elephant had come down the trees

Source: Inam Ahmed

After lunch we walked across the river and stepped into the forest. And for us life changed forever.
None of us have ever experienced anything like this. The trees had sprung at least 500 feet high, some of them reaching about a thousand feet. They were thick. Five of us stretched our hands together and yet could not encircle one tree.
Lantana creepers as thick as the trunk of an elephant had come down the trees, hanging and touching other trees like huge pythons. We found strange toadstools and mushrooms growing in the soggy nooks and corners. A big toadstool shone black as if dipped in tar. Saucer shaped orange mushrooms had bloomed on rotting trees.
Hornbills fluttered off a high branch. We were startled by the clear call of bamboo partridges: “Da-khooo. Da-khoo” almost sounding like “Look at me” in Bangla. We could hear trogon’s call..
Sambars, rabbits, boars and otters had run around the forest. Their marks were everywhere.
We did not find a single tree that had been chopped down. It was truly a pristine forest, never been invaded by the loggers. Tucked i