Jul 12, 2003 07:51 PM
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(Updated Jul 12, 2003 07:52 PM)
Living in Europe for quite some time, I realised that there is actually a lot to discover near my own hometown of Jabalpur in cental India. So now every year I explore one destination. The first was pachmarhi which is a hill station and this one to bandhavgarh was the second wonderful experience.
My parents and a cousin came along to make my experience all the more thrilling. This was the first time I was to visit the mighty cat in its own territory!
Knowing the ''roads in the potholes'' funda of the place that I came from, I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the road to bandhavgarh, took approx 5 hrs. So after the drive, we checked into the forest lodge operated by the govt of MP. Another surprise awaited me there. The staff was extremely good. Although they didn't wear expensive uniforms, they were a bunch of happy people willing to do more than just their job to serve us. So I didn't mind the tea to be a bit cold when it was delivered with a smile and a short story on how the fellow survived the encounter with the mighty cat when he was 10!
The first day started off with a drive in the jungles on an open top maruti gypsy(jeep). Was the coolest part. Cruising through the tall grass, on the web of dusty pathways throughout the park. The best was that every one of us was looking for something. As if their was a hidden treasure somewhere in the grass. And I guess there was!
We stopped at quite a few places to witness the spotted deer. There must have been at least a hundred eyes watching the beasts from the city. Our every movement was being watched. Kind of reminded me of the big brother house! Beautiful creature...the deer!
The sight of the sambar(another deer kind) mom with her sambar kid was special, as it came with a story from our guide. He says that the sambar is the stupidest of them all. It has a characteristic property that whenever the tiger attacks, it sure runs, but then stops and makes sure the tiger is following. Why waste running effort if there is nobody following? but intelligent creatures dont survive there. It is the one eaten up the most by the big cat.
We jumped out of the gypsy to locate the leopard's prints on the ground. A surge of accomplishment, as we shared the same ground as the tiger. And here came another story from the driver. Once in this park, the leopard was being chased by the tiger. Kind of a cat family drama I guess. The leopard climbed a tree and the tiger waited for it to come down.. And waited and waited and waited for a full week! The villagers could hear the sounds of the waiting beast each night. Nobody asked what happened next. The ''waiting'' I believe was the point of emphasis. Maybe he meant to say that whenever you climb a tree to run from the big cat, take at least a weeks rations with you!
The cat was still elusive! no sign of it! we saw all kind of animals but where is our kohinoor(as the guide called him). But our luck was not bad. Although we didnt get the ''one-who-spotted-the-tiger'' fame, we noticed a collection of jeeps at one place and so, our heard tendency forced us to join. There was the mighty cat! about 15 mtrs from us. Unusual I thought, this one had four paws pointing towards the sky, but looking at us with the huge bright face.
In the next few days, we had a few more encounters with the cats, which were much better and closer than this one. But I wont describe them. Just visit this beautiful place and experience for yourself the excitement of discovering the tiger behind the swaying grass!
One thing I would surely say. Its worth every rupee.
To add to the adventure, there is also a fort on the hill inside the park which offers more exploration, and of course, stories. People are nice. Not too much of ''money snatching'' attitude that we see at some tourist destinations in India.
Have fun!
