How do I make you understand the morning chill in a forest,
the view of trees shrouded in mist, the call of a peacock, the tree pie, the
cheetal or the sambar. They say a picture is worth a thousand words that maybe
true but neither words nor all the pictures we clicked will ever do justice to
the true experience we lived. I am at best making a futile attempt to describe
the three most amazing days of my life so far.
This is how it all began, two people in similar situation
wanting to escape the rut of their existence decided to travel together. One
thing leading to another with a lot of ifs and buts three friends landed in a
national park late one night with a lot of doubt and apprehension. My mom Meetu
had done a great job of fixing accommodation in the vip guest house (that’s
Indian for not open to general public).
We had a whole lot of animal sightings from day one, saying
that I realize that would still be an understatement. The forest was teaming
with life, at every turn every straight we had breath taking views. We lost
track of time and every one of us went into a trance like state. Every minute
sound was heard every falling leaf was noticed.
In the night sleep eluded us with the constant rustle
outside; noise of a breaking twig brought us out of our deep slumber. There was
this constant excitement of another sighting, we were on the edge. Not the one
which drains us, not the one which makes us hate every waking second. This seemed
like our inner most being was dancing to the tune of jungle.
Then on the last day it finally happened, we spotted the
tiger after a near miss. To begin with I came here seeking some sort of
happiness what I found was ecstasy. We just sat and watched him, every move
every muscle twitch, the yawn and the stretching, if you have not seen the
tiger in the wild you have missed something really worthwhile in life. Our
sighting lasted for a whole 45 minute and we were still very reluctant to leave
the spot even after that.
All I could do on the journey back was close my eyes and
relive every moment of it. Ro and Ila were happy high after seeing the tiger in
the wild. On the last safari, about four hours after spotting the first tiger,
we spotted another tigress. We had a close encounter with 'Big Momma', the tigress who successfully raised five cubs in a single litter and is also the star attraction of the jungle. Truly luck was on our side. After that point nothing
else mattered, nothing seemed important, all the pain and sorrow I was carrying
within for a long time was washed away. I felt light and appy again. This was my pilgrimage and I paid homage to the mighty
beast of the jungle and I was twice blessed on the same day.
Thank ya Meetu Gupta :)
