Dibru Saikhowa

It was nearly 6 years back when I was in Delhi that I saw a few pictures of Dibru Saikhowa in one of my friends’ orkut album (facebook was not commonly and frequently seen in the faces of computer screens then) . The person was my husband’s friend who was from upper Assam and he had been to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park during the peak monsoon season. Before this Dibru Saikhowa was just a dot for me in the map even though I was a cartographer, churning out maps for a travel guide where I was dedicated worker.

The trees half- clad in water (like a bucolic lady attired in the traditional mekhela-chaddor in ankle deep water) drained by the tributaries of the mighty and majestic ‘only’ male river of India- the Brahmaputra was enough to send an invitation to my eyes and feet. In between I had been to north, west and south India and visited places like Ladakh, McLeod Ganj, Dalhousie, the Valley of Flowers and Hem Kund Sahib  . . . blah, blah, blah. I am an Assamese from Assam and Dibru Saikhowa is in Tinsukia district in Assam, upper Assam to be precise but I was nearest to church but farthest from God. Amen.

It was not a distant dream. I have read in The Alchemist that if one really wants something, all the powers in this universe get together to help you achieve it. Perhaps all my intrepid former colleagues- Madhu Madhavi Singh, Jasbir Sandhu Athokpam, Ragini Govind aka Phoolmati, Ankur Guha, Pradeep Thapliyal, Deshpal Dabas, Meghna, Sapan Pradhan et. al. prayers were there with me. God finally heard their prayers when I resigned from my job, a job where I was charting out something else in the latitudes and longitudes of my mind.

Tinsukia, roughly translating it from Assamese into English would be ‘one with 3 corners’ though I didn’t see any such corners while traversing the length and breadth of the town, is the nearest town where one can get down from a bus or a train. Anyone hailing from any of the three corners of India- be it west, north or south India, has this notion that north-east, particularly Assam for that matter, as a matter-of-fact, is infested with militants, mosquitoes and malaria (like Delhi and its NCR is with three-sixty degree dangerx365 and dengue). Little do they know what lies beneath the curtain. You have to come, see and feel on your own. You don’t have to believe me or my words. Trust that.

Tinsukia is the commercial hub in upper Assam and hence vehicular traffic moves at a snail’s pace (or like the internet connection at mah home). Buses to and from Guwahati, the gateway to the north-east, ply daily both during the day and at night. Travellers and tourists please note that Dispur is the administrative capital and NOT Guwahati. Dispur neighbourhood lies to the south of the city of Guwahati. Travellers and tourists also note that in Assam we don’t have rhino rides unlike horse-rides and elephant-rides neither do grooms come to the bride’s place on rhino backs!

Assam may be a far-flung state connected to mainland India through the chicken’s neck but the state is visible in both the Airway and the Railway map of India. Had it not been for the naturally rich natural oil and the green three leaves and a bud ‘chai’ (tea) the state would have appeared in the national dailies only for the deluge and the ULFA/ SULFA, the latter being the surrendered UGs. In the present decade the ratio between the two fractions has become skewed since whatever ULFA members are there, they must have become permanent citizens of our neighbouring country Bangladesh in much the same way Bangladeshi nationals have adopted Indian soil in Assam. They don’t need passport and visa to cross India and can occupy any square inch in Assam. Well, I was concentrating on connectivity, Dibrugarh is the nearest airport from Tinsukia and there are two railway stations in Tinsukia, one is the old Tinsukia station and the other one in New Tinsukia Junction. Get down in the former if your destination is Dibru Saikhowa. Once you have arrived at the airport in Dibrugarh or the railway station in Tinsukia head straightaway to Guijan Ghat. The road is all straight except a few pot-holes (and if you are pot-bellied the ride to Guijan Ghat will be a fine balance. If nothing else at least your belly will shake like an earthquake tremor as mine did). You will cross a few hotels and resorts (provided you don’t have any relatives anywhere in the vicinity) but I won’t recommend you in staying there. If you are the adventurous type (like me) and is not scared of water (unlike me) and love to be in the lap of nature (100 % like my scanned copy) then dash towards Dibru Saikhowa Boat Safari  (Defining Comfort in Adventure Travel  as the leaflet reads) haboured at Guijan Ghat. The boat is in its infancy stage, only one and half months young so it is still clean (including the loo, ladies).

Just to update you about the packages- like Tinsukia with the three corners, the boat safari also provides 3, nothing more and nothing less than that.

“Sun Light Package- as the name suggests duration is between sunlight to sundown 9 am to 4 pm, fooding- breakfast, lunch evening tea & coffee, snacks (fish fry, pakora etc.). The major attractions are dolphin Point, fishing. Angling, beach sports, migratory birds watching (winters), tariff Rs. 1000/- per person, for children between 6-12 years it is Rs. 500/- Minimum 10 persons and 40 % discount for students.

Moonbeam Package- duration 6 pm to 7 am, fooding- welcome snacks, evening tea & coffee, snacks (local fish fry, pakora etc, dinner, farewell breakfast, attraction- night fishing, bonfire, night view of Dibru Saikhowa NP, tariff- Rs. 1000/- per person, children 6-12 years Rs. 500/- (minimum 10 persons) and 40% discount for students.

Star Package-Duration 2 days, fooding- breakfast, lunch, evening tea and coffee, snacks, dinner (speciality: traditional fish cuisine), attraction: Dolphin Point, bird watching, tracking of feral horses, beach sports, bonfire, angling, fishing, cruising through criss-cross tributaries in small boat, facility for roasting by guests, tariff: Rs. 2500/- per person, children between 6-12 years Rs. 1200/- (minimum 10 persons), 40 % discount for students.

Arranged on demand- lodging, boating, trekking, bird watching, environmental studies, birthday parties, conferences, picnic and various occasional parties.”