Visit to Ranathambore National Park

The air was nippy due to the crisp December weather.  We were put up at the Ranathambore Regency Hotel where a bonfire was lit to warm the air, and Rajasthani folk dance was arranged to entertain the hotel's largely foreign clientele.  

There is only one thing that everyone wants to do when they visit this place: go on the safari.  Forget about visiting the local fort or the Raj Bagh ruins.  The large government canters - open-air trucks with seats - arrived at each of the hotels lining the Ranathambore Road promptly in the morning to take us on our pre-booked safari.  

And while on the safari, there is only one animal that everyone longs to see: the tiger.  

You are reminded about being in the tiger's dominion in the hotel itself where you are greeted with pictures of the superstar in various poses and moods, lining all the walls of the lobby and corridors.  

We were all bundled into a canter, which the hotel staff had cleverly set apart for their Indian guests.  The foreigners hung around, waiting for their own canters to arrive: a neat little arrangement of segregation borne out of years of experience, perhaps.

True to its Indian nature, our canter ran into some starting troubles when it stopped in one too many hotels along the way to the forest.  Soon, it was filled to the rafters - in a manner of speaking, as it was roofless! - and the last two tourists were left without a seat.  The prospect of going on a jungle safari while standing in the canter was a bit too daunting, and they all ended up having a right royal argument.  

The couple was insisting on having seats, the conductor was begging those with kids to put them on their laps, and those with kids were refusing to do so as they had paid for the kids' seats too!

Finally, after a few magnanimous seat adjustments, we were on the way.  There was no time to lose; we rode away at a...well...canter! 

To make up for the unsavoury starting trouble, the conductor, after some coaxing, agreed to take us to the zone where a tiger was last spotted.  This had everyone perked up.  Especially one of the tourists who said he had been all the way to Corbett National Park and came back disappointed as he did not see the one thing he had gone there to see: the tiger.

We hung onto our mufflers, sweaters, cameras, railings and each other, as the canter rattled along the path, deeper into the jungle.  

We came across a big lake; the watering hole where the great animals of the jungle had congregated to quench their thirst and just hang about.  Nilgais and sambars grazed about with a decoration of weeds on their antlers, while open-mouthed crocodiles lazed about in the still waters.  

After a few pictures, we moved on...

Suddenly an air of expectation!  Many canters and jeeps had assembled at the same spot near another lake.  Heads were cocked and cameras turned in one single direction.  We nearly fell over each other trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had their rapt attention.  And there it was!  A single gigantic tiger, having its afternoon siesta in the grass, after a royal repast.  

There is something wildly exciting about spotting a magnificent beast in its natural habitat, unchained and free.  There was no difference between children and their adults at that moment, as everyone was so excited at having fulfilled their life's one pending wish: to spot a tiger in the wild.  And they were so close to it!  The conductor had a tough time trying to hush them up.  After all, he didn't want the beast to wake up and then decide it was time for another repast!  

The Corbett man, understandably, was chuffed; Ranathambore had given him what Corbett hadn't!  

And we were lucky enough to have encountered the National Animal in our very first outing to any of the national parks!  Our day was made! 

Having kept his promise, the conductor then went about collecting extra tips from each of the touring parties as the canter dropped them off at their hotels!  

We discovered that the extra tip went a long way in these quarters.  It could take you right into the zone where the tiger is.  The officials, it was said, could monitor the animals' movements though CCTV.  This information would then be passed on to the canter conductors once the extra tip is in hand!  

Even jeep booking, which ensures you go on the safari with your own family, can be arranged unofficially with the help of this tip.  

I wish the Park governing body looks into these issues, so that everyone has an equal chance at enjoying the bounties of Nature.

A word about the Ranathambore Regency Hotel.  It is an excellent place of stay.  We were garlanded on our arrival and given welcome drinks.  The manager personally took us around to show the place.  

When our tour operator bungled, the hotel staff kindly booked the safari on our behalf while we were yet to arrive at the hotel.  The staff went out of their way to make us comfortable, the facilities were excellent and the food wholesome. 

Speaking of food, there was only one thing on everyone's lips at the buffet dinner that night: 'I saw the tiger today!'  

Overall, a great travel experience!