Field Stories on the Island...

Words can't express certain stories and incidents. On April 1st evening, we started to reach our mangrove site by boat with our field tracker and native people (18 members) of the village on the Island. It takes two hours to reach our destination jetty. When we started, the sky became dark, and we were getting clouded. Our boatmen, to make fun, he said CYCLONE CYCLONE. Suddenly a lady cried, seriously tensed, and hurried boatmen to go back to the jetty - where the place we started. Our boatmen just smiled and said, 'CALM,' there's nothing to worry about, and we will be safe.

At that time, it rained, and people (villagers) protected their groceries and goods by keeping them in huge plastic bags. For half of our journey, we were drowned in the rain. Before we reached the arrival jetty (after 2 hours)., we were welcomed by lighting and millions of stars above my head. While lightning, I can see standing dead trees (post-tsunami dead trees) come into the light for a second on the large stream. Finally, we reached the place people were carrying their luggage and walking in the dark with torches under the darkness. Even little kids (5-7 years) held their bags and walked. While walking on the footpath, I saw a large generator running in high decibel sound.

I thought about what it could be. After reaching our field tracker neighbor's house at 8 pm, we realized that the Electricity they get only 4 hours a day, from 6 pm to 10 pm per day. Quickly we charged my phone and relaxed under the fan with 1st half of IPL on the TV for some hours. Imagine for only 4 hours of tv, and people were keeping DISH connection and paying it monthly. The next day, I started early and completed my mangrove survey in the village. And planned to get back to the main field station. But, the boat had already gone back to the main port of the Island. So, there's another option to catch the 4 pm bus to reach our main field station but to reach the bus stand we have to walk for 2 hours (3.5km) continuously in the forest. We (my field tracker and his little girl kid, -7 years old) started at 1.30 pm to walk through the jungle to catch the 4 pm Bus. In the beginning, she walked continuously for 20 mins, and she was a bit tired while walking on the upper slope. So, her dad took her up and made her sit on his shoulders - made her comfortable. She was with her father on the upper climbing slope for about 25 mins. After that, it was raining; he made her walk on the downslope; she was climbing small fallen trees, slippery mud and casually walking with the support of his father (holding his hands on hard steps) in the forest. After we got downhill, we were welcomed by mangroves. Our field tracker told us to remove our footwear, including her kid's shoe. We were walking in the mangroves in knee foot mud. Somehow she was able to walk in the mud with his support and learn from his father. The father and daughter combo remember about the elephants in the Western Ghats, how the elephants used to safeguard the little one, teaches them to walk, swim, and learn everything. And, at last, we reached the bus stand by 3.45 pm and got Bus and reached our central field station. 

Thiru