“Bhagvan Shree Ram ke vanvaas sthal mein lagi bheeshan aag hi aag!’
(‘Raging fires in the forests where Lord Rama spent his exile term!’)
Angry, orange flames seemed to leap off these screaming headlines in the newsprint less than a week ago, when some of the biggest newspapers circulating in Uttar Pradesh made sure they lost no time in making associations with epics in the ‘big, breaking’ news story.
Almost an annual affair in the jungles of Chitrakoot – known from legend and myths as Devangana, where Ram, Sita and Lakshman spent their exile years – the forest fires this year broke out on March 31st in several of the district’s forests, including Bargadh, Lauri, Marjadpur, Devangana, Siddhpur, Kol Gadhaiya, Simariya Rihutiya Khoh. They spread fast as is their wont, and in under two days’ time, the threats of the fires reaching adjoining villages, kasbahs and even towns became very, very real.
A walk around Semariya Charandasi, one of the villages close to Devangana, is a study in understanding sudden exodus – how its residents have, over the past 24 to 48 hours, prepared for a quick exit. Ajay, the local kirana shop owner, however, told us that it’s been the manic squawking of birds that has been the strongest clue of impending doom these past few days, “They are all fleeing, their eggs have perished,” he said. A curious phenomenon this year has been the spike in people braving the fires for taking selfies and photographs in Devangana – undoubtedly, the result of the headlines!
Mehnunisha, another Semariya Charandasi resident, is worried about strong winds blowing in the directions of their homes. “By the time they send for help, our houses will be razed down to the ground. Sab kuch khaak ho jayega (Everything will turn into ashes).” Mehnunisha, like others in her village, has been living in fear for the past 72 hours. Udhav Prasad Yadav, spoke of the regularity of the “natural phenomenon”, but added that it’s been “very dangerous this time, because our village is right next to the forest.”
In Chitrakoot, the months of April to June have traditionally been peak season for blistering heat waves and mysterious forest fires– mysterious because the causes remain mostly unknown, or rather there are several causes; Rashomon-like, the version you get depends on who or which stakeholder you’re speaking to.