Postcard Perfect

“Set amidst the hinterlands of erstwhile Rajputana, the wild kingdom of Ranthambore appears, as if by magic, like a golden mirage in a desolate terrain.”

The tiger trail of the ethereal big cat, calls for a gazillion tourists to come down to witness them in all of their glory. Rajasthan being a land of royalty, regalia & opulence has a distinct story conjured to every town it beholds, from the history of powerful rulers, vibrant hues of culture to age old traditions.

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One of the most famous National Parks in India, Ranthambore National Park was once the hunting ground of Maharajas and is now a dedicated and well-protected wildlife sanctuary, home to over 40 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, 35 species of reptiles and over 300 species of plants. Stretched over 100 miles, the Park revolves around the magnificent & timeless 10th-century Ranthambore Fort, surrounded by ancient temples and mosques, hunting pavilions, crocodile-filled lakes, and burial tombs succumbing to vines.

Panthera tigris tigris or the mighty Royal Bengal Tiger holds a special status in India since time immemorial because of its ferocity, power, speed and charismatic beauty. It is also considered as a symbol of strength and royal power. Early literature on tigers is full of stories of hunting of tigers narrated by shikaris, kings, British army officers, civil servants, princes and landlords which also gives an account of the number of tigers they had bagged. It is said, the Maharaja of Udaipur shot at least 1,000 tigers during his lifetime.

My day began at 5:00 am, as I got out of bed & stood in the lush garden of my resort. The sweet smell of freshly cut grass & droplets of dew swayed my senses. Even though it was early in the morning, it was a pleasant experience which brought me closer to nature. Living in the concrete jungles of the modern era, we often forget the magic nature has to offer.

At sharp 6:30 am, our guide Mr. Bahadur Singh came to pick us up in a 20-seater open-roof canter. As we stood outside the park entry, we learnt that Zone 2 was allotted to us today, much to his pleasure Bahadur Singh spruced up his moustache with confidence saying, “Aaj toh Tiger Dikhega hi” (We will definitely see a tiger today). Curious, my dad asked him, how are you so confident?, to which Singh replied, a tiger made a kill in Zone 2 a couple of hours back.

Patiently, we were waiting in the bushes, listening to a peacock’s alarmed shrieks, squinting to see where it was facing: towards a tiger, maybe? There were hints all morning—tantalising fresh pug marks on tracks, grand clues of an animal having been dragged at the spot we drove past. So, after 20 minutes of waiting in the bushes, I wondered if this peacock was onto something, or was he just a jumpy little fella.

Suddenly, the canter rushes downhill. Bahadur Singh’s signature serious face, stares deeply into the bushes. “Arre bhagao! Jaldi (Hurry, Hurry)!” he hisses at Raju, the driver. Snap, snap, snap, Singh clicks his fingers towards a pond near a rock face. There are huge ripples in it. Someone is in there. And we are driving right into its face.

As we slowly approached the pond, there she was, the “Lady of the Lakes”, Machli (T-16) dipped in the water 10 feet ahead. As she sips the water, her ears are pricked at the slightest sound we make. Proud, magnificent & graceful are the words which best describe her. As she stepped towards us, slowly & steadily, she brushed her back against the right tyre of the canter, as if being accustomed to attention.

She was named Machli (fish), because of the fish-shaped mark on the left ear of her face. Labeled as the most photographed tigress in the world, Machli was not only beautiful but also a powerful entity who had a strong hold over her territory. She passed away at the age of 19 in 2016, which made her the world's oldest-surviving tigress in the wild. From killing a 14-foot long crocodile to being the most powerful tigress in the world, today, the tales of this fierce-eyed tigress resound the jungle.

When to go

The Ranthambore National Park is open for visitors from October to June. The best time to see tigers is from April to June, due to the hot season the tigers can be seen near the waterbodies.

How to go

By Air: Jaipur is the nearest airport to Ranthambore and it is situated 4 hours away. Tourists can use the regular bus service from Jaipur to Ranthambore and vice versa for commuting purposes.

By Rail: Sawai Madhopur is the nearest railway station to Ranthambore. One can easily reach this railway station from Jaipur, Agra and Delhi.

By Road: The nearest town to Ranthambore is Sawai Madhopur which is 11 km away.

Allow 2-3 days in the park to give yourself the best chance of catching sight of a tiger.

Make sure to take safaris in the morning & the afternoon

Ensure you use a reputable guide

Wild WILD East: Tanzania

The world’s grandest animal migration—a life-and-death lottery. For those lucky ones that make it, greener pastures await … as do the colossal cats.

Witnessing the Grand Annual spectacle of the migration of mega herds of wildebeests, zebra, gazelle & eland between Tanzania & Kenya as it unfolds on the Savannah of East Africa can be described as the 8TH Natural Wonder of the world. The Serengeti National Park together with Maasai Mara offers an experience like no other in Africa. The experience can be described as both incredible & magical.

Suggested as a must do by any serious Safari lover or wildlife enthusiast the sheer scale & enormity of this annual spectacle is just indescribable & is best experienced firsthand. Over two million animals migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener pastures of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya from July through October. The migrating herds cross the Mara River in the Maasai Mara where the huge Nile crocodiles lie & wait on their unsuspecting victims taking them to their watery graves.

The stage at which this grand show unravels is loosely termed the Serengeti Ecosystem, an area covering approximately 40,000 square kilometers comprising the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the south, Serengeti National Park & the Maasai Mara National Reserve to the north. Covering a distance of about 800 Km in each migration cycle, about 1.7 Million Wildebeest, 300,000 Zebras & about 400,000 Thomson’s Gazelle & Eland that constitute the heart & the soul of this grand migration travel & graze in harmony. The reason for this peaceful co-existence is due to the fact that the Wildebeest & Zebra eat different parts of the same type of grass hence there is no competition for food or grazing pastures.

The Wildebeests arrive at the Mara River in thousands, & gather on its banks waiting to cross. For days, their numbers continue to grow & swell, building up the anticipation to cross, but many time for no apparent reason whatsoever, they turn & wander away from the water’s edge undecided in their intentions to cross.

Eventually the wildebeest will choose a crossing point which cannot be predicted with any accuracy. Usually the chosen crossing point will be a fairly calm stretch of water without too much predator-concealing, vegetation on both the banks of the river.

Once more on the grasslands of the Maasai Mara, the wildebeest spend several months, feeding & fattening. The physiology of the wildebeest is such that it has evolved to travel large distances very quickly & that with conserving its energy & reserves. While the wildebeest are drawn to migrate by their need for food, the fact that they are constantly on the move has the added benefit that they constantly outrun large numbers of predators. The predators are unable to follow the moving herds very far, as many are territorial & can neither abandon their territories nor invade those of others.

When the first of the short rains start falling, around October on the Serengeti’s grass plains, filling seasonal waterholes & bringing new growth of grass, the wildebeest start heading south again. Overall 90% of the cows are heavy with new seasons young. In reality there is neither a beginning nor end to their endless search for food & water, as they circle in the Serengeti - Mara ecosystem in a relentless sequence of life & death as you call the “Circle of Life”.

The Annual Migration: the best times to visit The Serengeti Migration

July – October: You might be the lucky one! As the sight of the wildebeest crossing the so dramatic, it is considered by many the most desirable time to see the migration.

December – March: Currently the wildebeest are in the southern area of the Serengeti, in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

February is the only time of year when you are almost guaranteed to see the big herds all together as they always come south for calving season.

The Maasai: Through my Eyes

A Maasai warrior is a fine sight. The young & fearless men have, to the utmost extent, an admirable level of intelligence, yet they are still tenaciously true to their own nature.

As the daughter of an avid traveler & wildlife enthusiast such as my father, it did not come as a surprise that, I too thoroughly enjoyed the journey of exploring the unexplored & witnessing the most of countries, cultures & all that they have to offer firsthand.

It's not easy for me to step out of my comfort zone; in fact it's pretty scary. At the same time, my urge towards experiencing new cultures is like stepping into a whole new world; where I am exposed to different languages, smells, colors, sights, sounds, and people. As a family we often take time to travel to a different parts of the world where a new culture awaits to be explored.

The flight from Serengeti to the Masai Mara is a quite bumpy one, we suffered through a very rocky turbulence that seemed to last forever. As we reached it was still dark outside, with a sliver of a moon hanging in the enormous African sky amongst a gamut of twinkling stars.

My stay was at an elegant but rustic tented lodge nestled along the edge of the wildlife reserve. Our local guide Adisa works at the lodge, introducing well-heeled tourists to the raw splendor of wild giraffes, hippos, lions, zebras, and the rich culture that travel the area’s generous floodplains. The Maasai Mara, was the first great place in Africa to be pinned as the hub of an ultra-rich wildlife safari experience, where dignitaries and celebrities flew to Kenya to catch a glimpse of the big 5.

The next morning, our group of 10 people set foot to experience the tribal community of Africa – The Maasai, an indigenous ethnic group in Africa of semi-nomadic people settled in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Their kraal (African Village of Huts), consisting of a large circular thornbush fence around a ring of mud-dung houses, holds four to eight families and their herds. The Maasai society is firmly patriarchal in nature, with elder Maasai men sometimes joined by retired elders, determining most major matters for the Maasai tribes. Marriage involves a substantial bride-price in livestock.

We were welcomed by Namunyak, a Maasai chief wearing a red & blue chequered Shuka (cloth used to wrap around the body) whilst holding a spear in his right hand. Namunyak, must be over 6’3 ft tall with a strong built & powerful demeanor. As he passed every hut, the members of his clan bowed down in respect.

Their native language is Maa but they also speak Swahili & English. Namunyak, explained that Maasai’s are monotheists whose belief in a single deity with a dualistic nature – the kind-hearted Engai Narok (Black God) and maleficent Engai Nanyokie (Red God). Their main diet is a blend of cow’s milk and blood, the latter drained – it is said painlessly – from a strategic nick in the animal’s jugular vein. But as cows are more valuable to them alive than dead, they are generally slaughtered only on special occasions. As per their belief - meat and milk are never consumed on the same day, because it is insulting to the cattle to feed off the living and the dead at the same time.

The Maasai measure a man’s wealth in terms of cattle and children rather than money – a herd of about 50 cattle is respectable, the more children the better, and a man who has plenty of one but not the other is regarded as poor. Traditionally, the Maasai women are either bald or have their hair braided with a hint of red tones, they adorn a shuka with multicolored beaded jewelry. Given no rights, she is passed on from her father to her husband, to bear more & more children.

Our local guide, Adisa, mentioned - other tribes of Kenya have adapted more readily to the “progress” of modern times. In contrast, the Maasai have persisted in their traditional ways of life. As tourists exploring a new realm of cultural experiences we learnt of the cultural practices of the Maasai, wherein to become a Maasai warrior & prove his ability, a man is supposed to hunt & kill a lion using a Rungu (A wooden throwing club or baton), but luckily or unluckily due to the depleting number of lions in the wild, this practice is now forbidden.

Before we bid farewell to Namunyak & his clan, we bought beaded multi-coloured necklaces, bracelets & handmade slippers. And I happily added another wonderful culturally rich experience in my kitty.

Exploring South Africa

As if a picturesque scene from Disney’s Lion King, the thick trees & wild landscape of Africa’s best wildlife reserve depicts the story of the Big Five.

The images are imprinted into our brains from a thousand wildlife documentaries. A pride of lions drinks at a watering hole while keeping a watchful eye on a herd of thomson gazelles. Thousands of wildebeests running towards greener pastures in Masai Mara, and the wild-eyed hyena prowls a lake’s shore, the bright & sultry sun sets behind a zebra nibbling in the savannah.

For the safari connoisseur, there is no more captivating expedition than to spend a fortnight in the wildest reaches of Africa. From the crisp Namib Desert and the lofty dunes of Sossusvlei to the million-acre Palmwag Concession, home to endangered desert rhinos, from the magical waterways of the Okavango Delta to the huge game and predator populations of the Linyanti, my experience of Africa can be synonymic as the ultimate safari adventure.

An African wildlife safari is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that comes with a mystifying range of options. On an early morning in Kruger National Park, South Africa, our guide took us to the spot where he had heard an update about a pride of lions, the tourists had seen the day before: One lion, two lionesses and 4 cubs were resting after a gazelle kill. We watched them take a nap after eating their fill. As the lion’s stomach was full, the lionesses were lightly dozing in a protective mode. The cubs were still active and watching them was pure joy. After about 20 minutes, we moved on to explore the best of South African wilderness.

We headed towards a watering hole hoping to find other wildlife and found giraffes, including females and young males, walking towards the water. Standing all alone on the opposite bank was a very young, tiny Thomson gazelle. Our guide told us he was certain that the gazelle kill we had witnessed next to the lions was its mother.

It was absolutely fascinating was when the giraffes spotted the little gazelle. They all stopped, then slowly and carefully moved closer to the little one with necks outstretched. It was as if to say, 'What are you doing out here all alone? Where is your mother? Where is your herd?' They spent quite a long time just watching over it.

To many, South Africa’s wealth is synonymous with its diamonds, emeralds & gold. But I think its greatest riches lie in another of its natural treasures: its wildlife. I witnessed the best of wildlife that nature has to offer from the royal tusked African elephant to the ferocious leopard, from rhinos to the king of the jungle - lions, provide one of Africa’s greatest safari experiences. But I assure you, when your safari is over, one thing is certain: You’ll go home far richer with experiences than when you arrived.

Deciding when to go is almost as important as where. There’s a much better chance of seeing wildlife in the dry season (generally the winter and spring months of June to October). The grass is shorter, so dehydrated animals are forced to congregate at watering holes, making them easy to spot.