Tiger Spotting!!


There was a huge anticipation of seeing the tiger on our recent Corbett yatra. We tried to assess what would be good time to go for which safari and accordingly booked ourselves on a Elephant and a Jeep safari.








4 adults and Vaanya atop Lachmi went for the safari. Swaying and rocking with a rhythm Lachmi was in her elements and was being goaded by Mubeen ( the mahout ) to get into the forest. Ominous with dense green trees and huge overgrowth we were all awed and afraid at the same time with Mother Nature and at the helplessness of the situation . We tried our hand at nervous laughter and jokes however returned back after seeing some spotted deer only.
The next day morning again everyone awoke to a cold wintry dawn and got into a open jeep all wrapped up for a glimpse of the tiger . The entry was from the Bijrani gate.
3 hours later the only hope we had of spotting the tiger were the fresh pug marks on the path.
While we were sitting around the bonfire reminiscing about the missed opportunity my mother inadvertently blurted out that she had been so scared that she had been praying not to see the tiger. The daughter In law had been wanting desperately to see the tiger..this led to some further friction.
On our return there was a rasta roko and the reason we figured was a lady teacher had been mauled and killed by a Tiger after 24 years at Corbett. This was 500 M away where we had done the Elephant safari.The villagers were demanding that the tiger be killed since it had tasted blood.
We returned wondering whether the missed opportunity was a blessing in disguise!!!!

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