(THIS IS A REALLY LONG POST, SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME DON'T READ IT)



I shall now recount here a tale of the most daring and certainly, the most stupid thing I have ever done. But first let me give you an introduction; set the stage for the incident I shall never forget.


Last May I visited Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), located in the state of Maharastra, 142 km away from the city of Nagpur.

The summer had stripped most of the trees of their foliage. They stood there bare and naked as we peered through them into the jungle depths on our routine safaris. Even though the forest was primarily dry, it was on its way to sprouting anew again. For the rains had arrived just before we had and the jungle was going through a transition phase of turning from brown and dusty to green and lush.

I was visiting the Reserve with a group of about 35 noisy naughty school going kids and equally noisy naughty college going adults along with very good resource persons and guides; one of them my cousin Vikrant, working for the National Youth Association of Science(NYAS), who were conducting a Jungle Reading or ‘Aranya Vachan’ Camp in the Reserve.
We were to spend 7 days in each others’ company during which the tiger kept us company too, along with the nightjars and owls and the chital and all the other jungle folk.

The tar road that crisscrossed the national park passed by our dormitoriy that was bang in the middle of the jungle. A compound wall surrounded our dorm and along the stretch of road that passed by the dorm, some large trees had been planted. There were some Ashoka trees, a Laburnum (which was in full bloom and looked so splendid!), and a large Mango tree too. Just beyond all these trees and around the compound wall of our dorm was the forest itself. So sightings of chital (spooted deer), wild boar etc were quite common.

The group of noisy, naughty kids that were with us, however noisy and naughty were still, kids. Which meant we could boss them around. So after ordering them all to go to bed early, we turned off the lights, and sat down on the porch, about eight of us, for a round of 'gappas' that strected into the night.

This relaxed, laid-back atmosphere was suddenly turned into an alert one by a single spotted deer alarm call that rang through the night-air. Herbivores give an alram call when they sense the presence of a predator. It is a call meant for the entire jungle to hear, telling the rest of the denizens of the forest to be alert, for an enemy is near-by. It is a loud, short call that has an instant effect of silencing the woods, as all the jungle-folk stop their activites and go on high-alert.

We judged that the call came from our right side and the deer were very close-by. The predator too, should therefore, be somewhere near-by, and at Tadoba it could be anything from a wild-cat, to a bear or a leopard or the mighty tiger itself.

I saw Vikrant's silhoutte as he quitely raised himself up from the floor, torch in hand. The torch light's beam fell on the chital as he switched it on after standing up. He then slowly moved the torch from the chital to our front, near the gate. No sooner had he done that, he quickly switched the torch off and plopped down amongst us.

"There's a leopard on the mango tree outside the gate!", he exclaimed.



Now you must understand that we were all a bunch of college going enthu-cutlets wanting to have some fun. (I am trying here; probably in vain; to justify what we did next.)

Vikrant elaborated in whispers that when he focused the light on the chital he saw them alert, staring at something near our gate. Realising that's the general location of the predator, he turned the torch in that direction. The light caught the leopard as it was climbing up a tree branch with its back towards us. When the light fell on it, it turned towards it, staring directly at Viku. (Although all the leopard would have seen would be a bright light focused at it.)

As I explained earlier, we were all there to have some fun anyway. So we all wanted to see the leopard for ourselves. I mean, a leopard right outside your compound gate, now thats something you don't see everyday!

So we got up and Viku directed the torch light up the mango tree again. Nothing. Where did it go? Did it climb down? Was it there in the first place? Or was Viku just playing with us...but then what about the alarm call....so there was something definately out there...

More searching. More torches. Viku became desperate to spot the leopard again. I guess he thought that unless we all saw it, we wouldn't believe him, and if that happened his ego would be hurt...

So he had the enormously stupid idea of venturing outside the gate and having a closer look up the tree. And if that wasn't enough we came up with the more enormously stupid idea of following him outside the gate.

We all went outside, stood below the tree, and he directed the torch light up at the branches again. He was scanning the branches slowly and a moment came when the light just slid onto a pair of red eyes, staring right at us.

O, those red red eyes! I think I wanted to let out a whimper, but couldn't find my voice. I don't know for how long I stared into them, those hypnotic eyes, that bored into me and ate me up from within. I don't think we stood there for long, we were ushered into the safety of the compound wall by those of us with better nerves.



To stare into a predator's eyes, to actually feel it's intent to kill....with absolutely no barriers between you and the beast....that is definately the stupidest thing I have ever done.