Tiger, tiger, burning bright...

Thank God its Thursday ! Finally, it was time for us to start our journey towards the heart of India – the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

The excitement started in Bangalore, when we were running late for our flight and had forgotten to book a cab. In desperation, we offered an autorickshaw 100 bucks for the 4- km ride to the airport. Our man took our exhortations to drive fast quite seriously, and his manipulations of the auto as we were caught in the jam outside the airport, accompanied by entertaining commentary and expletives (aimed at the other drivers) was worth every rupee. For once, I was glad I was not driving my precious car!

After an almost-night-out in Bombay, I was ready to drop off when we reached Nagpur the next morning, but there was still the 220 km road journey to cover. The Qualis offered to us by a friend’s relative turned out to be a bit of a squeeze for seven women and their luggage, but we somehow survived the 5.5 hour road journey. The highpoint was stopping at a hand pump on the way to drink and soak our tired limbs in some refreshingly kool water!

We reached our accommodation, the MP Tourism run Baghira Log Hots, at about 4 in the evening. Not being able to take a safari at that time (we were too tired anyway!), we had a relaxing evening spent sitting outside our cottages and gazing at herds of cheetal flock past as we listened to the sounds of the jungle. The rustic resort is located in the core zone of Kipling country (the name of the resort is obviously inspired by The Jungle Book), and turned out to be a great place to enjoy the Park.

The excitement commenced right away, as we found a baby elephant caught in the grass next to our cottage (panic not - all elephants in the park are tame) and later heard a leopard hunt a deer in the park.

The main activity at the Park is, of course, the jungle safari - there are two safari’s in a day (morning 6-10 and evening 4-6). How many animals you sight depends upon the time of your visit and of course, your luck. I finally broke my jinx of no tiger sightings in several previous wildlife trips by seeing three this time! Looking at this majestic creature - the lazy and regal walk, the proud tilt of the head, the soft and shiny fur and the mesmerizing eyes – is an experience of a lifetime that sends an unmatched thrill down your spine.

The two male tigers were actually ‘sighted’ by forest guards, who then transmit this information to all safari jeeps so that the visitors can come for the ‘tiger show’. This is essentially a 2-3 minute circling of the tiger as you sit atop the park’s elephants – it may appear a bit contrived to purists but you are unlikely to ever get a closer viewing of the king of the jungle, so it is worth the 100 bucks per person. We also had the more natural ‘stumbling upon the tiger’ experience when we came across a tigress nonchalantly ramble across the road that we were driving on.

Our safaris would not have been half as entertaining without Sharmaji, our jeep driver, who, with seven women who he wrongly presumed were innocent college kids, imagined himself as Kanha’s Casanova (much to his chagrin later!). We learnt all the wrong facts about Hindu mythology from him, and even though we were left to ‘catch’ the wildlife on our own, his inimitable vignettes (Main hee who Sharma hoon joh Sita ke saath tha, mujhe zyaada bolne ki aadat nahin hai) and the laughter they evoked are unforgettable.

Though the tiger is clearly the main attraction of the park, on offer are several other wonders for a nature lover. Kanha is the only park that is home to the barasingha (12 horned deer), and our superb luck continued as we came upon a group of them sunning themselves in an open meadow, as if parading for a National Geographic photo-shoot. Other animals that you are likely to come across are various groups of antlers (cheetal, sambhar, chousingha and barking deer – the last look more like street dogs!), bisons, wild boars and of course, langurs (you can see them peering longingly at your food from outside the windows of the dining cottage). The park is also known for the nilgai, the leopard (we waited in vain to see one), sloth bear and dhol (wild dog) – we came across a pack of the last polishing off their kill a few hundred meters from our cottage.

There are also wonderful opportunities for bird lovers – some birds we sighted that you don’t see in cities were the blue jay, the rocket tailed drongo, the junglefowl (we even saw one fly!) and the brainfever bird (heard, not sighted). We also came across a kite hunt for its prey and several egrets by the ponds.

Apart from the safaris, the Kisli gate has an excellent nature’s trail that you can walk or cycle - watch our for the tiger and leopard pugmarks! A wildlife film is also screened here every evening. The Kanha museum in the middle of the jungle is an excellent source of information on the park’s inhabits.

On our second day at the Park, there was a light shower in the evening – although the thunderstorm that preceded it made us think we would be flooded in for the next week (sigh, wishful thinking). But then, every sight and sound in the wild is on a grandiloquent scale. I had a great time getting wet in the rain, trying to match step with a peacock as it strutted across the trees in front of our cottage. The thunderstorm did manage to break the park’s electricity pole though, and there was a sense of adventure in sitting out in the jungle in complete darkness with only the blanket of stars to guide you, hearing an occasional distress call from a cheetal or a leopard growl next to you (or so we imagined, as we ran into our cottage!).

The cottages are quite comfortable, given that you are located in the midst of the jungle in the heartland of India. Seven of us were comfortably accommodated in two clean and pleasant A/C Deluxe Rooms. The pricing, at a little over Rs.3,500 per person per night (Includes all meals, but excludes safari's) is quite reasonable for the peak season - the staff is also flexible when it comes to accommodating extra people in the room. They are also extremely helpful and courteous - they will entertain your requests for tea and coffee at odd hours with a smile. The manager is extremely knowledgeable about wildlife, and is an excellent source of information.

The food is definitely one of the highpoints of the resort, apart from the service and the location. The menu of simple Indian food (dal, veggies, and a non-item item) is extremely tasty and reminds you of the cooking in old Government guest houses. The only area where we could fault the cook was the deserts. There is also a decently equipped bar (they even had some red wine!) and happy hours in the evenings.

Our only grouse was with the safaris – the charges for these were higher than those published on the MP tourism website, and a lot of expenses were not disclosed upfront. Also, being the tourist season, a lot of local boys were being sent as jungle guides, instead of the trained forest staff. It would also have been nice to have a covered porch outside each cottage, especially for the hot summer months.

The best time to visit the park is the summer months, when the heat draws the animals to the watering holes. Do remember to carry comfortable cotton clothes (no denims, please), sunglasses, caps and sunscreen, and a good pair of binoculars. Our manager told us that Dec to Jan are also great for sighting the barasingha – apparently its antlers are in full splendor during these mating months (the antlers are shed every year after this season) – but the temperature touches sub zero levels then.