Sunday, August 3, 2014

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright (Concluded)

The driver kick-started the canter and kicked up the dust in a break neck speed furiously blowing the horn to clear small vehicles ahead. With every second my heart leapt and mind went in a tizzy. A few minutes of travel brought us on the edge of the lake with thick foliage and tall grass. A number of canters and gypsies had already lined up here. The spot was familiar as it was the same place we had come a couple of hours earlier (I had clicked the photo titled 'A Spot Where We Would Return'). Everyone was now on high alert. The lake was clearly visible from my seat and with reduced light my eyes narrowed to focus on a particular spot on the left side. Did I see a movement in the tall grass or was it a figment of my imagination…my heart skipped a beat. I found out a nano-second later. This time the movement was sure shot there. By now some others had spotted it too and pointed towards. Finally a passenger let out a blood curling scream ‘Tiger…it's there’. My eyes were riveted to the movement which became clearer now since there was a gap in the grass. The yellow and black stripes were now quite prominent…I could hear my heart pounding. The moment of truth had come.
 
The majestic beauty with its royal swagger came out in the open quite nonchalantly. There were absolutely no signs of expression as it went past our canter, barely a few feet away. No reaction whatsoever amidst the noise of a few hundred people surrounding the royal Bengal tiger. It came calmly and went about its business at the same leisurely gait.     
 
I was so excited that I had completely forgotten to click photos, not that I had the time, I realized later. Neither did I have the quick thinking to pull out the handicam…every second was precious. Memory of a lifetime was being captured through my eyes in my mind forever.  My hands were shaking furiously but I did manage to shoot a video with my digicam (thanks to a timely & planned deletion of saved photos earlier). It was all over in a matter of minutes, but the feeling had not yet sunk in.
 
As the excited chattering went on, the driver floored the accelerator. Such a bumpy ride on the narrow jungle terrain was quite unimaginable, but the cantering continued unabated. It slowed and almost came to a halt when a black furry creature was spotted among the trees. I tried to take a focused look in that direction. It took a few seconds to realize that a bear was moving about. Again the distance coupled with the fading light made it difficult to get a shot. As we moved on, the driver threw caution to the winds. What followed was a roller coaster ride which shook my body (and probably my bones too!) – every time the canter jumped up, my stomach went down like a high speed lift plummeting from the twin towers!
 
 
There were animated discussions in the hotel. The not so lucky once were exchanging notes, disappointment clearly writ large on their expressions. The ones who had seen the tiger in the morning were comparing the circumstances and the opportunities!  
 
It took many many days to realize that one of my deep desires had been fulfilled. It is not a very familiar story that you will hear in these parts that on your very first safari, the Tiger had been spotted!