Monday 12 February 2018

The Jewel Of Vidarbha - TADOBA

Hello Lovely People,
It's your homeboy 'Tiger Zinda Hai' aka Nikhil here.

I had always dreamed of me sitting in an open air gypsy to meet the 'Jungle King'.
My Dream did come true, as me along with my family and in-laws visited The Jewel Of Vidarbha - TADOBA. There are six access gates to the jungle, we had opted for Moharli.


Govt. has availed us with two Safaris everyday, Morning and Evening. We had opted for both.
Needless to say that any visitor who visits national park is keen to sight the Tiger. Before the trip, I had heard of stories that many people had done 10 plus Safaris without Tiger sighting while some were some had Tiger sighting in the first instance itself. It's purely based on your Luck and 'His mood'.


Our day started early at 05.30 am.All of us were up and ready at our MTDC resort for our first Safari. Camouflage cargo, mercury wayfarers and hats gave us the 'Wild' look. Chilling winds started to blow as our Gypsy took speed. Our guides were fantastic as they gave us some unbelievable knowledge. Every tiger has his 'Marked Territory'. Nobody interferes in each others territory and if anybody tries to do so, has to bear the consequences. A tiger hunts only when he is hungry. He never accumulates prey, just because its readily available. How beautiful it would have been if we the, 'Social Animal' would have learnt a thing or two from the 'Wild Animal'.


We were greeted by number of Deers, wandering around, grazing, running. They were a symbol of how harmless a creature could look like. Our guide also informed us that after making Tadoba a 'Tiger Reserve', 80% of the jungle was closed for the visitors as eventually it's 'Their Home'. Tara, Maya, Sonam are the popular tigress while Matkasur is the dominant male. He informed us on how animals caution everyone else by giving a 'Call' when they spot the Big Cat. Just while he was speaking, we heard a Sambar call, and there he was. The Man Himself, The talk of the town, The Man of the hour, The celebrity for whom we had traveled all the way from Mumbai. We were absolutely stunned to see the 20 month cub of Tara. He was at a distance of no more than 50 meters from us. All of us have filled that sight in our eyes forever now. We waited there for about half an hour sighting him, clicking his pictures and guess what, dry grass besides him shook and there stands another cub who walks pass him slowly showing us how exactly a King walks.


We had our Lunch and got ready for our second afternoon Safari. We were still not over our morning experience and we saw two 'dangerous' crocodiles patiently waiting a the side of a lake. Our guide informed that the lake had around 80 of them, can you imagine. Indian bison, Bear, Elephants and some never seen birds were the talking points of our second safari. But when God and the King both are kind, nobody can stop you. We were so lucky that we spotted Maya and her two cubs running one behind the other. Nothing can be as graceful as a running tiger. Our trip concluded with some unforgettable memories. Readers, I request one and all to visit any national park of your choice, mainly for two things: 1. To experience the unending thrill that 'His' yellow eyes are constantly watching you from those dry yellow grass, 2. To remind us on how 'Nothing' are we in front of the mother nature.