Travel Diaries

Jungle Calling

This summer brought along with it the opportunity of a lifetime. There were talks in my home about a trip to the Jim Corbett National Park just outside New Delhi. My father being a wildlife junkie often went there with his entourage of domestic help. He had been here so often that he was given special permission to go to the core areas of the jungle. Now I love animals, but actually living in the jungle wasn't my idea of fun. The whole trip was planned by my father and my boyfriend so in the end I decided to tag along. If nothing, the mosquito bites ad insects and jungle life were worth being with my two best men.

This trip was a definite experience for me. Having never taken a train in my life, I set out for a night's journey in the first class cabin of the New Delhi railway. I was too excited to sleep, and so was my boyfriend so we lay awake all night whispering about the jungle across our bunks. We were both psyched and were discussing the kinds of animals we would see. Morning came and before we knew it we were out on the platform, an hour's drive away from the jungle. It was freezing cold, and considering we were at such a high altitude the wind didn't really help much. The drive made up for the weather though. I had never seen anything that raw or beautiful in my life. It was as though someone had painted a picture out of the jungle book. I felt part of it. Everything began to hit me and I slowly tried to consume it all. The rich peacock of the leaves, the height of some trees that could put a sequoia to shame and the way the sunlight bore through the gaps of the canopy were breathtaking. It was like emerald with gilded gold.


All of a sudden the jungle had come alive. I heard noises I had never heard before. It was as though the trees were whispering to each other. We'd catch a brief glimpse of a paradise fly catcher here and there which looked like silver flying squirrels. They really were tiny birds with long tails and they flew as though they were gliding from one tree to another.

I had been to Corbett three times prior to this trip but I only ended up staying a day. I never saw what was so astounding about seeing animals in the wild. For me it was always as good as going to the zoo. However, this particular trip was different as my boyfriend coming along was a huge incentive for me.

I had one of the most amazing experiences on that 4 hour drive to the jungle lodging. As we were driving, there was about four meters of cold air in a particular patch. That entire patch was filled with the most beautiful butterflies that I have ever seen in my life. We literally drove right through them and there were so many of them that I had to ruffle them out of my hair and pick them off my t-shirt. That was one experience that will stay with me forever. Little did I know that this vast jungle had more surprises in store for me.

We got to the jungle lodging, and after examining the rooms I realized I had some serious roughing out to do. I don't camp, so the jungle was just way far off for me. Still, I figured it was something new and I love trying out new things so I went along with it and spent my first night there, reading about all the man-eaters that walked that jungle over the years.

The next morning, we were up at five. My boyfriend (being his adventurous self) decided he wanted to go for an elephant safari, where you stalk tigers. So naturally I had to tag along, and mind you I wasn't too pleased about it. The elephant took us through fields of 6 inch high marijuana. The smell was honestly making me dizzy and the fact that I was already so tired wasn't helping matters. I didn't see how we could spot a tiger through all that marijuana. And then it happened. The ranger pointed out a 3 year old female lying in the depths of the intoxicant. She got up immediately and bolted, we however were right on her tail. I have to admit I was ecstatic to finally see one. After four years of coming to this jungle. I finally saw a tiger. It was an incredible sight, seeing flashes of orange and black through all that green and before anyone could take pictures she was gone.

On returning to the camp I felt rejuvenated. I was determined to see another one. I still had a few more days left and this time I was going to get a picture. Later on that day we decided to drive down to the grassland to see if we could spot another tiger. I saw a whole group of crocodiles, vultures and deer, but no tiger. I got lucky and saw a massive monitor lizard bang in the middle of the road. I had decided that it was that, that made me day. Again however the jungle decided to tease me. We saw a herd of elephants with about 6 young calves. My ranger was feeling gutsy and decided to drive right up to them knowing full well that he would come face to face with the protective adults. Sure enough, as we drove closer the adults started trumpeting, warning us to stay away. My ranger however drove right up to them, revving his engine as loud as he could. Now my boyfriend and I were at the back of the wrangler jeep and we thoroughly enjoying ourselves. What happened next, we didn't expect. The biggest male bull ran right up to us, bellowing and his trunk grazed against my back. Any closer and I would've been at the mercy of this massive mammal. This we learnt was called an elephant's mock charge'. Adrenaline pumping, I wanted more, I was slowly opening up to the jungle, taking it all in step by step, and I couldn't understand why I didn't see it all before. I hadn't seen a full blast of a tiger yet, what we saw was just a glimpse. Still, my experiences so far satisfied me enough. Ironic, but for one to understand it, one needs to be there.

We went to bed that night, knowing we had to be up early in the morning as we were going deeper into the jungle. We were moving to another jungle resort which was by the river side. We wouldn't get in till late afternoon and then the plan was to head out for a night watch. The drive back into the jungle was as beautiful as the first. I was really tired however and halfway through I fell asleep; not waking up till we got to the resort. It was a lazy afternoon. Everyone decided to take siestas so my boyfriend and I went out back and spent the afternoon on a hammock. It was really romantic, until an army of fire ants started crawling around the place.

By this time everyone was up. Thoroughly rested and renewed for another tiger tracking session. It was rumored that just around the area was a female and she usually came out a little after seven. What was really amusing was that the park actually shut at seven.

Still driving around, we heard nothing. And then all of a sudden the entire jungle went on frenzy. Monkeys were screeching, we could hear barking deer, the crickets were chirping restlessly and the birds were going ballistic. It was like Pre School, right after the last bell, except these weren't children. They were animals. This was the alarm. There definitely was a tiger here, and she was extremely close.

The guide decided to stop the jeep at the top of a steep road. There was a thick clump of trees on both sides of the road, and a little beyond was a clearing of dried leaves. We got out our binoculars and started looking, turning off the engines. It was at that moment that the entire jungle fell silent. Not a single sound could be heard and even our whispers seemed too loud. The tiger had sat down. This is another amazing thing about the jungle. When the tiger is on the move, the whole jungle sounds alarm. But the moment she sits down, it goes quiet. It was like respect for the king of the jungle.

I kept looking through that clump. Hoping desperately I could spot it, we still were not sure this was the spot. I saw something brown and black and I pointed it out to the guide. He however brushed it off saying it was a deer. But then I looked again and this time I was sure. This was definitely no deer. This was a massive tiger, camouflaged within the dead leaves and the trees. The guide, after my pestering, looked again. And this time, he saw it as well. I grabbed my boyfriends t-shirt, and thrust the binoculars in his hands, "Look fast I said, it's definitely a tiger, I'm not kidding!'. He saw it and signaled to my dad behind us that there was a tiger there.
At that moment I was so ecstatic I could have been jumping up and down. Me, out of all people, who hated the jungle, hated all the wildlife' within my room to the ones actually out there, hated all the waiting and early mornings and being eaten alive by mosquitoes was actually loving the jungle. I loved it; I loved the rush, and the thrill and the stalking and then finally seeing a tiger. It was like the tiger understood what was going through my head. Out of the blue, the jungle went crazy again. She had stood up, only to walk right past us, lazily crunching the leaves beneath her monstrous paws, giving us a full view of her royalty and I was too stunned to even move. It was like she didn't even care. Five cars around her, all clicking away carefully, and she just kept posing almost. "Showoff", I thought. But in my mind I knew this was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Her colors were so defined. Her face was chiseled, jaws taut, teeth massive, eyes a gorgeous amber gold, paws the size of my face, and yet with all those monstrous features, she looked regal and beautiful. It honestly was beauty beyond belief.

She walked right past us, so close her tail touched the side of the car. Considering this was an open jeep, she could have just leaped up into it and pulled one of us away. That rush was unexplainable. Being so close to death, and yet death being so attractive. We just waited. Leaving ourselves out there as bait to see what she did, but she just turned around, gave us another clear head shot and in her royal splendor, disappeared into the bushes.

The rest of the night was a blur for me. The night watch was an attempt to see leopards, however no one was really that psyched about it. Not after what we had all just experienced. We had a barbeque in the middle of the jungle, in an old dilapidated temple. Everyone celebrating the tiger we had managed to finally see. I could hear people's voices raising slowly as the alcohol hit them; everyone was so chirpy and happy. I smiled to myself wondering if that tigress knew what she gave us all that day. If she knew how we were all toasting to her, talking about her, excitement still in our voices as we told and retold the story. Everyone there was giving their own versions, trying in some way to make it his story.

I however felt that this was my story. Sure, everyone else with me had experienced it. But this was in fact my story. I realized that this tigress had given me reason to want to return, she had shown me the beauty of the jungle, all that I had previously despised I fell in love with. She left me with a longing for more. I still remembered how I felt when it was me who had discovered her. I wanted more discoveries. I had made up my mind to return the next summer, and with an orange, black and white haze in my head, I fell asleep.