TIGER, TIGER IN THE NIGHT… (Feb. 4)

The train ride from Delhi was relatively uneventful. We were distributed throughout one train car of First Class sleepers, which only made it a bit difficult to shift from one section to another, to visit with other team members, that is, unless we wanted to carry our bag with us, each time we wanted to talk with a teammate. Pallavi, Cassandra and I were in the first berth – bunks 1, 3 and 5. There were all bottom bunks, and we were unsure as to who might occupy the upper bunks. Pallavi and I bought some snacks to share with the rest of the team from a vendor located out on the loading platform. Even the Lay’s Potato Chips had a bit of a zing to the taste. When Divan met us outside the train station, he had brought along some packed lunches, which contained sandwiches and boxed apple juice for each of us. The train was to depart the station at 7:00 p.m. and actually took off much closer to that than expected – at 7:15. A couple traveling with their little boy joined us in the compartment and another gentleman more or less drifted in and out of our section. Since Cassandra evidently decided to move to another section, and had left her bags on her bunk, the gentleman located onto her bunk and set up his office – complete with laptop computer, mobile phone and several file folders.

In conversation with the couple, I learned they lived in Udaipur and were traveling there on the overnight train. Since I had taken that same train a few years ago, I knew what they faced – jostling back and forth for the ensuing twelve hours. Their little boy was ten-and-a-half months old, and a very curious and active little boy. The dad is the food and beverage manager for the Oberoi Hotel in Udaipur, while the mom was working in human resources for the same hotel. This is located in the lake at Udaipur, and is rated to be the second most beautiful hotel in the world. The lake where the hotel is located is the same lake used in the filming of a James Bond thriller – OCTOPUSY. The mom’s job at the hotel is to train the staff. I offered to be a “training tourist” for her, willing to come to the hotel and to work with the staff in what western travelers want and how they wish to be treated. For some reason, she did not take me up on my offer. I did leave her with my card, so one never knows what might happen in the future.

Since our portion of the travel was to take about five hours, some decided to sit up and talk until we arrived. Pallavi had left to sit with other members of the team, but since she had placed her valuables on my bunk, I did not feel I should leave until or unless she returned. I decided to lie down and to catch a few minutes of sleep, but since I felt a responsibility to guard Pallavi’s belongings, I wedged those items between my body and the wall. This proved to be a challenge to maybe sleep for a while, and at the same time remain against the wall. I did drift off for a few minutes, but no serious sleeping time. The dad and the other gentleman climbed up into their bunks, and the mom and baby boy settled down onto Pallavi’s bunk. After what seemed to be ten hours, but was really five, Pallavi returned to tell me we would arrive in the train station in Ranthambore in about fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, the information she had from the conductor was a bit off, and in truth, about another hour passed before we came to a stop at the station.

We all filed out one end of the train car, bringing our bags with us and looked up and down the platform until, in the distance, we saw Ragu walking toward us. Even at 12:30 in the morning, it was nice to see a familiar face. We walked up the ramp and over the tracks to the other side, and along the platform until reaching the station house. When we exited, we saw Suresh bringing the bus around into the parking lot. We all greeted the two men and sat in what had almost become assigned seats over the past week, and they drove us to TIGER MOON, where we would sleep in for a few hours before going out on a chilly early morning safari to hunt for tigers.

The assistant manager at Tiger Moon welcomed me back and when we entered the reception area, I recognized the guide I had last year and five years before. I had taken a picture of the two of us last year, and when he came to ask for copies of our passports, I handed him a print of the photo, and he looked at it, looked up and me and then welcomed me with a big embrace. Rakesh was now working full-time at Tiger Moon. We were all assigned to our cabins or tents, and the porters brought our bags to us. I had opted for a tent, and actually was brought to the same tent I had shared the year before with Lawrence Furbish from my Rotary Club in Maine. It took me about five minutes to climb under the covers and fall sound asleep. This did not come before the winds began to strengthen, and I drifted off to the sounds of tent canvas flapping. The tent canvass used in this instance, however, was not your ordinary “army issue” drab olive green – these tents were khaki canvas on the outside, but the interiors were sort of a blue denim canvas with beautiful embroidery on the walls and the curtain flaps. The doors are zippable from the inside or the outside and for security; one has a padlock and key to catch both zipper pulls. The bathroom was to the left of the dressing room, and had marble floors and tile shower stalls. Was this to be my very first SHOWER? I would find out later that day. Up until now, I had taken bucket baths – sometimes warm and other times bone-chilling cold.

In only a few hours, I awoke to the quite “good morning, such” outside my tent. We were all going to go out on the early morning safari hunting for tigers. Last year I had seen four tigers on one such hunt, and was hoping my teammates and I would have a similar experience today. All bundled up, we wiped the sleepy seeds from our eyes and wandered the meandering paths to the registration office we had seen four or five hours previous, and waited for the open Jeep truck to meet us. Rakesh was already out at the gate, waiting for the truck to arrive, and suggested I might wish to sit in the front with the driver. I told him I would be fine in the back of the truck and that I wanted others to be able to enjoy that position. Memory was not kicking in as yet, and once we started careening down the village roads to the tiger preserve, I realized why my friend, Rakesh had suggested the front seat – the cold morning air, coupled with a velocity created by our speed, served as a reminder of the temperatures folks at home might be experiencing. Fortunately, I had a large scarf I had been given on one previous trip to India, and that kept me pretty warm, beneath my jacket.

The rest of the team boarded the truck, and we were off. It might just have been the INDY 500, the way we sped through the village. It is important to note, however, that the earlier one’s truck arrives at the gate and registration building at the tiger preserve, the more apt the guide is to be able to secure entry into the better sections of the preserve, maximizing the chance of seeing tigers. Even though the guides are in a lottery, there is no good reason why a bribe here or there might not also help the effort. We were assigned to enter Zone 4, and so began the incredible bumpy ride along dirt roads (?). It was still pretty dark, and a good time to be there, since movement of the tigers generally begins around sunrise. Just before turning into Zone 4, we were parked for a few minutes and the magpies or Indian Pies flocked to the trees above our heads. I held out my hand and one landed on my finger and stayed there for at least two minutes. I think it was waiting for me to produce some bread, or some seeds. I had none, so the bird finally flew away to another victim. These birds look somewhat like an Evening Grosbeak, but are about twice the size – almost like a small crow.

Once along the road, we saw lots of wildlife: spotted deer, Sambar deer, peacocks and their mates, partridge, pheasant, woodpeckers (a very rare sight, we were told by the guide) spotted deer and more spotted deer, crocodiles both large and small, kingfisher birds. At one point, we stopped to watch as two huge buck Sambar deer engaged in battle on the hill across the river. The clash of the antlers and the moans from each upon impact with his rival stirred our senses and most of us seemed a bit keener on observing the wildlife about us. We drove toward the fort in the distance – this fort having been built in the fifteenth century. We drove up steep hills and down into valleys near the river or the ponds. Most of the trees were void of foliage, and I cannot even imagine what it must be like to go out on safari when the trees are fully covered in leaves. We saw families of monkeys who stared at us almost as much as we stared at them. We listened for birds in the distance, monkeys in the distance and deer in the distance, ever hopeful we might catch a warning call being passed on through the jungle or across the plain. You have probably guessed by now that since I have listed all of the wildlife we DID see, we did not see any tigers that morning. We saw paw prints on the dusty roads, but no tigers. When we returned to Tiger Moon, we were greeted once more by the manager, and brought to the dining building for a hearty breakfast. Although the sun was fully risen, a hot cup of chai or coffee served to warm the bones. Following breakfast, we returned to our cabins or tents for hot showers and a bit of relaxation. A few of us wandered down to the shop just outside the main gate to the facility, and looked at the array of bedspreads, table cloths, clothing, jewelry and paintings on silk.

Pallavi had spoken with us and asked if any would be interested in a walk-about through the village, and most of us went. Rakesh served as our guide. Once out on the main road, we crossed and entered the schoolyard. The children were well dressed and sitting on the floor of their classrooms, learning math and other subjects. Outside in the courtyard or playground, a woman was cooking up what smelled like a wonderful and flavorful soup to feed to the children for their lunch. We poked our heads into various classrooms and were greeted first with questioning stares that broadened into typical Indian smiles. After leaving from the school, we wandered along the alleys and came to a Hindu temple. We were invited to enter, which some of us did, and smelled the incense burning, and heard the soft mantras being chanted by a priest or an elder from behind a masonry wall. A few of us were given tikkas by Pallavi, after she had offered prayers inside the temple. A tikka is the red spot or smear, placed just above the nose, in the center of one’s forehead. We resumed our walk, and came to an old woman at a well hand pump in front of her house. She and Pallavi began talking. She invited us into her house, but we did not wish to disturb her family, so declined her offer. The conversation was quite lively, as she told us that she was mixing some herbal medicines to smear on her arms. This medicine was to take away the aches and pains of arthritis and she was certainly convincing in her belief that the salve worked to relieve her discomfort. We then came around a corner and were taken by the lovely wall paintings indicating “Wel Come” outside the doors to the homes. There were other more native looking paintings of white on the terra cotta walls, depicting animals and people, flowers and peacocks. Another turn to our left and we were in the commercial district of the tiny village. We saw tailors working at their treadle sewing machines, while others ironed shirts or pants with coal-burning flatirons. We saw shops that offered food and others that offered jewelry. Dianne purchased a bracelet of silver beads, and
Sean took a picture of one tailor’s sewing machine that he promised he would print and send to the tailor, when he gets back to Newfoundland. The jewelry was mostly silver and very typical of Rajasthan. We made it back to Tiger Moon in time for lunch, and perhaps a Kingfisher beer or two. We met a couple from Scotland – she being a member of Rotary in Glasgow. They had been out on our early morning safari and had been the ones who got the seats in the front with the driver. We told them about what we were doing – a bit of travel following the NID and the work project. She gave me her card and indicated that perhaps they might be interested in next year’s trip, and to let her know the details.

Following lunch, we returned to the parking area to catch the next open truck into the preserve. This would be at least a three-hour journey. Guess what? We saw spotted deer, Sambar deer, Indian pies, partridge, pheasant, peacocks and peahens, jungle crows, crocodiles, more spotted deer and Sambar deer. When we came to a halt near one of the new pools being created by the government, to attract the tigers, we noticed the spotted deer almost frozen in their tracks. We listened intently and heard the warning cries of birds, monkeys and the spotted deer. We stayed there easily for ten minutes. Another Jeep arrived on the scene as the guide in that group had also heard those warning calls. We pushed on, deeper into the preserve, hoping to hear more calls and to be able to follow them to the source of agitation – the presence of a tiger or two. Our efforts were in vain, however, as no tigers were seen by any of the groups in the various zones. We did stop at a tent outpost, where guides are posted for a couple of weeks at a time. They had not seen any deer, either. Our friend, Rakesh, did procure some plaster castings of tiger prints along the roads and gave each of us one of them as a souvenir. I am not sure if this is the “next best thing”, but it was a kind gesture on his part. Finally, it was time to return back to Tiger Moon for relaxation, attitude adjustment and a campfire dinner. Just as we approached the last checkpoint, where all guides stop before entering the zones, we were startled to see everyone looking up to the top of the mountain. Way off in the distance, we could see the head of a leopard, which was lying down close to the precipice. He was in no hurry to depart, almost sensing the excitement generated by his appearance. We stayed there for almost a half-hour, since Jeep after jeep jammed into the area, thereby blocking any hope of extricating our Jeep from the tangle of twenty or thirty vehicles. That was to be it for the day. None of the guides had seen any tigers so views of the leopard through binoculars or sophisticated cameras would have to do it for all of us.

Back at Tiger Moon, we had some free time to shop or take a nap, before returning to the outside picnic area for a barbecue, Rajasthani style. As we gathered at the site, a few musicians from the area serenaded us. One of the young men, as well as a young woman, also served as dancers, sharing some typical dances from the area. We were served drinks and full plates of food, which again peaked our taste buds. The food was delicious. I finished my plate of food – a great selection of vegetables, and decided on an early night, since we would be getting up early the next day for breakfast and departure to our next destination. As I was about to leave the campfire, the dancing and the music, we were all informed that dinner would be served inside the dining room! We were all startled to learn the food up until now was starters and the entrée offerings were along the buffet table. Yet another surprise of our journey.

To bed in my tent for a really great sleep…