May 17, 2010 12:32 PM
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Ranthambore – the home of tigers. That’s what comes to our mind, when we speak Ranthambore. But when I went there I saw a tiger eaten by a wasp, another tiger fluttering around me, a leopard sitting on the flower. No I was not dreaming but I was looking at god’s most colourful creation for which Ranthambore is equally famous for – Butterflies :)
Ranthambore is one of the biggest wildlife sanctuaries of India, home of nation’s pride – tigers.
Reaching there
Airport – Jaipur, 150 kms away.
Railway – Sawai Madhopur, 11 kms away
Road – wonderful road connectivity across Rajasthan.
Best season– November to April.
Places to stay
You can find a number of resorts, which suit all the budgets. There are heritage hotels, hotels and rest houses. The Taj group has Taj Sawai Madhopur Lodge there. RTDC also runs a few there – Jogi Mahal, Hotel Kamdhenu, Jhoomer Baori Forest Lodge etc.
We went in January, stayed at Pugmark, a beautiful resort, where kids found many activities to indulge in. The live folk performers made the evening lively. Their Rajasthani folk songs resonated for long in my memory. Lavish buffet tingle the taste buds.
They organise safari jeeps for the jungle as only they could enter the restricted area. 5.30 a.m. in the morning and 2.30 p.m. in afternoon are two perfect timings. But the morning timings were too torturous, as it was penetrating cold that time, with a thick layer of fog, which somehow scared me to death, as we won’t know what is approaching, till it is visible. Hence I out rightly refused to go for the morning hours. You may call me a coward for this.
So we decided to utilise our morning hours visiting the Ranthambore Fort. It is another huge fort, with many legendary stories associated with it. The local guide told us, second biggest Jauhar (females sacrificing their lives by jumping in fire, when their army is defeated) happened in this fort, with a huge number of 14000 (claimed by the guide).
There was a small Ganpati temple in that fort, with a belief, that if we make a tower or some such figure with the stones in that area, then our longing wish of having our own house would be fulfilled. It also has a small Jain temple and a mosque, which showed the different rulers influence on the fort. A large part of the fort was closed for maintenance, which was going at snail’s pace. It also had a big reservoir (or Bawdi) in its premises, which was the source of water for the whole area. And sadly was later used for unmarried females to sacrifice their lives in that, as they were not supposed to jump in fire.
As we walked, I could see the numerous butterflies fluttering around, I was able to identify only a few, namely, yellow pansy, blue pansy, plain tiger and pioneer. Also peacocks were in abundance there, at one point, we counted more than 21 peacocks, which was quite a sight.
On our way back, we saw sambhar, deer, peacocks, variety of birds, langoors, monkeys; I mean almost all the animals but the tiger.
After the hearty lunch we were ready for the tiger, I mean the safari ride. We went deep in the jungle, my heart was racing at the speed of 300 miles per second (zyada ho gaya, ok, per hour). It was a silent jungle where our jeep’s engine was the only voice we could hear. A flutter here or there, rustling of leaves, would make our heads turn, but nothing. Waiting for tiger reminded me of movie honeymoon travels where Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani sit in a boat, trying to look for some dolphins and guide would fool them saying “there there” “there there” , sadly our guide was not trying to fool us even.
We came back without the darshans. Enjoyed another night, with live music, next morning we saw the real pug marks of the tiger! Where??? Very near to our resort, shown to us by the manager, who saw our long faces last night, and specially took us next morning to show us, that tiger came to meet us, but we were sleeping, hence went back without disturbing us.
In all, I loved my little adventure, and would go there again, to meet my beloved friend, with whom a bond was created without meeting.
