Manas Trip Report

December 2009

Early in the morning left for a watch tower not far from the camp but got stopped in track by the sight of a lone Makhana. On close examination through bino’s we could also see that he is in Musth. So decided to beat an early exit from the area.

Just before reaching the camp we stopped at a local rice tillers shop to see how raw rice is tilled to make it edible. This was very unusual for most of the group members as they had never seen anything like this before.

Returned back to the camp for breakfast and decided to visit a family, in the village close to camp, who are an expert in rearing silk worms and weaving fabric which is quite rare and valued.

Later left to visit the family our local chief naturalist. His village is not far from the camp and is quite close to Bhutan border. A demo of making of rice wine was arranged by the family members and soon each member was offered a glass of freshly brewed rice wine.
We also tasted for the first time wine made from banana. Quite an enjoyable experience.

This day being Friday was also the day of local market which happens once a week and people from Bhutan also come here to but items and grocery for day to day use. So a halt at the market was must for everyone.

Also visited a house in the village to see a local girl weaving the cloth on traditional loom.

Returned back to the camp as the local tribal council had made arrangements to hold a traditional welcome dance for the group members. A troop of local tribal girls in their colorful attire accompanied by musicians performed couple of dance forms which were part of the local tribal folklore.



The evening culminated with a fusion of East and West playing for each. One of the group member, a keen Violinist, was quite intrigued by the string instrument of local musician and wanted to try his hand on it. So first they played for each other trying to copy other’s tune and later on exchanged the instrument and tried paying on it. It was quite an interesting affair for all present including the President of the Local Council. The boys at the camp also tried their hand on playing the Violin.