Last Few Months

“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!!!