Page 40 - Seniorstoday August-2023 Issue
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whispered as he shone the headlights. It to quench their thirst, mostly at night. You
was a frosty night, dark and still. In the see and feel the beauty of the wild up close
glow of the light, glimmered the white and personal. Being here is like pressing
marble steps of Jogi Mahal. “Tigers are the pause button on life and immersing
known to wander here and relax on these yourself in the present moment. Time
steps.” He spoke. Disappointingly, that stands still and you are cocooned in the
New Year’s Eve night no tiger waited for natural world around you.
us! While rooms were spruced up with
Ferocious, magnificent, mighty, and royal, furnishings from Anokhi, for the late Prime
lurking silently in the shadows …a flash Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s family holiday, the
of stripes, a roar, that perfect feline form rest of the property was left untouched. As
hunting its prey, seeing a tiger in its full I unpack, a langur sticks his head around
glory is an experience that lives with you the door. ‘’Go away,’’ I suggest. He obliges,
forever. There’s nothing like the feeling of and henceforth we keep our doors and
pure awe and amazement when you see windows tightly shut.
a majestic animal in its natural habitat. Delicious dal batti churma and other
And it is not just about seeing animals, it is Rajasthani delicacies are served for dinner.
about connecting with the earth and all of And breakfast is in the open courtyard
its inhabitants where birds fearless and bold sit on our
Ranthambore “is the forest primaeval” shoulders and hands.
with its rolling hills, shimmering lakes, Redolent with adventure and history, a
dramatic cliffs, lush greenery and wild hunting abode amidst true wilderness,
jungle scrub, old crumbling walls, ruined Jogi Mahal is the perfect place to see the
pavilions, wells, the stunning cliff top great power and grace of these big cats.
Ranthambore Fort, where tigers frequent. As Valmik Thapar, one of India’s best-
Jogi Mahal, once the former hunting known naturalists, writes in ‘’The Secret
grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur, Life of Tigers,’’ ‘’Ranthambhore is a tiger’s
is today, the guest house of the Forest kingdom,’’
Department of Rajasthan, and stands We get our wish: in the pre-dawn glow, a
witness to the region’s glorious past. It is formidably large tigress and her three cubs
also home to the second largest banyan saunter across the road in front of our jeep
tree. Not open to visitors, we were very before hurtling off into the shrubs once
fortunate to stay in this atmospheric again.
and historical palace on the picturesque Sabie Park Hotel
Padam Talao’s banks which is home to the ‘All our treehouses are securely
gharial. Tigers have been known to wander constructed, well above ground. Don’t
through the grounds of Jogi Mahal. There worry, you won’t have a leopard joining
is no electricity. In the stillness and silence you in bed! The animals remain at a safe
of freezing cold December nights we sit in and comfortable distance.’
the pavilion wrapped in layers of blankets At some point, every child dreams of
and quilts hugging lanterns for warmth. No playing out her imaginative tales from the
fires are allowed as they may drive away heights of a tree house. Perched high above
leopards, tigers, deer, monkeys who come the ground, surrounded by nature, it is
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