Holi Tiger

तस्माद्व्याघ्रो वनं रक्षेद्वयं व्याघ्रं च पालयेत् ॥

Majestic: a king in his kingdom

John Doe were looking eagerly in the direction where the forest rangers were trying to locate a collared tiger sleeping inside bushes. Suddenly, one gypsy driver shouted- पीछे देखो….बाघ पीछे से आ रहा है (Look back..tiger is coming from the other side). It was another tiger who came looking for her mating partner lying in the bushes. Holy cow! We just had our first tiger sighting at the most unlikely place – Sariska Tiger Reserve, a place that became infamous for wiping out its entire tiger population just few years back. 

Holi : the spirit of celebration

As the cold winter breezes transforms into warm dusty gusts heralding onset of Falguna, the transient period before arrival of spring, the whole of India gets ready for a season of festivals like Teej and Mahashivratri. It also is the time for Holi. Harivansh Rai Bachhan saab had eulogized the spirit of the festival of colors in these beautiful lines:

होली है तो आज अपरिचित से परिचय कर लो, 

होली है तो आज मित्र को पलकों में धर लो, 

भूल शूल से भरे वर्ष के वैर-विरोधों को, 

होली है तो आज शत्रु को बाहों में भर लो !

(On this Holi, let’s forget the differences and, let’s give a warm hug not only to friends, but also to foes)

With time, the way we celebrate holi had transformed so much that it makes one scream - नहीं ये है गुलाल-ए-सुर्ख़ उड़ता हर जगह प्यारे । Silver and golden humanoids, laced with myriad of industrial dyes, moving around reminds one of the notoriety of holi in Delhi. It has become obvious to look for escape routes when holi is around. शत्रुओं को भूल जाओ, मित्रों से भी दूर भागो।

When the holi of 2011 came knocking, we were looking to get away from Delhi. Getting a booking on short notice was not that tough those days. We set out for Sariska, roughly about 200 km from Delhi.

Sariska : the hunting ground

The former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Alwar, was notified as a Wildlife Reserve in 1955, then a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1958, and finally a Tiger Reserve in 1979. Maharajahs gone, but hunting continued. Notorious poacher Sansar Chand had systematically exterminated all 25+ tigers from the park in collusion with some villagers settled within periphery of the park. By year 2005, only the name remained as Sariska Tiger Reserve, sans any tiger. The furor that Sariska wipe out created led to the first tiger census of India with latest technique in 2006 that pegged the number of remaining tigers at a shocking 1411.

In a renewed conservation effort to revive a prime tiger habitat, the forest authorities decided to reintroduce tigers at Sariska by relocating 5 tigers (2 males and 3 females) from Ranthambhore. The country's first tiger reintroduction programme using an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter in 2008 is well documented by Subiah Nallamuthu ji in Tiger Queen. Tigers were named ST (Sariska Tiger) – 1 to 5. Later, one the five relocated tigers, a male ST-1, was also killed.

Despite the dire situations, the nexus was ugly and apathy was unimaginable. Probably a well  thought out plan for relocation of villages and livelihood of displaced villagers was missing to reduce human-animal conflict. Creating a balance has been a paradox. A report of Indian Express found 12 marble mines operating inside core areas of the tiger reserve even in 2014. This was due to disagreement between forest and mining departments. Money over tigers’ survival! Remember, it was the Forest department's denial mode of extermination of all tigers in the park by 2004-05, and they conituned to show tigers on paper, before the lid was blown off.

Ghost of a chance

A Ghost of a Chance points to the near nil possibility scenario. In probability theory, Kolmogorov's zero–one law,  specifies that a certain type of event, namely a tail event, that will either almost surely happen or almost surely not happen; that is, the probability of such an event occurring is zero or one.

The above theorem was a true depiction of the probability of getting to see a tiger in Sariska in 2011. Four relocated tigers were roaming in an 800+ sq km of forest. Map below gives an idea of how erratic the movements of tigers in the park can be. Therefore our trip was not to see a tiger, but to spend some time in the lap of nature rather than getting laced with industrial dyes. Yet, to utilize the available time, we hopped onto a safari gypsy and set out for an afternoon safari in the park. Safaris were easily available as there were hardly any tourist those days.

Movement map of the 4 reintroduced tigers of Sariska in 2011
Source: Wilflife Institute of India

Holy Tiger

Icarus tigris, also known as The Spirit Tiger, or the Holy Tiger, is an elegant, ethereal and mysterious animal in the legendary comics graphic novel Kingdom Kong. This mystery, coupled with power and grace attached with the tiger makes it so special. And getting to see one in the wild roaming majestically get etched in your memory forever. Even after seeing 30+ wild tigers in these years, I can still recall each and every encounters.

the Holy Tiger

As the safari progressed, we could easily comprehend that finding one of the four tigers in an 800+ sq park is like finding a needle in haystack. It indeed was a tail event of probability theory. Forget tiger, even finding other animals was a tough task. We saw remnants of few settlement and free cattle grazing inside park that was a reminder of the hazard to wildlife of the park. A carpeted road passed through the park where private vehicles were allowed.

The forest was set ablaze by blooming of the Palash or the Flame of the Forest with its orange flame-like flowers set against dried trees and fallen leaves. As we watched our vestige of hopes going up in the dust trails behind our gyspsy, our smart driver noticed a speeding gypsy with forest officials holding up a tracking antennae. All four relocated tigers were collared. There were some so called VIP guest in the gyspsy for whom tiger is being tracked. Our driver immediately understood that the forest officials had found some signal. He turned around to follow them. But the speeding forest car had quickly disappeared in the jungle. It was a cat and mouse chase for us looking for sign of dust cloud left by the forest vehicle, which reminded me of a Hindi movie scene. After few minutes of searching, we could locate the forest gypsy. It was trying to get close to a tiger hidden inside bushes. We lesser mortals, the mango people, could just wait and expect the tiger to come out on road. The news of spotting had spread, and all safari gypsys had arrived at the spot.  

Suddenly, one gypsy driver shouted- पीछे देखो….बाघ पीछे से आ रहा है ( look back..tiger is coming from the other side).

The tiger that was sleeping in the bushes was male ST-4. And the tiger, now majestically walking towards us was female ST-2. Within few minutes both tigers were out in the open. 

Voila! We just had our first tiger sighting of life, that too in Sariska. And two out of the four living tigers of a park larger than 800 sq km were walking in front of us. We could not believe our luck. The escape from Holi was made truly colorful by Tiger. In the map above, the movement pattern of ST-2 is shown in RED and ST-4 in BLUE colours. This will give an idea of how the Ghost of a Chance theorem worked in our favour that evening.

This Holi Tiger played an important role in my becoming a nature and wildlife photographer. I had a Canon 350D those days with a 70-200 F4L lens. In those falling light of that evening, I got tiger ST-2 crossing road in front of my gypsy without any background clutter. I kept clicking. Later I found that only one photograph came sharp.  I understood that wildlife photography in variable and low light is a different ballgame from the constant studio lighting for which I was trained. Time to expand learning. Next stop was the Canon India workshop at Bandhavgarh and Kanha with lessons by Shivang Mehta and Uday Shringi. Rest is history.

 

(Images : The one on Top is my tiger image of ST-2 as a novice in 2011. The one on bottom is a tiger from Ranthambhore clicked in much worse light than that of ST-2 in 2011, but with professional knowledge and gear. Now I also see the awkward angle of ST-2 as I shoot standing high)

Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night…..

Relocation of tigers to Sariska has been a success story of conservation efforts. The ST-4 and ST-2 mating we witnessed had produced offspring that propelled next generation. ST-3 and ST-5 died without producing any cubs. Later more tigers were relocated from Ranthambore as that park can hold about 30 tigers only as against 40 of Sariska. Tigers were moving away from Ranthmbhore in search of territory due to over populations. The population started growing at Sariska. A report of 2023, hold the tiger count of Sariska as 30. Each one counts. Humans need to let them flourish. The wisdom from Mahabharata says:

निर्वनो वध्यते व्याघ्रो निर्व्याघ्रं छिद्यते वनम्।

तस्माद्व्याघ्रो वनं रक्षेद्वयं व्याघ्रं च पालयेत् ॥

                                                    -महाभारत – उद्योग पर्व : ५.२९.५७

Meaning in English:

If there is no forest, then the tiger gets killed; if there is no tiger, then the forest gets destroyed. Hence, the tiger protects the forest and the forest guards the tiger!

-Mahabharat– Udyoga Parva: 5.29.57

अतः, यदि वन सुरक्षित रखने हैं, तो बाघों को संरक्षित करना होगा। Let’s do our bits to save the tiger and save forests. And do keep playing Holi…with safe and natural colours.

Ranthambhore diary

Mismanagement, corruption and resulting crowd menace at Ranthambhore is increasing every year. It is no more a place where you can watch a tiger walking the forest in peace.  After every visit, I said to myself that this is going to be the last time. But the tigers of Ranthambhore keep bringing me back. We had a sighting of T19’s cubs last year when they were just 3 months old. They were barely larger than a house cat last June (2014). Now they are sub adult cubs of one and half year. And they were treating tourists and photographers to some lifetime’s sighting. They were everywhere in FB – playing in water, chasing crocs, play fighting, suckling. The most magnificent creature in the entire world, the tiger is. - Jack Hanna. So I could not held me back. May be one last time to Ranthambhore before moving out of Delhi. 

Summer is the best time for watching the tiger in the wild. Temperatures in Rajasthan during peak summers can soar to mind boggling degrees. It is not easy to travel in an open gypsy, specially the journey of 3-4km from your hotel till you enter the park, when scorching loo brush you at more than 40km an hour. Yet, more and more people are braving the sun to travel in summers, even to hot places like Ranthambhore. Demand for safari seats have gone up drastically over the years. @Rs.750 per seat or @Rs.4500 per gypsy, safaris do not come cheap. Most regulars to the park knows which zone to visit to get maximum value for their money. Booking a safari online in your desired zone is tough, in fact near impossible these days. The controversial online safari booking process has grown in notoriety this year. Supply is as short as just 3 gypsy in each zone as against a train full of crowd clamouring for it. There is sheer madness for online booking. Imagine a situation when you land there without any booking! You will have to shell out 1000-1500 per seat in gypsy depending on the day of the week. Or take a horrible ride in canter with a motley crowd of 20 others, that too at a hefty rate of about 600 per seat.

Tiger - Ranthambhore (High resolution image for professional use is available for sale at Getty Image)

The prime attraction this summer was T19 with her three sub adult cubs roaming in zone 3. So everyone who are familiar with Ranthambhore wants to be in zone 3. There were only 18 seats available for online booking in every safari session for zone 3 (or an equal no in each of the zones). Supply was so short that the demand for zone 3 was unimaginable. Thanks to a friend, I had to acquire special skill to beat it and manage booking for zone 3. This happened after failed attempt over 4 nights, with even money getting deducted on two occasion. Finally I got lucky on fifth night. Once I had managed zone 3 booking, planning the trip for other zone over 3 days was cakewalk. For all those unfamiliar with this zone business may refer some of earlier posts on Ranthambhore. Tiger dynamics changes every couple of years. Therefore, even after ticking all boxes right in your trip plan, sighting a tiger is a matter of luck.

This year’s trip to Rnathambhore was my longest till date, with 6 safaris spanning over 4 days. Ranthambhore was rocking this year. Baring the first safari on Sunday afternoon, which was actually booked to fill the spare time, we had ‘photographic’ tiger sighting. As a wildlife photographer, and someone who had seen many tigers in wild, a ‘photographic’ sighting is all that matters. Even one photographic sighting out of 4 or 5 I generally do in a trip, sooths the soul. Here we got super sighting in 5 out of 6 safaris this year.

However it did not start off that well. My first safari in zone 4 was actually more of an afterthought or ‘fill in’ kind of arrangement to utilise my spare time after arrival in Ranthambhore. Safari in Zone-4 is a bone rattling experience because of rocky roads. Though I had fond memories of zone-4, this time I had no hope and hence I did not even carry my camera expecting nothing to see. My only sighting of legendary Machli was in zone 4 and we had a close encounter with elusive T41. Sultan had also reportedly moved into zone 4. Even though jungle always throws up surprises, expecting to see any of the tigers was a farfetched hope. As expected it went blank. However as were exiting the park, a disappointing piece of news passed onto us was that T19 had moved with her cubs into adjoining zone previous day, and has not been seen since either in zone 2 or 3. They might have made a kill deep inside and hence were not coming out. It was enough to plan a seed of worry in my mind.

Day 2:

Next morning, leaving our can of worries behind in hotel, we set off our next safari in zone-3, touted as sure shot sighting zone. It took me 5 night’s attempt to get zone 3 booking. The bad news of previous evening was confirmed barely minutes into the safari. The T19 family had not returned to their lakeside palace. After checking the area around Padam talao for sign of T19 families return to the lake, our guide decided to explore upper areas where another tiger T64 is occasionally seen. We went up and down, but could not track down any tiger more than one hour into the safari. This was supposed to be sure sighting zone! Everyone was clamouring for it. I too had come only after getting zone-3 booking. It was rocking for last few months with 4-5 tiger regularly roaming the scene, and here, we are yet to find even a single tiger. I know that despite ticking all boxes right in your trip plan, sighting a tiger is a matter of luck. ‘Best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray’. That day, we were in zone-3 and the tigers were in adjoining zone-2. We would be going to zone-2 next day, and what if tigers return to zone-3 that night. The thought was frightening. The ghost of not sighting a tiger in any of the safaris in this trip started haunting me. Couple of my friend had this misfortune once. In that trip together I beat them by the barest margin of just a single tiger sighting in four safaris. You have to be extremely unlucky not to see a tiger in 4-5 safaris.

 A tiger amidst dust cloud at Ranthambhore. Image courtsey my daughter Swathi.

With an ever increasing bag of woes and the sun over our head getting hotter by minutes, we came back to Rajbagh area, expecting against hope for one of the T19 cubs to return. We had about two hours of safari time left with nothing to do but to wait in hope.  “The miserable have no other medicine but hope.”  Then came the moment which was change the course of our fate in next 48 hours. We saw a gypsy hurrying onto the dirt track we were standing. In one of them was the national award winning wildlife film maker S Nallamuthu. I know him for quite some time now. On seeing me, he informed that tiger is reported at a spot called platform. We too hit the dusty trail left behind by Nalla’s gypsy. And there he was.  T64, the male cub from T19’s last litter was cooling off majestically in lake, with the Ranthambhore fort and Rajbagh hunting palace as backdrop. It was a dream backdrop for a Ranthambhore tiger frame. T64 took the opportunity of T19’s absence to visit the area where he grew up. We were looking for him up in the hills, but he was sleeping by the lake. T19, though his mother, no more tolerate T64 in lake area for the safety of her new litter. The sighting soothed our frayed nerves. Now we were relieved that we had a tiger sighting and the trip will not go blank. I cannot express this sense of relief in word.

More importantly, this was the moment that had changed our luck. In the afternoon safari, we caught up with T64 again, before he went up the hill to cross over to zone-4. My two safaris in zone-3 was in expectation of T19 and three cubs. But they were zone-2 that day. Now I have full day booked for zone-2 next day. What if T19 moves back to zone-3 that night?  And, with T24 no more there to give a darshan, what if we do not get to see a tiger tomorrow. Many IFs remained unanswered that night.

Day 3:

Next morning we entered zone 2 with an air of uncertainty. Barely half kilometre into the park, there were they – the T19 family. Partly hidden behind tall grasses, they were lying by a dry nullah. We were informed that all 4 of the family were there. As cavalcade of gypsy’s started arriving one by one, T19, the mother of the cubs got up and started walking. Two of the cubs also got up and followed her. We did not find the third cub though. As the tigers started moving, the madness of vehicle started. Fortunately the mother and the cubs went different way. Therefore the drivers and guides of the vehicles were making choices on the tracks to hit.

As the commotion continued, the cubs sat down to became invisible, while T19 perched herself up in almost open. Few canters arrived by then and join the hordes of gypsys already there. Officially there is supposed to be only 5 gypsy. But there were too many. How and why is known to most regulars to Ranthambhore. We got caught up in traffic jam. I hate Ranthmbhore for this madness. If we give tigers more space, they will be more relaxed. What is required is an open view, not close view. Unfortunately most people do not have long lenses like photographers. Instead of enjoying the moment, they too would like to click with their PS or mobile or whatever they have, without realising the banality of it. If vehicles are parked sparsely, rather than crowding around the tiger, everyone will get a good view. I will love if one of the tiger of Ranthambhore turn charger. But then they may send him to zoo like Ustad.

T19 decided to excuse herself of the scene and went down a deep nullah. Meanwhile one of the cubs came out to a waterhole by the road. Vehicles started to converge there. One more cub joined in after some time. Despite of the crowd, I managed to get some pleasing frames. The overcast sky lent lovely diffused light for the scene.  As I had only half the gypsy, it was not easy to manoeuvre my heavy 400mm lens. My daughter would not allow me to use her 70-200. I missed my old warhorse 100-400. In Corbett, I generally use to hire a full gypsy. But in Ranthambhore, it is very costly @ 4500/- per gypsy. That too when you are doing 5-6 safaris. I was happy with the frames, given the limitations of sharing the gypsy with 6 persons. After full three hours of tiger sighting, we returned to hotel, all sporting smug smiles.

The good news for the evening safari was that the cubs decided stay back where we had left them in the morning. Therefore, we had another round of super sighting, but in different light conditions in the afternoon safari. After spending about an hour with the cubs, cooling off in the waterhole, our guide opined that we should go up and explore other areas and look for other tigers. We had enough of the cubs for the day. Two gypsy were ahead of us as we hit the road winding up a hill. On turning a bend, we saw the two vehicle ahead of us reversing. Our guide immediately realised that a tiger is coming straight at us on the road. When a tiger comes your way, you are supposed to reverse and give way. But then the inevitable occurred.

Another gypsy came behind us and its driver was shouting at us. He was telling our driver that ‘tera tanki phut gaya’. Your petrol tank had ruptured. As the tiger was about hundred meter away, our driver checked and found petrol leaking through a big crack. We all felt the vehicle hitting a rock while crossing a stream some 50 mtrs downstream. It is quite usual in safari. What is unusual is a ruptured tank. ‘There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed.’ Driver had the means to stop the leak, but as the tiger was approaching us, he could not get down. Now he was worried that we might have no fuel left by the time tiger crosses us. As the vehicle ahead of us were shouting us to go back, our driver managed to bring the vehicle to a point where they could barely cross us. Then he positioned the vehicle in a downward position as the hole was towards the rear of the tank. Keeping it downward will drain the petrol slower.

Majestic T19

By now the tigress T19 had almost reached us. She was surprised that we have not moved back. She stopped about 15 feet from our gypsy. She looked at us and then stood up holding a tree by the road, picking up scent left by her kins. May be smell of petrol leaked was confusing her. Her behaviour was clearly indicating that she was expecting us to give way. But we were stuck. Could not tell her ‘tanki phut gaya’. Our gypsy was parked tightly by the hill, leaving barely 4-5 feet of space on the road. As we were not bulging, she explored the possibility of going down. But it was steep gorge on that side. Finally she decided to cross our gypsy, walking by almost the edge of the road. We were told to sit tight and not make any sound or movement. She should not feel threatened at all while crossing us. Trepidation in all six occupants of the gypsy were palpable. ‘Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings’. As she walked passed us, she kept an eye on our vehicle all the time.

As the tense moments passed, and the tiger had reached a safe distance, our driver to get down and managed to plug the leak with soap and cloth. However, almost all the fuel has drained by then. The driver and guide said that in their career spanning over 10-15 years, this is the first time that such an incident had occurred. What an experience for us too. We will never forget those minutes. I had couple of tyre punctures during safaris earlier. But never something like this. The driver decided that as we would be going mostly downhill, we would reach the Jhalra gate if we make a dash. There they could get some help or a replacement vehicle.

The driver managed to turn around in whatever space he had and then made a dash. Soon we faced the road block of vehicles still flocking the cubs by the waterhole. Our driver shouted at them to give way, else if he stops all might get blocked. We managed to wade our way through the crowd, and finally even out of the Sherpur gate. Thanks to very skilful driving by the driver. Even the last drop of fuel was consumed and the vehicle come to a halt. Our safari ended one hour earlier that day. But it was a safari we will never forget.

Day 4:

It has been an eventful trip till then. We were pretty happy with the sightings. Therefore we set out for our 6^th and the final safari to zone 3 on morning of day-4 without any expectations. And best things happens when you have no expectations. May be.

Within minutes of entering the gate, we noticed a couple of gypsy. The behaviour of the occupants clearly pointed to presence of a tiger. We reached the spot in no time. There she was, crouching behind a scrub, lying in wait for a herd of wild boar. One of the female cubs of T19 had moved into zone-3 overnight. The barren landscape provided a great viewing of the stalking. Due to her inexperience, the hunting attempt failed. The cubs are still learning. Then she went onto give us some wonderful sighting and photo opportunities that morning. She walked couple of kilometres around the Padam Talao, scent marking, chasing deer, before finally disappearing over the dhonk trees up in the hill. This female cub had grown very bold and have started to stay alone of late. She has the blood of Machli. May be another Machli is in the making.

With the lone tiger of zone-3 gone for the day, the activities had now shifted to Jhlara as news of other tigers attempting to cross over to zone-3 were pouring in. There is a nullah by choti chatri, where brethren from zone 2 and 3 exchange information. However we got to see only one more of the cubs before our time was over. A happy ending depends on where one decides to stop. It was time to end our journey this year, on happy note.

Closing report:

The controversy over Ustad aka T24 had not died down. T24 had gone to jail. With it went to dust the reputation of some well-known people or so called tiger ‘experts’. Everyone has an opinion in the matter. My 13 year old daughter also had her view against this jailing of T24. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue, I told my family not to raise the topic to any driver or guide, as they may differ our point of view. However, each of the 12 different guides and drivers, I met in the 6 safaris, voluntarily offered their view, blaming these few people for the debacle. They were all against the shifting of Ustad. They were not scared to name these guys and shower few abuses on them.  Even if I do not name those few people, all familiar with the issue knows who they are. We missed you Ustad, in this trip, and in all the trips to come.

Delhi-Sariska-Ranthambhore-Bharatpur-Delhi wildlife circuit

Peak of summer in Rajasthan. An angry sun looking down in contempt for the scars human folks had etched on mother earth, letting the temperature soar above 45 degrees. The barren landscape, generally devoid of green, appears more desolate. I was on my annual pilgrimage to Ranthambhore, located near Sawai Madhopur, driving down almost 450 km in these conditions from Delhi. The searing heat will boil the tin box you are travelling into an oven. At times you will barely feel the existence of the air conditioner. One needs to get out of the car to feel that the AC is actually working. I had done this trail for last three years without fail. Every time I did it, I said to myself that this is the last time. But the tigers of Ranthambhore keep bringing me back.

Emergence : A tigress from zone 7 in Ranthambhore

Summer is the best time for watching tigers in the wild. More and more people are braving the sun to travel in summers, even to hot places like Ranthambhore. Demand for safari seats have gone up drastically over the years. Booking a safari online in your desired zone is tough, in fact near impossible these days. The controversial online safari booking process has grown in notoriety this year. Supply is as short as just 18 seats as against a train full of crowd clamoring for it. There is sheer madness for booking. Thanks to a friend’s coaching, I could acquire special skill to crack the booking conundrum and manage full days booking for zone 3 and 2. Therefore I am back in Ranthambhore again.

Despite the convenience of trains, I prefer driving down to Ranthambhore. Reason number one is that carrying my heavy camera gear is easier with car. Having a car at disposal also helps you get safari permits released by self or get a chilled beer from shop at half rate than your hotel. Of all the combinations of routes out of Delhi, the Gurgaon-Dharuhera-Bhiwadi-Alwar-Sikandara-Dausa-Sawai Madhopur is the shortest route from Delhi. From my residence close to East Delhi, the distance via this route is about 400km. Most part of this is tolled highway and hence drive is generally pleasant. However hold up is common on NH8. The perpetual road work on NH8 was seen creating long jams on opposite carriageway at two places. Fortunately it was not our carriageway and we were spared with a 15-20 min hold up at Manesar toll both.

As my first safari was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon, I had a Saturday to spare. I decided to utilise it to take a small diversion en-route to Sariska. Besides sparing me the pain of driving down 400 plus km on a single day in this heat, this diversion would also allow me to explore the recently opened Sterling Tiger Heaven Resort. I have a Sterling Holidays membership, and Sariska at 200km is the nearest resort from Delhi. Thus on day 1, I drove around 200km to Sariska via Alwar and then next day, I covered about 250km from Sariska to Ranthambhore (via Sikandara). I had started from Sariska around 8am after breakfast, yet I had reached Sawai Madhpur well on time for my afternoon safari at 2pm. Road condition is mostly excellent, and at worst drivable. The drivable section referred to is the 38 km stretch of Alwar-Sariska road.

My three nights stay at Ranthambhore this year has been my longest till date. Ranthambhore was rocking this time of the year. Baring the first safari on Sunday afternoon, which was actually booked to fill the spare time, we had ‘photographic’ tiger sighting. As a wildlife photographer, and someone who had seen many tigers in wild, a ‘photographic’ sighting is all that matters. Even one photographic sighting out of 4 or 5safaris, which I generally do in a trip, sooths the soul. Here we got super sighting in 5 out of 6 safaris this year.

On the day of my return, I did morning safari that would end around 10am and hence was not expected to check out before 12am. This means that I would be reaching Gurgoan around 6pm and then would be meandering though peak office hour traffic all the way to Ghaziabad. That would be too much taxing after driving 350km for 5-6 hours. The perpetual road work on NH8 and possibility of jams was also a deterrent. So the idea of trying out a different route dawn on me. The alternate route is via Bharatpur-Mathura-Yamuna Expressway-Noida. This would complete the full cycle of Delhi-Sariska-Ranthambhore-Bharatpur-Delhi wildlife circuit. With this route, I would emerge at Noida, close to my residence in East Delhi, thereby avoiding traffic nightmare via Gurgaon.

Keeping the new route in mind, we started from Sawai Madhopur around 12 noon. In any case, we had to travel 150km to Sikandara before taking the call. The attendant at the Sikandara toll both on Jaipur-Agra NH11 estimated the distance to Bharatpur as 60km. I had done 150 already, plus 60 more, and Bharatpur to Delhi via Yamuna Expressway is about 200km. This comes about 410, almost the same as that of Alwar-Gugaon option. Therefore I decided to continue straight to Bharatpur, instead of turning left for Alwar. But the very next road sign I came across announced the distance to Bharatpur as 85km. This added 25km to the journey to make it almost 435km. I was already in a state of no return, and hence only option was to continue driving ahead. However the saving grace was the excellent road condition and very little traffic. Unlike NH8, which is always full of trucks, there were very few trucks on NH11. On reaching outskirt of Bharatpur, we exited NH11 and took the Mathura by-pass to avoid the town. This road is familiar to me as I have been to Bharatpur many times. Passing through Mathura, we reached Yamuna Expressway without any held up. Soon after crossing Jewar toll plaza, we took a break, the only one of the trip, after 5 hours of non-stop driving. Being a weekday, traffic on expressway was also low. We hit Noida almost on the stroke of evening. The drive of almost 400km upto Noida was very pleasant, mainly because of very low traffic en-route.

Finally we got stuck in office hour traffic at the Akshardham junction to NH24. But it was nothing as compared to what I would have to endure via Gurgaon at those hours. Thus the decision to return via Bharatpur turned out to be a prudent one. The extra 35km and additional Rs.120/- toll paid was worth it. In fact, if one is travelling from East Delhi / Ghaziabad / Noida, then I feel that this route should be preferred. Those living around South or West Delhi and Gurgaon, have only one option via Alwar. Total toll via Alwar route was Rs.280/- and via Bharatpur was Rs.400/- (including 240 paid for Expressway use).

With this trip, I had completed the full cycle of Delhi-Sariska-Ranthambhore-Bharatpur-Delhi wildlife circuit. Total distance covered was about 950km. I had now explored all possible routes to Ranthambhore viz. via Jaipur-Dausa, via Alwar-Sikandara-Dausa and via Bharatpur-Dausa. You can explore my blog for my earlier write up on these other route options.

Delhi to Ranthambhore by road

I have been toying with the idea of driving down to Ranthambhore for some time. But the easy availability and comfort of train had prevented me from taking this 450km journey. Driving down also means two additional days. Hence train had always been the preferred route for Delhi photographers. Finally I found companions this time who were willing to drive down. Thus my longest road trip from Delhi becomes a reality in May 2013. I had earlier driven down to Ajmer which also is 400+. I enquired with fellow friends who regularly drives down to Ranthambhore and was advised to take the familiar Delhi – Jaipur – Dausa – Sawai Madhopur route. My research on the net also yielded similar results. But I found an alternate route which I had planned to use on return after enquiring about it at Ranthambhore. In fact the alternate route turned out to be a fabulous route. This is how both the route are :

My starting and end point for the trip is Kaushambi, opposite Anand Vihar ISBT in East Delhi. The general zero point for trips put of Delhi at Dhaula Kuan is about 20km from my home. We started at 0530 in the morning to beat the rush at Guragaon and Manesar toll gate.

Route 1: Delhi – Jaipur – Dausa – Sawai Madhopur

Kaushambi – Gurgaon : 36 km

We used Kaushambi – NH24 – Sarai kale Khan – Barapulla Nallah elevated road – Moti Bagh – Vasant Vihar – Gurgaon. Beat the rush by starting early. You should aim to cross Manesar before 7am. Toll : Rs.21/-

Gurgaon to Jaipur : 247 km

Continue on NH8 via toll gates at Manesar (27rs), Shahjanpur (107rs) and Manoharpura (51rs). Though the road condition is good, there are at least 15 flyovers under construction resulting in slow diversions and hold up on these sections. This can easily add upto 1 hr to your travelling time. Total Toll is Rs. 185/-

Jaipur to Dausa: 50km

Leaving NH8, continue to Jaipur city by following road signs. Once you reach intersection for Amer, continue straight (or slight left). The right goes to Jaipur via Amer. Couple of KM down the line you will reach a flyover which has two carriage way. Take the leftmost carriageway for Dausa. The right one goes into the city. Almost immediately at the end of the flyover turn left to find the road for Dausa. This is the Jaipur – Agra NH11. There is a toll palza. Private cars are toll free at this plaza. To avail this use the leftmost gate. Soon you enter a tunnel and gets out to an excellent four lane highway. You will have to pay toll at Rajadhok. Leave the highway at Dausa by turning right. Toll: Rs.50/-

Dausa to Lalsot: 35km

Once you leave NH11 and enter Dausa continue straight, cross a zig-zag flyover and then turn right al the end of the flyover. Once you leave the town, you will find true country side. The condition of road upto Lalsot is decent. About 10km of this stretch is bumpy and potholed. Keep your speed low to avoid potholes that appear out of nowhere. No toll on this section.

Lalsot to Sawai Madhopur: 75km

Maneuvering Lalsot town is a nightmare. The 1 km stretch has literally no road with potholes as big as small ponds. To compound it, the stretch is jam packed with buses, jeeps, tractors, etc. Can’t think of how one would drive in monsoon. The town seems to exists on this 1km. Once you manage to leave the town, you are back on a fabulous stretch of tolled road. It passes through beautiful country side. We found two decent places to eat on this stretch. Toll: Rs.40/-

Traffic nightmare at Lalsot town

Finally on reaching Sawai Madhopur, cross the flyover and take a left turn at the end of it to enter the Ranthambhore road. All hotels / resort are located on this 10km stretch. The journey took us almost 11 hr as we took healthy breaks en-route amounting to almost 3 hrs owing to breakfast, lunch and a puncture repair. We also drove leisurely only occasionally touching 100kmph.

Total distance: 445km

Total Toll: 296

On return we deiced to use the following route.

Route 2: Sawai Madhopur – Dausa – Sikandara – Rajgarh – Alwar – Bhiwadi – Dharuhera - Delhi

Sawai Madhopur to Dausa : 110 km

We started very late around 9am planning only one break journey. On return from Sawai Madhopur to Dausa, route description is same as onward journey. On reaching Dausa, drive upto the point where you turned right (at the end of a flyover). Now turn right to get onto the Agra road. Continue straight through it to come onto the Jaipur-Agra NH11. Almost close to the highway was a barrier preventing heavier vehicles entry. They have to take a detour to get onto the highway. But we followed other smaller vehicles and went through the barrier to get onto the highway. Toll: Rs.40/-

True countryside

Dausa to Sikandara : 26km

Tolled highway with excellent condition of road. On reaching Sikandara you pay a toll which is very high for using it for only 26km. Toll : Rs.50/-

Sikandara to Alwar : 71km

Now you are on a single carriageway state highway. But the road condition is as good as the Jaipur-Agra highway. This is a tolled road. Traffic is very low. Sikandara to Rajgarh is 35km. Toll: Rs.50/-

Alwar to Bhiwadi to Dharuhera : 95km

On reaching Alwar turn right to get onto the bypass to avoid city traffic. Continue on this till you reach the circle with Ashok Leyland insignia. Turn right here. Now you are onto the Alwar –Bhiwadi tolled state highway via Tijara. It is an excellent 4 lane highway. There are occasional dhaba type eateries on this stretch. In case you are hungry then you should fill your tank in any of these. There is no decent restaurant. Toll: Rs.55/-

Dharuhera to Gurgaon : 50km

This is where we faced traffic for the first time on return. Two flyovers under construction, diversions and Manesar toll gate ensured heavy jam. Fortunately traffic was moving and we got away with about 40 min of additional time as compared to our onward journey. Toll: Rs.27/-

Gurgaon to Kaushambi: 36km

It was around 3pm when we had reached the toll plaza. There was long queue at each gate. Yet we were out within 10 min. Despite all the bad publicity. I was impressed with speed of toll processing. Toll: Rs.21/-

The return journey took us about 7 ½   hrs despite of additional 1 hour from Dharuhera to Kaushambi. It was one break journey and we drove leisurely around 80-90 kmph. This route turned out to be at least 55km shorter – only 388km as compared 445km. The total toll was also lower – Rs.246 as compared to Rs.296. To add to it we beat all the traffic hold up, diversions on Dharuhera – Jaipur stretch constructions. On the entire Dausa to Dhrauhera stretch there was hardly any traffic and road condition was out of the world. I failed to understand why people are not talking about this route. One reason may be the tolled state highways have been constructed / completed recently. I highly recommend using this route.

Total distance: 388km

Total Toll: 243

(Note: Journey described herein was undertaken in May 2013)

Ranthambhore National Park : The land of Machli

Elephant, Tiger, one horned Rhino, Asiatic Lion, Black Bear and Leopard forms the Big 6 of Indian forests. While you will like to avoid a close encounter with wild Elephants, the biggest of them all, for good reasons, you will be delighted to meet any one of the other five. A visit to Gir will almost certainly ensure a sighting of Lion, so does a visit to Kaziranga for rhino. Bear and leopard are almost everywhere, but very elusive. Tiger can be sighted relatively easily if you are at the right place. The aura of royalty around tiger has made it the most sought after animal in wildlife circuit of India. When a tiger walks, the jungle watches it with baited breath. The atmosphere changes dramatically, as if to pay respect to the king, occasionally punctuated by calls of the frightened deer or langur. The excitement of seeing a tiger in the wild can not be described in words. As part of my photography trips, I feel gratified to witness more than twenty of this magnificent beast in several jungles of India during the last one and half year. People who appreciate my photographs often ask about the place which guarantees a tiger sighting. It should rather be coined as where the possibilities of meeting the king are maximum. One such place is Ranthambhore in Rajasthan. The terrains of Ranthambhore are ideal for tiger sighting.

Male T24

Located just 450km away from, Ranthambhore is easily accessible from Delhi. Nearest railhead and town is Sawai Madhopur on the Delhi – Mumbai line. There are quite a few alternative routes for driving down like via Jaipur or Alwar or Bharatpur. So is the train connectivity. Once I had used Mumbai Rajdhani which landed me there in just 3 ½ hrs. This probably is the most comfortable way to reach Sawai Madhopur. Normally it takes about 6 hrs by train and 8 hrs by road.

My first trip to Ranthambhore came quite late in May 2012. Couple of earlier attempt had to be aborted to due to a highly corrupt system of safari booking. The online booking system has been hacked by local hoteliers and agents in connivance with forest officials. Within hours of opening of booking in Sept, 2011, all gyspy seats till April 2012 got blocked. Official rate for a seat in gyspy is around Rs. 550/- which are then sold for at least 1000 depending on demand. This manipulation was reported even in leading newspapers like with forest deptt assuring to address this issue. Till the time forest deptt wakes up, you either need to become victim or time your visit during off peak period. A large no of canters are also used for safari. Cost of a canter seat is around 400 as against a gypsy seat of 550. Canters are real nuisance to the jungle. Imagine yourself hauled in an open truck on a bumpy road to view wildlife. You can hear them coming from miles away. While a gyspy has only 6 occupants, a canter has a crowd of 20-30. Crowd is for cities, not for game viewing.

This year I decided to beat this manipulation by choosing to visit the park in peak summer. You will bother to venture out at near 50 degree temp only if you seriously love wildlife. Ironically both the summer months of May and June provide good sighting. Therefore these two months are ideal time for photographer. However high the declared density of tiger in a jungle may be, luck plays the final factor in getting to face this majestic beast in his backyard. My honest estimation is to face a tiger once every three outings. I keep one for exploring the terrain and the other for birding. In between, when luck favors, a sighting occurs. A sighting brings such joy to your soul that it gets exuded unknowingly. The faces of tourist coming of tiger territories tell the story point blank. One should not get disappointed if they do not get to see a tiger. A signboard at Bandhavgarh righty says ‘You might not have seen me, but I have seen you’. One should learn to enjoy the landscape, watch the prey base, look for colorful birds and suck in lungful fresh air. If you do this, you will enjoy all your trips to the wild.

male cub Sultan of T19

Ranthambhore is divided into 8 zones. Zone 1 to 5 constitutes the main park area.  Zone 6 to 8 is basically buffer and is best avoided during season. This is why you can easily get safari bookings for these zones. During monsoon (1^st July – 30^th Sept) the main areas of park remains closed. Zone 6 to 8 remains open even during monsoon. On enquiry I found that most foreign tourist arriving in India during July-October on this circuit are taken for a ride in these zones. You won’t get to see a tiger in those zones and the operators always have the excuse that ‘tiger sighting is a mater of luck’. However you may get to see leopard and bear in these zone. So make sure to book safari for zone 1 to 5.

Once you book online, the zones are also allotted online randomly. For tatkal and current bookings, zones are allotted manually and hence get manipulated. Most regulars to the park know how to manipulate it. The zone you get further decides outcome of your safari. Zone 5 happens to be the worst one. However zone 5 has the finest green area of the jungle called Bhakula. It also provides the some of the best landscape of Ranthambhore. Even if you get to see a tiger in zone 5, it will not be from close. Rest of the zones provides equal chance to see a tiger. I have seen tigers in zone 1 to 4, but none in two trips to zone 5. There are 3 gates – one for zone 4 and 5, another for zone 1. The third gate opposite the fort entrance opens to zone 2 and 3. Zone 3 used to be premium. Most of the landscapes of Ranthambhore you see in Nat Geo / Animal Planet are from this zone. The tigress, who rules the area around Padam Talab, has traditionally been the queen of Ranthambhore. It was once ruled by legendry Machli (T16), and now by her offspring Sundari (T17).

Officially Ranthambhore had about 46 tigers (2011) over an area of roughly 400 sq km. Every year you lose some tiger to poaching, death or migration to other area. You also get new cubs adding to the count every year. T17 and T39 are two tigress who had had given birth this season. Tigers generally live for 15-16 years during which it gives birth around 4-5 times. The prey base at Ranthambhore is good which is why tigers have flourished here. Here you can see herds of Sambhar deer, the favorite prey of tigers. In other parks, Sambhar deer are found in group of 2 or 3. The landscape is generally dry with rocky terrains. There is quite a large no of natural water bodies in the park which had helped in sustaining wildlife. Padam Talab (zone 3) and Malik Talab (zone 4) are two large lakes like water bodies where you can see crocodiles as well.

Besides the zone, the driver and guide also play key roles in tiger sighting. Guide and driver are allotted randomly on a roaster basis. Photographers generally handpick guides by paying a premium officially. I had one drive with Kalim, who happens to be brother of popular guide Salim. Kalim was driver for a Nat Geo shoot in April, 2012. I was impressed with his skill. The bad thing is that once you drive with guy like Kalim, you start comparing others with him. Foreign tourists had pampered these guides and drivers by paying handsome tips. They easily judge the tip paying potential of the tourist they are carrying and conduct the trip accordingly. Depending on probability of tips, the guide and driver will search for tiger at every possible spot. Else they will stick to regular tracks. Contrary to what some may think, tigers do not pop up out of nowhere in the middle of a road during safari. Tigers are to be tracked down reading signs in nature – like pugmarks, calls of animals like cheetal, sambhar or langur. This is where your guide and driver come into play. Tigers generally sleep all through the day and keep moving within its territory all through the night. It is highly active during early hours of morning or late evening when it hunts. The guides and drivers know which tiger frequents which area.

Female T41

Third important factor is your safari companions, specially if you have not booked full gypsy. It is important to travel with like minded people. The people who are traveling in your gypsy can kill your trip. Often people share the gypsy to cut cost. You can hire the entire gyspy by paying for all 6 seats. Hiring a full gyspy will cost you around 4000 per trip. Else you can book as many seats you need. For all my trips I had booked 3 seats. Most of the time my companions were also in group of 3 (small family) and had to be picked from a single resort. But occasionally they were 2+1 meaning they had to be picked from two resorts delaying your entry to the park. Such delay for evening trip is OK as tiger movement starts around sunset. But for morning safari, this delay can be crucial. I had bad companions in 2 out of 9 safaris I took this year. One of them was a couple with a 2-3 yr child. My request to such people is not to go to jungle and spoil others trip. Jungle safaris, where one has to sit absolutely silent at times, is not meant for small kids. Take kids to jungle when they start appreciating it. Imagine how it would be with canter where several groups will have to be picked. Or how other 25 plus would behave when it is difficult to deal with 2 or 3. Patience is another key. Once you track down signs of a tiger, you may have to wait patiently, sometimes for hours, for the tiger to make a move. Therefore a gypsy having a max of 6 people is ideal as you can expect other 5 to be as patient as you.

Ranthambhore offers plenty of options to stay put. Sawai Madhopur landscape is generally dry and hence resorts here are not like the ones you get to see around greener parks like Corbett. This means that the campuses of resorts are not lush green. A double occupancy hotel room (AC) costs about 1000 bucks, while a night at a resort would cost you at least 2500 bucks. Staying at hotels on Ranthambhore road closer to town is not a bad option as it also offers access to local restaurants. The added advantage is that if you stay on first row of hotels on Ranthambhore road, you are likely to be picked first and hence you get seat of your choice. The safari booking office is in the city and hotels are on the 10 odd km road to the park. Further you are away from city, the more is your possibility of being picked last for safari and hence almost no choice of seat. Given the greener surroundings, the RTDC Vinayak is not a bad option for staying, though it is located bit far from the town. If you are staying in a resort, then make sure to bargain for AP rate. Else you will end up coughing a lot for buffet meals.

I had a fantastic first trip in May, 2012. The place I choose to stay was ‘Ranthambhore Bagh’ owned by well known naturalist Aditya ‘Dicky’ Singh. Though a bit pricey, it provides a homely environment with excellent staff. I had sighting in 4 out of 5 safaris. The icing was an encounter with Machli, the icon of Ranthambhore. Fell in love with the place so much so that I made a second visit in June. Wiser from the last visit, I could made my second visit cheaper by almost 10K. You gain experience only by travelling. A rough estimate of 12K will give you 4 safaris with two nights stay and meals for a couple, which is quite decent. Add a couple of thousand more a resort stay. In Ranthambhore I have found a destination where I will be coming back again and again. Looking forward for the park to open after monsoon.

(Send a feeler at call4tiger@gmail.com to arrange an ideal Ranthambhore trip.)