My interest in wildlife started a few decades ago when I was just ten years old. Since then, over the last 20 yrs I have been to various wild life sanctuaries in India from the elephant rich forest of Bandipur and Madhumalai in South, the boundless forest of Melghat and the Bison forest of Tadoba or the scenic and popular Jim Corbett national park at the foothills of the great Himalaya’s. Not to mention the numerous small forests in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Each of these forests has a beauty of its own; and it would be rather unfair to single out any one of them over the other.
All these years that I have travelled in quest of The Tiger, he has eluded me tactfully on each and every count. On many occasions I have come this close to catching a glimpse. Tracing the pug marks, following the alarm calls and even hearing the tiger growl, its all ‘a done deal’. But never before this have had I ever managed to see one eye to eye in flesh and blood.
I had started blaming my ill fate thinking I just might not be destined to be lucky enough to see this wild majestic beast in this lifetime. All my friends and family who are just as ardent fans of the wilderness have been fortunate to see this magnificent carnivore in its natural habitat. Each time however, I was made to do with watching their snaps, hearing their tales and gasping in excitement and openly envying them.
But all this changed on that chilly winter morning of early 2007, in the small tiger reserve of Bandhavgad. Either my stars changed all of a sudden, or the Gods finally gave in to my prayers or it was simply a matter of luck. Whatever be the case, I was surely treated with not just one or two but numerous sightings of the wild cat. The four days we spent at the tiger reserve I managed to see at least two tigers every day.
The first sighting was however least expected and very un-melodramatic. It was a chilly morning, our first day at Bandhavgad and we had to get up at 5:30am! Hastily we got ready for our jeep rides/jungle safaris. We were still very sleepy, yet very excited. With mixed emotions we were cursing the cold in one breath and appreciating it in the next. Finally at 6am after completing the paperwork and other formalities we mounted our jeeps, pulled out our cameras, rolled our scarf and headgear and started our pursuit. The number of jeeps at the park gate was sheer overwhelming and for a brief moment made me wonder whether there would be traffic lights and policemen manning the tens of jeeps throughout the forest, whistling and waving at the oncoming vehicles. But that thought vanished as I soon got absorbed in the trance of the chilly misty morning as our jeeps started to spread out in the thick of the forest.
As we passed the final gate we started preparing ourselves mentally for the 3 hours of bone shattering, chilly and dusty ride ahead. Decades of experience I sort of knew what to expect. It was a regular affair to mount the open jeeps and start scanning the passing surrounding, the person in front seat to scan what lies ahead, and the people in the rear take up their positions to scan their respective sides. We thus started warming up, building up the mood and the anticipation, the ever optimistic wishing to get a good sighting. The situation can be described as the first day of a test match on a cold winter morning, the bowlers and the batsman playing each delivery very technically but in no apparent hurry to either get a wicket or score a century.
Our jeep had travelled about 300 meters from the park gate, I was busy scanning the horizon when suddenly the jeep in the front stopped and started backing up. Everybody suddenly rose up and started looking to our left as our jeep stopped.
And there it was! My first sighting! Just about 10 meters from our jeep, a young year old cub was strolling aimlessly, looking a bit disturbed by the sudden disturbance caused by the jeeps. The sight was splendid!
For an amateur tourist it would appear like an adult full-grown tiger. Only the trained eyes could tell the difference. The young tiger that was slightly smaller than a fully-grown male was still depended on its mother for food and support. It had the radiance and freshness on its glowing fur; the black stripes on the slightly darkish yellow mat hide. The candid and slightly uncertain movements immediately characterised an image of a cub as our guide rightly explained. Seeing a tiger at such a close range the effect though was very soothing. The cub exhorted a playful and harmless feel to the surrounding. There was no fear in any of our minds as we murmured in excitement with each other to move out from our lenses way.
We stopped there a for while as the cub made itself comfortable to the now increased commotion, seated itself in a nice photogenic posture as if knowing the exact purpose of big cylindrical objects in our hands.
It seemed as though I had been blessed with Moksha! I was delighted and elated and ecstatic! I felt honoured! I felt satisfied! It was as though the opening batsman had hit a six in the first over of the test match! And we felt like the audience, least expecting and yet very happy for the unexpected treat!
The coming days just added to the excitement! This was the first time we rented a vehicle and driven 1000 kms to Bandhavgad, driving non-stop for 30 hrs taking turns at the wheels! And it all was worth it!
Bandhavgarh has indeed left a mark in my memory book as I accomplished an important milestone in my life – eye to eye contact with the most magnificent beast of Indian jungles!
Original publish date: 4-Jun-2008 5:25 am.
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