Tigers
The jungles of India have been a major part of my growing up. My first visit to the wilderness was at the age of eight. The memories are still vivid. Baba’s black Ambassador Mark 3, the appalling condition of Delhi Road, the frequent car breakdowns, gorging on roti-tadka at roadside dhabas, misreading physical maps, getting lost deep in the jungles of Palamau National Park, it’s as if it were yesterday.
My first tiger sighting, though, happened a few years later. It was in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh that I saw the majestic creature for the first time. And it wasn’t just any tiger. It was Charger, the King of Bandhavgarh National Park at the time. A colossal male tiger, who was known as the second most photographed tiger in the world. Almost all of Bandhavgarh’s tigers today are said to be descendants of Charger and his partner Sita.
More than twenty years and innumerable jungle outings later, I have seen more than my share of tigers in the wild. But the exhilaration has remained the same. There is no greater thrill than to be driving through the jungles in search of the magnificent striped creature, knowing that they could already be watching you!
Published in The Times of India on the occasion of World Tiger Day, July 29, 2021
