions of some planets by a geologist named N Venkatanathan, sitting far away in Chennai. Some rebutted the claim as an earthquake can never be predicted so accurately. The ones who had abundant time to spend in leisure waited for the clock stuck 8:21, then 22, 23….finally 9, 10... But there was no sign of quake. Next day, people started crying for the head of the scientist and asked for his arrest for creating a panic situation. During all these I was somewhere on the highway as I had no such time to spare.

I drove to Jorhat next day, some 300km to the east of Guwahati. The night before I departed from Delhi, I had watched a programme in National Geographic channel on the 1991 cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in Philippines. It was a stark realization of the horror the Mother Nature can unleash for all the pain we have given her. On my way I thought about the possible earthquake. Assam sits on an active seismic belt, but fortunately we are not sitting on a volcano. We are used to small tremors from time to time. But in the last 35 years I have been on this earth, there has been only one major quake in Assam. It was probably in 1987. The quake came in the morning at around 7am. We all ran out as the house started shaking. But outside the whole world was shaking, the trees, and the light poles. The shaking becomes more vigorous as time passed. I remember holding on to a tube well to prevent from falling down. It tremors lasted for about 20 secs. Later we came to know that the intensity was about 7 in the Richter scale. Fortunately, there was no major damage, though a few cracks here and there were reported. The traditional construction in Assam makes houses earthquake resistant. Some of the subsequent devastating earthquakes in other places of India were of lesser magnitude. The rest of the day was fun for us, as many aftershocks hit us and we kept running shouting the traditional Hari Bol, Hari Bol ( a way to call God to spare him).

The last major earthquake occurred in Assam in 1950. In fact according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) info page, this was the biggest earthquake in the world since the introduction of seismological monitoring stations. Forgive them for the spelling mistakes in names of places. The details of this quake is recorded as : 1950 Aug. 15, India, Assam, 1,530 deaths, magnitude 8.7. It had a devastating effect on the entire North East which changed many landscapes. The scientist who made the prediction this time claimed that on 8^th Sept, 2006 the planetary positions would be same as that of the day in 1950. But mother nature proved that her actions can not be entirely predicted. But the fall out of the prediction is that, many people are now aware of the measures to be undertaken during a quake. The preparedness is good as if not today, some day a quake will hit us. The region is lying dormant for last 20 years. Mt. Pinatubo had no history of eruption in the previous 500 years before it erupted like a sleeping demon in 1991.

Bloggers meet at Guwahati on 4th August, 2006

A bloggers meet is being organised at Guwahati, Assam on 4th August, 2006. All fellow bloggers who will be in and around Guwahati can avail this opportunity to meet new peoiple and make friends. I have received the invitation as I was a chance attendee in the last meet on 11th June, 2006. But this time I will not be able to make it. Let this information be flowed to all you know who will be around Guwahati in the coming week. This they proposes a bigger meet, probably with a self sponsored dinner. My best wishes for the event.

One can confirm his participation by mailing to sivasankar.iitg@gmail.com .

Guwahati in 2006 vis-a-vis 2005

My first post was probably an article named ‘Natun Guwahati’ writing about the changing landscape of Guwahati in 2004. Well, for those who belongs to Guwahati and who are not been lucky enough to visit the place in last few months here are some updates. 3 new flyovers are being constructed – at Bhangagarh and Six Mile on the GS Road and at Basistha Chariali at NH Bypass. Fortunately the contracts are supposed to have been awarded to reputed builders (not to sulfas). Work has already started at Bhangagarh and Six Mile. In fact the Bhangarah chariali is witnessing a steady traffic jam in the busy hours. The vehicular traffic has really burgeoned in Guwahati. The GS Road, which looked so wide once, has now started appearing congested. The registration numbers in Guwahati has almost exhausted AS-01-Z series. People had started guessing as to what will be next --- will be AS-01A-A or will be it AS-01-AA?

But the major change I had observed was the widening of the GNB Road. I went to Goswami Service to attend the Blogger’s Meet at TRAFFIK. I was surprised to find a real wide road that is almost twice that of the old road. This has been a real bottleneck and it is good that this has finally been widened.

On my way to Nagaon, I could also see that the work on four laning of highways linking all state capitals of NE states had started. Reputed construction companies like Madhucon Projects had started working. But the sad part of this is that all the age old trees along the highways are getting cut. This will have a huge impact on the environment. The classic view of driving through canopies of trees will be a thing of the past soon. Even if new trees are planted it will take another 15 / 20 years to grow and provide a green cover. Anyway, changes that happen for a better future should always be welcomed.

Himanta Bishwa Sharma is now the minister handling GMDA. Taking cue from Delhi, he has also started action against illegal constructions in Guwahati. The list has almost all well known buildings in Guwahati. The real intent of this drive is not known as I am certain that he certainly is not a philanthropist. But it is required in some cases. It is easy to understand the corruption and malpractices of GMDA / GMC as all procedures were thrown out of window in granting permission to these constructions, many of which do not even have parking facilities and visitors to these buldings create traffic jams.

So guys lets hope to see a better Guwahati next time you visit.

Bloggers Meet at Guwahati

Sunday the 11th of June, 2006 will go into the history of blogging in North East India as a milestone. A Blogger’s Meet was organised at the restaurant Traffik at Silpukhuri, Guwahati that brought together few blog enthusiasts. The meet, the first ever of its kind in the region, was the brainchild of Babul Gogoi and Dr. Jugal Kalita. Though 15 bloggers had confirmed their participation only 7 could made it to the meet. Enjoying my annual break at home, I was one of the attendees.

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Kalita and Babul had been pioneers in dissemination of news and information from Assam to all Assamese living abroad through effective use of the net. Dr. Jugal Kalita is a professor of computer science at the University of Colrado, USA. He is the soul behind the popular sites like www.assam.org, www.guwahati.com, etc. Sri Babul Gogoi had been assisting Dr. Kalita for more than a decade now. Way back in 1995 or so, the duo started a system of e-mailing news paper headlines from Assam to many Assamese living abroad. Internet was only in teething stage during those days and it was not a very powerful tool. Many of us might not have even heard of internet then. My first brush with the net was in 1998 only. Therefore, for many Assamese, the mail from Dr. Kalita was the only source of information on Assam.

The due had recently started a site for bloggers from Assam named www.bihu.in. It is slowly and steadily growing in popularity. One more domain has been registered as www.superhit.in which is proposed to be a repository of regional Indian songs (non hindi only). They are looking for songs with rights. Please contact them if you want to contribute.

Dr. Kalita told me that though the sites generate some advertising revenue, the expenses for maintaining the sites are mostly borne by him. Given the utility of the sites, seeking donations from regular users should be explored to maintain the sites. I had stumbled upon these sites sometimes back and even had a link to www.guwahati.com on my blog. It was indeed a memorable experience to meet people like Dr. Kalita and Babul. Dr. Kalita was on vacation to his hometown and so together with Babul they organized this blogger’s meet. Their effort to bring together bloggers from around Guwahati for the first time was a laudable effort. It was decided to organize a bigger get together of bloggers next year. I will look forward to it.

Bihu : A celebration of spring

14th of April is an important day in Assam. It is the New Year for the Assamese people. It is the first day of Baisakh (Bohag in Assamese) and is actually celebrated as the New Year day in various forms across many states in India. People across India celebrate the day in their own ways. In Assam, we celebrate the day as Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu. Traditionally the festivities and celebration continues for 7 days. In the recent past, this is the first time I have missed a bihu celebration. Delhi continued to be hot and dry in contrast to the refreshing spring we were used to.

Rongali bihu is the celebration of spring. Rains, freshly sprouted grass, fresh verdant green all around, blooming flowers and the cacophony of birds, specially the cuckoo --- all heralds’ arrival of spring. This coupled with the pleasant weather that prevails during this time of the year makes working and moving around very comfortable. Bihu unites all the people cutting across the threads of cast, creed, tribes and religion. Rongali means joy and fun. The Bihu dance symbolizes this spirit of celebration. When one think of Assam, two things comes to the mind –one is the Bihu dance and the second is the one horned rhinoceros. They symbolize Assam. I am putting up a photo of Bihu dance performance, which incidentally is quite old. The dance is often performed in groups where there are both male and female participate. The performance traditionally starts with drum (called dhols) performers (called dhulia) and then the female dancers enters the scene. The performance ends with a majestic drum performance. Try to visit Assam during the Rongali Bihu celebrations. That is between second and third week of April. You can combine this with a visit to Kaziranga. The locals there say that the week prior to bihu in April is the best time to visit the park. The fresh grasses bring out more animals to the open grazing lands. The park closes for tourists around 3rd week of April as rains gets harder.

Natun Guwahati

Guwahati landscape has changed drastically over the last few years. First there were three flyovers and now a expressway. On my last visit to my home sweet home, I proceeded on the pilgrimage of Doul Govinda in the new Maruti 800 my mother had purchased for such trips when we visit home once a year. From Beltola - Survey, I took the newly built 4 lane National Highway from Basistha Chariali. Applied pressure on the accelerator got increased with every passing second and the vehicle zoomed as much its engine permitted. Soon it reached 80 plus kmph. I missed the power and the fifth gear of my Wagon R. Did you ever thought of getting a road in Guwahati where you can drive at 80 plus? It is true that we have one now in our city. Only irritant were the rickshaws which keeps coming to you on your side. Unable or not willing to cross the road where it is possible, they just turn on the side they ply. There is no police to stop them. I felt like crushing these buggers who ply violating riles of the road with a bulldozer. Other danger was that many Guwahatians are still not aware of lane driving. They will come close to you and honk at you for side rather than overtaking you by changing lane.

City is expanding to this side because of this expressway. Earlier the area beyond Lakhara had only the Balaji Temple. Now there are few schools including the DPS which has come up. The ISBT will also be ready soon. Real Estate prices have also soared. We had purchased a plot for about 25K a katha around 1998. Prices have gone to anything above 1.5 lakh a katha here.

Moving ahead on the road, I had reached the Jalukbari chariali. Jalukbari chariali ? Where has it gone -- the old Jalukbari chariali ? The place has changed totally. A big traffic round-about has replaced the old charilai -- a place we frequented during our university days. It now actually says --Welcome to Guwahati!

Few other roads have also undergone drastic changes. Beltola road from Last gate to Basistha Chariali is now 100 feet wide. Many shops and buildings close to the main road had to undergo alterations. I do not know whether they got any compensation. Similarly, the narrow Hatigaon road behind the MLA Hostel at Dispur, which used to be totally covered by rickshaws, is now a four lane road with dividers. A traffic roundabout has been put in place at the point where this road starts behind the MLA hostel. There was a daily market near the ASEB office which is no more. But there still is the GNB Road, the same old narrow GNB Road where you will invariably meet traffic jam anytime of the day. It can not take the ever burgeoning traffic of Guwahati. I heard that this time concrete steps have been taken to widen this road.

Traffic in Guwahati is increasing furiously fast. Increase in disposable income had resulted in almost everyone getting a vehicle. When I purchased my Wagon R in end Dec,2002, it got one of the last 100 numbers of AS-01-N series. The new car we had purchased in first week of April, 2005 got a 2000 series number in As-01-V. That is more than 62K vehicle have been added to Guwahati in less than two and half years time.

There were almost nil power cuts during my entire stay during the bihu. Weather was nice. But bihu this time was thandaa. But the picture halls were playing outdated movies. I was told that after the ULFA dictat on banning screening of hindi movies, they carried out a blast in Vandana cinema hall. As such, people are scared to go for movies at cinema halls. Suffering losses, they are forced to run outdated movies.

Overall, I felt nice going home after a year. Hope, facilities in Guwahati improves further.