To be honest, I had never been to a jungle....except the one made from concrete, the one that I have lived all my life.My brief encounters with the wild life were limited to my biannual visits to the zoo logical park, where the caged animals were bored enough to act wild.
Well a week before I had a chance to go to a forest, I mean a real forest.Ranthambore national park ,one of the best places to see the tigers in the wild.The first thought that crossed my mind was...what would I do if a tiger takes a fancy for my flesh.Then I thought...its useless to think what I would do...I could perhaps coax the tiger into believing what a bad choice of dish I would be.
Well not long before I was at Ranthambore.Though it was in the midst of the sweltering heat of summer ,the serenity and greenery didnt fail to charm a city lad like me. The hotels was built beside the perimeter wall of the forest.As the darkness set in,I , along with a colleague went out to take a stroll in the road along the forest perimeter.Darkness, punctuated with calls of cicadas , chirpings of birds in the comfort of their nests and an occassional firefly made the atmosphere enchanting. Walking down the dark ,almost desolate road, an unusual strengh filled my heart...a belief that I was a part of the creations of nature .That night I had the most amazing sleep I had in quite sometime.
Next morning we were ready by the break of dawn.A open hooded vehicle was to ferry to the heart of the forest , to catch a glimpse of the elusive feline beauty. Catching a glimpse of the tiger was acording to many...a matter of luck.Well we boared the car along with several other tourists and not long before have entered Ranthambore National Park.No sooner have I entered the forest, we started sighting the wild life. Some inquisitive langoors , a patridge leading her chicks along the lake and some spotted deer busy grazing..
Well I dont know , if lady luck was in one of her better moods . Suddenly the vehicle came to a halt and the naturalist hushed us to silence.There was a typical call of monkeys and cries of peacocks.We all knew what it meant. The eleusive tiger was nearby. Everyone became silent and waited in anticipation. Every sound of cracking of twigs and a roll of dried leave felt that an hidden pair of eyes were watching our every move. We were in his territory after all, at his mercy.
Every moment felt like an age.And then suddenly a movement in the bush on my left and there he was, in full glory , his majesty himself .Everone started clicking away, but the tiger didn seem much interested in us.He came out of the bush , crossed our path and started walking straight, just like a royal of the yore who took to the streets on his elephants riding amongst his awed and bewildered subjects.Well one thing for sure, he didnt care about our existence. The mark of a true blue blooded royal.
We continued into the forest, small groups of spotted deers and Indian elks sat huddle togather. Favourite food of tigers , we were informed,by the naturalist.A group of wild boars roamed the dried up wetland. A crocodile lay , basking in the summer sun, with his jaw wide open.
The whole forest was thriving with life . Life , unbridled , unchained and free ,just the way it should be. The way it has been for millions of years. The way it should be for the coming years .
As I rode out of the Park, I could feel how beautiful the animals looked .So free , So wild and nothing to worry about except food.
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