Kanha's Roar

Trip Synopsis

Source: Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi

Destination: Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Month of Travel: March, 2016

Trains to and fro: Hazrat  Nizamuddin-Jabalpur super fast express, Mahakaushal express

Inspiration: Jungle-love

Purpose: Relax!

Companions: Family

Resort: Kanha Safari Lodge, mukki

( You can find my review here: https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g1117557-d1401183-r358093134-Kanha_Safari_Lodge-Kanha_National_Park_Madhya_Pradesh.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT)

Safari Zone: Mukki gate, early morning safari: 6-11 am

Corbett has been my favorite forest to satisfy my jungle-craving for a long time now.  The forests of Madhya Pradesh have been in the queue for a while- but the image that conjured up in my mind, thanks to an acquaintance's biased account on a young and impressionable mind, was of a dry and arid grassland and I wasn't quite in the mood to give up the dense foliage of Corbett for that.

On that note, I shall begin my story.

Chapter 1: The Journey

The Hazrat Nizamuddin-Jabalpur Super Fast express is a superb train to reach Jabalpur from Delhi with very convenient timings and the train sticking to the schedule more often than not.

It's too early to conclude, but I think I like the food that's provided on payment basis over that in Raj/Dur/Shatabdi. Eating in trains is fun. It's like a ceremony. Everyone's doing their own thing and then suddenly everyone huddles up to do one thing-the same thing-eat. In all the journeys, mostly to and from Kolkata in my childhood, I remember straining my neck till it ached to check the coach-by-coach, berth-by-berth progress of the steward distributing the food packets. I still do.

Chapter 2: Kanha Safari Lodge, Mukki

The drive from Jabalpur to Kanha was pleasant and picturesque in most parts with only a few rough patches. We had driven about 200 kms in 4.5 hours instead of 3.5 thanks to a wrong turn to reach the Mukki, completely weary.

The resort was a refreshing and pleasant sight with its luscious green garden, some fun outdoor and indoor games, spacious and well decorated rooms. To add to the welcome, the balcony overlooked the crystal clear stream of Banjar, one of the many tributaries of Narmada. Overjoyed with everything we saw, we refreshed ourselves and settled in for lunch.

The plan for the day was to have no plan at all. We walked along the banks of the river, played in the garden. In the evening, at 5pm, the friendly receptionist suggested, and that was only the first of a string of suggestions he was about to give over the next 3 days, that we walk along the nature trail that goes along the river, leads up to a watch tower and goes around a few more kilometers before returning to the start point. He said 5 pm would be ideal to catch sight of the birds as they returned to their nests from the Machaan.



The Machaan

The meandering nature trail; view from balcony



Walking through the buffer zone of Kanha national park

Chapter 3: Safari

The characters in this section need special mention

1. 28 Jeeps

Jeep Dynamics as I call it, the number and paths taken by the all the other jeeps form quite an integral part of your safari, like it or not.

2. Guide + Manoj Ji (driver)

I take them together, as an entity, as the duo were in constant consultation with each other and together they formed the control unit which based its decisions on both internal and external stimuli. External stimuli comprised of pug marks, cues from other drivers, tire tracks of other jeeps, calls from animals signaling the big cat’s presence or movements. Internal stimuli comprised of things like, ‘jaisi aapki marzi manoj ji’ and ‘tukka’.

3. Choti Maada. More on this character later.

We woke up to a chilly morning, a rather underestimated chill, and joined the queue with 27 other Jeeps to enter the Mukki zone of the Kanha National Park that opens at 6 am. This zone is a relatively new one, the road leading to the gate is dotted with much fewer hotels/resorts than in the more populated Kanha-Kisli zones.

The wait that lasted around 15 minutes was spent noticing how almost everyone seemed to be more warmly disposed than us, counting the number of jeeps in front and behind us, a glance or two at the container of food tucked away beneath the seat and in anticipation of what lay ahead.

Tip 1: Pre-book your safaris online!

Tip 2: Carry light woolens for the early morning safari (6-11 am) irrespective of the month of travel. The canopy of sal trees allows little sunlight to pass through it.

Tip 3: All travelers must carry identity cards

The gate opened sharp at 6, and all the vehicles chugged in through the entry gate and zoomed off in different directions.  We rushed through the dusty roads canopied by the lush foliage of the dense Sal forests, the air damp and slightly musty. Soon enough, we spotted fresh pug marks on the loose soil along the roads and our control unit started guessing the path it must have taken. Striking off possible locations as and when jeeps came back from them without having sighted the big cat, we looked for further clues. Herds of spotted deer, the rare barasingha- kanha is the only place this species of deer is found, the Indian bison or gaur met us on our many routes. There were open grasslands and there were Sal thickets, sewn together like a piece of intricate embroidery.

Entrance of National Park; Mukki Gate

All set!

Gaur, Indian Bison

A herd of Barasingha- this species is found only in Kanha

A cheetal herd

Male Cheetal

‘bhaiyya calling chal rahi hai’

And we stopped dead in our tracks. The deer herd next to us went into alert mode, giving short, high pitched alarm calls, tails raised and necks turned towards the dense foliage about a km away.

Surely enough, seconds later, we heard a loud and distinct roar.

A movement detected amidst the tall grass. Stripes!

They flowed in a wavelike motion across the meadow. Seconds later, we saw her in complete grandeur. The young tigress, nicknamed the ‘Choti Maada’ gave out two more roars- She was apparently looking for her cubs and calling out to them. Unmindful of the three jeeps full of gawking, tightlipped humans, she strode right towards one of them – ours! The surprise and excitement slowly turned into a spine-chilling fear of the fully grown tigress. I had on the previous night, read Maneaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett to sleep, imagined fierce tigresses tearing through flesh and bones at night, and there she was, right in front of my eyes, inching closer to me by the minute.

We were relieved that she did not seem to have any interest in us, took a turn, went around the jeep, crossed the road and then disappeared in the tall grass behind us. This lasted for about 7-8 minutes. Transfixed as I was, I meant to capture those breathtaking moments with my camera, only I was too stunned to remember to press the record button. Thankfully I regained sense, enough to manage few clicks or words are all I would have had to describe this. We drove a little ahead in pursuit of catching another glimpse but by then the tigress had gained the attention of 15 other jeeps which parked on both sides as she crossed a narrow road, focused single mindedly on finding her pesky little ones. A tigress is quite fiercely protective about her young cubs till the age of two, training them to survive in the wild and protecting against other tigers who often kill cubs to avoid having competitors in food and territory.

There she comes..oh oh oh!





We noticed this subtle action by the tigress thanks to a  wildlife movie watched the previous night in the nature interpretation center.



Up close and personal

No interest in us.

Bye crazy homo sapiens. Stop staring already!

The excitement hadn't subsided yet when we reached the common meeting point for all the safari jeeps where we have breakfast. Sheets were rolled over the bonnet, goodies spread out and stories of animal sighting and pug-mark stalking shared. Post the energy dose we set out again into the deep forests to take in the hues of the forest. What a day!

The nature interpretation center is a quaint little building right next to the resort with a good collection of photos and wildlife documentaries. We watched two of them on the two consecutive nights we were there. Kanha is no doubt one of the most well maintained and managed tiger reserves and the movies gave us a sneak peak into the lives of the forest guards who are responsible for day to day surveillance. They have meagre resources at their hands and frequently at risk from the wild animals. Ill-equipped as they are, there have been instances of bison, sloth bear and tiger cubs attacking them and gravely injuring them. For instance, a forest guard on a bicycle was attacked by tiger cubs, who in their early days of training are prone to attack anything that moves. The other instance of animal attack was by an encumbered sloth bear who was nursing cubs and was taken by surprise on sighting a forest guard on foot with a wooden stick in his hand. Nursing mothers are the fiercest of the lot. Deep in the forests, you are your own savior. Help is far and often too late.

We were advised against going out for walks in the late evening around the resort as there had been wild boar attacks on villagers lately.

On the way back the next day we paid a visit to the river Narmada gushing down the rocks (Dhuandhar falls) at Bhedaghat, near Jabalpur-easily missable.

PS: Do not take the Mahakaushal express(Jabaplpur to Hazrat Nizamuddin) , takes too long and there are further delays too.





Papa having fun!

Dhuandhar Falls, Bhedaghat

The End.