Thrilling experience at Tadoba Tiger Reserve
27th May, 2019; exactly four years after the last visit to Central Indian greens, we are on our way to another doorway to the idyllic, doorway to Mother Nature; as our cab came to a pause before the gates of the airport, we were still in a daze; are we really on our way to our dream destination? Are we really, at long last, after a yawning four-year gap, making our way to the land of tigers? Yet again?
Tadoba : the green pocket near Chandrapur, around 180kms from Nagpur; a family discussion in the month of May came to a conclusion that we will be trying for Tadoba amidst the May mayhem, heat that is; it’s indeed the summer months which are ideal for animal viewing; even if we leave alone the king of the jungle in yellow coat & black stripes.
The other inhabitants of the forest — the deer, the dholes(Indian jungle dog), the gaur(Indian wild buffalo), the jackal all are more visible in the dry months not only because they throng besides the waterholes but also because the shrubbery & the vegetation becomes thinner in the summer months thereby helping the expert eye to probe further for a glimpse or two of the offsprings of nature —- with luck, the striped emperor can also pose for a photoshoot in his / her magnificent lazy elegance.
As we disembarked from the flight, trundled out of the Nagpur airport & stepped into the pre-booked car, slowly the daze was giving way to reality; yes, we are on our way to the forests again, and in a new venture in none other than Tadoba Andhari national park, a forest where highest nos of ”sightings” have been reported in the last few years; yes, ”sightings” of none other than the king & queen of the jungle — the tiger / tigress.
Tadoba – Andhari national park; the word Tadoba has been derived from the name of local God ”Taru” & Andhari is the name of the river that flows through the forest; nestled within around 25 kms from Chandrapur, Tadoba is bifurcated into 6 core zones & 12 buffer zones; home to more than 40 tigers, Tadoba is also home to crocodiles which abound the Tadoba lake, the Kolara lake & the river.
As our hired Tavera crosses the coal fields of Chandrapur & makes its way in front of the main gate, an inexplicable joy of a nature lover erupts as the feeling that we have finally reached the gates of Tadoba sinks in.
Joy gives place to controlled euphoria as mandatory checks in the gate are done and the wheels roll inside the park; for the first time !!! As the vehicle moves further into the park, towards our rest house, our guide advises us to be alert as we are officially into the tiger zone & HIS / HER Majesty may prove to be kind enough any moment.
Every nook & corner the vehicle is taking, we are filled with anticipation; it’s the forest which has this dynamic beauty — anything can happen at any moment; there is absolutely no static matter in a forest; even the deafening silence is filled with anticipation in a forest; a herd of sambar deer passes by; our first view of wildlife in four years since we visited the twin jungles of Kanha & Pench — a story to be told elsewhere at some other time.
As we stepped into a restroom and have a quick bath, each & every sinew, every nerve of our body longed for the gypsy ride just an hour and a half away — our first safari !! the lunch in between just seemed to be a stopover, meant to be over as soon as possible so that our first foray into the Moharli core zone begins.
The clock ticks by and the august moment arrives when we step into the open gypsy; my daughter, my wife & myself; for the beginner, a picture of opposites that we are in various facets of life, God has chosen us to be together perhaps only for one common reason — our love, our absolute fascination for Mother Nature; forests to be specific.
The loo, the dry hot air hits us as the Moharli core zone gate opens & our gypsy rolls in; the safari begins; we wrap cloths around our faces & heads as is customary in mid 40 degree celcius but keeps our eyes & mind alert for any kind of movement, any sighting; a ride for around ten minutes & our gypsy drives on the banks of a small pond where some spotted deer were bathing & some were feasting on green foliage; our guide signals the driver for a dead stop and us to be silent; 
the deer herd suddenly seems to be in an alert mode.
Absolute silence everywhere except some chirping of invisible crickets; a monkey ”call” is being heard from a nearby tree; (monkeys & deers ”call” in a strange intonation & volume level once they spot a tiger / a leopard/ any predator to alert each other) ; more silence; suspense; the ignition key of our open gypsy is turned off; fifteen more minute passes by; nothing happens even though the ”call ” continues; ten more minutes & slowly the ”call” fades away.
And the deer herd seems to be relaxed; the ”danger” if any lurking somewhere near is gone for good; atleast for now, for them; the experienced guide signals & the driver starts the engine for another direction — the Tadoba lake.
”If you are lucky, Maya’s children are waiting for you ” — announces our guide; the gypsy trundles along in the forest road and reaches the lakeside; the water body is just around twenty-five meters away with a treeline separating our gypsy & the lake; the gypsy moves on, slowly, and suddenly our guide points something into the lake; our novice eyes take sometime as we spot two young tiger cubs, around five/six month old are moving around their mother in the water;”
”Maya” the most gorgeous tigress in the Tadoba”; announces our guide, gleefully as we cannot believe our luck; luck has favoured us in the very first safari; the next half an hour went in a trance as we witnessed a fantastic episode of Mother Nature; two tiger cubs around their mother, resting & playing; Maya, the mother, keeps a vigil nevertheless, carefully scanning the environment.
Forty minutes of transfixed awe comes to an end as our guide motions us to another direction; dodging through the rows of gypsies with visitors gaping at one direction of the lake waters, we come out for new ”pastures” and their inhabitants; however, that evening there was no more luck & we return to our camp with a glib satisfaction of witnessing tiger cubs mollycoddling with their mother in the wild.
The next morning safari begins with the view of a jackal crossing the jungle path; a jackal crossing the path is considered to be auspicious; the forest of an early dawn is fantastic; Mother Nature has just woken up; birds have just started their day; peacocks emitting their shrill cries as they fly from one tree to another; a herd of gaur lazily munching upon the foliage.
A family of chital moving on for literal ”greener pastures”; the hot summer sun is yet to come out and a cool breeze is flowing through the magnificent canopy of teak, bamboo, ain, bija, arjun, black plum & tendu; a stroll through the forest for the next three morning hours is enthralling with expectations at every now &then with our guide & driver pouring over new fresh pug marks at regular intervals & monkey/deer ”calls” breaking the silence; the morning ended with a distant view of a tired tigress having some rest under a bush, her stripes barely visible even with binoculars.
28th May, Afternoon safari: the dry, almost steamy air hit us hard as we enter the forest gate at 3.30 pm; this time it’s Kolara core zone; hovering here & there for about an hour without any luck, our guide provides our driver a new route map; driving through the grassy meadows, we reached a place surrounded by thick bamboo bush interjected by tall, elephant grass & occasional teak; fifteen minutes of pin drop silence & suddenly a yellow lightning passes by; the driver immediately presses the back gear & a few steps back throw us to a jaw-dropping awe.
Her highness is sitting inside a bamboo bush clearly seen through the ground shrubbery & bamboo sticks; 
she also gazes towards us; around twenty minutes or so, our guide takes us to another location where the Kolara lake is clearly visible; as the sun emits its setting hues, the water turns glowy orange with black bark-like substances doting the water bed in some spaces; ”Crocodiles” cries the guide as we become lucky enough to experience the reptilian side of Tadoba too.
As we trundle back to our camp, the sight of the striped queen inside the green canopy of young bamboo continues to enthral us.
29th May, evening safari: Having skipped the morning safari, we are again greeted by the ”loo” as we enter the Zari buffer zone in the afternoon; this side of the Tadoba is quite green unlike the rather dry vegetation of the Moharli zone and we see a big herd of the gaur (Indian wild buffalo) feeding on the vegetation with green bee-eaters (an insect eating small bird) encircling them; the bee-eaters probably feast upon some insects which cling by the thick black / brown coat of the gaurs; food chain; Mother Nature.
As our open top gypsy crisscross the Zari zone we are once more exhilarated with the beauty of Mother Nature; a fantastic juxtaposition of thick forest & dry shrubbery, of the greenery & grey-ishness, of the dry deciduous & young bamboo is exhilarating; our guide points towards a brown owl camouflaging against the brown bark; a falcon was readying itself for its evening prey.
Suddenly our jeep comes to a screeching halt as our guide points towards the right hand corner; a group of five jungle dogs; dholes; slowly coming out of the side forest, they give us a glance, rather a dismissive glance, crosses the road and disappears in the opposite bush; this is a specie which hunts in groups & are feared by the biggest of mammals, tigers included.
Just as the evening trip comes to an end we are again blessed by the forest God; around seven to eight metres in front of us is the tigress in her magnificent & bristling coat of yellow & black, coming out of the water hole, water droplets dripping from the magnified shoulder muscles; a picture of strength, power, confidence & dominance; a mind-boggling combination of supreme beauty & savagery; just sixty seconds & she vanishes in the adjacent jungle.
We return to our camp, supremely satisfied yet again; our mind blissful, yet sad as tomorrow is the last day of our stay in the lap of nature, the morning safari will be our last safari, this time; little did we know that Mother Nature has more gifts for us.
30th May, 2019, morning safari:: Packing completed, we embark upon our gypsy for a last foray into Tadoba; Moharli zone, yet again; a
last tango as of now; as we enter the forest, 5.35 am local time, the usual morning sounds & sight greet us.
The sharp cries of the peacock, the cool morning air, a group of sambars lazily munching upon the dry grass, monkeys playfully jumps from one branch to another, a sabre toothed jungle pig hastily crosses the path; at one place, the guide discusses something with the driver and redirects our gypsy to a side path through the jungle, not originally planned for; a gamble perhaps; little did we know what the gamble has in store for us; just ten metres into the path and ……….the beautiful Maya.
The tigress is in front of us; walking majestically just around five metres in front; royalty personified, she is perhaps on her way to survey her emperor & some breakfast for her & the kids; as our jeep follows her, we understand what the word natural beauty means; lithe, fit, power stamped at every inch of her body, she is a picture of beauty & brightness we will never forget.
She moves, she surveys with alacrity with the deer calls, she sits & wait for a few minutes & vanishes in the left hand side forest; all of fifteen minutes of gobsmacking experience every nature lover would dream for; we wait for a few minutes and our guide signals the driver for the lake where Maya’s kids are supposed to be waiting.
We hurry back to the lake where we saw Maya and her kids for the first time; her kids were still there, playing with each other, waiting for their mother to return; twenty more minutes & we see Maya at a distance, walking towards the lake towards her kids; no, there’s no fresh hunt; perhaps she may not have gone for one this time; perhaps that will happen in the evening; as Maya approaches, her kids become berserk and rushes towards her in unison; what we experience then is another priceless view — a tigress embraced, caressed & poked at by her kids as the mother reciprocates.
We and other visitors in the columns of gypsies will never, ever forget the scene of absolute tenderness & playfulness of the queen of the jungle with her offsprings. Just as we are on our way out after the out-of-the-world experience, we are blessed with another rare view — that of the black bear ! another rarity ! we just can’t believed our luck.
As we had a quick refreshment and come out of our jungle camp, we are in a trance; a sweet trance of a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the idyllic world;, we are fully satisfied.
In fact, satisfaction is a small word; gratitude is an apt description of our indebtedness to the Goddess of Nature; five tigers in five safaris !! as if that’s not enough, we are witness to the lazy elegance of the black bear, the alert movements of the wild dogs, the huge gaurs, the herds of swamp/spotted deer/sambar, the brown jackal, the crocodiles & quite a few birds.
We continue to be in the sweet make-belief world, the blissful trance as we enter the Nagpur airport, embark upon the aeroplane & come out of the Netaji Subhas Airport, mentally still in the magnificent lap of nature called Tadoba.
As we delve deep into the day to day humdrum again to carry on our livelihood, we continue to be in a trance, sometimes & wilfully so, counting days & months when we can again brace for an encore; let’s see which Jungle Goddess beckons us next.
