What have you heard about the Sundarbans? I've heard all kinds of things. Most of the tigers are man-eaters.People who step out hope not to see a tiger because if they do, they probably won't come back.Like any other water safari, you don't really see animals because you're in the water, and why would animals come out of the woods to see you?Most of what I knew was like that. A rudimentary search told me nothing about how to get to the Sundarbans. Following my school text book, I even wrote it Sunderbans because I didn't know that it got its name from the sundari tree. What are the safari timings? Where does one stay? How does one get there? Is the forest closed in the monsoon? Zilch.Thanks to a friend who's been there, though, we contacted a guide and got a little more clarity--eventually. We learned that the forest was open, and so, off we went to figure out how things work. … [Read more...]
Pench 2025
Pench is magical. I've been there five times now, and each time, I come back refreshed because the forest is so breathtakingly beautiful.There's Venuban (Bamboo Forest), a canopy of bamboos, full of secrets. That's where we saw paradise flycatchers in the past, and Malabar Pied Hornbills this time.There's Jannat Point, where we saw our first jackal.Totladoh, an erstwhile village, close to which we saw the tiniest crocodile I've ever seen. And of course, there's all the rest that I love--the garadi forest, the teak trees that are different in different seasons, the Indian ghost tree, the crocodile bark tree ... Joy! Peacocks One of the highlights of this visit to Pench was certainly the dancing peacocks. We saw a dozen or more! The one here was probably the most magnificent, trying hard to attract a peahen that seemed, for the most part, quite … [Read more...]
Pench – December 2021
Should we even consider travelling? Maybe we should just cancel and stay home.We haven't gone anywhere for so long! Surely, a jungle is safe! Where else will we actually be able to stay socially distant?What if we have to do an RT-PCR before taking our flight back. Will we have to spend a night in Nagpur?Let's not cross a state border. That way, being doubly vaccinated should be enough for us to catch a flight.Wondering, debating, planning ... we finally did go to Pench Tiger Reserve in December 2021, and I'm so glad we did. Safari in the Rain Watching the rain, all by ourselves in the wild The weather report said there would be a little rain. A little rain.Not a thunderstorm.But have you ever been stuck in a thunderstorm in the middle of the jungle?It was incredible. We stood at Bakhari Camp and watched the rain pour down on huge teak … [Read more...]
Beginning 2022 On a High
And there, having looked back at the year that went by, I can't have asked for a better way to begin 2022. In December 2021, I travelled after nearly two years. The forest had been calling me for months, but I knew I had to bide my time. We went back to Pench, the place where we brought in the year 2019, and there, we brought in the year 2022.And on the morning of the 1st of January, this beauty greeted us. It was one of those dream sightings, where we, rather than the guide or the driver spotted the tiger. There was just one other jeep, no whispered shouts, no revving and roaring of engines, nothing. She walked by us on our right, looked at us, and then bounded across the road behind us, striding through the jungle for a few moments before disappearing. Picture by @karannagupta If you've been reading my blog for a while, … [Read more...]
Of long walks in the jungle
For the most part, I dislike treks. I don't think I'm lazy, though I cannot really be sure. I just don't like pushing myself up a hill, or feeling undercurrents of sympathy when some people don't walk/climb as fast as others. Sure, everyone is nice. People help other people out. It's just that my body is not convinced that it is worth it.Walking, on the other hand, is a whole different thing. A walk in the jungle is incomparable. Sometimes, at rough patches that require a little climbing, I am a bit of a scaredy-cat, but once I take a few steps, I love it.And that is why, on our first morning at Taman Negara, despite my determination to sleep in, I could not stay in bed. I lazed till about 7:30 and then, I had to get up. We made our way first to Lubuk Simpon, a place we'd visited the previous day. It's a sweet spot by the river where people apparently go for a swim. We … [Read more...]
Night Walk at Taman Negara
We read a lot about the night walk at Taman Negara before we left India. Most people said that it was a waste of time and money and that all you could see were spiders and insects.That did not deter either of us. Honestly, I did not expect to see an elephant in the jungle at night, and I cannot imagine why anyone would. Isn't a walk through the rainforest at night thrilling in itself?At every forest we've visited, we've tried to spend time with the guides listening to their stories. Often, guides tell different versions of the same tale, embellishing it and adding drama that I love. I'm never on the hunt for "facts" there; I'm just in search of a good story!Taman Negara was no different, but I couldn't help smiling at the anecdotes our guide chose to retell - for me, they highlighted how rare a 'sighting' is during the night walk."In 2010," he said, "we saw an elephant … [Read more...]
Canopy Walkway – Taman Negara
I'm always amused by how the concept of distance depends so much on where people live."The canopy walkway is very close, just about half an hour or maybe a little more." That's what we were told when we bought our 5 ringgit tickets to the canopy walkway. For most people I know, 1.8 km does not quite fit with the phrase 'very close'.We walked through the jungle, marvelling at the fact that we were there, feeling privileged to be in a place that is so old and so wild. As we walked, we promised ourselves that we would take our time, strolling and taking photographs afterwards - our priority was to get to the walkway before it closed. It was a Monday afternoon, so it was not even a day that was unusually crowded. Even so, there were still so many people there that we waited for over an hour. We put our names down in the list of people in queue, and then settled down under the … [Read more...]
Burrapahar, Kaziranga
You know how in the buffer zone, they keep telling you that anything can happen? You know how all guides have stories about sightings of big animals on the main road?It never happens to me. I keep hoping, but no. Nothing on the main road.Until Kaziranga.All around us, like a wispy cushion on the tea estates, was the early morning fog. Shivering in the open jeep, we had our first sighting of the day - a rhino visible clearly from the main road. Bakul didn't even stop to look at it. He clarified later, "From the main road, you can see anything! The real experience is seeing it in the forest." I didn't argue.Further on, we saw a whole troop of monkeys, playing in wet agricultural land, right next to us. [Aside: I just looked up the range of collective nouns used for monkeys. It's charming!] We stopped this time and watched the macaques, running around, washing their faces, eating … [Read more...]
Agaratoli, Kaziranga
The eastern zone of Kaziranga is much more forested, not primarily grassland. It was joyous being in there, looking at the crazy trees and ferns. Some trees look like they've set up hanging gardens of their own, with leaves of different kinds growing out of their trunks. I couldn't stop marvelling at them.Bright green leaves glistened, almost as if they had been polished. My father chuckled. "It looks like Pati gave them a good clean to make them shine!" My Pati loved to make things shine. Her brass never had a dull moment.In Kaziranga, many tourists are accompanied by a gunman for security reasons. In Agartoli, we had with us Pranab, a gunman who'd been with the Forest Department for five years. Everything was good; we were roaming around cheerfully ... Until an elephant crossed our path.Pranab tapped on Bakul's shoulder. We stopped, maintaining a respectful distance. We … [Read more...]
Bagori, Kaziranga
Pelicans! The safari in Mihimukh showed me not just the Lesser Adjutant Stork and the Woolly Necked Stork, but also the Open-Billed Stork, Bar-Headed Geese -- and pelicans!When Bakul first pointed them out, I didn't quite believe him. Then I saw those incredible pouchy beaks. I stared, filling my eyes with them. I found myself thinking, "Oh, so pelicans do belong in the world outside cartoons ..."At the end of each day in the forest, I close my eyes and let all the images of the forest dance in my head. On our first day, I could see the beautiful forest all around me. I could see the elephant grass with birds flying above it. I could see the sudden pools around the corner, pools that kept taking me by surprise. I could see a magnificent wild buffalo wallowing in the mud.Central and western zones got mixed up in my head. I could see our first rhino. I could see all the elephants … [Read more...]