Tiger Diaries - A rendezvous with Tigers at Kanha

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson

Finally the school sessions had come to an end . I checked the bags and suitcases one last time accommodating one more little toy on the request of my little one reminding her that this was indeed the last one I agreed to  . I could feel the tingle build up in the pit of my stomach . "So finally !! It was time to go, the day has come" . Overnight train journeys have always been my favourite . I looked forward in anticipation to my cosy upper bunk and the latest thriller I had grabbed ...."AHHH peace ...". "Maa shall we see some Tigers?" came the excited query. "Well lets see, if you are really lucky" - I replied .We were going to Kanha in Madhya Pradesh and of course the big cat was was what we were after but I am more eager for the journey and the little gems of quirky experiences that it will bring .

Day 1 - "Neel digonte oi phuler aagun laaglo...."- The overnight journey had brought us to Raipur . Woke up in the morning to peek out of my train window to see the landscape splashed with the red flame colours of Ashok and Polaash . I know now what Rabindranath meant when he wrote"Raanga hashi rashi rashi Ashoke e Polaaash e " . 

                            Today we took a car from Raipur to Kanha . It's approximately a 4 hour drive.As our car left the city boundaries the landscape changed dramatically.The sun-kissed amber brown fields are dotted with splashes of green and red against the azure sky. This landscape can only be truly captured in oil colours with Van Gogh like bold brush strokes, I mused. 

The driver pointed out to a blue bird facing up to the sun on one of the branches and told us it was the Indian Roller better known in Bengali as "Neel Kontho pakhi". Legend in Bengal says that on Bijoya Dashami this bird flies ahead of the Goddess Durga to inform Shiva in Kailash of the mother's return. How strange to encounter this bird here when I have never met one in Bengal!!!.

We almost missed the very simple gate to the Taaj Banjaar Tola . An unassuming signage on a mud wall and a barrier post announced it as our destination . But there were no lodges and buildings to be seen .

From the barrier the road winded further into a quite thick forest . The car almost went half a km inside till we found some men waving at us with big smiles on their faces. As the car came to a stop and we got down, we were greeted with warm smiles and handshakes and a wonderfully chilled lemon drink and hot towels to wipe off the dust from the road . 

The main reception and the lodges were all tents with wonderful little wooden viewing decks overlooking the forest beside the serene Banjaar river. The very artistic tribal decor and bamboo furniture blend in with the surrounding forests wonderfully without hampering the serenity of the forest . My daughter cannot stop smiling after finding the swimming pool hidden away in the forest ,canopied by the forest trees and I cannot wait to lie down on the private deck and spot some deers. A royal welcome indeed !!!!

Day 2 - "Jungle jungle baagh chali hain pata chala hain"-Woke up at 5 AM today. It was still dark outside and surprisingly chilly. Shivered all the way from our tent to the main lobby where warm porridge , hot coffee and shots of whiskey along with a fire to warm our freezing hands awaited us . As the jeep arrived , we were pleasantly surprised to see warm blankets , hot water bottles , mittens to warm our hands all kept ready inside the jeep .Last but not the least there was a big picnic hamper with sandwiches and rolls , cakes and cookies with juices and coffee , enough to feed a battalion inside the jeep, all packed and ready to go with us!! 

As we entered through the Mukki gate the breath taking beauty of the forest mesmerized me . Spotted deers were spotted aplenty along with sambar and barasingha and some wild pigs but the big cat eluded us. Post our breakfast as we started the last leg of the safari we were almost sure that the Tiger sighting will not happen today.However soon after the jeep came to a standstill as the driver heard the 

alarm call by the deers.We waited with beating hearts , can it be that we are finally lucky to hit the jackpot? And then all of the sudden he showed up , majestically walking up to cross the right right in front of our jeep with utter disdain for us mancubs. Majestic indeed!!I don't know for how long I had forgotten to blink my eyes !

Day 3 : On the Mowgli Trail - At night yesterday had a surreal experience sitting on the deck outside the tent, The night sky  was illuminated with a million twinkling stars which looked as if they were stuck on the top of the tall sal trees.I never realized that there were so many stars in the sky or that there can be so many sounds of silence.I woke up in the middle of the night to take a peek and saw the forest awash with silver moonlight.I wish I had a camera that could have captured the night experience.

                           Today was a more laid back day and we took a leisurely walk around the property and a swim in the pool with the birds for company.The Taj Safari lodge is built on 90 acres of buffer forest area and animals roam quite freely inside the property. So we had to take a guard while walking around the property.

   We met a most interesting gentleman today .He is the Naturalist in the Taj Lodge, Jaya Rakesh.An young engineer from Tamilnadu who decided to follow his heart and turned his passion for wildlife into a career as a Naturalist.A very soft spoken polite and shy guy, his depth of knowledge about wildlife and his ability to spot the birds is amazing . We accompanied him on a 7 km nature trail called the Bahmni trail in the afternoon and learned about the various birds of the area and the wild life . While coming back was very pleasantly surprised to find a picnic laid out in the forest for us . Jaya makes amazing filter coffee!!!

Today is our last night in Kanha and my heart is saddened at the thought of leaving this beautiful homely safari lodge and the emerald green surrounding forests with its warm hospitality .Tomorrow is a new day and a new journey begins but that's a new story !!!Till then good night!!

P.S: This travelogue is written in form of a diary and taken  from my facebook posts during the journey . I have kept this unaltered as much as possible as I did not want to lose the spontaneity .

A touch of Snow

One of the main attractions of melbourne is that you can reach almost any of your heart's desires at a very short distance . If you are the lover of sea and sand , thats half an hour , if you like the mountains thats also near by. You can visit the rain forests , the gardens, you name it and melbourne has it just a short distance away!!If you are like me pining after a lost chance to visit the alps , there is something right now near melbourne that can please your heart and make you forget the alps.Just about 3 hours from melbourne there is a place called Mt. Buller where you can feel the magical touch of snow!!
Located 208 km (129 mi) NE of Melbourne Mt . Buller rises 1,707 m (5,600 ft) above the sea level. It is covered by Sub-alpine Woodland that occupies the high ridges and upper slopes at elevations from about 1400m to 1700m, treeless sub-alpine mosaic at the highest altitudes where other vegeation don't survive in the extreme temperatures, riparian forest, shrubby dry forest, damp forest, wet forest, herb-rich foothill forest, montane dry woodland, montane damp forest and montane riparian thicket, each found at specific elevations. Mt. Buller has been a popular ski resort for quite a long time now and is a major winter attraction for all australians. In fact it has fostered and nourished the aussies love for skiing . Before early 1980's there were two lift companies operating in the mountain to lift the skiiers to the summit which meant you had buy two separate tikcets.In the late 1990's the two companies merged and now you can access any of the 25 different lifts to the various summits , all with a single tiket!!
There are various options to reach Mt. Buller .If you have a valid license You can take you own car or hire a car and drive over .There are quite a few ways you can get to Mansfield, the closest major town to Mt Buller: Via Whittlesea and Yea from Plenty Road; Along the Hume Hwy northbound to Tallarook and then to Yea; Along the Hume Hwy southbound to the Benalla/Mansfield turnoff; or along the Maroondah Hwy through Yarra Glen to Yea and then on to Mansfield.
Mansfield is the gateway town to Mt. Buller. In winter you need to pay a toll to enter the resort which helps in the upkeep of the place.You can hire snow chains and clothing here at a reasonable price .If you are not used to driving over snow its better to park your car here and take the free shuttle to the top. However if you are like me , on a budget trip then you can book one of the coaches.There are several daytour coaches operating out of melbourne . They provide a very comfortable journey and here is the scoop.If you are booking your tour just a day before the journey from a half tix(http://www.halftixmelbourne.com/) outlet in melbourne you can book a tour at only half the price!!The coaches usually give a 45 mins break in Mansfield allowing you to hire ski equipment , Tobaggans , snow cothes etc.and grab a breakfast and a hot cup of coffee. If you are like me , not willing to chance a broken leg and a hole in the pocket trying to ski and would rather enjoy the snowy vista and have some safe fun , then hire a tobaggan and buy the chair lift pass from this place. They are fairly cheap and you can have a whole lot of fun . If you are bent on that skii experience , then you can hire ski gear and purchase skii lessons here as well.Finally if you are a professional skiier , well you would hardly need my advice!
The 20 mins journey up from Mnsfield is really interesting. There is that heart stopping moment of seeing the first snow. Then as you go up the vista changes from green and brown to white all over.The frozen leaves and piles of snow at the road side are a delight to any snow lover.You can get the map of the various ski trails and tobaggan slopes at Mansfield or even at the top. It would be good to have one in hand before you start the fun .The tobaggan ride can actually turn back time and let you unleash the child within .The hilarious topples in the snow make lifetime memories. If you are the serious skiier , you can head straight to the chairlift and hit the ski slopes. Even if you are not the skiier , you should take all the chair lift rides . The experience of looking down at the acres and acres of snow covered hills with hoardes of skiiers in their bright outfits is exhilarating , and you feel like screaming YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!There is a tube ride also if you want to glide down the snow.Also there are shuttle buses that take you to the Bulla village near the summit. Its a charming little village with a population of 2933 has around 7000 beds available in accommodation facilities, the most of any Victorian ski resort.So if you have fallen in love with the snow and would like to stay a night or two , you can book in here. However it would be wise to book in advance as due to the rush of tourists in the snow season the hotels can be booked from months in advanced.La Trobe University had a minor campus at Mt Buller. The campus facilities included a public cinema, gym and indoor sporting facilities. It has since been closed.It is also the home of the National Alpine Museum.Have you ever looked at a christams card with snow covered houses and trees and snow man and wished you were there? Then you are going to love it at bulla village. You can pile the snow to build your own snowman , and don't forget to throw snowballs at your friends. What's a snow trip without snow balls flying ? HOwever beware , if you are not wearing the right clothes you can freeze.By this time you might be feeing a trifle hungry ad cold but there is nothing to worry . There are many nice warm restaurants to pick from . My personal favourite is the small asian restaurant at Bulla village . There you get a lot of hot delicacies including a perfectly yummy steaming bowl of laksa soup which is guaranteed to revv you up in the cold.
If you are lucky enough you can have a light snow shower too to complete the experience.

Tor Jonno

Tui eshechili bole dhulobhora ei shorer akashta ajo boro neel mone hoi,

Harie jaoa roopkathara abar ashbe phire ,buk bedhechi shei ashai;

Tor hathe tule debo joto phele asha sukh ,phike hoye asha shopno ar harie jaoa bhalobashar din,

natun kore tor abak chahonite tara praan pabe , bhalobashbe, hobe rongeen.

Sundarban Jatra

Besh kichudin age BBr forum e golpochhcole amar sundarban berabar abhiggata share korechilam . Tarpor theke amai Ashim Jethu onek bar bolechilen lekhata shajie gujie kat chat kore prakasher joggo korte. Amai jara chene tara amar kuremir satheo porichito . Shei kuremite shei lekhata ar konodin i edit kora hoi ni . Kintu Ashim jethu bholen ni , onek jotno niye , dhairjo dhore lekhata amar kimbhut bangreji theke banglai udhdhdar kore sonajhuri te prokash korechen . Er kritittwo tai purotai onar prapya . Jai hok golpo ta tomader sathe share korlam...

The days of the literary void

Jiboner ekek ta shomoi ashe jokhon bahu bahu din karmobastota ar pratyahikatai nijeke hariye pheli , hariye pheli bhalolagar , sristir shei falgudharar poth take ......likhte boshe kolom haate sada patatar dike takiye thaki , kono shobdo , kono rong kichu khuje pai na....


Throw me a light, show me a way
through this literary void,
This darkness that engulfs,
sucking out my soul and snuffing out the flame...
Oh for the days of the muse
come again O' moon & shine your light
let poetry flow through my fingers
and drip like honey through my tongue !

Osonglogno

Kaal Raat e tumi khobor nile...

Raat, tumi aar khobor mile...bhorle nile...

ki hoy jodi sopno tomar

chho mere jay sonkhochile...

Britya

din ,raat, saishab ,koishore ,bardhyakya...
sudhu ek britya jeno , ghure phire ashe
phele asha kabita ,hashi, prem , abhimaan---
harai na kichu,
sudhu oi britter kono ek baanke abar dekha hoi.


Tabu shob eki ki thake ? Chena mukh tabu jeno chena noi.
harai na kichu ?naki shobi hariye jai...
kabitar khatata hoito abar khuje paoa jai, kintu ashtadasher mon ?
jibon sudhu ek britya ......kimba britya noi.