Chambal : The land of the Gharial.

[prashantsingh]

Chambal

Sholay, Bandit Queen, Paan Singh Tomar. Movies synonymous with Chambal. The land of the dacoits. With the dacoits long gone the place has now undergone a drastic change.
I have been crossing the area ever since I was a little child.A wilderness like none other anywhere else. Deep revines with dry bushland and it's lifeline, the Chambal river, flowing through it.
We had relatives in Gwalior and we would make it a point to visit them often during our summer break. My father would carry his pistol and make sure everything was fine before starting our journey from Agra to Gwalior. The tension in our car was quite palpable.Everyone hoped for a safe and uneventful journey. Chambal those days was notoriously famous for it’s outlaws.
Daku Man Singh and Mohar Singh were almost legands and the most famous amongst them.
Man Singh was the Robin Hood of Chambal. He was the most respected amongst the locals and almost worshiped like a God. I believe there is a temple named after him. The locals prefer to call him a rebel rather than a decoit.
Phoolan Devi had sworn to kill all the Rajputs which made me believe than I was number one on her hit list. I must have been about 10 yrs old then.
It was always a day journey. There were few cars on the road . No one. Not even the Police dare enter the Chambal during the night.
The fact that the area fell into three different states. Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pardesh and Rajasthan made the task of hunting down the dacoits tougher. While the dacoits easily slipped into the adjacent state after committing a crime in another state. The Cops were not allowed to follow them on foreign turf.
The dacoits are now gone and Chambal is fast catching up with it’s stagnant and backward past. There is a railway line which cuts through the heart of Chambal. Every year new trains are added to route . The revines which were a maze for the cops are now being eaten up by JVC’s and farm land and industry replacing the barren landscape. There is a new bridge coming up adjacent to the old one.
Chambal has joined the race for development . Like most other places in the country.
I was crossing the valley last Saturday when I noticed something interesting.
Boats parked on the banks of the river below the bridge. The M.P. Forest Dept. has started a boat safari for wildlife enthusiasts. A truly amazing experience. You can see Gharial , Magar and even the fresh water Dolphin. During the winters one also gets to see some lovely migratory water birds. Will ask some one to put up the snaps for me.
After the safari as I drove up the river bank onto the highway. I was forced to wonder how long the Gharial would live in this now rapidly changing habitat.

I was also wondering if the Dakoos of yesteryears had unintentionally saved this wilderness from Industrial Development.

[Kittu]

good post prashant bhai
as i remember man singh was called raja maan singh
he was not daku but a baagee
he was shot by gurkha rifles
he have temple no wonder narender modi also have
thanks

[Baljit]

Prashant, what I can say,amazing story and very well write up by you.
Send me all the pictures, i'll post those for you.
Looking forward for next chapter of this story.
Keep it up my bro.


Baljit

[prashantsingh]

Thanks again Baljit.
I have sent the first few snaps.
The sky was overcast and there was not enough light for wildlife photography.
I still went on to take some snaps.
I will talk about the birds first. We saw Pochards, Brahmini Shell ducks , Storks , Owls, Bar Headed Geese, Egyptian Vulture and a Hawk.
The most interesting amongst the birds was the Indian Skimmer. Will talk about it once you have put up the snaps.

[timmy]

Very interesting, Prashantji. I have read about these Chambal Dacoits and also have seen the movie Bandit Queen about Phoolan Devi. I'm looking forward to the pictures!

[brihacharan]

Prashant wrote:
Boats parked on the banks of the river below the bridge. The M.P. Forest Dept. has started a boat safari for wildlife enthusiasts. A truly amazing experience. You can see Gharial , Magar and even the fresh water Dolphin. During the winters one also gets to see some lovely migratory water birds. Will ask some one to put up the snaps for me.
After the safari as I drove up the river bank onto the highway. I was forced to wonder how long the Gharial would live in this now rapidly changing habitat.

I was also wondering if the Dakoos of yesteryears had unintentionally saved this wilderness from Industrial Development.

Hi Prashant,
> Nice post on Chambal
> In retrospect - maybe the Dakus (Rebels) knew & respected the wilderness since it gave them the necessary hideout...
> Wish the MP Forest Dept. in their "wild wisdom" retain the eco-balance to attract tourists to enjoy nature's gift to mankind!
> Awaiting the pictures...
Briha

[TC]

Wonderful post Prashant. Thanks

TC

[AgentDoubleS]

Wonderful post Prashant. Brings back some of the memories of my travel across Morena, Dholpur et al.

[nevil]

A very interesting and well described post it indeed is a very beautiful area and I have had the pleasure of driving through the chambal


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vikram]

Prashant,

Another excellent post. The perspective,that the dacoits probably preserved the landscape from human exploitation/urbanisation, never occurred to me. Makes a lot of sense. Unless, the people and the government take appropriate measures, those and ravines and the wildlife there would irretrievably lost.

I would love to see the photos. Thanks in advance.


Best-
Vikram

[Baljit]

Hello Guy's.
I am posting these pictures behalf of Prashant.
Prashant will explain everything about these pictures.

















Enjoy
Baljit

[prashantsingh]

1. Heron
2.Bar headed geese: A bird which flies down from Mongolia and Russia over the highest mountain ranges in the word. The Himalaya.Amongst the worlds highest flying birds.
3.Kachua
4.Female Gharial
5.Surkhaab : Brahmini Shell Duck
6.Chambal river

The last 2 snaps are very interesting.
7. You can spot the 4 baby gharials in front and people walking around in the background.
8. Indian Skimmer: only found in the Chambal. I will put up a cropped photograph to explain the bird further. Again see the number of people . Can you spot the boys throwing stones at the birds? They got quite a shouting from me.

It is amazing how wildlife adapts itself to change.

[Pran]

Posting this on behalf of Dr. Prashant Singh-

"The Madhya pradesh forest Dept. conducts a boat safari on the river. The light was poor because of the overcast sky but I still managed to get a few decent shots.
First the bird life.


Indian Skimmer......only found in Chambal. Check out the long lower beak and small upper beack to plough out insects from the sand



Pied Kingfisher



Painted Stork



Magar"

[Kittu]

very good pics prashant ji
but i little confused.last pic posted by pran is it gharial or elligater(magarmach)?

[TwoRivers]

Crodolile. Magar,or "mugger". Alligators are their American cousins.