Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Assam's Jadav Payeng : The Man Who Made A Forest

"My folks had been telling me for long to do stories on the Northeast. Good stories can be found in plenty over there. But when the Sunday Times editor himself asked me to find good stories from the Northeast, I actively started looking for some. My parents knew a wee bit about Jadav Payeng as we had spent eight years in Jorhat in the 90s. I was speaking to my mother one day when Payeng suddenly came up. She asked to speak to my uncle, Shashi Phukan of Bismoi, for more information. That I did. Through him, I spoke to a few more people before finding Payeng himself. We had the story in February, but couldn't get proper photos, which is why we had to wait till the end of March to put it on the page. I am no nature lover, honestly, but I bow before people who show a high degree of commitment and dedication to nature and wildlife conservation." This is what Manimugdha  said when I asked him  what inspired him to write this brilliant story.

Manimugdha Sharma :A brief introduction


I met him through Fried Eye Magazine about three three years back and since then we have been very good friends. Manimugdha is a renowned quiz master from Assam who has been associated with print media since last seven years.Presently he is working as a chief copy editor in Times Of India.This is how he likes to introduce himself -An ardent history buff, disgruntled movie fanatic, frustrated lover of literature and the Indian cricket team, romantic fool of the highest order,journalist, die-hard quizzer, random thinker, well-known chatter-box, brilliant architect who builds castles in the air, self-proclaimed philosopher, a truly wandering soul with a desire to leave my mark in the sands of time.


The Man Who Made A Forest
This story is written by Manimugdha and it was previously published in Sunday Times TOI. I thank Manimugdha for sharing this story here on my blog.
Jadav Payeng :The man who made a forest.
              French author Jean Giono’s 1953 epic tale, The Man Who Planted Trees, seemed real to many readers. They thought the central character, Elzeard Bouffier, was a living individual until the author clarified that he created the character only to