EYE OF THE TIGER

Set in the foothills of the towering Himalayas, Corbett National Park, is India’s oldest tiger reserve. Established in 1936, during the British Raj (rule) by hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett, the park is the active hunting ground of the critically-endangered Bengal Tiger of India.

As I was rudely awakened at 5am with a cup of tea and buttered toast, I wondered if I had unwittingly become a part of something I was going to regret. The early hour aside, I was coming to dread the back-breaking 300km journey to Uttarakhand.

Once off the National Highway (NH), the inner village roads tend to get washed away during the monsoon season, not to be rebuilt for years on end.

“Out of the 300 odd kilometres, the last 60 will be slowest,” said Gujral Singh, our trusted driver. “You can judge the level of corruption prevalent in a town based on the roads – some get repaired every year; others seem to become worse after repair because of the materials used,” he joked.

Having zipped through the sultry streets of Delhi, around first light, we stopped at Tadka Dhaba, a traditional Indian restaurant, not much more than a truck stop. Although the traditional elements of the place were strongly contrasted by a McDonalds – probably the only one in 100km – close by, the aloo and mooliparathas (potato and radish bread) helped awaken my senses.

Close to the town of Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh, on NH 24, Tadka offers clean restroom facilities, friendly staff and superb Indian Punjabi food. The jovial owner helps point out the various celebrities whose pictures grace the walls of this shack and can be persuaded to share his stories for the price of a chai (tea).

From Gajraula onwards the scenery changes – young poplar trees blend with yellow mustard fields that can be seen on both sides of the road. Unique for their half yellow, half green leaves these skinny trees are part of a long running agricultural scheme in India. Used to make matchsticks and plywood, these trees grow up to 50 metres in just a few months. Having left the noisy city behind us, the drive is extremely scenic – until the last 60km.

With barely any sign of a viable road, the car rocked like a boat navigating through a storm. Gujral Singh kept turning up the volume on his sound system that was blaring out music from a UK-born Punjabi pop sensation. Somehow the creaks of the car, protesting on being driven through these invisible roads, seemed to be louder. I dove for my box of Panadol.

In hindsight, it really wasn’t all that bad. The trips loosed up my muscles and it felt more like a bad Thai massage than anything else. Being a lover of mountains, the first sight of the majestic snow clad Himalayan peaks, albeit in a distance, made it all worthwhile.

Having survived the journey, I was glad to finally reach our hotel; 5am departure, around 300km, six hours on the road – tiredness seems to melt away at the peaceful Infinity Resort  – Corbett Wilderness Hotel.

After a massage and good night’s rest, we met the local conservation expert, Deep, before our 5am departure. “I have spotted more than my fair share of tigers,” she said.

“The most exciting thing I’ve ever seen is a tiger and a giant python fighting. The tiger won in the end, but the python put up a pretty good fight.

“Tigers are best spotted early mornings and late afternoons,” she added. “During the day they tend to hide in the bushes and being great at camouflage, are very difficult to spot.”

Sitting in our open-top jeep, smelling the fresh morning dew, we drove away from civilisation and crossed into the wilderness of Corbett at first light. The jeep groaned as it passed over rocky terrain, through forest brooks and patches of savannah.

Having been on safari trips in Africa and the US, the Corbett forest is like nothing I’d ever seen before – maybe it was the palatable sense of anticipation or maybe it was the excitement of spotting one of the nature’s most fierce beasts – my usually hyperactive imagination was in overdrive. After all, Rudyard Kipling wrote a beautiful ode to this forest in Jungle Book.

“Known for its biodiversity, the park has recorded over 580 varieties of birds, 50 odd species of mammals and more than 25 types of reptiles,” announced our driver and guide. “Apart from the famous beast of the jungle – the tiger – you can also spot wild elephants, leopards, sloth bears, a multitude of deer species and monkeys.”

The deer were easy to spot. From the mighty sambar, as big as any elk, to the lithe spotted deer, they dot the forest in patches and are the primary target for tigers.

We drove through the well-tread path of the safari roads that crisscross the park. At last count, which is woefully out of date, around 200 tigers are said to be found in Corbett’s 520.8sq/km.

As the morning mist gave way to a sunny day, we picked an opening in the forest for a breakfast picnic. The guide told us not to get out of the car; the smell of food might attract some unwanted guests. He wasn’t talking about a tiger, but monkeys. Langur and rhesus monkeys are a menace to the local villages that border the park. Scaring livestock and ruining crops, in large packs they can be aggressive. Thankfully, in our case, they stayed high above in the forest canopy.

A fountain of knowledge, our guide kept our interest diverted – the sal and sheesham trees, the cobra crossing the road and the foot print of an elephant. Just as our guide announced that we should turn back if we’re to make it for a late lunch at the hotel, he slowed to a halt.

Asking us to be very quiet he seemed to scan the bushes at a distance. He then asked us to aim our binoculars at some shrubbery up a nearby hill, he said, “Try and look beyond the bush. You’ll see something hiding there.”

Squinting harder, it took my eyes a minute to distinguish between the riot of green foliage. Peering from beneath, were the distinct eyes of the tiger.

With a light spring, the distinctly feline creature jumped higher and disappeared into the undergrowth.
I was thrilled. All the excitement and anticipation had culminated to this one moment.

Our return to the hotel was comparatively swift, or at least it seemed so. We were the only party to have spotted something. Deep suggested we try their elephant safari the next day, but alas our time in Corbett had come to an end. As I returned to Delhi by road, the discussion frequently turned to what we saw.

Perhaps it was not the most spectacular tiger sighting for Corbett National Park, but for us it was a mesmerising experience that will be remembered forever.