God's Second Home

One of the most delightful aspects about India is the way hidden gems suddenly surface. Sometimes these treasures appear in the form of citizens with extraordinary talent. Sometimes they are events of remarkable significance. Sometimes they are places of exquisite beauty. The discovery of these gems is as surprising as they are exhilarating.

Nobody knew that an underground cave exists in the heart of India in Chhattisgarh, hoarding the most spectacular formations of stalactites and stalagmites. Buried deep in the virgin Kanger forest in the epicenter of the tribal Bastar district, the cave is millions of years old. Located inside a hill, it's 200 metres long, 55 metres deep and about 35 metres wide. A narrow opening widens into a cavern of treasure—natural formations of awe-inspiring majesty that have taken millions of years to evolve. This is nature at its patient, painstaking, meticulous best. Stalactites, the limestone pillars hanging from the roof, and stalagmites, the pillars rising from the ground, are formed drop by drop of water. An inch takes about 6,000 years to form. And these pillars are several feet wide and long.

The 200 square kilometre Kanger forest was declared a national park in the 1980s. In 1993, a forest official discovered the cave. It was named Kailash Gufa. It is possible the Bastar tribals knew of it long before the authorities discovered it. In several parts of the cave, young stalagmites have ritual markings, proof that they've been worshipped as Shivalingams. But as is the case, much of what the tribals know remain hidden to the world.

For a decade, the cave remained a dark secret, known only to the authorities and a few locals. But then came a historic development: the formation of Chhattisgarh state and the new government's decision to prioritise tourism to generate revenue and employment. Instead of reinventing the wheel and reinventing it square, chief minister Ajit Jogi made a smart move—as MD of the newly-created Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, he appointed Dr A. Jayathilak, a key member of the team that skyrocketed Kerala onto the international tourism map. This committed but unassuming Malayali IAS officer, along with his dynamic boss Amitabh Kant, the then Kerala tourism secretary, had proven their credentials in branding the Kerala experience. These two officers are gems deserving no less than a Padmashri. But Kerala's success story is also a tribute to the professional coordination and teamwork between government officials and the private sector.

Dr Jayathilak is now trying to replicate the Kerala experiment in Chhattisgarh. It is certainly no easy task. Kerala's scenic beauty is far more spectacular and varied than young Chhattisgarh's. It is also much more accessible from within India and abroad. But the challenges have only stimulated the officer's never-say-die spirit. He has hit upon the idea to brand Bastar, exactly the way they had branded Kerala. Its very remoteness is being converted to its usp. Bastar is different from Kerala, but it is rich in its unique charms. The oldest tribal community lives here. The Kanger forests are ostensibly the densest forests after the Amazon. India's biggest waterfall, the horseshoe-shaped Chitrakote, are our own Niagra. The world's oldest amphitheatre is located in a place called Ambikapur and the region also boasts of Asia's largest Catholic church. It has the deepest cave with the oldest stalactite and stalagmite formations.

That is certainly an impressive list. Plenty of clay to mould a new model of eco-tourism. The experiment began this year with the ten-day Dussehra festival in Chitrakote. There is something unique about the festival too. Bastar tribals celebrate Dussehra without Ram or Ravana. Instead, they worship the local deity, DanteshwariExperts say this is a tradition that predates the Vedic period, when the main festival centred on the worship of the Mother Goddess. All major religions have coopted these so-called pagan festivals. So the legend of Ram and Ravana is celebrated at the same time the Mother Goddess was worshipped exactly as Christian celebrations such as Christmas and Easter coincide with ancient Celtic and Nordic pagan festivals.

Chhattisgarh is blessed with history and geography, legend and nature, shy tribals and charming handicrafts. But there is no infrastructure. There are no fancy hotels in Bastar, so the authorities came up with the perfect solution—pitch luxury tents by the river near the gushing waterfalls. The state cannot support a large influx of tourists. Besides, eco-tourism is the name of the game. So, instead of mass tourism, the authorities are targeting "class tourism"—keep out the hordes of low-budget backpackers, lure in the few big spenders.

This is virgin territory. Handled with sensitivity and vision, the region can evolve into a unique tourism success story. Much more beautiful than the Chitrakote falls are the Tirathgarh falls nearby. Gushing from a narrow gorge, the falls froth over some amazing rock formations widening into a cascade set in a picturesque panorama of verdant forest and hills stretching into the horizon—a soul-lifting experience even for the philistines and the callused. Wandering into the pitch-dark Kailash cave was a Christopher Columbian experience. A forest guard held a lamp for us to see the astounding stalactites and stalagmites. Perhaps by the next season, the authorities will put up soft lights the way the stalactites in the Thurzon caves in France's Provence region have been lit up so evocatively. Meanwhile, another deeper and even more beautiful cave with stalactites and stalagmites near the Kailash cave has been discovered. Named Kutumsar, this cave is not open yet. That remains a hidden gem beckoning to be discovered in the future.