People who know me, know it well that celluloid and wildlife inspire me equally! Hence, I don’t know if I was inspired more by the OTT series “Mirzapur” or by the Striped Hyena (which I had not seen before) to visit Mirzapur!
Landing in Varanasi airport, the temples bore no enchantment for me. I headed straight to the small eco-resort outside of Mirzapur town. While crossing Mirzapur town, I expected to hear gun shots all around, but it was no different than any other town in Eastern India. Small crowded roads with shops on either sides, and some export units for carpets. Money from these carpets seemed evident in some of the lavishly built houses.
It was another hour of drive from Mirzapur to this location. I was amused by the name of the towns nearby - Dagmagpur and Robertsganj! We took a right turn from the main road into a remote location with deep mines on one side and the lake water from a dam on the other side. Two hillocks on the side of this lake were homes to the hyenas.
I climbed one of the hillocks with one guide and one stick! As we reached the top, we found a family of 3 striped hyenas. Father, mother and child. They were as surprised as we were, though theirs was not a pleasant one like ours! They soon disappeared amongst the tall grasses all around the hillock. We waited. Then one by one they emerged from different parts of the hillock. The mother eyed us suspiciously from behind a bush initially and then deemed us to be harmless. The child took the cue and dared to come out in the open.
The water on one side, the setting sun, the hyenas a few feet away and me walking around with my camera - it was wildlife romance at its best! Was I afraid? I was too caught up in the moment to be so! Should I have been afraid? Absolutely so, even the lions are afraid of this ferocious species!
I got some shots as I had desired, and some I missed. Maybe those missing shots will be covered next time, something to look forward to. Hai na? ☺️
