Stories Through my lens Clearly.: Losing My Tiger Virginity

For a guy who has been roaming around the countryside to various Jungle reserves, I had never once seen a Tiger in the wild! Unbelievable as it sounds, it is true!! Too many near misses to count....

Visiting Corbett was a plan 17 years in the making....It was supposed to have been my Honeymoon destination!! ;) The trip did not happen due to many reasons and the routine took over, leaving little time for such thoughts. Till recently, when the desire to see a tiger in the wild kept getting thwarted every time I visited a reserve.

Having read about Corbett Tiger Reserve and heard wonderful feedback from various friends, the desire to visit Corbett became stronger than ever. So when Birdwing's Corbett programme was announced, I thought this would be a good opportunity to lose my "virginity"!! Got Connected with Kesava and firmed up the programme and waited with fingers crossed, hoping that I don't come back empty handed this time around.

There were six people in the group including Kesava and we connected at Delhi Airport. Having picked up our stuff, we boarded the cabs which were waiting for us and embarked on what we hoped to be a 6 hour trip to Ramnagar. A short delay caused by having to pick up some breakfast, we waded into the New Delhi rush hour traffic.

NCR was crossed about 90 minutes later and then we hoped to hit top gear on the highway. Having made decent time, we were closed to Hapur and the world came to a stand-still. Construction of the Expressway caused such Chaotic scenes that we stayed put at the same place for close to an hour.

The elevated expressway under construction reduced the carriageway on either side to a single lane and as a result, the traffic was backed up. Smartass drivers who jumped median and crossed over to the other side added to the already chaotic scenes and through the entire ordeal there was not a single policeman to be seen anywhere.

Members of the public were seen doing their best to direct traffic but only added to the mess.

Once we go through this mess, it was smooth sailing there on. We reached Ramnagar pretty late in the evening. While the rest of the group went on to the resort, I took a slight detour to meet up with an old buddy of mine who leads the team at one of the premiere resorts near Corbett Tiger Reserve. Got back to the resort later that night and hit the sack dreaming about what is coming over the next 3 days.

Pretty soon we were at the entrance to the Corbett Tiger Reserve at Dhangadi Gate, getting registered and obtaining the necessary permissions, getting a thorough search of all vehicles for banned objects (Weapons/ Alcohol etc.)

It was a matter of time before we were cleared and the gates to heaven were open....

The long drive to Dhikala was ahead of us! Considering that Dhikala is about 30Km from the Gate at Dhangadi, the drive inside would itself be a kind of Safari.

Gharials and Muggers Sunning themselves on the Riverbanks - Crocodile Point

Drive down to Dhikala

View across the Ramganga River/ Reservoir

The next 3 days were pure heaven with each Safari bettering the other. Once our driver and guide got to know my plight of having not seen a wild tiger in over a decade of travels, it was a matter of time before this was addressed. So, on the next safari, I shifted into a different vehicle and our focus on this safari was to be exclusively on the larger residents of the jungle.

This was the site to behold....a herd of elephants crossing the river, followed by a lone tusker whose keen sense of smell having picked up the scent of a female elephant in heat. The tusker took every single turn that the herd did before disappearing behind the herd into the jungle.

The lone Tusker following the herd with hope of finding a mate.

Then came the moment which was at least for me over 12 years in the making....a tiger in its elements. No matter how much you are prepared for the moment, the first sight just leaves you speechless. I just froze in awe and missed some good opportunities to shoot some pictures. The images though are frozen in my mind.

Paarwali...the beauty of Dhikala. A stunner who makes one goes weak in the knees with her direct eye contact and non-chalance towards mere human beings.

Paarwali Cooling Off in the flowing waters of the Ramganga

Posing for the shutterbugs

Not only was she a gracious hostess, posing for us, she also introduced us to one of her cubs...a male..

Paarwali's Male Cub making an appearance.

Paarwali's male offspring

If this was not enough, we soon saw a huge male crossing nearby, although the sighting was fleeting, seeing three tigers in a day was almost too much for me to digest...