“Last Few Months”- a bit obvious for the title of a blog
post. Well, when you have made enough promises to yourself and your friends to
write and not lived upto them, you need a grand post to include all that you
have seen and been part of in the recent past. So putting on my writing hat
(which color will a writing hat be Mr. Edward Bono!), this is my honest attempt
to win back hearts.
Hyderabad will have a special place in my heart, never had I
imagined. Staying in one of the “high ends” of the city, I lived seven months of
pure happiness and joy. Colleagues became brother (yes Mr. RRB, I am looking at
you), re-united with my first love – weekend cricket matches with the best team
you can play with, evening hangouts, roommates or family; Hyderabad you beauty.
As winter passed by, I slowly packed and left for Delhi in late January. Three
days in and I am off to Jim Corbett National Park. Well what else you can
expect from Delhi!
If I write a detailed narration of the all that has happened
in the “last few months”, I am sure you are going to give this read a pass-
let’s be honest, I am no Dan Brown! So most memorable “laughs and cry” is what
you will read next. Going back to Jim Corbett (JC) – JC is the oldest national
park in India - 1936, is spread over 521 sq. km and divided in four major
routes- Bijrani, Dhikala, Jhirna and Sitabani. Though Jim Corbett is one of the
most visited national parks in the country, spotting is difficult, if not
impossible. Contemplate this thought as we revisit Memory 1.
“When you
are in the hunt, of all things, you need to be quiet and discreet.”
Standing in a watch tower, we are clicking picks, cracking
jokes, enjoying the beauties of nature, when I notice the guide from the Safari
frantically waving at me. The Guide (I forget his name- I am awful with names)
is a guy in his mid-twenties. He and I have struck a bond- the love for
wildlife – the thread. As we reach him in the next 2 minutes, he whispers that
there is a dear call (what are calls, there types- is a post for a different
day). With keen ears I listen too, and after few seconds, I hear one. We board
the jeep right-away and we are off, following the calls. This is a good time to
introduce my co-travelers: ABC, Rathod Sir, Dodo, Farhan and Rajesh; for most
of them, the first wildlife experience. So to keep them quiet during the chase
was a task in itself (Dodo- I am looking at you!). Call after call, we are on
the right track.
On the road for 5 minutes, we now hear a monkey call. The jeep
slows down, and it seems as if we now crawling our way forward. We stop the
jeep and wait. This is where you enjoy the chase the most – the WAIT. You know
HE is out there, watching you, but you still wait for that one glance when you
can see “the mighty knight” in his elegant best, not behind stupid bars. After
waiting a while (I had lost count of how long we stood still), we finally hear
foot-steps. Loud and clear, expected to cross the path 20 meters in front of
us.
All of us stand still, in absolute silence, as the beast takes one slow step
at a time and one can feel his existence mere 10 meters behind the bush. There
runs a mixed emotion- the pure ecstasy of the spot, the fear of an attack. We
would see him in the next minute or two, when out of nowhere we hear engine
roars and human chatter. Dig a hole and burry the morons. Realizing us missing,
the others followed the jeep tyre marks from the watch tower and have found us.
Remember being discreet was a key to success. The noise alerted the beast and
we could clearly hear him settling down behind the bush. We waited for a long
time, and soon darkness started creeping-in. The guide advised us to leave, and
even after relentless coaxing, the driver drove us off the jungle. Highly
disappointed, I decided upon the next wildlife destination – Gir, I had heard
spotting is easy, and seeing a beauty in the real midst was driving me crazy.
For this episode, as they say, So Close
Yet So Far!
Gir – the only national sanctuary in Asia where you will find
Asiatic lion – rare species, majestic creation! Gir is 347 kms. from Ahmedabad,
and a close to five hours drive from it. With “Shubhaarambh” playing all day
long (thanks to our favorite Dj KD), it was one of my best drives till day. As
soon as you cross the Ahmedabad, you see the industrial area and realize why
the state has progressed leaps and bounds in the last decade. Exhausted and
thrilled we reach Gir close to 9 in the evening. The hunt for adulterated water
is what occupies the next hour, and when you have KD in the house, you can be
rest assured, someone’s cleaning the washroom early morning. What follows is a hilarious
night, a night I have coined as “The Dark Night”, the details are an
intentional miss, no eyebrows raised please!
“Why can’t
I move my lips, why are tears rolling, Am I going to freeze to death?”
All true emotions felt and lived as I sat on the back seat of
an open jeep. It’s close to 6 in the morning and we have already driven close
to thirty minutes to be at the gates of the reserve. With the normal
formalities in check - visitor entry permits, random identification proof
demand, we are in. A km. into the wild, we spot two bikes standing next to each
other. Few moments later, we stand next to the bikes and the guide strikes a
conversation with the guards in native Gujarati. The guide turns around, and
with a broad smile, announces it’s our lucky day- 3 lions are sitting behind
the busy. Overwhelmed with joy I strike a conversation with the guide (an old
man), who narrates that out of the three two are old ones and one is just a
“boy”. The shine and color of beard helps one to comprehend the age of lions.
Soon we see, three mighty beats slowly strolling towards us. By this time, a
party has assembled around us, and one can see those DSLRs out and operational.
The beast, mere 10 meter away from us slowly sits on the ground, and the guide
tells us that they are not going to move till the evening. For the beast, our
existence had no importance, “one of those ants whom I can crash anytime I
want”.
We move on, and after driving through another fifteen
minutes, we again spot a bike. We find another forest ranger next to the bike
who states that a couple is sitting behind. We turn our sight to the particular
direction, and witness the mating. A sad feeling creeps in- where is the CHASE,
where is the fun of spotting, you just have to keep your eyes open for the forest
rangers and their bikes, or collect information of their whereabouts. Yes I
have seen the “king of the jungle” but this no fun matched to the chase of “the
knight”. A crestfallen me, is waiting for the safari to end, when I am made to
realize the kings might- Memory 2.
We are driving our way up an elevated path. One can see the
tip of the road, beyond it is the sky. Slowly, the jeep is making its way up, when
out of the bush steps in THE LION. Crossing the path at a pace that suits him
the best, he is on his way back to the den. This is the return- the evening
return after spending the day in bright sunshine. A hundred meters down the
path, the driver kills the engine. The sound of the engine alerts the mighty
and he slowly turns his head towards us. The only thing visible now at the
horizon is the head of the heavenly beast. I am transfixed by his gaze, and it
is as if he is reading my scared mind, asking him for his forgiveness. You are
too insignificant a living being to be killed my me, I am in no mood to kill
today, I let you live your pitiable life- I could read all in his eyes. It is
then that I realized why a lion is called the “King of the Jungle”- the lazy
elegance.
The next post will throw light on few more “laughs and
cry”. Life’s pretty interesting at the moment – the beauty of balancing and
keeping everyone happy!
To be continued…
Traveler:
Peace Out!!!
