This is the story of a tea planter who initiated a bout with nature and didn’t expect that the impact of his actions would last a lifetime! Duklingia Tea Estate is a beautiful estate situated in the Upper Assam’s district of Jorhat. It has an undulating terrain sprawling over a few hundred hectares surrounded by the famous Gibbon Forest on one side and just a few sleepy villages on the other. Living in harmony with nature is a way of life for a tea planter, sharing their space most commonly with the leopards, black panthers, pythons and the elephant just to name a few. Though the gibbons can usually only be spotted a little deeper into the wilderness, mutual respect is the prerequisite here for a peaceful dwelling. However, some have missed that bus, leaving a legacy of nature’s vengeance behind them.
The story goes back in time to some thirty years ago. An Assistant Manager, chota sahib, as they are popularly addressed in the tea estates was allowed this cute bungalow on the outer division of the estate which was built very close to the elephant corridor (the pathway used to get from one place to another by the elephants). As any good neighbor would, the elephants also loved to pay a visit to the occupants every once in a while. The lovely fragrances emanating from the kitchen hearth were enough to lure them in each time.
Humans, by nature, love to play god with nature; but most of the time regret these choices later. Now, this chota sahib thought of a very clever way, or so he thought, to keep these majestic animals at bay and ordered for bamboo spikes to be made and fixed all over the periphery of the house. Did he succeed at keeping the elephants away? Well yes, for the first night he did!
One evening, as the elephants came to visit, the spikes pierced the soles of their feet hard; but, it was their souls that must have been hurt the most! They quickly left that night but only to come back with a vengeance soon after!
Then the hunt began…
First, the elephants searched for the person who made the spikes (they could smell his scent). They barged into his humble dwelling and killed him, amazingly they did not even touch any of the other family members lying next to him. “Justice of Nature” is what the laborers believed. By what and who…the elephants! Who was the bigger beast here, man or elephant? I leave it for you to decide.
Now to present day, it’s been, as I said, almost thirty years and they still come back looking for that same chota sahib who planted spikes around his bungalow! When the bungalow is unoccupied the elephants just pass by; but the moment someone comes to live there the visits begin. The elephants return to that bungalow to settle their score, one last time, or so they believe!
The other night was one such night! Hell hath no fury like an elephant with his foot spiked or his senses pierced. The elephants came to that same small bungalow, they charged, they searched, and they destroyed. They cried, their trumpets sounded tearing the night skies apart hunting frantically for their man, the tea planter.
Sixteen, yes 16, elephants surrounded the small bungalow. Each one trying to bring down the master bedroom thinking they would find him there. The mattresses were torn apart, the blanket were in shreds and both the wall and the windows came down as quickly as a stack of cards. The current chota sahib, showing great presence of mind turned off the lights. The darkness was his and his two house helpers safe haven. After a few grueling hours, a few good men were successful in distracting the angry herd away from the bungalow to the other side of the grounds making a stealthy rescue possible. The chota sahib and his two bungalow servants were rescued just in time. It was indeed a miraculous escape. Thank God for those small mercies, but what a night we had!
An elephant’s memory never forgets so you better be good!