Image: A tigress in a reflective mood, captured early morning in the wilds of Tadoba.
The early morning mist had not yet receded, as we entered the forest through the Moharli Gate of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Sanctuary.
It was early March, and a certain crispness in the early morning air, left a delightful wisp of anticipatory cheerfulness. This was our first Safari that we had set out and our minds on were filled with excited anticipation.
Our safari driver unexpectedly took a diversion into a deep forest patch while all the other Gypsy’s took the regular route.
“Where are you taking us?” , we enquired .
“My instinct tells me there is a tiger close by …!!!” was his prompt reply, more in the form of a quip.
We sit in anticipation with our mouths agape. There were no deer calls, nor any other suggestive signs; yet this chap confidently makes this statement?
We move deeper and deeper into the jungle. Nothing to be seen any where, not even a Deer or a Gaur, yet our driver moves on. Ours is the only jeep on the safari track.
And sudden he stops… !!!
Right in front,sitting besides a waterhole is this beautiful tigress, all by herself.
She just sits there, serene in her beauty, sure of her graceful presence.
It seemed as though she had anticipated our arrival as if she had herself called us there.
She doesn’t move, but waits patiently- as we faithfully reciprocated by awe-inspiringly waiting with her. For the better part of an hour it’s just her and us in the stillness of the forest.
The experience is surreal, almost spiritual. Time slipped by, unending and ceaselessly. It’s almost past an hour before another gypsy is heard rolling in, at a distance.
And she too hears them approach, gets up with an elegance that only a tigress is capable of and quietly strides into the thickets before the other Gypsy reaches the spot.
All we could do was just point in the direction she left, awestruck and spellbound in satisfactory disbelief.
Tadoba, March 2016 (view in full screen mode)
© Dr Prasad J. Kamath, Gynaecologist; Endoscopic Surgeon. A Nature Enthusiast by passion.
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What a captivating account of that unforgettable encounter!. This beautiful narration brings the entire safari alive- the silence of the jungle, the anticipation, the approaching Gypsy and finally the Tigress disappearing gracefully into the thickets. It is almost as if we travelled alongside the author and experienced those precious moments ourselves.
A truly immersive story one that doesn’t just tell us about a safari, but makes us feel that we were part of it. Absolutely spellbinding !.