The Loktak Lake, Manipur

The Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in North East India located 50 Kms from Imphal, in the State of Manipur,  famed for the shimmering blue water, labyrinthine boat routes, colourful water plants and the enigmatic phumdis.

Phumdis is an accrual of decay of organic garbage, soil particles thickened into a assorted mix of vegetation, soil and organic matter. During the rainy season the phumdis floats on the water and in the dry season it sinks to the bottom, with the roots deriving its nutrients from the soil, thereby ensuring survival of the biomass. 

However with the installation of the Loktak Hydroelectric Project the water levels remain high all around the year.  This  has created  disturbance in  the feeding of nutrients on lake bottom by the phumdis and hence lead to a loss of biomass and thinning of the islands with each passing year. In the process  two ecological systems have formed in the Loktak Lake , one, the body of open water covering one-third of the area and the other, the phumbi covering the remaining two-third. 

The lake is one of the most intriguing and picturesque eco systems if there ever was one. The length is 35 KM, the breadth of 13 KM, average depth of 2.7 metres and surface area of 287 sq KM. It plays an important role in providing ecological and economic security to the region and closely related with the lives of people in Manipur both socially and culturally. The water body has a  rich in biodiversity and has been designated as Wetland of International importance under Ramsar Convention in 1990. It serves as a source of water for hydro power generation, irrigation and drinking water. The Loktak Lake  is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live not only in the surrounding areas but also on the phumbis alias phumshongs. The name is derived from Lok “Stream” Tak “end” . The five major rivers of Manipur i.e Manipur river, the Iril, the Thoubal,the Sekmai and the Khuga with a combined catchment area of 7000 sq Km form the main source of water for the Loktak Lake. The ungamed channel or the Thai Barrage is its only outlet.

Fish is a staple diet in Manipur and indigenous fishing methods like Chinese fishing nets,

Longthrai net fishing, electro fishing etc. The most interesting is the indigenous fishing method known as the Azhaphum fishing, a unique age old traditional practice of fishing using phumdi. The Loktak Lake fisherman cut and drift chunks of phumdi fixed to the lake bottom using bamboo poles. An enclosure is built around the phumdi using poles and grass at level higher than the lake water to trap fish inside. This traditional knowledge of fixing phumdi using bamboo poles has been successfully applied in many of the management efforts of the park.

The lake had been inhabited by generations of the community of fisherman who live in traditional huts that precariously stand on bamboo stilts placed on the phumdis in the middle of the water body. Canoes were the only form of transport from the shore to the phumshong. Human activity had severe effects on the eco system of the lake.  A lot has changed over the years since the Loktak Lake (Protection) Act 2006 was introduced by the State authorities in order to conserve the lake and develop the area for tourism.      

The first sight of the Loktak lake was breathtaking, where everything and everyone that was beside this impressive body of water seems to fall into the background. The panoramic view of the lake was mesmerizing and spellbound as we sat hypnotized for a very long time letting our senses absorb the beautiful environs.  The water was crystal clear and upon that floated the phumdis as the winds shifted them, some floating together and some in isolation. A number of fishing canoes could be sighted, with fishermen calm and collective awaiting their next catch.  A lasting desire remained to experience  a night stay in one of the phumshong as it drifts gently with the wind tipping over the lake.  

The Sendra Island Tourist Home with an attached cafeteria, situated in the middle of the lake offers a stunning view of the lake, its rich plant and avian life. The southern part of the lake form the world’s only floating sanctuary the Keibul Lamjao National Park which is as fascinating as the Loktak lake. 

North East India's Commonwealth War Cemeteries - A tribute to the brave.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had laid out its values and aims a hundred years ago i.e 1917 to ensure that the 1.7 million people who had died in the two world wars will never be forgotten. The CWGC commemorate the war dead by building and maintaining the cemeteries and memories to preservation of the records.

The CWGC owes its existence to the vision and determination of Sir Fabian Ware, support and recognition of the British Royals, designed and architect by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Reginald Blomfield with Rudyard Kipling as literary advisor for advising on inscriptions.

By preserving the memory of the dead with simple dignity and true equality irrespective of military or civil rank, race and creed,   the Commission hopes to encourage future generation to remember the sacrifice made by so many.

Today the Commission cares for cemeteries and memorials in 154 countries and the values and aims are as relevant as they were a hundred years ago.The commission operates through the financial support of the member states United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand, India and South Africa.

India is a home to many of the war cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commissions and incidentally four of them are located in the North Eastern part of India.

Kohima War Cemetery is a memorial dedicated to the soldiers of the 2^nd Division of the Allied Forces who died in the second  world war in April 1944. It is located in the city of Kohima, the capital of the Indian State of Nagaland. The cemetery is built in the same place where the Japanese 15^th Army attacked the British forces with an intent to prevent an attack on Burma by the English. The battle was fought fiercely resulting  in heavy casualties on both sides. In 2013 the British National Army Museum voted, based on a national survey  the Battle of Kohima and Imphal  as Britain’s greatest battle ever.

The cemetery consisting of 1420 burials of the Second World War, 1082 English, 330 Indian 3 Australians and 5 Canadian is built in peaceful surroundings with well manicured lawns in which roses bloom. The cemetery has been designed along a sloping ground consisting a series of terraces. These terraces contain stone markers distinctly visible with a white wash embedded with bronze plaques carrying the name of each Commonwealth soldier who died in the Kohima battlefield.

There are two memorial crosses, one at the upper end and other at the lower end of the cemetery. The upper memorial commemorates the name of the 917 Indian soldiers consisting of Sikh and Hindu soldiers who were part of the British Indian Army were cremated as per their religious rites.

The epitaph inscribed on the memorial reads :

“ Here around the tennis court of the Deputy Commissioner, lie men who fought in the battle of Kohima in which they and their comrades finally halted the invasion of India by the forces of Japan in April 1944”

The lower end memorial is dedicated to the 2^nd Division of the British Army. The epitaph titled Kohima Epitaph reads “ When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today”, a world famous verse attributed  to John Maxwell and thought to have inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Spartans who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC .
           

During second world war the Japanese Army occupied Burma for defeating the Commonwealth forces. Burma became a launching pad to attack Manipur and Assam so as to contain the Chinese air operations across the Himalayas. The British knowing the strategic position of Imphal formed the 23^rd Indian Division to counter the attack of the Japanese.

Japan attacked Manipur in the spring of April 1944 and laid siege over Imphal for three months with the battle ending in June 1944 leaving thousands of soldiers dead from both sides.

Earl Lord Mountbatten described the battle fought in Imphal and Kohima as “ probably one of the greatest battle in history”.

In memory, the Imphal war cemetery was built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission located in Deulahland, 10 KM from the Imphal Airport. There are 1600 commonwealth burials consisting of 1300 English, 10 Canadians, 5 Americans, 220 Indians, 40 East Africans, 10 West Africans and 10 Burmese. Originally the Imphal War Cemetery was a burial site for 950 soldiers who died in the battle. Additionally the Army Graves Service brought in graves from other burial sites.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has also built war cemetery near the Oil Township of Digboi in the Indian State of Assam mainly for burial from the hospitals or graves from Panitola, Jorhat, Marghetia, Tinsukia and Ledo where permanent maintenance of graves could not be assured. The US Military at Shinguvoiyang in Burma also has its contribution of graves. 

The burials at the Digboi war cemetery consists of 197 from commonwealth countries, one Italian one American and one Belgian buried during the second world war.

The war cemetery nestled in the foothills of Nabagarha, Silphukhuri, Guwahati in the Indian State of Assam is another cemetery built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for burials mainly brought from various military hospitals in the area.

Presently burials are for 486 Commonwealth servicemen, 24 Chinese war graves, 25 unidentified and 2 non war graves. Guwahati was the only commonwealth cemetery till 2012 that had graves of Japanese soldiers, the victors and the vanquished laying side by side in harmony. The eleven graves of Japanese were exhumed in 2012 and the remains flown to Japan for a formal burial in their native country.

The historic sites are visited by locals , tourists and war veterans to pay homage to the brave and indeed is a lasting tribute to these brave men who gave their lives so distant from their homeland. 

Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur - The world's floating sanctuary

Floating islands exists on six of the seven continents of the world and even in the oceans between them. The floating islands are artificial, like the one in Lake Titcaca in Bolivia or natural, like the one in the State of Manipur, India, The Keibul Lamjao National Park  

There is a distant possibility of portions of solid earth on which we stand, to float on the surface of a water body,  but Phumdis  a series of floating islands created by an accrual of organic garbage and biomass with soil particles that have been thickened into a heterogeneous masses of vegetation, soil and organic matter in different stages of decay can even take a load of a house. It is an association of more than 150 species of aquatic semi aquatic and even terrestrial vegetation. It is initiated with floating aquatic plant biomass and with gradual succession stages allowing congenial condition for various species to colonise the existing biomass thereby increasing the thickness at every stage.   

The largest single mass of Phumdi  is in the south eastern part of the famed Loktak lake, in the State of Manipur, India covering 26 sq M of the 40 sqKm area constituting the world’s largest floating park , The Keibul Lamjao National Park. The genesis of the park, according to popular believe  is that during a forest fire, wild animals especially tigers and leopards from neighbouring hills took shelter in the grass meadows of the area and henceforth this area came to be known as Keibul Lamjao, "Kei" means Tiger "bul" means gather, "Lamjao" means vast land.    The park has a rich amalgam of aquatic, wetland and terrestrial ecosystem and conditions  ideal to preserve the natural refuge of endangered Manipur Eid’s deer or Sangai or the dancing deer. The thickness of the Phumdis can go up tp 3 M and above. However a minimum thickness of 0.75 M is required for a Sangai to walk over safely. The Sangai is  listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.The brow antlered deer was first discovered in Manipur in 1839, reported an extinct species in 1951 and rediscovered in Keibul Lamjao Park area by the environmentalist and photographer E P Gee.   This necessitated declaring the reserve park area as a national park to protect and conserve the deer.  The park was initially declared a sanctuary in 1966 and subsequently declared a national park in 1977.

The park is 53 Km from Imphal located near Moirang. Sangai is the state animal of Manipur and as its hooves are adapted to walk on the phumdis, a primary reason for the park to be a natural refuge and habitat of the endangered species.   It is a pride of place in the folklore and culture of the Manipuri State and is the state animal of Manipur. From a small herd of 14 deer in 1975 it has risen to 260 as per latest wildlife census conducted in April 2016.

 During the period of monsoon the phumdis floats on the water and during the dry periods when the water levels are low, it sinks to  the lake bottom.  It  roots derives its nutrients from the soil and again begin to float  when  the water level increases, in the process the  biomass which has enough nutrients stored in the plant roots survives. However with the installation of the Loktak Hydroelectric Project the water levels remain high all around the  year.  This  caused  disturbance in  the feeding of nutrients on lake bottom by the phumdis and hence lead to a loss of biomass and thinning of the islands with each passing year. In the process  two eco systems have formed in the Loktak Lake , one, the body of open water covering one-third of the area and the other, the phumbi covering the remaining two-third. 

Imphal, the capital of the State of Manipur is well connected by air from Guwahati, major cities of North East,  Kolkata. Delhi , Bengaluru and with the Myanmar city of Mandalay. A Air Asia flight took us from Guwahati to Imphal and we touched down on a bright sunny morning  at the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport. We drove the fifty odd kilometres on to Keibul Lamjao Sanctuary through the beautiful environs of the Manipur valley surrounded by green paddy fields, emerald green valleys and undulating blue mountains. It was indeed picturesque and we were indeed mesmerized by the beauty of nature and its exotic landscape. Mother Nature has been extra generous in her beauty and has been rightly named Manipur meaning " The land of Jewels".

An hour and a half drive brought us to the gates of Keibul Lamjao sanctuary. We were fortunate enough to be housed in the Forest inspection bungalow, courtesy the Forest Deaprtment of Manipur, inside the sanctuary. With the local  cuisine for lunch under preparation in the kitchen, we went off to the view point to sight the Sangai. It was heartening to note that adequate infrastructure has been created for the tourist and nature lovers and tourism in Manipur will not remain any more a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Having done our recce, we went back to the Forest Guest house for a sumptuous lunch of Manipuri dishes. 

The best time to visit the park is early in the morning or at the time of sun down when the Sangai deer comes out to feed in herds. Taking the clue, we were once again back to the view point just before sunset. The Sangai deer is a very shy animal and with the slightest indication of human presence it hides in the high grassland of the sanctuary. The colour being similar to the surroundings, it can camouflage easily.   This time the Forest authorities were armed with binoculars and telescope. With the light fading, we strained our eyes to get the dancing deer in our sight. The experienced forest guards could soon sight three deer gazing in the grasslands through the binoculars. Once sighted the telescope was utilized to get the breath taking telescopic view of the near instinct majestic and beautiful Sangai deer. 

A good way to explore the park is to take a boat trip along the labyrinthine routes or a more adventurous trip is to take a walk through the park keeping in mind that the phumdi is not a firm ground. It was early at dawn the next morning we were driven to the spot where the boat along with forest guards awaited us. It was thrilling experience as the boat was rowed through the narrow lane of water, a trail  formed through the phumdis and the marshy high grassland with the first rays of the sun gelling with the glorious view.

 The Loktak Lake is interspersed with 14 hillocks of which eight are inside the Keibul Lamjao sanctuary. These hillocks adds to the unique habitat of the park. It provides ideal refuge to the animals inhabiting inside especially during the monsoons. Our  destination was to climb one of the hillocks and get a vantage position to sight the Sangai deer. 

 half an hour boat ride took us to the foot of a hillock. The climb of the hill was rather steep and it left us breathless by the time we hit the top of the hillock. It was a small price we paid, because once we reached  the top of the hillock the view of the surrounding was matchless. 

The guard got into the act in using his experience to sight the deer through his binoculars and in no time could locate a herd of deer, four in number. We spent a good hour on top of the hillock enjoying the nature at its best, watching the deer grazing, some in the marshy grasslands, a few in the grass meadows  and very reluctantly  we made our way back down the hill, on to the boat for our return journey with a feeling of contentment that we could sight one of the most endangered species of deer and that too in the world only floating sanctuary.  

The Guwahati Getaway - Nameri Sanctuary & Reserve Forest

Guwahati,  a gateway of the North East has become like any other metropolis of India, the maddening crowd, snarling traffic, the lovely Assam type bungalows been razed to build modern apartments, average road coverage of the city going down with each passing year as cars are added and no new roads in sight. Guwahatians happiness knew no bounds when it found its name among the smart city list of India but the plans are yet to take off from the drawing boards.  Pressures are mounting each passing day and the stress is slowly creeping into the otherwise laid back life of the citizens. Decades ago thoughts never came to our mind of looking for a getaway from Guwahati, but today everyone from young to old yearns for one. Here again, Guwahatians are fortunate to have a number of destinations as getaways and each one of them is truly God gifted and one of the many is Nameri Sanctuary and Reserve Forest.

Nameri National Park  is located 225 KM from Guwahati, covering area of 200 sqKM,  in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam. The Park was declared a Reserve Forest in 1978 and a sanctuary in 1985. The breath taking natural beauty and dense flora and fauna is a delight for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers. The Park is a home to more than 30 species of fauna along with substantial population of elephants tigers, clouded leopards and barking deer. It is known as the last home to the white winged wood duck with a belief that only 150 odd pairs remain of this highly endangered species.   The amazing richness of natural wealth, exotic orchids, dense evergreen forest has made this for the tourist a must visit destination in Assam.  

Jia Bhoroli River which cuts across the Nameri Forest Reserve sharing its northern border with Pakhul Wildlife Sanctuary of the State of Arunachal Pradesh. The river originates as Kameng river from the glacier lake below the snow capped Goth Chen mountains, flows through the Bhalukpong, Arunachal Pradesh and Sonitpur District in Assam as Jia Bhoroli and joins the Brahmaputra near Tezpur just east of Kolia Bhamura Setu. Several splitting channels of the river, which are fast flowing and deep,  meets downstream leading  to formation of some of the excellent spots for casting the angling line. It is the home of the endangered fish ,The Golden Mahseer, known as the tiger of the Himalayan River and the most sought after game for the anglers around the world. As the story goes, three decades back a group of anglers discovered the rich bounty in Jia Bhoroli. Frequent angling adventures lead to starting the Bhoroli Angling camp which in course of time morphed into Nameri Eco Camp. Today, hundreds of anglers from different countries around the world flock here to try their luck. The biggest catch recorded of the golden mahseer was recorded in 1997 scaled 23.5 Kg. Government of Assam is putting its best foot forward to regulate the fishing of golden mahseer, i.e the catch is to be reported and then released but clandestinely catching of the endangered fish continues in various stretched of the river.  

The Nameri Eco Camp organizes water rafting between the months of November to April. The rapid, rugged and rough water flow of the Jia Bhoroli makes its ideal for water rafting. Accommodation is in tents, thatched roof shelters and cottages, a epitome of eco living. One can go bird watching, trekking, river rafting or just relax and let the environs soak in. Nature treks are organized by forest authorities accompanied by forest guards through thick jungles and river beds. Community bonfire is the order of winter evenings. 

Permission to raft is to be obtained from the Forest department at Nameri. We were driven in four wheel drive vehicles along with  inflatable rubber dinghy upstream of River Jia Bhorali. Life jackets were provided to each one of us. The heart seems to be in the mouth as we stepped into the dinghy which started moving gingerly on the water of Jia Bhorali. It takes a bit of time for the confidence to build up on the two persons rowing the boat who otherwise are skilfull in  manoeuvring dinghy over the water.

 As time goes by, the ride becomes enjoyable, simply letting us soak in the peaceful panorama, the scenic view on both side of the river is breathtaking, every piece of land befitting to be a spot for a picnic. As we raft, we can watch the locals busy in community fishing along the banks of Jia Bhoroli. 

The boat ride took us a couple of hours and as we were about to reach our destination. We could sight the boat riding in front of us cutting across the river and docking on the banks. Our rows men followed on the same trail but I think took a sharper turn, in the process missed the target for docking the boat at the bank. Suddenly we found the boat to move precariously and move along the downstream current of the river. One of the row men step into the swollen river and attempted to steady the boat. In the meantime the people on the bank moved along the banks of Jia Bhorali, a rope was arranged, the second rows man tied the rope to the boat and the people on the bank started to pull the dinghy upstream. It was with a sigh a relief for four of us as we stepped into the banks of the river. The strong current of River Jai Bhoroli could easily take us to Tezpur to join the Brahmaputra or may be even to the ghats of Guwahati. All said and done, it was a near miss accident and we were sheer lucky to survive. 

Overall it was relaxing and a tranquil experience, an unforgettable voyage down the beautiful Brahmaputra tributary. It was a time well spent with nature and serenity nestled amidst beautiful wilderness.  

Today, The Nameri Sanctuary The Kaziranga sanctuary and The River island Majuli  has indeed developed into the magic triangle of Assam for the wanderlust.