In my childhood, there were limited TV channels and NO Social Media platforms so, our means of entertainment was only Doordarshan… BTW I am talking about 25 years back story, not the pre-historic one…
I remember watching an episode of a travel guide show narrating “Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve” (TATR); it fascinated me as a child… At the same time, I was excited and curious about the place, the name, the location, the atmosphere and the aura described in that episode. I promised myself that day to visit TATR at least once and experience the aura of the jungle.
This story is about my first visit to untamed TATR, some unforgettable memories and mesmerizing experiences. It was the beginning of my love affair with TATR Jungle and everything else revolving around TATR.
There were many things I wanted to do in my life but couldn’t manage to do them due to various reasons. In August 2012, I went on my first trek to “Anjaneri”, Nasik and fulfilled one of such dreams. This trek changed my life forever and most importantly, I met a couple of crazy like-minded friends like Nikhil and Prashik (PK).
A few days later, we started planning for a bigger plan and our destination was TATR…. where else? I was excited, my friends were excited too and we started planning for the trip… We decided that we would hit TATR on 14 Dec 2012. So, we did all the necessary travel bookings from Mumbai to Nagpur and back. The planning and shopping for this trip began at least two months prior and the checklist was followed strictly to ensure we do not miss anything.
We booked the sleeper class tickets of Mumbai-Nagpur Duronto Express which leaves Mumbai from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM) at 20:00 and reaches Nagpur at 07:00 the next day and in between that it halts at two stations only for technical reasons. So that means if you miss the train, you miss the trip… as simple as that. The Safaris were booked by one of our friends from Nagpur. We were excited to explore TATR. In our group, I was the only first-time visitor to TATR so I was getting all the Gyan from my friends and obeying their instructions about do’s and don’ts during the safaris. So, listening to their instructions and stories of the jungles we were enjoying our journey…
We got awake in the morning with the sound of a horn confirming that our train has reached Nagpur Station. We quickly got up and rushed out of the train. washed our faces, brushed our teeth and we were ready to have our breakfast. It was my first visit to Nagpur so I was very curious to know about the city and especially the food. We had amazing local delicacy “Tarri Poha” and “Kadak Chaha” and rushed to catch a Maharashtra State Transport (MSRTC) bus. We were on time to catch the bus to Chandrapur. TATR is 180 km away from Nagpur city so you need to book a vehicle or catch public transport is necessary. Travelling by Public Transport can be inconvenient so it is always advisable to book a local driver and vehicle to reach TATR.
But at that time since we planned our trip at very stringent budgets, we had to travel through public transport. We catch the bus for Chandrapur. From Chandrapur, Suleman Bhai, a local TATR Home Stay owner where we have booked our stay and food arranged for a car with a driver. The guy who was appointed on the duty was “Shahrukh”. They both were interesting, the guy and the name.
So Shahrukh met us on time and asked us to hop into the car.
From Chandrapur to TATR, Shahrukh was telling us all the stories from TATR and my curiosity and amusement towards the jungle were on the peak during that entire drive. Shahrukh owns a Gypsy and he is a professional driver on safari so for him visiting TATR is like having a cup of tea. Plus, he had so many stories and memories about the jungles…. That’s why I said they both were interesting!
After 11 hours of a train journey, 3 hours of public transport and 1 ½ hour of drive we reached our destination and we all were excited and curious… We checked in our final location i.e., Mohurli- The most popular and prominent range of TATR. Our hosts during the trip were Suleman Bhai and his wife Shahnaz Bhabhi. They greeted us in their small but clean and neat homestay. The rooms were not overwhelming but we could feel the warmth and happiness on the faces of Suleman Bhai and Shahnaz Bhabhi. We also reciprocated the same to both of them and put our bags in our rooms. We got freshen up and it was time to go for the 1st jungle safari.
Now I couldn’t wait to go into the jungle and we rushed to the main gate of Mohurli range of TATR. Our Gypsy was ready and our driver was none other than “Shahrukh”. We were more than happy to see him driving our Gypsy as his experience would be helpful. We got into our Gypsy and were waiting for the Forest officials to open the gate of the jungle. Nikhil and PK did all the formalities and relevant paperwork.
Now the time has come and we were about to enter the jungle… 3… 2… 1… Here we go…
First TATR Safari… love at first visit!
While entering into that mesmerizing jungle of Tadoba, a random thought came to my mind,
“In our life, we met some people for a purpose, we visit some places for a reason and we experience a divine moment coz it is destined… similarly I always feel that my visit to TATR was for destines, it was for a reason and it had some purpose…”
I was clueless about the answers but I was sure about my connection with TATR.
So, the first safari began and we entered the jungle! We could sense a typical raw breeze of nature resonating my mind and consciousness… I was hypnotized by that scent and surrendered myself to the divine force of “Taru Van”, did I have any other choice? No! Never!
It was a beautiful evening when we entered the jungle and we were desperate to have glimpses of the Tiger, well that’s why we had come here to spot a tiger in their wild habitat. We could manage to spot, deer’s, wild gaurs, sambhars, few tiny little birds but there were no signs of tigers. We kept searching and searching and searching, but there was no luck favouring us. We returned empty-handed. But while going back from the jungle the setting sun and the sky showed us infinite shades of the colours one can ever imagine. It was a blissful evening…
We returned to our stay and had delicious food prepared by Shanno Bhabhi… The day ended with a happy tummy and the next morning arrived with a new hope of spotting a tiger. We got up at 4 in the morning and were up and ready by 5 for our next morning safari. We completed the formalities and entered the jungle… “Ganpati Bappa Moraya!” we all whispered.
I was unaware of one golden rule: “You should NEVER expect anything in the jungle.” Nature has its own rules and you have to follow them without any argument. It was my first experience of jungle safari and I had my thoughts in mind, I was curious and hopeful to watch a tiger! But even after roaming in the jungle for 2 hours, we didn’t manage to spot a tiger. I lost the hope of spotting a tiger and said to myself, maybe God want you to come once again to visit the jungle. We told the driver, let’s forget the tiger now, show us the wilderness and its beauty.
We were now mentally prepared to forget the tiger and enjoy the rest of the journey. But as I mentioned previously, you should never expect anything when you are in the jungle. Suddenly, from nowhere we heard 2 Gypsy cars were rushing from behind and we could sense some extraordinary is going to happen. The driver from one of the rushing Gypsies shouted that there is a tiger on the road heading towards a water body. Hearing this we all pulled up our socks and held the jeep tight and accelerated towards the spot.
In 5 – 10 min. we reached the location and saw that a Gypsy coming in the reverse direction. I was clueless but our guide and driver exclaimed at the same time… “Tiger”.
The moment I heard that I got up on my feet to catch the glimpses and yessss… I saw a “TIGER” in its habitat for the first time in my life. We got to know that it’s a female and she is going towards a waterbody.
Wowwwww…. what grace… what elegance… what attitude… what glory… what charisma… what authority… what beauty… what magic… she was carrying… she was simply walking in her backyard and still she was carrying everything a true queen carries in her prime. She was amazing, I was speechless and when my eyes were locked with her eyes for a second, I got a goosebump feeling… she was simply walking on the road and 12 – 15 “Gypsies” were waiting behind us in a queue to have a glimpse of her… this situation was simply unbelievable and unreal for me. I had never experienced such kind of stuff before and it overwhelmed my mind and my soul…
While all this was happening, I even forgot that I had a camera with me and I forgot to click the pics. But soon some camera shutters hit my ears and I came back to normal. I started clicking pics with a basic point-at-shoot camera which I had at that time and it was simply useless to have that camera. But still, I managed to capture my first interaction, my first memory with a beautiful wild tigress in the jungle of her own. This show was there for 5 min. but it gave me something that I can preserve in my heart for a lifetime.
We were looking at the patch where she was walking at least for 20 min. even though we know that she is gone… that was her impact on that moment. This particular incident changed my life forever.
After visiting TATR, I realized that I have been living in the jungle of humans who are more brutal, cunning and cruel than the animals living in the real jungle. From that moment, my respect for all the wild animals and even domestic animals extended to a different level… I started looking at them from their perspective, I started empathizing with them and eventually, I realized, why they all hate humans and run away from us…
The trip ended with infinite memories and one promise to visit Tadoba at least once, every year. This was my first ever encounter with TATR… THE FIRST BLOOD!