The Ice Flow

By Red Sox Steve

Sawai Madhopur

I boarded the train in Jaipur, and started the weeks long eastward journey that would eventually get me to Kolkata. My first destination after Jaipur was Sawai Madhopur. It is a very small town, so I was hoping things would move a little slower here - I wanted to balance out the chaos of Jaipur and Delhi with a little more peace and quiet. Four weeks in India was a marathon, not a sprint. What also lured me to Sawai Madhopur was the tiger safari.

After a 2 hour train ride, I arrived in Sawai Madhopur, and went to my aptly named hotel: Hotel Tiger Safari. It was just what I needed - quiet, clean rooms, hot water, a nice restaurant and even a swimming pool. As soon as I put my bags in the room, I took a poolside seat, grabbed a Sprite and just said, "ahhh...". Later, I ended up walking down the only street in town to check out the area - I saw a number of hotels and small shops, but that was about it. I took a nap, had dinner, and watched TV before bed, but not before I signed up for the tiger safari which left for Ranthambhore National Park at 6:30 AM the next morning.

When I arrived in Sawai Madhopur, I was battling mid-afternoon heat; when I awoke before sunrise for the safari, the air was surprisingly cool. The open-air canter picked up my group, and as soon as it pulled away I had the wind rushing towards my face and I immediately knew I was underdressed wearing only a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. As we made our way toward the park, we picked up a few more tourists before getting to the park entrance. When we finally arrived, it was clear my fellow tourists with their cameras at the ready, were brimming with excitement. There are safari runs every morning and afternoon, the primary purpose of which is to see a tiger. Although other animals could be spotted along the journey (peacocks, monkeys, birds, deer), it was clear that the potential to see a tiger in its natural environment was the main attraction.

Our vehicle made its way along bumpy roads, and because the surrounding hills blocked the sunlight, it remained chilly. I had to keep my eyes open to see wildlife but my head down to avoid getting the occasional tree branch in the face, and I was freezing my ass off... I was not in the best mood. Because we hadn't seen any tigers, and the vehicle even broke down once, the groans, sighs and expressions on the people around me evidenced a creeping sense of despair that was eroding our collective optimism.

The sun started to come over the hills, we began to see some animals, and everyone's mood started to improve. We passed a watering hole for crocodiles, but weren't lucky enough to spot one. We briefly rested at the midpoint of our journey, and now the canter was headed out of the park. We had taken so many twists and turns, my sense of distances and direction became irrelevant. We spotted a number of lively monkeys and exotic birds, but had yet to see the animal that has been going extinct for decades, a Royal Bengali Tiger. All of a sudden, as the canter was meandering along the rustic road, our guide nervously tapped the driver on the shoulder and pointed into the brush. The vehicle stopped suddenly, and everyone shot out of their seats. About 40 yards from the road, there was a tiger prowling in the jungle! It was a baby male tiger, and he was examining us as intently as we were photographing him. For a few brief steps, it was moving parallel to the road, cautious to avoid us, but not lose sight of us. Instinct and adrenaline fueled subject and viewer - everyone in the group looked directly at the elegant beast as he tried to determine if we were friend, foe, or food.

Everyone grew silent as cameras were powered on and pointed at the powerful creature staring us down. The tiger started toward our vehicle, but still seemed to be a "safe" distance away, at least according to my naive estimations. The guide informed us that this was a baby male, which was more rare than a female AND extremely shy; although from where I was sitting he had NO problem with eye contact! He seemed to want to avoid us and so he crossed the road, avoiding interaction with our group while doing so. Because another safari group pulled up behind us, the tiger passed in front of our vehicle - he was about 10-15 feet from our headlights, when any perspective on diminutive dimension quickly changed. Our "baby" tiger walked slowly across the road while his paparazzi couldn't seem to take enough pictures!

He never changed pace and only slightly altered his direction while he moved. The brush he encountered on the other side of the road was much thicker - soon, because of his deliberate and powerful movements, we could hear the crackling of the bushes, but had lost sight of this striped mammoth. Within a few moments, he appeared, and was steadily moving away from our group. Final pictures and movies were taken, and after a few deep breaths, there was a feeling of exhilaration amongst us all. Ultimately, we were not in any danger, and, after the multiple unsuccessful attempts by some, everyone was pleased we saw what we came for. There is a campaign in India to save the tigers, part of which reminds people there are only about 1400 tigers left in the entire country. We were fortunate to see the rarest of rare species: a baby male Bengali Tiger.

We continued our journey out of the park, and spotted numerous monkeys, deer and India's national bird, the peacock, along the way. My body temperature warmed to normal, and the bone-chilling wind I felt early in the morning had become a cooling breeze while the late morning sun warmed me up. I made two friends on the trip as well, and we would all meet up later to talk about the tiger sighting and take an afternoon journey to the 1,000 year old Ranthambore Fort nearby.

On the afternoon trip to Ranthambore Fort, I got to know Jeff and Jaya, friends who were traveling together and staying at my hotel. There wasn't any signage at the fort, so we weren't able to grasp much of its significance with respect to its ancient history. When we finally got to the top (a winding ascent along a stone path punctuated by large intimidating gates with palatial structures and open grass courtyards at the top), we entered one of the three Hindu temples, and received a blessing from Ganesh, the Hindu god and protector of intellect and wisdom.

In our steps leading to the temple's entrance, we saw a long pathway outlined by a set of parallel bars, which is where a few million worshipers wait in line to receive Ganesh's blessing on an annual Hindu holiday. There was no line, so all we had to do was remove our shoes, enter the temple (no photos allowed), receive the blessing along with a spot of dye on our foreheads and a string bracelet, and provide a small donation before leaving. I was intimidated at first - I didn't want to offend any Hindus by falsely representing myself as someone worthy of a blessing from a religion I didn't believe in, and I didn't want to inadvertently disobey any of their customs. Luckily, neither happened, and after a 15 minute descent to the parking lot, the wind was again blowing in our hair as we returned to the hotel in time for dinner.

The next morning, I would board the train for Bharatpur.

Bharatpur

Sawai Madhopur was quiet and peaceful and Bharatpur was more of the same. Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur... they all have the same "-pur" suffix. If you are an amateur etymologist like me, you start wondering about the meaning of that suffix. On my trip, I found out it is the Hindu word for city. Jaipur was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh in the 18th century, Sawai Madhopur was built by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I, who came from Jaipur, and Bharatpur was named after Bharata, a brother of Lord Rama (the legendary and mythological king of Ayodhya). Rajasthan, a state formed in 1949 after independence, had been sub-divided into "princely states" ruled by Rajputs, one of the warrior tribes of India. The Rajput ruled states first coalesced under the Mughal emperors in the 16th century, then under the British in the colonial era that followed.

The trip from Sawai Madhopur to Bharatpur was short - after a couple of hours I was there. I hopped in an autorickshaw (think of a go-cart with a roof, powered by "CNG"... Compressed Natural Gas) and we made our way to my hotel, which was just a short walk to one of the major tourist sites of India: The Keoladeo National Park. The park is a bird reserve, with jackals, snakes, ants and even cattle milling about. The birds there were numerous, moved quickly and were spotted from a distance - I came across species like the Ruddy Shelled Duck, White-Throated Kingfisher, Cattle Egret, Rose-ringed parakeet, Spot-billed Duck, and Red-Wattled Lapwing. Some species migrate from as far away as Siberia and through the Himalayas to reach central India.

With my guide, I spent over three hours wandering through the park. I remember seeing owls, ducks, turtles and a wide variety of birds. At the end of a long road, we came upon a large display - on it were hunting records dating back a number of decades. Keoladeo didn't become a protected wildlife sanctuary until Indira Gandhi, daughter of Nehru (NOT Gandhi) was in power in 1971. Prior to 1971, for centuries, it was a reliable hunting ground for both Indian maharajas and the British ruling class. Because the sanctuary contains the confluence of two rivers, local farmers have also used it as a grazing area until 1982. Today, because so many endangered avian species make it their home, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After relaxing in this peaceful town, it was time to plan my escape. Very easy since there was a bus stop a short walk from my hotel - My next city has one of the most amazing and well-known tourist sites in the entire world... After a 2 hour ride I stepped out and jumped into an auto-rickshaw. It didn't matter if the driver spoke English or Hindi because I only had to direct him with two words: "Taj Mahal".