IT WAS about half-past two in the afternoon when we had got our permit and, the gipsies were ready for the safari. Leaving the souvenir shop to our left, we entered the heart of Pench through Turiya Gate. We have got Sharmila, our guide and Satyavaan Thackeray, the driver along with us.
The Ghost Tree at Pench Tiger Reserve
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
The landscape of Pench is a wide one displaying a host of "Ghost Trees" bordering the entire horizon. The special variety of gum tree, binomially known as Sterculia urens, is specifically named so because of their silky white coat of the cuticle of the stem, which shines in a bright moonlit night. The gigantic tall shapes appear to be the standing gesture of a ghost. Our eyes were scanning the jungle-scape to track down any trace of the "Burning Bright".
Declaration of being nearby
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Soon after our safari had begun, we got a sharp alarm call from a spotted deer and saw some fresh pug marks on the way. Presumably, those pug marks belonged to an adolescent male. We came to know from our guide that we had been travelling through the home range of Langhri, the daughter of legendary Barhi Mada (Featured in BBC's Tigers: Spy in the Jungle) and the half-sister of Collarwali. There were supposed to be two cubs, who had just started to set out on their own. No sooner than we had arrived at a narrow turn, Deepak Da first marked the glimpses of yellow and black amidst the bushes. There were two cats indeed- two male cubs of nearly 25-month-old. While one of the brothers lied down behind the thickets, showing complete indifference to our presence, the other tried to cross the path. But the presence of too many safari cars caused the utmost disgust to the lad and he strikingly charged at us. Although it was a mock charge on part of the cub, his aggressive gesture and growl were enough to make you felt the chilli wave through your backbone. However, it was indeed a poor sighting. We even did not manage to see the full flank of any of them. We moved on. Earlier when we entered the park, we heard that a leopard had made a kill of an adult spotted deer stag that morning and, he is expected to be nearby. We set out for his track.
"Now you are the beauty." : Leopard at Turiya Zone
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
It was not much far from the hilltop where we saw Langrhi's cubs. When we reached the spot where the kill was made, I just could not believe my luck! The beholder of the gentle rosettes was just in front of us within the distance of not more than 30 metres! Before my journey, whenever I used to receive any phone call from a near and dear one and met any kinsman, I always yearned to them to pray for the leopard. Finding tigers is a relatively easy task but tracking down a leopard is something different. Now, this was the "beginner's luck" in the true sense of the term. We did not find the whereabouts of the kill that the young male leopard had made earlier on that morning and, did care a fig for the moment at least. The elusive feline was in front of us and this is the time to make most of the opportunities to satisfy the quench of the lenses, and obviously, the quench of several pairs of eyes too. The young male sat there on the rock for nearly thirty minutes.
In search of the stripes in the meadows
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Certainly, a silent conversation was commenced between the yearning souls and the big cat. Balaji Sir and Kiran Ma'am managed to grab several great snaps. I was not far behind but to me, the bad luck was, the battery of the superzoom camera of Sony that I was carrying at the moment, suddenly ran out and, I had to take his shots through my compact Canon IXUS 130. However, the shots turned out to be satisfying and receiving the fresh gift, offered by Nature herself, I did not care much about the excellence of the shots. Getting the sight of a leopard during the very first safari itself is a mind-blowing achievement and enjoying the sighting for half an hour is but the real bonus. We were told that this male shares the patch of the surrounding Turiya Gate along with a young female. His power of dominance is in a rising mode and it has yet to touch its climax. We just bade a sweet goodbye to him wishing him good health and a shining future in the heart of Mowgli-land, where Bagheeras have always occupied a special place both in the jungle and in the hearts of those people, who love them, care about them.
Staring at the Strangers: Sambar Deer (Female)
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
However, our safari hour at Pench was about to be on its termination. We had covered a wide range at Turia Zone and at one point, Satyavaan, our driver, said, "Yeh Raiyakassa ka ilaka hein." Raiyakassa Male is the dominant one who has been courting Collarwali for the past few years but the exclusively shy king did not at all make any appearance.
Satyavaan Thackeray, the driver of our safari
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Collarwali too was nowhere to be seen, as if, vanished! We were a bit upset. But the leopard of the Turiya Gate has given me a lot and, I had no clue whether this would going to be equivalent to any of the upcoming experience at Kanha. We set out from Pench bading a cordial farewell with the hope of coming back soon. Had we missed this safari, a great opportunity would have been lost for sure. It was indeed a great prelude to the trip for Kanha.
The Trio of Brave Hearts Panel: Balaji Loganathan, Deepak Ganguly and Kiran Bhatt
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
As the darkness extended its mantle over the entire horizon, we set out for Kanha. The night was chilling. Still, we had to travel for nearly four hours. It was chilling outside the car. Our luggage was carefully kept at the back portion of the car. We re-engaged ourselves in the rumination of the recent experiences that we have gained at Pench. Meanwhile, Balaji Sir switched him off to a power nap. For a few minutes, Srichand was replaced with Deepak Da's passion for driving. He must have been tired after a prolonged journey. Deepak Da's enthusiasm in driving is never to be missed.
The Landscape of Turiya Zone
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
What an amazing feeling it was to make our way towards our destination through the darkness. We noticed a waving hand from another car. Felt a little bit tensed. Kiran Ma'am alerted us time and again not to stop our car at any cost. Indeed, such vacant roads of several districts of Madhya Pradesh are very much renowned for snatching and robbery. We put a healthy distance between us and the car. But the driver and the co-passenger of the car were with a different intention for sure. Again, we noticed the waving hand from the left window and decided to overtake the car caring a little about the consequence. It was indeed turned out to be an anticlimax when the driver of the other car proved us to be unromantic in every sense of the word! The two cars came side by side on the road, and guess who? - Sagnik Da smiling from his car and prompting us to follow him. He drove away from the car with a rush and it was Swastik, Sagnik Da's only son, who was waving at us! We could not help laughing at, and mocking ourselves and finally, we stopped just in front of Motel Chandan, the resort where we were going to stay for the next three days. We also met Dinesh Makhija, the owner of this resort. Meanwhile, Sagnik Da texted me just after our return from Pench that he would be there to meet us along with Swastik. Never expected to have such an amazing greeting with an ambivalent feeling of fear and amazement!
Good-bye Pench!
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Our luggage was carried to our allotted rooms by the staffs, respectively, room number- 207 and 208; we had had our dinner and after the prolonged journey, a night of sound sleep was needed indeed. Srichand had done a lot. His only request was, "Dinesh Ji ko mat boliye ki mainly aapko garhi chhor diya thaa."
Finally reached our destination
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
To be continued ...
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