Tears in India for Tigers
India: a sub continent of 1 billion people, hundreds
of languages and dialects, colour and… poverty. This was to be our
destination for nine days. Maggie and I flew from Heathrow with BA to
Delhi, an eight hour flight arriving at approximately at 11pm Indian
time. Once through customs, the queue was quite long into the hustle and
bustle of Delhi itself. The organisers of our trip, Wildlife Worldwide,
had arranged for us to be picked up at the airport. Surveying the name
boards we eventually found our guide and a manic drive ensued through
the streets, passing humanity in all its guises on the way. 11 million
people reside in Delhi alone.
Our destination was Claridges for a good nights
sleep. The following day we had 3 hours to take in the atmosphere of
Delhi. After breakfast, we were picked up by our driver for a visit to
the Red Fort. This is the largest of Old Delhi’s
"11 million people reside in Delhi alone"
monuments built in 1648 and modelled on the royal
citadel in Agra (the location of the Taj Mahal). It is built from red
sandstone; a very ornate structure with plenty of temples. The photo
opportunities were all around, but we had a guide who informed us about
the history of the fort. We made the most of what was available; colour,
atmosphere, people and birds. Soon we had to leave, I could have been
there much longer but we had to go onto a Kashmir carpet factory. This
an obligatory part of the tour, (a way of earning some cash from your
customers): as it turned out it was very interesting and, yes, we bought
a small carpet!
From here it was back to Claridges to pick up our
cases and settle the bill (charged for bottle of water, precious
stuff!). Onto the railway station and a further glimpse of Delhi. Our
train journey would take 16 hours to complete; this was a sleeper train
Indian-style. The whole of India uses these trains, our bunks were at
the w/c end of the
carriage - not to be missed! We had taken plenty of biscuits and water
for the trip as eating on the train was not advisable.
Waking
at 5am; taking no chances as the train was only a third into its journey
across India, waited till we arrived at Umaria to be met by the vehicle
for the onward journey to Camp Mewar, near the town of Tala on the edge
of Bandhavgarh reserve. We refreshed ourselves, unpacked, met the owner
and had breakfast which was very welcome after our “gourmet” meal on the
train.
The
first thing I noticed was the birdsong, the release from humanity and
finally at one with nature. I visited the small lake that was part of
this camp; Egrets, Heron, Bee- eater, just to name a few of the birds I
saw. Decided it would be good practise to go into the shade - 40c, it
was hot! Our first drive was at 4pm; met our guide Kuna, who would be
with us for our stay and onto the reserve in an open jeep. Through the
gates after being checked in, being asked how many cameras (fee for
each) the anticipation of what we might see.
Our
guide spoke reasonable English (our Hindi was not so good); he was to
prove to be an excellent one. After a 1 hour drive just to take in the
landscape, which was stunning, with plenty of sightings of birds and
deer, there was a flurry of driving and our first Tiger was found! A
large adult Tiger hidden in the long grass observing a small herd of
Spotted Deer: it was a moment to treasure. It proved very difficult to
photograph, distance and amount of vehicles in the vicinity (up to forty
every day!). This would only serve to whet our appetite for the
following days to come.
"The first thing I noticed was
the birdsong…"
Dusk
descends rapidly in India and, as in Africa, hits the horizon, lights
out! 4am wake up call, into the park by 5.30 am, dawn still struggling
as the sun has to rise over the escarpment then warmth and light. As
with this time of day, plenty of atmosphere, the alarm calls of Chittal
deer fill the
along with incredible birdsong. It was not long
before the first Tiger sighting, and Kuna drove with his usual haste!
Elephants are used in this park so access to Tigers can be gained when
it is impossible by jeep.
"It was not long before the first Tiger
sighting…"
We had to have a number to do this, so in turn you
go by Elephant to the site of the Tiger. Sometimes this resulted in just
a glimpse, but on two occasions, fantastic!
We
repeated this scenario every day of our visit, and saw Tigers every day
and managed plenty of images. Also witnessed a mother and two cubs; a
very rare occurrence in these times. Kuna proved his worth and all too
soon we had to leave. One item of interest about our fellow professional
photographers: they seemed to want their cake and eat it! The next part
of our adventure started with a 6 hour drive; Indian roads have a
fearful reputation and this we experienced. Our driver constantly used
his horn, avoiding cattle, goats, dogs, cyclists. Trucks were different.
When faced by one of these, taking up to three quarters of the road, a
game of chicken comes into play. Time and again we nearly ended in the
ditch, this was not helped by the driver drifting off to sleep!
However, we made it to
Khajuraho, our next port of call. Home to 22 temples dating from 950 AD,
resplendent carvings of an erotic nature it is a world heritage site.
Our guide took us around the most important temples in the early morning
light. History explained, plenty of film taken. A wonderful diversion in
our trip, we returned in the afternoon on our own to enjoy sunset. Our
final trip was to Orchha, another famous temple and palace complex, this
time dating from the 1500,s; it was being restored.
Another
train journey of only six hours this time arriving in Delhi at 9pm.
India runs on its trains and we could not understand why we had not been
met at the station. Delhi has three main stations and we had got off at
the station we started the whole trip. No one in sight but plenty of
offers for a
taxi to the airport, Maggie rang the number for
emergencies: we where at the wrong station. It should have been a
relaxing 2 hours before our flight; instead it was a bit of a drive
across Delhi and into the airport.
India
is the land of colour, humanity, spectacle and tigers; it reaches
out to touch you. I feel that in the eight days we were privileged to
experience all those emotions and sights. India will remain as a
wonderful country to visit: the memories will remain with us for a very
long time.
Ron Tear
