Tiger tales & beyond

Kavita Kanan Chandra

I was truly enamoured by the majestic cat on my trip to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. The mornings and afternoons were spent on the tiger safari, a thrilling ride along the bumpy dirt roads in dense forests or dry deciduous vegetation. Evenings at the cottage, which exuded the charm of a colonial forest bungalow, were much more relaxed as fellow travellers engaged in convivial conversations, bonding over tiger tales.

There were tigers peering through the dense forests or prowling for prey — in photographs, paintings or book covers. We heard stories about star tigers like Noor, Krishna, Sultana, Arrowhead, Ustad, besides the fierce tigress, T-16, popularly known as Machhli. She was one of the most photographed tigresses in the world and catapulted Ranthambore to global fame. We also saw a documentary on this queen of the jungle, who survived 19 years in the wild, and has more than 30 descendants, spanning four generations.

Travel tips

• It takes three hours from Jaipur to reach Sawai Madhopur (165 km). The reserve is 14 km from there.
• The best time to go is between October and March.
• From April 1, one zone permit for 3.30 hours in a tiger reserve jeep (6 persons) will cost Rs 1,800 per person, while the budget-friendly canter vehicle (with 20 persons) will cost Rs 1,200 per person, inclusive of taxes.

Once the hunting grounds of the Jaipur maharajas, the dwindling tiger population was revived after the launch of Project Tiger in April 1973. Another crisis struck Ranthambore in the 2000s when the Mogiya community, once tiger trackers for royal hunting expeditions, turned poachers. The issues were dealt with, and Ranthambore was once again teeming with tigers.

When you are in Ranthambore, you are invariably watching, listening and talking about the big striped cat. Sighting this elusive predator is a matter of sheer luck. But there’s much to see at the reserve. You can find even the more elusive animals like honey badgers and caracal cats. Take a slow drive, spotting birds and seeing animal behaviour in the wild. Track hyenas, leopards, sloth bears, chital, sambar deer, wild boar, nilgai, mongoose and langurs. The nearby riverine habitats of Chambal have critically endangered gharials, dolphins, turtles and some rare birds.

There’s also the dramatically changing topography of the 10 zones in the reserve, including lakes, vintage architectural ruins of chhatris, tombs, temples, mosques and forts. There’s the Khandar fort with seven temples, Rajbagh palace, camping site of the maharajas, the Trinetra Ganesh temple atop the centuries-old Ranthambore fort, a UNESCO heritage site, considered impregnable until conquered by Alauddin Khilji.

The most scenic zone 3 has the spectacular Jogi Mahal, placid lakes and a view of the meeting point of the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges.

The region is big on guava farming and a few village mud houses are adorned with folk art of Mandana. Strolling through the mustard fields, I chanced upon some thatched huts with mud walls adorned with white motifs on geru-coloured red walls. The motifs were inspired by nature — tigers, peacocks and other birds. Confined to a few houses of the Meena community, painted during Diwali and Govardhan puja, Mandana is sadly a dying art.

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