A Golden morning

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*To see a photo of a Golden Langur, please click :

http://www.animalcrusaders.org/ex_main.html and navigate to Pet's world*

**

*A GOLDEN MORNING*

** ** ** ** ** *The flight to Guwahati on 17th December,

2007 was late. As usual. I woke up late the next morning. As usual.

Breakfast consisted of cheese sandwich and coffee. As usual. My friends came

late to meet me. As usual. And then we set off to Umananda, an

island**situated in the Brahmaputra river just off the coast of

Guwahati. The ferry

ride took only five minutes and we embarked on the island that has a

renowned Shiva Temple. However, we went there to see the free living Golden

Langurs that call Umananda their home. Many years ago, an animal trader

named Musa had given two Golden Langurs to a priest on the island. The

animals grew up as tame individuals and after a period, reproduced. They

were not caged but were free to roam the island. The Golden Langur being one

of the rarest primates in the world(the animal was only discovered in the

1950s when it was christened with a scientific name) found principally

in Manas National Park situated in Assam and Bhutan, the population on

Umananda evoked significant interest amongst nature lovers. Possibly a

unique case where wildlife trade has been benign, even beneficial since the

animals are so endangered and the translocated individuals on Umananda are a

breeding group. And thus I was keen on observing and photographing them. We

took the winding road on the island trying to catch a glimpse of these

elusive creatures. Nothing was visible and I was slowly forming the

impression that we would return empty handed without a sighting let alone a

film. But after a lot of searching, a friend pointed out a couple sleeping

in a tree, huddled close to each other. It was difficult to film them among

the foliage so we moved on. We had almost made the entire trip when we came

across a group of four Golden Langurs perched in a tree, three adults and a

baby. We were trying to photograph them when a mother descended from the

tree with a young. She swung across from branch to branch, manoeuvring

deftly with languid grace through the greenery. The mother was holding the

baby but the tiny creature slid away. He glided down the tree and came close

to me. I started clicking the camera. Watching him through the lens I saw

that he had extended his hand. With trepidation I extended my hand too

offering him a cake. And in a moment when time seemed to have frozen, the

little baby lifted the cake from my outstretched palm. At that instant, she

ceased to be an animal. She became a human child and I anthropomorphic.

Anthropomorphism. A cardinal sin for a scientist, a momentary must for my

spirit. Even when we left the island, I could still feel the gentle caress

on my palm left by the baby Golden Langur. The Golden Langurs of Umananda

yielded golden memories of a golden morning. Not the usual kind. *