Chronicles of Banghavgarh

Chronicles of Bandhavgarh – an unforgettable experience

By Sarang Tilak

December 2015 was when I had decided that Bandhavgarh it is… I had watched a thousand documentaries and voraciously gone through a plethora of websites on wildlife. I was very certain that I want to enjoy a holiday in the wild and was very, very keen on visiting a tiger reserve. Upon researching a lot through library research and chatting with many of my nature lover-friends, I zeroed in on Bandhavgarh as it was THE tiger reserve to have maximum chances of sightings, or so they claimed… And there was only one way to find it out!!!

I decided then and there that I’m going to find out time somehow to start my hunt for the sight of this majestic creature that is the national animal of India. I finalized on February, as it would still have nice weather while also allowing good sightings as the fog wouldn’t be as dense. However, my friend’s uncle (who stays in Indore, Madhya Pradesh – the state where Bandhavgarh is) told that February isn’t advisable as the animals rarely come to the waterholes in such cold months as their needs for water are met mostly through their diet. Reluctantly, I decided to postpone my visit. I was already scouting for likeminded people to accompany me on this adventure. I had made up my mind on going solo, had nobody shown interest. After discussing and sharing the idea, four of us confirmed the visit. It was Sameer (my classmate from school), Dhananjay (another of my classmates) and his wife Kshiti. It was decided that we would go in second half of May. Scorching hot though it may be, it seemed to be the ideal time for a Tiger sighting. After a little bit of to and fro, we finalized the dates as between 27^th May and 31^st May 2016.

Once the dates were finalized, we were on a booking spree as we knew that everybody was going to be eyeing the same period. We got the train tickets (albeit on an RAC), and booked a fight to return (Courtesy: Dhananjay). Now it was down to the stay and the Safari. We shortlisted a couple of decent hotels and finalized on Sun Resort for a 3 night stay. The biggest blow to our dreamy holiday was when we contacted Mr. Shukla, the owner of the Sun Resort. Before confirming the reservation or even bringing up the topic of payment, he asked us whether we had booked the safaris online. We were stumped, caught completely unaware. We had thought all along that the safari booking would be done on the spot and through the hotel owners (How very ignorant and silly of us, we now reflect). Anyhow, upon receiving this piece of information I frantically logged on to the MP Tourism website and looked for online bookings of safari on our dates (29^th and 30^th May 2016) only to be utterly disappointed. Out of the 3 zones viz. Tala, Magadhi and Khitauli (Tala being the most sought after being declared as the premium zone by the government), for both morning and evening slots, the only thing available was Safaris in the evening in the Khitauli zone for both days. I immediately booked the same and called up Mr. Shukla to narrate the situation. His reaction was mixed: While he said there’s nothing really to name a particular zone as premium as tigers can roam anywhere, he said that the chances of securing a Spot booking is the only hope now for the morning slots and that the chances were very slim.

Suddenly, our excitement was diluted with anxiety and even thoughts of abandoning our expedition. We pondered a lot over the situation and finally decided to persist and take a chance as furthering our visit wasn’t really advisable. Not only were the Safaris for future dates already booked; with the onset of monsoon lurking around, our sighting would have been jeopardized further. We thought of hoping for the best and went ahead with other preparations. Important thing to remember while going on any wildlife tour is that you should be wearing dull colored, light clothes that will allow you to stand the heat while simultaneously being as non-intrusive as possible. Other preparations were in the form of ingredients to carry such as torch, hats, mosquito repellent, glares, camera, pouch etc.

As the day neared, we were growing increasingly excited about our visit and discussing at length about how we could make the trip most rewarding. We read about the animal/bird species to be found, other attractions, things to remember, cautions to be taken and what not.

Finally, it was 27^th, and we were Super-excited about the escapade we were about to commence. I had packed all my bags well in advance (an occurrence as rare as spotting a huntJ) as I didn’t want anything to go wrong at the last moment. I booked a cab, picked up the others and we reached Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to board our train on time. We were furious when we noticed the train coming to a halt at Thane (the place where we stay) while the itinerary showed no stoppage at Thane. Had we known, it would have saved us a good deal of time and hassle. Nevertheless, we went along. The train was testing our patience with so many stoppages and by running approx. 40 minutes behind schedule. We decided to continue with our chats ignoring the happenings around. Sam the Kumbhakarna slept early and it was down to the 3 of us. We chatted, ate and chatted again, finally giving in to sleeping fairies by 2. We woke up as late as possible (1100 Hrs) to avoid death by boredom and were pretty successful at that. Lunch was home cooked delicious parathas, chutney, Shrikhand and Chapatis from Dhananjay’s place. We were so thankful to Dhananjay’s mom especially after looking at the other options we had; had he not brought the good stuff. By around 1825 Hrs (an hour late) we reached Katni, the place where we had to get down. The driver was already waiting with the car. We equipped ourselves with enough Vitamin M lest we run out of cash in the remote jungle village. Surprisingly, the road was very smooth and we covered the distance of 100 km pretty fast. During the last patch before reaching the resort, we were already into the buffer zone of the national park. The climate was so awesome (despite it being the month of May) that we kept our windows open to take in the pleasant cool breeze. Sundar (the driver) was a wildlife spotting expert which we came to know pretty soon. While driving to the resort he was spotting animals using the car’s headlight out of nothing. We were totally amazed to see how he showed us Spotted deer, Wild boar and Sambar deer. We were surprisingly thrilled to have seen these animals before our safaris even began. We knew we had entered Kingdom Bandhavgarh. At the resort, we were welcomed by warm greetings and cool drinks. We had dinner out on the lawns and got in touch with the staff to ask about our chances of booking a safari the next morning.

The owner, his son and the manager (Indrapal) told us that the morning safari would be a remote chance as it is a Sunday and all the 64 resorts at Bandhavgarh are booked to full capacity. We were told that they would wake us up at 0300 hrs and we would have to stand in the queue before the counter opens. Tired from the journey we took a shower and slept by 2300hrs.

I was woken up by the staff at 0238 hrs (much earlier) and was told that the queue might get longer. I hurriedly headed for the counter and thankfully secured 5^th place in the queue. Unsure of how many jeeps would be available for the current booking; I was praying that we get at least an entry. However, by the time it was my turn, I was pleasantly surprised to note that I had an option of choosing between any of the 3 zones. Without any hesitation, I chose Tala zone as it was the premium zone and we were literally hoping to get an entry there. Triumphantly, I returned with the tickets and woke my friends up. Delighted, all of us got ready for our maiden safari. At around 0530 hrs, we boarded the 4by4 Gypsy which had been waiting outside our resort. We went to the booking counter where the guide would join us and we were to head inside. We also had a couple sharing the ride as it was a spot booking. We greeted the guide and started the safari by chanting Ganpati Bappa Morya to pray for a happy, safe ride full of sightings. Initially, we were thrilled by anything that we saw. The whole atmosphere of the jungle is beyond words. At 0545 hrs, it was wide awake, teeming with life. The morning air was nothing like even the December air we breathe in cities like Mumbai. We were taking in the sights of twisted trees and lush greenery (even in the month of May) when we spotted our first mammals, the spotted deer (Chital). It was a small group of 4, an adult male with 3 of his ladies. We started clicking and became very happy and rewarded.

Compare this to the sight of cars honking and people running. Anyway, we moved along and spotted birds such as Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Magpie Robin, Indian Pitta and even a Serpent Eagle. A sight of a peacock along with a couple of peahens was a delight to watch. As we moved along, catching the enormity of the jungle and the sweet taste of morning air, we spotted a wild boar. The guide told us that it is the favourite food of the tiger. We were getting excited even with the word ‘TIGER’ and couldn’t wait to see one in flesh and blood. Common grey langoors or Hanuman langoors were spotted regularly around the spotted deer. By the time it was 0830 hours, we were just chasing hearsay and reports of tiger having headed to a few likely spots. The Tala zone also has the Bandhavgarh fort and the Shesh Shaiya which are no longer open for visits on foot (or so we were told). We were, anyhow, not in any mood to visit any of the man-made places as our focus was solely on the tiger and other animals. We waited near a Gufa (Cave) the tiger was rumored to frequent. Tala zone being a zone with a fixed route system; we had to stick our routes (which we were told as B and D). This restricted our adventures and we could only hope that we wait at the right place and at the right time. Although this was my first outing, I had read and watched volumes of stuff on Tigers and wildlife in general. It helped me better appreciate the rules of the jungle. I was even spotting a few birds/animals and telling their names. The guide’s acknowledgements were very rewarding. The driver and the guide were, however, somewhat reclusive and seemed disinterested in doing anything adventurous. Neither did they seem keen on spotting alarm calls and hastening the vehicle around for any signs of Tiger presence. We finally caught a glimpse of a pugmark and our enthusiasm returned. It however, didn’t last long. We then reached a waterhole where we waited for a bit. We saw Sambar deer and Monitor lizard, but there was no sign of any tiger. We passed another waterhole albeit without any signs. We had a strong inclination of halting there for some time as we found it to be quite a spot and hoped that tiger might come there sooner or later. The driver and guide however thought otherwise and we kept moving. We also passed fenced boundaries of the park and saw human life; something we were not particularly hoping to find. A short halt at a ‘Centre Point’ was little more than a loo break and a quick bite with Maggi and Tea as we wanted to quickly resume roaming and spot a tiger. We kept moving along growing more and more irritated. We however comforted each other mentioning the other things we spotted and also because of the fact that there were 3 more Safaris to be completed. Finally by around 0950 hrs, we exited the jungle, full of numerous sightings of wild animals and birds but without any sight of the elusive predator. We were later told that a tiger was seen near the same waterhole we were so inclined to halt at. We literally cursed the guide for thinking otherwise. We reached the resort and had a quick breakfast. I immediately transferred the photos from the memory card of my Nikon D7000 onto the laptop to see what all we had captured. Appreciating the sights, we decided to nap for a while before getting ready for the afternoon safari. When we woke up, we were hardly hungry and so thought of skipping lunch.

By around 1530 hrs, we started off for our afternoon/evening safari. This time around, we had booked it online and hence there was neither any running around nor uncertainty. The driver Anil Misra greeted us and asked if we spotted anything in the morning. Dejectedly, we said No and asked him that he should be the one showing us the tigers. He gauged our curiosity & urge and was quick to enlighten our mood by promising us a sighting today. We picked up our guide (Kamalesh) who was an enthusiastic chap unlike the morning one and headed to Khitauli Zone. Khitauli zone is further inward, passing Tala gate en route. To our right, at the Khitauli gate, we proceeded with our identity verification while the guide and the driver were enquiring about the probable location of the tigers spotted in the morning. As we entered, we immediately noticed the different geographic pattern of the area. It had more of Sal and Bamboo tress and the soil was more of sandstone and the road much more uneven than in the Tala zone. We were discovering another aspect of the jungle and felt awed by the sheer enormity of nature; full of tall trees, endless greens and pure air. The driver and the guide asked us if we wanted a general tour of the area or whether we were keen on spotting the tiger. It was more of a rhetorical question. We immediately shouted in unison – “Tiger” and the driver then sped up the SUV in the direction of the spot they were hoping to see a tiger at. We were eagerly waiting and stood up on our seats occasionally to enjoy the pure air and the sweet pleasant breeze. We then reached a point where there was a man-made lake made out of water pumped via solar cells. There were as many as 10-12 SUVs already and we immediately figured out the reason. As we reached there, we caught our first glimpse of the most enchanting species on the planet. It was an adolescent, walking slowly from our right to our left in between the trees in a lazy manner. We were so excited and happy that the adrenaline was pumping through our veins at the speed of a spaceship. We were adjusting the position of our SUV so as to get the best angle. The teenager then stopped at a point invisible to us (in the woods) behind some bamboo shoots. We then got to know that there are two more, ahead of us. The space ahead was however blocked by other cars and a Canter (A 20 seater open bus). We tried to squeeze our way to the front of the pack, and with the skilled driving of Anil, were able to secure 2^nd row of seats for the show. By now I was already jumping like a monkey atop our SUV and the frame of the windshield capturing the pictures of another adolescent (2^nd of the litter of 4). I also jumped on to the 2 SUVs ahead of us to get the best view and got mixed reaction of many of the fellow tourists. Some were appreciative of my energy and drive for catching the glimpse of the majestic animal while some were skeptical of how safe I was jumping around like that. My enthusiasm was shared by my friends alike and soon all 3 of my friends were jumping on to the front row vehicle. Not only did we get a closer look at the 2^nd tiger, we realized that there was another one visible from that angle. Although capturing a photo of this one wasn’t a feasible option. However, we did store the memories on the hard drives of our mind. Hoping for some movement, all of us had virtually anchored ourselves there. We also got to see cautious langoors and spotted deer taking a sip from another puddle nearby wary of the deathly danger in triplet lurking nearby. The tigers, however, seemed full and content in sleeping rather than attacking anybody. We also spotted a mongoose coming out of nowhere and then disappearing in to the woods likewise.

The whole scene suddenly changed when winds started blowing. The cool breeze of air was very heartening and was a relief in the otherwise still weather with hundreds of flies around us. The ambience took a complete turn as it started raining; initially drop by drop but soon it started coming down pretty heavily. The best part about this was that it also made the tigers move from their sloth and seek cover. This gave us a better look at them and the cameras started clicking innumerably. The rain however forced us to seriously consider getting the soft top on as we were getting drenched and the equipment (Cameras and mobile phones among other stuff) needed to be covered. We got the top on and took a U turn as the tigers disappeared. Soaking in both the rain and the enormous joy of having seen the tiger for the first time in the wild, we started moving away. We went to a forest officer’s post for a quick break and also to remove the top as the rain had stopped by now making the climate awesome and raising our spirits high. We basked in the happy memories of the tiger sighting and were actively discussing how the tiger moved and looked at us and got up and literally every move that he made was discussed in detail. We were so happy that we couldn’t stop going gaga over the half an hour we had with the tiger. Even now I am unable to express the state of mind we were in. Happy from the escapade, we returned to the resort, our heart full with the memories of the striped beast.

In the evening, we repeated the ritual of copying the photos on to the laptop, only this time a hundred times more excited to see how the tiger’s photos have been captured. We had dinner at a restaurant in the village to have a change of taste as both the previous meals we had had at the resort. The experience however wasn’t a pleasing one as the cleanliness and taste were both equally terrible. Deciding not to experiment with the food anymore, we returned to the resort with the drops of rain still being around.

We were now plagued with another thought – What if the rain continues… It would put an end to the hopes of the next day’s safari, forget a tiger sighting. We discussed about what our stand should be, should the rain continue into the night. I was 100% positive and said that the rains would stop as it is neither the season nor is it supported by consistent winds. It was also going to be uncertain whether we would get a safari or not as the morning safari on 30^th wasn’t booked. Little did we know that the time to come was going to unfold in the most unimaginable ways and change our thoughts altogether…

It was 0110 hrs and I was preparing to sleep for an hour before the guys wake us up… We had been playing cards and it was decided that Sameer would go and stand in the queue as I had already had a late night earlier. However, with his health and habits we were a bit skeptical as to whether he would be okay with such late night endeavors. While I was in these thoughts before trying to sleep, the doorbell rang and I was surprised. As I opened the door, it was the same guy telling me that we need to go to the ticket counter. I was confused as it was too early; to which he told me that as there’s too much crowd, we would have to start early in order to ensure that we get a safari. I woke Dhananjay up and discussed the same and finally decided that I would stand in the queue. After two and a half hours of standing in the queue, all that was available despite being the 5^th guy in the queue was Khitauli, something that we had done and would also be visiting again in the evening. Nevertheless, I darted to the resort, freshened up, woke others and we prepared for the safari.

We were reflecting whether we did the right thing, especially with me keeping up all night, Dhananjay suffering from acidity and finally us heading to the same place we had been to and were also going to go to… Given a choice, we wanted Magadhi as it would have let us cover all the 3 zones. Nevertheless, we mutually decided not to think about it and head positively. The rains of the last night had disappeared and there was no trace of any of it. Upon reaching the gate, we were shocked to learn that the maximum limit of vehicles allowed in the Khitauli zone had been reached. By mistake some SUV was sent into the zone unknowingly. Annoyed by the mismanagement we were waiting with growing restlessness, especially after having gone through so much drama for the safari. However, completely to our surprise and literally unbelievably, the authorities informed the gatekeepers to send us to Magadhi zone as the zone had lesser no. of vehicles being sent inside.

 We couldn’t believe our good fortune and neither could the guide or the driver. Never had such an incident happened before. Our belief in godly acts reinstated, we headed for Magadhi zone and all our fatigue and sleepiness vanished immediately. We had got what we wanted and we were again super excited about exploring a new area. There was a good reason behind all this excitement. In the last few days, Magadhi had had 5, 6 and even 8 tigers spotted in a single safari. This was one of the major reasons why we hadn’t been able to secure a place there. Blissfully happy, we passed through the Magadhi gate and started off speedily towards the likely spots. Having lost some time in this mishap, we didn’t want to miss out on the action. Upon meeting a few other teams from other vehicles, we got to know that a tiger had been spotted to be going to an area where he had stashed an old kill. All the 15-20 vehicles then headed to the spot, waiting eagerly to see if the tiger comes out after eating his fill. We waited there for an hour, hoping for the tiger to show up. Everybody including the driver took a nap as it was a long wait without any results. We then decided to try a few other spots as there was no guarantee that the tiger would be there or would come out from there. After having tried the other spots without any success, we returned to the earlier spot only to see all the vehicles congregated around a waterhole nearby. The tiger had given a wide berth to all the vehicles and had passed silently from behind to enjoy a nice dip in the water post breakfast. When we reached the scene, we could see the beast come out of water and head for the woods. It was a fully grown adult male. Massive in built and extremely content after a good meal. We cursed ourselves for having missed the sight by a few seconds, we frantically started clicking and watching him go into the woods. Our guide however was a smart fellow and he told the driver to follow the vehicle onto a road parallel to the tiger’s movement, well before anybody else could guess the future events. Anil swiftly moved the vehicle in the said direction and we started following the tiger’s movements. We went a little further and halted, waiting for the tiger to come through the bamboo shoots and give us a peek into his walk. For a couple of minutes, all our eyes were fixated on the woody area where the tiger had headed. We found him relaxing and were only hopeful that he would move and walk further. After a couple of minutes he started walking and this time we were not going to miss anything. We kept moving along never losing him out of sight. After a while, we got a clear sight of him walking royally, ignoring our existence entirely and scent marking his territory by the customary way of spraying his urine on the trees. He was huge and so elegant that our eyes were as fixated on him as a hunter’s would, on his target. He kept walking and all the vehicles started tracking his every move. There came a moment where he wanted to cross the road and there were SUVs from both the sides leaving only a small patch from where he could cross. Irritated by so many vehicles tracking him, he changed his paths often, creating even more chaos among tourists and drivers. We were literally jumping from one vehicle to another, trying to ensure that we don’t miss a single chance of filling our eyes with the magnificent sight. There was a moment when he came so close to our vehicle that we could virtually smell him. It was less than 8 feet from the ultimate free spirit that ruled the jungles of Bandhavgarh. He then turned to a road where we didn’t have any access. Our guide and the driver discussed something between them and the SUV darted so fast that we held on to our seats, frightened that we might fall if we stand on out seats. The driver was taking the vehicle around a long route so that we catch the tiger from the other end. To our delight we reached the spot and there he was, silently walking; enjoying a stroll after a hearty meal and a cool dip. We watched him cross the road, the sight we had been dying for, happening right in front of us. I went to the closest possible spot and literally filled my eyes with the whole spectacle. He was literally less than 6 feet from me. We had not imagined even in our wildest dreams that we would get such a close encounter with the king. Having satisfied ourselves to our heart’s content, we let the creature enjoy his time in solitude and contentedly headed back to the resort. All of us were silent, reliving and enjoying the incident over and over again in our minds. Words can hardly express the feeling and no matter how many essays I write about the incident, it cannot explain what it was like… We had got more than what we came hoping for and whatever may be the outcome of the next safari, we were going to have a memory for our entire lifetime. I got to know then what it means to all the wildlife experts and the reason why all the enigma and magnetism surrounds the creature that is the National Animal of India. His gaze was piercing and there was a moment when I was about to lose balance, merely by going into a trance by just watching the creature move with aplomb and authority. I can only imagine what the herbivores would be going through when the tiger attacks them. I had heard stories about monkeys falling off the trees by a roar of the tiger and animals unable to move when tiger looks them in the eye; hypnotized by his calm, paralyzing gaze… I can now vouch for all of those legends to be true, having experienced it myself from such a short distance. As a bonus, we also spotted another tiger on our way to the ticket counter, on our way back. He darted in the trees, heading to the top of a mountain.

Brunch was eaten while the thoughts and memories lingered through our minds. We excitedly went through the photographs clicked and wondered at our good fortune. Dhananjay and Kshiti would later tell me that the experience at Tadoba was nowhere near to the one here. Even while I’m writing this, 5 days after the incident, I’m getting goose bumps by the sheer memory of the event. After catching a quick nap, we were ready again for the last safari of our expedition. Filled to our heart’s content, we started off feeling that we wouldn’t mind even if we don’t spot anything this time. Much contradictory to the earlier thoughts, our feelings changed and we were hungry for more almost immediately upon entering the jungle. It was as if some button was being pressed once we cross that barrier and enter the jungle in our vehicles. Jokingly, we were discussing that the only better thing to watch now would be a hunt or a ride on the tiger’s back. Laughing over how ridiculous our thoughts can get, we set out again, moving like a creature with a purpose. After a lot of moving around we were only learning that nobody has spotted even a glimpse and it was already 1730 hrs. We took a short break at the forest officers’ post only to regroup and set out for the final attempt of catching a glimpse of the elusive creature. The guide heard the alarm calls and shouted for the driver’s name to come and drive us fast to the spot. The driver, however, took a couple of minutes to come and we waited helplessly. As soon as he came, the guide made him speed up in the direction of the alarm calls. No sooner did we travel a kilometer than we stumbled upon the vehicle of Taj Mahua Kothi. The tourists aboard told us that we were just a minute late and missed the sight of a tigress crossing the road with her 4 teenager cubs. Infuriated about the delay, we cursed ourselves having not reached on time. The guide Indresh however was not going to give up so easily. He saw our disappointment and promised us that he’ll ensure that we catch the tigers for sure. Cheered up by his confidence, we sat upright and kept silent as he started staring in the direction where the tigress had went. He suddenly told the driver to take us to a spot which was a small waterhole almost dried up with the heat and the drought of summer. He then made the driver shuffle quickly between a couple of spots before exclaiming suddenly and telling him to drive to a particular spot as fast as possible and that we’ll definitely catch up with the tigers. We were clueless as to how he was able to track the movement and were quietly following whatever he was saying. As soon as we reached the spot, we saw one of the young adults walking away from the waterhole, probably having had his fill. However, within seconds, another of the tigers came and started drinking from the precious waterhole. It was literally like we watch in the documentaries. We got clear shots of the cub drinking water to its heart’s content. Then came another and then the last one. At an instance there were both of them simultaneously drinking and the shot was simply picturesque. The guide gave a call to the other teams (vehicles) through his signature kaw kaw and within a couple of minutes 3-4 other vehicles joined us. They thanked us & the guide and were super excited to see the tigers in action. With the binoculars borrowed from a foreigner lady, we took turns to look at the tiger up close. At an instant, I caught him looking at me and the exchange of sight was something that’s going to haunt me forever. It was like never before and so precious that I feel proud to have got the opportunity. Later we drove along a short path to catch the young resting under the shade of a tree. They were play fighting and growled for a second. Even that low growl while play fighting was so spine chilling that we wanted to hear it again. It, however, didn’t happen. Still we are thankful that we got to hear the low grunt that a tiger is famous for. We started our way back, supremely satisfied with our exploits and taking memories worth a billion dollars or even more. We also saw a jackal that was merrily trotting along and we felt surprised as he was walking right ahead of our vehicle for a good 2 minutes.

Upon returning to the resort, we lounged lazily, smiling at our luck and going through the whole experience of the last two days. It was a riot of emotions and a flurry of images that were passing through the minds of each of us. It was as if we could be dreaming tigers all the time. We had forgotten all about the life we led back home, the tensions, the anxieties or the petty things that we mistake to be very important. It was a liberating feeling. We were full of joy, having been up close and personal with nature, its mighty beast and all other animals, birds and plant species. We reminisced in the memories and headed for dinner. Having booked the car for our return, we went to sleep, with everything going through our minds over and over.

Morning greeted us with the birds chirping and sunlight gently piercing through the dawn. Tea refreshed us well and we boarded the car to head for Jabalpur to catch the flight at 1220hrs. The journey was a pleasant one with excellent road and pleasant weather. We had breakfast at Jabalpur and proceeded to board a Bombardier Q400 which would take us back to Mumbai. We were discussing how we would make everybody jealous with our stories and more importantly what memories we had captured, permanently imprinted on our minds. It was truly an expedition that started a whole new chapter in our lives and gifted us with sweet memoirs that will stay with us for lifetime…

I wish to thank my friends Sameer, Dhananjay and Kshiti for accompanying me and having the best time watching wildlife. I would also thank the guides (especially Indresh and Kamalesh) and the expert driver Anil