In 1979, fearing that the world will crumble in the face of environmental crises, a teenager started planting trees. Today, his altruism has produced a 550-hectare forest reserve, which shelters innumerable birds and animals. Recently awarded the Padma Shri, the Forest Man of India, Jadav Payeng, tells ANANYA BORGOHAIN about his journey
In 1979, a 14-year-old boy at the countryside in Assam saw innumerable dead snakes washed on the river bank in the aftermath of the floods in the region. He was appalled as he saw soil cover erode in the floods, trees uprooted and animal shelters distorted. The migratory birds in the region had begun to disappear as well. He recalls the village elders giving him a few bamboo plants to be planted for the sake of afforestation and building homes for the animals. By the banks of the river Brahmaputra, the teenager began to plant the saplings. little did he know that three decades down the line, he would create an entire forest reserve out of it. His trees have today transformed into a forest spreading across 550 hectares of land which shelters wild elephants, deers, bengal tigers, rhinos, and varieties of birds. In fact, he is now also expanding his efforts into another 150 hectares of land.
Belonging to the Mising tribal community of Assam, Jadav Payeng is today known as the Forest Man of India (first honoured with the title three years ago on Earth Day by the Jawaharlal Nehru University) and was recently awarded the Padma Shri. His forest has been named ‘Mulai Kathoni Bari’ (Forest of Mulai, Mulai being his nickname) by the Government of Assam. It is situated at Kokilamukh in Jorhat district in Assam. Payeng frequently speaks at environment conferences globally and also at Indian academic institutions.
Several documentaries on him and his forest reserve have been made and almost every day he has visitors coming from all across the world to chronicle his journey. He tells us that it’s a rare moment when we find him available at his residence; in fact, a team from England was expected to shoot a documentary with him in his forest from the next day.
He is humble and rooted to his soil. In fact, his children prefer to spend most of their time in the forest and he still lives with his wife in a hut in his village. They own about 50 cows and buffaloes whose milk is delivered across Jorhat through their milkmen. Their typical day starts at 3.30 am. Interestingly, Payeng was a chance discovery. Jitu Kalita, a local journalist, ventured into Payeng’s forest accidently while chasing vultures for his own story. Payeng, worried that a wild buffalo or another animal might attack Kalita, tried to chase him off. Until then, Payeng and his reserve had never come under public eye. Kalita’s accidental discovery not only gave him the most important story of his career but also put the Forest of Mulai on the world map. In a freewheeling interaction, Payeng shares his earliest memories:
What are your memories from the time you started this forestIJ
I was born in the lap of nature. The riverside, birds, animals, flora, my childhood is nurtured with rejuvenating memories of lush green fields and organic fruits. In 1965, floods felled buildings and washed away 10-km-long roads in this village. The first railway line in upper Assam too was built here and it collapsed in the face of nature’s fury. Gradually, things came back to normal to a large extent but I could no longer see the countryside I had lived in. In Assam, we have 12 consecutive dry days sans rainfall from May 15 to June 15; it is almost a drought-like situation. I saw the animals dying, hundreds of cow carcasses floating on water, the snakes, the uprooted shelters and fallen trees, and I wondered if some day we human beings would also die the same way. I was distressed and went to the elders in my village seeking answers. I was 14 or 15 then. The village elders posed a riddle and told me to find the tallest grass in the world. I wondered what that would be. It was bamboo. They said if I planted bamboo, it could lead to shadow, which would imply shelter, and that would in turn bring back the animals. They gave me 50 bamboo roots and 25 bamboo plants, I bought a few more for 25 paise and started planting them. I also put paddy in them and regularly watered them. As time passed, birds and animals started to appear and my joy knew no bounds. Till date, the joy I find in a natural habitat is unparalled. For instance, I stayed in the Udaipur palace for four or five days and dined with the royal family, but that feast was nothing compared to what I feel in the forest.
You must have braved severe hardships of the same level as well. How did you maintain securityIJ
Yes, but they were all worth it. In 2008, a bunch of elephants entered the area and made their way into the village. Needless to say, they ransacked a lot of domestic property and caused much nuisance to my neighbours. It reached a point where a huge crowd assembled with axes to cut down the tress in an attempt to send away the animals. I put my foot down, stood in front of them and told them to cut me instead. I considered it a blessing that the elephants chose me as their host. I was a farmer and the elephants ate 50 quintals of my tomatoes and 100 quintals of potatoes, along with rice and paddy. If I had no problem with that, nobody else needed to be troubled too.
You will be surprised to know that in the past one year, I planted three quintals of a breed of potatoes and seven kilos separately for the elephants, should they need it. I told them to consume the vegetables but not destruct property. last year, all potatoes of my neighbours turned stale. These elephants live a stone’s throw from my crops, but my potatoes remained untouched. There was also a time when I had asked my oldest elephant that everything I had — the land, field, vegetables — were all his, but I would need the animals for their milk. He picked up some soil with his trunk and placed it on my back as a mark of approval. These animals have never threatened me.
I remember this incident on Kali puja when I saw a snake chasing a mongoose. The moment the snake saw me, it turned back. Also, every time I see one of the tigers chase a deer, the deer comes towards me because it knows that the tiger would not unleash itself so ruthlessly in my presence. These creatures have fed me, given me recognition, taken me to foreign land. These animals have taken me across the globe, not anybody else. Nature has helped me, and not humans.
How do you look after your reserveIJ
This reserve is as long as the stretch from Paris to Switzerland. But it has no maintenance problem as such because it is comfortably grown on country wisdom and practical applications rather than any scientific measures. I don’t have staffers. I had started by building a bamboo platform on the top of each sapling I planted and covered them with earthen pots with holes in them. The water would leak on the plants below and water them that way. I also used termites, ants, earthworms and similar insects to enhance the fertility of the soil.
What are your comments on the increasing number of poaching incidents in the Kaziranga National Park, a world heritage site only a couple of hours from your own locationIJ
The problem at Kaziranga needs a human concern more than political strategies. The people there should deem it their duty and honour to protect their animals. Among themselves, along with the assistance of the forest department, awareness communities should be formed to protect the animals there. There aren’t enough workers there and this shortage of labour should be met with appropriate response. Most poachers are alien to the zone. If a local resident doesn’t familiarise these poachers with the spots where the one-horned rhinoceros could be found, the poachers would be helpless. These awareness communities should also be paid a token amount annually for their efforts.
I have helped implement a similar plan at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project at Chandrapur, Maharashtra, which has the highest number of Bengal tigers in Asia. Most people there would kill a tiger out of frustration if a tiger would eat their pets in the first place. I brought to the notice of the Governor and Chief Minister of Maharashtra that a rule should be implemented wherein if a tiger attacks a domestic animal, the owner of the pet should be compensated within 24 hours. If they dilly dally the payment process, the locals would only want the tigers to be poached.
Our country is fascinating. At Similipal National Park in Odisha is a 360 years old Sal tree, Asia’s biggest. It is said that nobody has managed to cut it down. Even during the rule of the British, whoever tried to cut it died before they could do so. In fact, it is believed that even if somebody urinates on the tree, it would imply impending death.
The world’s largest river island is here (Majuli, Assam), the world’s largest rainfall (Mawsynram, Meghalaya), world’s ninth subtropical desert (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan) etc are all here. It’s upon us to nurture our natural resources. The Water Man of India, Rajendra Singh, constructed 10,000 water sheds for water harvesting and management. He sought to provide water in a place where people give up education to arrange for basic amenities like water. Compared to that, we (in Assam) are far well off with the resources we have.
Do you read environmental books to keep up to dateIJ
My knowledge is based on practical application. I have learned from agricultural scientist Dr Jadubesh Barua at Baligaon. My forest has grown naturally. For instance, the Indian plum trees grow the fastest. The plum seeds are eaten by birds and more often, the half-eaten seeds fall off their beaks onto the soil, thereby creating more such plum trees.
Any unforgettably striking moment in your journeyIJ
There was this one time when a rhinoceros was killed in the forest. I heard shots late in the evening and understood what that meant. That has to be the most painful moment of my life. My younger son did not eat for two days after that.
What are the problems faced by environmental science in IndiaIJ
Ignorance in India is dumbfounding. For instance, in the case of Assam itself, even educated people do not know the State’s area or population. Our education is materialism-centric, everyone educates oneself to acquire tangible assets — house, car, smartphones, land — in the future, and no thought is spared to the environment they inhabit. Did you realise that there was no chilly winter this timeIJ Water has dried, pollution has spread, and we still bribe kids with goodies if they secure a rank in their class tests! They say that by 2030, India would be the most populous country; are we prepared for thatIJ Our (Assamese) scientists have based themselves abroad and return to remember their soil only at the time of their death. How do you expect the region to flourish if its own people seek refuge in other countriesIJ I would request scientists from Assam, such as Babul Bora, to do something to conserve Majuli.
I think 1962 was probably the determining year in which people started to realise how crucial environment is for development, at the Stockholm conference. Even after 52 years today, we are struggling with environmental issues. How sad is that. In 2012, APJ Abdul Kalam handed over the Diamond Award to me. It was an overwhelming moment. I am humbly trying to create and restore life and his field has the power to destroy the same. There is so much that needs to be done in this regard. We don’t even have enough environmental science educators in the country.
What could be done to bring in developmentIJ
Environmental science should be made compulsory in schools from the lower primary level. let each student plant two saplings on the day of admission. Redeem yourself, produce the oxygen you want yourself. Elephants need up to 90 litres of water daily, where will that come from if rivers dry upIJ And each Government should get no more than five years to function. Political impact upon forest departments may cause irredeemable damage. There is much to be done in villages. People should be sensitised about the environmental issues.
I was invited to a technology conference in Bangalore but that does not interest me because what is technology without oxygenIJ I always tell people to not honour me with bouquets or cheques, neither should they call me to deliver lectures at seminars and conferences, but I would be willing to speak to children and in academic spaces. Much awareness has to be generated there and information needs to be disseminated as well. Only at Panchgani, at the Initiatives of Change, have I seen young children swearing to protect environmental science. They have a vegan diet, do not use mobile phones. I was invited for their swearing ceremony. There were many children 15 or 16 years of age. I requested them to plant two saplings each on every birthday.
Critical thinking too is crucial here. For instance, how is the Tata Group helping the adivasis at Jamshedpur by extracting their land for its steel factoryIJ The people of the land are living in pathetic conditions, so what development is being brought upon thereIJ At an environmental conference in 2012, representatives from 200 countries planted saplings in Paris. All of them keep visiting the place. Now in three years, the trees are 8 feet tall. I will visit the place in December and I am sure it is going to be overwhelming.
How helpful has the Assam Government to youIJ
This Government has hindered a lot of growth. It can’t see eye to eye with me. I have told the Chief Minister (Tarun Gogoi) that he may provide people with rice at Rs3 per kilo, but does he know that an elephant needs 3 kg rice dailyIJ Who will provide for the animalsIJ He may build dams and bridges, but what about the displaced localsIJ He can afford to settle abroad too, but where will we goIJ
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