The Making of Ranthambore Safari
When we go out on trips, we often remember the big memorable, exciting highlights of the tour that stay with us forever. Looking back, when we think of a particular trip, the first thought that comes to our mind is the primary star attractions. As a result, the little things and moments fade from our memories. Yes, the big moments do matter, but these often ignored, unseen little things remain the unsung heroes that add value to our beautiful constellation of memories. Part 1 of my Ranthambore travelogue explains the making of this Ranthambore safari, how things panned out before the trip and documentation of these little things that would be brushed under the carpet as time passes.
Wildlife has always captivated me since childhood. Watching various wildlife documentaries, going on jungle safaris, and reading fascinating articles on India’s enormous forests have always made my curious mind dig deeper and evoked a deep attachment to the jungles. Wildlife is so dynamic that the hunger to learn more about it only increases every time because the jungle is an ocean of untapped knowledge chests.
June 2018- After having visited three jungles and having seen eleven tigers in the past six months and with a plan laid down for covering another two in the next six, little did I realize back then that my wait to visit the next jungle would end after almost quarter of what Lord Ram had to spend in exile- four long years. Well, that’s how life functions, doesn’t it? The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, not once, not twice and almost on the verge of collapsing thrice in our case.
It was on a cold chilly Republic Day evening of 2021 in one of the hustling bustling cafes of Mulund, where the seeds of a wildlife safari were first sown in a random discussion with friends while sipping the aromatic hot chocolate, which was undoubtedly the flavour of that memorable evening. After adequate deliberations for different wildlife sanctuaries, three were shortlisted- Kanha, Ranthambore and Gir. With summer being the best season for wildlife sightings, the month of May seemed perfect for the safari. Since Kanha Wildlife Reserve had been my latest jungle safari and it being India’s best forest, I had to convince Sanchit to postpone it, who wanted to visit India’s most scenic and beautiful forest reserve as his maiden wildlife safari. So it all boiled down between the Asiatic Lion and the Royal Bengal Tiger. The Royal Bengal Tiger won this round, and Gir had to take a backseat for now. And that’s how Ranthambore was finalized.
But there was a twist in the tale, well, not for the first time. As the winter of 2021 ended, it took along with the good times. Nobody had the slightest of hints of what was to follow next. The summer of 2021 was the most horrifying and disastrous in Independent India’s history. The pandemic, which the country had earlier declared early victory against, struck back with brute force and brought doom and lull across the country in April and May. Lockdowns, whom the nation had bid farewell to, made a resounding comeback. Summer of 2020 was seeing a repeat in 2021-albeit with double doom. This mighty tsunami of pandemic washed away our Ranthambore plans.
A few months later, a change of season also ended the apathy that the country was facing. Monsoon injected a new lease of life in the country after large-scale vaccinations took place on a mission mode. By the arrival of August, hope had restored normalcy in people’s lives. As a result, the preliminary Ranthambore safari plans began to resurface. Prima facie, it was decided to spend Christmas or welcome the New Year in the chilling winter of Ranthambore. With the vaccination program carried out by the Govt at a frantic pace, there was little uncertainty of COVID playing spoilsport this time. The only issue now was finding friends interested in wildlife and jungle safaris. Sanchit and I were the permanent ones. After many manhunts, Sanchit finally found a friend, who brought along with her another friend. Often one brings two, and this was exactly how it turned out.
The personnel and the place were finalized. Sanchit, with his excellent research skills, presented an exciting draft itinerary of the trip with budgets to everyone. Finally, it seemed my wait to visit my second home would end. After receiving a go-ahead from everyone, came the day of reservation. But destiny, it seemed, had another plan that again played its game. And yet again, there was a twist in the tale- this time from one of his friends who had to back out due to a last-minute family trip. As a result, his other friend decided to back out as well. And just when it looked like it was get set go, it was all back to the drawing-room with just the two of us, just a click away from reservations, having had to back out at the last minute. After that, we searched a lot to find wildlife lovers but to no avail. For the second time, Ranthambore was down and out.
In hindsight, destiny played her card wonderfully. Whatever happened, happened for a reason. Because when it worked out finally, it ended up with the discovery of possibly the best group I could have gone for a safari with.
After the famous-infamous December heartbreak, it was pretty evident that maybe it was just not destined for us to go together to Ranthambore as a group. So we decided to put the plan in cold storage for a few months unless we get definite hints of a possible revival. Sanchit’s wait for his maiden wildlife safari ended a month later as he went far off in the North-East to see the one-horned rhino in Kaziranga National Park, Assam. My wait had continued, and it felt like another summer- the treasure of wildlife sightings was about to go down the drain.
But midway through one of the most brutal heatwaves of the year, one unexpected message from Sanchit on the hot, baking sulky afternoon on the last day of the financial year, March 31, was the ultimate game-changer I was desperately waiting for. On reading the message, I couldn’t control my excitement, and the next moment the phone rang at his place. This one single piece of news had made the last day of the financial year the best day of that month for me. In the message, he informed me that Rama had confirmed her participation in the safari. He also told me that Makarand Kaka, who organized wildlife safaris, had an itinerary ready, which meant that all we needed to do was to find one person(since the safari gipsy had a capacity of maximum six and as bookings are made gipsy-wise, a total of 6 was the ideal scenario was what we needed. 5 would have had sufficed as well.)
Rama’s confirmation changed the dynamics in our favour completely. If not for March 31, I wouldn’t be writing this blog today. All this while, we had struggled to find another person who had an interest in wildlife and their availability. Her addition created a robust solid core of three wildlife lovers around whom the new additions could rally around. This laid the foundation of a solid core I had been hoping for the past year. Her addition only prevented the plan from going the December way. We just needed one more person, which we knew would not be a difficult task to do.
The excitement was, of course, palpable. Our conversations revolved only around a single topic- Ranthambore. It had become the gravitating force of discussions where we discussed every member’s fantasy dreams, things to do, things to carry etc. I began to watch travelogues of Ranthambore available on Youtube and read blogs on the flora & fauna of Ranthambore.
One of the essential laws of the jungle is to follow the law of the land you’re visiting- in this case, the unwritten code of the jungle is not to wear bright colour clothes on a jungle safari. Since IPL had been on the back of everyone’s mind, it was perfect for me to bring our IPL rivalry into the mix. Rama and Sanchit, being die-hard fans of Mumbai Indians and me being a fan of IPL’s most popular franchise- Chennai Super Kings, it was only a matter of time before these team rivalries were going to be a part of our discussions. One of my favourite pass times is to annoy Mumbai Indian fans. And to annoy them, I started a topic which continued to haunt them until a day before the trip: wearing a yellow shirt on the safari to continue reminding them of the Chennai Lions in Rajasthan. Sanchit believed it to an extent; he even threatened to abandon me from the gipsy in the jungle 😂& felt that the tigers would leave the forests after seeing #Yellove. It’s a pre-trip moment that I’ll never forget.
But in all this, some signs of struggle were evident where the fourth person remained a mystery. I had desperately hoped to avoid a hat-trick of Ranthambore collapse not turning into reality. The plan came on the verge of collapse. Still, it did not collapse for the third time- courtesy of Sanchit, who informed us that his college friend, Shreya, had given her confirmation. As usual, Sanchit, being the poor introducer he was, poorly introduced her in three words “ This is Shreya”. Over time, we discovered that she had never been on a wildlife safari before and had little interest in wildlife but was highly fun-loving. Her confirmation meant that all bases were now covered.
Just a day before finalizing our reservations sprung another surprise. Arya became the firth and the final member to join the safari. She had herself not been on a safari in a long time. She hence was excited for the same as well to click some photos, given that she had a keen interest in photography. Her addition meant that we were operating at total gipsy capacity now. On April 11, 2022, train tickets were booked. And in the next couple of days, our safari booking was also confirmed. June 4, 2022, was finally supposed to be the date when my four-year-long wait to be in my second home was to end. Ironically, my last safari had also been on June 5, 2018.
With a fortnight to go before the trip, I had twin excitement — for the safari and the arrival of the Mumbai rains. Early forecasts suggested that the monsoon onset could happen precisely when I would be away in the jungle. I had hoped and wished that the clash would be avoided. The Rain Gods, as usual, obliged and made its onset a week after the trip ended. As a result, I got the best of both- the trip and the onset celebrations.
With a week left before we bid adieu to the Mumbai summers, it was time to gear up for what we had been planning all these months. The day was closing in. Since the group had at least one person whom we were meeting for the first time as we had not known each other before, we had decided to meet once so that we get to know each other before we embarked on our journey to see the Royal of Rajasthan.
As a result, we zeroed in to meet for breakfast at inarguably Thane’s best breakfast place-Thambi, an authentic South Indian restaurant, on the first day of June. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to one of my favourite months of the year- June (the beginning of the good times with the monsoon onset), than starting the morning with the savoury paper dosa that came with the delicious white chutney.
We discussed things to look forward to in the trip, packing details, the intricacies of our journey, things to expect in the safari, the need to keep zero expectations and the rule “ Expect the Unexpected”. I was also meeting Shreya for the first time. It only was a mere formality for me to confirm her fun-loving nature that despite not being on a safari before, she was the most excited among us since it was her first safari. We all gelled in quickly, and at this point, I had a hint that this trip would be memorable. Since our train didn’t have a pantry, we decided to pitch in and bring one food item for dinner. Rama agreed to bring spicy puris, Shreya with cutlets, Sanchit chipped in with sheera, and me with curd rice.
Based on my previous jungle safaris, sharing some experiences and the importance of sun-screen in a summer jungle safari was great fun. It was just a day before we boarded our train to see the Royal of Rajasthan. After having packed all the items, I couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive. The stage was all set for meeting the Royal of Rajasthan. I could imagine the langur alarm calls, the innumerable peacocks and, of course, the Royal Bengal Tiger waiting to show its presence in the hot, dry arid forests of Ranthambore. It was going to be the perfect end to the final leg of the summer. I was also visiting the state of Rajasthan after seven long years. Therefore, my enthusiasm had already begun to peak. On the other side, Ranthambore was waiting. The Royal of Rajasthan was calling.
