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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Jannat Point, Pench Tiger Reserve
It’s been over three weeks since the year started, and they have been incredible. I have much to write about–my heart and mind are full of stories. I wrote about […]
The Forest Calls
It was New Year’s Day. We sat in the gypsy, shivering with cold and excitement. There were fewer people in the jungle probably because many had stayed up to bring […]
Taman Negara – Part I
I don’t know how people decide what they want to visit in a new country. India, I would think, is particularly difficult, if only because it is so large. Does […]
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? […]
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 […]
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 […]
Turtles, Ducks and Elephants, Kaziranga
Bakul identified the turtles for us. I did not understand at all, not even enough to figure out for myself later. Himalayan Box Turtle? Perhaps. That was a name I […]
Rhinoceros Unicornis, Kaziranga
“Haan, rhino hai, udhar,” said Bakul. “Rhino?” I repeated. I had to have misheard. He could not be so calm. He could not tonelessly say ‘rhino hai udhar’ and leave it […]
Mihimukh, Kaziranga
How different Kaziranga is from the other reserves I’ve visited! For one, you can get off the jeep in several places. In each zone, there’s a watch tower which you can climb to […]
Nightjars
When I think of nightjars, I think of poetry. Was it in “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas? Or did I come across a nightjar in something by Keats or Byron? […]
Back from Tadoba
We were famous, the talk of the town. Everyone knew us; the official at the gate wrote my name down each morning and each afternoon without having to consult the […]
Leopard II
It was nearing the time to leave the forest, but we headed back towards the rest house in old Nagzira. The guide needed to use the washroom. There are lots of deer […]
Leopard
We did our research before we went to Nagzira. We knew there were barely any tigers, but we also knew that many, many tourists saw a leopard in Nagzira. Surely, in […]
Starry, Starry Night
“There’s nothing in new Nagzira.” “Why don’t you go to Koka?” “It’s about 35 km from here.” “Anyway, Nagzira is closed on Thursdays.” “You could go to Koka on Thursday.” […]
Nagzira
Ten days away from the city. No internet. Phone connectivity for about an hour a day. Eleven safaris into the beautiful jungle. Three leopards. A leopard making a kill: whose side […]
Wild Dog Hunt
No one will ever believe that it’s not very easy to see wild dogs in the jungle if you spot them three times during the course of the same safari. […]
Back from the Wild – Again
Green forests. Dense. Tall grass. Just a few metres away, a tiger could be hiding and we wouldn’t even know. Anticipation is thrilling. Spider webs glinting in the sunshine. A […]