Since the past 3 years, Juhili (my better half) and myself, have made it a ritual to visit Tadoba during the second weekend of February. Some say we celebrate our Valentines' Day in the forest, but the reality is February is the best month to visit the forest, as it is the period when the winter season subsides, and the early Summers commence. We had planned our visit for the 10th, 11th and 12th of February 2017 and as usual we camped at Svasara Jungle Lodge, our second home. The property has been quintessentially managed by Ranjit Mandal and Nandita Mandal over the years. One of the best parts of visiting Tadoba is meeting this evergreen couple and enjoying their exciting jungle tales. Normally it has been a custom for us to spend more time in their cabin than in our room as we listen to their enchanting experiences.

We had 4 safaris booked; 1 from Navegaon, 2 from Kolara and 1 from Pangdi out of which first 3 safaris went completely dry, we could not even hear the alarm calls. Naturally, we were frustrated to the core. Though it has been a thumb rule to enter the forests without keeping any expectations and embrace whatever nature has in store for us, when we talk about Tadoba (The Land Of Tigers) there are ought to be some expectations! On the 11th evening Juhili made an unreasonable request to Nandita and asked her to arrange for her favourite (lucky) gypsy for the 12th morning safari (anything and everything for tiger sighting).

We had 4 safaris booked; 1 from Navegaon, 2 from Kolara and 1 from Pangdi out of which first 3 safaris went completely dry, we could not even hear the alarm calls. Naturally, we were frustrated to the core.

It was a chilly winter morning; the sun was just about to rise over the thin layer of fog that had wrapped itself over the horizon when we entered the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve from the Kolara Gate. In open Gypsy vehicles it gets unbearable in winters, and although it was late winter the atmosphere was still cold enough to send chills down the spine. We passed through the Jamni village, then Jamni Nalla and meadows, hoping to sight Choti Tara and her 2 male cubs as this territory belonged to her, but there was no sign of her. The forest went completely silent and there was not even the slightest of movements, though we were able to hear different bird songs that infused life into the jungle. Our guide Sandesh was completely alert and was directing the driver as per his intuitions. At the crossroad after Jamni, Sandesh opted to go towards Pandharpauni. We checked 97 and Yenbodi waterholes for any sign of the Tiger but in vain. As we were approaching Pandharpauni 1- PP1, we spotted waiting Gypsies in between PP1 and Pandharpauni 2 - PP2 waterholes, there were at least 40 to 50 Gypsies stranded. Moments like these infuse a sudden wisp of excitement in the air, the sight which we saw ahead indicated that either a tiger was sighted or at least alarm calls were heard, the sight was enough to please us! On reaching at the spot, the waiting gypsies told us that somebody had sighted a male tiger near the fireline and there was a probability that the big cat could come in this direction. We thought it was a chance worth taking and as happens most of the times in the jungle, we parked our gypsy along with the waiting crowd. The clock had ticked to 7:30 by then and the gleaming rays of the sun blessed the forest with their presence.

When in the forest patience is your prime asset, it was a long wait, there was absolutely no movement, no calls. For those who are well versed with the Tadoba terrain, this is a place, when you are facing towards PP2, you have a wide meadow speckled with tall yellow grass on your right and on the left the road goes and meets the Navegaon-Tadoba Lake road. A big triangular area is formed by the conjunction of these 3 roads (PP1 to PP2, road on the left and Navegaon-Tadoba Lake road). In this particular area were lots of herbivores engaged in their daily rituals. Still there were no calls, I was convinced that the tiger cannot be in the vicinity. But hoping against false hopes is the mantra while on a safari. At 8.15 we decided to have our picnic breakfast in the gypsy itself. Sandesh was as usual scanning the surrounding for the slightest of movements.

Halfway through the breakfast Sandesh suddenly said, "Sir Tiger". I literally jumped of my seat! He pointed towards an area that was abundant with tall yellow grass and said, "The Tiger just stood up and is on his all fours". I was totally clueless, and Juhili too had the same expression on her face. I could not see anything, maybe it was there maybe it wasn’t, who knows. One thing was sure, none of the other gypsies were looking in that direction, which meant they were not aware of any movement. My good friend Rasna Vaidya and Svasara naturalist Rishin Basu Roy were waiting in their gypsy just besides us. As we finished with our breakfast and started packing, Sandesh exclaimed that, “The Tiger has started moving towards PP1”. At once we asked our driver to move towards PP1. We were the only gypsy to leave that place and go to PP1. We parked ourselves at PP1 which is at around 500 to 600 meters. Sandesh was again able to locate the Tiger and said it was approaching us. Sadly, I was not able to see anything. Sandesh was constantly updating us about the tiger’s movement. I was not sure if I believed him, just then he uttered that the tiger has turned around and is moving in the opposite direction. We left again for the earlier spot and when we reached there, every person in each of the vehicles was looking towards the right and I realized our mistake of leaving the place. When we reached there, we were able to see the majestic feline which was moving away from us and that too for mere 30 seconds. The tiger was spotted at the same place which Sandesh had mentioned earlier. I surrendered to Sandesh. Was it over? No, the fun really starts now.

Rishin Da said the tiger will cross the Bamangaon fireline and that we should go there. As we commenced our driver realized there was something wrong with our axle, so he drove slowly and Rishin Da went ahead. Suddenly we saw a .....but we could not do the same due to our axle issue. When we reached there Rishin Da told us that Maya, the Queen of Pandharpauni, just crossed the road and that they were able to get some good pictures of her majesty from close quarters. I could only curse the axle. Maya was moving and the alarm calls started. I told Juhili that we should wait for Maya to emerge from the bushes when suddenly behind us, a huge herd of deer ran across the road giving a cacophony of alarm calls. Sandesh guessed that the Tiger which we had seen earlier must have moved and he had a strong hunch that it was a male. Juhili just then mentioned that we had never seen a male tiger over the 3 years of our jungle tours and Sandesh was quick to suggest that we should be the first ones to track the tiger, so we turned around while everyone waited for Maya. I had already surrendered to Sandesh.

We reached at the triangular conjunction and Sandesh started screening the triangle for the big cat. All three of us located the tiger at a distance almost at the same time and yes it was a huge male! The cameras were already out, some people had followed us and waited behind us. The Tiger then started moving away from us. I asked Sandesh to follow, but he was confident that the Tiger will come back in our direction as the direction he was heading towards was jam packed with gypsies. He insisted that we should stay where we were and give space to the feline to cross on the other side of the road. Even before he completed the sentence, I could see the tiger turning around and start walking in our direction. I was completely amazed with Sandesh’s knowledge and intuition.

Now the Tiger was clearly visible from around 80 feet and it was coming towards the road we were waiting on. Both of us were excited to see our first male tiger, that too a huge one, the great Matkasur! He graciously walked and came onto the road, stood there for around 2 mins, and gazed at us from around 80 feet. What a marvellous sight it was, beyond words! I thought he would cross to the other side of the road and into the jungle, but again I was proved wrong. The Tiger had other things in his mind. It was as if he knew that we were seeing a male tiger for the first time and the majestic cat decided to surprise us. The tiger turned towards our gypsy and started walking towards us. We were speechless as we had never encountered such an amazing movement over all these years. We were the first gypsy in the line, nothing between us and the tiger. I could get some of the best photographs. The beast was heavily built and walked towards us until the distance between us and Tiger was mere 8 feet. Then he stopped, gave us a parting look, turned left, and disappeared into the forest. I was stunned, speechless and did not know what to do as I was pumped with an adrenaline rush. I think I must have thanked Sandesh for at least a 100 times. Always listen to your guide became my mantra going forward. It was one of the greatest wildlife moments that I would cherish for my lifetime!