People sitting in the safari van were anxious and eager. Questions ran on some people’s mind about their luck for the day. A few other people were bent on doing anything to have their wish fulfilled. Most people were restless and could not wait for the van to leave. After all, not everyday does one get to see the king of the jungle in his own abode.

In Corbett, winter was just making way to warmer days when we set out on a safari from Ramnagar town. A bunch of tourists like me had bought tickets at the tiger reserve office and had settled down in the big noisy van that can easily drive the elusive big cat away. Yet, we were hopeful that things could turn in our favour and the majestic striped animal may just say hello to us.

A changeable hawk eagle in Corbett

I myself was there looking for more than tigers. Indeed, it would be great to see one, but Corbett had a lot more than tigers. It had an astounding variety of birds, with more than 400 species spotted in its forests. Ramaganga River and the Himalayan foothills, together with the golden winter light and the large grasslands in Corbett, created landscapes of a beauty unparalleled anywhere else in Indian plains. At the end of my safari, all this would impress me so much that I decided to extend my stay for three more days in the park, counting birds and watching sunrises and not worrying too much about tigers. Of course, it would be cheating to say I did not care much for a tiger sighting. Some stripes would be great, but Corbett was great anyway.

River Ramaganga on a foggy winter morning

As the van progressed deeper into the jungles, I realized that not many of its occupants shared my thoughts about the wilderness of the park. A soft spoken couple with binoculars kept an eye on birds and identified the avian to their kid, but everyone else had their eyes searching for the tiger. Each time our driver-cum-guide said something, he was promptly thrown back some questions about likelihood of seeing tigers. As the day progressed the restlessness of tourists grew and they almost became aggressive in their quest. They expressed their displeasure to the driver and complained about the boredom of an unfruitful quest. Unhappiness showed in their face and their speech. At the end of the day when we finally headed back without any tigers in sight, the driver had almost become a villain for most tourists.

For me, that day was a happy reconnaissance that helped me decide in extending my stay. The forest I saw that day was a storehouse of beauty. The tall sal trees, the mellow Ramaganga with a wide pebbly river bed, small hills covered in greenery, the fish eagles and redstarts, porcupines that rushed into a bush on seeing us, herd of chitals and skipping thrushes created a great deal of excitement in the forest. Tigers could wait; there was a lot more to explore.

Light rays filtering through sal trees

In the next three days I spent in Corbett, I never missed keeping an eye for tigers, but was equally busy seeing the rich wildlife in the park. It was a heaven for raptors – the birds of prey. There never was a day spent without seeing eagles, primarily crested hawk eagles, fish eagles and serpent eagles. There were herds of elephants busy foraging the last grass of the season. Redstarts busied themselves in search of worms in the river bed. A mother elephant threatened us from coming any closer as it carefully protected its young one. Wild Boars foraged for soft grass in the river bed. Chitals grazed in groups and kept a careful eye for predators. The forest was abuzz with activity. I was too busy watching all the action, never too bored to focus just on tigers.

Egrest basking in evening sun on a strip of land in the middle of Ramaganga River

So did I see a tiger before I returned from the jungle? Yes and No. The tiger remained elusive each time I went into its country and hoped for seeing it. But on the last day, a few hours before it was time for me to leave, the king of the jungle decided that he should come to where I was instead. The afternoon of my last day saw a sudden activity in my forest-department rest house facing the river inside the forest. Someone had spotted a tiger in the river bed, but it was now hidden from view across on the other side of a mound. People kept looking for it to come out, but the tiger had chosen this spot to rest. It must have been two hours since the first sighting when I heard some commotion and came out to see what is happening. It was then that I had my first sighting of the royal animal showing off its grace. The tiger was walking callously on the river bed and occasionally threw careless glances at all the tourists who were screaming in excitement. It must have stayed in sight for a few minutes before disappearing between shrubs. I had had my first tiger sighting in the jungle, but it was so far away from where I was standing, it required my telephoto lenses to get him in clear view.

Nonetheless, Corbett was so beautiful and so addicting that in every winter I keep wishing that I get enough time this year to spend in Corbett. The tiger hardly comes in my thoughts when I think of Corbett, but what rings in my mind is the large grasslands that feed many animals and the beautiful river in the foggy morning landscape. It is hard for me to understand why one should get so stuck about tigers.

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