It pained me! Yes, it pained me a
lot. Pained me because, I can no longer hear the chirping sounds of birds and
ever quarrelling monkey in our old, very old family orchard of Mango,
Jackfruit, Tamarind, Banana, Bamboo, Teak, Gamai (Gmelia)and other forest
species.
It was only our family orchard that
used to make unique look to our small and scattered village under newly formed
gomati district because, orchard to the size of ours and also forest become
rare due to the popularization of rubber plantation that has taken a root in
the mind of the villagers so is their economic prosperity now.
It was really very disturbing,
creating nuisance and destructing what is available in the orchard and kitchen
garden of the family. And, it is none other than the monkey who was creating
these problems.
All monkeys were around the village,
houses, kitchen garden and eating up of all vegetable, fruits whatever has been
raised in the kitchen garden and elsewhere.
Women become restless due to the
omnipresence of monkey and monkey menace. Pet dog although in the initial days
shown their mettle and shown furious made but now becoming accustomed to see
the new enemy as their neighboring one become careless to the monkeys in the
backyard.
Dogs now a day never minds to drive
the monkeys even after seeing them are walking in the field because thereby monkeys
have almost made permanent home to the orchard for last 2-3 years. They of
course occasionally visit rubber plantations in search of rubber seeds and come
back again to the orchard the only their abode for now.
I personally could not relish the seasonal
fruit like Mango, Jackfruit, Tamarind and Jamun because these fruits could not
have time to attain the ripened stage as it is being consumed at immature stage
itself by the monkeys.
Banana, it is wholly destroyed and
eaten up; starting from fruit to tender leaves all are eaten up by the moneys.
Pineapple, it is also same, fruits
to leaves; everything is eaten up by these monkeys.
It is not that our orchard could not
sustain the lives of the few monkeys but when teams of monkeys of around 100 to
200 nos. comes then that become impossible for the orchard to sustain them
therefore, what happen is monkeys are around the household destroying all in
the kitchen garden and become the fierce enemy of the villagers.
But, sometime, I do feel pity for
them, I feel sorry for them because in my childhood days monkeys used to be
rare in my locality as they lived in deep jungle but now they are living side
by side to the human being.
This is because, in my area forested
areas have decreased to a significant extent that some wild animals like
monkeys and other small mammals have been driven out as a consequence some
might even become extinct too and other taken refuge in the human locality like
these monkeys and squirrel.
Squirrel has permanently taken
refuge in the coconut palm destroying all nuts (matured to immature) of coconut
palm. Now, in the village you could see coconut (destroyed one) near the palm
of coconut by the menace of squirrel.
Jungle fowl has also been driven out
of the forest consequently taken refuge in the orchard.
Spotting of jungle fowl was actually
fortunate to see due to it’s magnificently look and beauty.
But, from last year, I was feeling
sorry at the family decision of felling of all big fruit and non-fruit trees of
the orchard; I was thinking that fruit trees that were planted by my
grandfather long ago would be felled down at once then what will remain in our
memory that has long been cherished by us.
Another, thinking was: where will
all these monkeys will go in absence of their abode which is forest which for
sometime has been acted by our family orchard. Will they die starving because
rubber offers no to minimum forage to the monkeys? Will they be able to reach
in other parts where there is jungle and forage is available in plenty?
Those were my thinking! But, it has
happened; happened one day, all the big fruit and non-fruit trees had been
felled down by the merchant as it was sold to him. It is just to get rid of
continuous menace of all these monkeys.
After cleaning of all big trees when
I went to my village, I did not find that nuisance creating monkey. Everything
seems to be silent, seeing of magnificent jungle fowls become rare and no
monkeys could be spotted in and around the village.
When
I enquired the villagers about the monkey, they replied that after the last abode
of monkeys had been felled down they left the area.
The point that comes to my mind is
rubber tree driving the monkeys out of the jungle?
Your comments please.