Bijoy urges you to take your car and just go out and drive. There's so much to see!
ILIVE NEXT TO THE SANJAY GANDHI National Park, inside the Mumbai island. This park, apart from playing the ‘oxygenerator’ for the sprawling megapolis, is also home for a top predator, ‘the Panthera pardus fusca’, commonly known as the Indian Leopard. I have been living here for almost 25 years now and I have not seen one roaming around. But I have seen CCTV footage of the magnificent spotted cat walking around parked cars and even catching stray dogs rather effortlessly and heading back to the forest. Sure, there have been episodes of human-animal conflict resulting in some casualties, but nowadays the leopards seem to be happy with strays. Heck, before I came to know the seriousness of the issue, I have even ridden motorcycles straying well into the forest – yes, that thing about not knowing the danger!
Before you officially declare me senile, let me bring the topic back to something to do with cars. Last month, I spent six days in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as part of the Mahindra Adventure Wild South Escape 2024 and no, let me assure you before you ask, the only ‘Panthera’ I saw was in the coffee table books of jungle lodges. Must have been a boring drive then, you assume? Far from that.
Just half a day’s drive from Bengaluru that was gobbled up by the XUV700, we reached the Jungle Lodge at Kabini, and struck gold in the first safari itself. Tiger! The sun was sharp for February and the two-year-old adult was taking a cooling dip in one of the many water bodies. Despite numerous safari vehicles approaching, she took her own time for the bath giving the shutterbugs serious bragging rights. The next few days we drove through some nice driving roads to visit Nagarahole, BR Hills and Bandipur Tiger reserves (all part of a huge reserve that borders three states) before crossing over to Tamil Nadu to reach Masinagudi and Ooty to wind up at Coimbatore.
No, we didn’t spot any more tigers or the elusive leopards and to be honest, the rank amateur wild-life enthusiast in me was a bit disappointed. But there were no complaints from any of the participants – they were happy talking about the elephants, Indian Gaurs, wild dogs, wild boars, barking deer, sambhars and so on. This part of the world is birding heaven, and I was amazed how enthusiasts were talking animatedly about the white chested woodpecker. Or was it white breasted?
Every day we drove around 100 to 150km – mostly well paved roads, some broken roads. Our SUVs took it effortlessly and you can reach all these places with just a two-wheel-drive vehicle with adequate ground clearance. Almost all safaris were done on Bolero Campers modified for the need and I must say I was amazed by the ride quality on offer inside the sanctuary roads. The well-maintained chain of Jungle Lodges and Resorts put you right inside the sanctuaries or very next to it. So, what are you waiting for? Pack your Canons and Nikons and go for a drive – put that expensive bit of machinery that your automobile is to good use. And stop blaming lack of roads – they are out there for you to take to magnificent places.
One evening as we were heading back to the lodge, a stunningly beautiful bird with a long white tail flew across the road. From my description the experts ruled out that it was neither a paradise fly catcher nor a bird of paradise. The second one sounded good to me.
Back home, I sat in my balcony with a cup of hot tea in my hand and stared into the national park fully aware that somewhere deep in there were some Panthera pardus fuscas watching my every move. Amen! ⌧
So, what are you waiting for? Pack your Canons and Nikons and go for a drive