by
VK Ojha ("Binni")
It was Prof Dr AK Pant, Director, Birla Institute Of Engineering, Bhimtal - our own Roorkee wonder kid aka Pantji - who suggested a trip to Jim Corbett Park, perhaps the finest wild life sanctuary of India - where he could arrange a stay. This wild idea was wildly welcomed by our small group and we set our efforts rolling. Pant ji arranged a stay from 13th to 15th Feb, 2007 and we converged from four directions, yes, we were four families.
I and my darling Rashmi traveled by train and reached Kathgodam on the 13th morning where Pant ji and his darling Abha came from nearby Bhimtal and we together traveled to Ramnagar (via a place called Kaladungi from where can elect to go either to Nainital or Ramnagar), some 60 kms away (which itself is some 50 kms shy of Dhikala - the heart of Jim Corbett Park. Viren Goyal - our famous classmate Shorty - accompanied by his darling Neerja, and AK Mehrotra _ our cherubic fluitist batchmate Mull -with his darling Madhu came by an SUV from Ghaziabad to Ramnagar. There Pant ji collected the permits, hired a collapsible-top Gypsy van and in those two vehicles we eight aficionados drove off for entry point of the Park called Dhangarhi, some 35 km away.
The Ghaziabad company, however, brought ahead of itself sharp rains and when we started off it was raining torrentially. I, Pant ji and Mull huddled in the Gypsy while Viren chaperoned the four darlings in the SUV - he being rated the most trustworthy guy. Surrounded by the sheets of rains, we simply sat dumb faced, praying silently for clear skies and willing the rains to stop enabling a safe journey. From Dhangarhi the treacherous 18 km long part of the journey started, where we traversed streaming and rough causeways and rut of a road.
But prayers offered by helpless hearts were not awaste. Rains relented when we arrived at Dhikala, and as we located the main building housing the reception where we were shown our cabins the rains had stopped, leaving pebbled and tiled ways in puddles and pools of water. The cloudy evening darkness had descended which had precluded any worthwhile vista of the kosher surroundings, except that the main building was quite a majestic one, having some luxurious VVIP suites and a resaurant dishing rather expensive meals. Pant ji allowed us an hour to let our hair before down going for some tea "some where". That "some where" was found to be a small but worth while canteen where we had tea and decided that it was good enough for meals too. We sloshed around gingerly to survey the surroundings, and went to bed with a firm thought that the fortitude and the adventure thus far was worth a pot of gold and that we will go back contented and joyous. But we were given a parting warning by
Pant ji to be ready to be off for our safari by seven in the morning, because the nuggets of wisdome he had gleaned in the mean time suggested that lions either came out in the mornings or evenings and we had a better chance to face one in the wee hours.
At seven in the morning, on the Valentine Day, the clouds had dispersed and a chilly morning sun welcomed us. As we assembled and made for the gate we looked around us and realised that we were in the lap of unptretentious munificence of mother nature itself. The main building and the other out-houses and the cabins looked washed up and clean. The expansive lawns with droplets of dew were full of promises. But we had no time for all that yet. We had to tame the tiger.
On the debit side was the fact that Viren was under the weather and was running temperature, though it did not deter him from coming along and share the fun.
On our two vehicles with guides we launched the first leg of safari. As our guide launched his monologue about the surroundings, and the statistic about the number of animals etc, we took the trail named "Thandi sadak" and were accosted by herds of deers, sambhars, wild boars and porcupines etc. It looks so marvellous when you find that those residents of the nature are so near by, that if you could stretch your hands a bit longer you might touch them, and you make to do just that, but the guide forbids to not to reach out or even think of getting down.
We made for the plateau, on the side of the Ramganga reservoir (which feeds head to the Ramganga Hydro Power Station) and drank in the view of the amazingly blue waters reflecting the clear sky and neat hills and the jungles. The air had the bite of chill and we were predicting among ourselves that it might have snowed in higher reaches of Nainital and Mussoorie. In fact at some places the higher snow clad peaks were visible too. Amongst all these, the Sun was like manna from heaven, and every one was facing it to soak in as much of its warmth as possible.
However, torn between enjoyment and urgency, we reluctantly returned to the trail of the tiger. We detoured on our way back via the jungle path and the tiger eluded us, though at one place at the side of the river some of us spotted crocodiles. It was time to come back.
Reaching home we completed the leftover morning chores, had sumptuous breakfast, and lazed in the Sun. A couple of monkeys caught hold of Pant ji's handbag containing eatables, and that encouraged Mull to move up to them and offer biscuits and make some really good friends. But no thoughts of going to rooms to retire our oldish bones, because this sight was not repeatable - we were returning next day.
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Tiger mauls a Pande Ji While we took an aimless stroll to soak in the Sun and the view of the Rest House, we observed that Rest House area was surrounded by an electric fence. The local staff revealed that the fence was rather a recent affair. Earlier it was open to the man and the beast to convivially enjoy each other's company, but a tiger having a different opinion attacked one Pande ji, a canteen employee, and seriously mauled him. Some gun-fires and shouts later, the tiger went off, leaving Pande ji in serious injuries that required long hospitalisation and surgery before he was able to resume his normal life. That was the point when it was decided that caution was the word, and the fencing came into being. |
After lunch and a short shut-eye, we were back tiger hunting in in the afternoon. As we started off - minus Viren due to his fever - from the thandi sadak we spotted wild elephants at some distance thoroughly blended among the foliage - frankly, I could not see any myself - but the exploration was cut short abruptly by the rains and we beat a hasty retreat to the Rest House. There. in the newspaper we read about heavy snowfalls in Nainital as well as Mussoorie.
As the rains stopped, we were off again, along a different route called Sambhar Road, a one-way track. Again herds of deers, sambhars, wild boars and some rare birds - I now remember only one name, King Fisher - were sighted. At one place a sambhar was seen crossing the river, looking around furtively and making slow progress, and we silently egged him on lest it may fall in the "hands" of the tiger. The sambhar road joined the main road back to the Rest House and we turned back. Close to the Rest House at the start of the thandi sadak, a couple of vans had stopped on hearing the distress "call" of the deer - indicative of a tiger. We waited and waited, and though we were rewarded with a loud roar of the lion - Neerja claimed she heard two roars - which was distinct indication of a lion very nearby, we were singularly unfortunate in not having seen any. However we plodded on further to the spot where some of us had seen wild elephants, and all of us saw their herd at quite a
close quarter. It was slowly coming towards the road, but our guide suggested we again try our luck with the tiger. We did that, but again no luck. It was time to get back, because after 17.30 hrs no none is allowed in the jungle.
It was then eating part and then sitting close to a sick Viren, though his sickness did not come in his way of regaling us and holding our stomachs against his real life jokes.
Then, the time to retire to our rooms, but not without an advice from Pant ji to be up and ready by 07.30 or 08.00 next day.
At Ramnagar the Mull-Viren group proceeded back home in thier SUV, while we four made to return to Bhimtal via Nainital in Pant ji's staff car. As usual we came to Kaladungi from where we turned towards Nainital. Around three or four kilomeres short of it the fallen snow started to appear on the road sides and hills. We were making a good progress but a km shy of Nainital our car had to stop in the snow, as it came face to face with a motorcycle in the middle of the road. With some efforts the mobike moved away but the car-wheels could not get a purchase in the frozen snow of the road and we had to return all the way via Kaladungi and Haldwani to Bhimtal.
I and Rashmi were guest of Pants there for the night. Next day we two spent some time in Haldwani with a friendly family and in the evening returned to railway station and then back home.
At the end of it all, though the disappointment of not meeting the tiger was felt, but only just. It was a consensus that we enjoyed each-others' company and it was the sheer misfortune of the tiger that he could not meet four lions and four lionesses and thus had no stories for his cubs. We all eight of us were great, but Pant ji and Abha were just a tad greater and won our gratitudes.