Pench is magical. I’ve been there five times now, and each time, I come back refreshed because the forest is so breathtakingly beautiful. There’s Venuban (Bamboo Forest), a canopy of […]
Pench – December 2021
Should we even consider travelling? Maybe we should just cancel and stay home. We haven’t gone anywhere for so long! Surely, a jungle is safe! Where else will we actually […]
Beginning 2022 On a High
And there, having looked back at the year that went by, I can’t have asked for a better way to begin 2022. In December 2021, I travelled after nearly two […]
Of long walks in the jungle
For the most part, I dislike treks. I don’t think I’m lazy, though I cannot really be sure. I just don’t like pushing myself up a hill, or feeling undercurrents […]
Night Walk at Taman Negara
We read a lot about the night walk at Taman Negara before we left India. Most people said that it was a waste of time and money and that all […]
Canopy Walkway – Taman Negara
I’m always amused by how the concept of distance depends so much on where people live.“The canopy walkway is very close, just about half an hour or maybe a little […]
Burrapahar, Kaziranga
You know how in the buffer zone, they keep telling you that anything can happen? You know how all guides have stories about sightings of big animals on the main road? […]
Agaratoli, Kaziranga
The eastern zone of Kaziranga is much more forested, not primarily grassland. It was joyous being in there, looking at the crazy trees and ferns. Some trees look like they’ve […]
Bagori, Kaziranga
Pelicans! The safari in Mihimukh showed me not just the Lesser Adjutant Stork and the Woolly Necked Stork, but also the Open-Billed Stork, Bar-Headed Geese — and pelicans! When Bakul […]
Turtles, Ducks and Elephants, Kaziranga
Bakul identified the turtles for us. I did not understand at all, not even enough to figure out for myself later. Himalayan Box Turtle? Perhaps. That was a name I […]
Rhinoceros Unicornis, Kaziranga
“Haan, rhino hai, udhar,” said Bakul. “Rhino?” I repeated. I had to have misheard. He could not be so calm. He could not tonelessly say ‘rhino hai udhar’ and leave it […]
Mihimukh, Kaziranga
How different Kaziranga is from the other reserves I’ve visited! For one, you can get off the jeep in several places. In each zone, there’s a watch tower which you can climb to […]
Back from Kaziranga
Elephant grass. Anything could be hiding there. (A rhino, perhaps?) Huge birds that made me think of pterodactyls. (Wasn’t it enough that the word ‘rhinoceros’ tempted me to say ‘rhino-saurus’? […]
Nightjars
When I think of nightjars, I think of poetry. Was it in “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas? Or did I come across a nightjar in something by Keats or Byron? […]
Leopard III
It was a cold, cold morning in new Nagzira. We had already won the appreciation of the guides there because we showed up diligently at 6 every morning, despite the fact […]
Leopard II
It was nearing the time to leave the forest, but we headed back towards the rest house in old Nagzira. The guide needed to use the washroom. There are lots of deer […]
Leopard
We did our research before we went to Nagzira. We knew there were barely any tigers, but we also knew that many, many tourists saw a leopard in Nagzira. Surely, in […]
Starry, Starry Night
“There’s nothing in new Nagzira.” “Why don’t you go to Koka?” “It’s about 35 km from here.” “Anyway, Nagzira is closed on Thursdays.” “You could go to Koka on Thursday.” […]
Nagzira
Ten days away from the city. No internet. Phone connectivity for about an hour a day. Eleven safaris into the beautiful jungle. Three leopards. A leopard making a kill: whose side […]
Wild Dog Hunt
No one will ever believe that it’s not very easy to see wild dogs in the jungle if you spot them three times during the course of the same safari. […]