May 21, 2009
‘Moryanam’ (Konkanised version of Marian Machado) as he is popularly known in and around Pernal, is one individual who has spent most of his youth in jungle than any other man. Having hunting as a profession does contribute to this fact. Meat was part of the menu on daily basis for the family; be it rabbit, wild boar, porcupine and so on. But how it was served was a different story! Having eight mouths to feed was not an easy task in those times but there was never an occasion for sadness.
The prerogative of women was limited to the daily house chores in and around the house and looking after the kids, cows and cowshed. Having house at the edge of the forest does come with disadvantages. Wild animals frequented the backyard in search of food and shelter.
I had heard for umpteen number of times the tales he would say. On many occasions he came across the bad spirits(‘Naad’ as we call in Konkani) hanging down from the trees and when shot at them with his gun he would find a patch of algae on the trees and the Naad vanished. I had also heard of the times when he came across spirits carrying torches(Sood) made of coconut leaves and paddy, walking the forest in one line, sometime as many as hundreds. There was also an occasion when he came across a person who he thought was his neighbor but had his legs twisted backwards. It would take steps forward as he stepped forward and backwards when he took them backwards. To be precise, it would mirror his actions. He recalled a similar incident and without a doubt knew it was not a human. After taking few steps backwards for about 25 feet, he took strides home.
Let alone the gun, monkeys, which were the dominant menace would run for their lives upon hearing him clear his throat and would venture back once their memories faded or generations changed. Monkeys are unique; as in they are never scared of ladies. This occurred to me umpteen numbers of times as whenever my granny would try and drive them away from the coconut trees, they would in return mock at her. But when a young boy (like me!) threw a stone or tried to drive them away the monkeys would run for their lives.
Any menace created by the wild animals in the neighborhood would be reported to him and he would set out to fend off the menace. And whenever he ventured out in to the jungles, the family was assured of sumptuous meals for the coming 2-3 days depending on the hunt.
Getting a call to fend off the wild animals was normal. But this time it was different. Summon this time was from the District Forest officials. Reason: Nine cheetahs were on the prowl. This was the first time he would face such a huge challenge. And there was no one else who would take leadership for the task. A young man with a vigor and enthusiasm as him was hardly in sight. The government had made a right choice.
Cheetahs are nocturnal. They have a great night vision as well as day vision. But they come out hunting mostly at dusk. Having taken the challenge to drive the cheetahs away, he organised a troupe of 5 men who were close allies in the game. Men would hardly venture into such a mission alone but in groups.
There he was; amidst the cold night, carrying his country made single barrel manual gun, one that was the most sophisticated in the 50’ and 60’s. The bullet was handmade out of jute and iron pellets. The loading process for this particular gun took upto 10 minutes. By this I mean the man had only one shot at the animal. If the shot missed he would run into gauntlet. The inside of the barrel needed right brushing for the sake of smooth flow of the bullet through the barrel. A white paper sticker was stuck at the entry of the barrel for the sake of knowing the direction of the barrel in the darkness.
He shivered in the cold night and hugged his prized muffler around his neck. It was indeed freezing. The dew glistened in puddles under the intermittent torchlights. While carrying a Nippo battery powered torch in the left hand and the gun in the right, there never was a luxury of taking a shot through the scope with the help of two hands. You had only one chance to take the shot. You had to aim with one hand and his hands were adept.
It was funny how quiet the forest was at that time of the evening although they could hear an occasional sound of crickets screeching in the darkness of the night inviting a potential mate. Eyes of nocturnal creatures did shine in the darkness reflecting the light. Foxes and wolves gave howls with brief intervals. May be the animals were aware of the presence of the cheetahs.
Some of the men shivered to the bones while others took excuse of the cold and made a makeshift tent to lie away in the cold night. He had wandered far off from his group along with a mate. Suddenly, he could hear foot steps behind him. He risked a glance behind him but could see no one. Still a lucky night, he thought! He was sure that he heard footsteps. The air smelt funny. Could the footsteps be furtive? Up ahead there was a long stretch of wild grasses which was a perfect camouflage for the cheetahs at any occasion. Cheetahs would definitely know of his presence before hand and would attack the intruder of their territory.
From a distance he saw a pair of eyes; could be 50 feet away. The contours of a cheetah were visible from a distance. He and his mate started to crouch. For their defense they had a tree in front of them to stand up to and take a shot. But the cheetah proved cleverer and walked away from the scene. I learnt that cheetahs are shy and tend to walk away if they come to know of the presence of humans as they like to hunt solitary. He followed the cheetah and from a distance could hear the growls and pointed the torch towards the direction. He reached the dark area and slowed slightly looking for the area that was still darker in order to take a clear shot at the cheetah.
Bingo! There it was. He ducked in, staying close to the bushes. He had a clear shot at around 70 feet where he could see the contours of the cheetah against the moonlight. He had only one shot. He asked his mate to take a shot and his gun stood as a reserve shot for the second round incase the shot was at the wrong place. His mate took to the scope while he stood pointing his gun and the torch towards the animal.
BHAM! The bullet went off.
‘Damn’, he missed the shot. The Cheetah started running away upon hearing the noise of the gunshot and he had only one more shot in the gun. He charged towards the cheetah with gun in one hand and torch in the other while his mate stayed to refill the gun. There was no turning back; he had to take the shot or face the cheetah. It is tougher to take shot on a moving animal at 40 KM/Hr and while you too are moving. With one goal in mind and sharp shooting, he let go of the bullet from his barrel.
BHAM !
A shot between the spine and the neck and the animal fell to the ground and rolled around 15FT before getting still. He stopped. His mate who had refilled the gun took a shot again. The animal was already dead by then.
He refilled the gun and shot a round of fire in the air signaling his victory. They all gathered and tied the feet of the cheetah to a long log of wood to carry it back home. It weighed close to 300 kilograms plus, which was a daunting task to carry for 11KMs.
The news of the hunt spread through the villages like wild fire because it was the first time that anyone in the vicinity had such a big game. The animal was taken on procession from Udupi to Pilarkhana on top of an Ambassador(a car from HM which still runs Indian roads along with Mercs, BMWs and Marutis) with people congratulating him all through the way. The meat of the animal was distributed and there was a mad rush among the public due to a rare curing ability the meat has for many diseases.
(The lone photo which survived 45 years was taken in Udupi-Asha Studio. The picture was digitally restored as it had lost some quality.)
Government honoured him with a prize money of Rs.300/- and he became a celebrity hunter. He still has the single barrel manual gun at home(which currently is under the custody of the police station due to general elections). He often speaks of the adventure whenever he is in the mood of talking.
That was the story of Moryanam-The Hunter.
Well, the other cheetahs did not venture into the Pilarkhana forest since.
Marian Machado now lives with his wife, Lucy Machado in Belman and still recalls his experiences in the wood. Since this event he has juggled between many jobs which range from tailoring to hunting to growing and selling beetle leaves.
I, for myself take pride in my grandpa for him being a great hunter. I make it a point to feel the gun that shot the Cheetah whenever I visit him. Nowadays, I get reminded of his adventures whenever I visit the Jebel Ali Shooting Club in Dubai. While I am not a professional hunter, I consider myself a lineage of hunter, Moryanam.