Statuary Warning: The following narrative contains episodes of our trip to TATR and has potential to make you feel jealous. Reader discretion is advised.
So a group of 8 guys set out for a trip to TATR after their frustrating engineering semesters. The group comprised the likes of men namely Ankush, Jayant, Aaswad, Mayur, Ashley, Allen, Ninad and Harshad. We set out from Nagpur on 2nd June’07 and reached there in about 3 hrs. To begin the journey on a pious and successful note we visited the temple of ‘Ramdeghi’ located in a deep gorge of the forest. After a steep descent of about 60 feet we reached the temple, took the blessings of Lord Ram and set out for the actual adventure. We entered the sanctuary at around 3:30 pm. As our Toyota Qualis made its way into the jungle, we took one of the many safari routes in the jungle. This route led to an area in the jungle called ‘Bhanuskhindi’. We had learned that a tigress and her two cubs were sighted repeatedly in the Bhanuskhindi area. But as a tourist who is entering the sanctuary for the first time you don’t really hope to see a tigress and her cubs just like that. But you do get a whole lot excited when you spot the herds of spotted deer and the sambar grazing all along the route on either sides. As we moved another kilometer or so, we saw a bison grazing alone in the bamboo bush. The bison is described best by his physical ability to topple a common SUV alone with just one impact. So on seeing the bison at only about 15 feet, sweating was an obvious effect. So we hurried past the bison, continuing our search for the “real” wildlife. We had barely finished discussing our bison when we saw another vehicle ahead of us. It was silent and stood beside a tree as if abandoned. Our guide informed us that we were in the viscinity of what we were looking for. To our left was a small valley about 30-35 feet deep through which a small stream ran. We turned off the engine and started searching for sights in the grass. What we saw next was breathtaking. A tigress was resting under a fallen tree trunk while a cub was pouncing around in the water. To a reader it may not seem so exciting but the first hand experience of watching the tigress with her cub was totally exhilarating. We looked at them for about 15 minutes searching for the other cub but could not spot it. After 10 more minutes our guide insisted that we should move on and leave the tigress alone. We did not want to, but had to. During those 20 – 25 minutes we experienced an array of feelings and emotions. The stationary vehicle inflicted fear in our hearts. On sighting the tigress there was a mixed feeling of excitement and fright. The cub on the other hand was so cuddly and beautiful that anyone would want to pick it up right away and play with it. It was only after we had left the spot that we realized why the other vehicle seemed abandoned. The moment we saw the tigress there was a total silence in the car. No one stirred. Only the calls of the distant peacock were audible. Now that’s a spellbinding jaw-dropping sight. Even after we had left the tigress we could not stop chattering about what we saw. Some of us however were too scared to talk about it. I wouldn’t name them now. Read on to know their names…
The rest of the day was nothing more than a trek through the jungle. More herds of deer and sambar with the intermittent appearances by peacocks. At last tired and severely dehydrated, we made our way out of the sanctuary to look for an accommodation. As our good or bad luck would have it the only shelter available was a guard room since all the tourist cottages were booked until the 12th June. So we agreed to the room. But the room which wasn’t opened for at least a year or so was too small besides being uninhabitable. So we decided to turn our fate into an adventure. We decided to sleep on the roof while leaving only our luggage inside the room. Before that however we had to make arrangements to feed 8 hungry hunks. Lady Luck smiled again and the Sarpanch of the adjoining village obliged. The village is at a walking distance from the gate of the sanctuary. After the meal we came back to our rooms and took baths. The sky was clear and it was a full moon night. We were on the roof surrounded by total darkness and dense forest. Every one of us was now obviously scared. We dared to sleep on the roof on the assurance from the guards that no animal would attack us and none did. All through the night we heard calls of the peacocks and deer.
The next day we woke up at 5 a.m. since we had to go to another side of the sanctuary called ‘Kolsa’. Here we intended to see the panther and the sloth bear. Our safari started at 6 a.m. and after about 3 hrs of search through the forest all we could see were deer and sambar. Be ready to see a lot of them. They are as common as traffic signals in cities. Tired and disappointed we came back to the village around 10. Then we went to one of the many ponds located in and around the sanctuary, had a bath in the pond and went for lunch again in the village. There we heard about a bison that had been killed by a tiger just 3-4 kms. from the village and the guide told us that the tiger would return at night to feed on his prey. This was our chance to make the most of the day. So after the lunch we straight away set out for the spot where the kill was seen. The dead bison lay in a very predictable terrain. The tiger usually leaves his prey in dense grass which is around 5 feet tall. The topography of the terrain was as follows. The area was covered under a dense grass on both sides of the road. A small stream ran through the grass and below the road. The guide asked us whether we would like to go into the grass. Only five of us dared. Ashley, his brother Allen and Ninad decided to stay back in the car. Now you know the scared people who would not talk about the tigress on the first day. So we entered the grassy terrain one after the other. All we had were sticks in our hands. This was scary as hell. This is the most scared that I have ever been in my life. The water dried off my throat. It was only after entering the grass that I realized the actual meaning of the word camouflage. The grass pattern around me was so accurately matching with the skin of a tiger that it could have been impossible to spot one even at a hand’s distance. The five minute walk through the grass scared the wits out of me and I emerged out of the grass with my legs shaking. As soon as I stepped out of the grass I was on the side of the stream and guess what I saw right in front of me. No not the tiger… his paw prints or pug marks. They were the size of approximately my head. They ran all over the muddy banks across and along it. My worst fear was about to be realized. We were certain that the tiger was in that same area as we were. Sweating and trembling with fear we came back on the road. We could not see the killed bison. The tiger may have moved it away. Back on the road we went to the other side of the road. We were standing on the bridge over the stream. The guide showed us the spot where the tiger usually rested. The spot was the most unlikely. This bridge over the stream was outside the sanctuary and the tiger rested just under the bridge. So when people are looking for the tiger in the forest, this guy is resting under a highway bridge outside the forest. You can imagine how funny and scary the fact is. The tiger’s body had made a complete impression on the muddy stream bed. That was it. We could not take it anymore and seeing the condition of our three companions in the car we decided to go back to our room. We freshened up again and since it was 2 p.m. the gates of the sanctuary were closed so we could not go in. So the guide took us to another spot near a lake where we sat for about 2 hrs watching birds and other small animals. The gates of the sanctuary had opened by then and we decided to go in again. This time also we were lucky enough. After hunting for about 1 hour we heard from a car passing by that a pair of tigers was spotted near ‘Pandharpaoni’. So we headed to that area and as expected there was a crowd of over 20 vehicles. The pair was across a pond. But this time there was hardly any silence. On the contrary it was chaotic. The forest officials had a tough time controlling the crowd. This scared the tigers away and they disappeared into the trees. So this time it was the tigers who were scared. We could only see them for 2-3 mins. But we saw tigers that day too. We came back to the room and freshened up again. That evening we spent chatting about the two days that we spent. Then there were ghost stories and real life experiences that we shared to keep the mood alive. Darkness fell around 7:30 and we went to the village to have our final meal.
After the meals we were supposed to go back to our room and sleep coz the day had left us tired and weary. But I guess that just wasn’t the end of the day. The bridge that I mentioned earlier, well we decided to go back since we were certain that the tiger would return to feed on his kill. After much argument between two parties we decided to go. As for the people against the idea of going there… well they had no option but to come along. We reached there and turned off the engine. We were right on top of the bridge but this time on the wrong driving side i.e. the side other than where the tiger rested. We waited in silence for about 15 minutes and could not hear anything. And for the record we were NOT planning to get down this time. Since two of us, Mayur and Harshad, have been jungle enthusiasts for the past 6-7 years they had complete knowledge about the calls made by various animals and they were the sole reason we dared to venture out that night. Let me also inform you that what we were doing that night was illegal. Roaming around without a guide is punishable. But we did it anyway. So we were getting bored after 15-20 minutes and so some of us just lit up their torches and started searching for anything or nothing in the trees. And we spotted an owl. Not that exciting eh? Wait and read what happens next. While we were busy looking at the owl, a peacock gave repeated calls of warning (as told by the two jungle enthusiasts). The calls were actually those of distress since they were unceasing and sharp. Even we could make out that. But Mayur suggested that it could be a wild dog (mind you even those are ferocious). But then there was one growl and the peacock went silent. It was the tiger! To tell you honestly I am having Goosebumps as I write this sentence. The experience of a tiger’s company in the wild is way beyond explanation. The growls grew louder and well as you can guess scary. And one of us had tears (of fear) in his eyes. I was the most pessimistic about that trip. I had a pre-conceived notion that we were not going to see or hear anything. But I was the first one to hear the tiger’s growls. Man that was spine chilling stuff. The growls grew closer and louder. The tiger however did not roar at all. The sound was like grrrrrrrr grrrrrr… but only 100 times frightening. The tiger passed under us through the bridge and was right across on the other side. To give u a clear idea I was sitting at the back of the Qualis and the tiger was in the direction of the corner in which I sat. Everyone was told to turn off their torches. This was dilemma. If we left the torches on their was a chance that the tiger might get agitated and come over to join us; but if we put off the torches how would we know if he’s coming to join us or not. We hesitatingly put off the torches as instructed. It was a full moon night and the bridge parapet was visible on both sides. We were continuously hearing the growls all this time and now with the torches put off imagine my condition being the first one along the tiger’s possible approach road. I was drenched in sweat. The guy next to me was already crying. But I don’t blame him. He just appeared for his 10th std. exams. He was too young to take this. This episode took place within a time period of merely 25-30 minutes but they seemed like an hour or so. It was the longest and scariest half hour that I have ever spent. We couldn’t take the risk any more and I insisted that we move on fearing official action against us if were spotted and more than that, fearing the damn tiger. Meanwhile our stupid driver got excited and opened the door and was about to go out to see the tiger when two people caught hold of him and pulled him in. Again, these two people were the alert Mayur and Harshad. So before something else could go wrong we decided to quit. We asked the driver to silently and slowly move the car out of the viscinity and then make a run for the room. He obliged (thankfully). Phew! Now I could breathe better. No one said a word for about 15 minutes while on our way to the room. And then someone suddenly put on the light in the car to look for water and we were suddenly facing each other’s scared faces. And we broke into a huge laugh. Seeing each others’ scared faces we got ourselves a moment of relief. All of us were scared and there is not point lying about it. We are no heroes of the jungle or descendants of Tarzan. The laugh ended in smiles on our faces and we reached the room. Yet no one had spoken a word. We simply got down freshened up (again) and headed straight for the roof. Everyone was damn tired and everyone went off to sleep. There were hardly any discussions this time.
4th June, this was the last day of our little trip. We had no great plans as such. We packed and simply left the room at around 7 a.m. All we were to do was take a last safari across the sanctuary and exit at the gate on the other side. If we were lucky enough we might in fact see something, but did not intend to actually go looking for anything. We drove slowly through the jungle. Filled up our bottles at the Guest House located right in the heart of the jungle but safely so. And we moved on. As usual we were greeted by herds of spotted deer and one or two bisons here & there. Monkeys accompanied us all along the way as if to say Good Bye! But this just wasn’t it. Our trip was not quite finished yet. There was more…
We were already on the exit road of the sanctuary. This route was not a part of any of the safari routes. The gate was visible at a distance of about 1 or 1½ km. And we saw a gypsy of the forest dept. parked beside the road. We thought it must be some animal. But as we approached we were greeted by a shy and cuddly little tiger cub. It must be about 8-10 months old as told by the forest official standing there. It was hiding behind a tree and peeking out from either sides of the tree. This was cherry on the cake. About to leave an exhilarating and exciting experience and we got the PERFECT Good Bye! What else could we have wanted? But we were not allowed to linger on long for safety reasons. The mother of the cub could be hiding anywhere and it wasn’t safe to confront a mother and her cub. So we said our final good bye and hit the road. This was my version of our trip. I say this because although all of us had more or less the same experiences there were eight different interpretations. But a striking fact and also a sorry one is, that all the pictures that we took of the tigers including the tiger cub, turned out nothing more than grass. The literal meaning of the term ‘camouflage’ is revealed here in the jungle. Although the naked eye can see the tiger in the grass, sadly the common camera can’t. That was the only sad part of the trip. We couldn’t bring back memories of the tiger. Its as if the tigers were ghosts and refused to get captured in our cameras. Or the other way to see it is that, they wanted all you guys to actually go there and see them one to one. They’d prefer you going there than them coming to you in photographs. So if you were impressed even a tiny bit by this essay-like description make sure you visit the majestic ‘Kings’ of the jungle at-least once before they bid their final good-bye to this world.
I end my write-up on a sad note because I was actually saddened to see the condition of these beautiful creatures. They are fast decreasing in number due to reasons all attributed to us, humans. The reports and articles that appear in newspapers and magazines never left any impact on me and I was a part of the crowd that hardly gives a thought to the well being of these creatures, mostly worried about the day to day chores or exam scores. But after this visit, even a photograph of an endangered animal in the newspapers makes me think again. The forest dept. is not the only body responsible for the conservation of these animals. We too are and I know that these words of mine may not have an impact as much on you but I promise you that you will think a lot different if you were to go on one trip to the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.
