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!
