The last weekend was a long one....so took off to Ranthambhore, hoping for a 'return to innocence' experience. And surprisingly, was rewarded with one too! We took off early on the friday morning and followed an alternate route show by the Google maps which went through Alwar and Sariska. The roads in certain place were so bad that we sometimes felt like turning back and take the regular route. Keeping the stretch of bad road aside, the journey to Ranthambhore was really nice....driving through the narrow roads with mustard fields on both sides...suddenly discovering a fort in the middle of nowhere....syncing in the colours of day to day life in Rajasthan.
As we reached Ranthambhore Safari Lodge, where we were staying, around 16:00hrs, we couldn't go for the Safari that day and booked ourselves for the Safari the next morning. The evening went on very pleasantly...lazing around in the lawns and spending time with the loved one!
The wake-up call came at 06:00hrs the next morning. The Safari guys will come by 06:30hrs to pick us up from the hotel. With a strong cup of black coffee, we set out for the safari in a 20 seater Canter. Initially, i was a little disappointed as i wanted to go in a Gypsy but, then I realised that it really didn't matter as, inside the forest, everyone was standing to try and grasp every aspect of the beauty of the jungle.
By the time we entered our Zone in the forest it was past 07:00hrs. But, it was still foggy and the sun was still not out. We saw a few deers, peacocks and some other birds. The our driver was taking us to all the spots where tigers are generally spotted....but no luck!
As we were passing by a stretch, another lady in our Canter and I spotted a tiger quite far off in near the tall grasses. It was foogy and the tiger was quite faraway...so all we could manage was the silhouette of the tiger behind a tree. And then it vanished off in he tall grasses. As there were 2-3 deers near the tall grass, we waited there hoping that the tiger will come out and go for the kill. But, it never came out and we heard deer calls from the otherside. Our driver literally zoomed us across to the side from where the deer calls came. And then there was the Magical moment......the tiger came out of the tall grasses and slowly walked towards us.
It was such a surreal experience....seeing the tiger out in the wild....free of all shackles.....it was becoming difficult for me to believe that i was actually witnessing the tiger strolling smoothly in front of me! I wanted to soak in each and every nano second of the moment....would have stopped blinking my eyes if i could!
We were told that the tigress was named T-17 and was one of the 5 tigers with radio collar among th 41 tigers in Ranthambhore. The tigress playfully walked around in a leisurely pace crossing us and going to the other side. She went on in her majestic way ignoring us to such an extent that i felt guilty of intruding in her space!
As she walked off to the other side, we came to the end of our zone and couldn't follow the tiger any longer. The adrenalin rush was so high for everyone in the Canter during the tigress sighting that we all kept sitting at the same place for a while sharing the same thought....'Aren't we lucky to witness the majesty of the most graceful animal we have known!'
With the sighting of the tigress, the anticipation on our part and the pressure on the Safari Guides part was over. so, we spent time checking and out different birds and animals. Everyone tried their best to capture all with cameras and camcorders. But what will remain ever embedded in our memory is the experience that we had with T-17!
With the safari being successful, the day rolled out in a leisurely fashion and in the evening we went to the Ranthambhore fort. With some dose of history, we marvelled at the ingenuity with which the fort was contructed.
The next day we set out after breakfast and except for the long stretch of bad road, the drive back was quite uneventful.
Once back, i realised the importance of being in touch with Nature.....nothing else can enrich our lives and marvel us more than the beauty and magic of Nature!
